Although he had gained another powerful bodyguard to keep him safe, Xiao Yan showed little joy.
Things had not turned out the way he wanted.
Moreover, he was beginning to suspect that something was wrong with this body's fortune again!
After Xiao Xun'er, Xiao Mei, Xiao Yu, Ya Fei, and Nalan Yanran, if he counted Xiao Yi Xian as well, this was his seventh karmic entanglement with a woman!
That was far too many!
Had this body's original owner been some kind of peach-blossom spirit destined to attract women?
And another thing!
His karmic ties with the Misty Cloud Sect were problematic too!
The Misty Cloud Sect's young Sect Master, Nalan Yanran, was karmically entangled with his identity as Xiao Yan.
The Misty Cloud Sect Master, Yun Yun, was karmically entangled with his identity as Li Feiyu.
Even if he thought with his backside, he knew his future dealings with the Misty Cloud Sect would be anything but simple!
It might truly become a battle to wipe out the sect, just as Yao Lao had said!
Still, whatever reserves the Misty Cloud Sect possessed, he had Yao Lao to fall back on and felt no fear.
At worst, he could invite the spirit to possess him, and every difficulty would naturally be resolved!
With the strength of a Dou Wang or Dou Emperor in two years, letting Yao Lao possess him would allow him to unleash at least the power of a mid- to High-Rank Dou Zong!
He honestly could not imagine who in the Jia Ma Empire, or even the Northwest Continent, could stand against him.
Despite his melancholy, Xiao Yan's recent days in the Magical Beast Mountain Range had been decidedly comfortable.
Because he was living with a woman again!
Since Yun Yun still needed to recover and undo her seal, and did not want to leave anyway, she temporarily settled into the cave.
Thus, the two temporarily became friends living under the same roof.
Naturally, Xiao Yan made no moves on Yun Yun. Every day, he simply went out to fight magical beasts on schedule, as though clocking in and out of work.
Yet Yun Yun felt that, since Xiao Yan could care for her badly injured body and, despite his youth, forget the taste even after savoring the marrow, he was a true gentleman.
Her affection for Xiao Yan therefore grew by a substantial amount.
Indeed, over the past two days, while tending to her injuries, Yun Yun had begun gathering wild fruit nearby and catching small beasts and river fish, then clumsily washing her hands and preparing meals for Xiao Yan.
If she knew that less than a month ago, her man had lived this same life with another woman named Xiao Yi Xian in another valley not far away, who knew whether she could still cook for him so happily?
Another month passed. Xiao Yan had quietly broken through to Eight-Star Great Dou Master, and Yun Yun's injuries finally healed.
She also seized the opportunity to break through the Amethyst Winged Lion King's seal.
Yun Yun once again remembered the objective of her trip: Purple Spirit Crystal.
Her previous failure had mainly been due to insufficient practical combat experience and a lack of understanding of the Amethyst Winged Lion King.
If she fought the Amethyst Winged Lion King again, she was confident she could defeat it.
When Xiao Yan returned, Yun Yun told him her plan.
"You want to fight the Amethyst Winged Lion King again for Purple Spirit Crystal?"
Xiao Yan was somewhat surprised by Yun Yun's decision. How did this woman still dare to take such a risk?
Yun Yun, however, was brimming with confidence.
"I have experience this time. I certainly won't fail again!"
Xiao Yan rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment before saying, "If it's only Purple Spirit Crystal you want, there's no need to go to so much trouble.
"Why don't we split up? You keep the Amethyst Winged Lion King occupied with a mobile battle while I steal Purple Spirit Crystal from its lair. Wouldn't that save time and effort, giving us the best of both worlds?"
Hearing Xiao Yan's arrangement, Yun Yun was deeply touched. He was considering her safety.
But after only a moment's hesitation, Yun Yun said gently:
"Thank you for your kindness, but the Amethyst Winged Lion King has more than a dozen fourth-order magical beasts under its command. During a major battle, they'll all guard the area around its lair.
"With your current strength as a Da Dou Shi, entering the lair would be far too dangerous.
"Let me defeat it head-on instead, and we can take the Purple Spirit Crystal openly and honorably."
Xiao Yan smiled. "I'm going to steal it, not fight those guards. There won't be any danger."
Yun Yun remained uneasy. After thinking it over, Xiao Yan said:
"How about this? Fight a delaying battle with the Amethyst Winged Lion King for half an hour first. Give me that much time.
"If I can't steal it, I'll come out and signal you. You can unleash your full strength then.
"If I succeed, I'll give you a different signal. Then you can simply retreat. How does that sound?"
Yun Yun hesitated briefly but still shook her head.
"No. It's too unsafe for you. There's no need to make you take that risk."
Xiao Yan was somewhat surprised.
This woman really cares about me, doesn't she?
With a smile, Xiao Yan said, "Naturally, I have trump cards that will let me get away unscathed. But if you think I'm taking too great a risk, you can give me a bigger share of the spoils afterward."
Yun Yun wavered for a moment. In the end, she could not bear to go against her man's wishes and nodded in agreement.
But she immediately added, "The Purple Spirit Crystal is secondary. I'll only take one piece, and the rest will be yours.
"If you want to go, you can, but I'll transfer some Dou Qi to you so you can temporarily reach the strength of a Dou Ling. That should offer you a little more protection."
With that, the plan was settled, and both were quite satisfied.
Xiao Yan was satisfied that he would get the lion's share of the spoils.
Yun Yun was satisfied that her man still cared for and cherished her, taking her safety into consideration.
They set out and soon arrived at the Amethyst Winged Lion King's lair.
Yun Yun issued a challenge outside the cave.
"Lion King! Come out and fight again!"
"Roar!"
An earthshaking roar answered her as the Amethyst Winged Lion King burst out of the cave!
Yun Yun unfurled her Dou Qi Wings and drew the battlefield high into the sky, giving Xiao Yan room to sneak inside.
Then she transformed her Dou Qi into a sky full of wind blades and began exchanging long-range blasts with the Amethyst Winged Lion King, using precisely the mobile, delaying tactics they had agreed upon.
Meanwhile, the instant the Amethyst Winged Lion King charged out, Xiao Yan silently crept toward the lair.
He took out a Concealment Breath Pill he had recently refined and swallowed it. Sure enough, the nearby fourth-order magical beasts remained completely unaware of him, all looking up at their king's battle in the sky.
His infiltration went smoothly.
After entering the lair, he saw purple crystals of varying sizes embedded here and there in the cave walls, radiating pure fire-attribute energy.
They were Purple Spirit Crystals!
Xiao Yan immediately perked up!
His hands moved faster than ever as he began stripping the walls of Purple Spirit Crystals.
Wherever he passed, he would have plucked feathers from a passing goose-not even a blade of grass remained!
In less than ten minutes, he had looted every Purple Spirit Crystal from the outer portion of the lair.
Yet Xiao Yan was not satisfied. He turned his gaze toward the depths of the cave.
He could sense an even vaster, purer fluctuation of energy faintly emanating from within.
Continuing deeper inside, he rounded a bend, and a massive cavern appeared before him.
At its center lay a natural crystal pool formed from Purple Spirit Crystal.
In the very center of the Purple Spirit Crystal Pool sat a perfectly round purple crystal sphere about the size of a human head, radiating a dreamlike luster.
Xiao Yan's heart gave an involuntary leap!
One look was enough to tell him this was a tremendous treasure!
"Teacher, take a look! What is this?"
Yao Lao's pleasantly surprised voice rang out.
"It's actually companion amethyst source! You brat, your luck really is incredible!
"I explored so many Amethyst Winged Lion King lairs back then and never saw this stuff! Yet you stumbled across it on your very first try!
"It's worth ten times more than all those Purple Spirit Crystals outside combined!"
Xiao Yan was delighted, but just as he was about to act, his gaze abruptly froze.
Not far from the companion amethyst source, a young Amethyst Winged Lion King, only half a meter long and still without a full coat of fur, lay sound asleep.
Clearly, he was the cub of the big fellow outside.
Xiao Yan's smile grew even brighter.
"Tsk, a free gift too? Taking this little fellow back to the Xiao Clan would invite trouble, but catching him and selling him would bring in another hefty sum, wouldn't it?"
Xiao Yan flickered, appearing beside the Little Lion King like a phantom.
Holding the fingers of his right hand together like a blade, he delivered a clean, decisive chop to the back of the Little Lion King's neck!
A soft thud sounded.
The Little Lion King, still drooling in his sleep, did not even grunt. His head lolled to one side, and he passed out.
Having dealt with the "free gift," Xiao Yan turned his gaze back to the Purple Spirit Crystal Pool and the companion amethyst source.
Walking to the edge of the crystal pool, he could clearly sense that it was connected to the entire mountain beneath it, seemingly drawing fire-attribute energy from deep within the earth's veins.
Removing it intact would not be easy.
Teacher, how can I dig out the Purple Spirit Crystal Pool and take it too? Xiao Yan asked inwardly.
Yao Lao chuckled.
"You brat, aren't you a little too greedy? You even want the base?"
Xiao Yan answered with perfect conviction.
"Teacher, isn't this money too? If money were lying on the ground, would you leave it just because someone had nailed it down?"
Yao Lao pondered for a moment, then said, "Use that wisp of bone spirit cold flame I gave you. It should burn through the connection between this crystal pool and the earth's veins."
Xiao Yan's eyes lit up. Good idea!
Without further hesitation, he willed a ghastly white flame to appear quietly in his palm.
Bone spirit cold flame!
With the flame's appearance, the scorching temperature throughout the cavern abruptly dropped considerably.
Controlling the bone spirit cold flame, Xiao Yan began burning the base of the crystal pool.
Crack... crack...
Amid a series of crisp cracking sounds, the previously indestructible base rapidly grew brittle, becoming covered in spiderweb-like fissures.
"Now!"
Xiao Yan gave a low shout, withdrew the heavenly flame, and clenched his right fist as Dou Qi surged madly through his body!
"Eight Extremes Collapse!"
Boom!
A deep explosion rang out, and the entire cave shook violently!
The crystal pool's base snapped clean off!
It worked!
With a sweep of his hand, Xiao Yan stored both the crystal pool and the companion amethyst source in his Storage Ring.
But just then!
"Roar!!!"
A lion's roar filled with furious rage suddenly erupted outside the cave!
At the same time, Yun Yun's urgent voice rang out.
"Mr. Li, come out quickly! The Lion King is heading back!"
Xiao Yan's expression changed. He could sense a savage aura rushing toward him at a terrifying speed!
The Amethyst Winged Lion King had gone berserk!
With no time to think, Xiao Yan scooped up the unconscious little lion from the ground and rushed out of the cave!
The enraged Amethyst Winged Lion King had already charged right up to Xiao Yan!
But upon seeing the child in Xiao Yan's arms, it abruptly stopped!
It stared at Xiao Yan with both fury and extreme caution.
"Damn human, release my child!"
Before you continue