In the distance, the faint roars of magical beasts drifted over. The search parties sent out by the Amethyst Winged Lion King had begun withdrawing, one after another.
Having obtained the Transformation Pill, the Amethyst Winged Lion King no longer cared to trouble Yun Yun. He recalled his subordinates to guard the mountain and devoted himself to preparing for secluded cultivation.
At a stream somewhere in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
"Mmm..."
Yun Yun slowly stirred awake, feeling a bone-piercing chill all over her body.
Her eyes snapped open, and she discovered that she was soaking in a clear stream. The water burbled past, carrying the crisp coolness of the mountains as it washed away every trace of heat and sweat from her body.
"How did I end up here...?"
Instinctively, she tried to rise, only to find her limbs weak and sore. Although Dou Qi was flowing through her meridians again, her body felt as though it had been thoroughly exhausted.
She blinked in confusion, and memories surged back like a tide-
That pink jade bottle, that strange pill fragrance, that mortifying heat, that figure in green robes, those hands roaming over her body...
"Ah-!"
She abruptly covered her face and sank into the water, leaving only the crimson tips of her ears exposed. The stream was icy, yet it could not extinguish the burning heat in her cheeks.
"He... he saw everything..."
Those hazy, humiliating scenes kept flashing through Yun Yun's mind-
Her own eager pleas, her writhing body, her soft moans, those hands pressing close, the burbling water... every image made her wish she could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
Yun Yun buried her head underwater, bubbles rising with a gurgle, as though that could let her escape reality.
Remembering how she had taken the wrong pill in her haste to recover, Yun Yun was furious with herself.
As the Misty Cloud Sect Master, when had she ever been so wretched? When had she ever displayed such shameful... wantonness?
"Wait..."
She suddenly raised her head out of the water. Her wet black hair clung to her cheeks, and a glimmer of clarity and relief crossed her eyes.
"I remember... that final step shouldn't have happened..."
She lowered her gaze to examine herself. Although her clothes were disheveled, she felt none of the unusual sensations that would have followed such an act. Moreover, the restless medicinal power inside her had completely dissipated, replaced by a cool, soothing comfort.
"He... only helped me release the medicinal power?"
That realization brought her a little relief, but then left her even more embarrassed and indignant.
Even if that final step had never happened, that massage had still amounted to him seeing every inch of her body! Every alluring expression, every moment of humiliation had been laid bare before Xiao Lin's eyes!
"How am I supposed to... face him now...?"
Yun Yun remained curled up in the water for a long time, tangling herself in doubts, comforting herself, then growing angry with herself, over and over again.
At last, she gritted her teeth, took a spare dress from her Storage Ring, and changed into it. She dried her wet black hair with Dou Qi, then pinned it up again with her elegant Phoenix Hairpin.
"Yun Yun, you're the Misty Cloud Sect Master... your savior merely saw your body. It's nothing to make a fuss over..."
She tidied her appearance using the mirrorlike stream, only to find that the lovely face reflected in the water was still crimson as sunset clouds, her eyes shimmering with moisture. Where was even a trace of a sect master's dignity?
"Damn it..."
She took a deep breath, finally gathered her courage, and headed toward a spot upstream.
There, a figure in green robes sat leaning against a rock, toying with an amethyst-colored crystal. It was a Purple Spirit Crystal.
"You..." Her voice trembled, though she forced herself to sound cool. "You really did get the Purple Spirit Crystal?"
Xiao Lin looked up, his gaze sweeping over her. His expression was calm as still water, as though nothing had happened. "Of course."
He casually tossed her a Storage Ring. Yun Yun caught it and swept it with her Soul Force, and her pupils immediately contracted-
Purple Spirit Crystals were piled like a mountain inside. A rough count put them at several dozen! Every piece was clear and lustrous, radiating a rich amethyst aura, its quality far surpassing the ordinary!
"This... this many?" Even with her experience, she could not help crying out in astonishment.
"The Amethyst Winged Lion King handed over eighty percent of his stock."
Xiao Lin's tone was flat, as though he were discussing something utterly trivial.
"Along with half his companion amethyst source."
He turned his palm over, and three jade bottles appeared in his hand. Their transparent walls revealed the deep-purple liquid flowing within, radiating energy fluctuations that made the heart tremble.
"Companion amethyst source?!" Yun Yun's pupils contracted sharply, and even her voice began to shake.
How could she not know how precious it was?
A Purple Spirit Crystal could only be shed once every twenty years, while companion amethyst source was an essence produced only when an Amethyst Winged Lion King bore offspring. Even a single drop was rarely encountered in a hundred years!
Even dozens of Purple Spirit Crystals could scarcely compare to its value!
"I imagine you came seeking Purple Spirit Crystals to refine a pill. Could it be the fourth-grade Purple Spirit Armor Pill, which strengthens a Da Dou Shi's Dou Qi Armor?"
"Adding this companion amethyst source should improve its effects, and might even produce some unexpected benefits."
Yun Yun accepted the jade bottles in a daze, her heart churning like an overturned sea.
Purple Spirit Crystals, companion amethyst source... treasures that even she could hardly have wrested from the Amethyst Winged Lion King now filled the Storage Ring.
Moreover, this man had saved her life from the Amethyst Winged Lion King, and had indirectly resolved the danger of being hunted down by the beasts...
She raised her eyes to that handsome, mysterious face, and something she could neither name nor explain crept into her gaze.
Even she did not know whether it was gratitude, curiosity, or some deeper emotion.
"Thank you..." she said softly, her voice faint as a mosquito's hum.
Xiao Lin stood and brushed the dust from his robes. His gaze lingered on her for a moment before he suddenly spoke:
"Your talent ranks among the best in the Jia Ma Empire, but looking at the entire Dou Qi Continent..."
He paused, his tone carrying a profound implication. "Compared with those true prodigies, you still fall far short."
Yun Yun froze, looking momentarily stunned as a complicated emotion flickered in her eyes.
Although she was the Misty Cloud Sect Master, an inheritor of the Great Wind Calling Art, and an Eight-Star Dou Emperor, she knew that beyond every sky lay another sky.
Leaving aside the core disciples of the Central Plains' superpowers and mysterious clans, there were those top-tier powers known throughout the continent: the One Tower, One Hall, Two Sects, Three Valleys, and Four Pavilions.
Even among the experts from the countries surrounding the Northwest Continent, which of them did not possess extraordinary talent and abundant resources?
"Take this pill for now."
Xiao Lin took a green jade bottle from his Storage Ring. Patterns of flowing winds and clouds adorned its surface.
"A Seventh-Grade Wind-Nurturing Pill. It can improve a cultivator's perception of and affinity for wind-attribute Dou Qi, as well as the power of their Dou Techniques."
At the sight, Yun Yun's red lips parted slightly, and she instinctively stepped back half a pace, suspicion flickering in her eyes-
Once bitten by a snake, one feared a straw rope for ten years. The lesson of that Spring Returns to the Earth Pill had left her deeply wary of pills, at least for the time being.
Seeing her reaction, Xiao Lin's mouth twitched. "Relax. This one has nothing to do with that sort of thing."
"Besides... who told you to sneak a taste just because you were greedy? You can eat carelessly, but you can't go taking medicine at random."
He tossed her the jade bottle. Yun Yun caught it and examined it carefully. The bottle was smooth and warm, its pill fragrance delicate and refined. She could faintly see a green pill rotating slowly within, emitting soothing fluctuations of wind energy.
"I wasn't..."
Yun Yun was about to offer a few words in her defense, but remembering what had happened, she had indeed taken the pill without permission.
After considering it for a moment, she finally pulled out the stopper and poured out the pill. It was lustrous throughout, with patterns of wind and cloud flowing across its surface-a genuine seventh-grade pill unlike any she had ever seen.
Looking at the object in her hand, Yun Yun's wariness faded, and an inexplicable wave of bitterness and shame rose in her heart.
"I've already received too many favors. I can't accept this as well."
At her words, Xiao Lin raised an eyebrow.
He looked at the usually lofty Misty Cloud Sect Master before him. Now, she resembled a child who had done something wrong, her head bowed, unable to meet his eyes.
"Keep it."
He spoke indifferently, his tone quite even.
"But..."
"You're progressing too slowly with your Great Wind Calling Art."
Before you continue