Chapter 366: The True Dragon Master
"Yankang Kingdom truly suffers one calamity after another. First, war and chaos, then natural disasters striking from the heavens, followed by the joint attack of the Man Di Kingdom and the Langju Xu Kingdom, and now this Dragon Tamer Lord appears to seize the main dragon vein."
Qin Mu sighed with emotion. Emperor Yanfeng's reign as emperor was truly exhausting, forcing him to constantly clean up the mess.
"That Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon I built would be perfect for shooting down this Dragon Tamer Lord, but the cannon platform is still in the capital, and Emperor Yanfeng isn't here either..."
Qin Mu suddenly paused. He had never been a citizen of Yankang, so why should he risk his life for this kingdom?
When he had walked out of the Great Ruins, it was for training, to improve himself—not to protect Yankang. Had his original intention unknowingly changed?
Once upon a time, he had even harbored hostility toward Yankang, believing it treated the people of the Great Ruins as abandoned subjects and slaves. When had his self-perception shifted, making Yankang's affairs his own?
Shouldn't he be focused on training?
Shouldn't he be fighting for the survival rights of the Great Ruins' natives?
Had he come to see Yankang as another home? Had he unconsciously begun treating Yankang's matters as his own?
He examined his heart and found the truth both cruel and intriguing. The complex changes of the human heart surpassed any reform, any transformation of Dao techniques and divine powers.
Qin Mu reflected on his heart and felt at peace. As a Human Sovereign, he wasn't working for Yankang Kingdom—he was working for the people on this land. If Emperor Yanfeng proved unworthy and incapable, then he would replace him. If the Yankang National Teacher's reforms failed, then he would carry them out himself.
Even if Yankang's reforms were excellent, if Emperor Yanfeng invaded the Great Ruins and enslaved its people, then he would kill him.
Qin Mu blinked, feeling that this thought was pure and simple.
"We've arrived!"
The two flood dragons beneath the Dragon Tamer Lord's feet suddenly halted. Qin Mu looked around and was momentarily stunned. All around them were massive volcanoes, their craters belching thick smoke but not erupting.
Occasionally, cultivators could be seen flying up to the mountains to collect earthly fire, presumably to cultivate fire-type divine powers.
This was Yankang's Volcano Prefecture, famous for its numerous volcanoes—ninety percent of Yankang's volcanoes were gathered here. The largest volcano, Taibai Mountain, stood extremely tall, its summit covered in white snow while the crater blazed with molten magma.
The Dragon Tamer Lord glanced around, his gaze settling on Taibai Mountain. He smiled, "The dragon's eye is here!"
The twin dragons beneath him soared into the air, heading straight for the summit of Taibai Mountain. At the top was a sect's headquarters. Apart from the three sacred grounds of Yankang, all other sects had been severely squeezed, their disciples dwindling due to competition from universities and elementary schools across the land.
This sect atop Taibai Mountain was called the Taibai Sword Sect, with few members—only about a hundred disciples on the mountain.
The Dragon Tamer Lord descended directly with Qin Mu and Dragon Jiaonan, arriving at the crater in the heart of the Taibai Sword Sect's territory. The sect's experts were alarmed and swarmed out, but upon seeing the Dragon Tamer Lord and the host of dragons, they stood dumbfounded, not daring to move.
A fire flood dragon beneath the Dragon Tamer Lord's feet flew out and plunged into the volcano. After a moment, a passage was opened by this flood dragon, and radiant light shot into the sky, illuminating everything with golden brilliance.
Qin Mu looked into the volcano and felt dizzy. Inside the volcano, instead of rolling magma, there were layers of golden dragon scales stretching downward from the mountain's interior, their depth unknown.
The Taibai Sword Sect members were also stunned. Having occupied this mountain for thousands of years, they had no idea such a hidden realm existed within the volcano.
But knowing this, they still dared not move.
"Senior..."
The Taibai Sword Sect's leader bravely stepped forward to speak, but the Dragon Tamer Lord ignored him entirely. The great dragon beneath his feet carried him, Qin Mu, and Dragon Jiaonan down into the volcano.
"Sect Leader, these people have invaded our sect's forbidden ground!"
A middle-aged man quickly said, "What should we do now?"
The Taibai Sword Sect leader's expression shifted uncertainly. "That young man I recognize—he's the Heavenly Demon Cult Leader. This old demon has brought an incredibly powerful expert and raised all these dragons! The Demon Cult's sacred ground lives up to its reputation, with profound foundations. Our Taibai Sword Sect is no match. What else can we do? Report to the imperial court!"
The sect members were all stunned. Report to the imperial court? How shameful!
"Reporting to the imperial court, the emperor and the National Teacher won't ignore it."
The sect leader stood up. "I'll go to the capital to file a complaint. I must have the emperor make the Heavenly Demon Cult give our Taibai Sword Sect an explanation!"
Inside the volcano, Qin Mu and Dragon Jiaonan followed behind the Dragon Tamer Lord. The underground space was vast, with the mountain walls covered in gleaming golden dragon scales. Qin Mu reached out to touch them—they were scalding hot, like magma, yet not magma.
"This might very well be the main dragon vein. The dragon energy gathered here is so dense it's almost transforming into a divine dragon and taking flight!"
The Dragon Tamer Lord said in surprise, "This dragon vein is even better than the nine mountain ranges at Yankang's capital."
Qin Mu asked curiously, "Dragon Lord, have you been to the nine dragon veins at the capital? What's the situation there?"
Although he had visited the capital many times, he had never gone into the mountains. The capital was surrounded by nine dragons, with dense dragon energy that was quite extraordinary. Living there prolonged life and doubled the efficiency of cultivation, especially at the Imperial Academy and the Imperial Palace, where dragon energy was most concentrated.
"The nine dragon veins at Yankang's capital are nine yellow dragons. I went inside the mountains. These nine yellow dragons have hollowed out the mountains and transformed into yellow dragon energy, complete with scales and claws."
The Dragon Tamer Lord said, "But those nine dragons are still energy, not yet formed. The fire dragon here, however, is about to take shape."
Qin Mu didn't understand. Dragon Jiaonan touched the dragon scales and said, "Ancestor, do you mean the dragon scales of this vein are real dragon scales, not just imprints?"
"Of course they're real dragon scales."
The Dragon Tamer Lord said, "Flood dragons aren't true dragons—they're just large snakes that have absorbed dragon energy. True dragons are born from energy, transformed from dragon veins. All things in the world are born in various ways—some from eggs, some from wombs, some from both—but true dragons are born from energy. Energy gives birth to true dragons, which then produce offspring through eggs or wombs. You've been to the Great Ruins, haven't you? There are many Dragon King ruins there. Why so many Dragon Kings in the Great Ruins? Isn't it because there were hundreds of dragon veins there back then, with such flourishing fortune that the veins transformed into true dragons!"
Qin Mu was deeply shaken. Hundreds of dragon veins, flourishing fortune, dragon veins transforming into true dragons!
He had indeed seen hundreds of Dragon King temples in the Eastern Sea Basin of the Great Ruins! Not only that, but there were also Dragon King temples along the Yong River and even well-dragon temples!
Were all these Dragon Kings true dragons?
"The true dragons born from the Great Ruins' dragon veins submitted to the... heh heh!"
The Dragon Tamer Lord seemed wary and didn't continue. "Today's Yankang Kingdom, with its dozen or so dragon veins, is still a minor climate. But to prevent trouble, we must find the main dragon vein. If we let Yankang grow strong, it might become another catastrophe. Finding the main dragon vein and nipping it in the bud—that's the proper course."
They walked deeper, and suddenly heard a series of deep dragon roars. Qin Mu's spirits lifted: "Has this fire dragon vein truly become a true dragon?"
When they reached the front, he saw that the source of the roars wasn't a true dragon but an underground river of magma dozens of miles wide. The walls of the magma river were covered in golden dragon scales, dazzling to the eyes!
Here, Qin Mu sensed extremely dense dragon energy.
He had also cultivated the Ling family's Nine Dragons Imperial Art and had achieved considerable skill. He immediately felt that the dragon energy here was almost as strong as at the capital!
The capital gathered dragon energy from nine dragon veins, yet here, with only one fire dragon vein, the energy was already this dense. Could this truly be the location of Yankang's main dragon vein?
"Strange..." The Dragon Tamer Lord frowned, looking upstream and downstream of the magma river.
"Odd... The flow of this dragon vein is off..."
The Dragon Tamer Lord stepped down from the backs of the two flood dragons. Qin Mu looked at his feet—they weren't human feet but dragon claws.
The Dragon Tamer Lord took out a small golden vat—small relative to him; to Qin Mu, it was large enough to cook two or three people. He scooped a vat of magma from the river, then took some gold powder from a pouch and sprinkled it into the magma, waiting quietly.
Qin Mu approached to look. The gold powder merged with the magma and gradually began to change.
The Dragon Tamer Lord casually tossed him a golden book and a Taotie pouch. "There's something strange about this dragon vein—it seems more than just a vein. I need to perform a ritual to investigate the trickery here. You refine a few batches of elixirs to feed the dragons. The book contains the elixir formulas. Don't make mistakes."
Qin Mu acknowledged and took the golden book. It was called the Dragon Taming Scripture. Qin Mu flipped through it. The scripture recorded methods for raising dragons, various dragon species and their habits, ways to control them, and finally, what each type of dragon ate.
He wasn't particularly interested in the elixirs recorded here, but what intrigued him were the refining techniques. The Medicine Master had taught him various alchemy methods, many types, yet the Dragon Taming Scripture contained some techniques the Medicine Master had never taught him.
"As expected of a dragon-raising god, he has many tricks in alchemy too. Judging by these elixir formulas and refining methods, the Dragon Tamer Lord's skill in alchemy is probably only slightly weaker than mine."
Qin Mu grew alert. Trying to concoct a deadly poison to kill the Dragon Tamer Lord wouldn't be easy.
He quietly abandoned that thought and continued studying the Dragon Taming Scripture. Different types of dragons ate different elixirs. For example, the Dragon Qilin was fire-attributed, and the Crimson Fire Elixir suited him well. But after checking, Qin Mu learned that the Crimson Fire Elixir wasn't the most beneficial for Dragon Qilin—it was just the tastiest for his species.
For Dragon Qilin, the most beneficial would be the Fire Element Divine Origin Elixir, which aided his growth and greatly increased his running speed.
But the Divine Origin Elixir didn't taste good—it was somewhat spicy.
"This glutton! No wonder he insisted on eating Crimson Fire Elixirs, and so many of them!"
Qin Mu's face darkened. He glanced at Dragon Qilin, who was curiously looking around, and his expression soured. "Slave, come here. Help me refine elixirs."
Dragon Jiaonan gritted her teeth and stepped forward, wishing she could swallow him whole.
Qin Mu kicked Dragon Qilin. "Fatty Dragon, have you heard of the Fire Element Divine Origin Elixir?"
Dragon Qilin looked guilty. "No, I haven't."
Qin Mu snorted, opened the Dragon Tamer Lord's Taotie pouch, and found it filled with various spiritual herbs. He identified the types, then handed them to Dragon Jiaonan, ordering her to gather the ingredients according to the formula. He also commanded Dragon Qilin to breathe fire while he performed alchemy techniques, displaying a dazzling array of methods. Soon, he had refined batch after batch of elixirs.
Many small dragons on the Dragon Tamer Lord's body caught the scent and immediately scrambled down, gathering around Qin Mu. Some were only a zhang long, others less than a foot. There were all kinds of dragons—green, yellow, purple, blue, red, green—strange and numerous, all looking up at him.
Qin Mu's scalp tingled. He didn't dare move. These dragons were mostly flood dragons, but each was incredibly powerful, capable of killing him effortlessly!
The Dragon Tamer Lord was performing his ritual, spouting mouthfuls of true essence onto the golden vat, causing the gold powder and magma to merge and change. He said, "Put the elixirs in a basin. They'll eat on their own."
Qin Mu looked at Dragon Jiaonan. She quickly searched the Taotie pouch and pulled out a large basin. When she brought it out, it was ten zhang in diameter—not a basin at all, but a small pond!
Qin Mu poured the refined elixirs into the basin, and immediately dozens of dragons plunged into it, burrowing through the elixirs, playing and frolicking.
Dragon Qilin looked at Qin Mu with eager eyes, wagging his tail. Qin Mu took out a large washbasin and poured in some Crimson Fire Elixirs, mixing in a dozen Fire Element Divine Origin Elixirs.
Dragon Qilin happily rushed over to eat, but Qin Mu immediately saw him secretly pick out the Divine Origin Elixirs and toss them into the nearby magma river.
Qin Mu was furious. "Slave! This glutton is being picky! Beat him!"
Dragon Jiaonan was enraged. She punched Qin Mu to the ground, straddled him, and started hitting. "I've been holding back for too long! I'll beat you to death!"
The Dragon Tamer Lord flicked his finger, sending Dragon Jiaonan flying. She crashed into several dragon scales and was knocked back, spitting blood. The Dragon Tamer Lord shook his head. "You're supposed to be the master. How can you let a slave beat you? What kind of behavior is that?"
Qin Mu got up, feeling ashamed. "I'm still at the Six Harmonies realm, and she's at the Seven Stars realm. You gave her a dragon pearl, and with it, she's all brute strength. I can't beat her."
"I see."
The Dragon Tamer Lord took out a dragon pearl and tossed it to him. "I can't do anything about your cultivation level, but I have plenty of dragon pearls. Here's a better one. The one I gave her was a minor trinket—a dragon pearl from a miscellaneous dragon at the Divine Bridge realm. This one, though also at the Divine Bridge realm, has much purer bloodline, nearly a purebred true dragon. If she hits you again, one punch from you will send her flying."
Qin Mu grasped the dragon pearl and immediately felt a surge of primal power within him, his strength increasing almost violently. He was overjoyed.
Dragon Jiaonan's face turned ashen. Was this still her ancestor? He was favoring an outsider so much it was practically breaking his arm!
"I've found the trickery in this dragon vein."
The Dragon Tamer Lord held the golden vat, his expression grave. "This isn't the main dragon vein—it's a branch vein, with a formation of dragons guarding it. Moreover, this main dragon vein is connected to the dragon veins of the Great Ruins..."
Qin Mu approached and looked. In the golden vat, golden dragons swam through the magma. At the center of the circling dragons, a great dragon coiled there, ferocious and vicious, sleeping soundly!
"The remnants of the Great Ruins truly have earth-shattering methods!"
The Dragon Tamer Lord sneered. "They've transferred the fortune of the Great Ruins to Yankang Kingdom, intending to use the combined fortune of both dynasties to birth a True Dragon Master! Hah! I'll take this True Dragon Master vein away, destroying their grand plan of tens of thousands of years. Let's see them wail and cry!"
——Four thousand word chapter! Asking for monthly votes!