Chapter 281: The Place of Birth (Part 18)

Chapter 281: The Place of Birth (Part 18)

Without hesitation, the Emperor agreed to the sacrifice.

When the crown prince of Ru tried to dissuade him, the emperor was enraged and ordered thirty lashes.

At that moment, not a single official in the court spoke up for the crown prince.

This was largely due to the prevailing culture of pursuing the path of immortality in the Kingdom of Ru.

While the kingdom had two thousand academies, it boasted forty thousand temples.

Even children who could barely name the countries could recite the arts of immortality. Even Jie Fangcheng, before leading his army, had studied these celestial arts at an academy.

Everyone knew that deities truly existed in this world.

But this was the first time the living had truly seen one.

Ninety-nine children were quickly rounded up. Not only was the emperor keen to offer them to the deity, but even the parents of the chosen children felt honored. Some even fought over the privilege of their child being chosen.

After all, it was a deity! To become a sacrificial offering to a deity was seen as an immense honor!

By the time Jie Fangcheng was released from prison, the decisions had already been made.

His lieutenant couldn't understand why their prince opposed the sacrifice.

"Forget that the parents volunteered their children. Isn't trading ninety-nine young lives for a decade of prosperity and peace along the frontier a good deal?"

During years of famine, wouldn't the death toll exceed ninety-nine?

Now, with the deity's promise of a decade of peace in exchange for ninety-nine lives, wasn't it a beneficial trade?

But their crown prince questioned, "Aren't those ninety-nine children also citizens of Ru?"

When Jie Fangcheng voiced that sentiment, he could see bewilderment and distance in the eyes of those around him.

No one understood why he would say such a thing.

To any rational mind, the price of ninety-nine young lives seemed a meager one.

Statues of the divine figure swiftly spread throughout the temples of the nation. With temples thriving from the surge in incense offerings, the price of candles and incense skyrocketed. In some villages, upon hearing the deity's desire for child sacrifices, they secretly killed their own children to offer to the deity.

The crown prince appealed to the emperor, urging him to prohibit such live sacrifices among the populace. The emperor declined.

Everyone was entranced by the dream of the deity's presence.

The deity brought favorable weather, unheard-of celestial magics, triumphant victories at the frontier... and most importantly, the promise of eternal life.

The lifespan of mortals is fleeting, like the morning dew of early autumn or the thin ice of early spring.

Yet for a deity, a century passes in the blink of an eye.

In the first year of the deity's descent, the entire nation of Ru was steeped in bliss. Even the most humble peasant would save from their food budget to offer money at the temples housing the golden statues of the deity.

They prayed for bountiful harvests, for the healing of their ailing children, for overnight wealth...

And of course—

They prayed for immortality.

They hoped to ascend to the celestial realm and achieve enlightenment.

The deity merely glanced down occasionally at the devoutly praying mortals, then continued to enjoy his leisure in the celestial palace built for him by the entire nation.

The ninety-nine children were just the beginning.

In the deity's second year on earth, on a whim, he took a handsome young boy with him, saying he needed a child to tend the fires for his alchemy.

The boy's mother, distraught, dared not ask for her son back and eventually died of grief.

The father soon succumbed to illness and passed away.

The grandmother, heartbroken, wanted to report the incident but was restrained by the villagers, who forbade her from tarnishing the deity's name.

Not long after, the old woman also passed away, clutching her grandson's clothes, her grip so tight that multiple people couldn't pry her hands apart.

That same year, during the winter month, the deity wished for a castle made of ice for his entertainment. To accomplish this, the officials forcibly conscripted laborers.

Hundreds froze to death that winter.

In the deity's third year, he requested nine strikingly handsome men to serve in his celestial palace.

The crown prince offered himself to serve in the deity's abode.

The memories seemed to quiver for a moment.

Jie Fangcheng was packing his belongings to enter the celestial palace.

While the other chosen nobles prepared scented sachets and folding fans, the crown prince concealed a sleeve arrow and strapped a dagger to his leg.

By the time the moonlight graced the willow branches, he sat in candlelight, gently polishing the blade of his sword with deerhide.

His deputy, Zhuang Mingqi, knelt beside him, anxiously advising, "Your Highness, this would mean slaying a deity!"

The prince replied, "Would it be my first?"

The deity who had once descended upon Yi, who had once insolently issued a letter of surrender to Ru, had also fallen under his sword.

"Why this? Considering the benefits the deities bring..."

"Benefits? What benefits?"

Zhuang Mingqi opened his mouth, then suddenly realized.

The deity did ensure harmonious weather, but to please the deity's whims, Ru was constructing extravagant palaces everywhere.

Initially, they conscripted criminals for labor. But when they ran out, ordinary citizens were drafted.

But these citizens had fields to tend. The deity may control the weather, but he didn't ensure the people were fed.

In some cities, fields lay fallow, with only children left to till them.

Rural sacrifices had become rampant, with seemingly no regulation, or perhaps no one willing to enforce one.

The current emperor eagerly sought the deity's favor, even presenting the widespread sacrifices as evidence of "Ru's people's sincere devotion," much to the deity's delight.

It reached a point where parents sacrificing their children wasn't enough; in some villages, entire communities led by village chiefs slaughtered all their young boys.

Countless children died on the altars, yet no one dared question or intervene.

The deity's appetite for beauty knew no bounds, disregarding gender. Officials scoured the provinces for beautiful virgins to send to the capital.

The list of atrocities goes on.

What should have been a divine blessing became a curse. Across Ru, people starved, temples were filled with ceaseless offerings, while unburied corpses of those who died of hunger littered the fields.

The royal court was preoccupied with the deity and neglected its people.

The prince's frequent petitions were rebuffed, often with physical punishments, leaving him injured and scarred.

With few heirs to his name, the current emperor would have already deposed the crown prince to appease the deity, if not for the risk.

In the capital, corruption and deception ran rampant, everyone living in fear.

Those with children either hoped for their offspring to serve in the celestial palace or lived in constant anxiety of being separated. Schools stood empty, devoid of students.

Harmonious weather?

For the current state of Ru, what use is harmonious weather?

"But, whether you succeed or not, Your Highness..."

If he succeeds, under the charge of deicide, would the crown prince even remain alive?

If he fails, by offending the deity, wouldn't that be an even more certain death?

Under the dim, amber glow, the prince sheathed his sword with a composed demeanor.

"Yi has already surrendered. With or without me, it matters not." In his deep-set eyes, two candle flames flickered. "But as the crown prince, how can I surrender the people of Ru to a deity?"

Especially to such a deity.

What he brought wasn't harmonious weather, but an inevitable descent into an abyss for Ru.

Since the emperor was wholly against offending the deity, there was only one solution left.

Slay the deity.

If he could do it once, he could do it again.

As the celestial palace doors opened, the crown prince entered, sword in hand.

He wasn't reckless. He wouldn't directly confront a deity known for boundless power.

This young prince, who once stood as a predatory hawk on the frontier, would bide his time.

The celestial palace was tranquil. The deity spent most of his time in meditation, disliking mortal disturbances.

Once, a child accidentally shattered a jade cup. In response, the deity gruesomely ground the child to dust, using the remains for elixir crafting.

After that incident, a deathly silence enveloped the celestial palace.

Although the attendants were mostly children, the oldest being ten and the youngest barely taller than a desk, their innocent faces were marred by fear, devoid of childlike joy.

The deity was in seclusion, but shallow methods for cultivation lay scattered about the palace. He wasn't wary of these insignificant mortals.

Even knowing a deity had fallen in Yi.

But that was merely a weak, minor deity.

Besides, he was a "benevolent god".

After all, compared to those deities who readily wreaked havoc, he only desired some sacrifices and pleasures.

He was even willing to offer some assistance to these insignificant mortals.

Even the mortal emperors revered him with such piety; naturally, no one dared to offend him.

Those rudimentary methods of cultivation were rewards he bestowed upon his celestial servants, ensuring their utmost loyalty and service.

What he hadn't expected was that among those admitted to the celestial palace, one individual was truly adept in cultivation. Techniques that remained elusive to mortals were grasped by him with just a glance.

Though these were just basic techniques of cultivation, it's worth noting that Jie Fangcheng had been stationed at the frontier for many years, accumulating merit and virtue.

Within the celestial palace, the young prince matured at an astonishing rate.

At last, when the supreme deity concluded his meditation, he met the nine beauties he had newly acquired.

Indeed, each had features as stunning as the bright moon over pine-covered mountains.

Particularly, one young noble stood out as the most regal.

The deity, who embodied celestial elegance, delighted in the offerings from the mortal emperor and thus hosted a grand feast in the celestial palace.

The nine newly-acquired beauties stood by his side, encouraging him to drink copiously.

After the deity feasted for three days, when he was tipsy and yearning for rest, the silent prince who sat distantly offered his hand to assist the deity.

Faced with such a striking and esteemed prince, the inebriated deity, filled with pride and pleasure, allowed him to accompany him.

Once they entered the bedroom, just as the deity attempted to pull the prince closer for an intimate moment, the prince's enchantingly beautiful face revealed a faint smile.

The deity gazed at him, utterly captivated—

And then, a flash of silver.

"Ahhhhh!"

Even a so-called immortal, when hit by a concealed dart in the eyes, could only scream in agony.

Naturally, his screams didn't last long.

Jie Fangcheng utilized the celestial technique he had learned in the palace for the first time, cleanly decapitating the deity.

Holding the deity's head in both hands, he adjusted its angle and looked down into the dead, unblinking eyes of the supreme god.

The deep red blood of the celestial being pooled at his feet, not much different from that of mortals.