Plans!

Mu She's face immediately darkened at the sight, and he looked at the mercenary with killing intent rising in his heart.

Jia He looked at Mu She and sneered. "All of you, get lost!"

Upon hearing Jia He's words, the Wolf Head mercenaries turned and fled. None of them wanted to be burned to ashes by those terrifying flames!

Mu She looked at Jia He, but in the end, he still helped his son up and prepared to leave with the medicinal ingredients.

Jia He said, "Leave the ingredients. You can go."

"Don't push people too far!" Mu She roared.

Boom!

Flames suddenly erupted from Mu She and Mu Li's bodies. Within a few breaths, they had turned to ashes.

The surrounding mercenaries all felt a chill run through their hearts at the sight.

"Pushing people too far? Then I'll send you to the Western Paradise," Jia He said calmly.

Some of the mercenaries present secretly cheered when they saw the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's leader killed. After all, Wolf Head's reputation in Green Mountain Town had never been very good.

After dealing with the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, Jia He looked at Xiao Yi Xian and asked, "Did you pack everything up?"

Xiao Yi Xian nodded. "Mm-hm, everything's packed."

"Good. Let's go!" Jia He called out to Mitchell and the others.

On the journey back, the alchemists still rode flying magical beasts, while Ya Fei and Xiao Yi Xian returned on Blue Eagle.

Because of the Little Amethyst Winged Lion King, Jia He, Ya Fei, and Xiao Yi Xian had slowed down considerably.

After nearly seven days, they finally caught sight of the Imperial Capital's outline.

Jia He let out a breath and said, "It's been over a month. We're finally back!"

Then Jia He looked at Ya Fei. "Take Xiao Yi Xian to the Alchemist Association and wait for me. Once I settle the Amethyst Winged Lion King down, I'll come find you!"

Ya Fei nodded. "All right, don't worry."

Xiao Yi Xian then guided Blue Eagle into a dive toward the Imperial Capital.

Jia He led the Amethyst Winged Lion King toward the rear mountain behind the imperial palace.

The moment they arrived at the rear mountain, Jia Xing Tian and the Nether Sea Flood Dragon from the bottom of the lake appeared before Jia He.

They had both sensed the Amethyst Winged Lion King's aura. The Nether Sea Flood Dragon in particular was naturally at odds with it—water and fire were inherently incompatible.

The Nether Sea Flood Dragon frowned at the Amethyst Winged Lion King. "This fellow is a sixth-tier magical beast too?"

Seeing that Jia He had brought the Amethyst Winged Lion King back, Jia Xing Tian did not show much hostility. He merely asked, "What is this?"

Jia He smiled. "I encountered the Amethyst Winged Lion King in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, so I recruited it into Imperial Prison."

Jia Xing Tian looked at Jia He in surprise. "The Amethyst Winged Lion King? I've heard of it. That big fellow has quite a temper. You actually managed to talk it into coming back?"

Jia He rolled his eyes at Jia Xing Tian. "What do you mean, talk it into coming back? I gave it terms, all right? At most, it counts as surrendering allegiance!"

"Terms? What terms?" Jia Xing Tian asked with a frown.

"Two seventh-tier Transformation Pills, and the beast flames of three fifth-tier magical beasts," Jia He said casually.

Jia Xing Tian froze and looked at Jia He. "You agreed?"

Jia He nodded matter-of-factly. "Of course. It's not like those are particularly difficult conditions!"

Jia Xing Tian said, "Seventh-tier pills may not be difficult for you, but where are you going to find the beast flames of fifth-tier magical beasts? Beast flames are an alchemist's favorite!"

Jia He said, "I heard that in the central region of the Northwest Continent, near the Heavenly Serpent Empire, there is a volcanic region. There may be quite a few fifth-tier fire-attributed magical beasts there!"

"But that place is still far too far from us, isn't it?" Jia Xing Tian said.

Jia He smiled. "No matter. There's no rush for now."

The two of them muttered away in front of the Amethyst Winged Lion King until even the Nether Sea Flood Dragon could no longer stand it. It spoke up, "Hurry up and arrange a place for it to stay!"

Jia He said to Jia Xing Tian, "Great-grandfather, I'll leave this matter to you!"

"Me?" Jia Xing Tian was slightly taken aback, but he still agreed.

Jia He then prepared to head to the Alchemist Association. Before leaving, he looked at the Little Amethyst Winged Lion King and said, "You're not allowed to cause trouble on the rear mountain, especially in my herb field. If you damage anything, you'll lose one beast flame!"

The Little Amethyst Winged Lion King looked at Jia He, tilted its head, then looked toward its father.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King said slowly, "Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on it."

Only then did Jia He nod in satisfaction. With a flap of his wings, he shot toward the Alchemist Association.

Misty Cloud Sect, atop a mountain peak.

Yun Yun stood at the edge of a cliff, gazing in the direction of the Imperial Capital. Just now, she had seen several streaks of light rush in from outside the city. Among them were several auras that made even her heart tremble, descending toward the imperial palace.

"That purple streak just now... if I wasn't mistaken, was that the Amethyst Winged Lion King?" Yun Yun murmured softly.

These past few days, Yun Yun had kept a close eye on Nalan Yanran's cultivation. However, Nalan Yanran had now reached a bottleneck.

Thus, Yun Yun planned to have the Pill King Gu He refine a pill for Nalan Yanran to aid her cultivation. The most important ingredient was the Purple Spirit Crystal of the Amethyst Winged Lion King!

After examining the Misty Cloud Sect's records, Yun Yun learned that the Amethyst Winged Lion King had appeared in the Magical Beast Mountain Range within the empire.

The Misty Cloud Sect had some matters requiring her attention recently, so she planned to set the sect in order before departing for the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

But now, she had actually seen the Amethyst Winged Lion King appear at the imperial palace, leaving her somewhat conflicted.

Ever since her teacher's time, the Misty Cloud Sect had gradually come into opposition with the Jia Ma Empire. Neither side was weak; within the empire, they were like two fierce tigers facing each other!

Yun Yun knew this could not continue, but she did not know what she could do to ease the tension between them.

Yun Yun had always possessed a calm temperament. Although she appeared languid and detached, with the wisdom and composure of one in power, she was not qualified as a ruler.

Yun Yun was well aware of the rot within the Misty Cloud Sect. Yet her heart was not ruthless enough for her to truly solve the problem at its root, allowing the sect's corruption to spread from the top down.

Especially Elder Yun Leng. Relying on his status as the oldest elder in the Misty Cloud Sect, he acted without restraint and eventually brought great disaster upon the sect.

Even without Xiao Yan, Yun Leng's conduct would have led to a Zhang Yan or a Li Yan appearing.

Of course, Yun Yun's temperament was not suited to leading the Misty Cloud Sect in the first place. If Yun Shan had not gone into seclusion, he likely would not have passed the position of sect leader to Yun Yun!

At present, the matter drawing the most attention in the Misty Cloud Sect was the three-year agreement between Nalan Yanran and Xiao Yan. Everyone believed Xiao Yan would not succeed, but Yun Yun could not shake the unease in her heart.

Yun Yun sighed softly. "For Yanran's sake, I should pay the imperial family a visit myself!"

In the end, Yun Yun still decided to visit the imperial family. If the Amethyst Winged Lion King truly was there, she would agree to exchange something for it.