Chapter 374: Simple and Honest Smile

The Dragon Herder possessed a divine body, and with five flood dragons coiled around him—two of which had transformed into his weapons—his power was doubled.

While the Dragon Control Sect was also founded by the Dragon Herder, it merely commanded and controlled aberrant species like dragons and serpents, lacking the ability to borrow their power. In contrast, the Dragon Herder's personal Dragon Command Art enabled him to borrow the strength of flood dragons to amplify his own.

Furthermore, the Dragon Herding Scripture he gave Qin Mu did not encompass all of his techniques; he had held back some crucial methods. Although the version Qin Mu possessed was far more complete than the Dragon Control Sect's methods, the Dragon Herder had omitted the most vital combat techniques.

Wielding the flood dragons as twin maces, his power was so immense that with a single strike, Qin Mu and the others in the palace had their eardrums vibrate with a piercing hum, leaving them instantly deaf and unable to hear anything. Not only that, this single blow instantly sucked all the air out of the surroundings, as if a large section of space had collapsed, completely evacuating the air.

This differed from the situations Qin Mu had witnessed in battles between other powerful individuals. Qin Mu had seen many clashes among cult masters, and had even personally witnessed the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace suppress a rebellion. The impacts of the divine arts and spells from these strong individuals were not inward-collapsing; instead, they spread outward in all directions, causing immense destruction. The Dragon Herder's physical strength, however, was so overwhelming that the impact he generated was inward-collapsing. No excess power leaked outwards; all destructive force was highly concentrated, allowing his power to unleash without any reservation. While attacks spreading in all directions might appear immensely powerful and destructive, their force was dispersed, leading to significant attenuation when divine arts and spells struck the opponent. This indicated that the Dragon Herder's control over his power had reached its peak. This was the beauty of power, a beauty that only a very select few, who had pushed the study of power to its utmost limits, could truly appreciate.

Inside the palace, Qin Mu and the others had no time to appreciate this. The air within the hall was instantly sucked out, causing Qin Mu, Wang Muran, Mu Qingdai, and Long Yu to immediately feel an immense sense of oppression. Even the air in their lungs was evacuated! An astonishing crushing pressure emanated from all around them, as if threatening to explode them. Simultaneously, the complete evacuation of air brought another sensation: their bodies began to expand outwards. Their eyeballs, hearts, lungs, and bladders all swelled, and blood and urine almost uncontrollably began to flow out.

They were lifted by a hurricane surging outwards within the hall, uncontrollably floating in mid-air, flailing as they were drawn towards the mace striking down from the Dragon Herder, seemingly offering themselves up for death. If they were sucked under the Dragon Herder's dragon mace, they would surely be effortlessly crushed like ants, without a shred of life left.

Qin Mu hastily reached out, grabbing the large deer's thick antlers. With his other hand, he grabbed Mu Qingdai's palm. Mu Qingdai's sash fluttered, wrapping around Long Yu's legs, and Long Yu immediately grabbed Wang Muran's hands. The tearing force pulled the four individuals into a straight line. The large deer was also instantly pulled off balance, its four hooves scrabbling, but it couldn't stop drifting towards the outside of the hall. The large deer opened its mouth and bit down on the Dragon Qilin's tail with a crunch. The Dragon Qilin cried out in pain and anger. Despite the astonishing tearing force, the Dragon Qilin remained utterly still.

*Boom!*

An earth-shattering roar came from outside the hall. It was likely the full power of the Dragon Herder's strike clashing with the Mute, causing the four individuals in mid-air to shake violently, as if struck by countless bolts of lightning. They weren't actually struck by lightning. Instead, the Mute's and the Dragon Herder's attacks had collided, and their physical strength had caused spatial fluctuations. The space rippled violently like waves, and they, being within that space, were also violently tossed and buffeted.

Blood seeped from the corners of the four individuals' mouths. The spatial fluctuations not only made them suffer violent tossing, but even their bodies twisted with the distortion of space. Their internal organs were almost dislocated, and their bones crackled under the immense strain, developing numerous fissures!

"Too strong!" the Dragon Qilin cried out, "I'm going to throw up!"

Qin Mu, the four others, and the male deer were so distressed they felt like spitting blood, yet this fat dragon could still speak, full of vigor.

Just then, a burst of light erupted outside. The blinding brilliance instantly rendered them unable to see anything. Light to its extreme is darkness; this unknown divine ability caused their vision to go completely black. Tears streamed down their faces, and they hastily activated their respective eye divine arts to prevent damage to their pupils.

*Thump, thump, thump!*

Their bodies hit the ground. However, the shockwave from the second collision reached them. Although this clash was already quite far from their location, the vibrations caused the ground to ripple like the surface of the sea, raising waves. Even a sturdy creature like the Dragon Qilin was bounced into the air.

*Crack, crack, crack!* With several sharp sounds, Qin Mu and the others were bounced and stuck to the palace ceiling.

"Who built this palace for Granny? It's so sturdy..." Qin Mu, his mouth bleeding from the impact, swallowed the blood rising in his throat and complained bitterly. In the past, when Cult Master Qin demolished houses and palaces, had he ever encountered anything this durable? Even the palaces on Sacred Mountain of the Heavenly Devil Cult were demolished at will. Even the Imperial Palace, the Imperial College, and the Golden Palace's structures could be dismantled however he pleased. He could dismantle not only palaces, but even dragon veins. But Granny Si's palace was unimaginably sturdy. The impact on the ceiling nearly shattered their bones, yet the grand hall remained completely intact, showing no signs of collapse.

The shockwave from the third clash arrived, and Qin Mu and the others, along with the Dragon Qilin, once again plummeted to the ground with thuds, landing in a pile. Mu Qingdai was at the very bottom, followed by Wang Muran, then Long Yu, Qin Mu, the large deer, and the Dragon Qilin. Everyone hastily got up, only to see that Mu Qingdai, the senior disciple sister of Little Jade Capital, had already rolled her eyes from the pressure. Qin Mu quickly pinched open her mouth and poured a bottle of dragon saliva down her throat, which finally brought her back.

The fourth wave of fluctuations was even further away, but its impact was still significant. It caused everyone's bodies to tremble wildly. The spatial fluctuations made their bodies fluctuate between high and low, plump and thin. When plump, even the slender Mu Qingdai was compressed into a chubby, ball-like girl by the shrinking space. When thin, even the plumpest Dragon Qilin was stretched so much that it became slender, losing its large belly. By the fifth wave of fluctuations, its effect on them was minimal, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When immortals fight, mortals suffer. Although they were outstanding among divine arts practitioners, facing a confrontation between such powerful individuals, a slight misstep could lead to a gruesome death.

"Mahah! Mahah!"

Peculiar cries came from outside the hall. Qin Mu had just relaxed, but his heart tensed up again. He quickly took out his golden flute, only to see blood flood dragons leaping down from the hall's roof, their slender four limbs landing. Hundreds of other blood flood dragons surrounded them from other directions, trapping them inside the grand hall. Qin Mu played the golden flute. The flood dragons coiled around the hall's bronze pillars slowly swam down, guarding the hall entrance.

Inside the hall, everyone felt an inexplicable tension. The blood flood dragons formed from divine blood were simply too numerous. The people from Little Jade Capital had heard of the immense power of divine blood. After all, as heirs of Eternal Peace's foremost sacred ground, they knew no fewer secrets than Qin Mu. Qin Mu had encountered divine-demonic blood more than once. He had seen the power of demonic blood in the Great Ruins with the Village Chief, encountered the Root Demon of Desolate Ridge nourished by divine-demonic blood, and even witnessed the Imperial Preceptor clashing with a Celestial God, and the divine blood that fell from that battle. He had no idea how powerful the blood flood dragons formed from the Dragon Herder's blood truly were. Although he could sense and control these flood dragons through the golden flute, he wasn't sure if they could withstand the blood flood dragons' encirclement. For them, the greatest danger lay in the strange energy of the divine blood contained within these blood flood dragons!

The blood flood dragons moved swiftly outside the hall, leaping back and forth, like a pack of hungry hyenas waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Suddenly, one blood flood dragon raised its head and cried out twice. In an instant, countless blood flood dragons moved in unison, pouncing towards the grand hall. Qin Mu's flute music swelled. The flood dragons guarding the grand hall roared in unison, rushing to meet the blood flood dragons! The flood dragons controlled by Qin Mu were incredibly powerful. After all, they were dragons raised by the Dragon Herder over countless years. Their strength was exceptionally high, allowing them to block hundreds of blood flood dragons. One after another, the blood flood dragons were shattered by the dozen-plus flood dragons, transforming into clumps of bloody mist. Compared to the flood dragons raised by the Dragon Herder, the blood flood dragons were still too weak.

Outside, the roars gradually subsided, leaving only the patter of rain and Qin Mu's melodious and punctuated flute music echoing. The flute music ceased. The sound of rain grew louder. Inside the hall, everyone's faces were tense, daring not to relax in the slightest. They looked outside, where lightning flashed one after another, illuminating the darkness. The faces of Qin Mu and the others inside the hall flickered between light and shadow.

One flood dragon slowly retreated, moving from the hall entrance into the hall. Qin Mu's heart sank. He then saw a second flood dragon retreat into the hall, followed by a third, then a fourth... The dozen or so flood dragons seemed to have encountered their bane, something that filled them with dread. One by one, they slowly retreated, moving back towards Qin Mu and his companions.

"What's outside?" Long Yu asked, his voice hoarse.

Chirping sounds came from outside, as if something slippery was rolling. Then, footsteps resounded, heavy footsteps that felt like they were treading on their hearts, approaching the grand hall step by step. Qin Mu played the golden flute, but the dozen or so flood dragons merely prostrated themselves on the ground, motionless. Cold sweat broke out on Qin Mu's forehead. A tall figure appeared in the doorway, blocking the entrance. A Dragon Herder, composed purely of divine blood, appeared before their eyes. The Dragon Qilin, seeing this figure, also felt its limbs go weak, and it lay on the ground, afraid to move.

Qin Mu's eyelids twitched. The Dragon Herder had a natural suppressive effect over the flood dragons he had personally raised. Furthermore, his body exuded a peculiar aura that prevented even the Dragon Qilin, which possessed dragon blood, from daring to resist.

"The blacksmith you invited is indeed very powerful." The Dragon Herder, formed from divine blood, grinned, revealing bloody teeth. His blood-red eyes stared fixedly at Qin Mu as he said coldly, "However, he cannot protect you, little one. Show me that simple, honest smile again."

Qin Mu forced a smile and said to the others, "It's just a pile of divine blood. Let's all go at him together and take him down!"