Emperor of the North Chapter 2

Edited by Owner – The Cool Among Cool

The essence in his body gradually developed after each pa.s.sing second. Following that, the essence that was gathered around his Dantian also increased.

At the same time, in Li Mu’s body, a green pellet displayed great efficacy. Stream after stream, the dissolved pellet was absorbed fully by the essence in his body.

That green pellet was the Lingqu Dan given by Li Xue.

“Bang!” A m.u.f.fled sound could be heard from Li Mu’s body. Following closely after it, his body began to glow intensely, and the rich amount of essence that had gathered began to be engulfed madly by his Dantian. At the end, not a single bit of essence was left.

Once it was all over, Li Mu’s Dantian generated a white glow that was no more than the size of a melon seed. However, that light was the display of a startling amount of essence formed after the s.p.a.ce was opened.

“The s.p.a.ce has been successfully opened. This child has successfully advanced to the next realm!” From among the onlookers, a middle-aged man wearing a purple robe gasped, which sounded like a sigh as he muttered softly to himself.

Onlookers of different generations stared at Li Mu with their eyes wide opened but were hit with the realization that he was now no longer a martial artist of the Guti Realm.

Suddenly, Li Mu’s body stopped absorbing any more of the essence and a ray of light s.h.i.+ned from above his head. But suddenly, beads of perspiration began to form on his forehead, and an overwhelming pain hit him.

Enlightenment. Every martial artist that broke into the Houtian Realm had to go through this very process. Once a martial artist steps into the Houtian Realm, his senses will open up another sense for his spiritual mind, a six sense.

The spiritual mind, in short, was the induction of a martial artist’s will power. The spiritual mind will become more and more powerful as the martial artist continues to cultivate and raise it. When the spiritual mind becomes strong, the martial artist’s spiritual power will become strong. This is the defining line between the Houtian Realm and the Guti Realm.

Following the flow of time, Li Mu’s painful expression began to subside and disappear.

In that split second, Li Mu opened his eyes. A white light flashed across his eyes and he revealed a grin. That was because he had finally stepped into the Houtian Realm.

“A success! Brother has broken through to the Houtian Realm!!!” Seeing the grin on Li Mu’s face, Li Xue clapped her hands excitedly and shouted.

That was followed by the cheers from the members of the Li family household. A twelve-year-old martial artist of the Houtian Realm had emerged, but the most important point was that the martial artist was from the Li family.

“Congratulations, Brother Li! That young boy, Li Mu, has finally broken through to the Houtian Realm. It seems for the Lieyun Sect’s Disciple Selection that happens every three years, his name will definitely be on the list!” A middle-aged man in a purple robe hurried over to congratulate Li Zhenglong, and then Li Zhengkun.

“Yes ah! With Li Mu’s qualifications, not only would he be accepted into the Sect, he would also be subjected to attention. From there, his successes would definitely continue to pile up one after another, and he may one day even achieve the Shentong Realm! Congratulations!”

Having witnessed Li Mu's successful advancement, those guests who came quickly gave their blessings. Among them were those who were from families whose powers were no different from the Li family. Although deep down, they may not be happy, but they had to give their sincerest blessings on the surface nevertheless.

Towards Li Zhenglong and Li Zhengkun, the guests wore a smile on their faces as they repeated their blessings over and over again.

“Ah!!!” In this joyous occasion, a sudden scream was heard in the square. Everyone turned to the direction of the scream which seemed to have come from Li Mu who had just advanced to the next realm.

At this moment, Li Mu was standing. His face was black and his hair had turned as hard as ice. His body was trembling all over while releasing a strong chill, as if something had gone wrong during the ceremony.

“Mu’er!!!”

The first to react was Li Mu’s father, Li Zhenglong. He rushed up the platform and supported Li Mu with his arms.

“Mu’er, what happened? Why are you like this?”

Li Zhenglong’s face showed a look of anxiousness. He quickly dug out a bottle of baiyu pills and poured out a few of them before pus.h.i.+ng them into Li Mu’s mouth.

“Father…poison…the Lingqu Dan had poison!”

“Pū!!!” Black blood spurt out of Li Mu’s mouth and he fainted in his father’s arms. The black blood that Li Mu spurted out landed on the surface of the platform and immediately turned to ice.

“Why did this happen?! Big Brother!!”

Seeing his son faint in his arms, he rushed over to the Li family’s head, Li Zhengkun, and questioned.

Li Zhengkun was overcast. He stretched out his right hand and pressed it on the back of Li Mu. A stream of white essence gushed out from his palm but was not absorbed into Li Mu’s body.

Li Zhengkun’s face darkened and he recovered his hand. At the same time, he clenched his fists and cracking sounds could be heard.

“Just who is so vicious to use poison?!”Li Zhengkun roared. His furious eyes swept across everyone. As for those families whose power and influence were no weaker than the Li family, they were the first under his list of suspects.

“What kind of poison is this? Can it be neutralized?” Li Zhenglong asked worriedly.

“Nether pepper!” Li Zhengkun shook his head, speaking through gritted teeth.

“What?! How could that be?” Li Zhenglong was clear of the type of drug nether pepper was. For Li Mu, who had just stepped into the Houtian Realm, even if he were in the Xiantian Realm, he may not be able to escape death.

“Brother!!! Gugu..”

From a far, tears were trickling down Li Xue’s face. Never had she known that the Lingqu Dan she had given Li Mu would cause him to be poisoned. If not for a Li disciple holding her back, she would have run straight up the platform already.

Seeing Li Mu in such a state, the guests were overcome with a mix of emotions. Some spoke as if heaven was jealous of the genius, others just gloat at his misfortune. But in this moment, the square was in a commotion.

Suddenly, a figure carrying a profound aura could be felt from within the Li household; and in an instant that figure appeared on the high platform.

It was a white-haired old man with a face full of wrinkles and hair as pale as snow; his age could be anything between eighty and ninety years old. His back was hunched and his body was thin as if a slight breeze could topple him over. If not for the strong aura released from his body, the crowd would have deemed him as a frail old man.

“Father!! Please, save Mu’er quickly!” Upon seeing the sudden appearance of the old man, Li Zhenglong sensed that he had found the savior that could rescue his son.

The white-haired old man nodded blankly. Grabbing the fainted Li Mu, the old man leaped into the inner courtyard. His speed was that of the wind, or maybe even the lightning. In just a few seconds, the old man had disappeared with Li Mu.

“The Second Master calls that man father. Then, is he not the Old Head? The Old Head is actually alive! How could that be?” A guard of the Li household shouted. Following after his shout, the square was once again in an uproar.

“The previous head of the Li family, Li Yuncheng! He’s actually still alive!”

“Didn’t he die twenty years ago?”

“What a strong aura! He must’ve broken through to the Xiantian Realm!!!!”

……

The Li family was in no mood to partic.i.p.ate in the discussion among the guests. Those who had come for the ceremony were invited out of the household before the doors were closed shut.

This day was doomed to not have peace. Not just the Muyun city, but nearby cities were discussing the hot happenings in the Li family household. The first was the young Li genius who was poisoned immediately after stepping into the Houtian Realm, news of his life or death currently unknown.

The second topic, which was more popular compared to the first, was the Li family’s previous head actually being alive and having already broken through to the Xiantian Realm.

……

“What? You mean to say that you were the one who gave that Lingqu Dan to your brother?”

Deep inside the inner courtyard of the Li family, outside a tightly closed room, Li Zhenglong glared angrily at Li Xue. It was as if he cared not for the already deeply saddened girl who was crying rivers.

In addition to the father and daughter in the inner courtyard, there were also the core members of different factions of the family. Li Zhengkun was also one of those waiting outside the room. At this moment, everyone’s eyes were gathered on the Li Xue.

“Father, I really did not know that the Lingqu Dan was poisoned! I’d just wanted to give Brother a gift like what big uncle and third uncle did. I really did not wish to cause harm to Brother! Gugu… wasn’t that the Dan you wanted me to give to Brother…” Li Xue wiped her warm tears before sobbing out.

“A Lingqu Dan is expensive and is a precious item within the Li family. If even I do not use it, why would I have your brother use it?! Xue’er, tell your father truthfully, who gave you that Dan?”

Li Zhenglong felt that something was amiss and eased his emotions before asking gently.

“It…it was Ah Fu who gave it to me. Yesterday, Ah Fu told me that father wanted to give the Dan to Brother but did not wish to do it personally. So he said that I could treat it as a gift and give it to Brother. He also said that Brother would definitely be happy upon receiving it. I really didn’t know there was poison in it. Gugu…” Li Xue sobbed some more as she spoke truthfully.

“Second Brother, what’s the meaning of this?!” Hearing what Li Xue said, Li Zhengkun could somehow grasp the meaning behind those words and immediately looked at his brother suspiciously.

“What are you hinting at?! Why would I cause harm to my own child! Ah Fu… Housekeeper Li, bring Ah Fu here!” Li Zhenglong clenched his fist angrily and instructed an elderly man.

Hearing so, the housekeeper called for a few of the guards and hurriedly left.

“If I remember correctly, Ah Fu follows the instructions of Li Feng!” Once the housekeeper had left, something seemed to have surfaced in Li Zhenglong’s head and he stared angrily at another person who was also in the inner courtyard.

That person was a young man no more than eighteen to nineteen years old. Looking closely, his looks were similar to Li Mu.

“Second uncle! Li Mu is like a younger brother to me. Why would I harm him? What’s more, where would I even get my hands on a Lingqu Dan anyway!” Looking innocently, Li Feng hurriedly gave an explanation.

“Second Brother, do not let your judgement be clouded by hatred. Feng’er is my son, just like Mu’er. They’re both the pillars of the Li family in the future. It seems the incident this time around is not so simple. We should not accuse those within the family, for that may be what the mastermind behind this is hoping for! He wishes for internal conflict!” Li Zhengkun openly advised.

“Second Master! Second Master… not good. Ah Fu is dead!” At this moment, the housekeeper brought in the guards who were carrying a person into the inner courtyard.

“Dead? How did he die?” Li Zhenglong was startled and looked at the person that was brought into the inner courtyard. That person was Ah Fu, and his corpse was releasing a chilling air.

“He died from poison. He was dead on his bed for at least seven to eight hours already. I’ve also checked that he was poisoned by the consumption of nether pepper! We even found a thousand silvers in his room!”

As the housekeeper spoke, he opened the bag that was in his hand. In the bag were filled with clean silver ingots.

“Investigate this further!! There’s definitely a mastermind behind all of this!!!” Li Zhenglong grabbed the bag of silver ingots and smashed it heavily onto the ground before he shouted, full of rage.

“Crunch…” The tightly shut door of the room was slowly opened and a white-haired old man walked out from inside. He was the previous head of the Li family, Li Zhenglong, and Li Zhengkun’s father; he was also a martial artist who had advanced to the Xiantian Realm. That man was Li Yuncheng.