At the entrance to the sixth dragon vein, beneath the thousand-dragon relief gate, Quinn Shepherd was followed by a whole herd of flood-dragons, large and small. Heads raised, feet stepping in unison, they trailed him closely, all waiting to be fed.
Drake Dandy was also following, her eyes flickering, glancing now and then at the Red Drake by the Dragon Tamer Gate. This time, the Dragon-Keeper Lord had made Quinn feed the dragon herd, and the Red Drake was among them.
The Red Drake, once the Dragon King’s prized beast, was Cult Master–level and quite familiar with Drake Dandy. Even though the Dragon-Keeper Lord had taken it, Drake Dandy could still control it whenever she played her jade flute.
Quinn kept his eyes fixed ahead, but his mind was spinning, desperately searching for a way to escape.
If the Dragon-Keeper Lord seized that massive Dragon Nest and activated it, Quinn feared he’d be dragged inside along with the Imperial Disc, forced to squat obediently in the nest. How would he ever explain the origin of the Imperial Disc then?
Being torn apart and eaten by a swarm of dragons might be the more acceptable ending—at least it was clean. But what if he couldn’t even die?
If he tried to run now, he’d never outrun the flood-dragons on his tail—and with Drake Dandy here, any escape attempt would earn him a lethal strike from her.
"Maid, sort the herbs and refine the pills."
Quinn tossed the Glutton Dragon Pouch to Drake Dandy, his expression shifting between gloom and calculation.
Though he was a bit farther from the Dragon Nest, the Imperial Disc hanging around his neck was still writhing, almost coming alive, resonating mysteriously with the nest. It was getting hotter and hotter, as if it might transform into a dragon and leap into the nest at any moment.
Drake Dandy swallowed her anger, opened the Glutton Dragon Pouch, and began sorting the spirit herbs. Quinn took out a dragon pearl, gripping it in his palm. He drew on its energy, and torrents of terrifying power surged through his body, flooding every limb and bone—his strength soared instantly!
"No matter what, I have to get out. If the Dragon-Keeper Lord takes the Dragon Nest, there won’t be another chance to escape!"
Quinn reached out and grabbed—instantly, a stream of molten magma shot up from the river below, flying toward him.
"If they want me to feed the dragons, then I’ll feed them! Not just feed—I'll steal them! I can’t outrun the Dragon-Keeper Lord on foot, but riding a drake? That’s a different story!"
He transformed his yuanqi into Black Tortoise–type energy, cooling the magma so the rock solidified but didn’t freeze completely. Bright, glittering droplets of Mysterious-Gold Essence fell out, striking the ground with ringing notes.
What solidified was the Mysterious-Gold Essence in the magma—it needed much higher temperatures to melt, while regular lava melted at a much lower heat.
By using this method, Quinn could quickly extract the Mysterious-Gold Essence from the magma, and the purity was exceptionally high.
Soon he had gathered enough Mysterious-Gold Essence to forge a gold flute. Meanwhile, Drake Dandy was still sorting the spirit herbs, not yet finished.
Quinn placed the gold flute to his lips, ran the Dragon-Controlling Mantra from the Dragon-Raising Codex, and blew yuanqi through the flute. The sound rang out.
It was his first time cultivating the Dragon-Controlling Mantra, so the flute sounded clumsy at first. But after a few tries, Quinn quickly got the hang of it. Several flood-dragons with weaker cultivation began to circle, drawn to the music.