Chapter 368: Disaster Looms
Qin Mu and Dragon Jiaonan stepped forward. The connection point between the sixth dragon vein and the main dragon vein turned out to be a massive gate, with many dragon-shaped reliefs carved on both sides.
Qin Mu looked around. These dragon reliefs were lifelike, antique in style, as if they were real dragons, varying in form and belonging to different species. They were in no way inferior to the Hundred Dragon Diagram of the Great Thunderclap Monastery.
The Hundred Dragon Diagram of the Great Thunderclap Monastery only featured a hundred or so celestial dragons, but the dragon diagrams here numbered over a thousand. Large and small dragon reliefs surrounded a giant dragon that coiled with its head raised, staring directly at those outside the wall. Some were flying, some were prostrate, and some were lying on the ground dozing.
Some dragon reliefs stared at the ground, as if looking at something interesting. Some large dragons watched the playing young dragons, while some young dragons climbed onto the giant dragon's whiskers, hanging upside down in play. All kinds of poses were present.
That giant dragon was carved to be majestic and fearsome, possessing both the dignity of a divine dragon and a wild, brutal, savage side. Its gaze was fixed on those who came to this place, making it difficult for anyone to meet its eyes.
"This giant dragon is the True Dragon Lord? If one could comprehend the Dao here, they would likely reach the pinnacle of understanding the Eight Forms of Thunderclap, and could even create more divine abilities!"
Qin Mu's heart stirred. Old Man Ma was skilled in carving, Deaf was skilled in painting, and Mute was skilled in forging. All of them had taught Qin Mu many things.
He could appreciate the beauty of the thousand-dragon reliefs and even discern more. The reliefs on this dragon vein gate were carved with an axe. He could almost see a divine being wielding a great axe, wielding it with the speed of wind, turning the axe into the most delicate brush, the most wild brush, freely splashing and doodling, unleashing a set of earth-shattering axe techniques with full force.
"Strange, strange!"
Dragon Tamer Lord's voice came from the other side of the gate. This deity's voice was very agitated, as if he had encountered something he couldn't understand.
Qin Mu walked through this towering gate and was slightly startled. Beneath his feet was an empty abyss, surrounded by thick magma cascading down the walls, producing a deafening roar!
This was a perfectly straight circular cave, as round as if it had been cut out. There was no main dragon vein as Dragon Tamer Lord had anticipated.
Dragon Tamer Lord, holding the golden jar, flew to the center of the cave. While examining the True Dragon Lord in the jar, he looked around, the confusion on his face growing stronger.
"No, the True Dragon Lord's dragon vein is right here. How could it be missing? Was it moved away by someone? Or has it already transformed into a true dragon and flown away?"
Dragon Tamer Lord grew restless. Suddenly, his body plummeted sharply, falling toward the bottom of this huge cave.
Qin Mu immediately leaped into the air and landed on Dragon Qilin's back. Dragon Qilin stepped on auspicious clouds and flew downward. Dragon Jiaonan also flew up and descended. After a long time, they finally reached the bottom of this massive cave.
Both of them were greatly shaken, staring blankly at their surroundings. The magma cascading from the cave walls above washed down, scouring a golden, shining underground space!
This underground space was enormous. The magma poured down from above, impacting the golden floor. Everywhere were Xuan Gold Essence—some in pillars, some in large stones—arranged in a dense, interlocking pattern, extremely luxurious.
The surfaces of these Xuan Gold Essences were covered with strange characters, symbols, and patterns, flickering and flowing continuously.
They felt waves of extremely terrifying auras, powerful and obscure. In their ears, they faintly heard dragon roars, brutal and strong.
"Strange, these characters, symbols, and patterns look familiar, like I've seen them somewhere..."
Qin Mu was puzzled. He came to a pillar of Xuan Gold Essence and examined it closely. Indeed, it was very familiar.
"The True Dragon Lord is indeed not here, not here..."
Dragon Tamer Lord had arrived a step ahead of them and was inspecting the golden dragon. Suddenly, he let out an ear-splitting cry: "Only a dragon nest remains. Who dug up the True Dragon Lord?"
"The True Dragon Lord was dug up?"
Qin Mu was stunned, looking at this huge underground dragon nest. The nest was vast, filled with Xuan Gold Essence everywhere. But judging from the layout of these Xuan Gold pillars, a great dragon must have coiled here.
The center of the nest was empty, forming a ring shape. Of course, this ring was extremely large, with a circumference of over ten li.
That massive dragon vein, before it could absorb enough dragon energy to transform into a divine dragon, had been dug out from here and taken away.
"The True Dragon Lord was refined into a Dragon Jue!"
Dragon Tamer Lord swiftly circled around, his face ashen, and said coldly, "But he still miscalculated. He didn't expect that I, Dragon Tamer Lord, would come here. And he didn't expect that he shouldn't have left behind the True Dragon Lord's nest!"
"The person who took away the True Dragon Lord's dragon vein refined it into a Dragon Jue?"
Qin Mu exclaimed, "What kind of person has such immense magical power?"
A Dragon Jue was a type of jade pendant, shaped like a coiled dragon, forming a circle but leaving a gap. Judging from the shape left by the missing piece of the nest, the dragon's head and tail were not connected, indeed the form of a Dragon Jue.
However, the nest was made of Xuan Gold Essence, while a Dragon Jue was made of jade.
Moreover, the largest Dragon Jue was only the size of a palm. How could a True Dragon Lord over ten li long be refined into a palm-sized Dragon Jue?
Then he saw why Dragon Tamer Lord said it was a Dragon Jue.
Dragon Tamer Lord peeled a layer of Xuan Gold Essence from a Xuan Gold pillar, revealing the jade inside.
Qin Mu looked up and examined it closely. The magma here contained melted Xuan Gold Essence. The Xuan Gold Essence had scoured the nest, wrapping the original jade of the nest, thus giving it a golden appearance.
The nest that Dragon Tamer Lord spoke of was entirely made of beautiful jade. The True Dragon Lord's dragon vein should have been nurtured in this nest, absorbing dragon energy from the Great Ruins and the Yan Kang dragon veins.
But someone had taken it away before the True Dragon Lord matured into a true dragon, refined it into a Dragon Jue, and left this place.
No wonder a huge abyss was left here. The person who took the nest must have found the True Dragon Lord's dragon vein, pierced through the earth, and found the nest!
Dragon Tamer Lord shook his body, and immediately, fire flood dragons emerged from the fabric of his clothes. With a shake, they transformed into massive flood dragons, spewing great flames, burning everywhere, melting the Xuan Gold Essence.
The nest was covered in melted gold liquid, continuously flowing down into the magma, making Qin Mu inwardly lament the waste.
As the Xuan Gold Essence flowed down, more jade rock was exposed, illuminated by the magma's light, gradually revealing a crystal-like, multicolored luster, but much warmer than the luster of crystal.
"The person who took the True Dragon Lord left the nest behind, surely to let it continue absorbing dragon energy. When the nest had accumulated enough dragon energy, he would come to take it away, using the nest to nourish the True Dragon Lord. That way, he could preserve both the nest and the True Dragon Lord!"
Dragon Tamer Lord sneered repeatedly, looking down at the nest gradually revealing its true form, and said arrogantly, "But it's useless! He didn't expect me to come here and take the nest before him! He took the True Dragon Lord and refined it into a Dragon Jue, but I hold the nest, using the nest to counter the Dragon Jue. Once I obtain the nest, I can sense the location of the Dragon Jue, find it, and make this True Dragon Lord's dragon vein complete!"
Qin Mu touched his chest. The jade pendant there suddenly became scorching hot, making him very uncomfortable.
He had two jade pendants on his chest. One was a family heirloom, the jade pendant from Carefree Village. The other was the Emperor Disc that Cripple had forced on him.
This Emperor Disc was heating up, scalding him uncomfortably.
"Wait a moment!"
Qin Mu blinked, grabbing his chest. The Emperor Disc that Cripple had given him seemed to be a Dragon Jue-shaped jade ring!
His heart suddenly pounded twice. The Emperor Disc was a jade ring, covered with many obscure symbols, characters, and patterns, flickering and flowing continuously.
Legend said the Emperor Disc was a treasure bestowed by the gods to the Ling family, symbolizing the emperor's power and status. Cripple had lost a leg to Yan Kang's National Teacher's sword because he stole this item.
But after obtaining the Emperor Disc, Cripple studied it for decades without figuring it out, so he stopped caring about it.
Since the Emperor Disc was useless to him, Cripple had shoved it onto Qin Mu. When Qin Mu returned to the village, he planned to give it back, but Cripple didn't want it. He had already reattached his leg and lost interest in the Emperor Disc.
This Emperor Disc had been hanging around Qin Mu's neck ever since, tied together with his own jade pendant.
"It can't be such a coincidence, can it?"
Cold sweat broke out on Qin Mu's forehead. The Emperor Disc indeed had some symbols, characters, and patterns similar to those all over the nest, also flickering and flowing continuously, making them impossible to understand.
"But my Emperor Disc is not a Dragon Jue. It looks a bit like one, but it has no gap. Maybe the characters on the Emperor Disc being similar to those on the nest is just a coincidence."
Qin Mu calmed himself, intending to watch how Dragon Tamer Lord would take the nest. But the Emperor Disc on his chest grew hotter and hotter, becoming increasingly unbearable.
Suddenly, Qin Mu felt something move on his chest. The young man's heart pounded uncontrollably again. He reached out and touched it.
The Emperor Disc had cracked, turning into a Dragon Jue!
Not only had it cracked, but he also felt the Dragon Jue become slippery, as if it had turned into a living thing, like a small dragon!
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
Qin Mu heard his own violent heartbeat, impossible to suppress. Beads of sweat as big as beans appeared on his forehead, and his legs went weak, almost unable to breathe.
"Little one, what's wrong with you?" Dragon Tamer Lord glanced at him, sensing his tension, and asked.
Qin Mu steadied himself and said, "I suddenly remembered that I haven't fed the dragons today. I'm worried about your punishment, so I'm a bit uneasy..."
Dragon Tamer Lord laughed and said, "I see. But it's too hot here, all magma, with no place to stand. If you want to refine pills to feed the dragons, you'd better go up above. You don't need to be so afraid of me. I'm still quite easy to get along with."
Qin Mu agreed, his legs still a bit weak, and said, "Then I'll go up to refine pills."
Dragon Tamer Lord shook his body, and many large and small flood dragons flew out from his clothes. He also gave Qin Mu his Taotie Bag and said, "Let your little maidservant go with you to help. Train her well and don't let her be so unruly all the time."
Qin Mu quickly urged Dragon Qilin to fly upward, with a group of flood dragons following behind Dragon Qilin's rear, waiting to be fed.
Dragon Jiaonan also followed.
When they reached the gate at the top of the cave, Qin Mu said, "Maidservant, stay here. I'll go over there to refine pills."
Dragon Jiaonan sneered and said, "Dragon Tamer Lord told me to follow you, afraid you might slip away."
"Slip away? Me, slip away? Hahaha, what a joke!" Qin Mu said, his face pale.
Down in the cave, Dragon Tamer Lord began to perform his rituals, activating the refinement of the massive nest, trying to take it away.
"Strange, it seems the True Dragon Lord is very close by. The nest is reacting..."
Dragon Tamer Lord said in surprise, "It seems to be not far away... Strange... First, I'll take the nest, and then I'll know where the True Dragon Lord is!"
—The in10 system was unstable and crashed once. Apologies for the late update.