Chapter 370: Abandon the Mountain and Flee for Your Life
Refining pills for these flood dragons was a familiar task for Qin Mu. Each type of flood dragon required different spiritual pills, and he needed to refine a wide variety of them, but Qin Mu quickly produced the pills and fed these followers until they were full.
He had thought that once these flood dragons were full, they would scatter in all directions, but to his surprise, they still followed him.
His original intention was to control one flood dragon to speed ahead while the other dragons ran wild, so that Dragon Tamer Lord might chase after his dragons, buying some time.
However, these flood dragons only recognized him as their food provider, unwilling to abandon him, which drove him crazy but left him helpless.
*"The Dragon Taming Sutra only records how to subdue dragons, but it never says how to drive them away."*
Qin Mu blinked and could only resign himself to fate.
The fire flood dragon beneath his feet sprinted at full speed along the underground dragon vein, two or three times faster than when they had come. He had to admit that dragons, even flood dragons, were far superior to human bodies in strength, and their endurance was astonishing. Even after running for twenty to thirty thousand li, their speed showed no sign of slowing.
*"Dragons really are powerful. Well, except for Fatty Dragon—that guy disgraces the dragon name."*
Qin Mu sighed in admiration. The green ox of Chief Sacrificial Officer Ba Shan also had the bloodline of a green dragon, and its endurance was terrifyingly strong. It had once carried him and Ling Yuxiu as they fled all the way from the Loulan Golden Palace, truly impressive stamina.
Qin Mu glanced at the round, chubby dragon qilin beside him and was certain—this guy indeed disgraced the dragon name. The dragon qilin would be panting heavily after running two or three hundred li at full speed, and after a leisurely five thousand li, it would be completely exhausted, lying down like a dead pig and snoring loudly.
*"At this speed, in a little while, I can return to Yan Kang!"*
Qin Mu was full of confidence. Once back in Yan Kang, he could either go to the capital to activate the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon or find Blind, Butcher, and Village Chief. Then he wouldn't have to fear Dragon Tamer Lord.
Just then, Dragon Tamer Lord's voice suddenly exploded in his ears: "Little thing, where have you led my dragons?"
Qin Mu's hair stood on end, and cold sweat poured out like juice. He quickly looked back but didn't see Dragon Tamer Lord.
*"He's using voice transmission!"*
Goosebumps rose all over Qin Mu's body. Could it be that Dragon Tamer Lord had already taken away the dragon nest?
*"Such a huge dragon nest—how could he take it away so quickly? Lifting that massive dragon nest isn't hard for a god, but the difficulty lies in refining it down to a size that can be carried around."*
Qin Mu's scalp tingled. To refine the dragon nest down to the size of a jade pendant in such a short time required incredibly profound cultivation, something almost unimaginable for a Six Harmonies realm practitioner like him.
Dragon Tamer Lord truly lived up to being a god of the heavens. To take away the dragon nest and carry it on his person in such a short time—his magical power was the most formidable Qin Mu had ever seen!
*"He probably just took the dragon nest and discovered I was running off with the group of dragons, so he sent this transmission. He's not right behind me yet. I still have a chance to make it back to Yan Kang."*
Qin Mu steadied his mind. The fire flood dragon beneath him had already begun to slow down. It had run for twenty to thirty thousand li, and though its speed had decreased slightly, it was still incredibly fast, with long-lasting endurance.
Qin Mu made a quick decision. His flute melody suddenly changed, and he controlled another flood dragon, leaping onto it.
The dragon qilin also jumped over and stood on the dragon's back. This golden flood dragon immediately burst into a sprint, its speed increasing once more.
*"Hehehe, little thing..."*
Dragon Tamer Lord's voice continued to come through. He was using his magical power to send his voice ahead of him to an extremely distant location. Qin Mu had seen this kind of great divine ability in Chief Sacrificial Officer Ba Shan before. However, Ba Shan's was a thousand-li voice transmission, while Dragon Tamer Lord was probably still twenty to thirty thousand li away.
Qin Mu could feel that his voice was coming extremely fast, clearly indicating that Dragon Tamer Lord was running while transmitting, closing the distance between them by about a thousand li with each word!
*"You've stolen my dragons, and I don't blame you. As long as you return to my side, I will still treat you well and let you continue as my dragon-raising boy. You should know that I appreciate you and have taken a liking to your talent... Wait! Strange!"*
Dragon Tamer Lord's voice carried surprise, and he exclaimed, "Through the dragon nest, I sense the True Dragon Master moving at high speed!"
The emperor's disc on Qin Mu's chest grew hot. The dragon jade on the disc had unfurled and was constantly writhing, as if also sensing the dragon nest!
*"Hehehe, little thing. The True Dragon Master is running in the same direction as you. No wonder, no wonder you tried to escape. So the True Dragon Master is on you!"*
His voice held both joy and anger: "So the True Dragon Master has been right under my nose all along! How bold of you, to have been hopping around under my nose for so long. If you escape, wouldn't I, Dragon Tamer Lord, have my lifelong reputation ruined?"
Qin Mu said resentfully, "Where have I been hopping around? I've been very well-behaved by your side..."
Suddenly, a series of strange whistling sounds came through, sharp and piercing, traveling across twenty thousand li of space. The large and small flood dragons that had been following Qin Mu all stopped, hesitating.
The golden flood dragon beneath Qin Mu also slowed down and turned around, intending to run toward the direction of the whistling.
Qin Mu immediately urged the golden flute, using its sound to control the golden flood dragon, but the dragon was unmoved. Qin Mu gritted his teeth, leaped from the dragon's back onto the dragon qilin, and shouted, "Fatty Dragon, go!"
The dragon qilin immediately stepped forward to charge ahead, but at that moment, the whistling suddenly changed. The dragon qilin also stopped in its tracks. The other flood dragons surrounded them, clearly under Dragon Tamer Lord's control through the whistling, ready to strike Qin Mu down.
The flood dragons encircled him tightly, raising their heads and tilting them to look at him, but they didn't attack. Suddenly, one flood dragon extended its long tongue and licked Qin Mu, who stood frozen and motionless, licking his palm.
The whistling suddenly became fierce. Just from the sound, one could imagine that Dragon Tamer Lord was furious, urging the Dragon Control Art to command these flood dragons to kill Qin Mu.
Yet still, none of the flood dragons made a move against him.
Dragon Tamer Lord's whistling grew more urgent and intense, but the flood dragons still refused to obey his command.
Cold sweat beaded on Qin Mu's forehead, and he tried to move his shoulder. The dozen or so flood dragons around him all lowered their heads, their dragon whiskers gently swaying.
*"Mazusha—"* The flood dragons let out strange dragon roars, bowing their heads in submission.
Qin Mu was momentarily stunned. He looked down and saw that the emperor's disc had somehow slipped out from his chest, like a tiny dragon poking its head out, resting on his collar.
*"The emperor's disc! The True Dragon Master!"*
Qin Mu suddenly understood. Dragon Tamer Lord's cultivation far surpassed his, and his mastery of the Dragon Control Art was also far greater, but these flood dragons weren't controlled by Dragon Tamer Lord—it must be the effect of the emperor's disc.
Qin Mu leaped onto a flood dragon's back and shouted, "Collapse this dragon vein!"
A series of dragon roars rang out. The dozen or so flood dragons shook their bodies, suddenly expanding to reveal their true forms. In an instant, a wild, barbaric aura exploded through the passage.
The dozen flood dragons opened their massive mouths, and a terrifying surge of power erupted. With a deafening, earth-shattering roar, the dragon-scale stone wall of this dragon vein was shattered by the group of dragons. Rocks collapsed, filling the passage.
The dragon vein passage was blocked, and magma rose higher and higher, flooding the dragon vein.
Before long, the magma would fill the entire passage.
Qin Mu shouted, and the group of flood dragons immediately carried him forward at a mad dash, like wind and lightning. Behind them, rolling lava continuously collapsed. The destruction of this section of the dragon vein would lead to the destruction of the entire vein, causing the whole thing to cave in!
Finally, Qin Mu burst out of the passage before the dragon vein collapsed completely, entering another dragon vein. He breathed a sigh of relief.
*"The destroyed dragon vein will block Dragon Tamer Lord for a while, but not for long."*
He urged the group of dragons forward along this dragon vein, charging from underground toward Yan Kang.
---
**Tai Bai Mountain, Tai Bai Sword Sect.**
Many disciples of the Tai Bai Sword Sect were tightly guarding the volcanic crater, having brought out the sect's supreme treasure, the Hundred-Sword Array. One hundred sword cases, each six to seven zhang tall, surrounded the crater.
The Hundred-Sword Array was renowned in the world of sword techniques, a precious relic left by the founding patriarch of the Tai Bai Sword Sect. Since the sect's establishment, these hundred sword cases had been refined day and night in the volcano, their power growing stronger over time.
The hundred cases stood like a hundred massive black stone tablets, silently towering, ready to unleash the sword array at any moment.
The mountaintop was covered in snow and ice all year round. Though it was a volcano, it was very cold, with only the crater area being warm.
A few disciples of the sect rubbed their hands to keep warm, white mist puffing from their nostrils. A female disciple said, "How did that old demon, the Heavenly Demon Sect Leader, know there was a rare treasure in our Tai Bai Sword Sect's mountain? We've lived here so long and never found it, but the old demon knew as soon as he arrived."
"How would I know?"
The male disciple beside her leaned against the massive sword case to avoid the cold wind and shook his head, saying, "But the people of the Heavenly Demon Sect are all cunning. They probably detected a treasure in our Tai Bai Sword Sect and came to take it. They've underestimated our Tai Bai Sword Sect too much—not even greeting us, utterly arrogant and overbearing."
An elder of the sect said, "Isn't that what the demonic path is like? This generation's Heavenly Demon Sect Leader—what kind of person is he? He took the emperor and the national preceptor to the capital and chopped off the crown prince's head right in front of the emperor. What wouldn't he dare to do? But our sect leader has gone to the capital to file a complaint; he'll surely win! The treasure inside still belongs to our Tai Bai Sword Sect! Now that the sect leader is away, we must all stay alert, guard this place, and make sure that old demon doesn't escape with the treasure."
The disciples around the crater all laughed: "Though it's a treasure down there, there must be many dangers. That old demon went to seek the treasure, risking life and limb, but he never imagined that the treasure he finds will have to be returned to our Tai Bai Sword Sect!"
As they were speaking, the volcano suddenly rumbled and shook. An elder of the sect quickly shouted, "All disciples! The old demon is about to come out! Activate the Hundred-Sword Array and trap him!"
*"Moo—"*
A series of dragon roars came from the crater. Suddenly, the volcano erupted, and a pillar of magma, a li wide, shot up from the crater, soaring into the sky.
Before the Tai Bai Sword Sect's people could activate the sword array, the volcanic peak exploded from the immense impact force, and the black stone tablet-like sword cases were sent flying in all directions.
Everyone stared wide-eyed, at a loss, when they saw Qin Mu, with a dozen flood dragons, burst out from the magma above the volcano.
"Disciples of the Tai Bai Sword Sect, abandon the mountain and flee for your lives!"
Qin Mu's voice came from above: "The big guy is coming!"
"What big guy?" The entire sect was furious. Then, even more violent tremors came from within Tai Bai Mountain. The mountain let out cracking sounds, huge fissures appearing as it shook, with magma surging out from the cracks.