Killing gods is just the beginning.
Soon the news of the immortal's death spread back to the imperial capital, and the whole country was in an uproar.
No one expected that the prince would kill a god.
At the same time, no one expected that the prince could kill gods.
The one who came to arrest him was his deputy general. Zhuang Mingqi looked at the Crown Prince in front of him with reluctance.
He whispered, "Do you still remember the god of Kari Country?"
At that time, after Jie Fangcheng killed the god, he said that it was not a god, but a demon with magical powers.
But he said that at that time because he felt that immortals were very rare and might not be seen once in a thousand years. It was hard to say whether Da Ru would still be there when an immortal came to the world next time.
Secondly, it was to stabilize the morale of the army and prevent the "deicide" incident from covering up the hatred between Da Ru and Kara State.
But at this moment, Zhuang Mingqi looked at His Highness in front of him with expectation: "Are the gods who descended upon our Great Ru not demons?"
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince understood what he meant, but just shook his head.
"No, the one who came to our country is indeed a god."
He was clear-headed and knew very well that killing this supreme god this time would only be a temporary solution and would only temporarily resolve the crisis in Ru State.
What if there is a next time? If another so-called god appears on this land, maybe he is more hateful than the god that Jie Fangcheng killed, and what he did is more disgusting. By then, can Jie Fangcheng still kill this god
He was just a mortal, and he was able to kill the gods only because the two gods underestimated him and took advantage of their drunkenness.
Such good opportunities don't come along every time.
Moreover, could a mortal like him who had only learned some superficial immortal arts really be able to achieve immortality and protect Da Ru forever
Besides him, someone must understand that the gods are not inviolable.
He killed God.
He also wanted everyone in the world to see that gods could be killed by mortals.
Even if he died, later generations would remember that when those gods came to the world and forced the people of this land to lose their way, they had another choice besides despair and fear.
And this option has been proven to be feasible by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
Zhuang Mingqi also immediately understood what he meant.
"Your Highness..."
Xie Fangcheng simply handed him the book in his hand.
"There are some methods of cultivation in the Immortal Palace. These are my insights. Don't keep them to yourself. Select more good ones and urge them to practice."
Zhuang Mingqi tightly grasped the book in his hand, fell to the ground and cried, unable to stop.
As expected by the two, the emperor became furious upon hearing the news of the immortal's death.
Even though he had few children and only had this one prince, it could not stop the emperor from throwing his only son into the Heavenly Prison. He would rather adopt a son from the royal family as the crown prince than kill him to vent his anger.
Occasionally, there were people in the court who pleaded for the prince, and they were also severely punished - but in fact, not many people pleaded for him.
Because what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has cut off is the path to immortality for all the powerful people in the court.
When the gods build an ice city, it is the common people who will die.
If you want to offer sacrifices, the worst that can happen is to adopt some "orphans" and name them as your adopted sons.
When gods come to the world, they make the common people suffer, but they never make the powerful and wealthy suffer.
That was the hope of becoming a god, and it was cut off so abruptly. Who wouldn't hate it
The former crown prince, a general who had been stationed at the border for many years, was finally given an imperial decree to be executed by slow slicing.
Zhuang Mingqi sneaked into the prison late at night and said in a hateful voice: "Your Highness! I and a hundred thousand soldiers are waiting for Your Highness!"
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked: "Is there no one in the army who hates me?"
Zhuang Mingqi didn't dare to answer.
The prince smiled and said, "Go back. The people of your country have suffered enough in the past two years. They can't stand the war anymore."
When Zhuang Mingqi left the Heavenly Prison, he looked back for the last time. Their general, the Crown Prince of Ru, was wearing shackles and sitting quietly at the table, with blood marks on his body from being whipped.
His back was straight, and the hand that usually held the sword was now holding a pen, writing down other Taoist methods he knew.
He didn't even have a single word of resentment.
Beside Zhuang Mingqi, the jailer whispered, "Sir, can you take His Highness away?"
Zhuang Mingqi was stunned.
The head of the prison had gray hair on his temples and spoke in a low voice: "My child Min once served in the Immortal Palace. Now... his remains have finally returned home."
In the dim candlelight, a sickly blush appeared on the jailer's rough face, which looked like old tree bark.
"I heard that His Highness used the magic he knew to gain the emperor's mercy, allowing the fairy children to return home without being buried with the dead. Those with no one at home can join the army. The bodies can also be taken back by their families."
The jailer sighed with satisfaction: "After Min Tong went there, my old wife cried every night, her eyes went blind, and she is no longer healthy. She asked me to see His Royal Highness off. When the matter is settled, our family of three will be reunited... Sir, take His Royal Highness away!"
Zhuang Mingqi also wanted to take him away, but looking at the man in the prison from afar, how could the deputy general who fought on the battlefield with the general not know
He won't leave.
Where can I go after getting out of this prison
Going to the border
The state of Gan had already surrendered, there was no more war to fight at the border, and the army had already returned to the capital.
During these three years, the emperor was wary of the prince's prestige in the army and repeatedly reduced his military power. He also dispersed the generals he was familiar with to various military regions to prevent him from rebelling.
Besides, he asked the right question just now.
Is there no one in the army who is devoted to cultivating the Dao? Is there no one who does not hate him
Yes, plenty!
Compared to the people who believe in and worship God, the number of people he saved is just a drop in the ocean.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince knew his own fate long before he killed the gods.
Zhuang Mingqi's throat choked with sobs, but in the end he could only bow to the jailer in front of him.
"My general... I hope the old man will take good care of him."
.
This day.
The sky is like an inkstone, covered with dark clouds.
There was already a crowd of people waiting quietly by the roadside early in the morning.
The door of the sky prison opened, and the former crown prince, the young general who was once in the limelight, was now a prisoner. He was chained and sent to the execution ground in a simple prison cart.
He raised his eyes and looked around.
Some of the people walking on both sides of the street had resentment in their eyes, some looked pity, and a small number of them had young children with them. After seeing him, they knelt down and cried silently.
Boom boom
There was a loud thunder and heavy rain.
There seemed to be only the sounds of rain, thunder, and the prison cart rolling over the bluestone street.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince lowered his eyes and looked at his hands, not knowing what he was thinking.
As the prison car moved forward, he felt that the rain above his head seemed to have stopped.
The prisoner raised his eyelashes.
Above his head, umbrellas were opened one after another to block out the rain.
Finally, the prince, who had been calmly accepting his own death, looked stunned.
He turned his head slowly.
The patched, colorful clothes are like a solid wall of steel, forming an impenetrable wall of protection at this moment.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out.
The silent convoy finally arrived at its destination.
The current emperor personally supervised the execution. He looked coldly at the peasants who escorted the prince to the execution ground, and almost wanted to order them to be skinned to death.
But... there was much more than he had imagined.
Outside the layers of umbrellas, people are following silently.
These insignificant people who used to look numb and dared not even cry out in pain when whipped now seemed to have finally come alive.
Their expressions were so strange, their eyes seemed to be burning.
When they arrived at the execution ground, they stood in unison.
The chief executioner sent people with sticks to drive them away, but the people, who had been as docile as cattle and horses, refused to move no matter how they were beaten.
Finally, someone shouted the first sentence in a hoarse voice.
"The prince shouldn't die!"
Just like opening a floodgate, after the first roar, the entire execution ground was instantly filled with roars one after another.
It was a trapped beast that had been forced into a desperate situation, roaring with its life burning.
"What did the prince do wrong?! That immortal... that immortal deserves to die the most!"
"My son was ordered to dress up as an immortal! I thought he was on his way to immortality, but when he came back, his voice was hoarse from the poison! Both of his hands were chopped off! Is this an immortal? Is this an immortal?"
"I spent all my money to donate incense money, just to ask the gods to let my wife come back! But the gods did not respond, it was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who let her come back!"
"We don't want gods! We want a prince!!"
"The prince shouldn't die!"
Under the dark clouds, lightning shone on the faces of the people in front of him.
His Majesty's whole body trembled violently, and his hair stood on end.
The chief judge on one side frowned and shouted angrily: "You are openly defying the Holy Order. Are you going to rebel?"
The crowd was silent for a moment.
Immediately afterwards, a wave of sound louder than thunder swept over.
"Five years ago, the Kingdom of Gan conquered Luoxia Pass! The Crown Prince rode alone for ten days to the border to save the day! Without the Crown Prince, the Kingdom of Ru would have perished long ago!"
"What has His Royal Highness done wrong? Why is it that asking for his life is like rebelling?"
"The prince shouldn't die!"
I don't know who it was, but the first person to kneel down was not the emperor sitting on the high platform, but the prince in the prison car.
Then, the second, the third...
In front of the emperor, a huge crowd of people guarded the prison car in the middle and kowtowed devoutly, as if they were kowtowing to a new king.
It’s the opposite… It’s really the opposite!
His Majesty was shocked and angry, and felt immense fear.
These people are obviously a group of pigs and cows. They will just obey no matter how you order them around.
But at this moment, this group of people seemed to have suddenly become "people".
Are you very proud of yourself
The emperor stood up and looked at the deposed prince from afar.
The people in the prison car were not happy.
He looked compassionate and his brows were furrowed.
At one point, he seemed to sigh and want to say something.
The emperor was afraid that he really wanted to win over these people, so he stood up in panic.
“Someone! Kill this rebellious son… Kill all these rebels! Kill them all!!”
The guards around immediately drew their swords.
“No!”
The prince, who was ready to be killed, was furious as thunder.
As soon as he spoke, the weapons around him began to buzz and the knife-wielding guards could not hold their knives.
At this moment, the prince seemed to understand something.
He raised his head.
The moment he looked up, the dark clouds suddenly dissipated.
A staircase like white jade hung down from the sky.
I heard that there was a mortal who became a god, and the heavens lowered the stairs to welcome him.
At this moment, the stairs descended from the sky and slowly landed at the feet of the prince.
It was quiet all around.
The chief executioner trembled and knelt down.
"God... Prince... The Prince has become a god..."
The prison car was smashed into pieces by the heavenly steps. Under the bright sunlight, hundreds of flowers blossomed and faint heavenly music could be heard.
Become a god...huh
The prince lowered his eyes and glanced at the steps at his feet.
Then he turned around and looked at the people kneeling around him.
The people who held umbrellas for him had different expressions, some were terrified, some were unbelievable, some were angry... but none of them were happy.
It was God who separated them from their families, and it was the prince who properly settled them down.
But now, the prince wants to become a god...
Jie Fangcheng's gaze swept across everyone's face.
He raised his head and looked towards the end of the stairs.
It is the fairy palace, the place of immortality, and the place where mortals can be regarded as dirt from now on.
That is the dream that many ordinary people pursue throughout their lives.
And now.
Jie Fangcheng reaches out—
The Sword of the Gentleman was born from his hands.
He swung his sword and cut through the heavenly steps with one blow!
A strong wind suddenly arose and dark clouds reappeared, as if accusing this tiny mortal of being so ungrateful.
Amid the howling wind, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince turned to face the people around him.
— "I will never become a god."
(End of this chapter)