Immortals Exist in This World

Dingzhou City was much the same as ever today.

Although rumors of an immortal had spread through every street and alley until everyone knew of them, rumors were still rumors. Without seeing it for themselves, people treated it as nothing more than something to talk about after a meal.

The rich and powerful continued to indulge themselves, while the common folk at the bottom struggled to survive. Nothing had changed, and nothing would change.

But with a crane's cry that rang through the clouds, that balance in Dingzhou City seemed to shatter.

"Cry..."

People throughout Dingzhou City raised their heads and saw the silhouette of a crane circling high overhead, beating its wings.

It seemed to be searching for something, or perhaps trying to confirm something.

Yangcheng Dian lay just outside Dingzhou City.

There were many white cranes at Yangcheng Dian, but none was this large.

Even from so far away, everyone could sense how extraordinary this white crane was.

"Cry..."

The crane in the sky seemed to have finally settled on its target. It beat its wings and slowly descended from the air.

At last, everyone could see the white crane in its entirety.

Its white feathers were frosted, its red crown blazed like flame, and its form was vigorous and magnificent. Its wingspan stretched more than two zhang.

Its cry rang high and clear, like metal and stone piercing the clouds, resounding through the nine heavens.

It was like a king among cranes, aloof and proud, imposing and majestic.

When had the people of Dingzhou City ever seen such a wondrous white crane? They had never even heard of one.

They all stared with mouths agape and eyes wide, their faces filled with shock and curiosity.

How was this a white crane? It was plainly an immortal crane.

This was an auspicious omen!

An immortal crane bringing an auspicious sign was an omen of great fortune!!!

Everyone in Dingzhou City was thrilled. They called out to friends and companions, dusting off their caps in celebration. Some even drank and sang at the top of their lungs, composing poetry and prose.

But soon,

Their excited expressions abruptly froze.

For they had seen something even more inconceivable.

The extraordinary immortal crane seemed to be carrying two people on its back.

As the immortal crane descended closer and closer, they could see more and more clearly.

That was right.

It really was carrying two people.

A man and a woman.

The woman wore coarse hemp clothes, and her hair was disheveled. One look was enough to tell she was an ordinary mortal, a commoner from the lowest ranks.

But the man...

He wore a Moon-White Flowing-Cloud Wide-Sleeved Robe, moonlight swirling around him. His immortal presence was ethereal, sacred and transcendent.

This... this... this was an immortal...

After the tremendous shock, the whole of Dingzhou City erupted in an instant.

As wondrous as the white crane was, it was nowhere near as shocking or as capable of inspiring such fervor as an immortal.

Rumors of an immortal descending into the world had already spread like wildfire through Dingzhou City. Now that they had seen one with their own eyes, their excitement was even harder to put into words.

The rumors were true.

Immortals were real.

And one had descended upon Dingzhou City.

At that moment, everyone in Dingzhou City, from the rich and powerful to the peddlers and laborers, gazed up at the sky with awe in their eyes. Quite a few had even fallen to their knees, kowtowing in worship.

Dingzhou City.

The prefectural yamen.

The Prefect was reading the books of the sages in his study, but the noise outside came in waves, making it impossible for him to concentrate.

"What a racket! The servants in this household are getting more and more unruly."

No longer in the mood to read, the Prefect frowned deeply and put down his book, intending to go out and reprimand the unruly servants.

But before he could take a step, the door was flung open from outside.

"Master... an immortal... immortal..."

A servant burst into the room, his expression fervent and his tongue tied.

The Prefect's face darkened. This study was a private, important place. Since when had a servant of his household dared to barge straight in without announcing himself?

This was more than a simple lack of manners. The servant plainly harbored ill intentions and was defying his superior.

But judging by the expression on the servant's face, the matter seemed extremely urgent. The Prefect could only force down his anger and ask sternly:

"Untie your tongue before you speak. What is it?"

Beneath the Prefect's official authority and imposing manner, the servant's wildly excited heart finally calmed a little, and he hurried to answer:

"An immortal, master! An immortal has descended to the mortal world!"

At those words, the Prefect flew into a rage.

The rumors of an immortal descending to the mortal world had grown more and more rampant lately, impossible to suppress. He had never expected that even a servant in his own household would now run up to him and openly spout such nonsense.

"What immortal? Where would there be immortals in this world?"

The servant said fearfully, "It's true, master! He's right up in the sky, riding an immortal crane. The whole city has seen him."

"Hmph!!! I shall see for myself just who is playing gods and ghosts."

His eyes full of disdain and his face flushed with anger, the Prefect strode out of his study, only to find that the servants in the courtyard, usually so cautious and obedient, now seemed possessed.

Some stared blankly at the sky like fools, while others knelt and kowtowed like madmen.

Even his wife, a dignified and composed woman from a distinguished family, was now kneeling upright on the flagstones, her expression devout and her hands pressed together as she murmured:

"Immortal, bless us. Immortal, bless us..."

Mad.

They had all gone mad.

The Prefect was dumbfounded. He had only spent a little while reading in his study, so how had everything outside become so unfamiliar?

"Cry..."

Suddenly, a crane's cry exploded overhead, so loud that it made his eardrums ache.

The Prefect looked up at the sound and saw a magnificent, imposing immortal crane, as well as the graceful, otherworldly figure in white on its back.

"Thud..."

The Prefect dropped stiffly to his knees. The anger and disdain in his eyes vanished entirely, replaced by utter shock and awe.

"An... an immortal... immortals really do exist..."

This day,

For everyone in Dingzhou City,

Was destined to be an extraordinary day.

Because an immortal had descended.

Before the eyes of tens of thousands, riding an immortal crane and clad in immortal robes,

He had descended.

But what they did not know was that the immortal's descent upon Dingzhou City did not mean an auspicious sign or an omen of good fortune.

It meant hatred and slaughter.

He was no merciful bodhisattva, but a wrathful vajra.

Scarlet, ferocious Sword Qi trailed a long tail of flame, descending from the sky like a roaring, raging fire dragon and piercing heaven and earth.

This was no divine miracle, but heavenly punishment.

Punishment carried out on heaven's behalf, to sanction evil.

In an instant, Immortal Arts, their sword might like a prison and their flames filling the sky, were laid bare without reservation before the tens of thousands of people in Dingzhou City.

If anyone had still doubted whether the immortal was real, then the moment this Immortal Method, like the awe-inspiring might of heaven, appeared, all doubts and speculation vanished completely.

Immortals existed in this world. At this moment, the coffin lid was finally nailed shut on that question.

Gazing at that vast Sword Qi, like a long rainbow piercing the sun, and feeling the immense might radiating from the flames,

Only then did the tens of thousands of mortals in Dingzhou City truly understand what it meant for a tiny mayfly to behold the blue heavens.

Tiny, lowly, worlds apart, with a gulf as wide as heaven and earth between them.

Other than looking up in awe, there was nothing they could do, nor did they dare do anything.

Beneath the gaze of the multitude, the awe-inspiring Sword Qi came crashing down, and the place where it landed was the busiest, poorest, most chaotic, and darkest part of Dingzhou City: the Southern Urban District.

Rumble-----

At the Canglang Gang's Main Headquarters in the southern city,

The earth shook, buildings collapsed, flames surged to the heavens, and thick smoke billowed.