Without a word throughout the night, the two took turns standing guard, resting well for the evening, and despite not being able to distinguish day from night inside the cave, their bodies’ natural habits still allowed them to roughly feel when it was time to sleep and rest.
Over the next several days, the two continued to advance, and Lin Xin had successive encounters with several black-haired horsemen, each becoming a trophy beneath his sword. These black-haired horsemen had great strength and average speed, with thick skin, but they had no other advantages, and they only knew a few repetitive black sickle techniques. Once Lin Xin figured them out, they became even easier to deal with.
Day after day, he dealt with an increasing number of black-haired horsemen. The number of horsemen’s skull fragments he collected also grew steadily.
Seeing him dispatch the black-haired horsemen efficiently and with great strength, Xiao Lingling grew increasingly reliant on Lin Xin and gradually her mood brightened.
*************
"Tss."
Lin Xin slowly drew out the blade stuck in the horseman’s neck, black blood spurted out, and the horseman, trying to flee with his back toward him, collapsed to the ground, hands covering his throat, then burst into black liquid and evaporated into black smoke, leaving behind only a small red crescent-shaped bone fragment.
"The twenty-first piece," Lin Xin picked up the fragment and put it in his bosom.
"Truly worthy of Big Brother Lin," Xiao Lingling clapped and walked out from behind him with a smile. "You could complete the trial by now if you went out."
"Complete the trial? My goal isn’t just to complete the trial," Lin Xin smiled and flicked the black blood off his sword.
"True, with Big Brother Lin’s strength, just being a bit cautious would surely net you a good ranking," Xiao Lingling understood, now full of confidence in Lin Xin, knowing very well with her perception ability that Lin Xin’s true strength was at the Fourth Layer of the Innate.
Thus, on their way, the ferocious black-haired horsemen became less terrifying after being repeatedly taken down by Lin Xin.
Lin Xin smiled slightly but said nothing more.
He didn’t think he could exit the trial that easily. Song Jing’s spies seemed to have disappeared these past days, even Xiao Lingling could not sense them, but he didn’t believe that his opponent had completely let go of him just yet.
The path seemed to come to an end, broadening ahead as it stretched down into the depths, beyond measure.
The two got ready and continued moving forward, and soon they faintly heard the sounds of fighting ahead.
Hastening their pace, they quickly rounded the cave’s corner and saw a group of Sword Sect disciples encircling and attacking a tall silver-haired horseman.
Two others were directing from the side, over a dozen disciples appeared to form a formation, encircling the horseman in the middle like a grinding mill, continuously grinding away.
Longswords stabbed into the horseman one after another, eliciting a grating, teeth-clenching sound. It didn’t seem very effective.
But, each of the horseman’s sickle attacks was taken on by at least four or five disciples who worked together to bear the brunt. Both sides were caught in a stalemate.
Lin Xin and his companion came into view, catching the eye of one of those commanding.
"Fellow sect brothers and sisters over there, since you’ve shown yourselves, why not join us so we can watch each other’s back in this cave?"
The speaker smiled, gently waving a folding fan in his hand, dressed like a young master in white, with no sign of a longsword on his back or waist.
"Huang Shang... It’s Master Huang Shang!" Xiao Lingling’s expression changed as if she recognized the person’s identity.
"Huang Shang?"
Lin Xin asked quietly.
"One of Tingjian Valley’s three strongest at the Great Perfection of the Innate stage..." Xiao Lingling whispered back.
"Great Perfection of the Innate stage?" Lin Xin inhaled sharply; the Ninth Layer of Great Perfection wasn’t something he could contend with at the moment. Even with numerous trump cards and a magic artifact in hand, a direct confrontation would still be extremely dangerous. He had trump cards, and who’s to say the opponent didn’t?
Joining them hastily would likely prevent him from using many of his abilities, especially the Luminous Talisman Sword. It absolutely could not be used in front of others, otherwise, if the Shu Family were to find out and match it to the traces left behind at the time of Shu Luoyi’s death, he would indeed be in trouble.
After thinking it over, he cupped his fist and said loudly.
"Thank you for the invitation, Master Huang, but I’m used to traveling alone, I’m very sorry."
Whether facing Huang Shang, Kong Yuhui, or Cheng Ruofei and others, it was preferable to dealing with an inscrutable Huang Shang.
Here, they were gradually approaching the convergence of other paths, and soon they were likely to meet many more people.
Huang Shang, easygoing as he was, cupped his hands in return, not taking offense. His companions seemed to have some murmurs of discontent with Lin Xin’s disregard, but at a hand gesture from Huang Shang, they all quieted down.
After inquiring with Xiao Lingling, who surprisingly also didn’t wish to accept Huang Shang’s invitation, they agreed to keep going. The two of them hugged the cave wall on the right and passed through.
Two people on the side watched them closely, wary and clearly distrusting of Lin Xin and his companion.
Passing quickly through Huang Shang’s area, the two sped up and moved forward.
Suddenly, the space opened up, and they entered a huge cavern that resembled an opera house.
In the cavern, there was a wide river flowing from right to left, its swift current unceasing. On either side of the river were vast riverbanks and pebble beaches, where Sword Sect disciples were embroiled in fierce combat with black-haired horsemen.
Shouts, screams, the strange roars of the horsemen, and the clash of weapons mixed together, accompanied by the rushing sound of the river.
Blood from both humans and horsemen was scattered everywhere, but mostly it was the horsemen’s black blood.
Many disciples had figured out the horsemen’s combat patterns, adeptly evading and landing thrusts with ease, wearing down the horsemen with little trouble.
There was no dome above the cavern – instead, a vast skylight poured brilliant white light directly onto the churning river below.
No sooner had Lin Xin and his companion entered the great cavern than two black-haired horsemen on their right were seen chasing a young female disciple with a bun toward them.
The woman, upon seeing Lin Xin and his companion, rushed at them, her face covered in blood.
"Senior brother, senior sister, please lend a hand!"
Her voice carried a hint of fear and exhaustion.
"Is that Junior Sister Ye!?" Xiao Lingling seemed to recognize the woman, and she instantly grew anxious as she looked towards Lin Xin. "Senior brother... this..."
Since the woman was leading two horse-headed monsters towards them, Lin Xin had no choice but to draw his sword. The Flameless Swordsmanship was unleashed with a flick of the wrist, and several hot flows of Inner Qi struck at the two monsters.
Thump, thump.
After several muffled sounds, the two monsters neighed in pain, and their chase was abruptly halted.
Lin Xin lunged forward, nimbly avoiding the sickle sweep of one of the monsters. He executed an Upward Thrust Sword, precisely stabbing into the weakest part of the monster’s chin, then fiercely penetrating its brain.
Hiss.
Yanking out his sword, Lin Xin pounced on the other monster. In just a few moves, he slashed it down as well.
Without using a finishing move, he had spent only three bursts of Inner Qi to wield his sword, using less than one-tenth of it.
"An innate expert!" The rescued woman had a discerning eye, and exclaimed in shock. Once Xiao Lingling helped her up, she finally relaxed completely.
"Lingling, how did you cuddle up to an innate expert?" She looked at Xiao Lingling with a mix of envy and jealousy.
"It’s not what you think..." Xiao Lingling, for some reason, felt devoid of her usual poise, her cheeks flushing with a touch of red, less coquettish but more innocent.
"Ah, Lingling, don’t be so distant with me, we’re good sisters after all," Junior Sister Ye said warmly as she cozied up to her.
Xiao Lingling merely brushed her off. She had many ’good sisters’ within the Sect, and if this woman’s status weren’t somewhat special...
At that moment, Lin Xin sheathed his sword and stood on a large rock to survey the entire cave.
There were at least thirty disciples battling with horse-headed monsters within the cave, all black-haired, and there were over thirty of them as well.
Some disciples had already fallen in battle.
However, these Sect disciples had higher cultivation levels than those from the Poison Gang they had encountered earlier, most of them at the Second Layer or above. They also had much richer combat experience. After figuring out the pattern, they could hold their own against the monsters in one-on-one fights.
Despite that, aside from the innate experts, most disciples were at a disadvantage.
Observing for a moment, Lin Xin saw that there were a few innate-level masters present, too. While they weren’t as quick as him in eliminating the black-haired monsters, they were gradually influencing the overall situation, taking down one monster after another and tipping the scales in favor of the humans. Victory was only a matter of time.
"There’s no need to linger here. Grab as many skulls as conveniently possible and find Kong Yuhui and Cheng Ruofei to regroup," he thought.
Although he didn’t trust Kong Yuhui completely, he was much better than the average Sect disciple, having shared life-and-death experiences and mutual secrets.
Jumping off the rock, Lin Xin saw another group—five black-haired horse-headed monsters—chasing two men towards them.
He could handle two monsters by himself, but five were a bit too much for him. Lin Xin ducked behind a rock to avoid them.
"Senior Sister Ye, save us!" One of the men shouted loudly.
"It’s Senior Brother Ma, Xiao Fei, head towards that big rock! Lin Xin is there, he’s an innate expert!" The high-pitched voice of the previously rescued Junior Sister Ye suddenly rang out.
"Thank you, Junior Sister Ye!" The man said gratefully.
Lin Xin immediately spotted the two men looking in his direction and scrambling towards him in disarray.
He felt annoyed. The two were strangers to him; why should he help them fend off the monsters? Was he supposed to be a free fighter? Besides, any gratitude would go to that Junior Sister Ye, not him.
"Lin, over here, come this way," Junior Sister Ye began shouting again.
Xiao Lingling’s brows were also furrowed, clearly dissatisfied.
"Lingling, why the frown? With your skills, all you need to do is provide some extra comfort for Senior Brother Lin in bed later. Times like these are perfect for winning favor, you know. If we miss it, there won’t be another opportunity so easily," Junior Sister Ye stated confidently, having wiped off the blood on her face to reveal a rather pretty and pale complexion, although her high cheekbones gave her a somewhat sharp and aggressive look.
"I’ve told you, Senior Brother Lin isn’t that kind of person..." Xiao Lingling grew increasingly frustrated. Noticing Lin Xin’s darkening expression, her heart skipped a beat.
"Enough, enough. You think I don’t know you well enough to fall for that act?" Junior Sister Ye was dismissive.
Xiao Lingling became more panicked, wanting to explain, but Lin Xin was already losing his patience, a glint of murderous intent flickering in the depths of his eyes.
"Xiao Lingling, make her shut up!"
With a low shout, he stepped out from behind the rock, not even glancing at the two approaching men, and exploded off his feet to dodge to the left, ignoring the five black-haired horse-headed monsters altogether.
"Lingling, you don’t seem very competent... You can’t even control your man," Junior Sister Ye was somewhat taken aback.
Smack!
Xiao Lingling’s hand flew up in a slap, fiercely striking the woman’s face.
"Ye Shuyun! Shut your mouth!!"
Angry, she turned and ran towards Lin Xin, grabbing her belongings and no longer paying any mind to the stunned Junior Sister Ye behind her.
"Senior Brother Lin, let’s not bother with them. Let’s just go on our own!"