Chen Wentian stopped by Dragon Flower Province as the crisis started to unfold, on his way to the eastern provinces. He didn't go visit his disciples at the sect and instead chose to fly around the province and take in the sights from up high. This would no doubt annoy Jasmine but he wasn't thinking of her at the moment. Instead, he was thinking of the sect as a whole and this province which he now called home.
Over two years and three months had passed since he created Ten Thousand Flower Valley. One year after the establishment of the sect, the Immortal Sect Competition took place where his disciples dominated their peers. An entire year after that was dedicated to the Monster Fighting Competition and repelling the monster invasion that devastated the nine frontier provinces to the east. And in between all that, he managed to destroy two Spirit Lords and take over their sects, bring a superpower sect led by two Spirit King to its knees, and even defeat a Spirit King.
So many exciting things happened one after another that two years barely registered in his mind. Time was a different concept to an immortal compared to a mortal. Even for Spirit Lords who merely doubled their original lifespan, two years was a drop in the bucket, a small blip in their existence. But it had been an amazing time.
Chen Wentian managed to find so many amazing disciples and, through their hard work, raise Ten Thousand Flower Valley into an amazing sect. The sect's fame, and perhaps infamy, spread across the subcontinent and its name was known by all. In just two years, his sect was the strongest Spirit Lord sect in the land.
His disciples were unparalleled. It was difficult to even one good disciple with the potential of reaching the immortal realms but it was easy for him. It almost seemed as they fell onto his lap by sheer luck. It was also difficult to earn money and find resources to raise disciples but it was easy for him. He was able to make obscene amounts of money, enough to give each of his disciples the best cultivation resources. A normal Spirit Lord wouldn't be able to achieve all of this in their entire life but he managed to in just a little over two years.
But... continued growth was impossible without challenge, without forces seeking to take him down. Ten Thousand Flower Valley was facing its first crisis from an unknown demon entity but it could have easily been another source.
All cultivation sects faced crises, some more than others, but it was inevitable for all. Some crises were small matters such as lack of good disciples, competition with rival sects, and lack of resources to properly provide for the disciples. Others were more serious, perhaps existential, such as human wars, beast waves, demon infestations.
Some sects survived and thrived afterward. Some perished outright. Many suffered permanent damage and loss that would forever put a stopper on their growth potential, leading to a long and painful decline. But this wouldn't be the case for his sect, not as long as he was alive!
Chen Wentian zipped through the sky, his blue flames leaving a fiery streak in his wake for all to see, a declaration of his presence, a lord surveying his domain.
Dragon Flower Province was shaped roughly like a potato lying on its side.
Ten Thousand Flower Valley was located to the northwest. Further north and west were forested mountains and river valleys that extended to the border, home of mountain people including Wu Qianyu and the Great Leaf Sect where she came from. This area was sparsely populated by humans but filled with plenty of wildlife and natural resources. To the south and the east lay the fertile river plains. Farmland stretched from horizon to horizon, interrupted by forests, lakes, and hills here and there. Villages, towns, and cities dotted the landscape for a thousand kilometers until the eastern border, where the capital of the Bright Moon Kingdom, Moonlight City, was situated.
This vast land, filled with millions of human souls, used to be a chaotic place filled with danger. The residents lived in fear of bandit raids that would rob them of women and girls. They had to defend against demon infestations that would pop up from time to time that would wipe out whole regions. They were at the whim of local cultivation sects that ruled the area like lords and kings. They were also subject to droughts, pestilence, famine, war, an endless number of threats to commoners.
Ten Thousand Flower Valley changed all of this. In just two years, this province was transformed for the better.
Existing demon infestations were wiped out for good. All of his disciples contributed to this at one point or another but it was mostly done single-handedly by Wu Qianyu. If one had to talk about demon slayers that may or may not exist, she was a true demon slayer. No demon, large or small, was safe if she was on a pain-driven rampage. Now, only evil demons with the ability to hide within human populations remained.
Bandits were gone as well. They no longer ruled the land with impunity. The demand for their services no longer exists after Lin Qingcheng took over the Bright Moon Kingdom and implemented her reforms. Those that stubbornly remained were destroyed by the kingdom in a massive campaign that swept the entire province clean.
Dragon Flower Province was now in a golden period of peace and prosperity. Zhou Ziyun's excellent management, combined with his money and the influx of refugees from the frontier, improved the economy of the province greatly. Capable people now had every chance to survive and flourish without the dangers they would face in other provinces.
As a result, within the ordinary human population, there was nobody that could find fault with their immortal ruler. Chen Wentian's name as well as those of his disciples were spoken with reverence. From the east to the west, south to the north, all the commoners loved Immortal Blue Dragon and his Ten Thousand Flower Valley.
Opinions were more mixed within the cultivation sects that existed before Chen Wentian's arrival. The lower-ranked and less capable sects welcomed him and readily accepted the benefits he provided. Better sects looked on in helplessness and jealousy as their power and influence were stripped away in an instant. Some sects even left the province altogether, choosing to seek a new path in another land without an overlord, while other sects moved to the province instead in hopes of establishing relationships with a brand-new immortal.
Chen Wentian didn't pay attention to the coming and going of other sects but he didn't suppress them either. His own sect was too selective and would never have many disciples. These cultivation sects were a necessary annoyance. They absorbed all the excess cultivators that couldn't even join his branch sects, let alone Ten Thousand Flower Valley. At long as these ragtag sects behaved and didn't cause him trouble, they were allowed to exist.
All in all, Dragon Flower Province was now a great place.
Ten Thousand Flower Valley was doing great too.
This sect he created and this province he ruled, he wouldn't let them fall to ruin. He had already put a lot of effort into everything and he wasn't going to let a bunch of dirty demons mess it up.
He welcomed a fight. As a cultivator, he wouldn't grow by hiding in a hole, without finding opportunities in the face of danger. Sometimes, danger was unavoidable and only option was to confront it head-on.
As long as he prepared, he didn't fear any beast, demon, or human. He was Immortal Blue Dragon Chen Wentian. He wielded unfathomable secrets that would make the whole world tremble. There was nothing that could stop his ascent towards nirvana!