Just Tell Me, Doesn't That Make You Mad?

Feathering Sect, mountain path.

"You hear? The day before yesterday, Junior Sister Tang went out to look for an immortal herb, but ran into a wolf demon—vicious and extremely powerful. Just as she was about to be devoured, an immortal sword came to her rescue."

"I heard about that, too. They say the sword rode fierce winds high above the nine heavens, like a treasure belonging to an immortal. These past few days, it hasn't only been Junior Sister Tang. Several senior and junior disciples, and even our uncles and elders, have benefited from it while adventuring outside."

"It vanquishes demons and subdues fiends. Supposedly, no matter how powerful the monster, it can't withstand a single move. One slash, and not a single demon has survived."

"Is that true? It's that powerful? Which senior cultivator wields that immortal sword?"

"I don't know. They say people see the sword, but never its master."

"Hiss..."

A chorus of sharp intakes of breath rose around them.

If no one was wielding it, could this treasure have already formed a sword spirit?

But even so, wasn't it far too fierce?

They'd heard that in recent days, not only low-ranking disciples, but also quite a few Golden Core and even Nascent Soul Realm uncles and elders had been saved by this sword when they encountered demon kings.

For a time, everyone sang its praises.

They all wondered whose treasure it was, and how it could possess such astonishing spirit and power.

Some said it belonged to a Spirit Transformation cultivator, others to a Mysterious Mastery cultivator, and still others to a Mahayana ancestor.

Just then, a cold laugh reached their ears.

"It's not only cultivators from our sect who've benefited from this sword. They say Madam Wei of Bright Moon Villa was pursuing a powerful enemy when she encountered a great demon on Black Python Mountain."

"The entire mountain range was the demon's body, stretching for thousands of miles. Even a Nascent Soul Cultivator could only offer their neck to the blade. But that immortal sword cleaved it in one strike, and its enormous body vanished on the wind."

Everyone was aghast.

It was hard to imagine what a great demon whose body covered an entire mountain range would be like once it awoke.

What level had that demon reached?

Mysterious Mastery, or the legendary Mahayana Demon King?

And yet it was still cut down in a single strike.

"Could that be an immortal's sword?"

"Of course! It must be an immortal's sword. What other treasure, forged by a True Immortal, could have such power? How could cultivators like us possibly wield such might?"

Along with their shock, everyone felt deep admiration. They thought of the senior's bearing and yearned all the more to be like him.

"Do you think that immortal might be the one who made our sect's pear trees bloom in the dead of winter last time?"

"Mm, it's possible. True Immortals are hard to find, and it's unlikely two of them would appear around here at the same time. It must be that Patriarch, right?"

"Why are you calling him Patriarch?" someone asked, puzzled.

"What, you didn't know? I heard that the True Immortal is actually an ancestor of one of our sect's senior cultivators. Otherwise, why would he give Feathering Sect such great benefits?" someone said smugly, eager to show off how well-informed he was.

To his surprise, the cultivators present all agreed with him.

"Right, I've heard that rumor, too. It makes perfect sense. That senior must be an ancestor of our sect."

"That's wonderful! Our sect has a True Immortal protecting us. Doesn't that make us invincible?"

"Don't let your imagination run wild. Even if we have a True Immortal ancestor, we must never grow arrogant or complacent. When you go out, don't bring trouble upon our sect."

An older senior brother promptly reminded them. Feathering Sect's rules were strict.

Everyone answered in a rumble of agreement, then continued their discussion, their faces alight with excitement and admiration.

Lin Xiaoyao walked past the crowd.

He'd heard plenty of similar discussions along the way.

He couldn't help feeling secretly delighted.

This really was a case of planting willows without meaning to, only for them to grow into shade.

At last, he understood why the Locust Wood Immortal Sword still hadn't returned after all these days.

It must have misunderstood what he'd said: You're a mature immortal sword now. You have to learn to slay demons and subdue fiends on your own.

After killing the Black Python Demon King, it had driven the demons across ten thousand li into a panic, leaving them too afraid to show their faces.

Lin Xiaoyao didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He'd originally planned to recall the Locust Wood Immortal Sword, but after hearing everyone's discussion along the way, he no longer felt any urgency.

It wasn't a bad idea to let it roam around outside.

After all, every bit of credit the Locust Wood Immortal Sword earned ended up going to him, the big shot behind the scenes—the True Immortal Patriarch.

These past few days, everywhere he went, he heard nothing but praise. Everyone admired him to the point of prostrating themselves. This feeling of secretly watching from behind the curtain was so satisfying.

No wonder so many people in the chat groups of his previous life liked to lurk.

Lin Xiaoyao thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of showing off from behind the scenes.

So he might as well let it be. It had misunderstood him, but there was nothing wrong with slaying demons and subduing fiends. Letting it play outside for a while longer would be fine.

But the world was always full of surprises.

The immortal sword's great display of power and its demon-slaying exploits had originally been cause for celebration.

But as the saying went, too much of a good thing could turn sour.

A few days later, the talk changed to this:

"Have you heard? Junior Brother Zhang went out to slay a demon and fought a bloody battle. He was just about to cut off the monster's head when that immortal sword came swooping down from the nine heavens and stole the kill."

"And it wasn't only Junior Brother Zhang! Junior Sister Ye and the others had the same thing happen to them. They say they spent half a month lying in ambush before finally surrounding that sly fox demon. They were just about to slay it and claim their reward when that immortal sword appeared out of nowhere and stole the kill, too."

"Ah, that's nothing. I'm the one who had it worst."

Someone in the crowd suddenly spoke through his tears. "I crossed mountain after mountain before I finally found that extremely rare vine demon. Its roots and stems are precious medicinal ingredients that can be used to refine spirit pills. But the same thing happened to me. The demon and I were locked in fierce combat. I'd clearly gained the upper hand, and I hadn't even asked for help, when that immortal sword appeared from nowhere and cut down the vine demon."

"You could've cut it down and left it at that. You'd have been helping me, and I'd have been grateful. But what I never expected—and what made me spit blood with rage—was that the strike was so powerful it reduced the entire vine demon to ashes. Forget its roots and stems; it didn't leave behind even a single vine."

"Great. All that effort for nothing."

Even as he spoke, the man was fuming.

Lin Xiaoyao, passing by, felt a pang of guilt.

The crowd was still chattering away.

But this time, they weren't praising the immortal sword's achievements. They were complaining about how it appeared and disappeared without a trace, stealing kills everywhere.

After all, though slaying demons and subduing fiends was a good thing, all things in the world existed in balance, and demons had their uses for cultivators, too.

First, they helped disciples hone their skills.

Second, once demons fell, their hides and bones could be put to great use by cultivators.

That was why disciples from every sect were sent out to gain experience once they had reached a certain level of cultivation.

They could broaden their horizons, hunt demons, and obtain what they needed to cultivate.

Two birds with one stone.

But lately, cultivators across the ten thousand li around them had found, to their dismay, that whenever they went out to gain experience and slay demons, someone would appear and steal their kills.

And their opponent was ruthless, always killing the demons so completely that not even scraps remained.

It was like going through hell and high water to finally catch a big boss, then fighting a long, grueling battle until it was about to drop its loot—

Only for someone to suddenly show up and steal the kill.

And not only steal the kill, but also slay the boss with a single strike, turning even the loot it was about to drop to ash. Just tell me, doesn't that make you mad?