If Jiang Xiu were still in his peak, let alone a river, he would have even split the sea. However, he only had five Divine Regalia right now and didn't possess enough divine force to bring the tides to a halt. If a calf is made to pull a big cart, it'll tire itself to death. Such was the current scenario.
"Prepare a few things…"
"Paper, candle, and a sword."
Many were willing to do it for him, but there were even more people unwilling to do it. Between the Wang family and Jiang Luoxia, one of them would no doubt suffer defeat today. If they bet on the right person, then their future prospects would skyrocket. But if they bet on the wrong side, they'll be damned eternally. The best way to guard themselves against this was to just stand there doing nothing.
"I'll bring them!"
Tang Wenchen answered in return then rushed to go buy the things. The Tang family were already tied with Jiang Xiu. He acted as Jiang Xiu's messenger just now, and Wang Xuehai had died due to this. If Jiang Xiu lost, the Wang family would deal with the Tang family.
"What is he doing?"
Everyone was quite astonished as they found it meaningless to ask for those things.
"He's just playing tricks!"
Someone commented with disdain. As Jiang Xiu had pushed Wang Xuehai to his death and sealed a hatred with the Wang family, they believed Jiang Xiu was just courting death.
They didn't think that Jiang Luoxia could shake up the Wang family.
In the past, several people had tried to overthrow the Wang family, but none of them had succeeded even with their blood as the price. In the populace's eyes, Jiang Xiu definitely wasn't the first to challenge the Wang family, and neither would he be the last.
"Humph!"
"Jiang Luoxia, don't think you can procrastinate. You can't even go underwater so there's no way you can match my Ancestor. It's better to kill yourself to avoid the humiliation."
Old Madame Wang desired to kill him so she could avenge her son and appease the Wang family's hatred.
Jiang Xiu stood proudly on the Bayview Platform. The Qian River was before him, its waves hitting against the shore, rising up and down. His body seemed incomparably small when facing it but also appeared to contain a power enough to overthrow the heavens, with the ability to conquer everything.
"Mr. Jiang, I've brought the things."
Jiang Xiu took the things. Everyone peeked with curiosity as they wished to know how Jiang Xiu would enter underwater.
They saw him fold the paper nimbly.
His slender fingers flipped then folded the paper deftly in a skilled manner similar to that of a Shaman.
It was passed down that the Shamans were dexterous and used paper to communicate with the spirits.
"What's he up to?"
They didn't need to wait for long as a paper boat appeared in Jiang Xiu's palm soon.
"A paper boat?"
They saw Jiang Xiu light the candle then place it on the paper boat.
"River lantern?"
There was a tradition of releasing lanterns along the river during the Ghost Festival which were a means to express wishes in honor of the loved ones who had passed away.
"Does he want to release a lantern during Qian River's spring tide?"
Does he want to use a spell to request the river god to settle the river's tides?
They couldn't think up of any other possibility.
"How will he do it though?"
This river wasn't a flowing one. It wasn't possible for someone to release a lantern on the river bank here besides the fact that it was the time of high rise now. The waves rose up to 5-6 m tall.
"Stop acting!"
Jiang Xiu held the lantern before him and spoke a few words towards the candle. Its flame flickered weirdly, making it seem as if the surroundings had turned darker, leaving only the candlelight flickering in the darkness.
"Why does it look as if he was wishing?"
In the next second, everyone tensed up because Jiang Xiu's voice became louder. They couldn't hear what he was saying before since the sounds of waves covered it up. They couldn't comprehend what he was saying . It seemed like an ancient language that was boundless and desolate with its pace turning faster as it reached the end.
The aura swelled up sharply too!
"Go!"
Jiang Xiu threw the lantern in his hand towards the Qian River. It dropped into it then disappeared.
However, everyone was left dumbstruck by the next scene.
After getting engulfed by the waves, the lantern ascended to the top of the wave then sunk down along with the dropping curve, taking advantage of the wave's momentum. It rose up when the waves rose and didn't get overturned. It seemed as if someone was supporting the boat.
An even stranger fact was that the candle was still lit. It didn't even flicker and seemed as if the wind had stopped blowing in the surroundings.
Jiang Xiu shouted while pointing towards it with astonishing momentum, "Lantern Seeks the Water Ghost!"
The lantern sunk down towards the depths of Qian River!
"This…"
"Too unbelievable!"
This went against nature's rules. All the people were stupefied and gasped in surprise, feeling that Jiang Luoxia's fame was entirely justified.
"How is this possible?"
Ye Wenchen and Cheng Lingsu were stunned. They didn't expect that Jiang Xiu possessed such godly skills.
Even Old Madame Wang was surprised. She too couldn't make out what spell Jiang Xiu had used. It was very shocking.
"What's the use of doing this at this point of time?"
Ding!
Jiang Xiu unsheathed the sword. It was an ordinary sword yet it glowed brightly when Jiang Xiu pulled it out. He raised his head, facing the wolf-like sounds of the storm. He lifted his hand up, murmuring a spell, causing the radiance on the sword to increase sharply. It dimmed and glowed again, forming a 10 m long light.
"Changing the weather with a wave of the sleeve, the river shall split as the sword falls."
As the sword chopped down, space and time seemed to disappear, leaving only the dazzling sword light.
The sword light struck into the Qian River and split it into two halves, causing the storm to engulf both halves as if the heavens were pushing the water aside, making them turn into two currents.
"What the…!"
Everyone cried out, eyes open wide in alarm.
This was the Qiang River. He had actually chopped such a vast river into two halves. The scene had utterly toppled their imagination.
They couldn't fathom someone accomplishing such a feat.
It wasn't possible to do such a thing even with the latest scientific technologies or with the most recent bombs or weapons of the army.
"What kind of ancient sword art is this?"
Old Madame Wang's expression morphed.
"Ignorant idiots!"
How can you even compare a sword skill of the Immortal Martial Continent to the ancient sword skills passed down on Earth? This is an Immortal Skill.
"He…"
Cheng Lingsu was dumbstruck. He actually has such godly skills.
Jiang Xiu walked over towards the river loftily. He walked on the waves as if he was standing on stable land. Each time a wave came over, his sword chopped towards it.
The astonishing fact was that they could see the lantern moving up and down after the wave separated wherever the sword fell. The lantern was guiding him.
No one questioned it now nor sneered.
They were already awed by the current scene.
They only started talking after Jiang Xiu had entered the depths of Qian River and disappeared from their gazes. Old Madame Wang had mocked him by saying he couldn't even go underwater but he had given a strong counter-attack. He went under the river by using such a shocking method.
Tang Zhenshan, Tang Wenchong and the others from the Tang family were all brimming with confidence. "Mr. Jiang's powers are truly magical…"
The Tang family's future was entirely dependent on Jiang Xiu.
As the old adage went - When one gains glory, so do the rest; When one incurs ruin, so do the rest.
Actually, it was quite tricky for Jiang Xiu to achieve this feat with his current cultivation. Though the scene looked cool, he was only able to pull it off due to his extremely refined control of divine force.
Though he had lost his strength, this was possible only because Jiang Xiu possessed profound insights into the Dao of Water.
The sky had darkened before anyone realized it.
No one could make out where Jiang Xiu was underwater yet they could see the weak candlelight flicker there in the darkness. It was indeed a strange sight to behold.
Old Madame Wang's expression turned solemn. Jiang Xiu had already gone underwater. She speculated that if the Ancestor were there, Jiang Xiu would no doubt find him.
The battle between Demigods was about to begin.