Turning Point, Part Two

Nothing happened that night. The two took turns keeping watch and rested well through the night. Though they could not distinguish the time of day inside the cave, their bodies' natural rhythms still gave them a rough sense of when it was time to sleep and rest.

Over the next several days, the two continued onward. Lin Xin encountered several more Black-Haired Horse-Men in succession, each becoming a trophy beneath his sword. These Black-Haired Horse-Men possessed nothing but great strength, average speed, and thick hides. Moreover, they only knew the same few black-sickle techniques over and over. Once Lin Xin had figured them out, dealing with them became even easier.

For several days straight, he killed more and more Black-Haired Horse-Men. The Horse-Man skull fragments he collected also gradually increased.

Watching him dispatch the Black-Haired Horse-Men cleanly and decisively, powerful yet unruffled, Xiao Lingling grew increasingly reliant on Lin Xin. Gradually, her mood brightened as well.

Sshk.

Lin Xin slowly pulled his blade from the Horse-Man's neck. Black blood gushed out, and the Horse-Man before him, which had been facing away as it tried to flee, dropped to its knees. Clutching its throat with both hands, it burst into black liquid with a pop, then evaporated into black smoke, leaving behind only a small red crescent-shaped bone fragment.

"The twenty-first piece." Lin Xin picked up the bone fragment and tucked it into his clothes.

"As expected of Brother Lin." Xiao Lingling applauded as she emerged from behind him, her smile radiant. "If you went out now, you could complete the trial."

"Complete the trial? My goal is not merely to complete it." Lin Xin smiled and flicked the black blood from his blade.

"That is true. With Brother Lin's strength, so long as you are a little cautious, you will surely obtain an excellent ranking." Xiao Lingling understood. She was now full of confidence in Lin Xin. With her perceptive abilities, she naturally knew that Lin Xin's true cultivation was at the Innate Fourth Layer.

Thus, as they traveled, the seemingly fierce Black-Haired Horse-Men became far less terrifying after Lin Xin dealt with them time and again.

Lin Xin smiled faintly and said nothing more.

He did not believe he could leave the trial so easily. Song Jing's spies seemed to have vanished these past few days; even Xiao Lingling could not sense them. Yet he did not believe Song Jing had truly let him off completely.

The passage seemed to have reached its end. Ahead, it gradually widened, and they had already descended who knew how many meters underground.

The two tidied themselves up and continued forward. Before long, the faint sounds of fighting drifted from ahead.

They quickened their pace. Soon, after rounding a corner in the cave, they saw a group of sword sect disciples surrounding and attacking a tall Horse-Man covered in silver fur.

Two people stood at the side directing the battle. More than ten disciples appeared to have formed an array, encircling the Horse-Man tightly and grinding it down like a millstone.

Sword after sword stabbed into the Horse-Man's body, producing teeth-grating squeaks. The effect seemed minimal.

Yet every sickle attack from the Horse-Man was jointly borne by at least four or five disciples. The two sides were locked in a stalemate.

As Lin Xin and Xiao Lingling emerged, one of the people directing the battle spotted them.

"Fellow junior brother and sister over there, since you have appeared, why not join us? We can watch out for one another in this cave."

The speaker wore a gentle smile. He held a folding fan and lightly waved it, dressed like a refined young man in white. No sword could be seen anywhere on his back or waist.

"Huang Shang... It's Huang Shang, Young Master Huang!" Xiao Lingling's expression changed. She seemed to recognize him.

"Who is Huang Shang?"

Lin Xin asked quietly.

"One of Listening Sword Valley's three strongest Innate Great Perfections..." Xiao Lingling replied in a low voice.

"Innate Great Perfection?" Lin Xin sucked in a breath. Ninth layer Grand Completion was not something he could withstand now. Even with so many trump cards and magical artifacts in hand, facing such an opponent head-on would likely be exceedingly dangerous. He had trump cards—did the other man not have any?

If he rashly joined them, many of his methods would be difficult to use, especially the Clear Talisman Sword. He absolutely could not use it before outsiders. Otherwise, if the Shu Family investigated and compared it with the traces left behind when Shu Luoyi died, he would truly be in trouble.

After considering it for a moment, he clasped his fists and called out loudly.

"Thank you for the invitation, Young Master Huang, but I am accustomed to traveling alone. My deepest apologies."

Whether it was Huang Shan, Kong Yuhui, Cheng Ruofei, or the others, any of them would be better than Huang Shang, whose intentions were unclear.

By now, they were gradually approaching the place where the other routes converged. Presumably, they would soon encounter many more people.

Huang Shang was also good-tempered. He clasped his hands in return without taking offense. Several people beside him seemed to have objections and were somewhat displeased by Lin Xin's refusal to appreciate the favor.

But with a slight press of Huang Shang's hand, everything fell silent.

Lin Xin asked Xiao Lingling about it. To his surprise, she too was unwilling to accept Huang Shang's invitation. Though he found it strange, they came to an agreement and made their way along the right side of the cave, keeping close to the stone wall.

Two people nearby kept a close watch on them, highly vigilant. Clearly, they did not trust Lin Xin and Xiao Lingling.

After swiftly passing through Huang Shang's area, the two accelerated forward.

Soon, the space ahead abruptly opened up, and they entered an enormous cave like an opera house.

A broad river ran through the cave from right to left, its current surging endlessly. Wide stony banks stretched along both sides, filled with sword sect disciples and Black-Haired Horse-Men slaughtering one another.

Shouts, screams, the Horse-Men's strange roars, and the clash of weapons mingled together, along with the rushing sound of the river.

Human and Horse-Man blood had been splashed everywhere. Yet far more of it was the Horse-Men's black blood.

Many disciples had already figured out the Horse-Men's fighting patterns. They nimbly dodged and occasionally thrust out a sword, easily wearing the Horse-Men down until they died.

There was no ceiling above the entire cave, only a vast skylight. Pure, brilliant light shone down from a great height, landing directly in the middle of the rushing river.

Just as Lin Xin and Xiao Lingling entered the great cave, two Black-Haired Horse-Men ahead to the right were pursuing a young female disciple with hair tied in twin buns.

The woman saw the two appear and rushed toward them, her face covered in blood.

"Senior brother, senior sister, please lend me a hand!"

There was a trace of fear and exhaustion in her voice.

"Junior Sister Ye!?" Xiao Lingling seemed to recognize the woman. She immediately looked anxiously at Lin Xin. "Senior Brother... this..."

The other woman had already led two Black-Haired Horse-Men charging toward them. Left with no choice, Lin Xin drew his sword. Flame-less Swordplay flashed from his hand, and several clusters of scorching Inner Qi shot toward the two Horse-Men.

Puff! Puff!

After several dull impacts, the two Horse-Men let out pained shrieks, their pursuit immediately halted.

Lin Xin bent forward and darted out, easily dodging one Horse-Man's sweeping sickle. With an upward thrust, he accurately pierced the Horse-Man beneath its weakest point, the chin, then viciously drove his sword into its brain.

Sshk.

Pulling out his sword, Lin Xin pounced toward the other Horse-Man. A few more moves, and he slew it as well.

He had not used a single ultimate move. He had merely channeled Inner Qi into his sword three times, consuming less than a tenth of his Inner Qi.

"An Innate Realm expert!" The rescued woman had sharp eyes. She cried out in shock, and after Xiao Lingling helped her up, she finally relaxed completely.

"Lingling, how did you manage to cling to an Innate Realm expert?" She looked at Xiao Lingling with envy and jealousy.

"It is not what you think..." For some reason, Xiao Lingling no longer had her usual practiced ease. A blush merely rose on her cheeks. She seemed less seductive and somewhat more pure.

"Oh, Lingling, why are you being so distant with me? We are good sisters." Junior Sister Ye immediately began to ingratiate herself warmly.

Xiao Lingling merely evaded her words. She had plenty of "good sisters" in the sect. If not for this woman's somewhat special status...

At this moment, Lin Xin sheathed his sword and stood upright atop a large boulder, looking down over the entire cave.

There were over thirty people in the cave battling Horse-Men, all of them Black-Haired Horse-Men, and the Horse-Men numbered more than thirty as well.

Some disciples had already died in battle.

However, the sect disciples here were clearly much stronger than the Poison Gang group from before. Most were above the Second Layer. They also had much more combat experience. Once they found the pattern, they could tangle with a Horse-Man one-on-one for quite a while.

Although aside from Innate Realm experts, most disciples were at a disadvantage.

After observing for a moment, Lin Xin discovered several Innate Realm experts here as well. Though they did not kill the Black-Haired Horse-Men as quickly as he did, they were gradually shifting the entire situation, taking down one Horse-Man after another and tilting the battle in humanity's favor. Victory was only a matter of time.

"There is no need to waste time here. Pick up a few skull fragments if convenient, then quickly find Kong Yuhui and Cheng Ruofei to meet up with them."

Although he did not entirely trust Kong Yuhui either, he was still far better than ordinary sect disciples. After all, they had shared a life-and-death bond, and they also had secrets in common.

Leaping down from the boulder, Lin Xin saw another group: five Black-Haired Horse-Men were pursuing two men as they fought their way in this direction.

He could handle two Horse-Men at once, but five were beyond his capacity. Lin Xin ducked behind the boulder, intending to avoid them.

"Senior Sister Ye, save us!" one of the men shouted.

"It's Senior Brother Ma! Xiaofei, lead them toward the big boulder! Senior Brother Lin is there! He is an Innate Realm expert!" The sharp voice of the Junior Sister Ye whom they had rescued rang out at once.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Ye!" the man said gratefully.

Lin Xin immediately saw the two men look straight at him before fleeing miserably in his direction.

Anger rose in his heart. He had never met these two men. Why should he help them deal with the Horse-Men? Did they take him for a free thug? And the favor would not even be owed to him, but to that so-called Junior Sister Ye.

"Senior Sister Lin, over here! Hurry over here!" Before that was over, Junior Sister Ye began shouting again.

Xiao Lingling frowned deeply beside him, clearly displeased as well.

"Lingling, why are you making that face? With your abilities, afterward you merely need to comfort Senior Brother Lin a little more in bed. At a time like this, it is the perfect chance for us to buy goodwill. If we miss it, it will not be so easy to find another opportunity." Junior Sister Ye looked as though she had everything planned out. By now, she had wiped the blood from her face, revealing a fairly pretty, pale complexion. Her cheekbones were somewhat high, however, giving her features a sharp, mean look.

"I already said it, Senior Brother Lin and I are not that kind of..." Xiao Lingling was becoming flustered. Seeing Lin Xin's expression darken, her heart skipped a beat.

"Enough, enough. Why put on this act between us? What kind of person are you? How could I not know?" Junior Sister Ye said indifferently.

Xiao Lingling grew anxious and wanted to explain further, but Lin Xin had already lost patience. A faint killing intent flashed in his eyes.

"Xiao Lingling, make her shut up!"

With a low shout, he stepped out from behind the boulder, not even glancing at the two men rushing over. The stones beneath his feet exploded as he shot straight to the left to avoid them. He paid no attention whatsoever to the five Black-Haired Horse-Men.

"Lingling, it seems you are not much good after all... You cannot even keep a man under control." Junior Sister Ye stared blankly.

Slap!

Xiao Lingling raised her hand and fiercely slapped the woman across the face.

"Ye Shuyun! Shut your mouth!!"

Furious, she turned and ran toward Lin Xin, clutching her bundle and no longer paying any attention to the stunned Junior Sister Ye behind her.

"Senior Brother Lin, let's ignore them and go!"