Battle of Dou Emperors

"Hide here. Once I draw the Amethyst Winged Lion King away, begin your move."

Inside a valley, Yun Yun set me down. She stood proudly, staring at the Amethyst Winged Lion King's lair in the distance as she spoke with her back to me.

I had been jostled around badly along the way and was rubbing my legs and waist to loosen up. At her words, I paused and stared at that slender yet unyielding back. I nodded heavily and said in a low voice:

"Rest assured, Senior. I will definitely obtain the Amethyst Spirit Crystal!"

Yun Yun nodded lightly. A burst of azure radiance appeared, and Azure Wings condensed behind her once more. Having learned my lesson, I hurriedly backed away several steps, avoiding the gale that sent sand and stones flying.

Shielding my eyes with one hand, I squinted up at Yun Yun as she shot into the sky. For no reason at all, my heart stirred, and I could not help shouting:

"Be careful, Senior!"

The figure in the air paused, but she did not turn back. She continued flying straight toward the distant lair.

"Roar!"

A heaven-shaking beastly roar suddenly erupted nearby. Then, a three-zhang-long purple figure soared into the sky, deep violet flames surging around its body as though it would burn a hole through the heavens!

The wings upon its back, vast enough to blot out the sky, flapped lightly. Its enormous blood-purple eyes locked onto Yun Yun as it roared furiously and savagely toward the heavens:

"Human woman, you dare show yourself again?! Today, I will take your life to avenge the destruction of my horn!"

Yun Yun stopped flying. The Azure Wings behind her fluttered softly as she hovered in the air, facing off against the Amethyst Winged Lion King from a li away.

She gently shook her head, gathering her Dou Qi as her voice carried across the land. "Lion King, why be so angry? Did I not also suffer the Lion King's Sealing Art before?"

"Lion King, my proposal from several days ago still stands. I can trade three fifth-tier magic cores and a Mysterious High-Rank cultivation technique suited to you for one Amethyst Spirit Crystal."

"Die! Human, I will not let you escape again today!"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King had no intention of trading. It roared at the sky and spat out a massive ball of purple fire toward Yun Yun.

I could not help frowning inwardly. Although high-tier magical beasts were no less intelligent than humans—this Lion King could even speak—their control over their emotions was far inferior!

Not to mention a sixth-tier Amethyst Winged Lion King, even seventh-, eighth-, or ninth-tier magical beasts remained irritable and quick to anger because of their origins. They simply could not think rationally.

My gaze fell upon Yun Yun. Looking at that slender figure, although I knew there was enormous power contained within her body and knew that she would not lose, I still could not help feeling uneasy. After all, she was a woman!

"Wind Pushing Stance!"

With a sharp cry, Yun Yun flipped her ten fingers and formed a strange hand seal, then gently pushed it forward. At once, gusts of clear wind blew from her hand seal and swiftly formed a violent tornado that surged toward the purple fireball.

They said Wind Adds to the Fire's Might, but Yun Yun's wind did not strengthen the Lion King's flames. The two forces tangled with each other, then suddenly exploded. A deafening blast rang out, and waves of shock swept rapidly in every direction.

Trees below the battlefield swayed beneath the shockwaves before being uprooted entirely. Countless branches, leaves, sand, and rocks danced through the air, blotting out the sunlight and darkening the sky!

Watching this world-shattering, apocalyptic scene, my heart trembled violently! Leaning against a great tree, I stood there too stunned for words. This... this was a battle between Dou Emperors?

Compared to the rumbling sounds I had heard in the cave before, witnessing it with my own eyes was far more impressive—and far more shocking.

I swallowed, instinctively drawing myself in as I watched the battlefield grow increasingly intense. Looking at the endless stream of techniques, the continuous thunderous explosions and angry shouts, a feeling of envy and inferiority rose within me for no reason.

Dou Emperor...

To a One-Star Dou Shi like me, I was probably no more than an ant in the eyes of a Dou Emperor, right? With a wave of a hand—no, perhaps even with a single finger—they could easily crush me to death.

No wonder. No wonder Yun Yun treated me this way. If not for benefiting from Nalan Yanran and the Nalan Family, perhaps Yun Yun would not even have spared me a glance?

As for the so-called debt of saving my life, she would probably just casually toss me a few rewards and consider the matter settled...

I looked up at the two figures already battling high in the sky, one purple and one azure. At times they faced each other from afar, at times they circled and maneuvered, and at times they collided violently.

I slowly withdrew my gaze and took a deep breath, calming my jumbled thoughts. Looking toward the Amethyst Winged Lion King's lair in the distance, I gathered my courage and confidence and silently cried, So what if they are Dou Emperors?

As long as my plan succeeded, I would surely become a Dou Zong powerhouse!

After cocking the Dragon Slayer Crossbow, I lowered my body and moved swiftly through the dense forest. Using trees and boulders as cover, I quietly climbed to the area near the Amethyst Winged Lion King's lair atop the mountain.

I hid behind a large boulder and cautiously poked my head out. There were quite a few magical beasts gathered around the lair.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King had gained intelligence, so it had gathered a group of underlings to guard its lair. Unfortunately for them, the battle in the sky was fierce today, and waves of pressure kept descending. These magical beasts, at most third-tier and not yet intelligent, had been frightened into lying prone on the ground, trembling all over.

I paused. Since I had scattered medicinal powder over myself to conceal my aura, I was not worried about those magical beasts with keen senses of smell.

After looking around, I circled around from one side and climbed behind the cave entrance, directly above it. Looking down, the ground at the cave entrance was far below—at least sixty paces down!

Even the enormous figures of the third-tier magical beasts sprawled before the cave entrance looked somewhat tiny.

Fortunately, the cave entrance itself was not small either. It was six paces wide and ten paces tall!

I took a deep breath and circulated my Dou Qi, slowly condensing Purple Cloud Wings. Looking back, I saw that now that I had broken through to Dou Shi, my Purple Cloud Wings had grown longer than before and become more solid.

After staring for a while longer at the many magical beasts with their backs to me, confirming that they had been frightened so badly they would only tremble and would neither move recklessly nor turn around, I stepped forward a few paces and jumped down.

The Purple Cloud Wings flapped softly. I spun through the air and shot straight into the cave.

The instant I entered the cave, my vision suddenly went black. Panic surged in my heart. Had some magical beast attacked me?

I gripped the Dragon Slayer Crossbow tightly and strained to look and listen. Yet I could see nothing before me, hear nothing with my ears, and no attack came.

Confusion rose in my heart. Then, the darkness before my eyes faded, and light returned.

I instinctively turned to look outside the cave. Seeing that the magical beasts had not noticed me, I immediately flew deeper into the cave. After turning a corner and no longer being able to see the entrance, I withdrew the Purple Cloud Wings, carefully leaned against one side of the cave wall, and let out a long breath.

I began examining the cave interior and realized that this was not a cavern excavated through the Amethyst Winged Lion King's brute strength, but one naturally formed.

Chunks of purple crystal were embedded in the cave walls, their faint violet glow flickering and keeping the cave from falling into darkness. Instead, it gave the place a touch of mystery.

Only then did I understand why my eyes had suddenly gone blind when I first entered the cave. It had not been a magical beast's attack. My eyes had simply gone abruptly from brightness into darkness, causing temporary blindness...

I could not help cursing myself. I truly had no experience. I had actually forgotten even middle school physics.

If a magical beast really had been guarding the cave, with my eyes unable to see and my ability to resist greatly weakened, I would have either died on the spot or been Seriously Injured!

Thinking of that terrifying outcome, my heart began pounding faster without my control, and my breathing became somewhat hurried.

Fighting, fighting...

This was truly a field of study—a profound one! It was not enough to simply compare cultivation realms, techniques, and Dou Skills. All kinds of other factors had to be considered as well: environment, terrain, temperature, lighting, wind speed, and so on. And the cost—was often one's life.

I swallowed hard, calming my uneasy and agitated mind. A wealthy man does not sit beneath a crumbling wall. In the future, I must avoid personally fighting others whenever possible. This... is simply too dangerous.

Clutching the Dragon Slayer Crossbow tightly, I once again made my way deeper into the cave, moving with extreme caution. Yet I never encountered any magical beasts. Perhaps they were all outside, trembling in fear?

When I reached the end of the passage, the space before me suddenly opened up. It was an enormous cavern, thirty paces high and as broad as a palace.

I abruptly stopped, my eyes fixed on the center of the cavern as my breathing began to quicken—there stood a high platform piled with purple crystals, and atop it rested a purple crystal sphere the size of a human head!

A dim, deep-purple glow shimmered from it, and waves of heat spread outward, making the entire cavern somewhat stuffy.

I let out a long breath and slowly shifted my gaze away. If I remembered correctly, this purple crystal sphere was the Symbiotic Amethyst Source!

The Symbiotic Amethyst Source was a unique accompanying treasure produced when the Amethyst Winged Lion clan gave birth to its young. As long as a young beast consumed it at the peak of the fourth tier, it could break through to the fifth tier without any obstacles.

The leap from the fourth tier to the fifth was comparable to a human breaking through from Dou Spirit to Dou Wang. A single rank apart was truly like the difference between heaven and earth!

Yet this item could allow a young beast to break through its rank without obstruction, showing just how powerful its effects were. More importantly, Yun Yun did not know of this item, which meant I could keep it all for myself.

But to claim it for myself, I first had to deal with that young Amethyst Winged Lion King!

Because the Symbiotic Amethyst Source had already fused into one with the purple crystal platform beneath it, I could not simply pick it up and take it away. I could only choose to break it apart.

However, the purple crystalline layer surrounding the Symbiotic Amethyst Source was exceptionally hard. With my strength, I would have to borrow the Amethyst Spirit Crystal.

I stepped forward with my back to the Symbiotic Amethyst Source, slowly making my way deeper into the lair. That young Amethyst Winged Lion King should be a third-tier magical beast—and one at the very peak of the third tier.

Unfortunately, unfortunately...

I shook my head. Though I was about to face that young lion, there was not the slightest fear on my face. That was because I had long known of its existence. Knowing both myself and my enemy, how could I not win every battle?

The great killing weapon I had brought all the way from the Nalan Family could finally be put to use.