William Lynn suddenly took the initiative to approach, looking at the three with some fear: “Th-three esteemed masters, are you the legendary sword immortals?” His expression was just right—seventy percent admiration and awe, thirty percent fear and timidity.

　　Evelyn Murray frowned slightly and did not respond.

　　The young man in white robes showed a proud look and nodded lightly. “What do you want?”

　　William Lynn’s face lit up with joy and he hurriedly said, “There’s a monster in the village where I live. I beg you, immortals, to help us get rid of it. All the villagers would be endlessly grateful. Please, immortals, save us!”

　　The young man in white robes looked unconcerned. In remote villages, there were always tales of ghosts and monsters—not to be taken seriously.

　　William Lynn continued, “I saw it with my own eyes. The old peach tree that had been struck by lightning and turned to charcoal suddenly sprouted new branches and even bloomed with beautiful peach blossoms…”

　　The young man in white waved his hand to interrupt him. “A dead tree coming back to life isn’t anything rare.”

　　William Lynn nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, immortal, you’re right. But—but those peach blossoms can kill people. They’ve killed so many already!”

　　Evelyn Murray exchanged a glance with the young man in white, finally showing some interest. “Tell us, how did the peach blossoms kill so many people?”

　　William Lynn quickly recounted how the peach blossoms flew down from the tree, stuck to people’s foreheads, drained them into dried corpses, and then the petals flew back to the tree.

　　The young man in white raised his brows. From William Lynn’s account, it did seem that the peach tree had become a monster, able to kill with flying blossoms. This old peach tree had clearly gained sentience and awakened its innate magical powers.

　　Such a demon had likely already formed a demon core and was worth slaying.

　　Evelyn Murray frowned deeply and looked at the white-robed elder Gavin Yates: “Elder Yates, let’s go take a look. Otherwise, that tree demon might kill even more people.”

　　Gavin Yates stroked his long beard and questioned William Lynn in detail about the specifics of the peach tree’s killings, patiently confirming every detail.

　　William Lynn looked honest and simple, patiently answering each of Gavin Yates’s questions.

　　He wasn’t afraid of Gavin Yates’s interrogation, because everything he said was true.

　　He just left out a little bit.

　　William Lynn didn’t tell them that the old peach tree could kill a fourth-level Qi Refining cultivator as easily as stepping on an ant.

　　Gavin Yates deliberately repeated some questions, and after confirming that William Lynn’s answers were consistent, finally nodded. “Eliminating evil and upholding the Dao is the duty of every cultivator of the Liuguang Sword Sect. Now that we’ve encountered a rampaging tree demon, we cannot ignore it. Young man, lead the way.”

　　William Lynn could hardly contain his joy, thanking them profusely, while secretly sneering in his heart: “Perfectly safe!”

　　You three, you’ve come at just the right time to help me rescue my first disciple.

　　As the rival of my future second disciple, who else should I set up if not you?

Chapter 7: Liuguang Battles the Peach Blossoms

　　William Lynn led Evelyn Murray and the other two to the outskirts of Stone Village. The site of the previous battle hadn’t been cleaned up yet; dried corpses littered the ground, making it look like a living hell.

　　Not only did Evelyn Murray nearly gag at the gruesome sight, but even Gavin Yates and the young man in white frowned deeply, feeling nauseated.

　　At the village entrance, the old peach tree’s charred, withered trunk contrasted sharply with the vibrant, dewy peach blossoms, creating a jarring and uncomfortable sight.

　　The more lively the peach blossoms appeared, the more bizarre they seemed in this hellish environment.

　　Just as William Lynn was about to speak, chaos erupted in Stone Village. The shouts of adults and the cries of children blended together as everyone fled toward the village outskirts from all directions, desperately avoiding the old peach tree at the entrance.

　　William Lynn focused his gaze and saw that among the houses, bright red peach blossom petals were flying through the air, chasing after the villagers.

　　Anyone struck by a petal was instantly drained of their life force and turned into a dried corpse.

　　Seeing a little one in the crowd bravely shielding others and fleeing with everyone else, William Lynn let out a long sigh of relief, secretly feeling lucky.

　　Fortunately, he had run into Evelyn Murray and the others. If the old peach tree had acted this quickly, he really wouldn’t have had any way to deal with the old demon.

　　Facing the peach blossoms chasing out of the village, William Lynn shouted, covered his head, and ran away as if terrified.

　　Evelyn Murray and the young man in white watched William Lynn’s retreating figure and snorted in unison, “Coward.”

　　William Lynn had no idea he was being looked down upon. Even if he knew, he wouldn’t care.

　　Of course he had to run. If the little one and the old village chief saw him like this, how could he keep up his act as a reclusive master?

　　On the other hand, William Lynn also needed to quickly get out of the Liuguang Sword Sect trio’s sight to prepare for his own move.

　　No matter who won or lost, William Lynn would take action.

　　If the old peach tree won, William Lynn certainly wouldn’t be happy. Now, it wasn’t just about the little one’s safety—he also had to make sure that even if Evelyn Murray and the others lost, they wouldn’t die and could escape with their lives. At the very least, Evelyn Murray absolutely could not die.

　　Otherwise, who would go to the Xiao family to break off the engagement?

　　But if Gavin Yates and the others won too easily, that wouldn’t be good for William Lynn either. Who knew if they’d take a liking to the little one’s potential and recruit them into the Liuguang Sword Sect?

　　That would mean William Lynn lost everything.

　　A situation where both sides were badly hurt was exactly what William Lynn wanted to see.

　　So, carefully finding a place to hide, William Lynn took out the Arctic Sky Magnet Sword and kept a close eye on the battle.