Nine Star Hegemon Body Art (WN)
Chapter 1181: The Image of the Nine Stars Reappears

Although Long Chen had never gone to the Wine God Palace, just by seeing this construction, he could tell he had arrived.

It was less than thirty miles in diameter. Looking from the air, it looked like a huge wine pot lying on its side. It was definitely a unique structure.

The entrance was the wine pot’s spout. Even from the entrance, he could smell a dense wine fragrance that could intoxicate him.

“Hey, grand-uncle, once we go inside, you have to act with propriety. If you get kicked out, it would be too embarrassing. At that time, don’t blame me for not being loyal and acting like I don’t know you,” said Xia Youluo solemnly.

Uncle Long had now become grand-uncle. It felt like he had aged another couple of decades. Well, it wasn’t as if Long Chen wanted her loyalty.

He shook his head. “That’s fine. In any case, someone as old as me isn’t afraid of losing face. But little girl, if you’re worried about being implicated, you can go first.”

Since he was being called grand-uncle, Long Chen took advantage of his newfound seniority to call her little girl.

“Do you think I’m such a disloyal person? I’m just telling you to reserve yourself a bit. This is the Wine God Palace, and if you cause trouble, you’ll be kicked out. Not only will you lose face, but my imperial father will also scold you,” warned the little girl.

“Big brother won’t blame me. After all, we’re brothers.” Long Chen thickened his skin and directly called the leader of the Grand Xia his big brother. Now he wasn’t just taking advantage of Xia Youluo, he was even superior to Xia Yunchong.

“You…! If my father learns of this, he’ll definitely cut off your head.” The little girl clenched her teeth. She had never seen someone so shameless.

“That’s fine, to die to my brother’s blade, it wouldn’t be a vain death. I’m going in, so you should leave. Wine isn’t something a little girl should drink,” said Long Chen.

“You… you’re the child! I’ve already become an adult! What’s the big deal? The worst case is I get kicked out again,” snorted the little girl.

Long Chen looked at Xia Youluo oddly. “Why does it feel like you’ve already been kicked out before?”

Only then did Xia Youluo realize she had exposed herself with her own mouth. She turned red and bashfully said, “At that time, I was still young and didn’t understand. I won’t be kicked out now.”

“Then will I end up being implicated by you? It’d be embarrassing to be kicked out as soon as I enter.” Long Chen hesitated. Now he really didn’t want Xia Youluo to follow him. He didn’t want to get kicked out with her.

“I was still young last year! They were the petty ones! Even if I was in the wrong, I was just a little child. Hmph, I can’t believe they quibbled with a child like that!” said Xia Youluo.

Last year? If she really had been a little child at that time, then she was truly a genius. But now that they had come here, Long Chen could only thicken his skin and enter. He hoped this little girl wouldn’t cause any trouble.

The entrance didn’t have any guards, nor was there anyone to receive them. Once they were inside, they found themselves in front of a tranquil courtyard. There was a stone stele in front of them with an image on it.

The image contained a man in shoddy clothes. He was half-lying against a peach tree, a wine pot in his hand. It was clear he was drunk. He was looking into the distance with a lost expression, seeming half-intoxicated half-sober. The scene was very lifelike.

His clothes were worn out, and he had dust all over him. He was extremely sloppy, with a few flower petals lying on his head.

But he gave off an air of freedom and relaxation. This was a realm, one where the body rested within the world of mortal dust, while the heart was flying within the clouds.

As soon as Long Chen looked at it, he was drawn in by that realm. In that instant, he felt all his mundane worries fall away from him. His heart became empty.

The lines forming the man were very simple, almost careless. But just these few lines bestowed that man a moving divine charm.

Long Chen followed where that man was looking to see nine brilliant stars shining in the air. They were like a ring of blazing suns in the upper left corner of the image.

“Long Chen, go light the incense.” Suddenly, Long Chen felt Xia Youluo push him.

Only then did Long Chen wake from his stupor and realize that a youth in hemp clothes with his hair worn in a bun was offering him incense.

“Ah, sorry.” Long Chen hastily received the incense sticks.

The youth shook his head. “Esteemed guest, there’s no need for you to apologize. This image is the Wine God. For you to be drawn in by the Wine God’s divine charm means you have destiny between you two.”

Although this youth was just a teen, his voice was naturally tranquil. He was neither servile nor overbearing, neither arrogant nor impatient.

Long Chen received the incense sticks. Lighting them, he placed them into the censer. He had only just put them in when his three incense sticks instantly turned to ash.

“What…?” The youth was shocked. He had no idea what had happened. These incense sticks were made of special material. No matter what kind of outer force tried to disturb them, they would always burn for exactly fifteen minutes.

But now, they had instantly been incinerated. He had never seen such a phenomenon. Long Chen and Xia Youluo were also surprised.

“Um, miss, please also place the incense.” The youth hesitated but still handed incense sticks to Xia Youluo.

Xia Youluo ignited her incense sticks and placed them inside. Everything was normal this time. The three incense sticks were slowly burning.

“Please enter.” The youth waved his hand to them in a welcoming gesture.

“Long Chen, what happened just now?” asked Xia Youluo stealthily as they entered the courtyard.

“How rude. Call me uncle.” Long Chen intentionally put on a chiding expression.

“Hmph, who would call you that.” Xia Youluo sniffed and turned her head.

Just like that, the title of uncle was tossed aside. Long Chen laughed inside. This little girl wasn’t even close to his match.

But he also couldn’t offend this little girl. He said, “In truth, I also don’t know. I just felt a mystical energy destroy those incense sticks. It was just like…”

It was like a strange kind of energy had refused to allow Long Chen to offer incense. But Long Chen also wasn’t clear on that. He just felt it was extremely strange.

“Just like what?” Seeing Long Chen suddenly stop talking, Xia Youluo hastily questioned him.

“Just like… sigh, I’m not very erudite, and I don’t know how to describe it.” Long Chen shook his head dimly.

“That’s fine, just think about it. I’m not in a rush.” Xia Youluo was very curious, and had to know.

“It’s just like someone is going to the bathroom and suddenly realized they were out of toilet paper. At this time, someone gave them a wooden stick, but after a moment’s hesitation, they refused the stick. It’s probably because they’re waiting for someone to give them paper instead,” said Long Chen.

“What on earth are you talking about? How can you compare placing incense on a censer to such a thing? One’s fragrant and one’s smelly. They’re completely different. Furthermore, so what if there’s no paper or stick?” asked Xia Youluo.

It appeared his incredibly crappy joke was truly crappy. He supposed the royal people in the palace had never used a stick to wipe their butts.

But after Long Chen said this, Xia Youluo stopped asking. Once they were inside, Long Chen found that this building which looked like a wine pot actually had its own space inside. There were mountains, rivers, and lakes. The scenery stretched as far as the eye could see.

“The Wine God Palace is in itself a treasure. It contains its own spatial formation inside. There’s plenty of farmland, and all the ingredients they put into their wine are grown themselves,” said Xia Youluo. She was now much more well-behaved upon entering the Wine God Palace.

There was a small mountain not far from them. A stone path meandered its way toward it. Plenty of old trees grew within the mountain, and everything was extremely secluded and beautiful. A few pavilions were hidden within the trees, looking like peaceful places to live.

At the foot of the mountain, they suddenly sensed a faint drizzle watering the flourishing grass. This place was full of life.

“What an amazing place.” As the drizzle washed over him, Long Chen couldn’t help but exclaim in praise. This seemed to be the kind of place where an expert would choose to live in seclusion. Here, all his troubles seemed to vanish.

“Does no one normally come to the Wine God Palace? Why aren’t there any outsiders here?” asked Long Chen.

“Do you think just anyone can come here? People who want to come inside have to make an appointment. Only the members of my Grand Xia’s imperial family have the privilege of bringing people in to pay respects at any time,” said Xia Youluo disdainfully.

It seemed she still remembered her enmity with him. As long as he gave her an opportunity, she would immediately get some revenge.

Long Chen stepped onto the stone stairs and suddenly felt a strange energy wash over him. He felt some kind of energy stripping him of all his power.

“This is the Wine God Palace’s formation. It strips us of our cultivation base, making us just mortals. It’s truly strange,” explained Xia Youluo.

“A mortal? Are you saying you’re an immortal?” laughed Long Chen.

As this mystical energy stripped him of his power, Long Chen felt the primal chaos bead begin to slowly circulate. Long Chen hastily stopped it. He knew the primal chaos bead was beginning to automatically resist this energy.

He didn’t want to cause a fuss and allowed the energy to wash through him. It sealed his meridians, immortal platforms, and even his Spiritual Strength.

At this time, Long Chen only had the power of his physical body. His divine sense vanished. At first, he wasn’t used to it, but as time passed, he felt his heart became more relaxed than ever. There was a kind of pleasure in returning to being a normal mortal. It couldn’t be expressed with words.

After losing all that you depended upon, you would suddenly feel more at peace, as if all your burdens had been put down. It was another kind of experience.

But Long Chen saw Xia Youluo frown. She clearly didn’t like this feeling.

“Let’s go.” Long Chen continued onward. This was his first time feeling so solid. It was a feeling of having his feet firmly planted on the ground. Even just walking across the ground was an extremely moving experience now.

However, these stone stairs had grass and moss growing over them, making them slippery. It was all too easy to lose your balance here.

“Aiya!” Xia Youluo had only taken a few careful steps when she slipped. Despite doing her best to avoid the mossy parts, she still slipped.

If she fell, she would become covered in mud. Long Chen hastily grabbed her, allowing her to steady herself.

“This damn-” Xia Youluo was just about to curse this damn path for being so hard to walk on when she clamped her hands over her mouth. She looked around, and seeing there was no one else around, she relaxed.