"Self-created martial arts?"
Cang Yinyue didn't believe Li Musheng's words one bit. Creating a martial art was never that easy. Not to mention those rare, top-tier divine arts and secret manuals, even ordinary cultivation methods and martial techniques were painstakingly created by highly skilled and senior martial artists, dedicating their entire lives, or through the efforts of several or even dozens of generations. Li Musheng was only twenty years old now. Even if he had started cultivating in his mother's womb, his martial arts foundation wouldn't be sufficient to create a martial art. Moreover, the acupoint sealing technique he had just demonstrated was incredibly powerful; Cang Yinyue was certain it couldn't have been self-created and must have been acquired through some fortuitous encounter.
Just then, Li Musheng looked up, shrugging. "I knew you wouldn't believe it, but that's the truth." Then, he waved the wooden box in front of Cang Yinyue, "Now, tell me about this thing. I didn't expect Old Man Yu to actually hide such a treasure."
However, Cang Yinyue snorted coldly and didn't reply. She simply closed her eyes, trying to mobilize the martial arts true qi in her dantian to break through the sealed acupuncture points. But she quickly discovered, to her astonishment, that her dantian had also been sealed, preventing her from circulating even a trace of true qi.
Seeing Cang Yinyue flustered, Li Musheng's heart stirred. He intentionally put on a serious face and said, "It's useless. Only I can unseal these acupoints. Although I don't want to be a villain, I still advise you to cooperate obediently, otherwise, I can't guarantee I won't do some strange things." As he spoke, his eyes scanned her up and down, but as if he thought of something, he suddenly withdrew his gaze, losing interest.
Seeing this, a hint of killing intent flashed in Cang Yinyue's clear eyes. She asked in a chilling voice, "You saw my face?"
Li Musheng was slightly taken aback, then sighed, "Ah, you found out. But I didn't mean to discriminate against you."
The killing intent in Cang Yinyue's eyes grew even stronger, almost palpable. In her opinion, Li Musheng claimed he wasn't discriminating, but his previous expression betrayed his true thoughts!
"Don't look at me like that, it's quite scary." Li Musheng spun the six-sided wooden box in his hand like a basketball, looking at her seriously. "I just feel it's a pity. Miss Cang clearly has the makings of a beauty, yet someone branded her with a '賤' (jìan - lowly/cheap) character; it's truly too cruel."
Cang Yinyue stared intently at Li Musheng. After a few breaths, she closed her eyes directly and said, "The item is yours. If you still want to go to Shangyang City, then release me. If not, you can kill me now; I don't mind."
"Not that far, not that far," Li Musheng quickly shook his head, saying, "There's no reason to give up halfway. I think I can still try for that Seventh Prince identity."
Hearing this, Cang Yinyue snorted coldly, then suddenly opened her eyes, saying, "Then unseal my acupoints now."
"No problem, but... you have to tell me about this box first." Li Musheng suddenly pinched the spinning wooden box between his fingers, stopping it directly in front of Cang Yinyue's eyes.
Cang Yinyue narrowed her eyes, looked at the wooden box in silence for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Do you know about the Heavenly Revelation Secret Trove?"
"What's that? It sounds very impressive, though." Li Musheng looked puzzled.
"The Heavenly Revelation Secret Trove is a secret vault left behind by Emperor Tianqi, the founding emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty. Some say it contains the divine martial arts and peerless elixirs with which Emperor Tianqi ascended to the peak of martial arts. Others say it holds wealth enough to rival an entire nation. Still others say it contains everything, and whoever obtains it can possess the entire world." Cang Yinyue slowly spoke, her gaze on Li Musheng. "However, for a thousand years, no one has ever truly known what lies within it."
Hearing this, Li Musheng rubbed his chin, deep in thought. He naturally knew about the Great Qi Dynasty. This was a very rare prosperous dynasty, its reign lasting for over a thousand years. On his former Blue Star, he had never seen such a long-lived feudal dynasty. However, this Great Qi Dynasty was destroyed a century ago, its vast territory divided among the current five great dynasties, and the Great Li Dynasty, where he was now, was one of them. As for Emperor Tianqi, he was even more remarkable, hailed by the world as an emperor of a thousand ages, his achievements truly shaking ancient and modern times. His most significant achievement was driving out the Barbarian and Desolate races, ending thousands of years of human subjugation and invasion by these two races. Furthermore, Emperor Tianqi was a martial arts genius of extraordinary talent, his martial arts cultivation unrivaled in his era; in his time, the entire martial world could only look up to him...
Li Musheng mused inwardly, then his eyes suddenly lit up. Emperor Tianqi was truly a being who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts; perhaps he had even touched upon the Transcendence Realm. He immediately stood up excitedly, flicked his finger to unseal Cang Yinyue's acupoints, then grabbed her hand and said, "Let's not go to Shangyang City first. You can take me directly to find the Heavenly Revelation Secret Trove; I'm more interested in that."
Cang Yinyue was momentarily stunned by the sudden release of her acupoints. But quickly, a sharp glint appeared in her phoenix-like eyes. Her martial arts true qi instantly flowed through her meridians and gathered in her palm. With lightning speed, she launched a swift and decisive sneak attack, chopping towards the back of Li Musheng's neck.
However, the next moment, she found herself unable to move again. The situation was exactly the same as before.
"Miss Cang, why are you attacking again? Good thing I reacted quickly." Li Musheng held her hand and shook his head repeatedly, while Cang Yinyue was visibly furious, remaining silent for a long time.
Seeing this, Li Musheng began to painstakingly persuade her, trying to get her to take him to find the Heavenly Revelation Secret Trove. Cang Yinyue, annoyed by his persistence, directly poured a bucket of cold water on him.
"Do you think you can obtain the Heavenly Revelation Secret Trove with just a wooden box key of unknown authenticity?"
Li Musheng's expression froze. "This wooden box could be fake?"
Cang Yinyue glanced at the six-sided wooden box and said, "I'm not sure. The information the Zhahe Seven Thieves obtained is unknown. They killed many people for this item before finally finding it at the Yu family martial arts school today."
"Furthermore, as far as I know, there are seven keys required to open the Heavenly Revelation Secret Trove. Only by gathering all seven keys can it be opened."
Hearing this, Li Musheng's heart sank. This plot seemed somewhat familiar. Gather the seven dragon balls to summon the divine dragon? He secretly grumbled, his initially excited mood gradually calming down. After some thought, he sat back down by the bonfire, playing with the wooden box in his hand.
"I have a question. Since the secret trove was left by Emperor Tianqi, and over a thousand years have passed, couldn't someone have already opened it?"
Hearing this, Cang Yinyue glanced at Li Musheng and said, "No one should have obtained the Heavenly Revelation Secret Trove yet. From what I understand, the closest anyone came to opening it was a hundred years ago, when the last emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty gathered all seven keys."