The Amethyst Winged Lion King

"Did you deal with them all?"

Back in the stone chamber, Xiao Yi Xian was not at all surprised to see Xiao Yan return safely.

With his strength, even Mu She, the leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, was probably no match for him.

Xiao Yan nodded.

"The Wolf Head Mercenary Group is no more!"

Xiao Yi Xian paused, then asked curiously, "You killed them all?"

"Not one left alive!"

"Hiss..."

Xiao Yi Xian could not help drawing in a sharp breath.

What a ruthless man!

Xiao Yi Xian patted her modest chest, relief written all over her face.

"Good thing we're friends, not enemies."

"Anyway, enough about that. Time to divide the spoils."

As she spoke, Xiao Yi Xian hurried toward the flower bed, lightly tapping her chin with a delicate finger.

Quite a few of the herbs growing there were key ingredients for making poisons.

But she still remembered to let Xiao Yan choose first.

Xiao Yan swept his gaze over the various herbs in the flower bed and naturally chose the Ice Spirit Flame Grass first.

This herb was one of the essential ingredients for refining a Blood Lotus Pill. Its importance to Xiao Yan went without saying.

Once Xiao Yan had made his choice, Xiao Yi Xian said, "We'll split everything else evenly."

After quickly dividing the spoils, the two returned to the clifftop.

With such a rich haul, Xiao Yi Xian wore a radiant smile, but she had not forgotten her friend at the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, who was covering for her.

This was one of the few friends she had made since joining the Myriad Medicine Pavilion. Several times, the girl had secretly tipped her off, allowing her to ferret out the spies Mr. Yao and Mu Li had planted around her.

Naturally, Xiao Yi Xian did not want her late return to expose what had happened and get her friend punished by Mr. Yao.

Once he understood the reason, Xiao Yan did not try to keep her. He simply told her that the gates of the Little Mountain Valley were always open to her.

"I'll hold you to that!"

Xiao Yi Xian smiled and winked, leaving those words behind as she gracefully departed.

Xiao Yan watched her receding figure. Just then, Yao Lao drifted out of the Bone Flame Ring and teased, "What's this? Can't bear to see the girl leave?"

Xiao Yan rolled his eyes at Yao Lao.

"Nothing of the sort. I just think Xiao Yi Xian really did me a huge favor this time."

Yao Lao nodded in agreement and sighed. "Indeed. Who would have thought there really was a cave abode left by a predecessor on the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range? Xiao Yi Xian even found it, only for you to reap the rewards without lifting a finger."

Xiao Yan nodded and took out the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map.

"Teacher, look!"

As he spoke, he pointed at the lotus-shaped design on the fragment.

Yao Lao stared intently at the lotus design. A wisp of black flame seemed to cling to it.

Suddenly, his expression shifted slightly, and he exclaimed, "Could this be the legendary Purifying Lotus Demon Flame?!

"This map... could this map depict the location of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame?!

"What a pity it's only a fragment. Otherwise, you really would have hit the jackpot."

Knowing the plot, Xiao Yan naturally felt no disappointment.

"No matter. Perhaps we'll stumble across the other pieces someday."

Yao Lao laughed heartily.

"Hahaha! You certainly take things in stride.

"But you really are a lucky brat. If you'd obtained a complete Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Map this time, I might genuinely have started wondering whether you were some child of destiny."

A month later!

Deep within the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Xiao Yan listened to the earth-shaking roars in the distance and felt the terrifying pressure. Curious, he said, "The Amethyst Winged Lion King seems to be fighting someone. He's the overlord of this region. Who would dare attack him?"

Behind Xiao Yan,

In the original story, Yun Yun would not come to ask the Amethyst Winged Lion King for Purple Spirit Crystal for at least another year.

Yao Lao floated in midair. After releasing his spiritual power to probe the area, he said, "He's fighting a sixth-rank magical beast, an Aurora Demon Tiger. Unfortunately, this tiger lacks a royal bloodline. I'm afraid it's no match for the Amethyst Winged Lion King."

"What made them start fighting?" Xiao Yan asked in puzzlement.

Yao Lao spread his hands.

"Who knows? Perhaps territory, perhaps an old grudge."

"Teacher, let's get closer and have a look."

A gleam of anticipation lit Xiao Yan's eyes as a pair of pitch-black eagle wings unfurled from his back.

They were none other than the Purple Cloud Wings!

As the wings beat, Xiao Yan rose into the air and swiftly flew toward the source of the energy fluctuations.

Before long, Xiao Yan spotted the two enormous magical beasts locked in battle.

One was seven or eight meters long, his entire body covered in a layer of purple crystals that shone brilliantly beneath the sunlight, lending him a mighty, imposing appearance.

Compared with the Amethyst Winged Lion King, the Aurora Demon Tiger was a size smaller. His body was pitch-black, and his fur gleamed like steel tempered a hundred times.

High in the sky, violent energy fluctuations continually produced thunderous, rumbling booms that echoed through the surrounding mountains.

Terrifying energy mingled with those rumbles. Wherever it swept past, forests were left in ruins and deep ravines scarred the ground.

Feeling the terrifying pressure from the sky, magical beasts for dozens of miles around fell into a panic and fled wildly outward, creating a spectacular sight like a surging beast tide.

"A battle at the Dou Emperor level really is terrifying."

Xiao Yan did not get too close. In a battle of this level, even a stray shock wave might be enough to kill him.

"This is nothing. A mere Dou Emperor? At my peak, I could have destroyed one with a wave of my hand," Yao Lao said proudly.

But you're already dead, old man. All you have left is a soul, Xiao Yan grumbled inwardly, though outwardly he still gave his teacher all the praise he could want.

"Yes, yes, yes! You're amazing, Teacher!"

A little under an hour later, Yao Lao suddenly perked up.

"The Aurora Demon Tiger can't hold out much longer!"

Hearing this, Xiao Yan immediately grew alert as well.

Sure enough, only moments later, violent energy fluctuations suddenly radiated from the Amethyst Winged Lion King, and the purple light surrounding him grew increasingly intense.

"Die!"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King's deep voice rang across the sky. In the next instant, a dark-purple pillar of light shot out of his body.

As though sensing what was coming, the Aurora Demon Tiger opened his great maw and spat out a mass of pitch-black flames.

In a flash, the dark-purple pillar collided with the black flames and exploded with a thunderous boom.

Violent energy fluctuations spread outward from the center of the explosion like a surging tide.

Wherever the energy passed, even space warped slightly.

Even Xiao Yan, watching from the fringes of the battle, was affected. A wave of lingering energy buffeted him until he could barely keep his balance.

"The Aurora Demon Tiger lost, just as expected. But it looks like the Amethyst Winged Lion King didn't have an easy victory either!" Yao Lao remarked.

Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow.

"Teacher, I remember you saying that if your soul possessed my body, you could unleash the strength of a Dou Emperor?"

Hearing this, Yao Lao could not help rolling his eyes.

"Don't even think about going after those two magical beasts. Sixth-rank magical beasts aren't that easy to kill.

"The Amethyst Winged Lion King may not have won easily, but he hasn't suffered any serious injuries either.

"Even if I acted, I could only suppress him for a short time. If the fight dragged on, we'd be the ones at a disadvantage."

Xiao Yan naturally understood. Although Yao Lao could unleash a brief burst of power, it would consume his soul strength.

But he had never intended to kill the Amethyst Winged Lion King in the first place.

The corners of his mouth lifted. "Teacher, don't worry. I mainly want to make a deal with the Amethyst Winged Lion King.

"It's rare to catch him in a weakened state. Negotiating with him now will be more effective than at any other time."

Something stirred in Yao Lao's mind, and he began to suspect what Xiao Yan intended.

"You're not planning to catch a wolf with your bare hands and recruit a Dou Emperor as your hired muscle, are you?"

Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes, looking for all the world like a cunning fox.

"What do you mean, hired muscle? We're clearly recruiting an angel investor."