Chapter 370 — In the Next Life, I'll Repay This Grudge

At the sixth dragon vein, before the gateway carved with a thousand dragon reliefs, Shen Mu walked with a host of flood dragons great and small at his back, heads lifted and claws raised, trailing him closely, all of them waiting to be fed.

Long Jiaonan followed behind as well, her gaze flickering, alighting now and again upon the red flood dragon of the Dragon-Taming Sect. This time Lord Dragon-Keeper had sent Shen Mu to feed the dragons, and the red flood dragon of the Dragon-Taming Sect was among them.

The Dragon King's red flood dragon was a patriarch-level being, and well acquainted with Long Jiaonan; though the red flood dragon had been taken by Lord Dragon-Keeper, so long as Long Jiaonan blew upon her jade flute she could still command it.

Shen Mu's eyeballs did not move, but his mind raced, pondering desperately how he might escape.

If Lord Dragon-Keeper took that vast dragon nest, then at the slightest urging he himself, together with the Heavenly Emperor's Jade Tablet, would likely fly into the nest and squat there obediently; and how then was he to explain the origins of that Jade Tablet?

To be torn apart and devoured by the dragons, that was perhaps the more acceptable ending; the crux was, what if he could not die?

If he simply ran now, he could never outrun the flood dragons at his heels, and Long Jiaonan was here besides; were he to flee, the woman would surely strike to kill without mercy.

"Slave-girl, gather the herbs and refine the pills."

Shen Mu tossed the Taotie Pouch to Long Jiaonan, his expression shifting between light and dark.

Though he was somewhat farther from the dragon nest now, the Heavenly Emperor's Jade Tablet hanging at his neck still writhed as if about to come alive, forming some inexplicable bond with the nest; it grew hotter and hotter, as though at any moment it might transform into a dragon and fly off into the nest.

Long Jiaonan swallowed her fury, opened the Taotie Pouch, and sorted the spirit medicines. Shen Mu took out the Darkwater Dragon Pearl and gripped it in his hand, drawing upon its power; at once waves of terrifying force swept through his whole body, pouring into his four limbs and hundred bones, and his strength soared in a straight line!

"No matter what, I must get away; otherwise, once Lord Dragon-Keeper takes the nest, there will be no chance of leaving ever again!"

Shen Mu reached out and seized; a stream of scalding lava rose from the lava river and flew toward him.

"You want me to feed the dragons? Then I'll feed them! And not only feed them, I'll make off with them! I may not be able to outrun Lord Dragon-Keeper on my own, but riding a dragon, that is another matter!"

His vital qi transformed into Black Tortoise vital qi; the lava's temperature fell, yet it did not congeal, and many glittering metals dripped from the molten stream, striking the ground with a ringing clatter.

What congealed was the dark-gold essence within the lava; dark-gold essence required a higher temperature to melt, whereas lava melted at a lower one.

By this method Shen Mu could refine the dark-gold essence from the lava more swiftly, and of exceedingly high purity.

Quickly he gathered enough dark-gold essence and forged a golden flute; by then Long Jiaonan was still sorting the spirit medicines, not yet finished.

Shen Mu put the golden flute to his lips, circulated the Dragon-Riding Formula from the Dragon-Keeper's Scripture, and stirred his vital qi to blow; the sound of the flute arose.

It was his first time cultivating the Dragon-Riding Formula, and the flute notes were still somewhat clumsy; but after trying a few turns of tune Shen Mu grew adept, and several flood dragons of lesser cultivation flew to and fro with his melody, greatly enjoying it.

Shen Mu began to walk, and several more flood dragons moved with him, stirred by his command; gradually, through the flute's sound, he felt the vast, towering spirits of those seven flood dragons link with his own.

Boom!

A thunderclap burst in his mind, and at once he felt his own spirit and thought joined to the spirits of those seven flood dragons, vast as abysses, vast as seas!

Long Jiaonan's eye twitched; she stopped sorting the medicines, her gaze flickering, and drew out her own jade flute, raising a melody of her own to contend with him for command of those flood dragons.

"Slave-girl, are you courting death?"

Shen Mu was enraged; he abruptly released the golden flute, his vital qi blowing the notes, the melody winding and sweet, while his fist slammed toward Long Jiaonan. His fury was complete: this woman was forever tripping him up, and unless Long Jiaonan died, leaving would be all but impossible!

"I've put up with you long enough myself!"

Hearing herself called slave-girl, Long Jiaonan flew into a rage; she released her jade flute, her vital qi blowing the notes in turn, and reached out to meet Shen Mu.

"This woman is not so foolish; she knows full well that Lord Dragon-Keeper gave me a finer Darkwater Dragon Pearl, yet she still meets my palm head-on. There is treachery in this!"

Shen Mu braced at once; in the very instant their palms were about to touch, a red flood dragon suddenly darted in, hurling its body sidelong at Shen Mu. It was none other than the fire flood dragon of the Dragon-Taming Sect!

At this moment Lord Dragon-Keeper was attempting to claim the dragon nest, all his spirit and strength fixed upon it, and his control over the dragons he raised had weakened; Long Jiaonan could at once link with the red flood dragon and order it to kill Shen Mu.

Shen Mu had already foreseen the peril and sprang backward; at once an azure flood dragon bared claws and fangs and crashed thunderously against the red one. A dreadful surge of qi erupted through the dragon vein, hurling both Shen Mu and Long Jiaonan through the air!

Shen Mu fell, and below him lay the blazing lava river; the youth landed upon the rolling molten flow, which roared at once, and from that thick, seething river two fire flood dragons rose, bearing him in a charge at Long Jiaonan.

Long Jiaonan too was blasted against the stone wall; at once her flute sang out sweetly, seizing command of another flood dragon. That dragon crouched low, fire blazing in its throat, brighter and brighter, then opened its great maw and spat a shaft of flame; in an instant fire filled the whole dragon vein, and the rolling Li Fire came surging at Shen Mu like a fire dragon!

That fire was Li Fire, which refines and dissolves all things; even the lava was vaporized!

Shen Mu's flute at once took command of another water flood dragon; it pounced upon the head of the fire flood dragon and spat out Kan Water to suppress the Li Fire, and the two flood dragons fell upon each other in battle!

Shen Mu thrust two fingers forth in a sword gesture; the Carefree Sword left its sheath, pierced through layer upon layer of flame, and came like lightning to the space between Long Jiaonan's brows.

Long Jiaonan's heart lurched; with no time to dodge, she hastily turned her head, and the Carefree Sword grazed her cheek and buried itself in the dragon scales behind her.

"A close call!"

Before she could even draw breath, thousands upon thousands of sword lights came piercing through the flames and engulfed her!

Just then the red flood dragon abruptly coiled its body, whirling swiftly around her and wrapping her in layer upon layer; ding, ding, ding, the sound of countless sword lights striking dragon scales rang out, and every flying sword Shen Mu sent was blocked by this patriarch-level flood dragon.

Within the dragon vein, the flood dragons fell into panic, each giving voice to heavy dragon roars; the roars reverberated until Shen Mu's and Long Jiaonan's eardrums nearly burst.

Shen Mu blew the golden flute with his vital qi, striving to command the other flood dragons, and Long Jiaonan hurriedly stirred her own vital qi to contend with him.