Chapter 774: Earth Dragon Corpse Mutation

“Master, there’s something wrong with this dragon carcass!”

“Hmm, step back.”

The old beggar reached out and pushed, signaling Lu Xiaoyou and Yang Zong to step back a few paces. They didn't retreat far, just enough to be a few steps behind the old beggar.

After the faint strange noise, the dragon corpse fell silent again, as if the previous sound had been an illusion. However, cultivators like the old beggar and his disciples wouldn't believe in mere illusions.

“Hiding, show yourself!”

Deep underground in the mountain range, the old beggar didn't bother with incantations. He simply reached out towards the earth dragon’s corpse, subtly making a grabbing motion with his empty hand.

A rumbling sound…

As the surroundings began to vibrate faintly, large streams of pale yellow light, seemingly composed of earth energy, converged from all directions. They gathered around the earth dragon’s body in the direction of the old beggar’s hand, penetrating into its scales and other areas.

“Crackling… crackling…”

A sound like grinding rocks continuously emanated from the earth dragon’s body, and the faint vibrations around them never ceased. After about ten breaths, faint black smoke began to seep from the earth dragon’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

Though described as smoke, this black substance was more like tendrils of black sewage floating in the air. Even as it spilled out, it lingered around the earth dragon’s corpse without dissipating.

“Hmm?”

The old beggar’s eye twitched; he suddenly sensed something was amiss. But before he could react, the earth dragon in front of him abruptly opened its eyes and simultaneously its mouth without any warning.

“Roooar—”

The dragon’s roar exploded at close range, and a massive dragon maw filled with sharp teeth and fangs lunged to bite the old beggar. The biting force of dragons was astonishing; even cultivators several levels higher in cultivation could be torn apart if caught by a dragon without proper and timely defense.

At that moment, the old beggar felt a significant sense of danger. Almost instinctively, he unleashed his magical power, forming a vast white barrier around his body.

The barrier of immortal light resembled a slick sphere of light, detaching the moment it touched the dragon's mouth. At the same instant, the old beggar rapidly retreated, grabbing his two disciples with a hand on each, pulling them back with him.

“Rumble… rumble…”

“Boom… boom… boom…”

The earth’s veins began to become severely unstable. Even the light of the old beggar and his two disciples’ earth escape technique seemed to wobble like a bubble caught in a strong wind.

“Roooar—”

The dragon’s roars continuously erupted nearby, and streams of murky, spectral light, mixed with earth energy, swept across the surroundings. Wherever they passed, rocks fractured, lava emerged, and even underground lightning struck, unleashing various destructive forces that horrified the old beggar. This wasn't just the earth dragon’s power; it was the very power of the earth itself.

“The earth’s energy is chaotic. The underground is unfavorable for us. Let’s go up!”

The situation was quite dangerous, and considering his two disciples were right behind him, the old beggar had to look out for them. So, he pulled them upward, ascending quickly. His earth escape speed was almost comparable to flying, and within a short time, they had passed through deep layers of soil and rock, bursting out from the mountain hollow.

As the old beggar and his two disciples, enveloped in immortal light, soared into the sky, they looked down, around, and into the distance. Everywhere, there was a rumbling vibration, and as far as the eye could see, the earth was shaking and mountains were trembling.

“Master, did that earth dragon’s corpse reanimate?”

In truth, Lu Xiaoyou and Yang Zong were the most startled just now, terrified their master would be caught in the dragon’s maw. But everything happened too quickly for them to even warn him. The old beggar had already swiftly disengaged and brought them rocketing out from underground.

“It’s not entirely a reanimation,” Yang Zong said, speaking on behalf of his master, his face still showing undisguised astonishment. “It’s more likely the doing of whoever killed this earth dragon.”

“It seems these individuals don’t even shy away from dragons,” the old beggar remarked, glancing at his two disciples out of the corner of his eye. “Killing an earth dragon is one thing, but to defile its corpse? They’re simply audacious!”

“You two, keep your distance. Now is not the time to discuss whether they’ve defiled a dragon. Your master is about to have quite a fight with that reanimated earth dragon!”

Lu Xiaoyou and Yang Zong exchanged glances. Without a word, they both flew towards the horizon, leaving only the old beggar in the relatively lower sky.

The earthquake on the surrounding land gradually calmed down from its wild phase, though aftershocks still trembled. However, at this stage, the old beggar and his two disciples had no spare energy to consider the suffering the earthquake was causing humanity; their focus was entirely on what lay beneath the mountain hollow.

Even Lu Xiaoyou and Yang Zong were constantly ready to act. Though they had great confidence in their master, they also gathered a storm, prepared to assist him at any moment. Even if they couldn't play a decisive role, they could at least provide some interference.

“Roooar—”

The dragon’s roars continued to echo underground, but the old beggar waited and waited, yet the earth dragon didn’t emerge. Instead, the earthquake, which had previously subsided, began to intensify once more.

Amidst the roaring of the earth, some mountain bodies below began to crack, and enormous fissures tore open in all directions. Simultaneously, foul energy continuously seeped out from these cracks.

“You only cause trouble underground? Do you think that means I can’t touch you?”

The old beggar, infuriated, let out a laugh. His body slightly bent forward in the air. His magical power surged, yet there was no intense immortal light; instead, it seemed like rising heat disturbing the light, creating shimmering distortions around him, especially above.

The next moment, the old beggar abruptly plunged his hands downwards, and a profound, mysterious aura instantly spread from the sky to the ground.

“Rumble…”

The earth thundered without lightning. The surrounding earth energy resonated at this moment. The old beggar’s palms turned outwards, as if grasping the earth’s fissures, his old hands slowly prying them apart, as though holding something immensely heavy.

“Open—”

“Rumble… rumble… rumble…”

The sound of the earth shaking resumed, but this time it wasn't a widespread tremor; it was the vibration of this specific mountain range. Vast expanses of soil and rock layers were torn apart, and the mountain's structure itself began to collapse. The old beggar paid no mind to these details, separating chunks of earth and rock to the left and right, while simultaneously drawing earth energy to his sides.

Just as a master of water control can part rivers and seas to create a path, the old beggar, with immense magical power, swiftly split open an area four to five *zhang* (about 12 to 15 meters) wide in the earth, which was far more solid and resistant than water. Below, a roaring earth dragon could vaguely be seen.

Almost at the very instant the earth parted, the old beggar’s right hand suddenly formed a claw and reached down into the ground.

“Bind the earth, capture the dragon! Come up!”

“Rumble… rumble… rumble…”

The moment the old beggar remotely clawed to seize the dragon, the recently parted earth below began to rapidly close, almost as if cooperating with his technique to squeeze the earth dragon upward. The old beggar had, in fact, gained the upper hand in the manipulation of earth energy.

“Roooar…”

“Stop your damned racket!”

The old beggar cursed, and his other hand, which he didn’t know when he had raised, suddenly swung downwards. A gale, faintly shimmering with light, swept down.

The earth dragon’s maw was slapped fiercely, spitting out a mass of dark, foul dragon saliva.

“Rise—”

With an angry roar from the old beggar, a massive earth dragon, twenty to thirty *zhang* long, was forcefully dragged out from underground. At that moment, the earth’s fissures slowly closed.

“Hmph, just as expected, it’s merely a corpse puppet,” the old beggar snorted. “Its use of earth energy is nowhere near that of a true earth dragon; it only knows brute force destruction.”

Such an earth dragon, now that it had been pulled from underground, couldn't cause much trouble in front of the old beggar, even on the surface.

“Roar… roar…”

As if caught by an invisible giant hand around its neck, the earth dragon constantly thrashed its body, trying to break free. The old beggar wasn't as relaxed as he appeared; veins bulged on his right hand, as wrestling with a dragon through the air was not his forte.

“Time for you to die again.”

“Roar…”

The reanimated earth dragon suddenly twisted its neck and spat out a mouthful of foul water upwards. A nauseating stench instantly erupted, and within the putrid liquid, small, twisted substances writhed.

Even the old beggar felt a wave of nausea from the smell. While his grip didn't loosen, the magical light restraining the earth dragon seemed to waver under the foul spray, allowing the dragon to break free and fly forward.

The old beggar waved his sleeve, conjuring a gale that dispersed the foul aura. Stepping onto a cloud, he shot forward enveloped in immortal light, giving chase.

“Trying to run? Have you asked this old beggar’s permission?”

The old beggar, despite starting later, arrived first. With a flash of immortal light, he caught up to the earth dragon ahead. He appeared dozens of *zhang* above the dragon’s head, in an inverted, head-down position. His right palm struck down sharply, like a dragonfly dipping its tail, landing squarely on the earth dragon’s forehead.

The entire flying earth dragon shuddered slightly. The old beggar had already transformed into light and shot skyward, while foul blood burst from the earth dragon’s seven orifices. The dragon became wobbly but still continued to fly rapidly forward.

“Hmm? It didn’t fall?”

The old beggar was slightly surprised. By all accounts, that last palm strike had been quite powerful, and the earth dragon should have plummeted to the ground. But he quickly realized that while a corpse dragon might not be as mystical as a living one, its endurance had increased.

‘One palm isn’t enough, then another it is!’

The old beggar didn't just strike once, but three times in a row. Even if the corpse dragon tried to dodge, it couldn’t escape, only managing to resist with continuously gushing foulness and dragon energy, somehow enduring the blows.

On one occasion, after taking a blow, it even quickly coiled and rose, attempting to entangle the old beggar, its dragon claws and tail sweeping ceaselessly, accompanied by whirlwinds.

The old beggar understood: though the earth dragon was dead, its dragon pearl seemed to be intact, preventing its essence from dissipating. This essence was now being recklessly released, as if millennia of accumulated cultivation were gushing forth like water from an opened sluice gate, empowering it to fight him.

“Crackle… boom…” “Crackle… rumble…”

Lightning continuously struck from the sky, hitting the earth dragon. This was Lu Xiaoyou and Yang Zong casting spells, but dragons inherently possessed high resistance to heavenly lightning. Even though the earth dragon was dead and filled with evil energy, this kind of lightning had little effect on it, merely making the dragon appear wreathed in electric light.

“Master, the human energy is strong in the distance. I fear we’re approaching human settlements!”

The old beggar’s heart lurched. He suddenly realized that either this reanimated earth dragon still possessed considerable intelligence, or someone was remotely (or even closely) controlling it at this moment. It was deliberately heading towards human settlements.