Once again, it was fortune at work.
Chen Xia thought for a moment and realized that this fortune was probably driven by events. He had to do things himself to trigger them.
Idling away and letting things rot would not do.
He considered it, then extended his arm. Dense, dark-yellow Qi flowed over it, vaguely taking the shape of a flood dragon.
This should be beginner Flood Dragon Qi.
At a thought from Chen Xia, the Flood Dragon Qi abruptly shot forward, churning savagely across the ground. Like an earth dragon turning over, it gouged out a trench dozens of meters long.
This Flood Dragon Qi really was like a flood dragon controlled by thought.
Chen Xia breathed out and blinked, the dark-yellow Qi in his eyes disappearing. He casually shook his sleeves and glanced at the collapsed mountain range, gaining a general understanding of his own strength.
He was roughly at the mountain-destroying level. Measured by cultivator realms, that would be the upper three layers of Foundation Establishment, somewhere around the seventh to ninth layer. Exactly where, he had no way of knowing.
After all, Chen Xia had never actually fought a Foundation Establishment cultivator, so he could not be certain of their precise strength.
There was only one immortal within the Great Song Dynasty, and he was still in seclusion in the immortal sect he had founded a hundred li away. Surely Chen Xia could not march up to his door and tell this immortal to come out and exchange a few moves?
Chen Xia suddenly paused, then nodded.
Actually, that was not out of the question. If he could win, he really could go straight over and exchange a few moves. The only worry was that he might lose.
It was just sparring between peers, not necessarily a fight to the death. He could also take the opportunity to see a true immortal's methods.
Chen Xia walked home as he thought.
Halfway there, a raging flood blocked his path.
He glanced upstream. A dam dozens of li away had probably been opened to release water. With such a fierce current, it naturally became a great river blocking the road.
Chen Xia looked at the sky as well. Though it was night, he could clearly see thick black clouds gathering in the distance, looking rather gloomy.
Heavy rain was probably coming, which was why they had hurried to open the dam upstream.
It did not matter.
Chen Xia half crouched, curled a finger, and flicked it at the rushing water before him.
The entire river abruptly stopped flowing, as though cleaved by a sword. A neat path opened through it, exposing the riverbed all the way to the opposite bank!
With his hands clasped behind his back, Chen Xia slowly walked across the path.
He could actually have jumped across.
But there was no need.
Destroying mountains and severing rivers-these were the methods of a true immortal.
Early the next morning, the hunters who rose early made an astonishing discovery.
The mountains beyond Weixi Town... were gone... gone?!
Outlandish news always spread faster and faster. Before the morning was over, it had swept through all of Weixi Town.
"Did you hear? The mountains collapsed. They say the mountain god grew angry and an earth dragon turned over, destroying the whole mountain range."
"Really? I felt it last night. I thought it was an earthquake."
"If an earthquake shook the mountains down, how could you still be alive and well?"
"That's true."
Not only did news spread faster and faster, it generally grew more and more outlandish as well.
At the eastern end of town, they said the mountain god had grown angry. By the western end, they were saying someone had offended Heaven by eating wild rabbit stewed with potatoes last night, so it had first destroyed a mountain range as a warning to others.
But rumors were only rumors in the end, idle conversation for the residents. They had little effect.
Chen Xia could hardly be bothered with them either. He planned to resign as mayor and start lying flat.
Some people of the jianghu also guessed that Chen Xia might have destroyed the mountain range, though they still found it hard to believe.
"How is that possible? A mountain that huge, gone just like that in a single night?!"
"Why wouldn't it be possible? This is an immortal's mighty power. Since Chen Xia is an immortal, there's really nothing strange about him possessing such a Divine Ability."
"In that case, he really is half-invincible in this world!"
"Why only half-invincible?" a wandering martial hero asked in confusion. Judging by martial power capable of destroying a mountain range, surely the word "half" should be removed.
"Have you forgotten? There's another immortal in seclusion within a hundred li, and they say one or two terrifying beings live in seclusion overseas as well. Chen Xia hasn't fought them, so he can only count as half-invincible."
"True enough."
For ordinary households, the destruction of the mountains passed just like that, only occasionally brought up as a topic of conversation.
But throughout the jianghu, a legend arose of the mountain-destroying immortal who was half-invincible.
Its protagonist was Chen Xia, who lived in seclusion in Weixi Town.
As a result, enthusiasm for seeking a master in Weixi Town did not diminish, but only grew. Many people of the jianghu flocked there.
At first, they might have come to seek a master, but later it was different.
Some came specifically to do business with wandering martial heroes, some came expressly to settle grudges, and some even came because there were so many martial heroes, hoping to catch a glimpse of these great heroes in person.
Gather a hundred people, and there would be all sorts.
As long as they did not break Weixi Town's rules, Chen Xia never intervened.
Besides, experts from the Constabulary were still overseeing Weixi Town and keeping watch over these people of the jianghu. Thus, despite their numbers, public order was surprisingly good.
War at the border also broke out in earnest over these two years. The Great Song Dynasty dispatched a million troops to defend the border, but achieved little, barely managing to hold it.
A barbarian commander even mocked them.
"The men of Song are useless, hiding in their turtle shells and cowering! Do you dare poke your heads out?!"
These words so enraged the public-spirited men of Great Song that they all went to the battlefield to slay the barbarians, including quite a few people of the jianghu.
But it did little good. The barbarians still beat them back.
In a war between nations, an individual could not turn Heaven and Earth around.
Over these years, Chen Xia gradually stopped concerning himself with worldly affairs, using the Great Turtle Breathing Technique to enter a state of quiet breath and a settled mind.
In short, he went into seclusion.
Having reached the Qi Refining stage, he could practice a rudimentary form of Grain Avoidance and devote himself to cultivation.
In truth, though, there was little worth saying about his cultivation. He just slept.
In the second year after Chen Xia entered seclusion, the people of the jianghu in Weixi Town gradually grew unruly because they had not seen him for so long, and began brawling in town.
Though the Constabulary's experts supervised them, it did little good. After all, there was no shortage of experts among these people of the jianghu.
In the third year, the Constabulary's experts all had to go to the border because of the war. They left Weixi Town, recruiting ordinary constables instead to oversee it.
But how could ordinary constables keep these people of the jianghu in check?
Especially now, when Great Song was at war and Weixi Town was a remote place, the authorities grew increasingly unable to govern it.
All of Weixi Town fell into chaos at once. The various jianghu experts stood in rival camps, none yielding to another, and fought frequently in town. Accidentally killing a civilian or two was commonplace.
The civilians fled in panic to the city more than ten li away.
With that, only people of the jianghu remained in Weixi Town.
It would be more accurate to call it a little jianghu of its own.
The fourth year.
Weixi Town really was renamed Little Jianghu, and quite a few jianghu experts established sects there, recruiting disciples far and wide.
As for the war ravaging the nation, they certainly did not care. Whoever became emperor made no difference. Martial artists of the jianghu held very high status; as long as they expressed willingness to pledge allegiance, they could continue living in peace.
Besides, their own jianghu affairs were not yet settled. How could national affairs take their turn?
In present-day Weixi Town, also called Little Jianghu, the struggle was mainly between four sects, each trying to establish a supreme leader.
But none would submit to another, and none could defeat another, so they could only remain at a stalemate.
More and more people arrived, and Little Jianghu had to keep expanding outward. By the fifth year, it was already no less impressive than the large city more than ten li away.
Chen Xia's house was overgrown with weeds and utterly derelict, but no one dared come demolish it. They did not even dare go inside for a look.
Because it was an immortal's house.
Moreover, the four leading sects had all issued prohibitions forbidding anyone in Little Jianghu from approaching the house without permission.
No one dared court that misfortune. Besides, if there really was an immortal, offending him would be far worse than offending the four great sects.
The sixth year.
The war at the border eased somewhat. A valiant commander won back a city, catching the barbarians off guard.
There was hope for the realm of Great Song once more.
The following years were relatively peaceful, with less fighting at the border. Though the barbarians still watched like hungry tigers, the situation could be considered stable.
Until the tenth year.
The reigning emperor of Great Song passed away.
The seventeen-year-old crown prince ascended the throne. Three days later, the barbarians launched a ferocious assault on the border.
The crown prince did not understand warfare. Though he did his utmost to send supplies to the border, it still could not be held.
The first border city fell. Great Song lost a hundred li of territory and withdrew to the second defensive line.
That same year, an immortal emerged from the immortal sect within a hundred li of Little Jianghu. Standing on a lotus with a tempered steel sword in hand, he traveled down the great river toward Little Jianghu.
Some elderly people of the jianghu recognized this immortal and immediately revealed his identity.
"That's Yang Gang, who joined an immortal sect thirty years ago!"
"Yang Gang has found the immortal Dao. Now that he's emerged, crossing the river on a lotus with a sword in hand, where is he going?"
"Where this great river flows into the sea... isn't that Little Jianghu?"
"Yang Gang is heading to Little Jianghu with a sword?!"
For a time, news that Yang Gang had emerged and was heading straight for Little Jianghu spread throughout the surrounding hundred li.
Including Little Jianghu.
The four great sects received the urgent news and were anxiously discussing it.
"Yang Gang cultivated for thirty years. Why would he come to Little Jianghu as soon as he emerged?"
"The reason is still unclear, but it certainly isn't simple. We just need to watch what we say when the time comes. Be humble in manner and tone. He's cultivated an Immortal Method, so he certainly isn't the man he once was."
"Then should we notify the one here in Little Jianghu?"
One of the men shook his head.
"He's been in seclusion too long. He might be at a crucial point. If we disturb him, we could interrupt his cultivation."
"All right."
With that, the four great sects finished their discussion. They would wait for Yang Gang to arrive, then receive him courteously, speak cordially, and part on good terms.
On the third day, Yang Gang reached Little Jianghu's ferry landing after crossing the river. Without a word, he severed the entire landing's walkway with a single sword stroke. Standing in the middle of the water, he said coldly,
"Go get whoever's in charge."
The leaders of the four great sects soon arrived and cupped their fists toward Yang Gang in courteous greeting.
"Immortal, you honor our Little Jianghu with your presence. The fault is ours for failing to welcome you from afar. We'll hold a welcoming feast for you at once. Please come with us."
"Little Jianghu?" Yang Gang sneered. He stepped off the lotus onto the bank and shook his head.
"This isn't Little Jianghu."
"It's Weixi Town."