Why Do the Demon King and the Sword Venerable Look Alike? - Chapter 3

This man was beautiful inside and out.

Unfortunately, he was a carefree, homeless Taoist.

I suggested he come back with me.

I thought he would definitely refuse.

But after I asked eight times,

he agreed.

Overjoyed, I brought him back to Kaiyang Temple.

Senior Brother Li was sweeping fallen leaves at the entrance.

He seemed utterly shocked to see me return alive.

“How are you back?!”

I tilted my head toward Lan Xiao.

He stood with his arms folded, an ebony sword resting against his chest.

His expression was stern, and he said nothing.

Oh, come on. We were already at the entrance, and he was still keeping up the act?

I smiled at Senior Brother Li. “I finished the mission, so I came back.”

“You finished it?! It’s only been five days!”

“That’s right. I told you I was born to be a Taoist priest. I’m heading inside, Senior Brother. This is a fellow cultivator I met on the road. I brought him back to stay for a few days.”

Senior Brother Li scrutinized the newcomer warily. “No, absolutely not. Strangers can’t just enter our temple.”

Well, this was awkward.

I looked at Lan Xiao in embarrassment. I was the one who had dragged him here.

And now I was telling him he couldn’t get in.

Lan Xiao lowered his gaze, turned, and walked away.

“Wait, wait! Big Brother Taoist!”

Lan Xiao’s entire body stiffened. Senior Brother Li frantically rubbed his arms. “Ugh! Why the hell are you calling him big brother? You’re giving me goose bumps.”

I caught Lan Xiao by the sleeve and laughed awkwardly. “What’s wrong with it? He’s a Taoist, and he’s older than me.”

Lan Xiao said coldly, “Don’t call me that.”

“All right, all right.”

While we were talking, the Temple Master arrived. “Why are you making such a racket again… Oh! Oh my! When did you crawl out of there?”

I hurriedly smiled. “How can you use the word ‘crawl’ when speaking of a Taoist? It lacks dignity. You should say I climbed—”

The Temple Master didn’t even look at me. Tears and snot streamed down his aged face as he stared at Lan Xiao.

“I’ve finally seen you again. You even held me when I was a child.”

Senior Brother Li and I gaped at them.

The Temple Master was already an old man with snow-white hair, while Lan Xiao looked barely over twenty.

The Temple Master clung to Lan Xiao and wept. “I thought you had perished at the Demon-Suppressing Mausoleum more than a century ago. I never dreamed I would see you again in this lifetime. Waaaaah, I’ve missed you so much, Master!”

I soon learned the whole story.

Lan Xiao had been the foremost sword cultivator of the previous dynasty.

More than a century ago, the barrier around the Demon-Suppressing Mausoleum had collapsed, allowing ten thousand demons to escape.

He sacrificed himself, transforming a lifetime of cultivation and his divine soul into a new seal that forced every great demon back inside.

The whole world believed his body and cultivation had long since been destroyed. Who could have guessed

that not only would he crawl out of that hellhole, but by sheer coincidence, he would also save me from several chicken demons intent on pecking my ass?

He had planned to hide his name, become a carefree swordsman, and begin a new life.

But I kept pestering him, and he wasn’t very good at refusing people.

The Temple Master respectfully welcomed him inside.

Strictly speaking, I should have known the illustrious name of Lan Xiao, the foremost sword cultivator.

But the records only listed his title—

The Heaven-Bearing, Abyss-Quelling, Demon-Cleansing, Filth-Purging, World-Protecting, Eternally Steadfast, Great-Virtue, Infinite-Mystic-Light Sword Venerable.

And I wasn’t particularly interested in the history of Taoism or sword cultivation.

I would open to the first page—

The Definition and Origin of Sword Cultivation

Then close the book.

That was why I hadn’t known the name of the foremost sword cultivator.

Senior Brother Li and I both felt deeply ashamed.

In barely a century, we had forgotten someone so extraordinary and unparalleled.