Chapter 240: Whistling Clang of the Saber

Translator: Flying Lines

Edited by Lord Immortal

Numerous patterns of spiritual tattoos seemed to be buzzing in Lin’s mind like thousands of bees, making him a little agitated.

He then took a deep breath and analyzed his previous designs and deductions again and again, trying to find out the underlying reason.

He was wondering why he had encountered no problem while inscribing the previous forty-eight spiritual tattoos but was now stuck on this last one.

What exactly was wrong?

Was it because his present mastery of spiritual tattoos was not adequate to enable him to inscribe such intricate patterns of spiritual tattoos, or because he had missed some hidden details while inscribing them?

The problem was right in front of Lin, just like the last straw which would determine success or failure. If he could fix it, everything would go on successfully; however, if he could not, all that had been achieved would be wasted!

At this moment, Lin bit the tip of his tongue, trying to get rid of all the chaotic thoughts in his mind and began to comb through the whole refining process.

After an unknown time, something suddenly clicked in Lin’s mind and his expression slightly changed. He finally found out that the key point lay in the last spiritual tattoo.

In his original deduction, the last spiritual tattoo served the same function as the finishing touch which was added to bring a work of art to life. It played a transitional role and echoed the other spiritual tattoos.

If the previous spiritual tattoos were a pile of scattered pearls, then this last spiritual tattoo would act as a line or a thread, stringing the pile of pearls together.

But now, there was something wrong with the line!

Nevertheless, the whole of spiritual tattoos had already taken form. If changes were to be made on this line, all previous work would need to be overturned, whereas if no changes were to be made, this weapon-refining attempt would definitely end in failure!

What should be done?

Lin Xun was very disappointed. With countless designs made by himself while practicing, he had never expected to encounter a problem at the very last moment.

Had he been careless?

No!

Lin Xun had inferred and deduced all the scenarios he could face earlier on. But he had not predicted the discrepancy that could be triggered due to the combination of presumed designs.

And this discrepancy had now become a blasting fuse which determined whether it was a success or a failure!

‘What should I do?’

‘Should I give up like this?’

Thoughts were going haywire in Lin’s mind. His face was getting paler and paler, and his whole body was soaked with sweat. He was obviously in a worse condition now.

As the former patterns of spiritual tattoos had been fixed, it meant they could not be replaced anymore. Then should changes be made in the traces of spiritual tattoos to exert another function?

Suddenly, the scene when he first entered the Heaven-accessing Place and took the first test of Green-cloud Path flashed in his mind.

The test was called “Spirit Refining”, and one would pass the test as long as one figured out and get a good command of the “Flowing-light Spiritual Tattoo”.

At that time, Lin didn’t know the “Meditating Magic” he obtained was actually hidden in the Flowing-light Spiritual Tattoo until passing the test.

For that reason, he was still amazed and wondered who on earth had created the Flowing-light Spiritual Tattoo. It could be considered an unparalleled feat to integrate a martial art into a spiritual tattoo.

But Lin Xun gradually forgot about it later. Now when he was forced into a desperate situation, it suddenly occurred to him that the Flowing-light Spiritual Tattoo he figured out before was exactly a spiritual tattoo which could “move”.

Every trace of the Flowing-light Spiritual Tattoo resembled a fleeting light and contained unimaginably mysterious power.

It was too unique and extraordinary. It was well known that every spiritual tattoo had a fixed trace so as to be of specific use, but the Flowing-light Spiritual Tattoo broke the previous rigid way of inscribing spiritual tattoos. It had presented an incredible new genre!

It was because its trace could move!

Each trace moved and circulated like a fleeting light, radiating unspeakable mysteriousness!

In a trance, all the mysteries of the Flowing-light Spiritual Tattoo seemed to take shape in Lin’s mind, and a tinge of new understanding emerged in his heart.

Rustling~

The inscribing pen in Lin’s hand was once again moving, but the traces of spiritual tattoos deviated from the original design to something beyond recognition, leaving no space for conjectures as to what kind of pattern he intended to inscribe.

However, as soon as these seemingly messy spiritual tattoos appeared, they showed a corresponding rhythm which was full of fleeting abstruseness and arcane features.

It was not until later that the traces of spiritual tattoos grew more and more discernible, like a school of fish cruising over the inscribing pen, emitting a mesmerizing spiritual beauty.

Buzz!

At last, Lin Xun finished his last draw as he suddenly stopped his inscribing pen.

All of a sudden, a strange buzzing sound was heard, and there occurred a startling change among the countless traces of inscribed spiritual tattoos, which were interwoven with each other and had merged into the other forty-eight patterns of spiritual tattoos.

The blade of the saber was suddenly lit up at this moment.

Poof!

But Lin Xun coughed up a mouthful of blood right then, appearing surprisingly unable to hold on any longer. The crimson blood which fell on the pitch-dark saber looked quite dazzling.

…

Shue Jin was drinking alone outside Lin’s room.

Three days had passed without any noise from inside, but Shue Jin wasn’t worried.

As far as he knew, the time spent by spiritual tattooists in inscribing spiritual tattoos was not fixed. Some spiritual tattooists could complete one quickly, while others would spend ten to fifteen days.

What was more, it would likely take longer than a year when refining extremely complex and top-notch spiritual weapons.

Compared to that, it had only been three days; Shue Jin was patient enough to wait calmly.

But he did not know that Lin Xun was able to refine two or three spiritual weapons in a single day. This was the first time for Lin to spend three days in a row.

Eh?

Suddenly, Shue Jin narrowed his eyes and put down the wine jar in his hand.

The next moment, he had already disappeared from his original place.

Two people had arrived at some time outside the courtyard gate, one a white-haired old woman and another a refined middle-aged man with an exquisite beard.

They were exactly Granny Wind and Chu Feng.

But Chu Feng looked full of frustration and bitterness at this time, like a prisoner who pleaded guilty. He kept sighing from time to time, which was very unusual.

On the contrary, Granny Wind gazed at the courtyard in the distance with indifferent eyes and questioned, “Master Xun is here?”

Chu Feng nodded heavy-heartedly.

Granny Wind snorted coldly, “Take it easy. When you see Master Xun, you can say that you were threatened by me.”

A fit of bitterness struck Chu Feng. She was already forcing him though! Then why pretend to be forced?

Granny Wind, however, ignored him and went straight to the courtyard gate.

She couldn’t stomach the fact that Lin would dare set her up and cost her dearly while he was merely an apprentice of Master Xun. The more she thought about it these days, the more unwilling she was.

Also, she wanted to see Master Xun with her own eyes in case anything went wrong. If Lin was willfully playing around while Master Xun knew nothing about it, it would be too bad.

This was also what Granny Wind came for this time. Thus Chu Feng was grabbed to serve as a guide by her personally for this purpose.

Chu Feng was naturally reluctant. But how was he capable enough to contend with Granny Wind? After a series of severe threats and torture, Chu Feng finally succumbed.

Chu Feng had no other way out. If he did not yield, he had no doubt that Granny Wind would definitely cripple him

Fortunately, Chu Feng knew that a powerful practitioner, Shue Jin, was beside Lin, and as long as he showed up, the crazy old woman’s step could probably be stopped.

“Hmm?”

Granny Wind suddenly stopped, with a touch of appalling coldness emerging in her turbid eyes.

Almost at the same time, the burly figure of Shue Jin had already appeared in front of the courtyard gate. But when he saw Granny Wind, his rock-like rough face twitched imperceptibly. He then grinned, “I was wondering who it is. So it’s you, Mad Woman.”

“Shue Jin, how come it’s you?”

Granny Wind squinted her eyes, feeling quite surprised.

Seeing this, Chu Feng’s eyes immediately brightened. Now that the old woman knew Shue Jin, everything would be settled easily!

“Elder Shue Jin, this Granny Wind has come here to visit Master Xun.”

Chu Feng said hurriedly, deliberately stressing the two words “Master Xun” as a reminder to Shue Jin that he had not revealed Lin’s identity.

Shue Jin nodded, showing no sign of whether he understood or not.

In the meanwhile, Chu Feng spoke to Granny Wind, “Granny Wind, you might not know that Elder Shue Jin is a friend of Master Xun, and he has been standing guard here in order to keep Master Xun from being disturbed.”

Now Granny Wind was even more perplexed, “Shue Jin, how do you suddenly become Master Xun’s guard? Aren’t you all the time following…?”

Without letting her finish her words, Shue Jin interrupted Granny Wind, “No need to mention things of the past, Mad Woman. Master Xun is refining a spiritual weapon in seclusion and will not see guests recently. You’d better go back.”

Granny Wind suddenly snorted coldly, “What if I don’t go?”

Shue Jin’s cheek had an imperceptible twitch for another time, and he then smiled, “Mad Woman, I already know what you have come here for. Isn’t it only to repair an Ancient-rhythm Ocarina? Master Xun already knows about this. He will help you fix it as soon as possible.”

Granny Wind felt relieved that at least Shue Jin’s words had proved that Master Xun knew about this matter. That was enough.

“So you know Lin Xun, that bastard, too? Now that Master Xun isn’t available, you ask him to come and see me.”

Granny Wind directly demanded to see Lin Xun.

Shue Jin frowned, “Mad Woman, although Lin Xun has done some willful things, you don’t have to make it hard for a young lad in light of your identity, right?”

A flash of coldness suddenly shot out of Granny Wind’s eyes, “Then, you already knew it? So, are you now going to stand up for that kid?”

Shue Jin laughed unexpectedly, “That lad is not qualified enough to make me stand out for him. Just… Are you really going to embarrass a young lad?”

Granny Wind said indifferently, “I’ve not come this far just to embarrass him. But this kid’s too treacherous and abominable. I must teach him a lesson!”

With a look of total understanding, Shue Jin acknowledged with a nod, “Yes, this lad’s really devious, and we indeed need to teach him a lesson.”

Granny Wind was bewildered but she soon sneered, “Shue Jin, save your petty tricks. Hurry and bring that bastard out!”

Shue Jin shook his head, “I’m afraid I can’t. How about you come back a few days later?”

Definitely no fun could be made of this right now. Lin Xun was on the verge of completing his refinement. How could he be disturbed at this time?

To the side, Chu Feng also tried to persuade her, “Granny Wind, now that you already know the address, how about coming back here another day?”

The more things went on like this, the more Granny Wind grew suspicious. The presence of Shue Jin had already made her full of doubts, and now seeing that he showed no compromise even with her only for a lad, Granny Wind vaguely felt something was not right.

There was something strange about this.

Granny Wind slightly narrowed her eyes, with a forbidding light shooting wildly inside. A horrible air slowly enshrouded her, a clear sign that she was getting pissed-off.

Shue Jin’s heart thumped heavily. He secretly exclaimed over the unchanged unruliness of the Mad Woman. Now he had to be prepared to fight even if he was not willing.

Chu Feng was also feeling bitter secretly. It was him who had brought Granny Wind here. If something bad happened, how could he face Lin Xun?

It was right at this time that a strange whistling clang of saber suddenly sounded. It spread straight up into the sky, as if a dragon yelling or a tiger roaring!

Shue Jin, Granny Wind and Chu Feng were all shocked in an instant.