Chapter 384: Heart Overflowing with Joy

The river water cascaded down, causing the surrounding mountains to shake violently. In some places, landslides occurred as earth and rocks split from the mountainsides and slid down. The resulting destruction was terrifying, and many villagers living near the mountains suffered greatly.

It was a necessary evil.

If Dragon Lord wasn't eliminated and his attempt to alter the dragon veins wasn't stopped, it wouldn't just be the residents along the river who suffered, but the entire Eternal Peace Empire.

"Grandpa Blind, Dragon Lord can shed his skin to heal his injuries!"

Qin Mu rushed over, standing on the Dragon Qilin's head, and shouted, "Don't be careless! He's not dead yet!"

Blind looked puzzled. "What did you say about this Eel Lord? I shattered his limbs and bones, every scale on his body, and severed his life force. He was then crushed by the Surging River. How could he still be alive?"

"He's not dead!"

Qin Mu shouted, "As long as his head isn't cut off, no matter how severe his injuries, he'll fully recover after shedding his skin!"

Just then, the river water suddenly surged high, rolling down from upstream and raising waves like mountaintops. A colossal creature was moving beneath the surface.

"Eel Lord's Flood Dragon King God has arrived! It seems Eel Lord truly isn't dead."

Blind felt a chill in his heart. He raised his bamboo staff and pointed it towards the river. Dragon Lord was pinned on the riverbed by the Surging River. As the Surging River plunged from above, it buried this deity underground. The immense pressure, combined with Blind's attack, was enough to crush him to smithereens.

Just as Blind's staff touched the Surging River, the sapphire-blue Flood Dragon King God suddenly coiled its body, its massive head rising high. The river water surged and spread, colliding with his staff!

Boom!

The Surging River's flow was severed, revealing the deep riverbed. The Dragon Qilin avoided the aftermath of the blow and flew upwards.

Qin Mu lay prone on the Dragon Qilin's back, looking down. He saw that Dragon Lord's location was a huge, deep pit. The silt at the bottom of the pit had been drained by Blind's and the Flood Dragon King God's attacks, and Dragon Lord lay sprawled there, looking utterly miserable.

However, as he expected, Dragon Lord was not dead and was currently shedding his skin.

Qin Mu hastily glanced and saw that Dragon Lord's forehead had already split open. A huge head was wriggling inside Dragon Lord's old head, trying to push its way out.

"If Dragon Lord successfully sheds his skin and has the Flood Dragon King God as a helper, Grandpa Blind might not be his match!"

Without a second thought, he suddenly leaped off the Dragon Qilin's back and sprinted wildly, chasing after Dragon Lord at the bottom of the river!

Si Yunxiang and Ling Yuxiu cried out in alarm. They quickly reached out to grab him, but only caught air, failing to stop Qin Mu.

Whoosh!

Qin Mu's speed rapidly increased, instantly surpassing the speed of sound and leaving a trail of white smoke behind him.

Blind had sealed his three great Divine Vaults, preventing him from using his vital qi. However, the Sky-Stealing Divine Legs were a physical divine ability, activated solely by physical strength.

This, Blind could not seal.

Qin Mu whistled down from the sky, heading straight for Dragon Lord.

At this moment, the massive waters of the Surging River, both upstream and downstream, began to converge. Simultaneously, the Black Tortoise primordial spirit appeared behind Blind, engaging in a fierce battle with the Flood Dragon King God. Blind "saw" Qin Mu rushing down from above, heading straight for Dragon Lord, and couldn't help but curse inwardly at his audacity before quickly flicking his finger.

Qin Mu was still in mid-air when a gust of qi from Blind's finger struck him between the eyebrows. Immediately, three roars echoed within him as his Spirit Embryo, Five Element, and Divine Vaults successively opened. His vital qi returned to his body, and he was overjoyed.

On the riverbank, Blind furiously attacked, desperately fighting the Flood Dragon King God to prevent Qin Mu from being slapped to death by its tail.

"How dare he be so reckless after I sealed his Divine Vaults! This brat, why wasn't he so vigorous on his wedding night?"

Blind's eyebrows and hair flew, truly enraged. As the Flood Dragon King God's dragon claws swept down, Blind repeatedly tapped his bamboo staff on them. The dragon claws' tendons and bones were instantly dislocated, rendering them unable to exert force.

Blind's staff pointed, and the river water swirled and surged, transforming into a massive spear that thrust directly at the Flood Dragon King God's heart, forcing it to fly into the air to avoid the blow.

Splat!

Before the river waters converged, Qin Mu plunged headfirst into the silt at the river bottom. This was followed by an earth-shattering roar as the currents merged, immense waters colliding with incredible force. Enormous waves surged, rolling eastward.

At the river bottom, Qin Mu held his breath, but the immense pressure of the converging river almost crushed him to death. His chest nearly exploded, and his mind buzzed.

After a moment, Qin Mu regained his senses, emerged from the mud and sand, and swam like a fish to the large pit where Dragon Lord lay.

The Surging River was carrying silt, constantly accumulating and burying Dragon Lord by more than half.

Qin Mu swam to Dragon Lord's side. He saw rotten flesh everywhere, and divine blood, damaged by the pressure, was being washed away by the river. In this short time, most of Dragon Lord's blood had been carried away.

A deity's body is extremely heavy; even a powerhouse at the Divine Bridge realm would find it difficult to carry one. Thus, even lying there, Dragon Lord could not be washed away by the river.

Although Dragon Lord's divine blood was nearly depleted, his head was still wriggling, and two dragon horns emerged.

Qin Mu immediately reached out and groped around, his hands rapidly moving over Dragon Lord's body, searching everywhere.

"Where is the True Dragon Lair? Where is it hidden..."

Crack.

Dragon Lord's forehead split open further, and streams of divine might emanated from the crack.

Qin Mu was startled. He saw that a small part of the dragon head had emerged from the forehead. He swiftly swam to Dragon Lord's bare forehead, pulled out the Worry-Free Sword, activated his three great Divine Vaults, surged his vital qi, and vigorously thrust it into Dragon Lord's forehead. He heard a *ding* as the Worry-Free Sword hit a dragon scale, bouncing high, leaving a sword mark on the scale.

Qin Mu raised his hand and continued to stab, more than ten times, finally piercing the dragon scale.

Qin Mu pulled out the sword and thrust it downwards, vigorously churning it until a small portion of the Worry-Free Sword's blade sank into Dragon Lord's forehead. He then took out a large iron hammer and vigorously struck the sword hilt, hammering for a while until the Worry-Free Sword was fully embedded in Dragon Lord's forehead.

This Worry-Free Sword nailed Dragon Lord's old skin and his soon-to-be-shed new body together. The dragon head dared not wriggle violently, seemingly fearing to disturb the divine might hidden within the sword. It could only slowly shed its skin outwards, but was held in place by the Worry-Free Sword, unable to shed its skin or emerge.

"You clumsy brat, it's you again..."

Dragon Lord opened his mouth, uttering a faint sound: "I will kill you, I will definitely kill you..."

Qin Mu circulated his vital qi, rolled up mud and sand, and stuffed it into Dragon Lord's mouth and nostrils, making him unable to speak. He then took out the last bit of Tri-Break Powder he had left, enveloped it in vital qi, and stuffed it in, then continued to grope around.

"Even if I can't poison you to death, I can make you shed another layer of skin!" Qin Mu rummaged around, searching for the True Dragon Lair.

Dragon Lord's almost stiff body continuously trembled at the river bottom. As the saying goes, "strike a man when he's down." The Tri-Break Powder's toxicity erupted with formidable power, causing *bang-bang-bang* cracking sounds from his dilapidated body, breaking his body, spirit, and soul.

He hadn't fully shed his skin yet and hadn't completely separated from his old body, so his new body instantly became poisoned, suffering terribly.

Qin Mu retrieved strange items from Dragon Lord's body, such as a dragon hide drum, dragon horns, a claw staff, and a dragon bone flute, but he still couldn't find the True Dragon Lord's lair.

"Strange, this fellow should have it hidden on himself, he couldn't have lost it..."

Qin Mu took out the Emperor's Disk, trying to sense the Dragon Lair, but strangely, the Emperor's Disk showed no reaction. Qin Mu repeatedly urged the Emperor's Disk, and the characters on it changed, but he still couldn't find the location of the Dragon Lair.

Just then, he suddenly felt unusual fluctuations in the surrounding water currents and was startled.

The river water was murky at the moment, with mud and sand stirred up by the currents, severely limiting his vision. Qin Mu swiftly swam to Dragon Lord's forehead, holding the sword hilt with one hand and cautiously looking around.

Another turbulent current rushed past him. He remained motionless, seeing an enormous dragon body with dark green scales, each larger than his own body.

This was a flood dragon, likely one raised by Dragon Lord, drawn here by his aura. This flood dragon was incredibly powerful, even stronger than ordinary cult master-level beings, and he was no match for it.

Qin Mu's eyes flickered. With his other hand, he took out the dragon bone flute he had just found on Dragon Lord's body, secretly using his vital qi to draw the water current and play it.

Just then, his mind suddenly boomed, his head aching as if splitting and buzzing. It was Dragon Lord stirring his last remaining mental force to assault his brain, almost rendering him unconscious.

Qin Mu winced in pain, but saw Dragon Lord beneath his feet wriggling with all his might, causing the Worry-Free Sword to sway and constantly shift forward. The Worry-Free Sword had even cut open Dragon Lord's scalp.

"He ate a large handful of Tri-Break Powder, and he can still shed his skin? My poison is indeed inferior to Grandpa Apothecary's. If it were Grandpa Apothecary's refined poison, Dragon Lord would die even after shedding his skin a dozen times!"

Qin Mu hastily pulled out the sword, but unfortunately, he had hammered it in too deep and couldn't pull it out quickly. He then saw Dragon Lord had already forced out a dragon head, with the Worry-Free Sword still stuck in his forehead.

Qin Mu stood on Dragon Lord's head, holding the sword hilt with both hands. Beneath his feet were Dragon Lord's two large eyes, which were open and staring at him. His face was ashen, a mark left by the poison as he suppressed the Tri-Break Powder with all his might.

Behind Qin Mu, a massive dragon head appeared, its body coiled in the water. The dark green flood dragon opened its mouth, revealing ferocious, sharp teeth.

Qin Mu's eyes darted left and right. He quietly reached out and grabbed the Emperor's Disk, abruptly shining it backward. The dark green flood dragon's massive mouth was already above his head, its sharp teeth on the upper jaw almost piercing his forehead!

Qin Mu held up the Emperor's Disk high, his legs trembling. Dragon Lord beneath his feet was still wriggling outwards with all his might.

"D-d-d..."

Qin Mu opened his mouth to speak, hearing his own teeth chatter, as streams of bubbles flowed from his mouth: "D-d-don't m-m-move, be a g-g-good boy..."

The dark green flood dragon stopped its movement, slowly retreated, its gaze fixed on the Emperor's Disk in his palm.

"Maha..."

The flood dragon slowly lowered its head.

Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief, then stomped his foot on Dragon Lord's eye, saying viciously, "You almost killed me! Quick, tell me, where did you hide the True Dragon Lair? I have hundreds of poisons here; do you believe I can grind your bones to dust?"

Dragon Lord coldly stared at him, continuing to wriggle outwards. Suddenly, his forehead *cracked* open again, and another dragon head emerged. He was poisoned by Qin Mu, and shedding skin once wasn't enough to detoxify; he needed to shed it again.

"Maha! Maha!"

The dark green flood dragon behind Qin Mu shrank in size, swam to his shoulder, its two claws resting there, and opened its mouth. Qin Mu was slightly startled, seeing that the True Dragon Lair was inside the flood dragon's mouth.

"Cunning, you are truly cunning!" Qin Mu was overjoyed and gave Dragon Lord a thumbs-up.