Chapter 117: The Bronze Palace |
In the end, Bu Chengyang agreed to Li Musheng's overbearing terms.
Even though he would only be contributing effort without gaining anything in return.
But since the matter of cooperation had been his own idea, and it was he who had drawn Li Musheng's interest into the affair, he had no choice but to see it through to the end.
Otherwise, whether for his own sake or for the sect's, having provoked an enemy whose martial Dao cultivation was so terrifyingly profound, he would be utterly beyond redemption even if he died ten thousand times over.
As for Li Musheng, at this moment he also had no absolute certainty that he could obtain the Azure Dragon True Qi without triggering the underground mechanisms.
Therefore, he felt that giving Bu Chengyang's proposed method a try was not a bad idea.
If it didn't succeed, it wouldn't come to the point of triggering the mechanisms and causing the entire Dragon Lock Well Ward to sink and collapse into ruins. And if it truly did succeed, then naturally everyone would be pleased, and either way there was nothing to lose.
After that, Li Musheng left together with Bu Chengyang and returned to where Cang Yinyue and Ah Bin were waiting.
"Your Highness truly never fails to disappoint."
The enormous commotion the Azure Dragon Elder had caused earlier had not gone unnoticed by Cang Yinyue, and she had naturally been somewhat worried about Li Musheng's safety.
But knowing that her own martial Dao cultivation would be of little help, and trusting in Li Musheng's strength, she had simply stayed still and waited for his return.
And in the end, he had indeed come back without a scratch, and had even unexpectedly brought with him a formidable expert of considerable martial prowess.
Li Musheng then gave Cang Yinyue a rough account of his encounter with the Azure Dragon Elder and everything related to the Azure Dragon True Qi.
On the other side, Bu Chengyang and Ah Bin exchanged a nearly imperceptible glance, then quickly looked away and acted as though they were strangers to each other.
However, while Li Musheng was speaking with Cang Yinyue, Ah Bin seemed unable to hold himself back, and stealthily condensed his True Qi into a thread to transmit his voice in secret to Bu Chengyang.
Upon seeing Ah Bin rashly transmitting his voice like that, Bu Chengyang's expression shifted at once, and he shot the other man a sharp glare, saying, "Fool!"
"Do you two know each other?"
Li Musheng suddenly turned his head around, his gaze falling on Ah Bin and Bu Chengyang.
Hearing this, Bu Chengyang let out a sigh, then slowly nodded.
Ah Bin had thought his covert voice transmission was flawless, but how could it ever escape Li Musheng's eyes? The boy had transmitted his message right in front of the man, which was no different from covering his own ears while stealing a bell.
At this point, Ah Bin seemed to realize something, and could only look toward Bu Chengyang with a pleading expression.
The strength Li Musheng had displayed earlier had been far too terrifying. In his estimation, only Bu Chengyang standing before him could handle someone like that.
"Young Hero may not be aware, but this young fellow is a martial nephew of mine," Bu Chengyang explained to Li Musheng candidly. "He has long been running errands for the sect at its station in Shangyang City, and only recently infiltrated those Great Qi remnants to assist me in seizing the Imperial Dragon Divine Sword."
Upon hearing this, Ah Bin's expression shifted through a rapid succession of changes. He truly had not expected that his martial uncle would lay everything out so openly, even revealing sect secrets as sensitive as the seizure of the Imperial Dragon Divine Sword to Li Musheng without the slightest reservation.
Though he grumbled inwardly, he did not dare utter a single extra word on the surface. Otherwise, the two standing before him could silence him on the spot, and doing so would be no more difficult than crushing an ant.
So he immediately swapped his expression for an ingratiating smile, bowing and nodding repeatedly as he said, "Martial Uncle Bu is absolutely right. This humble one has long been working as a spy for Six Doors on the side, and though I came this time to help seize the Imperial Dragon Divine Sword, I had absolutely no intention of causing any trouble for either of you."
Hearing this, Li Musheng waved his hand dismissively, paying the matter no further mind.
With a runt like this one, even dreaming of causing him trouble was probably too much to ask for two lifetimes over.
"Alright. Keep leading the way. Those Great Qi remnants have most likely already made their move over at Dragon Abyss Lake. By the time we get there, the timing should be just about right."
Hearing this, Ah Bin felt a wave of relief wash over him, and quickly agreed.
Then he stole a glance at Bu Chengyang, turned around, and set off first along the path they had come, skimming across the water with his lightness technique.
Bu Chengyang's expression remained composed, and together with Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue, he followed close behind.
Before long, the four of them returned to the original fork in the waterway and switched to a different channel. After that, their path was nearly unobstructed the entire way, and they traveled several li through the waterways until they reached an underground river.
The underground river connected to Dragon Abyss Lake, and every obstacle between the two had already been cleared by those Great Qi remnants from Qingshan Tower.
Pressing on a little further through the river, bodies began to drift along the current, all freshly killed not long ago. Among them were members of the Great Qi remnants as well as armored soldiers from the Great Li Forbidden Army.
Clang! Clang! Clash!
Not far ahead came the sounds of clashing blades and fierce fighting. Before a towering bronze palace, two groups of combatants were locked in the heat of battle.
Even the arrival of Li Musheng and the other three drew not the slightest notice from anyone. Each fighter was wholly consumed by the enemy in front of them, for in a struggle of life and death, there was simply no room for distraction.
"The Imperial Dragon Divine Sword should be hidden within that palace," Bu Chengyang said slowly, his gaze fixed on the half-open gate of the bronze palace ahead. "It is said that Great Li uses the sword to channel and concentrate the dynasty's vital fortune, and has stationed no small number of formidable martial experts to guard it."
The interior at that moment was shrouded in darkness and utterly silent, which suggested that those Great Qi remnants from Qingshan Tower had not yet fully gotten their hands on the Imperial Dragon Divine Sword.
"Let's go in and have a look."
Li Musheng took Cang Yinyue with him and shot toward the interior of the bronze palace at great speed.
Some of the Great Qi remnants and Great Li Forbidden Army guards who had been fighting at the palace gates saw that yet more outsiders had come to compete for the Imperial Dragon Divine Sword, and both sides momentarily abandoned each other to charge at Li Musheng and his companions in unison.
But Bu Chengyang, following behind Li Musheng, let out a light, cold snort.
The next moment, before any of them could close in, every last one was swept up by a powerful surge of invisible force and sent flying dozens of meters back in the direction they had come from, crashing down through the air.
Ah Bin, watching from the side, clicked his tongue in quiet amazement.
His martial uncle, reputed among the sect's second-generation sword cultivators as a martial prodigy, had truly fallen from grace. He had completely abandoned his former arrogance and air of superiority, willingly reducing himself to another man's enforcer. It was simply beyond belief.
Still, thinking back to the terrifying power Li Musheng had displayed earlier, and to Bu Chengyang's manner toward him, he had by now more or less worked out the shape of things. His martial uncle was most likely no match for Li Musheng in terms of martial Dao strength, for otherwise, given the man's character, he would never have lowered himself to such an extent.
After dealing with the Great Qi remnants and the others, the four of them entered the bronze palace one after another.
The entire bronze palace was laid out with remarkable simplicity. Apart from nine enormous bronze pillars holding up the domed ceiling, there was not a single ornate decoration anywhere in the surrounding space.
The only thing present was at the center of the hall, atop a platform built from great stones, where a cyan jade pool several tens of meters in diameter shimmered quietly.