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

One after another the flood dragons were claimed by the two flutes' melodies, their spirits linked to the players, and they paired off to fight; these flood dragons' cultivation was near that of godlike masters, unmatched in ferocity, and they used divine abilities but little, relying more on the clash of their bodies.

Only now did Shen Mu see how terrifying the flesh of the dragon race was: as their bodies swam and coiled, thousands of muscles throughout their frames were brought into play, and hundreds of great sinews, tightening and slackening, produced a din like thunderbolts from a clear sky!

This was power enough to move mountains, fill seas, remake the heavens and change the sun, power that filled the bodies of these strange dragon-kin, whose explosive force surpassed that of human cultivators of the same realm by no one knew how many times over!

Had these flood dragons unleashed their divine abilities and let their might erupt, it would have been more terrifying still.

Yet both Shen Mu and Long Jiaonan knew their limits: a moment ago, when one flood dragon spat fire and another water, the two of them had nearly died on the spot within the dragon vein; so they did their utmost to keep the dragons from using divine abilities, letting them clash with their bodies alone.

Though their cultivation realms differed in height, Long Jiaonan standing at the Seven Stars realm, far above Shen Mu's Six Harmonies realm, in depth of vital qi Shen Mu was not a whit inferior to her.

Each of them could command three flood dragons with their flute song; any more, and their vital qi would not suffice, nor their spirits hold out. The six flood dragons were exceedingly mighty, and their battle in the passage cut the dragon vein's flow in two.

Shen Mu had only just begun cultivating the Dragon-Riding Formula, but his was the more complete version; Long Jiaonan had practiced the art for thirty or forty years, yet hers was a fragmentary text; so the two were nearly equal in their means of commanding dragons.

Still, Long Jiaonan held the advantage, for the Dragon King's red flood dragon was familiar with her and easier to command; it fought most ferociously of all, and she wielded it as she pleased.

Shen Mu, by contrast, had only just established his bond with three flood dragons through the flute, and so his control was somewhat less than smooth.

That single difference was enough to decide the outcome between them!

Long Jiaonan made the red flood dragon seize a yellow flood dragon by the neck and hurl it heavily against the stone wall of the dragon vein; then the red dragon dropped to all fours, winding and gliding, threading through the other battling dragons and rushing swiftly at Shen Mu.

"Stinking brat, I will avenge every soul of the Dragon-Taming Sect!" Long Jiaonan cried shrilly.

Shen Mu's eyes lit up; his form flew backward, then suddenly became a shadow that clung to the ground, gliding along the stone wall of the dragon vein and slipping around above the head of the charging red flood dragon.

"Sister Long, forgive me." His voice came from within the wall, drawing swiftly nearer.

Long Jiaonan's heart jumped; at that very moment a huge shadow appeared behind her. The dragon qilin had been waiting for the instant the red flood dragon left her side, and it opened its great maw and spewed roaring true fire.

Long Jiaonan whirled about and raised the Darkwater Dragon Pearl to meet it; the pearl, meeting the qilin fire, burst forth with five-colored radiance and blocked the flames!

The dragon qilin's strength rivaled that of a Heaven-Man realm master; its qilin fire was fiercely violent, scorching the hand that gripped the Darkwater Dragon Pearl black, yet Long Jiaonan behind the pearl remained unharmed.

And at that moment the black shadow that was Shen Mu dropped from above; the shadow became flesh, and his fist slammed into the center of Long Jiaonan's back.

Boom!

Long Jiaonan was blasted away by the blow and struck the stone wall of the dragon vein, the bones of her whole body bursting apart with a crackling roar.

"If there is a next life, come find me for vengeance!"

Shen Mu flicked two fingers; the Carefree Sword pierced the brow of Long Jiaonan, who had not yet slid down the wall, nailing her there.

Shua.

Eight thousand swords came down like rain, studding the stone wall.

Shen Mu pointed his sword fingers behind him; the Carefree Sword returned to its sheath, and the other flying swords tumbled one after another into his Taotie Pouch. And Long Jiaonan on the stone wall was nowhere to be found; only a heap of shredded flesh remained.

She could no longer shed her skin and be reborn.

Shen Mu urged the flute's melody with his vital qi; a fire flood dragon came racing over, and Shen Mu leaped up, crying, "Fatty Dragon!"

The dragon qilin hastily sprang onto the dragon's back and wagged its tail ingratiatingly; only then did Shen Mu see that the creature still had Lord Dragon-Keeper's Taotie Pouch clamped in its jaws.

"Well done!"

Shen Mu rarely offered praise, and the dragon qilin was beside itself with joy. The flute's notes turned urgent; the fire flood dragon veered at once and raced back along the path by which they had come through the underground dragon vein.

"At this fire flood dragon's speed, running full out, it should take less than a day to leave the Desolate Ruins and reach Jingping Kingdom!"

Shen Mu was elated; then he looked back, and his face went ashen. Though the fire flood dragon ran swift as the wind, the other flood dragons followed him as shadow follows form, some flying, some running, some swimming, all lifting their heads and blinking their dragon eyes at him, every one of them looking like it was waiting to be fed.

"I have fed you only once; stop following me everywhere!"

Shen Mu pleaded, "I beg you! You are free; go wherever you like, only do not follow me!"

Those flood dragons of every hue still followed him, heads tilted, watching him, waiting to be fed.

"You are all just like Fatty Dragon!"

Shen Mu was speechless with exasperation; he took Lord Dragon-Keeper's Taotie Pouch and dutifully refined pills to feed these tagalongs.