# 199
**Chapter 199: Absolute Earth Domain**
In the scorching magma cavern, the Flame-Vein Earth Dragon’s crimson patterns flashed in succession, torrents of flame filling every inch of space.
Mid-air, a wretched figure flickered through gaps in the fire. His right arm was gone, his hair completely burned away; blood from his wounds had scabbed from the heat, the pain indescribable.
As time passed, Ma Yitian’s heart sank. Several minutes had already passed since he’d reported the situation to Lord Yiyu, yet the man still hadn’t appeared…
Could that lord have no intention of subduing the Flame-Vein Earth Dragon after all? Or had he somehow offended him?
If this continued, it wouldn’t be long before he died at the claws of the Flame-Vein Earth Dragon!
Just as despair crept in, an elegant silhouette drifted through the rock overhead like a ghost and hovered in mid-air, calmly studying the Flame-Vein Earth Dragon.
“Lord Yiyu!” Ma Yitian exclaimed in delight.
“So it really is a Flame-Vein Earth Dragon. Its current realm isn’t high, but its potential is enormous… Once it’s raised to Infinity or Klein, it should prove quite useful.”
Yiyu nodded in satisfaction, glanced at the battered Ma Yitian, and said placidly, “Well done. When we return, I’ll see you’re credited for this.”
“Thank you, my lord!” Ma Yitian was overjoyed.
An eerie gloom radiated from Yiyu, shrouding the entire hollow. Under that dim light, even the churning magma seemed subdued.
Roar—!!
Sensing danger, the Flame-Vein Earth Dragon bellowed again. The surrounding magma surged and transformed into fire-dragons that shot skyward, rushing at Yiyu!
Yiyu’s brows knit slightly. Several black iron chains flew from his fingertips, colliding with the ascending fire-dragons. The shockwaves shook the entire cavern.
“Become my Believers…”
Yiyu murmured, eyes flaring with a ghostly gleam. A powerful soul assault poured straight into the Flame-Vein Earth Dragon’s mind. Instantly the dragon froze, pupils trembling as if struggling.
He was Yiyu—”the True Nightmare”, “the Mind Controller”, “the creator of the Believers’ soul contract”…
As one of the three oldest “gods” of the Church of the Ancient Gods, his authority was “nightmare” and “soul contract”. With potent soul attacks he seized control of a target’s will, forcing them to sign a Believers contract and thus become his subordinate on the mental level…
It was his specialty.
By this method he had built the entire Believers organization, subdued several “Calamity”-level mysteries, and even planted hidden agents among the Night Watch high command…
This time would be no exception.
While subduing the dragon’s mind, Yiyu asked, “What about that double-agent of the gods?”
Ma Yitian hesitated. “Zhuang Qi and the others went to kill him, but just now their life signatures vanished… The agent may still be alive.”
“Trash.” Yiyu snorted coldly.
“I’ll go finish him myself!”
“No need.” Yiyu’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve already reshaped the tunnels with nightmare; they’ll come to us soon enough. This time, I might collect a few more prodigies as Believers…”
……
In the pitch-black depths, Lin Qiye sprinted forward with eyes shut.
This was the direction Baili Pangpang and the others had fled. Although he’d fought two River-realm enemies for a while, Baili Pangpang and Shen Qingzhu were injured and couldn’t have gone far.
Suddenly a bat flapped out of the darkness toward him.
Lin Qiye stopped, opened his eyes, surprise flickering across his face.
It was the same bat that had followed the Sea-realm expert into the cave. After wandering the underground maze for so long, he hadn’t expected to meet it again.
The bat fluttered around him as if relaying something. Moments later, Lin Qiye’s brows drew together.
“A dragon living in magma… turned over… fought that Sea-realm man…”
Through the bat’s report, Lin Qiye quickly grasped part of the picture: the Sea-realm man had battled the Flame-Vein Earth Dragon and been badly beaten…
But why provoke it in the first place?
Lin Qiye shook his head. Even if he understood how they’d been dragged underground, it wouldn’t help. The priority now was to use the Sea-realm man’s distraction to find Baili Pangpang, Shen Qingzhu, and Instructor Hong, and get out of this hellhole.
He ran on until he finally caught up with the limping Baili Pangpang and Shen Qingzhu. To his delight, Instructor Hong was with them.
Though covered in wounds, none of Instructor Hong’s injuries were fatal; after rudimentary treatment he was basically all right.
“Instructor Hong, what happened to your opponent?”
“Dead, of course.” Instructor Hong raised an eyebrow. “Don’t underestimate us instructors—we were veteran Night Watch once.”
“Instructor’s awesome!” Exhausted, Baili Pangpang gave a thumbs-up from the ground.
Lin Qiye nodded. “Then only that Sea-realm enemy remains… and he’s busy fighting an earth dragon, so he shouldn’t bother us.”
“Earth dragon?” The other three looked at him questioningly.
Lin Qiye briefly described what the bat had seen. Instructor Hong nodded thoughtfully. “Sounds like a Flame-Vein Earth Dragon… which means this is its Absolute Earth Domain?”
“Absolute Earth Domain?”
“A powerful Forbidden Ruins unique to earth dragons. It lets them create their own space anywhere underground. Whenever the dragon ‘turns over’, surface creatures are dragged into that space. If it’s a Flame-Vein Earth Dragon, there’d be magma…”
“How do we get out?”
“Though Absolute Earth Domain is a space created by a Forbidden Ruins, its location doesn’t shift much—we’re still beneath Mount Jinnan, just very deep.”
“So we have to blast through the rock and claw our way back up?” Lin Qiye frowned.
“Unless you can make the dragon turn over again, that’s our only option.” Instructor Hong sighed. “But I reckon we’re at least two kilometers down. Breaking through all that rock… easier said than done.”