Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 540 - 534 Preparation One

Chapter 540: Chapter 534 Preparation One

The Yuqing Taoist Sect was destroyed.

By the time the news spread, many people had already arrived at the site of the Yuqing Taoist Palace.

But everyone just stood at the periphery, not daring to approach the interior.

Large swathes of grey-white debris littered the palace complex, and from the ruins continuously emerged bursts of inexplicable grey-black demonic qi.

This demonic qi alone, if not dispelled by someone, was feared to be sufficient to render this place a desolate land for hundreds of years to come.

Disciples from various sects landed one after another, standing far away at the edge, looking at this piece of land; most of them had no desire to explore, preferring only to quietly observe whether there were any people from the Yuqing Taoist Sect around.

Yang Xuan Nu had vanished, and most of the Yuqing Taoist Sect’s protective formations were destroyed. The grand formation that had been passed down for thousands of years was now completely reduced to the state before everyone’s eves.

Everyone who arrived here couldn’t imagine what exactly had happened.

A large number of cultivators surrounded the entire palace complex, forming a silver-white boundary line.

Among them, on the far right side, two young men in black stood outside the ruins, silently looking over this vast wasteland.

"Such formidable power... Is this the strength of the premier figure of our times?" one of them said, somewhat emotional.

"The Underworld has been quiet for a long time; I hadn’t expected such a terrifying figure to emerge again," said the other in a low voice.

"If he crosses through the Illusory Sea and steps into the Human World, I fear another bloody storm will be raised."

"Forget it, why think so much? After all, there are higher-ups to deal with this. We just need to do our own job," the first man responded.

"Indeed."

After expressing their sentiments, they turned around and quietly flew away from the place.

What they didn’t anticipate was that a few unremarkable cultivators behind them took the opportunity to stealthily follow them and quietly crushed a message-relaying jade talisman within their sleeves.

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

At the top of a desolate mountain in the Central Prefecture,

Lin Xin, holding Yang Xuan Nu, flung her with one hand.

With a thud, Yang Xuan Nu fell to the ground, her body densely covered with innumerable hair-like wounds that began to slowly seep out blood.

Those were injuries caused by Lin Xin’s Yuan Dou Demonic Technique of the Ninth Layer directly dispersing her cultivation and damaging her body.

"Where is your sister? She must have given up on you, right? The Heavenly Cloud Taoist Sect, the Shape-shifting Cave, and your Yuqing Taoist Sect have all used you as a sacrificial pawn," Lin Xin said, his complexion pale while faint blood-red lines emerged on his skin. Although extremely fine, they were clear signs that he was struggling to suppress the Lord’s Power.

Right now, he was like an inflating balloon that could be fortified into a steel sphere but didn’t dare to act due to the possibility of being forced into Breaking Through the Realm at any moment.

Killing one more person would cause the balloon to inflate further.

Yang Xuan Nu sat on the ground, her expression calm.

"If sacrificing me could bring happiness to the people, then I am willing," she said.

"Tsk, tsk, how noble, how grand," Lin Xin felt an unnamed anger rise within him, stepped forward, and violently kicked her.

Bam!

Yang Xuan Nu was hit hard in the abdomen and was sent flying backward, rolling several times on the ground before slowly coming to a stop. She vomited another mouthful of blood.

"Don’t think I don’t know: your Yuqing Taoist Scripture splits one’s being into two, you are Yang, and your sister is Yin; in truth, the two of you are one. If you die, she won’t be able to live either."

Lin Xin sneered, "As long as I kill you, her death will only be a matter of time."

Yang Xuan Nu struggled to sit upright and gave a desolate smile.

"I knew from the beginning that if I wanted to deceive you, I would have to make myself believe it too. That’s why I decided to integrate a remnant soul of Xiao Lingling into myself. Now she is me, and I am her," she said, lifting her head to look at Lin Xin.

"You won’t kill me because only I can help you."

Lin Xin felt a surge of anger whenever he saw her perpetually calm and composed demeanor.

"Who do you think you are to help me? I, the Taoist Venerable, have reigned supreme in the Underworld, unmatched under heaven! What do I need your help for?" he retorted.

Yang Xuan Nu smiled faintly.

"The Desolate Vault Demon Body is not the strongest Demon God, but you have trained it to be the strongest. You deserve to be called invincible in this world. But the Lord’s Power... what about that?"

At this, Lin Xin’s expression turned cold.

"What did you say?"

By now, he was keenly aware that his emotions were becoming increasingly extreme. The more of the Lord’s Power he had, the stronger the daily torment became. Night after night, for the past hundred years, he had nearly spent every day in agony.

If this continued, he feared that he might not even be able to maintain his basic emotional stability.

Although Hong Ye and others had severed the Underworld’s influence, a contingency still lingered in his mind.

According to reports from his informants, many foreign beings had descended to investigate the great change in the Underworld. He was worried that the longer things dragged on, the more likely complications would arise.

Yang Xuan Nu continued softly,

"The Lord’s Power, which is supposed to be assimilated by the Underworld or the Evil God, has been absorbed by you instead, Yuan Dou Demon Lord. Do you realize you’re on the verge of collapsing at any moment?"

"If you continue to kill people, you might not even be able to retain your own consciousness."

Lin Xin’s breath became restrained as he suddenly quieted down.

He knew he couldn’t keep it hidden for long, but he hadn’t expected that Yang Xuan Nu would decipher his secret so quickly.

"So what? Even if I collapse, I will still be the strongest in the world! Moreover, what makes you think you could help me?" Lin Xin scoffed coldly.

Yang Xuan Nu coughed up a mouthful of blood softly.

"The Lord’s Power is a special reward given by the Underworld to lord-level beings, but your current condition seems somewhat different. The pain you endure every night, I can help alleviate it,"

"How can you help?"

It was then that Lin Xin began to believe a little, noting that anyone who could point out the Lord’s Power must know some details.

"As Yang Xuan Nu, I can purify those complex parts and then reflect them back to you," continued Yang Xuan Nu. "However, you have to agree to one condition."

"What condition?" Lin Xin narrowed his eyes.

"Stop the senseless killing of the innocent," whispered Yang Xuan Nu, biting her lip.

Lin Xin stared intently at her pupils. Since arriving in the Underworld, this was the first time he’d encountered such a person.

In Yang Xuan Nu’s eyes, he saw indeed only pure compassion, and also a slight pity for him mixed with Xiao Lingling’s.

"If you really can help me, then agreeing to your condition is no issue."

He casually made a promise, snorted, grabbed Yang Xuan Nu, and immediately headed towards the Southern Prefecture.

His mind was overwhelmed with too many memory fragments. The countless lives taken in his years of slaughter, each one left a portion of memory within him.

These memories mingled together, forming a terrifyingly huge iceberg, and his conscious memory was merely one ten-millionth of this massive iceberg.

If it weren’t for the protection of his Yuan Dou Demonic Technique and the balanced enhancement of his attributes, which also improved his spiritual power, he would have long become a senseless madman and killer.

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

Wuding Mountain, Yuan Dou Demon Palace.

Lin Xin and Yang Xuan Nu sat opposite each other, alone, surrounded only by slowly revolving tendrils of formidable Demonic Qi.

The Evil Soul Orb and the Righteous Soul Pearl continuously revolved around Lin Xin, leaving behind traces of white and blue-purple light.

"Your cultivation as the Demon Lord has reached a level that this realm can no longer accommodate. Whether it’s the Outer Regions or the inner layers of the Yang membrane, neither is suitable for you to remain," said Yang Xuan Nu, her cultivation completely restrained by Lin Xin. Still, she appeared as serene as a Taoist Venerable, her demeanor gentle, exuding an air of transcendent compassion yet pitiful towards mortals.

"And then?" asked Lin Xin indifferently.

"You now have only two choices," replied Yang Xuan Nu calmly. "The first is to go to Reincarnation and be reborn into the Mortal Realm."

Lin Xin fell silent and then continued to inquire.

"And the second?"

"The second is to give up the Lord’s Power within you. Almost all your Demonic Arts are based on the Lord’s Power, so this is equivalent to asking you to give up all your Demonic Arts," Yang Xuan Nu shook her head and continued. "Of course, if you wish for neither, you can also choose not to kill and thus possibly stay in the Underworld longer. But what good would that do other than wasting time?"

Lin Xin remained silent.

Yang Xuan Nu sighed softly. "If you could resolve the issue of the accumulated Lord’s Power, everything would be easily solved, but... you cannot."

"Are you forcing me?" Lin Xin suddenly looked up and fixed his gaze on her.

"I have no intention of forcing you, I’m only stating facts... Ugh!"

Thump.

Yang Xuan Nu was struck by Lin Xin’s palm on her face, and her body flew sideways, slamming hard against the palace wall.

Countless Formation Runes swiftly emerged, resisting the immense physical force of Lin Xin.

Yang Xuan Nu spat out a mouthful of blood, rolling on the ground, but her face still wore a hint of compassionate softness.

Lin Xin sat calmly in his place, as if he wasn’t the one who had just acted.

"Yet I’ve heard that there’s a mysterious organization of yours in the Illusory Sea, called the Dauntless Palace?"

"The Dauntless Palace poses no threat to you," Yang Xuan Nu coughed a few times, struggling to prop herself up.

"It’s just a small alliance that we and a few races formed together for self-preservation. Prepared to deal with the strongest Primordial Insect Race on the borders."

"Primordial Insect Race?" Lin Xin was slightly taken aback. "What is this Primordial Insect Race?"

Yang Xuan Nu got up and slowly sat on the ground, still maintaining a hint of her noble, compassionate demeanor.

"Insect women, insect mothers; they are just some of the monsters that have strayed out from the midst of the Primordial Insect Race. This race doesn’t have much of an expansionist consciousness, they only prey simply, survive, and continue to prey.

And unfortunately, our Human Race happens to be within their hunting range."

"Just an Insect Race, and even you Polar Region beings can’t deal with it?" Lin Xin frowned and countered.

"Their insect mothers are equivalent to slightly weaker Polar Region beings." Yang Xuan Nu smiled bitterly. "We have only a handful of such beings, while they have dozens of insect mothers! There are even stronger grand matrons above them. We are no match for them."

Lin Xin digested the information he received.

The problem he needed to solve the most now was the abundance of the Lord’s Power and the overload of memory fragments.

If he didn’t resolve it soon, he feared he wouldn’t even know when he would suddenly explode, turning into an insane being devoid of consciousness.

After pondering for a moment,

he finally asked.

"If I were to enter the Human World directly, not through reincarnation, what would be the consequences?"

Yang Xuan Nu was taken aback.

"Our Underworld is just one of the Three Realms. The Human Realm is balanced with Yin and Yang; the Polar Regions are not the limit they can reach, so stronger beings exist."

She paused, organizing her thoughts.

"If you don’t enter through Reincarnation, I fear it will soon cause a minor disturbance in the Human World’s Elemental Energy, attracting powerful beings..."

Lin Xin’s heart went cold.

"How powerful can these great beings be?" Although he had some understanding from the scriptures he had collected, it wasn’t as impactful as hearing it directly from Yang Xuan Nu.