Others might not know, but Young Master Zhang certainly did.
The higher-ups would absolutely not reveal this matter to Lin Xiaotian; they were even afraid that Lin Xiaotian would directly ambush and kill them.
Because they had previously speculated that Lin Xiaotian himself might not be able to take that divine weapon, which was why he left it there. He might even be waiting to retrieve it after his cultivation had advanced.
Now, it was as if they were snatching Lin Xiaotian's prize. Faced with such a situation, his immediate reaction was to guard against it.
They feared that Lin Xiaotian, in his rage, would directly kill them. After all, Daoist Kumou had also told them that Lin Xiaotian's approximate strength far surpassed the Land Immortal realm.
While they did have experts among them, their strength was only slightly stronger than that realm, not to the point of absolute dominance.
Lin Xiaotian, however, had already reached that level, which was the reason for his fear.
"You don't need to pretend anymore. It was indeed someone from your Heavenly Net organization who told me to come rescue you. After all, the true terror of this divine weapon lies not in its ferocity."
"But rather in its ability to affect one's sanity. You seem fine approaching it now, but try letting one of you step a few steps closer."
Young Master Zhang frowned, looking at Lin Xiaotian with confusion, but he still did as Lin Xiaotian said.
"Try stepping a few steps closer and see what happens."
"Mr. Lin, I've heard about you from the old Daoist. I'm quite familiar with your situation. We've already established a cooperative relationship. The old Daoist said you didn't want this divine weapon, so we thought we'd retrieve it since you didn't."
"I hope we don't have any misunderstandings between us."
Lin Xiaotian smiled and nodded, a brilliant smile in his eyes. "Don't worry, I definitely won't have any misunderstandings with you. After all, I wasn't planning on taking this thing home. It's a malevolent weapon."
"Whoever takes it will be unlucky. If you don't believe me, watch. Remember, watch him, not me. I have no intention of harming you. If I wanted to kill you, I would have ambushed you just now, and none of you would have escaped my grasp."
Everyone present naturally believed Lin Xiaotian's words. Although he hadn't displayed any strength, standing there, he felt like an ethereal immortal.
Not a trace of his aura leaked out. Such a situation usually indicated only one possibility: Lin Xiaotian's strength had long surpassed their comprehension, making it impossible for them to sense anything. What realm of cultivation would one need to reach to possess such an aura?
Could it be the legendary Heavenly Human Realm? But they had never heard of anyone reaching such a level. At this moment, they had somewhat lowered their guard against Lin Xiaotian, as he was merely standing at the cave entrance, leaning against the rock wall, showing no intention of interfering.
Just then, the elder stepped within half a meter of the sword. In that instant, his eyes turned somewhat red, his expression constantly shifting, as if he were struggling with something.
"Something's wrong!" someone suddenly exclaimed.
"Young Master Zhang, quickly retreat to avoid him hurting you."
"You must retreat! I feel his aura is rapidly escalating, as if he's consumed an elixir and is rapidly improving his strength. But this is absolutely impossible; his strength has already reached its limit. Even the most potent medicine cannot increase his cultivation, unless... self-destruction!"
The last two words were uttered, and everyone's faces turned extremely grim.
They shielded Young Master Zhang and quickly retreated.
It was still too late. The thunderous explosion that followed caused the qi of those present to surge backward.
The only one unaffected was Lin Xiaotian. The dust that blew towards him was blocked by an invisible shield of qi – his own protective aura.
He then took out a cigarette, lit it, and the smile on his face became even more pronounced.
"Your strength is a bit too poor, isn't it? You can't even withstand such a small fluctuation?"
As he said this, Lin Xiaotian took a step forward and soon reached the malevolent sword.
Young Master Zhang's eyes widened in disbelief, his pupils contracting violently. "Mr. Lin, please don't move! My attendant just now was also at the Land Immortal realm, but before he even touched the sword, he self-destructed his cultivation.
"If you come into contact with the sword, who knows what might happen. We really don't want to snatch this sword anymore. Please, don't risk your life."
He appeared to be persuading, but in reality, he was already terrified. They feared that if Lin Xiaotian were to suffer the same fate as his attendant, and if Lin Xiaotian's strength were to self-destruct, they would all likely be buried alive here.
Lin Xiaotian reached out his hand, but paused just before touching the sword, his gaze solemn.
"Forget it, I won't risk my life. After all, I still have a wife to support and a pile of things to manage at home. If I lose control, you might truly be doomed."
"However, you've already been greatly affected. Feel your internal energy circulating towards your brain. Is there a slight slackness?"
Hearing this, everyone present was slightly stunned. They quickly circulated their cultivation techniques and, upon reaching the Shen Ting acupoint, their faces turned extremely grim. Some couldn't help but groan, a trace of blood appearing at the corners of their mouths.
"I believe you've all felt it?"
Everyone present nodded, their eyes filled with evident shock.
"Mr. Lin, can you tell us why? Why is there such a significant impact, and why does it seem like you already knew all of this?"
Lin Xiaotian smiled and nodded. "When I came in, Daoist Kumou didn't dare to follow. For him to enter here would be pure suicide.
"So, he could only wait outside and didn't understand the situation clearly. I was too lazy to explain it to him; our cultivation levels are not the same, so explaining would be futile."
"What you've now sown is a seed of malevolent energy. Even if you didn't touch the sword, you still can't escape death, unless..."