Chapter 370: Abandoning the Mountain to Flee for Life

Refining elixirs for these flood dragons was second nature to Qin Mu. Each type of flood dragon consumed a different elixir, requiring him to concoct a wide variety. However, Qin Mu quickly produced the elixirs, feeding these persistent creatures until they were full.

He had expected the flood dragons to disperse after eating their fill, but to his surprise, they continued to follow him.

His original intention was to control one flood dragon for swift travel, allowing the others to scatter. This way, the Dragon Herder might pursue his dragons, buying Qin Mu some time.

However, these flood dragons only recognized him as their food provider and refused to leave, driving him crazy but leaving him helpless.

"The Dragon Herding Scripture only explains how to subdue dragons," Qin Mu muttered, "but it doesn't say how to get rid of them."

Qin Mu blinked, resigned to his fate.

The fire flood dragon beneath him sprinted along the underground dragon vein, moving two or three times faster than before. He had to admit that powerful creatures like dragons, even flood dragons, possessed physical strength far superior to humans. Their stamina was even more astonishing; after running for twenty to thirty thousand miles, their speed showed no signs of diminishing.

"Dragons are truly powerful. Except for Dragon Fatty, of course; that fellow is a disgrace to dragons."

Qin Mu genuinely praised them. Ba Shan Ji Jiu's green ox, which also had green dragon blood, possessed terrifying endurance. It had once carried him and Ling Yuxiu in a relentless escape from the Loulan Golden Palace, displaying truly astounding stamina.

Qin Mu then glanced at the plump Dragon Qilin beside him, confirming his suspicion: that fellow was indeed a disgrace to dragons. The Dragon Qilin would be panting after running just two or three hundred miles at full speed. If it ambled for five thousand miles, it would be utterly exhausted and lie down like a dead pig, snoring away.

"At this rate, I'll be back in Yankang soon!"

Qin Mu was full of confidence. Once back in Yankang, he could either go to the capital to activate the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon or find Cripple, Butcher, and the Village Chief. Then, he wouldn't fear the Dragon Herder.

Just then, the Dragon Herder's voice suddenly boomed in his ear: "Little rogue, where did you abduct my dragons to?"

Qin Mu's blood ran cold, and he broke out in a sweat. He quickly looked back but saw no sign of the Dragon Herder.

"He's transmitting his voice!"

Goosebumps erupted on Qin Mu's skin. Had the Dragon Herder already collected the dragon lair?

"Such a massive dragon lair, how could he collect it so quickly? Lifting that enormous dragon lair wouldn't be difficult for a god, but shrinking it to a portable size is the real challenge."

Qin Mu's scalp tingled. Shrinking the dragon lair to the size of a jade pendant in such a short time would require incredibly profound cultivation. For a divine arts practitioner at his level, it was almost unimaginable.

The Dragon Herder truly lived up to his status as a deity from the High Heavens. To collect the dragon lair and carry it with him in such a short time showed a level of magic power that Qin Mu had never witnessed before!

"He must have just collected the dragon lair and, upon realizing I was escaping with the dragons, sent this voice transmission. He's not behind me yet; I still have a chance to return to Yankang."

Qin Mu composed himself. The fire flood dragon beneath him had begun to slow down, having already traveled twenty to thirty thousand miles. Although its speed had slightly decreased, it was still incredibly fast, and its stamina remained impressive.

Qin Mu made a swift decision. The tune of his flute abruptly changed, controlling another flood dragon. He leaped up and landed on that flood dragon's back.

The Dragon Qilin also jumped over, standing on the dragon's back. This golden flood dragon immediately sprinted forward, its speed increasing once again.

"Heh heh heh, little rogue..."

The Dragon Herder's voice continued. He was using his magic power to transmit his voice far ahead of him, a powerful divine ability Qin Mu had once witnessed from Ba Shan Ji Jiu. However, Ba Shan Ji Jiu's voice transmission covered a thousand miles, while the Dragon Herder was likely still twenty to thirty thousand miles away.

Qin Mu could feel how rapidly his voice was closing in. Clearly, the Dragon Herder was sprinting while transmitting his voice, having already narrowed the distance between them by about a thousand miles while speaking!

"You abducted my dragons, but I don't blame you. Just come back to me, and I'll still treat you well, letting you continue as my dragon-rearing servant. You should know, I admire you greatly, and I have a soft spot for your talent... Wait a minute! Peculiar!"

The Dragon Herder's voice held surprise, exclaiming: "I've sensed the True Dragon Master moving rapidly through the dragon lair!"

The Emperor's Disk on Qin Mu's chest grew hot. The Emperor's Disk Dragon Jade had unfurled and was wriggling continuously, seemingly sensing the dragon lair as well!

"Heh heh heh, little rogue, the True Dragon Master is moving in the same direction as you. No wonder, no wonder you fled. So the True Dragon Master has been on you all along!"

His voice contained both joy and anger: "So the True Dragon Master has been right under my nose all this time! How audacious of you to prance around under my very eyes for so long. If you escaped, wouldn't my reputation as the Dragon Herder be ruined for this entire lifetime?"

Qin Mu mumbled indignantly, "When did I prance around? I was clearly very well-behaved when I was with you..."

Suddenly, peculiar whistling sounds echoed, sharp and piercing through twenty thousand miles of space. The large and small flood dragons that had been sprinting with Qin Mu all stopped, showing hesitation.

The golden flood dragon beneath Qin Mu also slowed its pace, turning its body as if to run toward the source of the whistling.

Qin Mu immediately activated his golden flute, trying to control the golden flood dragon with its tune. However, the flood dragon remained unresponsive. Qin Mu gritted his teeth, leaped from its back onto the Dragon Qilin's back, and commanded, "Dragon Fatty, go!"

The Dragon Qilin immediately lunged forward. But at that moment, the whistling suddenly changed, and the Dragon Qilin also halted. The other flood dragons surrounded them. Evidently, the Dragon Herder was using the whistling to control these flood dragons, and even the Dragon Qilin, intending for them to attack Qin Mu mercilessly.

The flood dragons encircled him tightly. They tilted their heads, looking at him, but did not attack. Suddenly, one flood dragon extended its long tongue and licked Qin Mu, who was stiff and dared not move. It licked his palm.

The whistling suddenly intensified. From this sound alone, one could imagine the Dragon Herder was currently seething with rage, activating his Dragon Taming Art, and urging these flood dragons to attack Qin Mu.

However, the flood dragons still did not attack Qin Mu.

The whistling from the Dragon Herder grew more urgent and intense, yet the flood dragons still did not obey his commands.

Cold sweat beaded on Qin Mu's forehead as he tried to move his shoulders. The dozen or so flood dragons surrounding him all lowered their heads, their whiskers swaying slightly.

"Majusa—" Strange dragon roars came from the mouths of the flood dragons, and they bowed their heads obediently.

Qin Mu was slightly startled and looked down. He saw the Emperor's Disk, which had emerged from his chest at some point, resembling a tiny dragon peeking its head out and resting on his collar.

"The Emperor's Disk, the True Dragon Master!"

Qin Mu suddenly understood. The Dragon Herder's cultivation far surpassed his, and his mastery of the Dragon Taming Art was also vastly superior. However, these flood dragons were not controlled by the Dragon Herder, which must have been the effect of the Emperor's Disk.

Qin Mu leaped onto the back of a flood dragon and commanded, "Collapse this dragon vein for me!"

Dragon roars echoed. The more than ten flood dragons each shook their bodies, their forms suddenly expanding as they revealed their true selves. Immediately, various savage and wild energies erupted within the tunnel.

The more than ten flood dragons opened their mouths, unleashing terrifying vibrations. Immediately, with an earth-shattering roar, the scaly stone walls of the dragon vein were shattered by the group of dragons. Rocks collapsed, filling the passage.

The dragon vein passage was blocked, and the magma rose higher and higher, permeating the dragon vein.

It wouldn't be long before the magma filled the entire passage.

Qin Mu gave a shout, and the group of flood dragons immediately carried him forward in a furious dash, incredibly fast. Behind them, surging lava continuously collapsed. This severed section of the dragon vein, once destroyed, would cause the entire dragon vein to be ruined and collapse!

Finally, Qin Mu burst out of the collapsing passage into another dragon vein just before it caved in, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Destroying the dragon vein can hold off the Dragon Herder for a while, but not for too long."

He urged the group of dragons to advance along this dragon vein, heading towards Yankang from underground.

Mount Taibai, Taibai Sword Sect.

Numerous disciples of the Taibai Sword Sect vigilantly guarded the volcanic crater. They had brought forth the sect's treasure, the Hundred Crate Sword Formation. A hundred sword crates, each six or seven zhang tall, encircled the crater.

The Hundred Crate Sword Formation held considerable renown among sword arts schools. It was a significant treasure left by the founding patriarch of the Taibai Sword Sect. Since the sect's inception, these hundred sword crates had been tempered day and night within the volcano, their power steadily increasing.

The hundred crates stood like colossal black stone tablets, silently poised, ready to unleash the sword formation at any moment.

The mountaintop was covered in ice and snow; despite being a volcano, it was very cold, with only the crater area providing warmth.

Several sword sect disciples rubbed their hands for warmth, white vapor puffing from their nostrils. A female disciple asked, "How did that old devil, the Heavenly Devil Cult Master, know there was a rare treasure in our Mount Taibai? We've lived here so long and never found it, but he knew as soon as he arrived."

"How should I know?"

The male disciple next to her, sheltering from the cold wind behind a massive sword crate, shook his head. "Still, the Heavenly Devil Cult members are exceptionally cunning. They probably discovered a treasure in our Taibai Sword Sect and came to claim it. They underestimate our Taibai Sword Sect far too much, not even bothering to greet us. Such arrogance!"

An elderly sword sect member said, "Isn't that typical of the demonic path? What kind of person is this generation's Heavenly Devil Cult Master? He led the Emperor and the Imperial Preceptor to the capital and beheaded the Crown Prince right in front of the Emperor. What wouldn't he dare to do? However, our sect master went to the capital to appeal to the Emperor this time, and he's sure to win! The treasure inside still belongs to our Taibai Sword Sect! Now that the sect master is away, we must all stay alert and guard this place, so that old devil doesn't escape with the treasure."

The numerous sword sect disciples at the crater all laughed. "Although there's a treasure down there, there are also many dangers. That old devil is risking his life to find the treasure, but he doesn't realize that everything he finds will still have to be returned to our Taibai Sword Sect!"

As they were speaking, the volcano suddenly rumbled and shook. An elder of the sword sect quickly shouted, "Disciples, the old devil is coming out! Activate the Hundred Crate Sword Formation and trap him—"

"RAWWW—"

Dragon roars erupted from the crater. Suddenly, the volcano erupted, and a column of magma, a mile in diameter, gushed from the crater, shooting straight into the sky.

Before the Taibai Sword Sect members could activate the sword formation, they saw the top of the volcano explode from the immense impact. The black stone tablet-like sword crates were sent flying in all directions.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded and at a loss, as they watched Qin Mu emerge from within the magma above the volcanic lava, accompanied by over a dozen flood dragons.

"Taibai Sword Sect disciples, quickly abandon the mountain and flee for your lives!"

Qin Mu's voice came from above: "The big fellow is coming!"

"What big fellow?" The entire sword sect, from top to bottom, grew furious. Then, a more violent tremor came from within Mount Taibai. Mount Taibai groaned with cracking sounds as massive fissures appeared, and magma surged out from the cracks.