Immortals

Chen Xia was not angry.

Two unruly bands of martial world fighters were nowhere near enough to warrant his anger.

After all, they were ants he could crush with a casual flick of his hand.

But he was somewhat puzzled.

These martial artists actually dared to openly oppose him.

And today's clash was strange. Rather than saying Chen Xia had run into a clash, it was more accurate to say the clash had run into Chen Xia.

Someone was pulling the strings behind this.

Chen Xia lowered his head and thought for a moment, but did not pay it much mind. After all, the need to probe him proved that whoever was pulling the strings was not particularly formidable.

The two bands spoke up again.

"Mayor, if you really won't listen to reason, then even if we brothers have to stake our lives on it, we'll demand an explanation!"

"We respect you as an immortal, and we hope you won't use your power to bully us!"

The two bands' words clearly painted themselves as the ones in the right.

Most of the onlookers were martial artists too, and now they supported the two bands even more.

Chen Xia unhurriedly took another sip of tea, swirled his cup, and said with a smile,

"I don't like killing people, but that doesn't mean I won't."

At those words, both bands fell silent. After a long while, their leader finally gave a dry laugh.

"I'm not sure what you mean by that, Mayor Chen."

Chen Xia tapped his teacup with his finger and spoke as though talking to himself.

"The Old Woman of South Mountain, the Huaihai Swordsman, Ping Hulang, the Constabulary, the Calm Heart Pavilion, Great Sun Mountain..."

"I don't care which of them is behind you. Pay the compensation within fifty breaths and get out of town. Otherwise, don't expect to remain standing."

These martial artists who scorned the rules and acted with brazen recklessness were the most annoying sort.

Hearing Chen Xia's words, the other onlookers raised their eyebrows, feeling that he was being far too overbearing.

The leader shook his head and frowned.

"Aren't those words a little too reckless? You may be the mayor, but you aren't this town's master. Aren't you being far too overbearing in word and deed?!"

"Overbearing?" Chen Xia chuckled and replied, "I've changed my mind."

"I don't feel like waiting fifty breaths."

He lightly flicked his finger against the teacup.

The tea swayed and rolled inside the cup like ocean waves, then suddenly surged out.

A drop of tea flew into the air, then fell with incredible speed.

It resembled rainwater, yet it was tea.

The crystal-clear drop reflected everyone's expressions, each different from the next.

But there were more than just expressions.

There was also a hand reaching out at tremendous speed, and the flick of a bent finger.

Ding.

The crisp sound resembled steel striking steel.

The tea shot out like an arrow, so fast that not a single person could react.

The drop struck the leader's chest, spreading with incredible speed into thousands of tiny droplets.

Every droplet carried tremendous force, all striking together.

At that moment.

These were not droplets.

They were ocean waves.

The leader was sent flying, smashing through tables and chairs along the way before sinking into the wreckage.

Chen Xia shook his hand. Not a trace of water had touched it.

The scene was utterly silent, without so much as a crow's caw or a sparrow's chirp.

A noise came from where the leader had landed. As the shattered tables and chairs fell away, they revealed a figure kneeling amid them.

He did not want to kneel, but his body hurt so much that he had no choice. Never mind standing-even lying down was a luxury beyond his reach.

And the weapon that had inflicted all his injuries was merely a tiny drop of water.

The surrounding crowd watched Chen Xia warily, feeling that his reputation as an immortal truly was no mere rumor.

"Still want to fight?" Chen Xia stood with his tea in hand and smiled at the two bands.

They immediately cupped their fists and apologized. "We brothers were rash. We'll pay the compensation and leave right away."

"You'd better." With that, Chen Xia sat back down on the stool missing a leg and gave the shopkeeper behind him a look.

"Go work out how much they owe."

With someone backing him up, the shopkeeper was no longer afraid and hurried forward to discuss matters with the two bands.

Chen Xia drained his teacup in one gulp, turned to glance at the onlookers, and waved casually.

"Stop watching. Go home, all of you."

The martial artists watching did not dare argue and dispersed.

Once the shopkeeper had settled the compensation and the two bands had left, Chen Xia rose too and headed toward the back, intending to go home.

Halfway there, someone blocked his path.

It was a man wearing a bamboo hat.

"Something you need?" Chen Xia asked with a frown.

The man cupped his fists and said respectfully, "Please emerge from seclusion, sir, and keep Great Song safe!"

Chen Xia looked the man over and curled his lip. "So you're the one behind that attempt to probe me?"

The man hurriedly lowered his head. "I was presumptuous, but I truly had no choice. Great Song is being invaded by foreign foes and faces a time of crisis. Please emerge from seclusion, sir, and keep Great Song safe!"

Chen Xia tilted his head, flicked his fingernails, and asked, "Why ask me? Won't the other martial artists do?"

The man gave a bitter laugh. "Of course we've invited other martial heroes as well, but they can't accomplish much. Only someone like you, sir, who has stepped onto the immortal path, can count as one of those who decide victory or defeat."

"One of?" Chen Xia keenly caught those words and asked, "Are there others?"

The man hurriedly nodded. "There is another immortal sect within the Great Song Dynasty. You should know of it, sir. Its sect master is said to be an immortal as well, with the mighty power to move mountains and sever rivers!"

"But that immortal has been in seclusion for far too long and pays no heed to worldly affairs. Even His Majesty went to plead in person, yet couldn't persuade the immortal to come out."

"There aren't any other immortals?" Chen Xia asked curiously. He remembered seeing a true immortal destroy a city with a single palm strike when he first arrived.

The man shook his head. "There are no other immortals in our Lower Realm."

"Lower Realm?" Chen Xia asked in confusion again.

Seeing that Chen Xia knew nothing about this, the man was somewhat puzzled himself. Still, he pointed at the sky and said,

"This is the Lower Realm, the domain of mortals. Above us is the Heavenly Realm, where true immortals dwell. But the immortals of the Upper Realm don't seem to descend at will."

"The last time immortals descended to the mortal world was to take disciples in Weixi Town."

As he said this, the man glanced at Chen Xia. After all, Chen Xia had been one of those involved.

"Has there never been an incident where an immortal destroyed a city?" Chen Xia asked with a frown.

The man pondered for a long while, then shook his head slightly. "There has never been any such record. And according to ancient texts, immortals who descend to the mortal world have their power greatly weakened and must cultivate anew."

"So there are even records of supreme martial world experts killing immortals who descended."

Chen Xia furrowed his brow and began to recall.

The place he had transmigrated to probably lay outside Great Song's borders, so it was perfectly normal for Great Song to know nothing about the town that had been destroyed.

Moreover, immortals who descended were greatly weakened and could even be killed by supreme martial world experts.

If that was the case, then who knew how terrifyingly powerful that immortal who could still destroy a city with one slap after descending must have been?

But after delivering that palm strike, that immortal seemed to have been swiftly expelled from this world. And afterward, Chen Xia had never seen another such terrifying being.

The old man and mysterious woman who later came to take disciples were both far inferior to that terrifying hand. They could not even give Chen Xia the slightest sense of threat.

This proved that ordinary immortals from above had very little influence on this realm.

To exert much influence, they would have to be at least above the mysterious woman's level.

And the greater their influence, the less time they could remain, as this realm would expel them extremely quickly.

That meant there were actually not many formidable figures in this world.

Having discovered this fact, Chen Xia was delighted. It meant he could stay peacefully for thousands or tens of thousands of years, waiting until he was invincible before emerging.

Seeing that Chen Xia did not respond, the man cupped his fists again and said respectfully, "Great Song is willing to offer you the position of Imperial Preceptor. Please come out of seclusion, sir!"

"We'll talk about it another time." Chen Xia waved casually, not particularly interested in going. He would rather lie low and add points.

"Sir!" the man shouted, actually dropping straight to his knees to kowtow to Chen Xia.

But the instant he knelt, Chen Xia had already vanished.

"Sir?" the man called helplessly.

There was no response.

He gritted his teeth and slammed both fists into the ground. Hot tears welled in his eyes as he murmured sorrowfully,

"The nation is on the verge of ruin, yet I am powerless, incapable. All I can do is kneel and weep, bringing utter shame upon my lineage. Useless! I'm truly a useless swine!"

After viciously cursing himself, he wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, turned, and left.

Chen Xia had already returned home. The reason he did not want to go was that war held far too many uncertainties. What if the other side had some monster among them? Wouldn't he be in danger then?

Better to lie low and add points for a few more years. If he lay low for another seventy years and reached Golden Core, he should be invincible in this Lower Realm.

Chen Xia stretched, intending to rest a while, but urgent knocking came from outside.

"What is it?" Chen Xia asked.

An urgent cry came from outside. "Mayor, something terrible has happened! An evil entity is causing trouble in town again!"

The corpse was exactly like those from twenty years ago: pale skin, hollow eyes, and an emaciated body.

Yet the dead man had weighed two hundred jin when he was alive.

After a few looks, Chen Xia could confirm that the manner of death was the same as that of the corpses twenty years ago.

He asked the resident accompanying him, "Where's Daoist Mu Xieyang? Wasn't he going to deal with this evil entity back then?"

"Daoist Mu is on his way."

Chen Xia stood before the corpse. He had never learned any immortal cultivation methods and knew no supernatural techniques, so all he could do now was stare.

Surely he couldn't just punch the corpse.

About an hour passed.

Chen Xia asked again, "Daoist Mu still isn't here?"

"Daoist Mu is on his way," the resident answered as before.

Chen Xia had someone bring a white cloth to cover the corpse, then fetched a stool and sat down. After a while, he propped up his head and waited for Daoist Mu.

Four hours later.

Chen Xia woke from his nap and asked the resident beside him, "Did Daoist Mu go climbing over some widow's wall? He's still not here?"

The resident's eyes widened in terror. Pointing ahead, he said in a trembling voice,

"Daoist Mu... is... dead!"