Chapter 113
Chapter 113: Mechanisms
Seeing this scene, Bu Cheng Yang, who carried a long sword on his back, did not hesitate at all. In an instant, he retreated, his form turning into a streak of lightning-fast sword light, reappearing dozens of feet away from Li Mu Sheng on the water’s surface.
He moved far away from the Azure Dragon phantom that had transformed into a wild and fierce beast, yet his gaze remained fixed upon Li Mu Sheng’s back.
At the same time, facing the Azure Dragon’s mighty phantom, Li Mu Sheng stood completely unmoved. He shook his head slightly, remarking lightly, “It may look fancy and intimidating, but what good is it really? A beautifully embroidered pillow—lovely to see, useless in truth.”
As he spoke, he reached out and casually grasped the air in front of him.
Immediately, the falling stones from the trembling cavern ceiling and the surging waves beneath his feet suddenly froze, motionless in mid-air.
Right after that, brilliant golden rays burst forth, illuminating the dark underground cavern as if the sun itself had risen, turning everything bright as day.
In that dazzling golden glow, a massive claw wrapped in blazing golden light appeared from thin air.
The golden claw was gigantic, almost filling the entire underground space, shining so intensely that it made the Azure Dragon’s phantom, dozens of meters long, look insignificant by comparison. The Azure Dragon’s gleaming blue radiance appeared no more than a firefly against the blazing sun.
The next moment, that terrifying golden claw swiftly plunged down, instantly engulfing the Azure Dragon’s shadow in flames, utterly obliterating it into nothingness.
“Old man, do you see now? Unlike your mere showy tricks, mine is true power, worthy of its name.” Li Mu Sheng turned his gaze to the Azure Dragon elder, who had appeared again, and spoke lightly, as if discussing the weather.
Floating silently in the air, the Azure Dragon elder no longer attacked Li Mu Sheng. Instead, he stared at him intently, his eyes spinning far faster than before, as though desperately analyzing the youth in front of him. On his pale, ashen face, there remained clearly visible the imprint of five fingers, embedded deeply into his cheekbones.
Meanwhile, Bu Cheng Yang, observing from afar, revealed a complicated expression. Li Mu Sheng’s martial prowess was far beyond anything he had expected.
Earlier, seeing Li Mu Sheng’s youth yet already at the Heavenly Union level had left him stunned. Knowing Li Mu Sheng was a rare martial prodigy had even prompted him to offer kind warnings, hoping to prevent this gifted youth from provoking the Azure Dragon elder and needlessly losing his life.
Yet Li Mu Sheng had not heeded his advice. Instead, he had impulsively attacked the elder first.
Initially, Bu Cheng Yang had been astonished when the elder was knocked away, but he had believed the elder had merely been careless. Only now did he truly understand—it wasn’t carelessness. Li Mu Sheng was simply too powerful. The elder had not even had time to react before being swept aside.
[Since when did such a terrifying martial genius appear in the Martial World? And he is so unbelievably young!] Bu Cheng Yang was deeply shaken. Such talent was unheard of in thousands of years of Martial World history.
At the same time, the Azure Dragon elder, staring intensely at Li Mu Sheng, finally spoke in a strained, broken voice:
“I… concede defeat… I am no match… for you.”
The formidable martial aura he once exuded had vanished, leaving him merely shaking his head continuously.
Li Mu Sheng slightly raised an eyebrow. [This old man seems a little slow-witted, yet oddly practical.]
But at that moment, the Azure Dragon elder spoke again:
“However… the Dragon Pearl… you cannot take it… hand it to me.”
Hearing this, Li Mu Sheng coldly chuckled. He casually tossed the greyish-glowing stone pearl in his hand, asking calmly:
“And if I refuse, what could you possibly do to me?”
At these words, the Azure Dragon elder’s eyes spun rapidly again. Slowly, he reached out his open palm and responded cryptically:
“I am not… your match… but you… cannot escape.”
As he spoke, a powerful Qi began stirring within the cavern. The underground waterway below, stretching hundreds of feet, suddenly churned violently. The entire water surface began sinking lower—or more precisely, something hidden beneath was slowly rising upward.
Witnessing this, Bu Cheng Yang, who had retreated far away, urgently circulated his martial Qi and called out to Li Mu Sheng in a low voice:
“Little brother, stay calm! This place is far more complex than you realize!”
Afraid Li Mu Sheng would recklessly attack again, he hurriedly continued, explaining rapidly:
“This place within Great Li Imperial Capital is called the Dragon Locking Well district, and the name ‘Dragon Locking’ has existed for over a thousand years.”
“People say it traps the Earth Dragon Vein underground, but that isn’t true. What’s sealed here is actually a mass of ‘Azure Dragon Qi,’ imprisoned by mechanisms crafted by the legendary Temple of Master Lu, the greatest masters of mechanism arts in the world.”
“Legend has it, they spent more than a century building this intricate trap. If we carelessly trigger this enormous mechanism embedded in the Earth Vein, neither you nor I will escape alive. Moreover, tens of thousands living within the Dragon Locking Well district will perish if the Earth Dragon is awakened!”
Hearing Bu Cheng Yang’s urgent explanation, Li Mu Sheng frowned and looked down at the trembling water. Beneath, a shadow spanning several miles moved slowly upward, accompanied by countless tiny gears quietly turning.
At the same time, the surrounding cavern walls shuddered gently—not as violently as when the Azure Dragon elder had released his martial aura, but clearly spreading much farther. The entire district within Great Li’s capital would now feel these slight tremors.
Observing all this closely, Li Mu Sheng calmly shifted his gaze back toward the white-haired Azure Dragon elder.
The elder’s palm remained stretched toward him, but his rapidly spinning eyes had ceased moving.
“Hand… it over!” commanded the Azure Dragon elder, his tone brooking no refusal. His pale face, imprinted deeply with the five-finger mark, now twisted into a strange, mocking smirk as he quietly stared at Li Mu Sheng.
Yet Li Mu Sheng’s eyes grew deep and calm. He returned the gaze steadily and spoke softly:
“You seem to think that what you saw earlier was all I’m capable of.”