Chapter 471 Punishment
At first, Li Mu intended to try his luck in the core area of the Tomb of the G.o.d of Sin to see if he could find any more Taoist Treasure or the like. But unfortunately, his luck had probably run out this time, so he didn’t find any gains.
Soon, the aura in the entire Tomb of the G.o.d of Sin became unstable.
Li Mu and the others felt a repelling force, which began to spread in the void.
“The Tomb of the G.o.d of Sin is going to close. Master, we have to leave here as soon as possible.” The knitted eyebrows thought of the words of the head of his sect before they landed on this planet and hurriedly reminded Li Mu.
“Let’s go.”
Li Mu and the others retraced their steps and hurried back.
Two hours later, they walked out of the Tomb of the G.o.d of Sin and came to the ruined Lin’an City, the capital of the Northern Song.
Rumble!
The earth quaked.
Li Mu could clearly feel that the underground energy stratum was beginning to dissipate.
The four disciples of the Hun Yuan Sect had once said that the Tomb of the G.o.d of Sin never stayed still in one place but kept drifting in the void. Once for 1,000 years, it landed somewhere and opened for a brief time. And it never emerged in the same place twice.
When this landing came to an end, the Tomb of the G.o.d of Sin would close shut and once again drift into the void, waiting to descend in another millennium. But no one knew where it would appear the next time.
As the Tomb of the G.o.d of Sin gradually disappeared out of sight, the vast land of Lin’an City caved in hundreds of meters deep, forming a huge crater. With that, the thousand-year-old city that had been quite prosperous vanished from the Divine Land for good.
Such a landscape change could be compared to the sea changing into a mulberry orchard.
A period of history had drawn to an end.
Floating in midair and looking down at the terrain below, Li Mu sighed with emotion.
Beneath him, a huge basin had appeared.
Lin’an City had thoroughly become yesterday’s story, and all the prosperity was just as transient as fleeting clouds.
Many figures started shooting out of the basin like flying birds. Some of them were cultivators from outer s.p.a.ce, and some were the experts of martial arts in that world. They either gained something or left empty-handed from this opening of the Tomb of the G.o.d of Sin.
Li Mu did not go after them.
Everything was over now.
As the Tomb of the G.o.d of Sin began to close, the influence of the tomb on the Divine Way of that world was gradually dispersing.
Those cultivators from outer s.p.a.ce needed to leave as soon as they could.
Otherwise, when the Divine Way of that world returned to normal, their strength would be suppressed, and they would find themselves unaccustomed to the climate. In the end, there was a possibility that they would be trapped in that world.
“Let’s go. Set out to the royal campsite of the Northern Song.”
The sealing effect of the Taoism-lost Talisman on Li Mu had been lifted, and natural qi was once again circulating in his body, so he could fly now.
However, the power of the martial art avatar injected by the cyan bull had long since ceased to function and completely dissipated.
Moments later, the royal campsite of the Northern Song was right beneath him.
When he and his party descended from the sky, the guards had already reported their arrival to the emperor of the Northern Song and the other royal members.
“Congratulations on the return of Great Sage Li. I’ve already ordered people to prepare a feast to welcome Sage Li.” The young emperor of the Northern Song with a fair and majestic face greeted Li Mu with unprecedented enthusiasm.
Lord Virtuous the Eighth also came to salute Li Mu.
Li Mu’s eyes fell on the two people, his face rather stern.
w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu gently tugged at Li Mu’s sleeve, and with a hint of pleading on her face, she muttered, “Brother Mu, could you spare my stepfather’s life? He is all old and grey…”
Li Mu nodded.
He pointed with one finger, and an invisible stream of mysterious power gushed out.
When the power reached the emperor of the Northern Song, he shuddered from head to toe and spat out a mouthful of blood. Looking weak, he flopped onto the ground. Next, his face seemed to have aged 20 years, and silver hair swiftly appeared at his sideburns.
“How dare you!”
“Protect His Majesty.”
The guards and experts loyal to the royal family all hurtled over and besieged Li Mu and his party.
But that was just a subconscious reaction.
Daunted by the notorious Devil Li, the “Royals’ Terminator”, and his astonis.h.i.+ng battle records, no one really dared to take the initiative to fight against him.
The expression on the Lord Virtuous the Eighth’s face changed drastically.
“Sage Li, what do you mean? His Majesty treats you with courtesy. Don’t you think you’ve gone too far by this?” He scolded with an austere look.
Li Mu’s face was frosty, and he still gave no reply.
The knitted eyebrows strode forward and snarled, “Humph, how dare this a humble king in the mortal world plot against a Sage? If it weren’t for the benevolence of our master, we, as servants, would have killed all of you from the royal family of the Northern Song!”
The Four Men’s Symphony had learned about the incident with the Taoism-lost Talisman.
In their view, the emperor in the mortal world was just a relatively large one among the worms, who was humble and weak anyhow. Yet, he actually dared to swindle a martial art expert like Li Mu. That was really unenlightened.
“I… Alas, I errored,” the young emperor of the Northern Song apologized to Li Mu, looking rather bitter and dejected.
Originally, for the sake of w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu, Countess Huanzhu, Li Mu had maintained a good relations.h.i.+p with the royal family of the Northern Song. But the emperor was too eager for quick success. He pulled some strings to plant the “Protective Talisman” on Li Mu, hoping to control him… Now, this good relations.h.i.+p was completely destroyed and flipped into hatred instead.
“I’ll destroy your martial arts cultivation and remove 20 years of your life as a punishment,” Li Mu finally opened his mouth and said calmly, “conduct yourself well in the future.”
The emperor of the Northern Song nodded, too unnerved to say anything.
The ministers, experts, generals, and other servants around him were all in a trance.
“This is the majesty of a supreme expert!”
When a man cultivated his martial arts to the extreme, even the emperors in the world had to bow to him, and even one of the three great empires in the Divine Land had to bend knees before him… That was the real joy of life.
When you reached the top of the mountain, you would become the mountaintop.
Nowadays, the 16-year-old youth was already the pinnacle of the world.
Li Mu looked at w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu and said, “Go back to Taibai City with me, and I will find the way for your Bright Saint Being to cultivate.”
w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu smiled and said, “Okay, only that you should let me spend some time with my stepfather here. He has been so tired these days that I doubt he can hold on any longer.”
Li Mu nodded and said, “Sure.”
In the end, w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu stayed behind for the time being.
“Where is my little Daji?” Asked Li Mu, who shot a look at the emperor of the Northern Song.
By that time, the emperor of the Northern Song’s fear for Li Mu had reached the top. He was regretful for what he had done. So, he told Li Mu the whole story about how the Little Demon, Master of Temple of Devils and one of Nine Superbs in the World, turned up and took Daji away.
“Our royal family has declined. We are no longer able to stop any of the Nine Superbs. Moreover, that Master of Temple of Devils also said that Miss Daji was his old friend, and he was only inviting her over to give her the best training and entertainment, and he would never do anything to harm the little girl. So… please forgive us, Sage Li.”
A minister of the Northern Song hastily explained.
Li Mu frowned.
Among the top nine Holy Clans, the Temple of Devils seldom partic.i.p.ated in the activities in the mortal world, especially in the affairs of the human race. The master, Little Demon, was also an elusive figure. Li Mu had no clue about whether he was kind or evil, and how his temper was. But this time, the master came specially for Daji, and picked a time when Li Mu was not there to take her away. There must be some reasons behind this.
In an instant, Li Mu made a decision— he would pay a visit to the Temple of Devils and figure it out.
At last, Li Mu and the others left the royal family of the Northern Song.
While w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu stayed behind for the time being.
“Stepfather, you… Well, you really shouldn’t have done that.” w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu accused.
After finding out that she was used by the royal family. w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu was extremely disappointed with the royals. But no matter what, Lord Virtuous the Eighth was still her savior. When she first arrived in that world, she had no one to rely on. The situation she was in could be said to be extremely dangerous. If Lord Virtuous the Eighth hadn’t taken her, she would have long been dead.
The old man did have her best interest at heart. For that reason, deep down, the kind girl had already forgiven Lord Virtuous the Eighth.
She told him what had happened in the Tomb of the G.o.d of Sin and added, “Brother Mu has killed all the extraterrestrial experts. In this world, Brother Mu is already at the peak. What kind of person is he? How can the Divine Dragon of the Highest Heaven be controlled by such a little trick?”
The emperor and other royals of the Northern Song Empire were stunned by her words.
When hearing that even the cultivators of the outer s.p.a.ce were killed by Li Mu as if they were pigs, they were all shocked and thrown in deep remorse.
Unfortunately, there was no such thing as medicine for remorse in that world.
“I’ve disgraced my ancestors…” The emperor of the Northern Song was full of repentance.
···
In the ruins of Lin’an City.
Saint of Blood Sea and b.l.o.o.d.y-moon Evil Master appeared in a center of a pit stealthily, covered in dirt and dust.
“I never knew that Li Mu could be so horrible.” Recalling the scene he had seen from a distance, Saint of the Blood Sea could not help but feel horrified. The idea of going against Li Mu no longer interested him even to the slightest.
Thinking of how he ganged up on Li Mu with the others in Five Villages Temple, Saint of Blood Sea involuntarily gave a shudder and felt a burst of fear after the event. From his current point of view, his being gleeful at that temple was utterly stupid.
Having managed to escape from Li Mu’s hands in the end, Saint of Blood Sea felt that his ancestors were truly looking after him.
“I’ll return to my planet and tell the sect what happened here,” Saint of Blood Sea said with a lingering fear, “this Li Mu is too heaven-defying. He has attained such a high level of cultivation at such a young age. I believe, before long, he will break through the void and enter outer s.p.a.ce. When that time comes, he will be a great disaster. So, we have to be prepared.”
Beside him, b.l.o.o.d.y-moon Evil Master flattered, “This time, if it weren’t for Saint’s vision that prevented us from entering the Five-finger Mountain with the majority, we wouldn’t escape this. If without your wisdom, I’m afraid… Your Highness, you saved me again.”
Saint of Blood Sea shot a glance at b.l.o.o.d.y-moon Evil Master.
A flattering word could not be unpleasant to the ear no matter when.
Saint of Blood Sea suddenly felt that although this aborigine’s strength was not remarkable and his apt.i.tude was just average, he did have some means. As the man was loyal, quite a sweet-talker, and knew how to behave, he could be regarded as a talent.
Saint of Blood Sea felt that if he left such a talent in that world to run the b.l.o.o.d.y-moon faction, his use would be limited and he could no longer be a threat to Li Mu. Moreover, as the matter of the Tomb of the G.o.d of Sin had come to an end, for most of the sects in the outer s.p.a.ce, that world was no longer appealing. Therefore, it was already pointless to continue maintaining a force there.
“So why not take him to the universe?”
“As an attendant. That will be convenient for me.”
“Well, go back and do some packing. You are accompanying me back to the galaxy.” Saint of Blood Sea hatched a plan in his head.
b.l.o.o.d.y-moon Evil Master was overjoyed. His long-cherished wish could really be realized just like that. He said in a trembling voice, “This… Your Highness, I can also go to outer s.p.a.ce? Are you… serious?”
Saint of Blood Sea laughed and then said, “Since I can land in this world, I can naturally bring you out of it. But of course, I will have to pay a price… You’d better repay my kindness with your loyalty. If you dare to betray me in any form, I will definitely turn you into ashes right off.”
“I won’t let you down, Your Highness.” b.l.o.o.d.y-moon Evil Master answered, instantly ecstatic.
No one in that world had entered the Void-breaking Realm and ascended to outer s.p.a.ce over more than 1,000 years. But he could actually enter the Outer World in that way? If so, he would become the first person to achieve that a millennium, wouldn’t he? How incredibly lucky he was!