Chapter 99: Chapter 100: Earth Dragon Flipping Over Painting

Song Changsheng focused his gaze and saw that, just as he had thought, the attacker was a Tier Two Low-Grade Earth Dragon.

"You vile creature! How dare you!"

Song Changsheng roared.

He pointed a finger, and a crimson stream of flame shot out from its tip, heading straight for the beast’s stinking maw.

SIZZLE.

The flame landed in the Earth Dragon’s mouth, instantly producing the sound of roasting flesh. But to Song Changsheng’s surprise, an earthy-yellow light emanated from the dragon’s mouth. It snapped its jaws shut and actually swallowed the flame.

"You’ll eat anything, huh? Aren’t you afraid you’ll burst? Then try eating this!" Song Changsheng waved his hand and summoned the Spirit-Slaying Gourd. Yin and Yang Qi descended, shrouding the Earth Dragon.

Unexpectedly, the Earth Dragon pulled its head back and retreated into its burrow. Amidst a rumbling sound, it left behind a deep tunnel.

Song Changsheng didn’t hesitate and leaped in after it. ’As long as this Earth Dragon isn’t eliminated, the mining vein will never know peace. I must cut the weeds and pull out the roots!’

’Besides, I need an Earth Dragon Bead to cultivate the Five Beasts Body Refining Technique. Now that I’ve found one, I can’t let this opportunity slip by!’

The Earth Dragon moved extremely fast underground. Although Song Changsheng’s techniques were outstanding, he wasn’t skilled in Escape Techniques. For a moment, he couldn’t keep up, and the beast was about to vanish from sight.

’This won’t do. I can’t catch it underground. I have to slow it down.

Gourd, slay its spirit!’

The Spirit-Slaying Gourd emitted a hazy glow, spinning before Song Changsheng. An Invisible Blade cut through the space, striking directly at the Earth Dragon’s Sea of Consciousness Space.

The Earth Dragon’s whole body shuddered, and it began to writhe violently. The very earth seemed to tremble.

’A perfect chance.’ The Grand Array inside Song Changsheng’s body activated instantly. A stream of black and white energy formed into a pair of shears and shot toward the Earth Dragon.

An earthy-yellow glow appeared on the Earth Dragon’s body, gathering the surrounding Earth Spiritual Power to form a suit of Rock Armor that completely encased it.

Earth-type Demon Beasts were best at defense, but this armor seemed fragile before the shears formed from Yin and Yang Qi. As rock fragments flew, oily green blood gushed out, and the Earth Dragon was instantly snipped in two.

But the Earth Dragon’s Life Force was tenacious. Being cut in two was no more damaging to it than a human breaking a finger. The wound healed at a visible rate, but it didn’t dare to linger. It turned its head, spat out a giant boulder, and then quickly fled.

Song Changsheng deployed his Protective Spiritual Gang. With a slight tremor, the giant boulder shattered. By now, it was difficult to chase the Earth Dragon, but he had already half-achieved his goal.

He walked over to the severed half, which was still writhing, took out a Long Sword, and sliced it open. Inside, he found its only bone—the spine.

Due to their unique anatomy, Earth Dragons grew in size as their Cultivation increased. For every foot of growth, their spine would also grow, and between each vertebra, a "Spirit Bead" would form. This was the crystallized essence of an Earth Dragon’s Cultivation and could aid Earth Attribute Cultivators in their training.

They weren’t exceptionally valuable, but obtaining them this way saved him a lot of trouble.

From this severed section, Song Changsheng pulled out a three-foot-long spine and dug out three crystal-clear Earth Dragon Beads. Not only was this enough for him to practice the Earth Dragon Flipping Over Painting, but he could also sell the extras for a good amount of Spirit Stones.

After casually tossing a Fireball to incinerate the remains, Song Changsheng returned to the surface. Song Xianhe and the others immediately swarmed around him.

"Young Clan Leader, the Earth Veins just surged! Two mine tunnels collapsed, and there were over a dozen cave-ins. Were you fighting down there?" Song Xianhe asked anxiously.

Song Changsheng nodded. "Yes. It was a Tier Two Low-Grade Earth Dragon. I had a brief exchange with it and managed to injure it severely, but my Escape Technique was lacking, so it got away."

"Ah? Earth Dragons are known for holding grudges! If it comes back for revenge, won’t the mine never know peace?" Song Xianhe said, fraught with worry.

"Clan Elder, do not worry. I will find a way to kill it before I leave." Song Changsheng didn’t have a habit of leaving things half-finished. Since the clan had sent him here, he would naturally handle everything properly before departing.

"You are most righteous, Young Clan Leader. We’ve already prepared your living quarters. I’ll take you there now. It’s just that the conditions here are a bit spartan, so I hope you’ll bear with us."

"You’re too kind, Clan Elder. I will be stationed here for the time being. If anything unusual happens, be sure to inform me immediately."

"Understood."

————

Following Song Changsheng’s arrival, the mining vein fell into a strange period of tranquility. However, Song Changsheng didn’t dare to let his guard down.

’I revealed my abilities in public last time, so the Earth Fire Sect should have an estimate of my strength now,’ Song Changsheng muttered. ’On the surface, they only have Qu Jinsheng, but who knows what’s happening in the shadows. I need to be on high alert.’

After muttering to himself, he held his breath and focused his mind, beginning to comprehend the Earth Dragon Flipping Over Painting in his mind. He had originally planned to follow the order of the Five Elements and cultivate the Cyan Ape Roaring in the Forest Painting first, but plans rarely survive contact with reality. Increasing his strength was the most important thing right now.

The Earth Dragon Flipping Over Painting depicted an incomparably massive Earth Dragon in the middle of flipping its body over. The ground below it had split open into a fissure as deep as an abyss, like a cataclysmic natural disaster.

Song Changsheng took out an Earth Dragon Bead and placed it in his mouth. He began to visualize the painting in his mind. With the bead as a catalyst, the static image in his Sea of Consciousness seemed to come alive.

He saw an Earth Dragon with a body as vast as a mountain range sleeping deep underground. With its every breath, the very earth pulsed in rhythm.

Time flowed by and the stars shifted in their courses. It felt as if it had slept for countless eons. Suddenly, the Earth Dragon’s colossal body moved, just like a sleeper unconsciously turning over in their dreams.

RUMBLE...

The earth began to tremble. Countless streams of Earth Spiritual Power erupted as fissures appeared in the ground, rapidly spreading into the distance...

’But... there’s no depiction of body forging,’ Song Changsheng thought with a frown. The physique of a Demon Beast was far superior to a human’s. Aside from innate factors, their Body Forging Methods were the key.

Different types of Demon Beasts possessed different Body Forging Methods, and most of the methods currently used by human Cultivators were created by drawing inspiration from them. Therefore, Song Changsheng wasn’t surprised that the Five Beasts Body Refining Technique required him to visualize Demon Beasts.

What he couldn’t understand, however, was that while the Earth Dragon in the painting was incomparably powerful, it was always sleeping. He couldn’t find any information related to body forging at all.

’The Daoist Scripture can’t be wrong. If I haven’t found it, there must be a problem with my approach.’

Unable to figure it out, Song Changsheng tried to comprehend the painting several more times. Finally, he discovered a clue.

While the Earth Dragon slept, with every breath it took, all the muscles in its body would undulate in rhythm. It was very similar to the legendary breathing-based body forging methods.

At this thought, Song Changsheng’s spirits lifted. He focused his senses, trying to perceive the Earth Dragon’s breathing frequency and pattern, and soon made a breakthrough.

Song Changsheng began to try breathing in the same way as the Earth Dragon. At first, it felt extremely awkward and uncomfortable, and he even felt a little breathless.

But soon, he discovered the miraculous nature of this breathing method...