"Lin Tian? The Sect Leader of the Lingxian Sect?" An Xiao asked.

The woman rose from her cross-legged position. She wore the light blue robes characteristic of the Shuzhou Sect.

Standing up, she stopped at the entrance of the pavilion, where a wooden bridge connected the courtyard to the structure.

"The Sect Leader of the Lingxian Sect that I knew was selfishly secluded in closed-door cultivation," An Xiao replied.

"I never expected the Lingxian Sect to fall into such decline. However, I am determined to restore the sect’s former glory," Lin Tian explained.

"And now you’re asking me to return after I’ve gained all these cultivation benefits from the Shuzhou Sect?" An Xiao asked.

Lin Tian narrowed his eyes.

He had not expected such a rejection from An Xiao, something completely different from what Ren Xi had told him a few days ago.

"I... live comfortably and happily here. My husband treats me well."

"The Shuzhou Sect gives me everything I want. The Lingxian Sect... did not."

"If you don’t mind, allow me to return to my cultivation."

The man standing beside Yun Xi narrowed his eyes.

Words could be manipulated and forced, but a person’s eyes could not.

Someone harboring hatred would naturally reveal anger and disappointment through their gaze.

But An Xiao did not.

Her pupils had widened, glistening as though she was holding something back.

Lin Tian could clearly sense that something was different about her.

There was only one way to make her admit the truth, even indirectly.

"Do you not know?" Lin Tian asked.

An Xiao paused for a moment.

"Know what?"

"They kidnapped you during a full moon night. An Yue always sets aside time from her training to stare at the moon whenever it becomes full," Lin Tian replied.

"Her heart aches. She feels lonely. I’ve always noticed it."

"An... Yue?" An Xiao asked.

Her eyes widened further, and her hands began to tremble.

"She is your beloved younger sister. She has always waited for your return. She firmly believes that one day you’ll come back to her," Lin Tian explained.

"I didn’t come here as the Sect Leader of the Lingxian Sect. I came as someone An Yue trusts."

"I came... to erase her sadness."

An Xiao’s hands trembled even more violently.

Her eyes shut tightly, and tears slowly began to fall as she repeatedly whispered her sister’s name.

An Yue.

"I... can’t."

"You have to. I only need your consent," Lin Tian said firmly.

"Will you stay here and spend the rest of your life with strangers? Or will you return home and be with An Yue again?"

"I... can’t decide," An Xiao replied, her voice hoarse, shaky, and filled with anxiety.

Slowly, she opened her tear-filled eyes.

Her gaze locked onto Lin Tian, full of hope.

"Please... help me," An Xiao whispered.

"AAAKKKHH!"

The woman screamed as a violent surge of spiritual qi erupted within her body.

The powerful blast created waves across the pond’s surface and unleashed fierce winds throughout the entire courtyard.

Lin Tian had expected it.

The heart could not be forced.

The mouth could lie, but a person’s heart could not.

A blue sealing array suddenly appeared before An Xiao’s body, electrocuting her with tremendous force and causing her to scream in agony.

"A sealing array?!" Lin Tian exclaimed, turning toward Yun Xi.

"That wasn’t my doing. The seal belongs to my younger brother," Yun Xi replied.

"Of course it does," Lin Tian said.

"He couldn’t fully win An Xiao’s heart. So he chose to plant a sealing array to force her obedience."

"What a despicable act!"

Lin Tian moved forward in a flash of white light and instantly appeared beside An Xiao.

Yun Xi saw what he was doing but chose not to stop him.

With Lin Tian’s Nascent Soul aura, she would only invite disaster if he decided to destroy the sect.

Risking the entire Shuzhou Sect for An Xiao was simply not worth it.

"I am taking her away. If any of you try to stop me, I will destroy the Shuzhou Sect!"

"I won’t stop you," Yun Xi answered.

Lin Tian lifted An Xiao into his arms and flew away at high speed.

However, his flight came to an abrupt stop when a man appeared ahead of him, standing atop a flying sword.

"You?! What are you doing with my wife?!" the man shouted.

It was Yun Zhao.

"Yun Zhao?!" Lin Tian said sharply.

He immediately unleashed his cultivation pressure.

Yun Zhao was forced to bow helplessly, unable to move his body.

Looking toward the courtyard behind him, Yun Zhao saw his older sister standing there.

"Big Sister Yun Xi! Help me!"

With a cold expression, Yun Xi turned toward him.

"You refused to marry the woman I chose for you and chose her instead. Now deal with the consequences yourself."

Then she raised her voice.

"Listen carefully, disciples of the Shuzhou Sect!"

"If any of you attempt to stop An Xiao from leaving, I will strip you of your status as disciples or elders!"

Lin Tian glanced at her and nodded in gratitude.

A moment later, he resumed flying away from the sect.

All the disciples and elders heard Yun Xi’s declaration, though some elders disagreed.

They supported Yun Zhao instead.

The cultivation pressure suppressing Yun Zhao disappeared.

He immediately looked toward Lin Tian, who was already nearing the sect’s front gate with An Xiao in his arms.

"Don’t think I can be defeated so easily!" Yun Zhao shouted.

His hand clenched and extended forward, his palm tightening as though crushing something invisible.

The moment he did so, An Xiao groaned in even greater pain.

[WARNING!]

[An Xiao’s life is in danger!]

[Mission in danger!]

Lin Tian halted mid-flight.

An Xiao continued writhing in agony. Her face turned pale, and sweat covered her forehead as she endured the pain.

At the same time, a red warning panel appeared before Lin Tian, indicating that An Xiao’s life was at risk and that the mission could fail.

He immediately turned around, his gaze icy and sharp.

"You’re trying to kill her!" Lin Tian shouted.

"If you try to take her away, I’ll kill her by detonating the sealing array inside her heart!" Yun Zhao threatened.

"Sect Leader Yun, I believe your brother has gone too far," Lin Tian said.

"If he tries to kill An Xiao, then I won’t hesitate to kill everyone in the Shuzhou Sect!" Lin Tian declared.

He formed a one-finger hand seal and pointed it toward the sky.

A white qi laser shot upward through the heavens.

Two enormous white dragons appeared, accompanied by roaring black storm clouds filled with lightning.

Panic spread throughout the entire sect.

Everyone looked up with pale faces, witnessing what could very well be the end of both their lives and the history of their sect.

Yun Xi’s eyes widened.

The power of the White Dragon Technique that Lin Tian had unleashed was more than enough to shatter the sect’s formation barrier.

"Yun Zhao! Are you really going to destroy the entire sect over that woman? She doesn’t love you and never will!" Yun Xi shouted.

"I don’t care!" Yun Zhao roared.

Lin Tian narrowed his eyes.

"Then witness the end of your life, Yun Zhao!"