Symbiotic Amethyst Source

Far from the cave containing the Symbiotic Amethyst Source, the stifling heat had weakened considerably. I slowed my breathing, softened my footsteps, and made my way deeper into the nest along the passage.

At the end of the passage was another cave. I nearly held my breath as I pressed against one side of the passage wall and slowly approached the entrance.

Peeking my head out, I saw a smaller Amethyst Winged Lion King lying in the middle of the cave. Unconcerned with the commotion outside, it was sleeping peacefully.

At the sight, I nearly laughed aloud. After being unlucky for so many days, I had never expected my luck to become this good the moment I entered the Amethyst Winged Lion King's nest. This place was practically my lucky ground!

Holding my breath and suppressing the excitement in my heart, I slowly backed away. After retreating around a bend and losing sight of the Little Lion King, I crouched down lightly, reached out to stroke my Ring of Holding, and let out a strange cackling laugh.

"Little Lion King, Little Lion King, have a taste of the Nalan Family's Dragon Hunting Crossbow..."

I muttered, sinking my consciousness into the Ring of Holding. Then, as my Dou Qi circulated, an enormous object abruptly appeared before me.

It stood as high as my chest and was roughly ten feet long. Its entire body was coated black, black with a reddish tint. It also had three huge bow arms, two in front and one behind—the front ones were forward-facing, while the rear one was reversed. This was clearly a large ballista!

My hand touched the Dragon Hunting Crossbow, and its surface was icy cold. Yet the smile on my face only grew brighter. Dragon Hunting Crossbows were specially equipped for armies. Their power was so great that even Dou Spirit experts would not dare face them head-on, let alone a mere Rank 3 Magical Beast.

I took out the matching crossbow bolt. It was a step long and as thick as a baby's arm, practically a short spear. But after thinking it over, I put it away and took out another bolt.

This bolt was the same size, but it was much heavier and had a matte finish. A fire-attributed magic core was embedded in its tip.

This was a specially made crossbow bolt... or rather, it was already a magic-core weapon!

It was expensive to make, but immensely powerful. Fired from the Dragon Hunting Crossbow, it could seriously injure even a Dou Spirit expert.

I chuckled quietly and set the specially made bolt aside. Then I placed both hands on the winch and began winding the Dragon Hunting Crossbow. Then... then I could no longer laugh...

The Dragon Hunting Crossbow was simply not meant to be operated by one person. Its tremendous power naturally required tremendous force to wind. In the army, it took thirty Dou Zhes to draw a Dragon Hunting Crossbow!

Of course, that was for "sustainable development." Thirty Dou Zhes could wind the Dragon Hunting Crossbow repeatedly without exhausting themselves. As a Dou Master—at worst, I would only exhaust myself once. I could still draw it alone.

I took a deep breath, gathered all the Dou Qi in my body, and began turning the winch. The bow arms of the Dragon Hunting Crossbow slowly shifted, while its bowstring continuously gave off twanging sounds as it tightened.

It was like a starving beast slumbering in the dark, slowly baring its fangs...

Beads of sweat the size of beans began to seep from my forehead, and my breathing grew heavy. Drawing the Dragon Hunting Crossbow was still somewhat beyond me.

By the end, my back was soaked with sweat. My arms, legs, and entire body were trembling. But I did not give up. I still gritted my teeth, cursed under my breath, and turned the winch with all my strength!

"Click."

A crisp sound rang out as the bowstring was finally drawn. I let out a long breath and released the winch. My body was nearly limp with exhaustion, and I looked as though I had been pulled from the water.

I panted heavily for a while before recovering. Supporting myself against the Dragon Hunting Crossbow, I struggled to stand and reached for the specially made bolt at my side. My arm shook, and the bolt suddenly felt incredibly heavy. I nearly lost my grip and dropped it to the ground.

I gave a bitter smile and used both hands to place the specially made bolt onto the crossbow frame. Once it was positioned properly, I raised my head and looked ahead, a long-lost smile appearing on my face.

"Little Lion King, I'm ready. What about you?"

I took out the Dragon Slayer Crossbow, went around the bend before me, and saw the cave again. In the center, the little Amethyst Winged Lion King was still sleeping soundly—even while its mother was outside fighting Yun Yun to the death.

Was that innocence? Or was it simply cold-hearted by nature?

I shook my head. What did I care? Kill it, seize its Amethyst Spirit Crystals, take its Symbiotic Amethyst Source—excellent, truly excellent!

I raised the Dragon Slayer Crossbow, aimed at the Little Lion King's head, and fired. With a sharp hiss, the bolt shot forth. Unfortunately, the Little Lion King's hide was too thick. The bolt merely cut a small wound and failed to truly injure it.

"Roar!"

The Little Lion King was startled awake. It sprang to its feet, lowered its body, and glared at me fiercely. A drop of blood seeped from the wound on its face. It let out a low roar and suddenly pounced toward me.

I gave a cold chuckle. I was afraid this beast would not come!

I put away the Dragon Slayer Crossbow, turned around the bend, and ran behind the Dragon Hunting Crossbow. Then I rummaged through my Ring of Holding and took out a small hammer. Raising it high, I stared fixedly at the passage before me.

"Roar!"

With a roar, a purple figure ten feet long abruptly appeared before my eyes.

My eyes widened as I stared at that purple figure, and the small hammer in my hand crashed down.

With a dull smack, the trigger of the Dragon Hunting Crossbow was struck open. The specially made bolt, as thick as a baby's arm, shot out with a piercing whistle, stabbing toward the Little Lion King like a dark-red bolt of lightning.

The Little Lion King had only just rushed around the bend when the bolt caught it completely off guard. It entered through its chest and tore out through its back. The Little Lion King immediately let out a low whimper, toppled to the ground, and could no longer move.

Great quantities of blood gushed from its wounds and flowed across the ground. The Little Lion King had not yet fully died. It struggled and roared on the floor, but none of its former majesty remained. Its cries were as weak and helpless as a kitten's whimpers.

Blood continued to flow, and a faint scent of blood began spreading through the air, lingering beneath my nose. I rubbed my nose uncomfortably. Though I had killed many people and many Magical Beasts, I probably would never get used to this unpleasant stench of blood.

Then I frowned and looked down at the pool of blood. Sound was not a problem. This was deep within the nest, and the purple crystals on the inner walls seemed to have a soundproofing effect. The noise could not travel out at all.

But the scent of blood...

Even an ordinary dog could smell it from two or three miles away, let alone the Magical Beasts at the entrance to the nest.

I looked at the groaning Little Lion King, and my gaze turned cold. Flipping my hand, I drew a sharp sword and walked steadily toward it.

The Little Lion King could not yet speak, but its intelligence was not low. It understood what it was about to face. It struggled to stand, but its injuries were too severe. Its limbs trembled violently, and after taking only two steps forward, it collapsed onto the ground.

"Thunder Crescent Slash!"

I shouted softly as Dou Qi circulated through my body, unleashing the Mysterious High-Rank Dou Technique I had learned from my family's Scripture Pavilion.

The Dou Qi wound through the meridians in my body, turning left and right in a circuit that formed a strange energy resonance. At last, it extended through both my hands and into my sword.

Lightning immediately flashed across the blade. I paused, stamped my foot, and shot forward abruptly, swinging my sharp sword down.

A dazzling crescent-shaped streak of lightning remained in the air, while a blinding fountain of blood burst from the ground. For an instant, the two seemed to mirror one another, suspended in the air, before one dissipated and the other scattered down.

I circulated my Dou Qi and condensed a thin layer of Dou Qi Armor around myself, blocking the rain of blood outside it.

Scalding blood carrying a thick stench slowly ran down the Dou Qi Armor. Looking down, I saw that the Little Lion King's neck had been split wide open. Its head hung limply from its neck. It was completely dead.

Its eyes held fear, terror, attachment, confusion, and even savagery and brutality. Its purple-glowing eyes stared fixedly at me, while its mouth full of sharp teeth hung slightly open, as though it still wanted to rush over and bite me.

Complicated. Truly complicated...

I was slightly stunned. Given the Little Lion King's birth, its intelligence should not have been inferior to a human's. I fell silent for a moment before finally laughing at myself. I had already killed plenty of people. What was one beast worth?

Crouching down, I reached out and touched the Little Lion King's corpse. It was still hot to the touch, without the slightest chill. I spread my soul power over its body and circulated my Dou Qi. The corpse immediately vanished as I stored it in my Ring of Holding.

A peak Rank 3 Magical Beast, and one born of the Amethyst Winged Lion King—it was treasure from head to toe. Not even a scrap could be wasted.

I stood up and took out a bottle of medicinal powder from my Ring of Holding. I gently sprinkled it over the blood on the ground. The powder reacted with the blood, producing a continuous sizzling sound.

Before long, the blood turned into a pool of murky slime. The murky slime then gave off a strange, faint fragrance that neutralized the bloody smell in the air...

No longer wasting time, I waved my hand and put away the Dragon Hunting Crossbow. Then I rushed into the Little Lion King's cave and immediately spotted a small pile of purple crystals.

These crystals differed from purple crystal. I took out the small crystal Yun Yun had given me, and warmth spread through my hand—sure enough, these were Amethyst Spirit Crystals!

My face lit up with joy. The Purple Crystal Winged Lion Clan could only shed one piece of Amethyst Spirit Crystal from their bodies every twenty years. Yet this small pile before me probably contained dozens of them!

Unfortunately, these things were of little use to the Purple Crystal Winged Lion Clan. Their accumulation over hundreds of years had all become my windfall!

I laughed heartily, waved my hand to store them away, and hurried back to the cave containing the Symbiotic Amethyst Source.

Although this was my second time entering this cave, it still amazed me. The cave was simply too high and too vast. Stone stalactites hung inverted from the ceiling, as though they might fall at any moment.

But I had no time to admire it now. Taking out an Amethyst Spirit Crystal, I walked toward the Symbiotic Amethyst Source.

It gave off a dim purple-black glow like flame. The closer I approached, the hotter I felt. By the end, I had begun to sweat, my back drenched.

Still, that was all. A Symbiotic Amethyst Source merely originating from a Rank 6 Magical Beast was not powerful enough to keep me from approaching it.

I stared at the Symbiotic Amethyst Source and examined it closely. It was roughly the size of a human head, and its surface was covered in a thick layer of purple crystal. One glance was enough to tell that it was extremely sturdy.

But as the saying went, the one who tied the knot must untie it. Though the surface of the Symbiotic Amethyst Source was sturdy, its nemesis was precisely the Amethyst Spirit Crystal.

I held a jade bottle in my left hand, raised the Amethyst Spirit Crystal in my right, and slashed down hard. The surface soon cracked open, and the Symbiotic Amethyst Source began to gush out.

I quickly held the jade bottle beneath it, not wasting even a drop. After happily collecting six and a half bottles of Symbiotic Amethyst Source, no more flowed from the purple crystal.

I felt somewhat annoyed and slapped the purple crystal surface hard, only to find that it was truly empty. Still unwilling to accept it, I used the Amethyst Spirit Crystal to quickly carve out a large opening, then stuck out my tongue and licked the inner walls clean. Only then did I shake my head smugly and leave, fully satisfied.