Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 526: I love you

Chapter 526: I love you

After assessing the current state of his body, Lin Xin turned his gaze toward the congregation of Elders hovering above Mount Wuding.

"Congratulations to the new Sect Master on the successful trial," Bai Suozi said in a sharp voice. However, the tone lacked any real joy, consisting more of a calm tinged with a hint of melancholy.

"Congratulations to the Sect Master on your ascension," Yin Pengzi said, looking at Lin Xin with a complex expression, filled with both gratitude and helplessness.

Quan Sheying and Duan Chizi were still fiercely clashing, with Quan Sheying clearly holding the upper hand, pressuring Duan Chizi to within a hundred meters’ range.

Their battle was intense, with large swathes of spatial rifts spreading continuously. Seeing that a result had been reached, they gradually calmed down and ceased their fighting.

Duan Chizi looked desolate, with red-rimmed eyes and heaving chest, staring fixedly in the direction where Huang Yuan, the True Monarch, had fallen, clearly unable to accept such tragic news.

The rest of the Elders bowed their hands towards Lin Xin. They had all heard Huang Yuan’s final roar, and perhaps due to the incident with the Blood Sakura, they all had some resentment towards him.

But at this moment, none could bring themselves to speak any harsh words, and they remained silent.

"Congratulations," Guan Mingyue flew closer, being among the few who were most familiar with Lin Xin. Now, it was most fitting for him to take on the role of liaison.

"From today on, you are the new Sect Master of the Yuan Dou Demon Sect."

Lin Xin surveyed the assembly, pausing briefly on each Elder.

It was a vast and fearsome power, and only a part of the Yuan Dou Demon Sect’s hidden forces. Many powerful ancient formations laid hidden on Mount Wuding, within the Second City, and within many other strongholds.

Such a huge and ancient sect was finally within his grasp...

He understood that these Elders didn’t know what attitude to take towards him.

After all, he was just a youngster who had cultivated for less than a hundred years, unlike these old monsters who had lived for over a thousand years; his age was completely insignificant in comparison.

To fully control this massive sect, not even Huang Yuan had managed it, let alone him now.

However, he believed that time would slowly change everything. Gaining control of the Yuan Dou Demon Sect was just the first step of his goals.

But before that, he had to deal with the matter of that old turtle from Tianyun Dao...

His Demon Sword alter ego stationed at Nanfu had been activated.

"Is there a direct teleportation formation to return to Nanfu?" he asked outright.

"The closest to Nanfu is Rotating Wheel City; you can use the teleportation formation there to reach the Qingluo Secret Sect. They are our chess piece planted in Nanfu," said the Grand Steward, responsible for internal sect affairs, as he stepped forward and spoke respectfully.

"Even though an accident occurred on the way, foiling the enemy’s plans, since they have reached out to harm me, they should be prepared for the possible consequences that follow," Lin Xin said indifferently.

"My two Senior Sisters, I must trouble you to host a memorial service for our teacher. Everything else remains unchanged for now. I will personally make a trip back, and we will make further arrangements upon my return."

With the Sect Leader’s ring on his finger, he controlled the grand formation of Mount Wuding. His spirit delved into the ring, and with a slight adjustment of a talisman seal, the entire Mount Wuding trembled and changed its direction, heading towards Nanfu.

Bai Suozi had long held dissatisfaction with Huang Yuan, and now coming to her senses, she nodded in agreement.

With her leading, the rest of the Elders dispersed one by one.

For the newly appointed Sect Master Lin Xin, everyone still needed some time to adjust.

The Heavenly Cloud Daoist was playing for this very time gap; even if Lin Xin rushed to their aid, it would be too late.

Moreover, having just taken over as Sect Master, his initial priority should be to consolidate the power of the sect. Leaving at this critical moment meant that it would take much more effort and time to consolidate quickly afterward.

Lin Xin was aware of this, but he didn’t care.

With the gifts from Huang Yuan, his power had now soared to a new level. Without the amplification of the Golden Light Formation, he was only slightly weaker than Huang Yuan’s previous strength. Should he utilize the Golden Light Formation, he would be, at this moment, the unrivaled power of the Yuan Dou Demon Sect, the closest to the supreme powerhouse of the Ninth Layer!

And that was not even considering the might of the Jade Immortal Bow.

After quickly arranging for the sect to continue as usual, Lin Xin appointed Bai Suozi and Yin Pengzi, the elders, to take charge of everything, with both acting as Deputy Sect Masters. The Grand Steward was there to assist from the side, managing all affairs of the sect.

In this way, the entire sect was temporarily unified through the connections of the two elders, avoiding chaos.

Only after issuing orders to collect Demon Talisman Seeds and search for the Primordial Ancient Demon Race did he return to Rotating Wheel City and directly proceeded to the southern residence through the Teleportation Formation.

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

Hong Gui’s complexion was ashen, with a hint of fear flickering at the bottom of his eyes as he floated midair.

Beside him was the silver Void Ship that had just exploded—its hull burning furiously, still emitting large amounts of black smoke without falling.

The fourth Qing Girl was taken away by a beam of golden light in a flash before he could even react. As he was about to search for her, suddenly a red streak slashed over the Void Ship, splitting it in half, and then it exploded.

"What’s going on!?"

He focused intently on his surroundings, as did the Mingxin True Monarch below within the formation, who appeared equally stunned, evidently unaware of this sudden turn of events.

"It seems to be that demon’s contingency..." he said nervously, clutching a piece of Jade Talisman in hand.

Suddenly, his expression changed, and in a whoosh, he vanished from his spot, turning into a wisp of blue smoke.

At the moment he disappeared, a blood-colored Longsword slashed through where he had just been, then spinning back into Lin Xin’s hand not far away.

"Keep a tight guard on the Mountain Gate, I’ll be right back," Lin Xin said calmly, and then flickered in the direction of Hong Gui’s escaping qi, vanishing as well.

A Yuan Jing Cultivator who had mastered the rules of space could achieve the pinnacle of expertise in escape skills, effortlessly flickering dozens of miles away with a casual use of an escape skill.

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

Hong Gui burst forth next to a volcano crater, with the fourth Qing Girl and a man in white robes already present. The three of them nodded to each other,

and simultaneously reached out to clasp their hands together at the center.

Snap!

A burst of white light erupted, and a circular Array formed under their feet, resembling three concentric circles slowly rotating, countless runes glimmering and circulating.

Whoosh!

No sooner had the three disappeared when Lin Xin appeared at the edge of the Array, holding his Longsword with an indifferent expression on his face.

"They ran again?"

He reached out and caught a trace of lingering white light on the Array. The runes within the white light instantly brightened, enveloping him in a flickering glow as well.

In an instant, he too was teleported away and disappeared without a trace.

That was the terrifying ability of a Grandmaster-level Formation Talisman expert—needing only a small part of someone else’s fading Array structure and runes to instantly deduce the entire complete formation and construct it on the spot for pursuit.

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

Above the azure sea.

Hong Gui, the man in white, and the Fourth Qing Lady suddenly appeared on a desolate island within the sea region.

A complex and precise array had already been set up on the island.

The moment the three appeared, the array instantly lit up with a halo. Without a moment’s pause, their figures had yet to solidify when they disappeared above the desolate island.

Less than a breath’s time later.

Boom!!!

The entire desolate island flashed with red light and exploded from the middle into two halves.

Lin Xin floated amid the remnants of the array, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Was this array already prepared in advance?"

He pondered for a moment and reached out to grasp another wisp of the lingering aura of the array.

Quickly, a new grand array was reconstructed. With a casual toss, he threw out dozens of Spirit Jades. Numerous Formation Talismans revolved around Lin Xin, releasing spiritual energy.

"You won’t escape!"

As soon as his voice fell.

With a swish, Lin Xin vanished from the spot once more.

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

At the edge of the Yang membrane, in a valley surrounded by mountains.

Hundreds of cultivators were on standby, led by two Yuan Jing Cultivators. Three top tier, fifth-grade magic artifacts, glowing with a dark golden luster, floated up and down, suspended in midair in the very center of everyone.

A saber, a longsword, and a seal, the three magic treasures throbbed with extremely unstable spiritual energy, as if they could explode at any moment.

Suddenly, one of the Yuan Jing elders’ complexion slightly changed. A small crescent-shaped red jade pendant appeared in his hand, emitting a faint red glow.

"They’re here! Get ready!!"

"The time has come for us, Fangzheng Sect, to repay our debt! I ask everyone to give it your all! Coordinate with our benefactor to encircle and suppress the demon!"

The other elder said aloud.

"Yes!!"

All the cultivators responded thunderously.

In an instant, within the array, white lights soared, and white Jiaolong dragons roared as they emerged, swimming slowly within the formation.

The entire array was solemn and orderly. With the help of the three great fifth-grade magic treasures and the two Yuan Jing’s power, the whole array was instantly elevated to a level close to the sixth grade.

Hum!!

Soon, amid a rumbling sound, three disheveled figures flickered outside the array. It was Hong Gui and the two Qing Ladies.

At this moment, their complexions were pale and their clothes were disheveled. Without time to tidy themselves up, they rushed straight into the array upon seeing it.

"Daoists from Qing Porcelain and Red Wood, quickly activate the array!!"

Hong Gui bellowed.

The two central Yuan Jing elders both jolted in surprise.

"The array is blind, Benefactor, please leave first!"

One of them said solemnly.

Hong Gui and the others nodded and stepped into an array that had already been prepared by someone, disappearing in an instant again.

Just as they vanished.

A hot black and red figure suddenly appeared in the air outside the array.

It was Lin Xin’s clone.

With one strike of his sword, the red sword light split and expanded in midair, igniting into a black and red Qilin dozens of meters large.

Roar!!

The Qilin charged into the array.

For a time, the sound of thunder and waves clashed with the black and red flames. The two forces were locked in confrontation.

Lin Xin’s clone’s expression remained unchanged, prepared to strike with his sword once again.

"Let me do it."

Off to the side in midair, a black vortex suddenly appeared, and two black figures flew out from it.

It was actually Lin Xin himself and Guan Mingyue, who had just rushed back from the Yuan Dou Demon Sect.

"Then I’m heading back," said the clone, speaking indifferently before turning and walking away. He took a few steps into the void and vanished completely.

Lin Xin looked down upon the array below where the red Qilin and the array’s blue-black lightning and waves were in a stalemate.

He reached out and grabbed forcefully.

Black demonic qi gathered above the entire array, condensing into a hundred-meter-wide giant hand, which harshly grasped downwards.

Shadows covered the sky, and demonic qi surged wildly.

Boom!!!

The array shattered and exploded in an instant.

Ah!!

Hundreds of cultivators screamed as they were sent flying. Both Yuan Jing Cultivators spat out blood violently, and alongside the three magic artifacts, their auras dimmed in a flash.

The two, with looks of horror on their faces, quickly deployed their escape skills, intending to flee.

But then a red line flashed.

Their bodies suddenly stiffened, and in an instant, they were sliced in two from head to toe, collapsing to the ground separately with a splash.

The other scattered cultivators couldn’t avoid it either. They all spontaneously combusted, screaming as they were gradually burned to ashes.

Lin Xin looked down with an unchanged expression. The array was broken, and not a single one of the hundreds of cultivators survived. They were all burned to death by his Qilin’s demonic flames.