Chapter 120: Like a Stone Sinking into the Sea |
The moment Bu Chengyang finished speaking, the entire deep pool fell silent save for the lingering roll of the waves.
Li Musheng glanced at him with a slight raise of his eyebrow. So now the man had found his backbone.
Though in truth, seizing the bronze sword had had almost nothing to do with Bu Chengyang. That had been entirely Li Musheng's own doing.
Still, Li Musheng didn't particularly mind. Having a Heaven-Human expert speak up in his stead did wonders for his bearing, elevating it considerably in an instant.
All things considered, it served some purpose, however modest.
Meanwhile, the expressions of the Qingshan Tower members and the others had all turned rather unpleasant. The violet-robed elder's gaze moved back and forth between Li Musheng and Bu Chengyang, visibly hesitant.
If it were Bu Chengyang alone, they would not have given him much thought. But with Li Musheng added into the equation, he found himself unable to make up his mind.
Young as Li Musheng appeared, and devoid of any discernible True Qi fluctuations, the move he had just made left the elder wondering whether this was in fact some ancient figure of the martial world in disguise.
No matter how desperately he wanted to claim the Imperial Dragon Divine Sword, he still couldn't bring himself to decide whether to take the gamble.
The moment those words landed, someone among the Qingshan Tower members took exception at once and shouted back in fury, "Shut your mouths, you old eunuch dogs. The Imperial Dragon Divine Sword was forged by our Great Qi dynasty, yet it was seized by shameless people like you, and now you have the gall to call it a possession of Great Li!"
Hearing this, the two elderly eunuchs let out a cold snort and said indifferently, "A pack of hopelessly stubborn Great Qi remnants. Can you not see what age we are living in? Your Great Qi collapsed long ago. As for the Imperial Dragon Divine Sword and the realm under heaven, they belong to whoever has the ability to claim them. We advise you to abandon your foolish dreams of restoring a dead dynasty."
At that point, seeing the Qingshan Tower members and the two elderly eunuchs trading barbs with each other, Li Musheng suddenly cut both sides short and said with a slow nod and a smile, "What the two eunuchs say does make sense. The Imperial Dragon Divine Sword belongs to whoever has the ability to claim it, so it's rather obvious that the thing is mine now."
As he spoke, he once again operated the bronze sword in front of everyone, swinging it through several leisurely arcs of its own accord in the water, sending the pool surging and the waves rolling.
But then Li Musheng suddenly furrowed his brow slightly, and looked at the assembled crowd with a puzzled expression, saying, "Though I do have one question. Why was this sword made so large? Is it actually meant for a person to wield?"
Hearing this, the two elderly eunuchs narrowed their eyes in unison. Their loose white hair drifted in the water as they said in low, stern voices, "Since you do not even know how to wield the Imperial Dragon Divine Sword, it would be best if you left the sword here."
The moment the words fell, the icy True Qi around both elderly eunuchs surged abruptly. Leaving behind nothing but a burst of exploding water in their places, their figures became two streaks of lightning flashing through the dark water, shooting directly toward Li Musheng.
At the same time, the violet-robed elder of Qingshan Tower, witnessing this, finally let his gaze turn cold as he made up his mind.
He raised his hand in a sweeping gesture, signaling the rest of the Qingshan Tower members to follow close behind.
The intent was clearly to join forces with the two elderly eunuchs of Great Li and deal with the most threatening presence first, then resume their pursuit of the Imperial Dragon Divine Sword afterward.
In an instant, the rest of the Qingshan Tower experts and the violet-robed elder all struck out with everything they had.
The pressure Li Musheng exerted on them was simply too great, and with Bu Chengyang at the Heaven-Human Realm assisting him on top of that, if they did not go all out, their odds of victory were slim.
In mere moments, the entire pool erupted into a boiling frenzy as streams of terrifying martial True Qi like howling gales and crashing seas sent enormous waves surging in every direction.
Eleven martial experts all deployed their most powerful techniques, and in the blink of an eye they were upon Li Musheng, striking without hesitation and with full force.
"Northern Qi Divine Palm!"
"Myriad Forms Converging Strike!"
"Iron Palm Bone-Shattering Seal!"
...
One figure after another roared out in unison. Surging Northern Qi Dark Energy poured forth without end, dark palm prints spanning several zhang in width, a dense and terrifying storm of fist shadows, cold and razor-sharp blade light, all of it flooding the water around Li Musheng. At the same time, five powerful auras from the Heaven-Human experts locked onto Li Musheng with lethal intent.
Five vastly different streams of immense True Qi formed in an instant into an inescapable prison sealing the heavens and severing the earth, confining Li Musheng to the stretch of water where he stood and leaving him not the slightest chance of escape.
At the same time, all five Heaven-Human experts deployed their most powerful martial divine techniques in unison and struck at Li Musheng, who was now completely bound in place.
In that instant, the waters of the entire pool erupted into staggering, sky-high waves that burst dozens of meters out of the pool's opening in the bronze palace above. The terrifying force of the impact caused the bronze palace itself to crack and begin to collapse.
And in the pool below, every last trace of heaven and earth True Qi in the surrounding waters was absorbed and consumed in an instant under the full-force draw of five Heaven-Human experts.
In order to deal with Li Musheng with full power, these eleven people had even abandoned Bu Chengyang entirely, clearly intending to end Li Musheng with a single devastating blow.
"With the five of us Heaven-Human experts joining forces, we have severed all heaven and earth True Qi from around you. No matter how extraordinary your martial arts may be, even the cleverest hands cannot cook a meal without rice. Now that you have no heaven and earth True Qi to draw upon, this old man would like to see what means you have to withstand the combined attack of five Heaven-Human experts."
A savage smile crept across the violet-robed elder's face.
He and the two elderly eunuchs had been adversaries moments ago, yet when it came to sealing off and striking at Li Musheng they had arrived at the exact same idea, and the combined power they unleashed together was truly stronger than anyone could have anticipated.
Without the support of heaven and earth True Qi, Li Musheng relying solely on the martial True Qi stored within his own body would stand no chance whatsoever against them.
In fact, the violet-robed elder was confident that even a peak Heaven-Human expert whose strength far surpassed theirs would find it difficult to contend with them under these circumstances.
Yet at this moment, faced with eleven opponents closing in from all sides, Li Musheng's expression remained unchanged, utterly unmoved.
He looked toward the violet-robed elder who had spoken, shook his head, and said, "Clearly, you're all overthinking this."
Even as the words left his mouth, the attacks from the three Heaven-Human experts of Qingshan Tower and the two elderly eunuchs of Great Li had already landed.
Five streams of terrifying force crashed into Li Musheng's body in full, as though to obliterate him into dust with overwhelming, unstoppable might.
Yet Li Musheng simply allowed every killing technique to land on him one after another, standing where he was without moving a muscle, his expression utterly blank.
And in the next moment, the two elderly eunuchs of Great Li and the violet-robed elder of Qingshan Tower all suddenly furrowed their brows.
For they discovered, to their shock, that the immense martial True Qi they had driven into Li Musheng's body with full force had vanished entirely, like a stone sinking into the sea, without stirring so much as a single ripple.
And Li Musheng, from beginning to end, was completely unharmed.