Fans All Over the World

Time flew by in the blink of an eye.

More than forty years passed as if sped up, and a life of constant busyness and fulfillment always made time feel fleeting.

The event jointly organized by Fairy Nanmo and the Floating Cloud Merchant Association came to an early conclusion.

Shortly after Fairy Nanmo vanished, a piece of news began to spread rapidly.

"Blockbuster! Fairy Nanmo turned out to be this kind of person?! Is it a collapse of morality or a distortion of humanity?"

"Want to know more about Fairy Nanmo's little secrets?! One spirit stone for a secret of Fairy Nanmo! One spirit stone, no loss, no scam! Buy it and you'll get a steal!"

"Sensational news! Fairy Nanmo is actually a man in disguise!?"

"What?! Fairy Nanmo is actually from the demonic path, using secret techniques to transform into a woman to trick the righteous? All these years, she seemed kind and beautiful, but in reality, she’s been fleecing righteous cultivators of who knows how much wealth!"

"Fairy Nanmo's private wealth exposed! Comparable to the treasure vaults of top-tier powers!?"

"Fairy Nanmo actually likes women?"

As soon as the identity of Nanmo disappeared from public view, countless negative rumors about her sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain, spreading rapidly across the entire Xuanhuang Realm.

Countless people were shocked.

Over forty years, the name Nanmo had stirred no small waves throughout the Xuanhuang Realm. A saint-level alchemist, top-tier talisman master, top-tier array master, top-tier artifact refiner, and a cultivator with one foot into the saint realm.

These titles stacked on one person, combined with her beauty and kindness in benefiting the masses of cultivators, allowed the identity of Nanmo to amass countless fans in a short time. It could be said that anywhere in the Xuanhuang Realm with cultivators, you could find fans of Nanmo.

Mo Tianxiao had genuinely made this disguised identity red-hot, and of course, the Floating Cloud Merchant Association also played its part in the operation.

However, with fame came trouble. Where there were die-hard fans, there were also haters.

In particular, some female cultivators, driven by jealousy, began spreading rumors everywhere after Nanmo disappeared. At the same time, many cultivators took the opportunity to make a quick fortune.

"Dammit!! Who is it?! How dare they slander my goddess! Don’t let me catch them, or I’ll make them suffer!"

"I will always support Fairy Nanmo. Rumors cease with the wise. I believe everyone has sharp eyes and won’t believe such absurd things!"

"That’s right! Boycott the rumors! Protect Fairy Nanmo’s reputation!"

"Brothers! I’ve set up a Fairy Nanmo fan club to protect Fairy Nanmo and fight against the slanderers!"

There were those who envied and resented her, but there were also steadfast defenders. And Nanmo’s fans far outnumbered the haters, forcing the haters to stay in the shadows, only daring to whisper their slander secretly.

Meanwhile, on another front.

[Fans treat you as their idol, but you treat fans as leeks. Reaping countless leeks fits villainous behavior. Villain Points +666666!]

"Phew... that feels good."

Having squeezed out one last big haul, Mo Tianxiao was in a great mood.

As the repetitive routine dragged on, the daily Villain Points had been steadily declining. Toward the end, the returns no longer justified the effort—he was only getting a few dozen points a day. So he decided to cut out early, making up an excuse to bail.

After it all ended, he disguised himself and sought out a few cultivators, spreading negative information about himself to stir up chaos between his fans and haters, which cashed in one last big wave.

"Brother Tianxiao! I’m so mad! So many people outside are spreading bad things about you! After all you’ve done for them, without charging them high prices, and they still slander you like this!"

Huang Xiaoyao stormed back into the courtyard, her fair cheeks flushed with pink, clearly fuming over Mo Tianxiao’s haters.

"Those ingrates, if you ask me, Boss has been too good to them."

Ao Dalong’s expression was grim too. If Mo Tianxiao hadn’t held him back, he would have grabbed those spreading dirty rumors about him and torn them apart.

"Heh, I think he’s actually enjoying it." Yun Sangyi glanced at Mo Tianxiao, who was lying leisurely in a rocking chair, gently swaying with a look of utter ease and contentment, and felt baffled.

What was this guy’s deal?

All these years, he hadn’t cultivated at all, just tirelessly churning out benefits for cultivators. Did he really have such a good heart?

"Just some boring gossip, nothing worth caring about. Besides, those haters aren’t entirely wrong. I really was a man in women’s clothing, and I really am from the demonic path. They didn’t say anything false."

Mo Tianxiao waved his hand casually. He wasn’t some saint—so what if people cursed him? As long as the Villain Points kept rolling in, they could say whatever they wanted.

Compared to the true fans he’d accumulated over the years, those few haters were trivial.

If those fans hadn’t nearly been squeezed dry of value, he’d have happily stretched this act out to a full fifty years.

"I’m going to head back to the Demon State next. What are you all planning to do?"

Mo Tianxiao looked at the others.

For years, the three had mostly focused on cultivation. With an unlimited supply of saint-level pills, Huang Xiaoyao’s cultivation had reached the mid-stage of the Tribulation Crossing realm, just one step away from the late stage.

Yun Sangyi had also latched onto this golden opportunity and soared, her cultivation breaking through to the Tribulation Crossing realm.

Ao Dalong had made the most dramatic progress. With the aid of saint-level pills, he had finally fully refined the remaining quasi-Buddha’s heart within him over the past forty-plus years, reaching the eighth level of the Saint realm.

He had even picked up quite a few Buddhist techniques along the way—a nice bonus.

As for Mo Tianxiao himself, his cultivation hadn’t budged an inch. Mere cultivation wasn’t enough to make him breakthrough.

"Not long ago, Dad sent word back, telling me to return home sometime this year, saying he has something to discuss with me."

Huang Xiaoyao pouted, looking dissatisfied. "Dad, really—if he has something to say, why not just send a message? Why make me go back?"

"Feng Shu probably has something important to tell you. It might be related to the coming tribulation," Mo Tianxiao comforted her.

"What about you, Dalong? Coming back to the Demon State with me?" Mo Tianxiao turned to Ao Dalong.

Ao Dalong scratched his head, sounding annoyed. "That old geezer Guixu also sent me a letter, saying I must return within ten years, or he’ll come get me himself."

"Knowing that old man’s personality, he’d definitely do it. So, Big Brother, I’m thinking I’ll go back and see what he wants, then find you in the Demon State afterward."

"That’s fine. It seems something big really is about to happen."

Mo Tianxiao frowned slightly. These quasi-supreme powerhouses were starting to stir—it seemed the so-called tribulation might be even worse than imagined.

Could it be that his master’s earlier instruction for him to return on time was also related to this?

"What about you? I remember the Yun family doesn’t have any quasi-supreme powerhouses, right?" Mo Tianxiao glanced at Yun Sangyi.

This remark immediately made Yun Sangyi roll her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I’m just a young lady from a minor family, so of course I have to rely on Master Mo’s patronage."