The standard for judging an immortal was probably whether they possessed the power to crush mountains and sever rivers.
As one of those immortals, Yang Gang could indeed crush mountains. It took some effort, but that did not change the fact.
The three sect leaders dared not defy him and hurriedly nodded.
"You are naturally a genuine immortal, but that person should be one too. Besides, he hasn't emerged from seclusion in many years. I fear he may be at a critical juncture in his cultivation and shouldn't be disturbed."
As the three sect leaders spoke, they wanted to offend neither side.
"Then what do you suggest I do?" Yang Gang casually flicked his blue-steel sword, making it give a low, lingering ring.
The three sect leaders exchanged glances, then hastily bowed to Yang Gang and spoke respectfully.
"Why don't you return for now, Senior? Once this immortal emerges from seclusion, I'll immediately send someone to notify you. Then the two of you can speak face-to-face."
Yang Gang's expression turned utterly cold. His blue-steel sword hummed, and his gaze sharpened as he said icily,
"Do you think I'm good-tempered? I already told you, time is the greatest luxury right now."
The three sect leaders hurriedly shook their heads. Cold sweat seeped from their foreheads, and even their voices trembled as they replied,
"We... we wouldn't dare. We're merely afraid that rashly disturbing another immortal like this might give him a poor impression of you."
"Impression?" Yang Gang narrowed his eyes and studied the three of them carefully. Lowering his eyelids, he ran his fingers over his blue-steel sword and replied,
"You'd be better off considering how you're going to stay alive."
The blue-steel sword radiated a chill.
The three sect leaders hurriedly nodded. "Please don't be impatient. We'll take you to discuss this with that immortal right away."
"Take me?" Yang Gang coldly raised his eyes. His blue-steel sword suddenly rang, and Sword Qi swept outward.
One sect leader's left hand shattered, spraying bloody froth as a cry of agony rang out.
Yang Gang glanced disdainfully at the sect leader with the severed arm. Continuing to stroke his blue-steel sword, he told the three of them,
"Summon him here. I'll wait here for three hours. If he hasn't arrived after three hours, everyone connected to you will die."
Casual words described a cruel course of action.
All three sect leaders were trembling. One clutched his shattered arm, not daring to make a sound. They dared not delay and hurried to send people to find Chen Xia.
By now, the three sect leaders no longer dared look at Yang Gang, afraid he might draw his sword and kill someone at the slightest impatience.
Yang Gang fastened his blue-steel sword at his waist and raised his brows slightly, asking the three, "Do you think I'm a little too cruel?"
"We wouldn't dare, we wouldn't dare. Not at all. We were rash and foolish." The three sect leaders knew when to bend and yield, and hurriedly admitted fault.
"No, it has nothing to do with you." Yang Gang shook his head, his lips spreading into a savage smile as he admitted,
"I simply am this cruel."
Immortals upon the mountains cultivated only power, not the heart.
He possessed invincible power, so naturally he did as he pleased.
In town.
Having received their sect leaders' orders, a large group of sect elders rushed toward the house where Chen Xia was in seclusion.
Yet as they approached, they hesitated, standing indecisively outside the weed-choked house.
For ten years, not a single person had dared enter this house. No one had even dared approach the courtyard, for fear of angering the immortal.
Even the lowest thieves dared not enter.
Today, however, they had to disturb an immortal in seclusion, which might very well anger him and get them killed on the spot.
Who would be the first?
If they survived, all would be well. Having accomplished such an important task, they would surely have fine clothes and sumptuous food in the future.
But what if the immortal slapped them dead?
The crowd hesitated somewhat.
Fortunately, someone was unafraid of death.
A heavily bearded man in his thirties stepped forward, his chest bare, and declared to the crowd,
"Our sect leaders' lives hang by a thread. I'm willing to undertake this great responsibility. If I displease the immortal and die on the spot, I ask that you all take good care of my family!"
"Of course! Our three sects will never forget your contribution!"
"Exactly! From now on, your family is my family. Anyone who dares touch them, I'll kill!"
The martial heroes of the three sects quickly agreed.
The bearded man hesitated no longer. Clenching both fists, he exhaled to steel himself, then strode into the courtyard.
First, he carefully pushed aside the many weeds, not daring to make much noise. He slowly approached the door, whose wood had already rotted, restrained his thick arm, and knocked gently. Then, lowering his voice, he spoke softly and respectfully.
"Are you there, Immortal? This lowly one has a matter to bring before you."
There was no response.
The watching martial heroes dared not make a sound. It was so quiet that a falling pin could have been heard.
Seeing that no one answered, the bearded man swallowed, then worked up the courage to knock a little harder.
At the very first knock, the badly rotted door, long neglected, crashed down with a tremendous noise.
The bearded man was dumbfounded. He stood blankly outside the doorway, at a loss.
"Who is it?"
A languid voice suddenly came from inside, as though its owner had just woken up.
The bearded man hurriedly knelt. "This junior meant no offense. I merely have a matter to bring before you!"
Footsteps came from inside.
The bearded man dared not raise his head to look. Pressing his head firmly against the ground, he begged for mercy again.
"This junior only acted this way because of an important matter. Please forgive me, Immortal."
The martial heroes watching behind him dared delay even less. The elders led the way in kneeling, and everyone from the three sects followed.
Three hundred people in total knelt before the doorway in orderly rows.
"What is it?" The languid figure approached. The footsteps stopped right before the bearded man.
The bearded man's heart rose into his throat. Not daring to look up, he could only continue respectfully.
"An immortal from an immortal sect came down across the river and wishes to see you. He's waiting at the ferry landing. If you don't go, he'll kill the leaders of our three sects."
"So hot-tempered." Chen Xia nodded, looked at the three hundred kneeling people, and asked in puzzlement,
"What are you doing?"
The elder at the front hurriedly said, "Please come forth and save our sect leaders."
As he spoke, the elder knocked his head heavily against the ground.
The other three hundred people all followed suit, striking their heads against the ground with repeated thuds.
"Oh." Chen Xia nodded without committing himself, then surveyed his surroundings again. Frowning, he asked the crowd,
"Where is this? How many years have passed since I entered seclusion?"
The elder hurriedly answered, "This is Weixi Town. Ten years have already passed since you entered seclusion."
Looking at the endless rows of tall buildings around him, Chen Xia shook his head. "Stop running sects. Go into infrastructure construction. You're suited to it."
The elder did not know what infrastructure construction meant, and no one dared reply.
Chen Xia then asked the bearded man before him, "What's the name of the person looking for me?"
The bearded man hurriedly replied, "That immortal is named Yang Gang."
"Yang Gang?" Chen Xia murmured, some confusion in his eyes. He seemed to have a faint impression, but not much of one.
"What's he here for?"
The bearded man hurriedly replied, "He's supposedly here to avenge his younger brother, who was killed in Weixi Town thirty-five years ago."
At the bearded man's words, Chen Xia's memories became clear. He nodded in understanding.
"Right, doesn't he have a younger brother named Yang Wei?"
The bearded man froze, then quickly corrected him. "Not Yang Wei. His name was Yang Li."
"Right, right." Chen Xia remembered clearly now. "He did have a younger brother named Yang Li. I killed him."
Chen Xia admitted it outright.
All three hundred people present froze. This man really had killed him.
After a long while.
The elder summoned his courage and said, "Then there's no mistake. Yang Gang is here for you."
"How powerful is he?" To be safe, Chen Xia still asked.
The elder hurriedly said, "He should have already entered the immortal path. He crossed the river standing on a lotus flower, and he has a sword. With one slash, he split the entire ferry landing."
"All right." Hearing this, Chen Xia did not think he sounded particularly powerful. Besides, the man had come all this way specifically for him. He ought to entertain him with a couple of punches.
When a guest came from afar, first give him two punches-bam, bam. If he survived, drive him into another courtyard.
"Get up, all of you. Stop kneeling. I'm not the emperor," Chen Xia said casually.
The three hundred martial heroes hurriedly rose. Only then could they take in the immortal's appearance.
What met their eyes was an extremely young face, no older than twenty-five or twenty-six, no different at all from the portraits that had circulated through the martial world before.
Truly an immortal, ageless and everlasting!
Astonishment filled their hearts. After a moment's silence, the elder first bowed apologetically, then ventured,
"Might you be willing to act and save our sect leaders?"
"Let's go." Chen Xia did not refuse. After all, the man had come specifically for him.
The elder hurried ahead to lead the way.
Chen Xia glanced at the bare-chested, heavily bearded man beside him and remarked,
"Shave your chest hair when you have time, and put on some clothes. This is a public place. Pay some attention to personal hygiene."
"Yes, yes." The bearded man hurriedly nodded, drew the broadsword at his waist, and began shaving his chest hair.
Chen Xia paused, then nodded. "Good execution."
Praised by the immortal, the bearded man became even more enthusiastic. He ran off to buy a passerby's clothes at a high price, putting them on while shaving his chest hair.
This time, Chen Xia said nothing more.
The procession of three hundred headed toward the ferry landing at an unhurried pace.
The elder also wanted to hurry and arrive sooner, but feared displeasing Chen Xia, so he could only proceed neither quickly nor slowly.
Upon reaching the ferry landing, the martial heroes stopped.
Seeing this formation, the three sect leaders frowned. They thought perhaps they had failed to invite the immortal and were going to fight Yang Gang to the death.
For a moment, they were deeply moved.
Resting his hand on the blue-steel sword at his waist, Yang Gang looked down on the crowd and laughed disdainfully.
"What's this? Putting on a formation like that, are you planning to fight me to the death? Hahaha!"
He let out a shrill laugh, as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world. After taking a moment to recover, he sneered,
"Then I'll just have to hang all your heads from the eaves and put a bell in each mouth. When the wind blows, the heads will sway and the bells will ring. When a whole street of human-head bells rings together, that'll make quite a magnificent sight. Haha."
The three hundred martial heroes remained silent, stepping aside one after another to open a broad path.
Picking at his ear, Chen Xia sauntered through with an utterly indifferent expression. He glanced at Yang Gang and asked,
"You're Yang Wei, right?"