Chapter 483 - A Quiet Departure after the Work Is Done
Chapter 483 A Quiet Departure after the Work Is Done
The new capital of the Northern Song.
In the manor of Lord Virtuous the Eighth.
“You’ve really made up your mind?” Asked Li Mu, his eyes fixed on Wang Shiyu, and there was a trace of consternation on his face.
Wang Shiyu nodded with a smile and said, “Yes, I won’t go back.”
Li Mu fell silent.
He had come over to pick up Wang Shiyu.
However, the answer given by the latter was that she did not want to go back to Earth for the time being.
“Don’t you want to see your parents and your relatives?” Li Mu could not help but open his mouth to persuade her.
Wang Shiyu stood up. In a corridor of the waterside pavilion, she looked out at the ripples shining like fish’s scales, and her expression grew even calmer. After a long time, Wang Shiyu turned around and said, “Mu, may I ask you to take care of my parents after you return to Earth? I have something for them. Please bring them to my parents so that they can live a long, peaceful, and wealthy life. If there is another chance, I will go back and visit them in person.”
“Nothing is comparable to your going back to see them personally.” Li Mu insisted, his eyes boring into Wang Shiyu’s.
Wang Shiyu gave a wry smile and shook her head.
“After seeing the most beautiful scenery in the world, if I can’t achieve anything in such a world, wouldn’t it be the most stupid thing that I’ve done? I don’t want to miss this opportunity,” she looked at Li Mu and said, “I want to control my own destiny like you, dear Mu.”
Li Mu offered, “I can help you find a way to practice martial arts. Over the years, I’ve been searching for it. Since Fairy Emperor of Light said that you have the Bright Saint Being, there must be a way for you to cultivate…”
Wang Shiyu hesitated for a moment and said, “Mu, I’ve found it. What I need most now is time. If I go back to Earth, my way to cultivate will be cut off again.”
Li Mu looked at her and sighed.
“In fact, you’ve always known it, haven’t you?” Wang Shiyu gazed at Li Mu with a smile and continued, “What in the world can escape your eyes? Mu, thank you for putting up with me all this time. If someone else did what I did, I’m afraid he or she would have already died thousands of times, right?”
Li Mu nodded and said, “If that person wasn’t you, he or she would have disappeared a long time ago.”
Wang Shiyu said, “So, dear Mu, thank you, thank you so much.”
Li Mu did not know what to say to that.
“Now that you don’t want to go back, I won’t force you. Everyone has the right to choose their own path. After returning to Earth, of course, I will take care of Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang. After all, it’s me who got you to this planet,” Li Mu began, “but I reckon, under any circumstances, the person your parents want to see most is definitely not me, but you.”
Wang Shiyu slowly settled herself on a bench, with her cheek resting on her hand. She leaned against the railing and said, “I will go back. I will definitely go back… But not now.”
Then, the two of them stopped talking about that topic.
In the whole afternoon, beside the pond in the residence of Lord Virtuous the Eighth, the two sat on a stone bench, chatting and laughing. They talked about some funny things that happened in their junior high school back on Earth.
As if time had returned to five years ago, they felt they relived those youthful years that had passed in a hurry on campus.
Particularly, they recalled the students drink and sing karaoke together at their graduation celebration from junior high. Everything was still vivid in their minds as if they were seeing it happen right now.
The sun gradually set in the west.
At a certain point, both of them fell silent.
When the last ray of sunlight that day was about to disappear under the horizon, Li Mu got to his feet.
He looked at the former campus belle who used to be his deskmate. As time passed, she became even more beautiful. Back in school, she was already a very self-confident girl. She dared to love and hate, which showed she was completely different from Hua Xiangrong.
Li Mu knew that no matter how hard he tried to persuade her, it would be in vain.
He had something in his mind, but he didn’t know how to say it.
Wang Shiyu raised her chin a little and gently closed her eyes. The last ray of golden sunset shone on the girl’s face, making it look like gilded. As if whispering in a dream, she muttered, “Mu, kiss me.”
Li Mu hesitated for a moment and said, “Take care.”
With that, he wheeled around and left.
Soon, the last ray of sunlight really vanished under the horizon, and the darkness enveloped the land. Dusk fell heavily. Wang Shiyu slowly opened her eyes, only her face was already drenched in tears.
She knew that something had gone, and would be forever lost.
“Take care.”
Looking in the direction of Li Mu’s departure, she seemed to be talking to herself.
She raised her palm slightly, and a ray of purple light flickered in her palm like a flame elf.
Her fingers danced as though playing the piano, also like a lotus that kept blooming and closing. As her fingers moved, she continued conjuring mudras.
The purple flame circulated back and forth among her five fingers.
A subtle but unmatchable power fluctuation floated in her palm, looming, growing more and more powerful. And finally, it expanded to a ball of furiously burning purple fire and enveloped her entirely.
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In Guanshan Pasture.
Qiu Yin, the Broadsword Man, was only one step away from the pinnacle of the Great Sage Realm.
He was a successor carefully cultivated by Li Poyue. He did not lack in talent, intelligence, or perception, but his temperament was not good enough. Later on, he had taken a trip to the Everlasting Heaven and obtained some a sharp weapon like the Magic Blood Broadsword by chance. Just a year ago, he had recovered the governance of the Guanshan Pasture.
By far, the Guanshan Pasture had restored its former prosperity and the rebels had all been executed. It was again the number one Holy Clan in the Western Qin and was even stronger than it was when Li Poyue, the Guanshan Master, was still alive. The Guanshan Pasture was unquestionably powerful, but of course, it was still far less than the Taibai City, which had basically been in self-governance.
Nowadays, the situation in the former top nine Holy Clans varied.
The Temple of Devils was still prominent owing to the existence of the golden-winged roc. The Great River and the Diancang Faction had declined. The Mount Qingcheng had been invaded by the Nangong family. Their leader, Dao Ling, had died in battle. Today, Dao Zhen, the future leader that Dao Chongyang originally picked, had taken over the position of the head and rebuilt the sect. However, through all those major battles, the splits, and cruel wars, their vitality had been greatly damaged. No one knew when they could rejuvenate. As to the Magic Sun Temple of the desert race, they were hiding in the depths of desert and trying to prolong their last gasp. The Wendao Academy of the Southern Chu had also gone downhill because that Wei Wubing, the Calligraphy Mad Scholar, had been killed in a fight. Only the Guanshan Pasture began to flourish and prosper under Qiu Yin’s leadership.
Of course, Li Mu’s influence was also involved in the blossom of the Guanshan Pasture.
Right now, the smell of wine was strong in the main hall.
Li Mu, Qiu Yin, and Guo Yuqing were drinking in a binge.
They had been drunk for three days and three nights, but no one wanted to leave until they were completely drunk.
“Big Brother, Second Brother, please help me take care of my old friends after I go on this long trip.” Li Mu mumbled. The wine brewed with magic grass and precious medicine could get an immortal drunk. It was the first time for Li Mu to drink so much wine since he came to that world. By the time, he was so drunk that his eyes were blurred.
At the end of that drinking binge, the three brothers were all dead drunk.
Three days later, Li Mu took off.
“Did Third Brother really come from that Star Graveyard?” Qiu Yin asked, lying on the ground on his back, a bottle of wine still held in his hand.
Guo Yuqing leaned against a stone pillar and answered, “That doesn’t matter. All that matters is that he is our third brother. And he has never done anything to harm us, nor has he done anything to harm this world.”
“He’s going back.” Qiu Yin said, “That place is tens of thousands of miles away from here. Will there be dangers on the road to the Star Graveyard?”
Guo Yuqing smiled and said, “No matter how dangerous it is, he has to go home.”
“Yeah.” Qiu Yin heaved a long sigh. Since his master passed away, the Guanshan Pasture was his home. The meaning of home was now unprecedentedly clear and important in his life.
“Just wait for him to come back.” Guo Yuqing said with a faint smile on his face. “He will definitely come back. A man like him values relationships too much and easily gets attached to others. When staying in this world, he can’t let go of the people in his hometown. But when he returns to his hometown, he will start to miss the people and things in this world.”
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There were too many people he had to visit.
In the past month, Li Mu had gone to a lot of places, such as the 10 cities and 9 counties of the Great Moon Empire, the Yue Mountain Faction, the Hanshan Academy, and the Temple of Devils…
He had basically done everything he had to do.
During that month, a load of events had happened on the Divine Land. For example, someone on Mount Qingcheng had successfully passed the tribulation and entered the Void-breaking Realm. Later, it was said that that man, a Taoist called Dao Lan. He used to be a disciple of Dao Chongyang, but his name was not well-known. Anyway, now, he was the third person to enter the Void-breaking Realm.
Thereafter, breaking news began to spread from various parts of the continent, saying that some people among the ancient sects had also broken through to the Void-breaking Realm.
However, no matter what kind of force they belonged to or what kind of person they were, no matter how domineering, aggressive, or arrogant they were, after entering Void-breaking Realm, none of them dared to provoke Taibai City.
That was because they had learned a lesson from the previous experience.
That Nangong Yu had been beheaded, and the Nangong family had been mysteriously wiped out. Many people speculated that it might be an act of revenge from Taibai City!
No matter how many geniuses and marvelous experts emerged, they could not overshadow the status of Taibai City at all. The man who lived in seclusion in Knife Hut was like a god who could never be challenged. With a single broadsword, he could make all the other geniuses out of their breath.
One day, the tribulation clouds gathered in the sky above Taibai City, and countless thunder and lightning struck at the Knife Hut.
All the parties on the land were shocked.
Countless pairs of eyes turned to look at the Taibai Mountain.
It was the peculiar view that someone was undergoing the tribulation in the Void-breaking Realm.
“Is Li Mu finally going through the tribulation?”
Li Mu, who could already sweep the world when he had not passed the tribulation. Then, how formidable would Li Mu be after the tribulation?
It was not until the tribulation clouds dissipated that the various factions and forces sent envoys to congratulate Taibai City.
“Li Mu is in closed-door training.”
“To break through to the Immortal Realm.”
“This time, he has entered a long closed-door training. It’s very likely that he won’t come out for a few decades.”
The news from Taibai Mountain spread all over the Divine Land. Many people breathed a sigh of relief at that news.
As a matter of fact—
“Never knew you could be the first one to undergo the tribulation in the city.”
Li Mu teased as he looked at Yuan Hou.
The outside world all thought that it was Li Mu who was going through the tribulation and attracted those tribulation clouds. But in fact, Li Mu was only a Great Sage. Before he consolidated his power, he did not want to go through the tribulation. The real one who passed the tribulation was the golden mountain ape, Yuan Hou. As his cultivation of the Ultimate Yin and Yang Cultivation Method had reached a very profound level, he could already tear up the void with his bare hands.
Of course, only a few people in Taibai City knew about it.
Li Mu also took the opportunity to release the misleading news, so that the public would think that he had passed the tribulation. By doing that, he was able to deter the whole world.
On the last day before his departure, Li Mu personally sent the baby girl, Li Anzhi, to the Wolf Temple, and asked Guo Yuqing and his spouse, Liu Zhiyuan, to take care of her.
“Woof, I don’t want to go back.” The Husky turned down Li Mu’s proposal to return to Earth.
The dog suddenly jumped far away from Li Mu. He looked at Li Mu with alert eyes and said, “Don’t think about forcing me back. That small place is really boring. Only the infinite land and stars here are the world I belong to. Human pet, I advise you not to go back, either.”
Li Mu was speechless.
At last, he gave up the idea of taking the Husky back.
“This dog is quite a troublemaker now. And his strength is a little weird. If I take him back to Earth, once I fail to keep an eye on him, he will easily make a big mess. So, it’s good to leave him here. In this vast world is vast, I can let him do whatever he wants.”
Li Mu gave the Husky some vehement warnings. Having made all the necessary arrangements, he left Taibai City alone.
Shortly after, in a reclusive manor in Chang’an, a strange ball of light rose up into the sky and rushed into the vast universe. It soon got rid of the gravity and entered the outer space at an extremely fast speed.
Yet, that unusual phenomenon did not attract much attention.
In the starry sky, the light ball paused for a moment in front of a hidden Space Wrinkle and then plummeted into it without hesitation like a stone falling into the sea. The sky rippled slightly and then the light ball disappeared.
After that, everything was back to normal.
Nobody was aware that the God of Broadswords who had dominated that world had left quietly.