Purple Flame

"I agree, but you must give me the Human-Shaping Pill and the Imperial Extreme Pill first," the Amethyst Winged Lion King stated immediately.

"Hehe." The master and disciple exchanged a glance.

"Hehe, of course." Yao Lao pushed the Human-Shaping Pill and the Imperial Extreme Pill toward the Amethyst Winged Lion King without the slightest hesitation.

"However, I advise you to save the Imperial Extreme Pill until after the Purple Flame has been extracted," Yao Lao said with a mysterious smile.

"Roar!" Upon hearing Yao Lao's words, the Amethyst Winged Lion King paused the movement of his paws. Finally, he used his energy to scoop up the Human-Shaping Pill and swallowed it in one gulp, immediately letting out a series of painful roars. Accompanied by these agonizing cries, his body began to blur and shift. Within a few seconds, his massive seven-to-eight-meter beast form transformed into a muscular man about two meters tall, bare-chested and wearing a leather skirt, exuding a fierce and wild aura.

"Hehe." The muscular man—or rather, the Amethyst Winged Lion King—looked at his own hands with slight discomfort. Following the memories within his bloodline inheritance, he discarded his beast robe and used his Dou Qi to manifest a black robe to cover himself.

"Master." Only then did the burly man willingly address Xiao Yan as master.

"Amethyst Winged Lion King, since you have already transformed into human form, you should give yourself a human name," Xiao Yan said, clapping his hands and laughing.

Just as the Amethyst Winged Lion King was about to speak, Xiao Yan added, "Since you are the Amethyst Winged Lion King, why don't you call yourself Xiao Yi?"

"..." The Amethyst Winged Lion King—or rather, Xiao Yi—watched Xiao Yan with a twitching eye, but ultimately accepted the name. In truth, for a magical beast, a human name was of no consequence; it was merely a designation.

"Hehe, Xiao Yi, come here. It is time for us to begin." Yao Lao, who had been watching Xiao Yan tease Xiao Yi with a smile, finally spoke up. Xiao Yi gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and sat down before Yao Lao.

"Little Yan, watch closely," Yao Lao said seriously to the Xiao Yan standing nearby, then began to employ an ancient technique he remembered to extract the beast fire from Xiao Yi's body.

"Hmph!" As Yao Lao's actions reached a critical juncture, Xiao Yi began to groan, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

Under Yao Lao's guidance, a cluster of Purple Flame slowly ignited in the center of Xiao Yi's chest and began to move toward the surface of his body.

"Hold on!" Yao Lao suddenly roared. With a violent pull, a bizarre and exceptionally vibrant purple flame appeared in his hand. This Purple Flame was dazzling and scorching, releasing its heat without pause. As the flame was pulled from his body, Xiao Yi's aura plummeted from the peak of a two-star Dou Emperor to the level of a newly ascended Dou Emperor at a speed clearly perceptible to everyone present.

"Quick, consume the Imperial Extreme Pill!" Yao Lao reminded him. Xiao Yi immediately swallowed the pill, and his aura began to slowly climb back from the level of a new Dou Emperor to that of a three-star Dou Emperor.

"Very well, Xiao Yi, go and rest," Yao Lao said. Xiao Yi cast a resentful glance at Yao Lao, looking as aggrieved as a jilted bride, before silently finding a corner to begin regulating his breath.

"Is this the companion beast fire from within the body of a Tier 6 magical beast, the Amethyst Winged Lion King—the Purple Flame?" Xiao Yan asked, staring at the flame in Yao Lao's hand.

"Yes, this is the Purple Flame, Little Yan. Very well, there is no time to lose. Hurry and refine this beast fire."

As he spoke, Yao Lao produced two bottles of pills and said to Xiao Yan, "This is the Pulse Protection Pill; it will protect your meridians from being scorched by the Purple Flame later. This is the Ice Heart Pill, which will keep your mind clear at all times. Before refining the Purple Flame, consume two of each. This is the method for refining beast fire." Yao Lao then extended a finger and tapped Xiao Yan on the forehead.

"Understood, Teacher." Xiao Yan nodded with a solemn expression.

After swallowing the Pulse Protection Pill and the Ice Heart Pill, Xiao Yan used his energy to draw the cluster of Purple Flame from Yao Lao's hand into his own, then took a deep breath and swallowed it in one gulp.

Xiao Yan immediately felt an intense burning sensation throughout his body. Fortunately, the protective layer formed by the Pulse Protection Pill coated his meridians to isolate the Purple Flame, while the cooling energy of the Ice Heart Pill kept his mind clear. He closed his eyes, focused his spirit, and began to refine the Purple Flame according to the method Yao Lao had provided.

Xiao Yan circulated his Dou Qi, guiding the Purple Flame through the mysterious and obscure meridians recorded in the manual, moving slowly and forcefully. After laboriously completing three small cycles, the Purple Flame finally began to melt, slowly transforming into a liquid purple flame. Xiao Yan sensed this with delight and proceeded to guide the purple molten flow along the meridian path his Dou Qi usually traversed during cultivation.

The purple flow slowly passed through the pale yellow energy vortex at his Dantian, gradually dyeing it purple—once, twice, three times.

Finally, during the fifth major cycle, the pale yellow vortex was completely dyed purple, and the purple molten flow poured entirely into it. Imperceptibly, the meridians within Xiao Yan's body also became significantly wider and tougher. Sensing this, Xiao Yan couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile, for he knew the Purple Flame had been successfully refined.

"Hmm? What is this?" Having just finished refining the Purple Flame, Xiao Yan suddenly discovered that his strength had unknowingly risen from a seven-star Dou Practitioner to a nine-star Dou Practitioner. Moreover, his aura continued to grow, eventually touching the threshold of the Dou Master realm and beginning to assault the barrier of the Dou Practitioner realm. The energy in the air began to gather frantically, drilling into every pore of Xiao Yan's body.

"Oh, so you are taking advantage of the momentum to break through to the Dou Master realm after refining the Purple Flame?" Yao Lao, who had been observing Xiao Yan for a long time and sensed the change in his aura, muttered to himself.

"Heh, what a lucky kid."

Xiao Yan, keenly sensing all of this, took the opportunity to actively guide the turbulent aura within his body to strike at the Dou Master barrier. A short while later, Xiao Yan's aura surged outward violently before slowly beginning to stabilize.

"Phew, finally broke through to Dou Master. This is truly a double blessing," Xiao Yan said after opening his eyes and feeling the Dou Qi surging within him.

"Hehe, you seem to be in a good mood." Yao Lao spoke up with a laugh.

"Teacher, Teacher, I succeeded!" Xiao Yan grinned at Yao Lao.

"Mm, I know. Try sensing it again; the Flame Mantra should have evolved as well," Yao Lao said with a faint smile.

"Hmm, Teacher, the Flame Mantra has evolved, but it only reached the high-level Yellow Tier." Xiao Yan closed his eyes to sense it for a moment, then opened them and said to Yao Lao with a hint of regret.

"You brat, what do you think the Flame Mantra is? This is a cultivation technique more mysterious than even Heaven-tier techniques. For a mere Tier 6 beast fire to evolve it to the high-level Yellow Tier is already quite impressive!" Yao Lao roared in anger.

"A mere Tier 6 beast fire..." Xiao Yi, who had long since finished regulating his breath and woken up, suddenly muttered gloomily.

"Shut up!" The master and disciple turned their heads and scolded in unison.

PS: I realized there were too many female characters around the protagonist in the early stages, so I am changing the gender of the Amethyst Winged Lion King to male. Thus, he is a muscular man after his transformation.