Xie Lian asked, "Is this your grave? Was that your wine I drank?"
He was so drunk he didn't hear the will-o'-the-wisp's reply. He thought the tomb's owner was displeased and trying to get him out. He muttered, "Got it. I'll leave now."
Xie Lian climbed to his feet, holding the wine jar, and began to stagger. Unexpectedly, after only a few steps, his feet suddenly gave way, and with a loud thud, he fell headfirst.
It turned out there was a large pit in the cemetery. It had probably been dug to bury the dead, but before the body was even buried, Xie Lian was laid down in it.
Xie Lian banged his forehead against the edge of the pit, causing a sharp pain and further dizziness. He remained unconscious for a long time before struggling to his feet. His hands were covered in mud and blood, and he had no idea where he had broken out.
He raised his hands, looking around bewilderedly for a moment, then tried to climb out of the pit. But he had just drunk a jar of wine, and his hands and feet were weak and powerless. He slipped down several times. Xie Lian collapsed back to the bottom of the pit and stared at the dark, moon-shaded night sky for a long time, furious.
This pit is not that deep, why can't I climb out?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Xie Lian couldn’t help but mutter, “…Fuck you.”
Xie Lian had never cursed before. This was the first time he had uttered such a word. Miraculously, after cursing, the pent-up anger in his chest instantly dissipated. And so, like a child who had tasted sweetness, Xie Lian struggled to cling to the edge of the grave, raising his voice and cursing once more: "I'm so fucked up!"
He slapped the ground and shouted, "Is there anyone here? Is there anyone who can help me?!"
Of course, there was no one. Only a faint will-o'-the-wisp, dancing and whirling. After Xie Lian fell, the will-o'-the-wisp rushed over, seemingly trying to pull him back, but it was never able to reach him. Xie Lian paid no attention to it, angrily saying, "Someone might as well just bury me!"
Despite the scolding, he still had to crawl. With a lot of effort, Xie Lian finally managed to climb up on his own. He was already a mess, panting and lying on the ground. After a long while, he turned over and curled up in his arms.
Xie Lian whispered, "It's so cold."
He spoke quietly, afraid of being overheard. But the will-o'-the-wisp heard him and flew over to his body, the flame suddenly brighter, as if burning itself vigorously.
However, the will-o'-the-wisp is cold.
Even if it gets closer and burns out, it will not bring any warmth to the living.
In a trance, Xie Lian seemed to hear a tiny voice.
The voice seemed near and far, like a dream and reality, and it said desperately: "God, please wait for me, wait for me... Please give me a little more time... Let me... Let me..."
“…”
Xie Lian thought to himself, "God? Are you calling me?"
But even praying to him was useless.
Because, when he was God, he was powerless. Now, he is no longer God, and he can do nothing.
…
"...Your Highness? Your Highness? Your Highness!"
Xie Lian was woken up by Feng Xin.
He forced his eyes open and found himself lying in an alley. Feng Xin's face hung overhead. Seeing him awake, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then a trace of anger crossed his face. He said, "Your Highness! What's wrong with you? You ran away for over two days without saying a word! If you don't come back, I won't be able to hide this from His Majesty and the others!"
Xie Lian slowly sat up and asked, "Two days?"
As soon as he uttered these two words, he realized his throat was dry, his voice was hoarse, his eyebrows were twitching, and his head was splitting. He seemed to remember something, but it also seemed like he remembered nothing. Feng Xin squatted beside him and said, "That's right! Two days! Where did you go?! Why did you go so crazy just now?"
Had he been drunk for two days? Wasn't he in a wild cemetery? Why was he lying here? And from Feng Xin's tone, Xie Lian had a bad feeling and asked, "What's wrong with me?"
Feng Xin said angrily, "You're possessed! You're smashing stalls everywhere, beating people up, and even trying to stop Yong'an soldiers patrolling the streets! I don't know what else you did before!"
Hearing that he had actually stopped the Yong'an soldiers, Xie Lian was shocked and asked, "I stopped the soldiers? Then... where are those soldiers?"
Feng Xin said, "Luckily I bumped into you and grabbed you. You looked like that, and they thought you were drunk and crazy. They cursed at you and didn't pay much attention. Otherwise, you would have been dead. What's wrong with you? Why do I think you look drunk?"
Xie Lian looked down and saw that he was now completely filthy and covered in mud. Scratching his hair, it was so tangled that he looked like a criminal about to be dragged off to be executed. He really did look like those drunkards and lunatics who slept on the streets all day.
After a moment of silence, he stood up and said vaguely, "Well... I drank a little."
Feng Xin didn't react for a moment and said, "What? How could you drink? How much did you drink to be drunk for two days?"
Seeing Feng Xin's face full of disbelief, Xie Lian felt a little annoyed for no reason. He walked forward and said, "I said I didn't drink much. I just drank a little. It's not a big deal. Why can't I drink?"
Feng Xin didn't expect him to answer like that. He was stunned for a moment, then chased after him and said, "What do you mean by 'nothing to do'? Why? Your Highness, have you forgotten? Drinking is a violation of the precepts. You can't break the precepts. Otherwise, how can you cultivate? You have to ascend again."
"..." As soon as Xie Lian heard about cultivation and ascension, he didn't want to listen anymore and quickened his pace. Feng Xin said, "Your Highness!"
He caught up again, hesitated for a moment, and said, "What happened? Tell me."
Hearing Feng Xin's cautious question, Xie Lian opened his mouth, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
If he didn't find someone to talk to, he might collapse. But he wasn't sure how Feng Xin would react after he told her.
He didn't dare to gamble.
Seeing him dazed, Feng Xin said again: "Honestly, this isn't murder, arson, or robbery. Your Highness, is there anything you can't tell me?"
Hearing “It’s not murder, arson, or robbery,” Xie Lian felt suffocated.
If he'd initially harbored a hint of hesitation, a sliver of hope, it was completely shattered at this moment. Xie Lian lowered his head, turned around, and continued walking, mumbling, "Nothing... I'm just really tired. You..." He was about to make up an excuse when he suddenly noticed something on the side of Feng Xin's cheek. He paused, asking, "What's going on with your face?"
Feng Xin touched his cheek, and a muscle twitched, seemingly finding pain. The marks on his face were bruises. Furthermore, one of his arms was also bandaged, carefully wrapped in layers.
This bandage definitely wasn't applied by Feng Xin himself, but Xie Lian was concerned about the injury beneath it. He asked, "How did you get hurt?"
With Feng Xin's skill, it would be difficult for a mortal to injure him easily, especially since the injury was to his arm. Feng Xin didn't take it seriously and said, "Oh, it's nothing, those scoundrels just came to mess with the stall."
Xie Lian was startled and confused. He asked, “Are they those locals who were performing that day?”
Feng Xin said: "That's them."
Xie Lian asked, “Why did they smash your stall?” Then he suddenly realized, “Because we admitted defeat that day, but you went back to performing, so they chased you away?”
That was probably it. After figuring out the reason, Xie Lian felt a surge of anger in his heart.
He said stiffly: "Don't go!"
Feng Xin said nonchalantly, "Who cares! I'm going anyway. You're the one who admitted defeat, not me. I haven't admitted defeat, so it's not like I'm regretting it. I'm just going to perform there. What else can they do to me besides sneaking around and throwing things at my stall? I was caught off guard this time, but I won't be afraid of them next time. Even if we fight, I'm not afraid of them!"
After hearing this, the sudden surge of anger in Xie Lian's heart immediately dissipated, replaced by a wave of guilt.
Despite the current situation, he is still here alone, depressed and dejected. How can he be worthy of his loyal servants who have not left him even at this point?
Thinking of this, Xie Lian sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Feng Xin."
Feng Xin was stunned, and waved his hands vigorously, saying, "Your Highness, why are you saying sorry to me? Isn't that just nonsense?"
Xie Lian said, “You’ve been earning money all these days. Thank you for your hard work.”
Feng Xin said: "As long as you practice hard and ascend again soon, it will be better than anything else!"
Hearing the word "ascension" again, Xie Lian nodded solemnly.
The king and queen, deceived by Feng Xin's deception, believed Xie Lian had been away cultivating. Upon seeing him return, the queen happily prepared another meal. Xie Lian, unable to bear the thought, took Feng Xin's bowl and ate in his place. A sleepless night followed.
The next day, Feng Xin got up early and went out, while Xie Lian stayed behind to practice.
However, even though he was extremely focused, he still couldn't concentrate.
This is just like everyone knows that the only way to succeed is through diligent study and practice. However, out of ten thousand people, how many can truly practice these four words? Similarly, even if someone tells himself a thousand times to have no distractions, how can he actually do it?
For more than ten days, his cultivation progress had stagnated, yielding no results. Xie Lian couldn't help but feel anxious. Especially when Feng Xin returned home exhausted late at night and asked the Queen if he had made any progress, Xie Lian felt an indescribable pressure.
But he didn't dare tell the truth, and could only vaguely reply that there was progress, which delighted Feng Xin and the Queen. This situation couldn't continue in the long run. Two months later, Xie Lian finally couldn't let this situation continue any longer.
One day, Feng Xin returned home late at night. The two of them were eating leftovers from the previous night at the table. As they ate, Xie Lian suddenly said to him, "I'm afraid I'll be away for a while."
Feng Xin was eating while he was stunned: "Ah? Leaving? Where are you leaving to?"
Xie Lian said slowly, “I’m going to find a quiet place with abundant spiritual energy to practice in seclusion.”
A training ground rich in spiritual energy would undoubtedly benefit practitioners. Previously, Xie Lian had been unable to make up his mind to leave his parents and two attendants, which had prevented him from leaving. Now, he had changed his mind. Feng Xin, without further ado, said, "Excellent! Your Highness, you should have done this long ago! Pure cultivation is most effective."
Xie Lian nodded, paused, and then said, “While I’m gone, please take care of Father and the others.”
Feng Xin was about to answer when he hesitated for a moment. Though fleeting, Xie Lian knew him so well that how could he not notice this momentary hesitation?
At this moment, the king in the room said, "You can go. I don't need anyone else to look after me."
Feng Xin and Xie Lian put down their bowls and chopsticks and peered into the room. The King, still awake, had overheard their conversation and interrupted. Xie Lian shook his head and whispered, "He's trying to be tough again." Feng Xin smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. That's for sure."
Now he answered readily, but Xie Lian also remembered that Feng Xin seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering, as if he had other concerns.
But then he thought again, maybe he was mistaken. Feng Xin didn't know anyone else besides them, and he had no other concerns. What else could he be worried about? He ignored it and turned to consider tomorrow's itinerary.
The next day, Xie Lian packed his simple bag and temporarily said goodbye to his parents and Feng Xin.
He walked for dozens of miles, sleeping in the open air for days, and finally found a secluded mountain area suitable for spiritual practice. After a brief survey, Xie Lian was stunned at first, then overjoyed.
"How lucky... This place has excellent feng shui, it's actually a rare paradise!"
After such a bad luck, Xie Lian suddenly had a change of fortune. He was still a little incredulous, but after repeated confirmation, he finally confirmed it. This is truly a treasure land rich in spiritual energy. If he could concentrate on practicing here for a few months, he would surely achieve twice the result with half the effort and make rapid progress!
Xie Lian seemed to see hope. His gloomy mood of the past few days suddenly brightened, and his heart leaped with joy. "Father, Mother, Feng Xin, wait for me. I will be back soon!"
After climbing the steep and rugged mountain road for three or four hours, Xie Lian finally entered the depths of this sacred mountain before sunset.
As they made their way through the dense forest, they could clearly sense they were getting closer to the source of spiritual energy. Xie Lian's steps grew lighter and lighter. Unexpectedly, just as he was selecting a spot for his retreat, a sudden clatter of footsteps echoed from behind him.
In such a secluded mountain area, there were unexpectedly so many footsteps. Xie Lian subconsciously turned around to look. He never expected that the smile on his face would freeze at this sight.
Behind him, a number of people appeared, about thirty of them, of varying heights, weights, appearances, and attire, but without exception, they were all priests. A few were lower-ranking priests from the Upper Heaven, while the majority were priests of the same rank from the Lower Heaven.
Among them, there were those little priests who were encountered during the highway robbery last time!
When they saw Xie Lian, their expressions changed slightly. They talked about this, poked that, and whispered something. When they saw them, Xie Lian's hands suddenly trembled slightly.
The two sides looked at each other in bewilderment. After a while, a priest coughed and said, "What a coincidence! We actually met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince here."
"Yes, why is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince here?"
“…”
Xie Lian nodded slightly, and replied as calmly and confidently as possible, "I came here to practice."
Although he is no longer the same person he was before, Xie Lian still tries his best to speak in the same tone as before he was demoted, not letting himself be humble or feel guilty.
The priest opposite smiled and said, "What a coincidence! We are here to practice as well."
"Yeah, yeah, I didn't expect we'd bump into each other. Hehehe..."
It turned out that this blessed place was not only discovered by him, but also by dozens of priests.
Faced with this situation, Xie Lian hesitated. Was he really going to train with so many priests?
To be honest, he deeply resisted practicing with other priests. First, he was here to practice in seclusion, and if he couldn't be alone, and had to be with so many people, he would inevitably be disturbed. Some people liked to practice in groups, "so that they could look after each other," but Xie Lian always practiced alone.
Secondly, after the last highway robbery, he was now nervous whenever he saw the priests he had dealt with in the past. He always felt that their gazes were like needles pricking him. For example, at this moment, he had the illusion that everyone was scrutinizing him with subtle eyes. As a result, he had no intention of practicing at all.
Although there was a first-come, first-served rule regarding occupying a blessed land, if Xie Lian was forceful enough, he could have said, "I was here first, and you should all find another place to practice." However, the junior priests who had caught him robbing were right across the street, so he couldn't be too forceful. Furthermore, he had occupied the blessed land by himself, and driven away so many priests, which was quite overbearing. Even though Xie Lian resisted practicing with other priests, he had no choice. He couldn't find another place with such abundant spiritual energy for a while, so he nodded and said, "Yes, what a coincidence. I'll go in first, and you all please make yourselves at ease."
He wanted to leave in a hurry and find the quietest cave to hide in. But as soon as he turned around, a priest behind him said, "Wait a minute?"
Xie Lian paused, turned around and asked in confusion, "What's going on?"
Some of the thirty-odd priests exchanged glances, while others whispered. After a moment, one of them stood up and said with a smile, "Your Highness the Crown Prince has occupied quite a few blessed caves in the past. Why don't you give this one to us?"
Xie Lian was stunned for a long moment before he finally reacted.
What they meant was that they wanted him to leave alone?
It's incomprehensible and too much!
A surge of blood rushed to his head. Xie Lian thought to himself, "I was here first. I didn't ask you to leave. Why are you asking me to leave?"
But he couldn't act rashly. After a moment of silence, his fingers gripping the straps of his bag slowly tightened as Xie Lian spoke stiffly, "Everyone, what do you mean by this?"
A priest said, "Well... didn't I just say that... His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has occupied quite a few blessed places in the past..."
Xie Lian interrupted him, “But what does that have to do with this? Just because I’ve occupied too many spiritual lands in the past, does that mean I’m not allowed to cultivate in spiritual lands anymore?”
The priest was blocked by him and fell silent. Xie Lian tried to remain calm and said, "Besides, I don't quite understand. It's not like I'm cultivating here, so you can't cultivate here. Isn't it common to cultivate in shared spiritual lands? What's wrong with everyone cultivating separately? Why do you have to make me leave?"
At this time, someone muttered, "...Don't play dumb. There are already more than thirty people here. If you practice here, what else can others practice..."
Although the man was quickly subdued by others, Xie Lian still understood instantly.
I see!
The spiritual energy of a blessed land is limited. During cultivation, if one person takes half, the next person can only take the other half. And if one person takes 80%, the other can only take 20%. The stronger the ability to absorb spiritual energy and use it for one's own benefit, the more spiritual energy one can occupy.
The priests were worried that if he also cultivated here, he would take up most of the spiritual energy. And if the remaining spiritual energy was divided among the thirty or so people, there would be very little left for each of them!
After figuring this out, Xie Lian's blood rushed even more fiercely. He clenched his fists and said coldly, "...I want to practice here."
A priest on the opposite side said, "Your Highness, we respect you and are willing to call you Your Highness. You are a mortal now, why do you have to compete with us for the spiritual land?"
Xie Lian said, “Since I am a mortal and you are all priests, what are you afraid of if I cultivate here? If I don’t leave, will you force me out?”
Of course, that wasn't possible. If a priest used force against a mortal who hadn't committed a serious offense, they would be punished. The priests really couldn't do anything about him. However, Xie Lian had forgotten one thing.
Just as he was stubbornly confronting the thirty-odd priests, a voice suddenly spoke up: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been demoted to the mortal realm, and his bones have become even harder. Not only will he rob mortals, he'll also offend the priests. Hahahaha!"
Upon hearing this, Xie Lian felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave!
He looked up suddenly and saw that the person who spoke was an inconspicuous low-level priest, but it was not any of the priests who discovered the incident that day!
As expected, they had already told everyone! It wasn't just Xie Lian's illusion; everyone was indeed looking at him with those subtle eyes. Everyone knew, all those priests, all knew!!!
In that instant, Xie Lian felt as if his bones had been pulled out. All his arrogance vanished, his eyes nearly bloodshot. He turned stiffly, looking at the young priests, and said in a hoarse voice, "...You said you wouldn't tell anyone."
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