Chapter 115: Azure Dragon Cangming Sutra

Seeing that Bu Chengyang before him was now nothing like when they first met, able to put on an act just as well as he could.

Li Musheng stroked his chin and said with narrowed eyes:

"Rest assured, I only wish to ask about the origin of this dragon pearl and the matter of the Azure Dragon True Qi."

"As long as you answer my questions honestly, I can overlook certain inappropriate behaviors of yours from before."

Upon hearing this, Bu Chengyang felt somewhat reassured; since Li Musheng had made demands of him, it meant the other party certainly would not act without cause for the time being.

It was just that he could not quite figure out when exactly he had provoked Li Musheng, as it sounded as though the other party seemed quite dissatisfied with him.

However, he did not ponder it deeply, but instead clasped his hands toward Li Musheng and said:

"I do indeed know a little about the matters here, and I can indeed offer the young hero some clarification."

Then, his gaze turned to the stone pearl in Li Musheng's hand, and he said:

"Although this object is named 'Dragon Pearl', it is not the true core of the Azure Dragon, but rather a product formed by the sealed Azure Dragon True Qi that partially escaped here, accumulating over time and soaking the underground rocks."

"Therefore, the stone of the Dragon Pearl itself has nothing special; its most precious aspect lies in the Azure Dragon True Qi contained within, which is also the true reason the Azure Dragon Elder wished to obtain this object."

Hearing this, Li Musheng showed a look of contemplation and said:

"This Azure Dragon True Qi is completely different from Martial True Qi; could that Azure Dragon Elder absorb it?"

As he spoke, he seemed to recall something and said with sudden realization:

"I previously heard you say that the old man cultivates a divine art called the Azure Dragon Cangming Sutra; could it be that he relies on this cultivation technique to absorb the Azure Dragon True Qi from the stone pearl?"

Bu Chengyang nodded slightly and said:

"Indeed so; it is said that the Azure Dragon True Qi originates from the Eastern Azure Dragon, one of the Four Holy Beasts from a distant era, and the Azure Dragon True Qi is also one of the most primal forces of heaven and earth in the world. Although it is far less vast and mighty than the True Qi of Heaven and Earth, the immense power contained within is in no way inferior to the True Qi of Heaven and Earth."

"And the Azure Dragon Elder's Azure Dragon Cangming Sutra was obtained by him by chance at an ancient ruin in his early years due to fate; originally, his Martial Realm aptitude was low, and he possessed no talent for martial arts whatsoever. According to reason, he should have found it difficult even to enter the Post-Heaven Martial Realm, yet he rose rapidly relying solely on such a divine art, even stepping into the Heaven-and-Mortal Realm that countless people of the Jianghu dream of."

"However, although this cultivation technique is miraculous, it has one great limitation: it must absorb sufficient Azure Dragon True Qi to advance the Martial Realm."

Hearing this, Li Musheng's gaze narrowed slightly, glanced once at the stone pearl in his hand, and said:

"No wonder that old man wanted to obtain this thing so badly, even risking his life for it."

As he spoke, Li Musheng suddenly turned his gaze toward Bu Chengyang again, shifting his tone and saying:

"However, what puzzles me is that you should not have cultivated that Azure Dragon Cangming Sutra; why are you so concerned about the Azure Dragon True Qi? Could it be that you can also absorb the Azure Dragon True Qi for your own use?"

Hearing this, Bu Chengyang's expression shifted for a moment, obviously hesitating, but in the end, he spoke up to explain:

"The young hero should not know that I want the Azure Dragon True Qi not for my own use, but for a sword."

"A sword?"

Li Musheng frowned slightly, then glanced at the long sword carried on Bu Chengyang's back and chuckled:

"I almost forgot; you just said I was not worthy of knowing your identity, yet I do not even know which sect or school you come from in the Jianghu."

Hearing this, a strange color flashed in Bu Chengyang's eyes; at this moment, he seemed to somewhat understand how exactly he had offended the other party.

He himself had no major flaws, but sometimes, relying on his profound Martial Realm cultivation, he liked to point fingers and give advice to juniors and newcomers.

Before, he was high and mighty, clearly adopting an attitude of directing a junior toward Li Musheng.

Now it seemed his conduct was undoubtedly like wielding a great axe before the God of the Rudimentary Workshop, being somewhat awkward and offensive to some degree.

Thinking of this, Bu Chengyang immediately clasped his hands and said:

"Please forgive me, young hero; I come from the Great Expansion Sword Sect, one of the four great sects of the Great Li Jianghu, and belong to the second generation of sword cultivators of the sect in this era. As for the purpose of this journey..."

As he spoke, Bu Chengyang paused, then lowered his voice and said:

"It is to come for the Dragon-Subduing Divine Sword of Great Li."

Hearing this, Li Musheng showed a look of contemplation and said:

"So, the sword you just mentioned is the Dragon-Subduing Divine Sword?"

"Exactly so. The young hero may not know that when Great Qi gathered all the weapon-smiths under heaven to cast the Dragon-Subduing Divine Sword back then, it was forged using extraterrestrial meteoric iron and Azure Dragon True Qi as the foundation, and this is also the origin of the sword's name."

"Interesting. However, how do you plan to obtain the Dragon-Subduing Divine Sword using the Azure Dragon True Qi? And how much do you know about the Azure Dragon True Qi sealed in the Dragon-Sealing Well here?"

Li Musheng raised his eyebrows slightly and asked casually.

To be honest, he originally had little interest in that Great Li divine artifact, the Dragon-Subduing Divine Sword, but since this sword was connected to the Azure Dragon True Qi, it did slightly catch his attention.

However, what he truly cared about was actually the Azure Dragon True Qi.

Of course, before this, there was one thing he had to do: he had to first verify whether this Azure Dragon True Qi, like the Fire Qilin Blood, had an enhancing effect on him.

Thinking of this, the palm holding the stone pearl in Li Musheng's hand gently clenched.

In an instant, the stone pearl emitting a grayish light turned into a pile of dust, leaving only a faint cyan-gray breath that was drawn into his body.

Bu Chengyang, who was preparing to reply nearby, stopped his words upon seeing this scene, his gaze fixed on observing Li Musheng's condition.

As far as he knew, aside from being used for weapon-smithing, ordinary people could not absorb the Azure Dragon True Qi at all.

It was also completely unlike the Fire Qilin Blood; although its power was overwhelmingly domineering, a very small number of people could still master it, thereby creating quite a few Martial Realm legends in the Jianghu.

This also caused the Azure Dragon True Qi to be far less famous in the Jianghu than the Fire Qilin Blood, with even very few people knowing of this object.

Bu Chengyang knew Li Musheng's Martial Realm cultivation was extremely high, but the matter of absorbing Azure Dragon True Qi had little to do with Martial Realm cultivation.

So, he also wanted to know whether Li Musheng could break the convention and absorb this Azure Dragon True Qi.

However, after observing for a while, Bu Chengyang did not see any change on Li Musheng's person.

He immediately felt somewhat curious and could not help but ask:

"Young hero, how is this Azure Dragon True Qi?"

Hearing this, Li Musheng glanced at the other party and stroked his chin:

"It is too little; I feel nothing."

As he spoke, his eyes suddenly moved, and he said:

"Since that Azure Dragon Elder just now could absorb the Azure Dragon True Qi through the Azure Dragon Cangming Sutra, if I cultivate this cultivation technique, will the effect be different?"

Immediately, he looked toward the place where the Azure Dragon Elder had previously turned into blood water, but then sighed:

"A pity. I struck too quickly just now and left no survivors."

At this moment, Bu Chengyang, standing nearby, showed a slight change in expression and said:

"That Old Man Green Dragon, in his quest to obtain the Green Dragon True Qi, has been lying in wait here for over a decade; he might have left behind the cultivation technique."

(End of this chapter)