Qilin Lion

Three days later, the two rose and departed.

Thirteen gently hoisted Sanbao onto his back with one hand and drifted rapidly down the mountain. Compared to the ascent, Thirteen's pace was clearly much lighter and swifter. Sanbao felt as if they were traveling at the speed of lightning. Soon, they arrived at the center of the grassy valley. It was here that Sanbao had completed his Blood Fusion and the rebirth of his soul. However, there was no trace of the Crimson Flame Eagle left; only withered grass and red feathers remained across the ground.

This was certainly no place of benevolence. In just a few days, the Crimson Flame Eagle had been devoured, bones and skin alike, by other Spirit Beasts, leaving nothing but a mess of feathers.

After a brief pause, the two sped off toward the southwest.

Several hours later, Thirteen's speed suddenly slowed. Sanbao, slumped on Thirteen's back, felt drowsy. Seeing Thirteen decelerate, he spoke up:

"Thirteen, are you a bit tired? If you are, let's take a rest~"

"I'm not tired, Sanbao, but we may have run into a little trouble. You must hold onto me tightly in a moment~" Thirteen's expression was extremely grave. His pace slowed gradually, and after traveling less than a hundred meters, he came to a complete stop.

"Did we encounter a powerful Spirit Beast? Are they lying in ambush somewhere?" Sanbao scanned his surroundings. He didn't notice anything unusual, but his mind was no longer hazy; he looked around with vigilance.

High-level Spirit Beasts possess naturally keen senses. Without a certain level of strength, they would never dare to ambush a Spirit Emperor powerhouse like Thirteen.

Unaccountably, Sanbao felt a particularly dangerous signal coming from the grass to their front left.

"Thirteen, there is danger to the front left~"

"Indeed, Sanbao, but it is not just the front left. There is also one to the front right..." No sooner had Thirteen finished speaking than two massive, striped monsters lunged out from the left and right sides of the path. They were two peak fifth-rank Lightning Leopards.

Thirteen's expression was solemn. As his body retreated rapidly, his right hand suddenly lashed out with a streak of cyan light. At the same time, he quickly withdrew his left hand—which had been supporting Sanbao—and swung his palm, colliding fiercely with the Lightning Leopard pouncing from the left. Both sides were shaken back several meters.

Sanbao's vision blurred. He felt a violent sway and nearly fell from Thirteen's back, his chest feeling incredibly stifled by a powerful aura.

Awoo...

One of the Lightning Leopards let out a pained howl.

It was injured.

Compared to the one on the left, the one on the right was not so lucky. The suddenly appearing cyan light had left a bright red mark on its forelimb.

After the collision, both sides entered a brief standoff. The two Spirit Beasts clearly had not expected the human before them to be so strong, suffering minor injuries within a single exchange.

This was still with Thirteen's body not yet fully recovered and the added burden of Sanbao. In normal circumstances, these two beasts would never have lasted ten rounds against Thirteen.

Whether from nervousness or excitement, Sanbao was trembling all over, yet his hands held onto Thirteen tightly. Looking down, he saw that Thirteen's right hand was holding a sharp, purple-red small sword. The cyan light from just a moment ago had been emitted by this blade.

To be able to make a sword emit light that kills, and to repel that massive Lightning Leopard in an instant—this was the ability of a high-level Spirit Cultivator. It was Sanbao's first time witnessing the power of a Spirit Cultivator, and he was inwardly horrified.

During the standoff, both sides were gauging the other's strength. Naturally, this was also a contest of momentum. After all, Thirteen was a four-star Spirit Emperor. Although his injuries had not fully healed, his aura was formidable, and as time passed, this momentum became increasingly stable, even showing signs of a potential explosive strike.

Just as the two beasts sensed this, Thirteen slowly raised the sword in his hand, preparing to launch an active attack. At that moment, both beasts let out a low growl simultaneously, then rapidly dove into the grass ahead, quickly disappearing into the dense forest in the distance.

The two beasts had ultimately been suppressed by Thirteen's momentum and chose to abandon the attack.

"They just left? Thirteen, why didn't you finish them off?" Seeing the two beasts depart, Sanbao felt a faint sense of disappointment; a spectacular duel had gone down the drain.

"Killing them? That is easier said than done. Look."

Thirteen raised the right hand he had used to trade blows with the Lightning Leopard. It was already completely red and even slightly swollen. It turned out that in the recent clash, Thirteen had also suffered a bit, rather than easily repelling the two aggressive Spirit Beasts in one move as Sanbao had imagined.

"The peak fifth-rank Lightning Leopards are not only immensely strong but also incredibly fast. I have not fully recovered, and with you to look after, I could only defend passively; I couldn't launch an active assault. Even if I had the heart to kill them, I lacked the strength to do so. Of course, it would be wishful thinking for them to kill me. If we really fought to the death, it would only end in mutual destruction. See? These two leopards are quite smart; they chose to retreat."

After this incident, the two became even more cautious. With Thirteen's injuries gradually improving, the rest of the journey was uneventful. Two months later, the two finally walked out of the Thousand Desolation Mountains.

During this period, Sanbao truly witnessed the power of a high-level Spirit Cultivator. In the eyes of ordinary people, fierce jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards were, in the eyes of a high-level Spirit Cultivator like Thirteen, no different from ants—utterly unable to withstand a single blow.

Large, low-intelligence Spirit Beasts often tried to treat the two as prey, but as long as Thirteen gave his sword a light wave, their next meal of roasted meat was basically guaranteed.

Of course, there were times when the two were in a sorry state. Once, they accidentally killed a Sharp-Beaked Bee that was blocking their path, which resulted in the retaliation of tens of thousands of its kin. The two were chased until they were scurrying in a panic, looking quite disheveled.

"Boss, I want a large bowl of noodles, the biggest bowl you have. Throw in an egg while you're at it—no, make it two!" When the two arrived at the first small town outside the Thousand Desolation Mountains, Sanbao rushed impatiently to a noodle stall.

"I'll have the same~" Thirteen was unhurried, merely glancing slightly at his surroundings.

"Alright, coming right up, guests~" The stall owner, who doubled as the waiter, replied while muttering under his breath: "These two—one is too old, the other too young, yet their appetites are enormous!"

Little did he know that neither Sanbao nor Thirteen had seen the comforts of civilization for many days; the delicious aroma of the noodles naturally whetted their appetites.

"Have you heard? The Tianlan Empire in the north has changed dynasties. It's no longer the reign of the Purple-Eyed Golden Peng~"

"Go on, Old Zhang, that's old news. I knew about that three months ago. They say the new imperial family is a Divine Beast Family called the Qilin Lion. They are not just ordinarily powerful. I heard that the Qilin Lion can open its mouth and inhale in mid-air, swallowing an entire city into its belly..."

"Zhao San, you're talking nonsense. Even if it had that ability, it wouldn't have a belly that big. Don't you all agree..."

"Whether its belly is big or not is none of our business. But I heard the Phoenix Immortal Pavilion has a new headliner; that experience is truly soul-stirring..."

The small town was exceptionally lively. Even at this tiny noodle stall, one could hear news about the Tianlan Empire. This surprised Sanbao, though he was equally surprised by the long delay in the news reaching them.

In fact, the Tianlan Luo Clan had fallen two years ago. For the news to only reach here now, the speed was slow indeed. If it were his previous life, such major news would likely have spread across the entire world within minutes.

Soon, two large, steaming bowls of egg noodles were placed before them. The two wolfed them down and quickly polished them off. Afterward, they looked up at each other and realized their eating speeds were neck and neck, finally breaking into laughter.

"Delicious, simply delicious... Haha, haha."

"Thirteen, where do you think we should go now?" Having walked out of the Thousand Desolation Mountains and temporarily left danger behind, Sanbao finally realized that he was currently a homeless child. Fortunately, he had a super-expert like Thirteen by his side, so he didn't worry about his future life.

"Sanbao, where do you think we should go?" Thirteen smiled without answering, instead asking Sanbao in return.

"I think we should first find a place to live in seclusion, and wait until our strength is sufficient before fighting our way back to Lanjing." Sanbao, of course, knew Thirteen was testing him, and he answered unhurriedly.

"Good, Sanbao. This old servant is very satisfied with that answer. You have both courage and strategy; you are neither reckless nor lacking in spirit~" For a Sanbao not yet ten years old, to have such rational yet ambitious thoughts made Thirteen feel extremely gratified.

Although Sanbao had not undergone Blood Fusion for long, the change in his personality was clearly immense; the former Sanbao had been timid, insecure, and content with the status quo, lacking any real drive, whereas the current Sanbao was full of confidence, courageous, and resourceful, and most importantly, he had suddenly matured quite a bit. Although he had lost some memories, gaining such maturity and wisdom was undoubtedly worth it.

This also put Shisan at ease; as long as he could settle Sanbao in a safe place, he would be able to leave without any worries.

"Shisan, have you already found a place?" Seeing the look of confidence on Shisan's face, Sanbao knew that everything had been arranged long ago.

"You'll know when the time comes..." Shisan kept him in suspense, which made Sanbao feel a bit restless, yet also full of anticipation; what kind of place could it be?