Chapter 369: Coming Back to Seek Revenge in the Next Life

Before the portal of the Sixth Dragon Pulse, adorned with the Thousand Dragon Carvings, Qin Mu stood. Behind him, swarms of flood dragons, large and small, followed closely, their heads held high, their gazes fixed on him, all awaiting food.

Long Jiaonan also trailed behind, her eyes flickering, occasionally resting on the red flood dragon from the Dragon Herding Gate. The Dragon Herding King had assigned Qin Mu to feed the dragons this time, and the red flood dragon from the Dragon Herding Gate was among them.

The Dragon King's red flood dragon was a cult master-level being, very familiar with Long Jiaonan. Even though the Dragon Herding King had taken control of it, Long Jiaonan could still command the red flood dragon by playing her jade flute.

Qin Mu's eyes remained still, but his mind raced, desperately searching for a way to escape.

If the Dragon Herding King were to retrieve the enormous dragon nest, a slight activation might send Qin Mu, along with the Emperor Disc, flying obediently into the nest. How would he explain the origin of the Emperor Disc then?

Being torn apart and eaten by the dragons was probably a more acceptable outcome. The crucial question was: what if he couldn't die?

If he tried to run now, he wouldn't be able to outrun the flood dragons tailing him. Moreover, with Long Jiaonan present, any attempt to escape would surely result in her brutally killing him.

"Maid, get the herbs and refine the pills." Qin Mu tossed the Taotie Bag to Long Jiaonan, his expression shifting between dark and light. Although he was still some distance from the dragon nest, the Emperor Disc around his neck continued to squirm as if coming alive, forming an inexplicable connection with the nest. It was growing hotter and hotter, seemingly ready to transform into a dragon and fly into the nest at any moment.

Long Jiaonan suppressed her anger, opened the Taotie Bag, and began sorting the spirit herbs. Qin Mu took out the Dragon Pearl, held it in his hand, and absorbed its energy. Immediately, terrifying power surged through his entire body, flowing into his limbs and bones, causing his strength to skyrocket!

"No matter what, I must leave. Otherwise, once the Dragon Herding King retrieves the dragon nest, I'll never get another chance to escape!"

Qin Mu reached out and grasped, and a stream of scorching lava flew up from the lava river, coming towards him.

"If I'm supposed to feed dragons, then I'll feed them! And not just feed, I'll kidnap them! I can't outrun the Dragon Herding King on my own, but riding a dragon? That's a different story!"

His vital qi transformed into Black Tortoise vital qi, lowering the lava's temperature. However, the lava did not solidify; instead, many glittering metallic droplets fell from it, clinking as they hit the ground. What solidified was the profound gold essence within the lava. Profound gold essence requires a higher temperature to melt, while lava melts at a lower temperature. Using this method, Qin Mu could extract the profound gold essence from the lava more quickly and with extremely high purity.

Soon, he collected enough profound gold essence to forge a golden flute. Meanwhile, Long Jiaonan was still sorting spirit herbs and hadn't finished.

Qin Mu brought the golden flute to his lips, activating the Dragon Herding Art from the Dragon Herding Scripture. He imbued his vital qi into the flute and began to play. This was his first time cultivating the Dragon Herding Art, and his flute playing was a bit clumsy at first. However, after trying a few different melodies, Qin Mu became proficient. Several flood dragons with lower cultivation levels flew around, seemingly enjoying his music.

As Qin Mu walked, more flood dragons followed him, also mobilized by his playing. Gradually, Qin Mu felt that, through the flute music, the vast spiritual consciousness of these seven flood dragons connected with his own.

*Boom!* His mind thundered. He immediately felt his spiritual thoughts intertwining with the immense, abyssal, and ocean-like spiritual consciousness of the seven flood dragons!

Long Jiaonan's eye twitched. She stopped sorting herbs, her gaze flickering as she took out her own jade flute and began to play, vying with him for control of the flood dragons.

"Maid, are you asking for death?" Qin Mu roared in fury. He suddenly released the golden flute, continuing to play with vital qi, the melody swirling. But then, he lunged at Long Jiaonan, aiming a punch. He was utterly enraged; this woman constantly sabotaged him. It would be difficult to escape without killing her first!

"I've tolerated you for too long!" Hearing the word "maid," Long Jiaonan was enraged. She released her jade flute, playing with vital qi, and stretched out her hand to meet Qin Mu's attack. "This woman can't be that foolish. She knows the Dragon Herding King gave me a better Dragon Pearl, yet she's willingly meeting my palm. There's a trick!"

Qin Mu braced himself. Just as their palms were about to meet, a red flood dragon suddenly darted forward, throwing its body to collide with Qin Mu. It was the fire flood dragon from the Dragon Herding Gate! At this moment, the Dragon Herding King was attempting to retrieve the dragon nest, with all his mental energy focused on it, which weakened his control over his dragons. This allowed Long Jiaonan to immediately connect with the red flood dragon and order it to kill Qin Mu.

Qin Mu had anticipated the danger and instantly retreated. A green flood dragon immediately bared its fangs and claws, colliding violently with the red flood dragon. Terrifying waves of vital qi erupted within the Dragon Pulse, sending both Qin Mu and Long Jiaonan flying!

Qin Mu landed, finding himself above the scorching lava river below. The young man fell onto the churning lava, which instantly roared. Two fire flood dragons rose from the intensely flowing river, carrying him as they surged towards Long Jiaonan.

Long Jiaonan was also thrown against the wall. She immediately played a delicate melody on her flute, controlling another flood dragon. That flood dragon lay prostrate, its throat glowing with intensifying fire. It opened its mouth wide, spewing a torrent of flame that instantly filled the entire Dragon Pulse. The rolling Li Fire, like a fiery dragon, surged towards Qin Mu! That fire was Li Fire, capable of refining everything, even evaporating lava!

Qin Mu's flute immediately brought another water flood dragon under his control. The water flood dragon pounced onto the head of the fire flood dragon, opening its mouth to spray Kan Water, suppressing the Li Fire. The two flood dragons immediately lunged at each other, engaging in a fierce battle!

Qin Mu pointed his fingers like a sword, and the Carefree Sword flashed out of its scabbard. It pierced through layers of flames, arriving at Long Jiaonan's glabella with lightning speed. Long Jiaonan's heart jolted. She didn't have time to dodge and quickly turned her head. The Carefree Sword grazed her cheek and plunged into the dragon scales behind her. "That was close!"

Before she could even exhale, thousands of sword lights suddenly pierced through the flames, engulfing her!

At that very moment, the red flood dragon suddenly coiled its body, rapidly wrapping around her, layer by layer. A myriad of clinking sounds echoed as countless sword lights collided with its dragon scales. All the flying swords Qin Mu launched were blocked by this cult master-level flood dragon.

Within this Dragon Pulse, flood dragons fell into a panic, each letting out deep, resonant dragon roars. The roars vibrated so intensely that Qin Mu and Long Jiaonan's eardrums nearly burst.

Qin Mu used his vital qi to play the golden flute, attempting to control other flood dragons. Long Jiaonan also quickly circulated her vital qi, competing with him.

One by one, the flood dragons were controlled by their flute music, their spirits connected to them. They paired up and engaged in fierce combat. These flood dragons were almost god-like experts, incredibly powerful. They used fewer divine arts, relying more on physical collisions.

Only then did Qin Mu witness the terrifying physical power of the dragon race. As their bodies moved, thousands of muscles throughout their forms were engaged, and hundreds of powerful tendons tensed and relaxed, creating sounds like thunderclaps on a clear day! This was a power capable of moving mountains, filling seas, and transforming the world, flowing within these draconic beings. Their explosive power far surpassed that of humans at the same cultivation level, by an unknown multitude. If these flood dragons unleashed their divine arts, the resulting power would be even more terrifying.

However, both Qin Mu and Long Jiaonan were well aware of their limits. Just now, when one flood dragon spewed fire and another spat water, they had almost died in the Dragon Pulse. Therefore, they tried their best to prevent the flood dragons from using divine arts, relying only on physical combat.

Although their cultivation realms varied—Long Jiaonan was at the Seven Stars realm, far above Qin Mu's—Qin Mu was in no way inferior to her in terms of vital qi profoundness. The maximum number of flood dragons each could control with their flute music was three. Any more, and their vital qi would be insufficient, and their spiritual power would falter. The six flood dragons were extremely powerful, fighting in the passage and causing the Dragon Pulse to nearly break.

Qin Mu had only just begun cultivating the Dragon Herding Art, but his cultivation was relatively complete. Long Jiaonan had cultivated this technique for thirty to forty years, but it was an incomplete version. As a result, their dragon-herding methods were almost on par. However, Long Jiaonan still had an advantage because the Dragon King's red flood dragon was familiar with her, making it easier to control. It also fought with the fiercest ferocity and was manipulated with ease. Qin Mu had only just established a connection with three flood dragons using his flute, so his control was not as smooth.

This slight difference determined the outcome for both of them!

Long Jiaonan commanded the red flood dragon to bite the neck of a yellow flood dragon, violently slamming it against the stone wall of the Dragon Pulse. The red flood dragon then sprawled on all fours, slithering rapidly through the other battling flood dragons, and lunged towards Qin Mu. "You brat, I'll avenge the elders and juniors of the Dragon Herding Gate!" Long Jiaonan shrieked.

Qin Mu's eyes gleamed. He rapidly retreated, suddenly transforming into a shadow clinging to the ground. He moved along the stone wall of the Dragon Pulse, bypassing the attacking red flood dragon from above its head. "Sister Long, I'm sorry," his voice came from within the wall, rapidly approaching.

Long Jiaonan's heart tensed. At that very moment, a huge shadow appeared behind her. The Dragon Qilin had been waiting for the red flood dragon to leave her. It immediately opened its mouth wide and spewed forth roaring true fire. Long Jiaonan swiftly turned, grabbing her Dragon Pearl to meet the attack. The Dragon Pearl, upon encountering the Qilin fire, burst forth with multicolored light, blocking the flames! The Dragon Qilin's power could rival that of a Celestial-Human realm expert. Its Qilin fire was incredibly fierce, scorching the hand Long Jiaonan held the Dragon Pearl with, but Long Jiaonan herself remained unharmed behind the pearl.

Just then, the shadow Qin Mu had transformed into descended from above. The shadow solidified, and he landed a punch on Long Jiaonan's back. *Boom!* Long Jiaonan was sent flying by his punch, slamming into the stone wall of the Dragon Pulse, her bones shattering with cracking sounds.

"If there's a next life, come seek revenge from me!" Qin Mu pointed his fingers, and the Carefree Sword pierced into Long Jiaonan's glabella, pinning her to the stone wall before she could slide down. Eight thousand sword-rains arrived simultaneously, filling the stone wall with swords.

Qin Mu gestured his sword-fingers backward. The Carefree Sword returned to its scabbard, while the other flying swords, in a flurry, dropped into his Taotie Bag. Long Jiaonan was no longer found on the stone wall; only a heap of shattered flesh remained. She could no longer shed her skin and be reborn.

Qin Mu used his vital qi to play the flute, and a fire flood dragon galloped over. Qin Mu leaped onto its back and called out, "Fatty Dragon!" The Dragon Qilin promptly jumped onto the dragon's back, wagging its tail ingratiatingly. It was then that Qin Mu noticed the beast was actually holding the Dragon Herding King's Taotie Bag in its mouth.

"Well done!" Qin Mu's rare praise made the Dragon Qilin ecstatic. The flute music became urgent, and the fire flood dragon immediately turned, galloping wildly back along the underground Dragon Pulse's path.

"At this fire flood dragon's speed, running at full tilt, we should be able to escape the Great Ruins and reach Yankang Kingdom in less than a day!" Qin Mu was excited. He looked back, his face turning ashen. Although the fire flood dragon was running incredibly fast, the other flood dragons were following him like shadows. Some flew, some ran, some swam, all craning their heads and blinking their dragon eyes at him, looking as if they were waiting to be fed.

"I've only fed you once! Don't keep following me!" Qin Mu pleaded, "I beg you! You're free now. Go wherever you want, just don't follow me!"

The multi-colored flood dragons continued to follow him, tilting their heads and watching him, still waiting to be fed.

"All of you are just like Fatty Dragon!" Qin Mu was exasperated. He took the Dragon Herding King's Taotie Bag and, resigned, began refining pills to feed these persistent followers.