With a single thought born, the earth dragon was stricken with terror — what a fearsome display of might.
But how had he done that? Meng Hong and the others couldn't help but widen their eyes, their faces full of disbelief.
Even Yue He couldn't make sense of what had just happened. If Yang Kai had engaged the creature in proper combat and beaten it back or slain it, that would have been difficult but still understandable. What they were witnessing now left them thoroughly confused.
What exactly was the earth dragon afraid of? Or rather, what was it about Yang Kai that the earth dragon feared?
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the earth dragon froze in place for a good while before slowly prostrating itself at Yang Kai's feet. Its enormous, undulating mandibles, which moments ago had been gaping wide, were now tightly shut.
No words were spoken, but everyone understood.
The earth dragon was submitting to Yang Kai!
The onlookers were stunned once more!
Yang Kai raised one foot and stepped on the earth dragon's massive head, grinning broadly. "Good thing you know your place!"
If it had been any other exotic beast, a fight would have been the only option. But the earth dragon, to some extent, carried the bloodline of the Dragon Clan. It might have been impure and exceedingly diluted, but as long as it possessed even a trace of dragon blood, it was subject to the constraints and influence of that lineage.
Others couldn't perceive the Golden Holy Dragon's Origin Power within Yang Kai's body, but how could the earth dragon possibly miss it? With the slightest exertion of that power, how could this creature dare act rashly?
"I'll spare your life today, since Cultivation hasn't come easy for you. Now scurry off and stay alive!" Yang Kai commanded in a low voice.
The earth dragon seemed to understand, or perhaps it could simply sense the meaning behind Yang Kai's words. It slowly rose to its full height, turned, and began to slink away in a particular direction. Everywhere it passed, it left behind a broad trail of viscous slime that looked thoroughly revolting.
But it had barely gone a short distance before it suddenly reversed course and returned to Yang Kai's side. It released a series of faint, cryptic spiritual fluctuations while bobbing its head up and down, seemingly trying to communicate something.
Yue He asked curiously, "What does it mean?"
Yang Kai frowned and listened for a long moment before speaking with a peculiar expression. "It seems like it wants to take me somewhere."
No sooner had he spoken than the earth dragon lowered its head and nudged him directly, hoisting Yang Kai onto its massive skull. Then, heedless of anything else, it spun around and broke into a sprint toward its chosen destination. Its thirty-zhang-long body scraped across the earth, sending up a thunderous rumbling.
"Where is it taking you?" Yue He flickered to Yang Kai's side in a flash.
Yang Kai shook his head. "No idea." The earth dragon possessed some degree of intelligence, but it clearly hadn't cultivated far enough to communicate clearly. Its spiritual transmissions were murky and vague, leaving Yang Kai completely in the dark. All he knew was that the destination was important.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Several members of the Great Moon Province flew over and landed on the earth dragon's back. The creature's back wasn't exactly spacious, but it was long enough that a handful of people could stand without issue. The only thing that put the two women off was the strange smell emanating from the earth dragon's body and the layer of slime covering its surface. They had to be extremely careful, lest they get the stuff all over themselves — that was something they absolutely could not accept.
"Nothing better to do anyway. Might as well go with it and see. There could be something good waiting," Yang Kai said.
Meng Hong nodded. "Whatever Brother Yang decides is fine."
Having this exotic beast so inexplicably subdued had greatly bolstered everyone's sense of security. Naturally, wherever Yang Kai went, they would follow.
Yue He gently poked Yang Kai in the ribs, curiosity written all over her face. "What exactly did you do? Why is this thing so obedient to you, and even actively trying to take you somewhere good?"
Yang Kai replied with a straight face. "I conquered it with the power of my personal charm."
Yue He curled her lip. "Shameless!"
The earth dragon hurtled forward at great speed. Before long, they encountered the scattered remnants of the Diting forces. Under Ding Yi's shocked and horrified gaze, they raced past in the distance.
Only after Yang Kai and the others had vanished far beyond the horizon did Ding Yi turn to his subordinates with a grave expression. "Pass on my orders: if anyone encounters that man again, they are under no circumstances to provoke him."
That earlier battle had truly frightened him. The number of people who had died at Yang Kai's hands wasn't enormous, but it was still several dozen — and they hadn't so much as touched the hem of his robe. Now, seeing that he also had the ability to subdue this kind of exotic beast, how could anyone dare oppose him?
Losing people wasn't the real problem; casualties could always be replenished. What mattered was morale, and its destruction would severely undermine his leadership.
The earth dragon moved swiftly. Along the way, they occasionally encountered other cultivators stranded in the area, though each of them gave the creature a wide berth the moment they sensed its imposing aura.
After three days and nights of charging relentlessly forward, Yang Kai, who had been sitting with his eyes closed in meditation, suddenly opened them. "We're almost there."
Yue He turned her head to look at him. "How do you know?"
Yang Kai tapped his foot against the dragon's head. "It told me."
The spiritual fluctuations emanating from the earth dragon had grown markedly more excited and urgent, indicating they were nearing their destination. Yang Kai was growing curious too — what place was this creature so eager to bring him to?
Another few hundred li ahead, Yang Kai's brow suddenly lifted as he focused his gaze toward the distance. He could faintly sense a distinctly different aura emanating from that direction.
Dragon breath!
It was incredibly faint, nearly imperceptible, yet unmistakably pure dragon breath. This kind of aura was invisible to ordinary people — only those who carried the Dragon Clan's Origin could detect it.
Yang Kai's heart skipped a beat. The Taixu Realm had a member of the Dragon Clan? Had the earth dragon brought him here to meet this dragon? But why would it seek out this dragon in the first place?