Chapter Ninety: Li Muqiu

The crowd of experts from the Azure Pool listened to Elder Xue’s question and all turned to look at him. Though they had harbored some doubts before, once Xie Changfeng had laid out the truth, their misgivings had vanished. Yet now that Xue Cheng had suddenly asked such a thing, they could not help showing looks of astonishment.

Xue Cheng was one of the Azure Pool Sword Sect’s most renowned swordsmen. If he asked it this way, he must have noticed something amiss. Could it be that Bai Hansong had truly been wronged?

“Hmph. That load of nonsense from Xie Changfeng might fool others, but how could it fool me?” Li Muqiu gave a cold laugh. “That little beggar was indeed given the Pill of Restoration. Bai Hansong simply doesn’t have the ability to play tricks in front of me.”

“Ah... So you, Sect Master Brother, saw it too. Then why did you still sever Bai Hansong’s arm? An amputated limb is no small grievance; we’ve now made an enemy of the Heavenly Mountain Sword Sect. Though we are not afraid of them, this Bai Wanqian... how are we supposed to explain ourselves if we meet him in the future? Bai Hansong is his own nephew. Even if we do not spare the monk’s face, we must spare the Buddha’s. Sect Master Brother, this was truly far too rash.”

Xue Cheng shook his head repeatedly as he spoke. Since you already know the cause and effect, how could you still act with such ferocity? This went too far. The other experts of the Azure Pool were likewise dumbfounded, but unlike Xue Cheng they did not share his status. Though they knew full well that the sect master had acted wrongly, none of them dared question him to his face.

“Bai Hansong, that thief, failed in his duty to escort the Pill of Restoration. To have only one arm severed is already letting him off lightly. There is no need whatsoever to explain myself to Bai Wanqian in the future. If something were to happen to my Qiu’er because he did not take the Pill of Restoration in time... then forget Bai Hansong, forget Bai Xuesong—everyone involved in this Pill of Restoration affair, no matter who they are or what backing they have, I, Li Muqiu, will see them all buried without a grave.”

Cold light flashed fiercely in Li Muqiu’s eyes. Though his tone remained calm, beneath its measured rise and fall lurked a madness that seemed ready to destroy everything. Even Xue Cheng, with all his cultivation, felt a chill run through him.

As an elder protector of the Azure Pool Sword Sect and Li Muqiu’s fellow disciple, Xue Cheng truly could not agree with him. In the Southern Continent, where many powers stood side by side, provoking other forces over such a trivial matter was an extremely unwise course. He had been about to persuade Li Muqiu further, but when he saw the faint loneliness and desolation hidden within that mad gaze, he could only sigh inwardly.

More than ten years ago, the Azure Pool Sword Sect had suffered a heaven-shaking upheaval. In that catastrophe, Li Muqiu had endured a blow beyond imagination. Not only had his beloved wife, who had weathered every storm by his side, been cruelly slain, even their newborn daughter, Li Yiqiu, had had all her meridians shattered by an exquisitely brutal method. Her life and death had hung by a thread in an instant.

In a single day, two of the people dearest to him had been lost, one dead and one crippled. Faced with such a tragedy, even Li Muqiu’s cultivation could not prevent his Dao heart from nearly collapsing on the spot.

Li Muqiu not only had to force himself to endure that heart-rending pain, he also had to expend immense effort merely to keep his daughter alive. Back then, to preserve her life, he had nearly burned himself out to the last ember. Over these past ten years, he had poured out every ounce of his blood and sweat, searching everywhere for a cure while continuously sustaining his daughter’s life with his own profound true essence.

To heal his daughter completely, Li Muqiu had exhausted every stratagem he possessed. This time, he had even paid a painful price to invite one of the elders from the Pill Pavilion, one of the Four Minor Holy Lands, to personally refine the Pill of Restoration. Yet who could have imagined that although the pill was successfully made, an accident would occur during transport?

“If anything truly happened to Qiu’er, he would probably grow even more mad. What a pity, though, for the Li junior brother of those days, full of vigor and brilliance. By the assessment of the masters of the Wu family at the time, he should have been able to seek immortality within ten years. Yet now more than ten years have passed...” Xue Cheng’s eyes grew deep. “His obsession is too profound. Qiu’er and vengeance have become his obsession. If he cannot untie it, he will never step onto the path of immortality in this lifetime.”

“Little beggar, what is your name? Who are your parents? Which sect are you from?” Li Muqiu appeared before Che Wuyou, his tone severe. In truth, he detested Che Wuyou to the core. The Pill of Restoration, meant to cure his daughter, had been swallowed in a single gulp by this boy. Of all the things he might have eaten, why did he have to swallow that pill?

“My name is Che Wuyou. I do not know who my parents are, and I have never joined any sect.” Che Wuyou answered without hesitation. He had long anticipated such a question, and his reply came smoothly.

“Oh? So you’re a wandering orphan then? And what are those two scriptures tucked in your chest? Where did they come from? And those prescriptions on your body—though they are only basic formulas, they are not something a wandering child like you could have obtained, are they?” Li Muqiu struggled to restrain the urge to slap Che Wuyou to death, and in a grim voice he barked out the question.

“The two books and the prescriptions were things I happened to pick up. If senior likes them, I can lend them to you for a look.” Che Wuyou was profoundly shocked. It seemed the world of true masters was beyond anything he could imagine. Li Muqiu had actually seen at a glance what he was carrying. It seemed best to tell the truth in front of such people, or else he might die without even knowing how.

“The Herb Formula? The Classic of Medicine? What sort of books are these? I’ve never even heard of them in my sect... Hmm? This Herb Formula does have a bit of interest, but this Classic of Medicine... what? Could it be this?” As he spoke, Li Muqiu’s expression suddenly changed slightly, and surprise surfaced in his face.

“Bad. Li Muqiu has recognized the Classic of Medicine.” Che Wuyou’s face also changed. He still clearly remembered everything Liu Lanzhi had told him about that book. It was an extraordinary manual that could drive the cultivation world into a frenzy of struggle.

“Damn it, how could I have been so careless? I should have hidden the book somewhere safe instead of carrying it on me. I’m really too stupid, too stupid. Since he’s discovered the Classic of Medicine, it’s probably impossible to keep it. I’ve wasted my senior sister’s painstaking kindness for nothing. If I ever see her again, how am I supposed to explain this to her?” Che Wuyou was filled with regret.

“You really intend to lend them to me? In that case, I shall accept without further ceremony.” Sure enough, Li Muqiu’s cold voice rang out. Before Che Wuyou even realized what had happened, the two scriptures and all the prescriptions were already in Li Muqiu’s hands.

As he flipped through the books, Li Muqiu said coldly, “These two scriptures aren’t bad. For the sake of these two scriptures, I’ll spare your life for now. But you’ll have to come with me to the Azure Pool Sword Sect.”

“Junior is willing to go with Senior to the Azure Pool Sword Sect. It’s just that these two scriptures... since Senior likes them so much, let them remain in your care for the time being. But these things have accompanied me for a long time. Once Senior has finished reading them, I hope Senior can return them to me as soon as possible. Junior thanks you in advance...”

As he spoke, Che Wuyou cursed the entire Li Muqiu family in his heart. Lending the books had been a step back in order to advance; he had hoped Li Muqiu would care about his status and refrain from seizing his scriptures. But he had gravely underestimated Li Muqiu’s shamelessness.

Li Muqiu had ripped the books from him without the slightest embarrassment. Even after seizing a peerless treasure like the Classic of Medicine, aside from a brief flicker of surprise at the outset, he still wore that same cold expression. This made Che Wuyou repeatedly mutter in his heart: utterly shameless, utterly hypocritical. Yet faced with such a person, what could he do?

Seeing Li Muqiu silently tuck the two scriptures into his robe, Che Wuyou once again mentally greeted Li Muqiu’s whole family several times over, while vowing repeatedly in his heart that one day he would secretly take the books back...

After cursing Li Muqiu, he thought again of Li Muqiu taking him to the Azure Pool Sword Sect, and his mood improved somewhat. He still held a measure of anticipation for entering the sect. As the preeminent superpower of the southern frontier, the Azure Pool Sword Sect was a holy land of cultivation every person dreamed of. Even with Liu Lanzhi’s talent, being able to enter the Azure Pool Sword Sect was something to take pride in. If he too could enter the Azure Pool Sword Sect, did that not mean that in the not-too-distant future, he would see Lanzhi again?

“Don’t be happy too soon. I’m only taking you to the Azure Pool Sword Sect because you still have some use. I have no intention of making you a formal disciple of the Azure Pool Sword Sect.” Li Muqiu looked at Che Wuyou indifferently. “Your aptitude is abysmal. Only after taking a earth-grade pill like the Pill of Restoration did you barely cross from the Qi Refining stage into the Purple Mansion stage. Such poor talent is truly unimaginable. Even if the Azure Pool Sword Sect were willing to take you in, with your aptitude you still would not pass the layered entrance examinations.”

“Since this junior’s aptitude is so poor, what exactly does Senior want by taking me to the Azure Pool Sword Sect? In that case, wouldn’t it be better to return my things to me and let me depart on my own?” Che Wuyou had already been deeply irritated by Li Muqiu’s forcible seizure of his belongings. Now, hearing the man’s mocking and cold words, he could not help but answer back in kind. So what if it was impressive? Since your Azure Pool Sword Sect has such a high threshold, then I don’t want to go.

“You’ve eaten this sect’s Pill of Restoration and you still want to leave so easily? Where in this world is there such a good thing?” Li Muqiu gazed at Che Wuyou without the slightest warmth. “If I have not thought of a way to extract the Pill of Restoration by the end of the day, you will remain on Azure Pool Mountain for another day. Do you understand, boy?”

“How do you intend to extract the Pill of Restoration? The pill has already been eaten by me—what method is there left to think of? Besides, I have no wish to waste my time idling on Azure Pool Mountain. If by chance you never think of a way to extract it for your entire life, do you mean to keep me stranded here for my entire life as well?”