Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 497 - 491 Demonic Flame Eight

Chapter 497: Chapter 491 Demonic Flame Eight

"Waiting for someone very important to me," the man smiled faintly, his tone becoming gentle.

"Someone important? Is it your wife and children?" Zhuo Yueling continued to inquire.

"Yes," the man answered frankly.

"Then where are they?" Zhuo Yueling pressed.

"Why are you here?" the man asked calmly, avoiding the question.

"I’m just... just..." Zhuo Yueling hesitated, not knowing why she was so eager to check on this person.

"Just curious."

Lin Xin almost wanted to laugh, but the intense pain prevented him from doing so.

It was night, and the immense suffering swelling within his body piled up, becoming more and more severe as the hours passed.

This pain seemed to intensify with time.

He had been in Five Peak Valley for two months now. After sending in the message talisman, An Ying had not responded, so he waited.

He could feel that An Ying was in the valley, not having left or moved, just not wanting to see him.

"You are so pitiful."

Zhuo Yueling suddenly said.

Lin Xin wanted to laugh again, but instead, a sharp pain seized his chest, and he did well not to tremble.

"Standing here foolishly waiting for someone you may never get to see again, so infatuated."

Zhuo Yueling said softly.

"Is that so?" Lin Xin murmured, "I’m actually not pitiful. There are many who are more pitiful than me."

But these words were met with disbelief in Zhuo Yueling’s eyes, along with an expression that said there’s no need to explain, I understand.

Lin Xin smiled faintly, finally managing to force a smile.

"Young lady."

"What?"

"May I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead. If I know and am willing, I will answer you," Zhuo Yueling responded with a twirl of her eyes and a smile.

Lin Xin turned his gaze toward the deepest part of Five Peak Valley. In the dark night, nothing could be seen, just a swath of black mist.

"Tell me, if a woman doesn’t want to see you but won’t leave, what exactly is she thinking?"

Zhuo Yueling paused slightly, then blurted out instinctively.

"Is that even a question? If she didn’t like you, why would she stay in the same place? She must be waiting for you, just for a chance, a chance for you to take the initiative."

After speaking, she realized that the man in front of her might be talking about himself.

Lin Xin’s gaze first showed surprise, then he seemed to freeze.

He stood still, looking lost, as if the words had suddenly awakened him.

"Yes... If she didn’t like me, why would she still remain here?"

He repeated this many times until Zhuo Yueling began to feel a bit frightened, and only then did he stop abruptly.

"What if she still refuses?" Lin Xin asked again.

Zhuo Yueling’s eyes rolled playfully, and she giggled,

"Then she’s clearly saying one thing and feeling another. At times like these, you men need to demonstrate your greatest advantage! Go for it!"

She punched the air with her little fist.

"That makes sense! Makes total sense!" Lin Xin nodded repeatedly, as if he had an epiphany, "Young lady, step aside a little."

"What are you going to do?" Zhuo Yueling asked, slightly startled, sensing something amiss, yet she stepped back as told.

No sooner had she found her footing than she saw Lin Xin sway, revealing four blades strapped to his back – gold, silver, white, red – each glowing with a different hue.

Whoosh...

The wild wind and air currents blew around him, flattening all the grass in the vicinity.

The trees rustled and struggled to stand straight as the air suddenly seemed to dry out.

"Heaven and earth as scripture, resonance in the empty city!"

Lin Xin gestured toward the sky with a gentle summoning motion.

Humm...!

Large patches of red clouds slowly appeared overhead.

Innumerable clouds converged into a massive red vortex, pulled together by a strange and terrifying force.

Zhuo Yueling’s eyes widened, feeling like she was in a dream.

She stared hard in that man’s direction, only to be distracted by changes occurring above Five Peak Valley.

Above the entire valley, without knowing when, a gigantic circular formation had emerged.

Countless twisting runes and lines overlapped densely, pressing down upon the sky above Five Peak Valley, its red glow illuminating the trees below.

The entire Five Peak Valley, spanning dozens of miles, was covered!?

Zhuo Yueling swallowed hard, as if in a dream.

"Ying’er, after all these years, can you still not forgive me?" Lin Xin’s voice traveled far into Five Peak Valley.

A moment of silence.

"Forgive? I have long had nothing to do with you, what is there to forgive?" A cold female voice emanated from the valley floor.

Lin Xin smiled faintly, with vague red whimsical patterns surfacing around his eyes.

"This time, I’ve come to take you back."

"What? The mighty Red Flower Sword Devil of Central Prefecture, are you planning to abduct me by force?" Another old woman’s voice, filled with anger, rang out.

"I haven’t even sought out the Plum Blossom Sect for trouble yet, and you’re already rushing towards your death..."

A trace of ferocity flickered in Lin Xin’s eyes.

"Are you thinking of annihilating my sect?"

"She is my Honored Master! You dare!?" An Ying shouted fiercely.

Zhuo Yueling finally came back to her senses from the shock, and upon hearing the conversation, she immediately felt a sense of doom; the situation was not as favorable as she had thought, and there were hidden complications.

"What wouldn’t I dare?" Lin Xin suddenly burst into laughter. "The Plum Blossom Sect is nothing to me; If I want you dead, you will die; if I want you alive, you will live."

"This old body doesn’t represent the sect; today I will personally experience your superior skills!" the old woman’s voice roared furiously.

"Teacher, please don’t!"

In an instant, a white plum blossom surged up into the sky within the Five Peak Valley, colliding fiercely with the huge formation overhead.

The formation remained unharmed, while the plum blossom shattered like ice crystals.

As the plum blossom broke apart, the figures of two women became visible.

Both women were dressed in plain white, with the one on the right holding a white longsword, her body releasing numerous threads of sword qi, glaring furiously at Lin Xin, her body seemingly stained with spots of blood.

The other woman was slender, her face bright and beautiful, with a hint of murderous intent between her eyebrows. It was the long-unseen An Ying.

"Big Brother! If you dare to harm a single hair on my teacher, I will die right before your eyes today!!!" Her voice was piercing, as if a cuckoo sang with blood.

Lin Xin laughed heartily, hands behind his back.

"I know you’re just tough on the outside but soft at heart; you’ve waited for me for so many years, and today you can finally fulfill your longing, how could you bear to die before me?"

He glanced at the woman next to An Ying, who looked young, but had an old voice; she must be a sword cultivator with the technique to preserve youth.

"I promise you this—I won’t touch your master. Just come back with me obediently. Then I will definitely not trouble the Plum Blossom Sect."

The atmosphere tensed for a moment.

After a long while.

An Ying’s expression was first cold, then she looked directly into Lin Xin’s eyes, only to see joy, pleasure, and pure sincerity.

Her expression gradually softened, her eyes revealing a trace of poignancy as she stared at Lin Xin.

"Big Brother... can we... go back to how things were before?"

"Why not?" Lin Xin spoke calmly. "What is there now that can stop us from being together?"

He extended his palm, making a light grasping motion.

"Now, the entirety of Central Prefecture is in my hands, far beyond the reach of the greater central lands; there is no one left who can stop me from uniting the Southern Region."

An Ying slightly shook her head.

"From the day Xiao Lingling married you, I swore I would never marry."

"So what?" Lin Xin interrupted her, unconcerned. "Promises are made to be broken."

"Then what about pledges?" An Ying suddenly said. "What about the pledge you made to me? Between me and Xiao Lingling, who is more important?!"

Lin Xin stiffened slightly, and after a moment of silence, he slowly spoke.

"Lingling and you... are both the same to me..."

"Is that your answer?" An Ying shook her head, laughing in reverse. "Actually, over the years, I’ve seen through you."

"What you care about has always been yourself. Whether it’s me or Xiao Lingling, we come after that. In the past, you used her death to achieve your Taoist intent. Now you come for me, just for the sake of your own fulfillment."

Lin Xin remained silent; indeed, in his heart, neither Xiao Lingling nor An Ying had been as important as he had been to them.

Seeing his silence, An Ying also began to laugh sadly.

"Also, do you know why I still stay here and haven’t left?"

"...Why?"

An Ying gently pulled open the clothing at her chest to reveal a round fan inside, emblazoned with countless white light streams.

"Back then, I suffered too many hidden injuries, so much so that as my cultivation advanced, my condition worsened; I was unable to sustain even the spiritual medicine to heal my body. If not for my master’s compassion, I might not be here to see you today.

In desperation, I bound my soul and spirit to the sect’s magic artifact, the Prime Fan, linking myself to this valley. Though I survived, from then on, I could never leave this place..."

"I have a way with the Soul-escape Technique," Lin Xin suddenly declared, his expression tender. "Come with me, Junior Sister; let us start all over again and forget everything from before."

An Ying was briefly shaken, not having expected that Lin Xin would have a way to solve what she saw as an insurmountable problem.

Her expression was stupefied, seemingly unable to believe everything she was hearing.

"Big Brother... do you really have...?"

Lin Xin gestured, and the grand formation of Five Peak Valley immediately dissipated, no longer acting as a barrier, and with another hand movement, a strand of star force suddenly descended from the sky, transforming into a little silver bird in his palm.

The bird fluttered a few times, chirping crisply, and then he tossed it gently, sending it flying toward the valley.

The bird moved with astonishing speed, reaching above the valley in an instant.

Bang!

The star force bird suddenly exploded, turning into numerous points of light falling downward.

Countless white spots of light rose from the valley, as the trapped soul power slowly dissipated, converging from all directions towards An Ying in midair.

The Soul-escape Technique, which had seemed so daunting, was silently resolved. The spirit bird transformed from star force took An Ying’s place in linking with Five Peak Valley below.

"Now, come with me," Lin Xin looked towards An Ying again.

"I..." An Ying suddenly found that she couldn’t think of any reason to refuse.

With a gentle clasp of his hand,

An Ying slowly vanished from her spot and reappeared directly in front of him, mere meters apart.