Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 104 - 103: The Passage of Time - Part 1

Chapter 104: Chapter 103: The Passage of Time - Part 1

Lin Xin raised the tip of his sword levelly.

"Yin Mantuo."

A red light appeared on the blade.

Boom!

Fountains surged up from the ground both in front and behind him simultaneously.

The fountains, grey-brown in color, shot rapidly from the ground, aiming for Moon Blade and Bai Si.

With two loud thuds, Moon Blade and Bai Si were both hit by the fountains, their force dissipated, bouncing them back.

Only then did they clearly see that those were not fountains at all, but actually two thick roots as thick as arms!

"Man-Eating Flower!?"

The woman in green exclaimed, this being a ferocious plant from the Outer Regions, capable of rivaling a strong existence of the Eighth Layer of Inner Qi.

She quickly retreated backward.

Hiss!

At the same time, a root shot up from underneath her feet, stabbing toward her face like a venomous snake.

At the same time, a group of people in black and the woman from Silver Cave were also attacked by the roots of the Man-Eating Flower.

In the bamboo forest, a large number of grey-brown roots burst out of the ground, chasing everyone except Lin Xin and An Ying like a swarm of venomous snakes.

A pale white light shone around Lin Xin. He walked towards An Ying with his sword.

"Use fire!" the woman from Silver Cave hissed coldly, producing a red talisman in her hand and smashing it downwards.

Bang!

A great blaze exploded instantly, igniting two of the roots and causing them to burn fiercely.

Others followed suit, and soon, there were bursts of firelight everywhere. Lin Xin slightly tapped the ground and leaped forward like an arrow released from a bow, rushing towards the woman from Silver Cave.

As he passed each person in black, working together with the roots, he stabbed with his sword, countering the attacks without dodging or flinching.

Hiss! Hiss, hiss, hiss....

One by one, the people in black fell. Blood splattered.

"You’re seeking death!!" The woman from Silver Cave roared in rage, suddenly producing a ball of black Spiritual Light in her hand, which she forcefully pressed towards Lin Xin.

"Innate Fifth Layer." Lin Xin’s expression remained unchanged, the Red Flower Sword released a scorching airstream, encircling the blade, as he directly slashed at her.

Phew!

The Red Flower Sword collided fiercely with the black Spiritual Light, a ring of black light sharply exploded outward.

Lin Xin staggered back several steps, his expression unaltered, then surged forward again with another slash. The light on his shield barely twisted before returning to normal.

A grey light emerged in front of the woman from Silver Cave, severely distorting and shaking before extinguishing with a puff. The residual power of the black halo hit her directly again.

Her face turned red, and she vomited a mouthful of fresh blood.

Seeing Lin Xin rush towards her again with only a slight ripple in his light shield, her heart shook in terror. In a rush, she raised both hands in front of her.

"Arc Light!"

At this time, the woman in green had appeared behind Lin Xin, with her Moon Blade slashing towards Lin Xin’s waist.

Moon Blade emanated wisps of white smoke, as if it were being scorched.

Bang! The shield light and Moon Blade locked tightly against each other.

Both were shocked; this Spiritual Light Shield’s defense was too terrifying. Both of them, Ninth Layer Great Perfection cultivators, attacking at the same time, couldn’t entirely break it.

An Ying watched the intense battle from afar, her expression hollow and numb.

Suddenly, she raised her sword, lightly resting it by her ear, and closed her eyes.

Ding....

She flicked the sword with her finger, causing a slight vibration.

The sound of the sword resonated throughout the bamboo forest.

"Snow Shadow..." she sighed softly.

Her longsword slowly began to emanate faint deep blue smoke, mysterious and eerie runes faintly appearing on the blade.

After one last glance at Lin Xin, she turned abruptly and walked towards the depths of the bamboo forest. The blocking formation that should have stopped her merely shook violently for a moment before automatically tearing open a crack.

"Zhao Si’er’s Heavenly Blue Charm! Snow Shadow Sword!?" The woman from Silver Cave’s complexion changed, and she quickly turned and chased after An Ying.

Whish!

Suddenly, a wave of intense heat passed in front of her, smashing heavily to the ground.

She turned her head to see Lin Xin holding his sword, blocking the Moon Blade, and calmly watching her.

"Just an Innate Fifth Layer! Even if you have many tricks, how much Inner Qi can you afford to waste?"

"Waste?" Lin Xin suddenly smiled. "Why would I need to waste?"

The woman from Silver Cave suddenly felt a blur in her vision, which began to dim slightly.

"Poison?!" she cried out in shock.

Looking at the woman in green, she too was holding her nose and mouth, her hands on the Moon Blade seemingly growing weaker.

"No wonder his strength and realm seemed mismatched! It’s not that his strength is too formidable, but we were unknowingly poisoned! To use poison, even as a disciple of an Orthodox Sect!?" The woman from Silver Cave flicked a white silk banner, wrapping herself entirely and flying swiftly towards the distance.

The woman in green had also never expected Lin Xin to use poison, so covertly at that, and in a moment of oversight, found herself feeling weak and powerless, her heart shocked. She hurriedly put away her Moon Blade, pushed off the ground, and like a spinning top, shot away into the distance.

Watching the two flee, Lin Xin slowly sheathed his Red Flower Sword and released his left hand, which had been gripping the scabbard tightly.

The Fire Formation engraved on the scabbard also slowly dimmed; the silently drifting West Bell Fire poison in the air gradually faded away.

"Everyone pays attention to the blade, but they never notice the scabbard that seems just a decoration." He chuckled lightly and lifted his sword, chasing after An Ying.

Without anyone to maintain it, the formation was easily breached by him.

An Ying too was afflicted by the West Bell Fire poison. Although not lethal, the poison could weaken one substantially, making it hard to summon much Inner Qi.

A few hundred meters ahead, the stumbling figure of An Ying gradually came into view.

"Ying’er! Come back with me." Lin Xin stopped a few meters behind her.

But An Ying acted as if she heard nothing, continuing to stagger forward.

Lin Xin moved forward to grab her shoulder.

Puff.

With a soft noise, An Ying’s figure suddenly dispersed like a burst soap bubble.

"An... an illusion?!"

Lin Xin was instantly dumbstruck.

He looked around, the bamboo forest swayed with the wind, making a soft rustling sound.

"Ying’er!!"

He couldn’t help but shout loudly.

Inner Qi vibrated, and bamboo leaves fell all around, drifting down.

Lin Xin stood amid the rain of bamboo leaves, but he could no longer hear any sign or trace of An Ying.

*****************

Outside the bamboo forest.

An Ying looked blankly toward Lin Family Manor in the distance.

Gently, she took out a jade box containing a small White Jade Pill, held it in her palm, and just stared blankly at it.

Suddenly, the corners of her mouth slowly lifted in a semblance of both a smile and a tear.

Gently, she tossed the jade box upwards.

Hissss!

Sword light flickered. The jade box paused in mid-air for a moment, then exploded instantly, turning into countless fragments, the pill inside bursting with the box into shards. A trace of blood also spilled from the corners of her mouth again.

After one last glance at Lin Family Manor, she abruptly turned and walked back the way she came, disappearing without a trace moments later.

********************

The dramatic changes during Lin Xin’s grand wedding spread throughout the entire Song State within just a short ten days, almost everyone had heard about how the master of Lin Family Manor, on his wedding day, was accosted by a woman from an Outer Sect, who even abandoned his bride-to-be and chased out of the manor, nearly falling into an ambush at Silver Cave.

The woman’s name also slowly began to spread.

Snow Shadow Sword An Ying.

A new-generation prodigy from the Plum Blossom Sect, she was perhaps not the strongest in talent, but she was one of the young disciples on whom the elders placed the greatest hope. Unexpectedly, she became entangled in a romantic complication with the talented disciple of the Pine Forest Sword Sect.

The light rain fell in a fine drizzle,

the caravan from Peacock City, headed to the Music Manor, stopped beside a tea shop, where the Lin Family disciples tasked with transporting the caravan’s goods were resting and drinking hot tea.

Lin Xinyuan quietly watched outside as the small rain, driven sideways by the wind, fell on the black and red caravan carriages, then gathered into groups of droplets on the smooth lacquered surface, sliding down. Finally, they splashed onto the somewhat damp grass on the ground, where only the faint rustling of the grass leaves remained visible.

She was one of the leaders of this caravan, and the other leader was the family’s expert, Huang Puyang, one of the top martial artists recently recruited by the Lin Family from Jianghu.

Huang Puyang was sitting opposite her. This somewhat dull middle-aged man, even clad in a brocade robe, still looked like an old farmer, showing no hint of his ability to crush millstones with his powerful hands.

"It has been more than two months since the villa master’s big wedding, has the lady improved?" Huang Puyang asked in a low voice.

Lin Xinyuan pulled her gaze back and shook her head slightly.

"Ever since that day, sister Xiao has been melancholy and dispirited, in a poor mood. I accompanied her to Xiaoxiang Monastery for a spring outing not long ago, but it always felt off throughout the journey."

"What about the villa master?" Huang Puyang sighed and asked, "Does he have any solutions?"

"Big brother has tried to cheer sister up. Every day, besides practicing martial arts and swordsmanship, he is with her. However, it seems there have been no improvements...", Lin Xinyuan whispered, her gaze unfocused, as if she was watching the men sitting and chatting over tea in the caravan, though Huang Puyang knew she was just lost in thought.

"Every day, I see the villa master standing alone at the place where the bamboo forest battle took place. I don’t know what he’s thinking about, and perhaps that’s the root cause of the lady’s melancholy," Huang Puyang sighed.

Lin Xinyuan also sighs.

"Sister has always been weak and once suffered a hidden injury, this continuation is sure to aggravate her condition."

"Then you should advise the villa master more. It is said that music, chess, calligraphy, and painting can cultivate one’s sentiments and restore one’s spirits and energy. Perhaps he could start from this aspect."

Lin Xinyuan’s eyes lit up, and she had an idea.

*****************

Sure enough, Lin Xinyuan had someone invite a well-known musician from within the Song State, and had Xiao Lingling learn the zither together with him. The results indeed showed improvement, as Xiao Lingling no longer remained as melancholic as before, found solace, and was no longer gloomy every day. She even began learning other crafts and skills, constantly changing methods to cater to Lin Xin, cooking for him personally, doing everything she could think of, and even sewing clothes by hand. She also made pastries he liked by herself.

Her health was poor, and sometimes, due to overexertion, she would suddenly cough up blood. Yet she never told Lin Xin, it was Lin Xinyuan who secretly informed him.

Lin Xin saw everything, and the original thought of seeking An Ying slowly faded under Xiao Lingling’s devoted efforts, and he gradually restrained his feelings. He knew that Xiao Lingling was aware of his thoughts, knew that he wanted to find An Ying, and initially, it might have been possible for the two women to coexist peacefully, but he had not expected An Ying to be so resolute.

The suppression site in the yellow clothing area was also built, located within a bamboo forest in a manor. On the day it was completed, Lin Xin stood with Xiao Lingling at the entrance of the manor, personally writing the four characters for "Spirit Heart Villa".

Spirit Heart, taken from the characters ’Ling’ and ’Xin’.

From that day onwards, Xiao Lingling’s health gradually improved. As time passed, Lin Xin could only keep the thought of finding An Ying in his heart, but he paid special attention to news from the Plum Blossom Sect. He frequently exchanged intelligence with people within the sect like Kong Yuhui, seeking news about Xiao Lingling.

Beyond this, he focused on collecting Demon Talisman Seeds, occasionally visiting Yin Mountain Lake to hunt hidden creatures and half-bodied creatures, absorbing their attributes.

Regrettably, besides the three Demon Talisman Seeds that Kong Yuhui and the yellow-clothed ones found for him, there was little trace of others, most likely hoarded by others reluctant to bring them to market.

Together with the original unused two Demon Talisman Seeds, all used up, Lin Xin only gained five more attributes, which he added entirely to damage, enhancing his strength and speed, and thus his swordsmanship gained an even stronger destructive power. (To be continued. If you like this novel, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on QiDian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)