Onward to Beishan

"You have an affinity with the Western Sect; would you like to be ordained as a follower of our Western Sect?"

Lei Bei out of the city on horseback to confront the Buddha.

Crown Prince Liu Qian, who was atop the city wall, did not have enough capable guards by his side.

The Buddha's body lacked agility, but this depends on who it refers to.

Facing Tianjiu, Lei Bei, and others, Tathagata was indeed not agile enough, and repeatedly suffered sword strikes, even finding it difficult to avoid their sword techniques.

However, he was Sole Self Realm. Anyone slightly inferior to him was seen by these people as being as swift as lightning, as powerful as thunder, impervious to Technique Method, and possessing an indestructible physical body, with absolutely overwhelming strength.

On the city tower, Ning Yu, a first-class guest, commented a few words while wielding a long sword, while Tathagata, carrying a large tree, fought his way back and forth.

While chasing Lei Bei, the large tree he was holding swept across the city wall.

Ning Yu and the others were swept away in a disheveled manner, while Crown Prince Liu Qian was swept off the city wall.

After apprehending the person in charge who had repeatedly made threats, everything fell into calm.

With the hostages in Buddha's hands, no one dared to make a move. After a chaotic scene, many people formed a semi-encirclement with their weapons and Law Treasure, but no one dared to attack.

The Buddha remained calm and composed.

He sat on a horizontal tree trunk, with Prince Liu Qian in front of him looking terrified.

After hurling several insults, Crown Prince Liu Qian's expression gradually softened.

When the Buddha whispered his question, Liu Qian nodded.

"Two thousand-year-old ginseng plants and one five-hundred-year-old Polygonum multiflorum!"

The Buddha held up three fingers to the crowd, and then pointed to Prince Liu Qian.

"Or perhaps this prince could join my sect and serve the leader!"

The Buddha offered two choices. He murmured to himself, neither forcibly detaining Prince Liu Qian, but allowing him to stand before him.

Crown Prince Liu Qian stood with his head bowed in utmost respect, neither speaking nor replying.

Only after Ning Yu whispered "Come here quickly" several times did he raise his head.

"Guest Minister Ning, please follow Master's instructions!"

Liu Qian remained calm, though a hint of struggle flickered in his eyes, which quickly subsided. He simply urged Ning Yu and the others to carry out their orders.

Crown Prince Liu Qian was in charge of many affairs in Huainan, and even had the power to handle finances and appoint or dismiss some officials.

However, he was unable to access the distribution of the true interests of the King of Huainan.

Examples include medicinal herbs, gold mines, coinage, and alchemy.

This is the true core of the King of King of Huainan's control over the kingdom, and only the King of Huainan could control its development.

Now that he has fallen into the hands of Buddha, Crown Prince Liu Qian is no longer in control of his own destiny. Any crying, fussing, or resistance will only make him more humiliated, and in severe cases, it may even lead to the stripping of his power as heir.

What he needed to do at this moment was to remain calm, try to prevent things from getting worse, and then seek help from the King of King of Huainan.

As night deepened, large braziers were lit on the city tower, illuminating a large area around it.

When he heard the distant sound of the city bells, Liu Qian turned to face the Buddha.

"Please wait, Master," Liu Qian said. "My father has already received the news. He is fond of making friends with distinguished guests from all over the land, and he will surely welcome you into the city. I was blind to your greatness, and I will certainly apologize to you then!"

"Your understanding is very high. If you can join my Western Sect, you will surely have the potential to attain the Fruit Position in the future," the Buddha nodded.

The Buddha did not answer whether or not to enter the city; he repeatedly tried to persuade Prince Liu Qian to shave his head and become a monk.

His one-trick ploy left Crown Prince Liu Qian utterly helpless.

Joining Western Sect makes one a disciple, and it's perfectly normal for a disciple to hand over some of their own rare and precious heavenly materials and earthly treasures to their master.

Not joining the Western Sect is to satisfy the Buddha's needs.

Regardless of whether Crown Prince Liu Qian converted to Christianity or not, the other party's demands never changed.

Of course, there are ways to counter this tactic, such as Liu Qian killing himself.

But Liu Qian wouldn't be foolish enough to do such a thing.

He knew the King of Huainan very well; if the King of Huainan could solve a problem with money, he wouldn't resort to force.

However, just as these guests were provided with food, drink, and lodging by the King of Huainan's Household, the King of Huainan's money was easy to obtain, but it would also create a new constraint.

At this point, he can only rely on his father to stand up for him.

"By the King's decree, the King is willing to bestow upon the Master two thousand-year-old ginseng plants and one five-hundred-year-old Polygonum multiflorum plant!"

Not long after, the voice of Tian You, the chief guard of the royal palace, could be heard from the city wall.

"Please wait a moment, Master. The King has already sent someone to fetch the medicine," Tian You said.

"How long will we have to wait?" Buddha asked.

"It takes a quarter of an hour to ride to the North Mountain, another quarter of an hour to climb the mountain, and some time to find, dig, and collect the herbs. The return journey will also take some time," Tian You said. "We're traveling by fast horse, and since this is handled by a highly skilled cultivator, everything has been done as quickly as possible!"

"Beishan?"

The Buddha responded and turned his gaze northward towards Shouchun City.

The location of the Eastern Land Dynasty is always so easy to understand. If it is called the North Mountain, it must be in the north of the city. If it is called the South River, it must be in the south of the city. It will not be in the east or west of the city.

With just a glance upwards, the Buddha could see the dark mountains in the northern region.

"Since the great medicine is placed on the North Mountain, then we shall go there to wait, thus avoiding any tension between us," said Buddha.

"Master, it takes at least an hour to walk to North Mountain... Master, North Mountain is where my Huainan army is stationed!"

Tian You originally intended to indicate the location and then explain the waiting time in layman's terms, but unexpectedly, Buddha got up and led Prince Liu Qian and the old Daoist priest with the lantern toward the north of the city.

This prompted him to send someone quickly to the palace to report, and then he hurried out of the city gate, summoning some highly skilled retainers to follow him.

A distance that takes a quarter of an hour on horseback would take a long time on foot, easily an hour. If they were holding hostages, it wouldn't be surprising if it took two hours. Tian You only hoped that Li Shang and the others could go and return quickly, so that they could deliver the medicine and exchange it for the Crown Prince.

"This monk probably doesn't want to be in a precarious situation, fearing that we might be enraged and hunt him down after we've brought back the prince!"

"The wait has been too long; it's long enough for us to set up an altar and perform rituals!"

"His movement at this moment avoided this targeting!"

"This monk..."

A few murmurs rang out among the guest ministers. Among them, Lei Bei glanced at Crown Prince Liu Qian, who was walking with his head down, and then at Buddha at the very front.

He felt that life had become difficult.

In the past, it was Tianjiu who protected Crown Prince Liu Qian. That old fellow had protected him for more than ten years without any problems, but things went wrong when it came to Tianjiu's care.

As the top swordsmen of the King of Huainan's Household, their duties were simple: if they weren't protecting the King of Huainan, then they were protecting the Crown Prince.

The current situation is very serious. Lei Bei that he will probably not have any easy or good jobs in the future, and may have to go out and do errands like Jin Chang.

This made him somewhat dejected, feeling that his good days were over in less than two years.

He was in a very bad mood and had prepared for the worst.

"I think I can hear the sound of galloping horses in the distance. Those warhorses in the stables are quite valuable. This is another mess I caused during the fight. I'll probably have to take responsibility for finding the horses. I wonder if the stable masters have managed to keep them under control!"

Lei Bei followed behind, his eyes darting around.

Thinking about the possible punishment he might face, he realized that the longer he dragged on, the harder it would be to find the horse, and he suddenly felt a desire to finish this troublesome task as soon as possible.