A chance encounter

Having returned to the cave, Liu Yu took a jade bottle from his Storage Ring and poured out a Fifth-grade Pill—a Qi Cultivation Pill. It could replenish the Dou Qi in one's body within a short time and accelerate its recovery, offering some benefit even to Dou Emperors and Dou Zongs.

In mere moments, Liu Yu's Dou Qi had recovered considerably. He clenched his fists, felt the increasingly condensed Dou Qi within him, and smiled in satisfaction. His battle with the Amethyst Winged Lion King had yielded a decent harvest. A few more bouts, and his cultivation would be thoroughly consolidated.

Ever since childhood, under Queen Medusa's supervision, Liu Yu had been required to condense his Dou Qi after every breakthrough rather than chase quick gains. Only with a firmer foundation could his future path of cultivation stretch smooth and unobstructed before him!

Liu Yu had naturally taken that lesson to heart, and it had become an ingrained habit. With his condensed Dou Qi, its astonishing reserves, and its exceptional quality, fighting above his rank was a breeze!

Meanwhile, within the Sea of Consciousness of Little Qi, who slept inside Liu Yu's sleeve, an illusory, breathtakingly beautiful soul silently watched and sensed everything about him.

She had watched his entire battle with the Amethyst Winged Lion King, and his current strength had surprised her somewhat. She had long known that Liu Yu could fight above his rank, but she had never expected him to cross an entire major realm and hold his own against the sixth-rank Amethyst Winged Lion King as a One-Star Dou Wang...

It had completely exceeded her expectations, but it also filled her with pride. The little boy who had once loved "acting spoiled" in her arms had now become a powerful figure capable of standing on his own!

Perhaps one day, she too would have someone who belonged to her alone, someone who would shelter her from wind and rain and protect her...

At that thought, Queen Medusa could not help touching the necklace hanging against her chest, gleaming with purple light. A radiant, exquisite smile bloomed on her face, beautiful enough to rob heaven and earth of their color. Unfortunately, a certain someone outside could not admire it...

As for the cultivation art Liu Yu had given her earlier, although it had shocked her immensely, she had no intention of investigating its origins. All she cared about was the person who had given it to her!

Seeing that his Dou Qi had recovered by seventy or eighty percent, Liu Yu decided to take a bath in the stream. Nothing felt better than a soak after exercise!

He gently untied his pale-purple brocade robe, carefully set Little Qi aside, and stepped into the clear stream.

Feeling its gentle coolness, Liu Yu felt wonderfully refreshed, as though even his soul had been washed clean.

Letting his cascade of silver hair sink into the water, Liu Yu quietly leaned against a large rock.

Within Little Qi's Sea of Consciousness, Queen Medusa stopped circulating the Origin-Nurturing Art. Her beautiful eyes shimmered as she admired this "portrait of a handsome man bathing."

"Roar!"

Deep within the Magical Beast Mountain Range, the Amethyst Winged Lion King roared helplessly at Liu Yu in the sky before him. He could not take it anymore. This was simply bullying a beast beyond all reason!

For over half a month, this wretched human had come to provoke him every day, forcing him into battle. How could he fail to see that the human was using him to hone his own strength?

He had tried to ignore him, but the fellow actually hunted his subordinates right in front of him, the king of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Worse still, what sent his killing intent surging was that the human even barbecued them beside the entrance to his cave!

Of course, what alarmed him most was how quickly this human's strength improved. At first, his own formidable power had allowed him to maintain a slight advantage, but the more they fought, the stranger things became. Today, they had actually fought to a draw!

He was a sixth-rank magical beast! His overall strength was comparable to that of a mid-level human Dou Emperor! Yet through their battles over this period, he had discovered that the human before him was only a One-Star Dou Wang! And now, that human could already match him blow for blow!

It truly defied a beast's understanding. Had all the humans outside become this freakishly powerful?

"Haha, Lion King, don't look like that. I'm not here to fight today. I'm leaving, so I came especially to say goodbye. There's also something I'd like to discuss with you." Seeing the Amethyst Winged Lion King's humanlike expression of frustration, Liu Yu could not help laughing.

"What is it?" A deep voice emerged from the Amethyst Winged Lion King's enormous mouth. Their recent battles had left a strong impression on him, and he had inevitably developed a sense of mutual respect for Liu Yu.

Besides, this fellow knew how to conduct himself. After every battle, he would give him a pill. According to him, it was a Fifth-grade Pill called a Qi Cultivation Pill, capable of restoring Dou Qi quickly and effective even for Dou Emperors and Dou Zongs. It was extraordinarily precious.

At first, he had not believed it. Could this human really be so kind? And a Fifth-grade Pill was hardly an ordinary pill. Even if he was an alchemist, surely he could not just give them away? Only after Liu Yu swallowed one before his eyes, and his Dou Qi did indeed recover rapidly, had he mostly believed him.

"How about becoming my mount?" Liu Yu could not be bothered to beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

"Why should I?"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King's booming voice echoed between heaven and earth for a long time.

There's a chance! Liu Yu rejoiced inwardly. All those days of giving him pills and "asking after his well-being" had not been wasted.

"Because I can take your cultivation further and help you become a Dou Zong—or even reach a higher realm—in the future! You won't have to remain cooped up in this Magical Beast Mountain Range! After all these days, you should understand my potential!"

Liu Yu spoke confidently and at ease. That self-assured brilliance left the Amethyst Winged Lion King silent.

Seeing the Amethyst Winged Lion King waver, Liu Yu did not intend to press him too hard. Instead, he left him room to choose. "Lion King, you don't need to decide right now. Give me a clear answer the next time I come to the Magical Beast Mountain Range."

"Very well!"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King agreed. He truly needed time to think. Put plainly, he needed time to adjust his mindset. After all, he had grown accustomed to being king of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Suddenly becoming someone else's mount was something he could hardly accept at once, even if that person possessed astonishing strength and terrifying potential!

"In that case, before I leave, I'll give your child another generous gift. Go bring your child out." Liu Yu moved, descending from the sky onto an open patch of ground.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King did not hesitate. With their discussion having reached this point, he did not believe Liu Yu would harm his child.

Soon, a miniature Amethyst Winged Lion King was carried out by its father and tossed casually in front of Liu Yu.

Uh... Liu Yu was stunned by that rough handling. All he could say was that this was indeed the Lion King!

Liu Yu walked up to the young Amethyst Winged Lion King and, beneath its frightened gaze, caught it by the scruff that held its fate. A ball of green flame then appeared in his hand.

Ignoring the young Amethyst Winged Lion King's struggles, Liu Yu guided the Green Lotus Core Flame into its body to temper it.

"Awooo..." The little flying lion howled in pain.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King landed beside Liu Yu. Watching his child suffer, he could not help worrying.

Liu Yu naturally noticed his concern and explained, "This is body tempering with Heavenly Flames. Once it succeeds, your child's aptitude will improve. In the future, reaching the level of a Seventh-Rank Magical Beast through its own strength won't be a problem! Besides, your child is a fire-attribute magical beast to begin with. Under my control, this tempering won't burn it to ashes. Instead, it will even strengthen its own purple flame!"

Understanding now, the Amethyst Winged Lion King relaxed a little. All he hoped was that his child would show some mettle and successfully endure the tempering with Heavenly Flames.

After a while, Liu Yu withdrew the green flame from the young Amethyst Winged Lion King's body, his expression tinged with fatigue. The young lion lay on the ground, utterly spent.

"All right, it's time for me to go."

Liu Yu spread his blood-red wings. Another bottle of companion amethyst source appeared in his hand, and he tossed it to the Amethyst Winged Lion King before turning into a streak of crimson light and vanishing into the horizon.

As the Amethyst Winged Lion King looked at the bottle of companion amethyst source in his paw, his beastly eyes filled with complicated emotions.

In the Tagor Desert, a streak of crimson light flashed across the horizon.

Suddenly, however, that streak stopped. A disturbance somewhere in the desert had caught Liu Yu's attention.

A rather bedraggled figure in black robes was being surrounded and attacked by a swarm of Yellow Sand Scorpions. Although these magical beasts were below the first rank, humans considered them among the desert's most troublesome creatures. Not only were they skilled at concealment and ambushes, they could also release poison.

The black-robed woman struggled to swing the longsword in her hand, killing the scorpions that approached her. Her robes were tattered, faintly revealing a voluptuous figure wrapped in a plain dress. Clearly, she had already fought a fierce battle and suffered severe injuries. Her fading aura made it seem as though she might collapse at any moment!

A tiger stranded on the plains gets bullied by dogs. Liu Yu descended from the sky to where the black-robed woman stood. With a gentle wave of his hand, a wave of green flame swept toward the scorpions, reducing them to ash in an instant.

Helping those in difficulty when it lay within one's abilities was a traditional virtue of the people Liu Yu had belonged to on Blue Star. Although he was no great philanthropist, he was still quite willing to lend a hand when he encountered something like this.

Seeing a human Dou Wang help her wipe out the scorpions, the black-robed woman relaxed inwardly and finally collapsed onto the yellow sand.

She didn't just die, did she? Don't make this so absurd! Liu Yu hurried over to the black-robed woman lying on the sand, only to find a face that struck him as both stunning and familiar!

Her features were as lovely as a painting. Her delicate face was pale, her dark brows tightly knitted, and a trace of pain lingered on her exquisite skin, so tender it seemed a breath might break it. Although it did not suit her dignified, noble bearing, it made her look heartbreakingly vulnerable!

Yun Yun! Liu Yu truly had not expected to encounter her in the Tagor Desert—and so gravely injured, no less!

A trace of confusion flashed through Liu Yu's red eyes. He remembered that, at this point in time, Little Yanzi had only recently recovered his Dou Qi. By rights, Yun Yun should not have come to the Tagor Desert with Gu He and the others until roughly two years later...

Gu He! Heavenly Flames! Liu Yu roughly understood. His Queen had tempered her body with Heavenly Flames over a month ago. Gu He had probably been somewhere in the Tagor Desert at the time. As a Grade Six Alchemist, he possessed keen Soul Perception and had likely detected the Heavenly Flames. Afterward, just as in the original story, he had gathered a group of powerful fighters to seek them out.

The outcome had naturally been "tragic." Putting aside the fact that the Heavenly Flames had remained with Liu Yu all along, even without Queen Medusa present, the Snake-People Tribe still had four elders at the Peak Dou Emperor level!

Liu Yu felt that Yun Yun's party had been lucky in the original story. They had caused such an uproar in the Snake-People Tribe without alarming the four elders of the Elder Hall. Otherwise, he did not believe a single Dou Emperor and a few Dou Wangs could have escaped four Peak Dou Emperor elders. Moreover, those four elders were skilled in combined attacks. Even against a Dou Zong, they could put up a fight!

Looking at the peerlessly beautiful face before him, Liu Yu could not help feeling wistful. He had thought that taking the Amethyst Winged Lion King as his mount would prevent Yun Yun from becoming romantically entangled with that "devoted" Little Yanzi. After all, Yun Yun's ending in the original story had left a bitter sense of dissatisfaction!

He had never expected that, after avoiding the Amethyst Winged Lion King, she would instead encounter trouble with the Snake-People Tribe. Her fate truly was fraught with misfortune!

With a soft sigh, Liu Yu bent down and picked Yun Yun up, intending to find somewhere to treat her injuries. As for pills, he had used most of his Qi Cultivation Pills to build goodwill with the Great Flying Lion, and now had none left.

As for pills specifically meant to heal injuries, such as the Fifth-grade Recovery Pill, Liu Yu's answer was: with Queen Medusa around, could he possibly suffer serious injuries? He certainly would not admit that he actually lacked suitable medicinal ingredients to refine Recovery Pills...

Yet just as Liu Yu gathered Yun Yun into his arms, her tightly closed eyes suddenly opened. A trace of bashfulness and bewilderment shimmered in her beautiful eyes as she stared up at him.

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