Yun Yun

Zi Yan sat astride Xiao Fan's shoulders with her legs spread apart, rubbing at her seemingly slightly fuller chest. She looked forward to adventure, and to growing up.

The little girl was no longer satisfied with one Sugar Pill per bite. Now, her unit of measurement was one bottle per bite.

"Crunch, crunch..." Zi Yan chewed the Sugar Pills back and forth, making crisp crunching sounds.

"Xiao Fan... where are we going next?" Zi Yan lowered her head and asked Xiao Fan curiously.

"Uh... let's go to Black Rock City and take the Alchemist certification exam first." Xiao Fan held Zi Yan's legs with both hands. Of course, he was worried she might accidentally fall.

Still, Zi Yan's little calves were truly springy and soft, fair and tender beneath his fingers.

Zi Yan did not mind, letting Xiao Fan hold her legs as she sniffed the air with her tiny upturned nose. Then, she suddenly grabbed Xiao Fan's hair and cried out, "Xiao Fan! There's treasure over there!"

Xiao Fan stopped walking. They were currently in the heart of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, so it was perfectly normal to find treasure or high-grade medicinal herbs.

Yet there were not many treasures that could provoke such a strong reaction from Zi Yan. Xiao Fan also knew that any such treasure in the Magical Beast Mountain Range would surely be guarded by a powerful magical beast. But after thinking for only a moment, he made up his mind.

"Let's do it!"

"Let's pull off a heist!"

"Maybe Xiao Yan'er's meals for the next few days will be taken care of!"

Zi Yan was thrilled. She could hardly wait. These past few days, the long journey and Xiao Fan's inability to peacefully refine pills within the Magical Beast Mountain Range had caused her meals to worsen considerably.

At the same time, a figure in a flowing green dress, with a pair of green wings on her back, was also heading toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range from the sky.

"Zi Yan, are you sure about this?"

Zi Yan patted her small chest. "Don't worry. That big guy definitely can't beat me."

Xiao Fan was still exceedingly nervous. The big fellow inside the cave was no simple creature. The Amethyst Winged Lion King, overlord of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, was a sixth-rank magical beast.

Such an opponent was not someone Xiao Fan could deal with yet.

Xiao Fan also knew that the treasure inside the cave was the Amethyst Birth Source.

What made him even more uneasy was that the Amethyst Winged Lion King's condition was clearly abnormal. Not only were all sorts of third- and fourth-rank magical beasts patrolling the area, but its own aura also surged and ebbed as Dou Qi spilled uncontrollably from its body.

Though magical beasts did not possess particularly strong soul perception, Xiao Fan did not dare investigate any further. Otherwise, the Amethyst Winged Lion King might detect his soul perception.

Relying on his own soul perception, Xiao Fan avoided most of the magical beasts. According to the plan, he would wait for Zi Yan to create a disturbance before slipping into the cave.

"It seems like this isn't the first time I've done something like this..."

Before long, rumbling booms came from Zi Yan's direction. Xiao Fan knew that was the commotion she was making with her fists...

Roar! All kinds of magical beasts began howling as they charged toward Zi Yan.

Yet although Zi Yan repelled wave after wave of third- and fourth-rank magical beasts, the Amethyst Winged Lion King still refused to emerge.

"Hm? That big guy has been provoked by a dragon to this extent, and it still won't come out?"

Before Xiao Fan could dwell on his confusion, an even more thunderous roar erupted from within the cave.

But Xiao Fan heard that something was wrong. This was not a threatening warning, but a roar of pain.

Recalling the Amethyst Winged Lion King's abnormal aura and the many magical beasts on patrol, Xiao Fan vaguely formed a guess.

"She's giving birth!" (The original seemed to make it male, but this was changed slightly here. Please forgive it.)

Xiao Fan immediately understood why so many magical beasts lingered here. When magical beasts gave birth, they would inevitably become incredibly weak, with less than one-tenth of their strength remaining.

At the same time, magical beasts in such a state were surely not to be provoked. Never underestimate a mother's determination to protect her young. She would probably not hesitate to fight to mutual destruction.

It was both danger and opportunity. Xiao Fan decided not to wait any longer. He bypassed the magical beasts patrolling the cave entrance and quietly slipped inside.

The cave was not dark or damp. On the contrary, it was extremely dry, with waves of heat rolling out from its depths.

"Looks like I only need to follow the heat to find the Amethyst Winged Lion King."

Xiao Fan did not hesitate. Remaining vigilant, he expanded his soul perception.

Soul perception was not omnipotent. There were far too many techniques on the Dou Qi Continent capable of concealing one's soul. Xiao Fan could not help thinking of a ruthless figure who had been betrayed by her disciple, yet still managed to hide her soul beneath the Soul Hall's very nose and escape.

Very soon, Xiao Fan discovered the Amethyst Winged Lion King. At that moment, she was still licking the fur of the newborn Little Amethyst Winged Lion. Though exhaustion showed in her eyes, her maternal instinct still kept the Amethyst Winged Lion King tirelessly tending to her child.

But this was also the Amethyst Winged Lion King's weakness. She focused only on the little one beside her and overlooked Xiao Fan, who had already approached.

Just as Xiao Fan circled behind the Amethyst Winged Lion King and spotted the Amethyst Birth Source sealed within the Amethyst Crystal, he was about to make his move.

Xiao Fan suddenly shuddered. It was not only him who had noticed an uninvited guest; the Amethyst Winged Lion King also radiated a violent aura.

"Lion King, please come out so we may speak!" A dignified female voice rang out.

Xiao Fan felt that the voice sounded somewhat familiar. After thinking about it, he said speechlessly, "Don't tell me it's that silly woman again."

The Amethyst Winged Lion King knew the visitor meant trouble. She also knew the magical beasts around her could not stop the intruder, so she could only force herself to rise and leave the nest.

"Tsk, magical beast bodies really are something. She can still walk around right after giving birth."

But she was surely only forcing herself to endure it. Otherwise, she would not have failed to notice Xiao Fan, who was so close.

Watching the Amethyst Winged Lion King leave, two figures could not help surfacing in Xiao Fan's mind...

"I really can't handle this..."

"Ahem, focus on business."

With the Amethyst Winged Lion King gone, Xiao Fan easily used the Amethyst Crystal to obtain the Amethyst Birth Source.

Looking at the Little Amethyst Winged Lion, which still had its eyes half-closed yet continued trying to stand, Xiao Fan suddenly had an idea.

"Hiss... hah!"

Sensing an unfamiliar presence approaching, the Little Amethyst Winged Lion kept hissing at the newcomer. But how could a newborn possibly be Xiao Fan's match? Before long, Xiao Fan had lifted it up.

"You little brat! Look me in the eyes!"

Xiao Fan's words were like a devilish incantation. The Little Amethyst Winged Lion opened its tiny eyes and curiously studied the person before it.

Beast Taming Art, control!

A trace of blood-red light flashed through Xiao Fan's eyes. Three inconspicuous black dots flickered and vanished as solid threads condensed from spiritual power stabbed directly into the Little Amethyst Winged Lion's head.

Awoo!!!

Seeing the Little Amethyst Winged Lion fall unconscious after its soul was branded by another, Xiao Fan decisively set it down and rapidly fled toward the cave entrance using his movement technique.

As its name suggested, the Beast Taming Art was used to control magical beasts. In essence, it branded a magical beast's soul and used that imprint to train it.

But its drawbacks were obvious. Controlling a magical beast, especially a high-rank one, required considerable spiritual power, while raising one from childhood consumed vast amounts of effort and was overly cumbersome.

That was why Beast Tamers were so rare, nowhere near as sought-after as Alchemists.

But Xiao Fan did not need to raise this Little Amethyst Winged Lion himself. Once it grew a little bigger, he could take it away. Even if he had no use for it then, he could still give it to Xiao Yu or the Great Elder.

Amethyst Seal!

Wind's Zenith, Falling Kill!

Xiao Fan also saw the two people fighting in the sky. Rubbing his forehead, he said, "Why is it really that silly woman? Yun Yun..."