Daoist Mu had arrived.
If a corpse counted.
His death had been far more gruesome than those of the other corpses. His body was hollow, utterly scooped clean, his expression frozen in terror, the wrinkles on his face etched with his panic before death.
Two burly men carried Daoist Mu's corpse over and set it down to one side, saying as they did so,
"We saw that Daoist Mu still hadn't come, so we agreed to go check on him. But halfway there, we found his corpse lying in the road."
At this point, fear crept into both men's voices. They were truly frightened.
Chen Xia stood up and examined Daoist Mu's corpse, frowning slightly.
He hadn't had much to do with Daoist Mu, but he knew the man understood some supernatural arts.
Supposedly, in his youth, he had specialized in cutting down zombies and earned the title of Zombie Hunter. He had quite a reputation within a hundred li and had resolved many supernatural incidents.
Twenty years ago, Daoist Mu had also accepted payment to investigate the evil haunting a wealthy household. Chen Xia had still been a constable then. He had heard that Daoist Mu seemed to have discovered something, but nothing had come of it afterward.
Supposedly, it involved a taboo, but Chen Xia really didn't know what that taboo was.
Chen Xia crouched before Daoist Mu's corpse and pulled open his Daoist robe, intending to see exactly what wound had killed him.
The other residents didn't dare look directly and averted their eyes.
The empty chest cavity meant his death had not been an easy one.
Inside the robe's inner pocket, Chen Xia discovered a small slip of yellow paper soaked in thick bloodstains. He drew it out and took a look.
The handwriting was neat, written in dark ink, seemingly reflecting the writer's heavy heart.
"To the town mayor."
That was the opening.
"Twenty years ago, I accepted payment from a wealthy household to investigate an evil haunting. Every method I used and every clue I found pointed deep into the mountains beyond the front of town."
"I entered the mountains at noon, when the sun blazed fiercest, and followed a narrow trail cleared by hunters halfway up the mountain."
"The trail ended there. The forest farther in was too dense for sunlight to penetrate. Holding my compass and keeping my mind alert, I felt my own way another five li inward."
"When I reached the densest part of the forest, the temperature turned cold. Though it was clearly noon, it felt like the depths of winter."
"There, I saw a ruined village and over a hundred graves."
"In my panic, I took a hurried glance. This town was called Head Mountain Town."
"Only when I came back out and stood halfway up the mountain, looking down, did I realize that this mountain range resembled a spine, while the long, narrow layout of Weixi Town resembled a tail."
"Only then did I recall a tale told by an old man."
"The 'tail' in Weixi Town was the tail of a flood dragon."
"A flood dragon lies dormant deep in the mountains, rearing a hundred ghosts. Among these hundred ghosts, one or two will occasionally descend the mountain and devour villagers. The closer the flood dragon comes to awakening, the worse this becomes."
"In the end, a hundred ghosts will parade through the night."
The writing on the yellow slip ended there. Throughout, it had laid out Weixi Town's taboo very clearly.
Chen Xia frowned. If things truly were as Daoist Mu had said, this flood dragon should be a very powerful being, lying dormant deep in the mountains and seeking its chance to emerge.
He put away the yellow slip, patted his sleeves, and gazed toward the mountains ahead, his arms folded across his chest as he pondered.
One of the burly men beside him asked in confusion, "Mayor, what are you thinking about?"
Chen Xia rubbed his chin and asked, "Have you heard the story of Yu Gong?"
The burly man looked blank, shaking his head in confusion. "Never heard of it. Who's Yu Gong?"
"Me."
Chen Xia answered, told the men to take the corpse away and bury it properly, then headed into the mountains alone.
The lower realm wasn't all that peaceful either. There were ghosts and monsters, martial-world experts, national calamities, and now even a flood dragon had appeared.
Logically speaking, he ought to find somewhere to hole up and quietly add points for ten thousand years.
But having accepted the position of mayor, he had to do something, didn't he?
Chen Xia was also a kindhearted person. He truly couldn't bear to watch Weixi Town be destroyed, so he could only go destroy this flood dragon instead.
He quickened his pace, his figure flickering as he reached the foot of the mountain. Standing there, he didn't attack, but first gave the mountain range a light knock.
Just one ordinary punch made the entire mountain range sway, sending rocks tumbling without end.
"Brother Dragon, are you there?"
There was no reply. It was probably still dormant.
A grin spread across Chen Xia's face. Who would fight head-on when they could catch their opponent unprepared?
He clenched his fist, his muscles bulging as he stared straight at the mountain range. His body rapidly reddened, every cell trembling as it exerted force.
This was the first time he had used his full strength since raising his strength to 25 points.
Chen Xia opened his mouth and exhaled a little steam, indicating that he had already built up pressure to a terrifying degree.
To borrow a line from a book:
These mountains are here because I hadn't come before.
Now that I'm here, there will be no mountains.
Chen Xia angled his foot slightly and stomped.
The ground instantly crumbled like a fragile anthill, collapsing for a hundred meters.
His figure shot out like a meteor, trailing an arc of light as sonic booms thundered endlessly along his path.
All that buildup.
Just to throw one punch.
Chen Xia didn't know where the flood dragon lay dormant, nor did he know where the ruined village was.
So he chose to punch the summit. As long as he shattered the entire mountain, he would naturally hit the flood dragon.
That was how, as long as the attack covered a wide enough area, there was no fear of missing.
The night breeze blew, slightly cool.
The punch fell.
It slammed squarely into the summit.
At that moment, 25 points of strength revealed its terror.
The mountain cracked inch by inch like a spiderweb, then broke apart with incredible speed.
"Mountains swayed and earth shook" couldn't describe this punch, because the mountain had simply collapsed.
There was no flood dragon inside, only a long snake dozens of meters long, lying half-dead among the rubble.
Chen Xia landed before it, crouched down, and asked in confusion, "What kind of dragon are you supposed to be?"
The great snake actually bared a savage expression and roared in human speech.
"I only needed to devour another hundred living people to become a flood dragon! Why did you stop me? Aren't you afraid of punishment from the Heavenly Dao?"
Chen Xia nodded with a smile. "Really not afraid."
He grew stronger by adding points, and he wasn't even from this world. The Heavenly Dao truly had no hold over him.
The great snake twisted its wounded body, about to lunge at Chen Xia in one final desperate struggle.
Chen Xia casually stomped, driving his foot through the great snake's skull and crushing the soul and consciousness within.
Thus, the great snake, dozens of meters long, utterly perished, body and Dao alike.
By cultivators' realms, the great snake should have been in the Qi Refining Realm. Had it become a flood dragon, it would have reached the Foundation Establishment Realm.
In this mortal world, it could have been considered invincible.
Unfortunately, it had met the even more invincible Chen Xia.
He flicked a finger sharply toward the great snake's skull. The force instantly burrowed throughout its body, abruptly shattering it and reducing its flesh to mince for the birds to eat.
The flesh of a great snake that had become a Demon Beast was very enticing to these ordinary birds and beasts.
Chen Xia shook his hands to get rid of the dust clinging to them, having removed a hidden danger for Weixi Town.
After the great snake died, a wisp of dark yellow Qi suddenly entered Chen Xia through his forehead. At the same time, a notification popped up in his mind.
[Fortune effect: acquired Elementary Flood Dragon Qi.]
Chen Xia raised his head.
As his eyes shifted, dense dark yellow Qi flowed within them!