Chapter 367: The Great Ruins Underground

"Dragon Herder Sovereign's method of calculating dragon veins is truly brilliant," Qin Mu thought. He observed the dragon-shaped qi flowing in the golden jar. Dragon Herder Sovereign's calculation method seemed capable of identifying auspicious places and treasure-filled mountains. For instance, the Supreme White Sword Sect was built on a 'dragon eye,' seemingly a land of prosperity. However, according to the patterns in Dragon Herder Sovereign's jar, this place was not a land of fortune at all. Instead, it was a dangerous site where many dragons vied for destiny, only to feed it back to the True Dragon Master. Any sect settling here would likely have its fortune drained, leading to its gradual decline and eventual ruin.

"No wonder the Supreme White Sword Sect has fallen to its current state," he murmured to himself.

Dragon Herder Sovereign put away the golden jar, and Qin Mu quickly returned the Dragon Herding Scripture to him. Dragon Herder Sovereign shook his head and said, "Take it and study it first. As a dragon-rearing attendant, you must be familiar with the habits of every type of dragon. This scripture contains methods for herding dragons; understand them thoroughly. I'll give you two days. How much you can comprehend depends on your insight. I'll take it back after two days."

Long Jiaonan's face immediately turned pale. Dragon Herder Sovereign had no idea of Qin Mu's terrifying comprehension, but she knew it all too well! On the desolate island in the East Sea, the Dao Master had shown Qin Mu the fourteen chapters of the Dao Sect's Dao Sword for ten days. Qin Mu's comprehension of the Dao Sword was no less than that of Daoist Lin Xuan! Although the Dragon Herding Scripture was a divine cultivation technique, it wouldn't be harder to comprehend than the Dao Sword; it would likely be simpler. The Dao Sword involved numerology, and the higher one's mastery of numerology, the easier it was to grasp the Dao Sword. But how difficult was numerology?

The Dragon Herding Scripture focused more on nurturing dragons, controlling them, and coexisting with them. Its cultivation technique, the Dragon Taming Art, was the Dragon Rider Sect's unique secret art, containing a technique for shedding skin and rebirth. Although the Dragon Rider Sect was founded by Dragon Herder Sovereign, he had not passed down the complete Dragon Herding Scripture. The Dragon Rider Sect Master had only obtained an incomplete version. Even with an incomplete scripture, the Dragon Rider Sect was considered an extremely powerful sect. Of course, it couldn't compare to the three great sacred lands, but the Dragon Rider Sect had a formidable reputation in the martial world; otherwise, Emperor Yanfeng wouldn't have allowed them to command a military division independently. The Yan Kang Nation originally had a Dragon Army, primarily led by the Dragon Rider Sect. For the Dragon Rider Sect, founded by Dragon Herder Sovereign, not to possess the complete Dragon Herding Scripture, yet for Qin Mu, this "scoundrel," to obtain it, naturally drove Long Jiaonan to distraction with hatred. To her dismay, Dragon Herder Sovereign specifically trusted this boy because of his honest and simple appearance, while not trusting her as much, which left Long Jiaonan feeling utterly powerless.

Dragon Herder Sovereign was unaware of her thoughts. In the eyes of a deity like him, keeping Qin Mu and Long Jiaonan by his side was a trivial matter, akin to having two ants accompany him. Naturally, there was no need to consider what ants might be thinking. If Qin Mu weren't still useful, his attitude towards Qin Mu wouldn't have been any better than towards Long Jiaonan. This was simply due to his elevated perspective. He was a god; nothing could threaten him. An ant like Qin Mu certainly couldn't, so there was no need to be concerned. He merely needed Qin Mu to assist him, perhaps occasionally granting the tiny ant a small benefit to make him more willing to serve. Even if an ant harbored ill intentions, a mere flick of a finger would suffice to end its life. Moreover, judging by Qin Mu's and Long Jiaonan's appearances and conduct, it was clear that Qin Mu was more reliable. This young human possessed a natural simplicity and honesty that made him significantly more trustworthy than Long Jiaonan.

Dragon Herder Sovereign led them upstream along the lava river. The further they went, the deeper they descended from the surface. This lava river was originally buried deep underground, stretching for thousands of miles, and its source, further upstream, lay dozens of miles beneath the earth. They walked for a long time, feeling the surroundings grow progressively hotter. Qin Mu looked along the river and saw an increasing number of dragon scales lining both banks. Besides the scales, there was even flesh! He saw flesh growing on the dragon scales, along with long blood vessels. For the colossal dragon vein beneath the earth, these blood vessels should have been mere capillaries, but to Qin Mu, they were channels thicker than water buckets. Vast networks of blood vessels branched out in all directions, extending along the river.

"There's blood flowing in these vessels!" He made another discovery: the blood flowing through these vessels was true dragon's blood, and its movement created a sound like mercury rushing rapidly.

"This dragon vein has grown a heart," Dragon Herder Sovereign suddenly stated.

Qin Mu heard a faint, then increasingly louder, heartbeat. Finally, in the center of a lava lake, they saw the heart. The heart, resembling a small hill, was suspended above the lava lake by many thick blood vessels, while numerous other vessels rooted into the lake itself. As the dragon heart pulsed, the lava in the lake surged upwards, flowing through the entire heart as if cleansing it. The dragon heart would beat, pause briefly, during which the lava would cascade back into the lake. Then, with the next beat, the lava would churn and flow upwards once more.

Around this lava lake, massive diamonds hung from the walls, resembling stalactites or crystalline columns. Besides diamonds, there was also gold sand and vast expanses of pure gold, paving the ground as if it were solid gold gravel! Beyond the golden sand and gravel lay enormous gold nuggets, scattered everywhere! Qin Mu and Long Jiaonan gazed at the sight, utterly dazzled. Although Yan Kang Nation was rich in mines, such an incredibly rich mineral deposit had never been seen before. With Yan Kang's national power, it would be impossible to dig mines deep enough to reach this place. Their eyes were glazed over. Though the Great Abundance Coin was the currency in Yan Kang, gold was still highly valuable, and diamonds were exceptionally hard materials used for refining treasures. Many eminent monks in Buddhism used diamonds for this purpose, and diamonds of this size would undoubtedly fetch exorbitant prices!

"If only I could... what a pity," Long Jiaonan thought to herself.

"I'm going to be rich!" Qin Mu was ecstatic: "After I get rid of Dragon Herder Sovereign, all these treasures will be mine!"

"If this were any other place, I would certainly assume this fiery dragon vein was the main dragon vein of Yan Kang Nation. Unfortunately, this is merely an illusion created by those old fellows from the Great Ruins!" Dragon Herder Sovereign ignored the gold and diamonds scattered everywhere, sneering, "They might be able to deceive others, but they cannot deceive me, Dragon Herder Sovereign! Since this involves the Great Ruins, the True Dragon Master's dragon vein cannot be this weak."

He took out the golden jar, inspected it, and said, "There's another dragon vein nearby!" Carrying the golden jar, he swiftly moved to a lava waterfall and chuckled, "Here it is!" Dragon Herder Sovereign raised his hand, lifting the lava waterfall, revealing another long lava river beyond it.

"Goodness, one has to pass through several lava dragon veins to find the True Dragon Master's dragon vein!" Dragon Herder Sovereign's spirits lifted. He led Qin Mu, Long Jiaonan, and the others through the waterfall into the next dragon vein, chuckling, "But that's what makes it interesting. It makes my personal descent worthwhile!"

This dragon vein was also extraordinary, even more advanced than the previous one. Dragon scales, blood vessels, and muscle textures grew on the walls of the lava river, and in some places, even internal dragon organs had formed! Had it not been for the fiery dragon vein nearby, Qin Mu would have thought he had entered the body of a true dragon!

"If the 'group of dragons' are like this, then what will the True Dragon Master's dragon vein be like?" Qin Mu wondered, secretly astonished.

They continued along this dragon vein, traveling for thousands of miles until they encountered a third underground dragon vein. Qin Mu frowned slightly; they were heading west. Volcano Commandery was in the central region of Yan Kang Nation. Traveling so far west meant they should be very close to the Divine Severing Mountain Range. Qin Mu didn't know if Dragon Herder Sovereign was familiar with the geography of Yan Kang and the Great Ruins, but the Heavenly Devil Cult originally dealt in smuggling through the Divine Severing Mountain Range, and Qin Mu himself had traversed it. He could discern that the Divine Severing Mountain Range was likely directly above them! Yet, this third underground dragon vein still extended westward. Further west would lead them into the Great Ruins!

"It's probably still night in the Great Ruins right now!" Qin Mu suppressed a tremor in his heart. Would the underground of the Great Ruins be dangerous at night? Would darkness envelop this place? He couldn't be sure. However, sticking close to Dragon Herder Sovereign was definitely the right choice. This deity was incredibly powerful, and even if darkness did envelop the area, he could ensure their survival.

They pressed onward. Suddenly, the underground dragon vein ahead grew dim and indistinct. The strong light emitted by the lava underground was now seemingly swallowed by darkness, leaving only a faint luminescence. Qin Mu nudged Long Qilin, who also realized the change and quickly moved closer, daring not to stray from Dragon Herder Sovereign's side. Seeing this, Long Jiaonan instantly caught on and quickly moved closer to Dragon Herder Sovereign as well.

"This woman is very clever. It's best to get rid of her early, lest she cause trouble down the line," Qin Mu thought, frowning slightly.

They hadn't gone much further when, suddenly, a divine statue stood in the center of the lava river, emitting a faint glow that dispelled the surrounding darkness. "As expected, those old bastards from the Great Ruins have been meddling!" Dragon Herder Sovereign sneered and continued forward. "If I hadn't descended to investigate Yan Kang Nation's dragon veins, you truly might have hidden this from me!" He held his breath, preventing his aura from leaking, and passed by the statue from a distance, as if fearing to awaken it.

This lava river was very long. Qin Mu and the others walked along it, encountering a guardian statue every so often. After walking an unknown distance further, the fourth dragon vein appeared. This dragon vein no longer belonged to Yan Kang but to the Great Ruins! As they entered the fourth dragon vein, Qin Mu calculated that they had already passed Dragon's Crest City and Crippled Old Village, getting closer to the heart of the Great Ruins. The two flood dragons beneath Dragon Herder Sovereign were incredibly fast, many times quicker than the stout Long Qilin. What would take Long Qilin over ten days, these two flood dragons covered in just a day or two.

By the time they entered the fifth dragon vein, the darkness had receded, and it was daytime. When they reached the sixth dragon vein, Qin Mu was certain they were deep underground in the central region of the Great Ruins!

"We're almost at the True Dragon Master's dragon vein!" Dragon Herder Sovereign's spirits soared. He chuckled, "How are you progressing with the Dragon Herding Scripture? It's time to return it to me."

Qin Mu respectfully handed the Dragon Herding Scripture back to him, saying, "My aptitude is dull. I've gained some minor insights, but there are still some difficult parts I don't understand."

"You are honest and simple-minded, not clever enough, so naturally there will be some parts you find difficult," Dragon Herder Sovereign said. "As long as you take good care of my dragons, I will gradually explain the Dragon Herding Scripture to you."

Qin Mu was ecstatic. Long Jiaonan saw the expression on his face and wished she could pounce on him and choke him to death, making him die with that same simple-minded smile!

"We've reached the main dragon vein!" Dragon Herder Sovereign's spirits lifted. He chuckled, "Today, I'll seize these old ghosts' main dragon vein and ruin their ten-thousand-year plan... Wait a moment, what is this..." A look of confusion appeared on his face. He stepped out of the sixth dragon vein, glanced around, and his bewilderment deepened.