The ground rolled and boiled like a cauldron of soup, and the colossal Earthwyrm burst up from beneath the earth. Its body was so massive that distant mountain ranges toppled as if they were mere trees caught in a hurricane.
Quinn Shepherd stood atop Dragon‑Qilin’s head as the beast raced forward at full speed, but even that wasn’t enough to keep them steady. The Earthwyrm’s eruption sent a gale crashing into them, nearly knocking Quinn off balance.
That impossibly thick body was only a few dozen yards away—close enough that, from afar, it seemed to brush right past them.
It was a body covered in wood‑grain scales, like the roots of a tree. Each wooden scale was etched with natural rune‑marks, some glinting with metallic light.
Although its body was enormous and made of wood, it moved with uncanny flexibility. As it burst from the earth, Quinn saw its subsidiary roots unfurl like dragon claws—sharp and powerful.
But there were far too many of those dragon claws—hundreds, at least!
Its body also sprouted countless feeder roots, like dragon whiskers and beard. The roots along its back resembled a dragon’s mane—long and flowing, wild in the wind.
The Earthwyrm moved so quickly that lightning flashed and thunder roared all around. The bolts didn’t strike the ground—they radiated outward from the creature itself, forming thick layers of electrical discharge.
Electric arcs sizzled and crackled. When the current passed through Quinn and Dragon‑Qilin, even with both channeling the Ancestral Dragon’s Supreme Mystery to deflect the thunder’s power, their bodies were still riddled with tiny punctures from the lightning!
"Boss, medicine!"
Dragon‑Qilin cried out in panic, "There are places I can’t reach to lick!"
Quinn steadied himself as his flesh rapidly regenerated. He grabbed dozens of bottles of Dragon Spittle Elixir, smashed them, and let the healing liquid flow into Dragon‑Qilin’s wounds.
He looked up—the Earthwyrm’s enormous head was already looming in the clouds. The surrounding mist parted, and its skull vented streams of air, thick smoke rolling out with flashes of fire.
Its breath was so fast that it set the air ablaze.
Yet the air it spewed was foul, reeking of the rot buried deep underground. Smoke billowed everywhere.
This was an Earthwyrm—its physique was truly immense. Unlike other divine dragons whose whiskers are sparse, its beard was a dense mass of feeder roots, long and drifting like curtains from its mouth.
The moment the Earthwyrm erupted, it snapped its jaws at Grandpa Blind and Captain Qu He, who were locked in combat. With a single bite, a chunk of sky disappeared—part of the sky‑chart over Everpeace was bitten away!
Grandpa Blind and Captain Qu He dodged at breakneck speed, barely escaping its maw. They landed atop the Earthwyrm’s massive skull, sprinting across its vast head while trying to kill each other.
Grandpa Blind’s Dragon Reaver God‑Spear transformed into a black dragon—thrusting, withdrawing, darting with lightning speed. Under his control, the spear struck precisely at the nodes of Captain Qu He’s divine arts, breaking his formation.
Captain Qu He attacked with a different style. Though he pressed forward relentlessly, his offense wasn’t close‑quarters. A thousand arms spun, each palm’s divine eye firing beams that collided and ricocheted in midair, weaving a net of light.