Chapter 367 — Lord of Dragons

"Jingping Kingdom truly is a land of many calamities. First there was war and chaos, then natural disasters descended, then the Mandi Kingdom and the Langjuxu Kingdom joined forces to attack, and now a Dragon-Rearing Lord has appeared to claim the primary dragon vein. " Shen Mu sighed inwardly.

Being emperor was truly exhausting for Emperor Yanfeng, and it left Shen Mu to clean up his mess again and again. "That Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon I built would be just the thing to shoot down this Dragon-Rearing Lord—only the cannon platform is still in the capital, and Emperor Yanfeng is not here either.

. .

" Shen Mu suddenly froze. He had never been a man of Jingping.

Was it worth risking his life for Jingping Kingdom? When he had walked out of the Wasteland, it had been for tempering, for self-improvement—not to protect Jingping Kingdom. Had his original purpose changed without his noticing?

There had been a time when he had loathed Jingping Kingdom, believing it treated the people of the Wasteland as castoffs and slaves. When had he changed his self-perception, taking Jingping's affairs as his own? Should he not be tempering himself?

Should he not be fighting for the right of the Wasteland's natives to survive?

Had he come to regard Jingping Kingdom as another home?

Had he, without realizing it, taken Jingping's affairs as his own? He examined his own heart and found the truth cruel and fascinating: the complex shifts of the human heart surpassed any reform, surpassed any change in Daoist arts and divine powers.

Shen Mu reflected on his heart and felt at peace. As the Human Emperor, he did not act for Jingping Kingdom but for the people of this land.

If Emperor Yanfeng lacked virtue and ability, then he would replace him. If the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping failed in his reforms, then Shen Mu would carry them out in his stead. Even if Jingping's reforms were excellent, if Emperor Yanfeng invaded the Wasteland and enslaved its people, then Shen Mu would kill him. Shen Mu blinked, finding this thought pure and simple.

"We've arrived! " The two flood dragons beneath the Dragon-Rearing Lord's feet halted abruptly.

Shen Mu looked around and was slightly startled: great volcanoes surrounded them, their craters belching thick smoke, though none were erupting.

From time to time, qi refiners flew up the mountains to gather earth fire, presumably to cultivate fire-element divine powers.

This was the Volcano Commandery of Jingping Kingdom, famed for its many volcanoes; ninety percent of Jingping's volcanoes were gathered here. There was also Mount Taibai, the largest volcano in Jingping Kingdom, its peak towering and capped with white snow, while its crater blazed with molten rock. The Dragon-Rearing Lord glanced around, his gaze settling on Mount Taibai, and he laughed: "The dragon's eye is here!

" The twin dragons beneath his feet soared into the air and carried him straight to the summit of Mount Taibai.

At the peak was the seat of a sect. In Jingping Kingdom, apart from the Three Great Holy Lands, all other sects had been greatly squeezed, their disciples thinned by the great and lesser academies of every region. The sect atop Mount Taibai was called the Taibai Sword Sect, sparsely populated, with only a hundred or so disciples on the mountain. The Dragon-Rearing Lord descended directly with Shen Mu and Long Jiaonan, arriving at the crater at the heart of the Taibai Sword Sect.

The sect's experts were alarmed and swarmed out.

Seeing the Dragon-Rearing Lord and his dragons, they were all struck dumb and dared not move. A fire flood dragon flew from beneath the Dragon-Rearing Lord's feet and burrowed into the volcano. After a moment, a passage was opened by the flood dragon, and at once radiant light shot into the sky, bathing the heavens in gold. Shen Mu looked into the volcano and felt dizzy.

The interior was not molten rock at all but a vast expanse of glittering golden dragon scales, spreading downward from within the mountain, depth unknown. The people of the Taibai Sword Sect were stunned as well.

The sect had occupied this place for thousands of years and had never known that the volcano's interior concealed such a hidden realm. But knowing, they still dared not move. "Senior.

. . " The Taibai Sword Sect's master summoned his courage and stepped forward.

He had barely begun to speak when the Dragon-Rearing Lord ignored him entirely, the great dragon beneath his feet carrying him, Shen Mu, and Long Jiaonan up into the volcano. "Sect Master, these people have intruded into our sect's forbidden ground! " A middle-aged man said in panic, "What should we do now?

" The Taibai Sword Sect's master's expression shifted uncertainly. "I recognize that youth—he is the leader of the Youmo Cult.

This old demon has actually brought a terrifyingly powerful expert, and he keeps so many dragons!

The holy land of the demon cult lives up to its name; its foundations are indeed deep.

We of the Taibai Sword Sect are no match. What else can we do? Of course—we lodge a complaint with the imperial court!

" The sect's people were all stunned.

Lodge a complaint with the imperial court?

That was far too shameful! "If we lodge a complaint with the imperial court, the emperor and the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping will not ignore it. " The sect master rose. "I will go to the capital and lodge a complaint with the emperor. We must make the emperor force the Youmo Cult to give our Taibai Sword Sect an explanation!

" Inside the volcano, Shen Mu and Long Jiaonan followed behind the Dragon-Rearing Lord.

The subterranean space was vast, the walls of the mountain body all glittering golden dragon scales.

Shen Mu reached out and touched one; it was scalding hot, like molten rock, yet not molten rock. "This may well be the primary dragon vein.

This place where the subterranean dragon qi gathers is on the verge of transforming into a divine dragon and flying away! " The Dragon-Rearing Lord said in surprise, "This dragon vein is even better than the nine mountain ranges in Jingping's capital. " Shen Mu asked curiously, "Lord Dragon, have you been to those nine dragon veins in the capital? What are they like?

" Though he had been to the capital many times, he had never gone into the mountains to look. The capital was encircled by nine dragons, its dragon qi thick and extraordinary; living within it prolonged life, and cultivation there achieved twice the result with half the effort.

The Imperial Academy and the imperial palace in particular were places where dragon qi condensed. "The several dragon veins in Jingping's capital are nine yellow dragons.

I went inside the mountain body; these nine yellow dragons have hollowed out the mountain and already transformed into yellow dragon qi, with scales and claws.

" The Dragon-Rearing Lord said, "But those nine dragons are still qi, not yet formed bodies. The fire dragon here, however, is about to take form. " Shen Mu was puzzled. Long Jiaonan touched a dragon scale and said, "Patriarch, do you mean that the dragon scales of this dragon vein are true dragon scales, not mere traces?

" "Of course they are true dragon scales. " The Dragon-Rearing Lord said, "Flood dragons do not count as true dragons; they are merely great serpents transformed by absorbing dragon qi. True dragons are born of qi, transformed from dragon veins.

Of the myriad things and spirits in the world, some are oviparous, some viviparous, some ovoviviparous—but true dragons are born of qi. Qi gives birth to true dragons, which then bear offspring viviparously or oviparously.

You have been to the Wasteland, yes? There are many relics of Dragon Kings there.

Why did the Wasteland have so many Dragon Kings?