"Teacher, did you really have to get so excited just because I came out?"
Hearing Yao Lao's words, Xiao Yan asked with a wry smile.
"Of course I'm excited! If you keep hiding in that tiny place, when will you ever refine a physical body for me?"
"Without a body, how can I be reborn? How can I return to the Yao Clan?"
"Besides, that little Wutan City has neither resources nor powerful experts. How can you improve your strength there? How can you gain combat experience?"
"Remember this, little fellow: the strong carve their way through blood!"
"Especially on the road to becoming an emperor. Without an invincible heart, how could you ever ascend to the Dou Di realm?"
The Medicine Emperor earnestly tried to impress these lessons upon Xiao Yan.
"Teacher, aren't you a little too bloodthirsty for an alchemist?"
Xiao Yan blinked. Those who know you know you're a Dou Di who refines pills. Anyone who doesn't would think you attained your Dao through slaughter!
"Nonsense! You only think that because you live in this later age. In ancient times, the struggle along the path to becoming an emperor was perilous beyond measure. Either you killed me, or I killed you."
"An alchemist like me had even more reason to find every possible way to protect himself."
"And the most direct way to protect yourself is to kill your enemy before he makes his move."
Once again, the Medicine Emperor imparted his experience in dealing with the world to Xiao Yan.
"Your disciple has learned his lesson!"
"But as you said yourself, Teacher, that was in ancient times."
"Those were different times. Your path no longer suits the present."
"Only by being as cautious as I am can one endure through the ages and have the last laugh."
"Look at all the identities I've created. Whatever I do that rouses the wrath of heaven and men, or whatever earthshaking disaster I cause, people like 'Lin Dong' and 'Li Feiyu' will take the blame."
"None of it will affect me, Xiao Yan, in the slightest. So, Teacher, do you understand now?"
Xiao Yan first acknowledged the Medicine Emperor's words, then expounded upon his own "Dao."
"Hmm?"
"Your words aren't entirely without reason. Let the wind and waves rise while you sit steady on your fishing platform-is that it?"
The Medicine Emperor pondered for a long while and actually found himself somewhat agreeing with Xiao Yan.
"You've understood it perfectly, Teacher. That's exactly the idea."
As Xiao Yan spoke, the crimson wings behind him gently beat, increasing his speed further.
The Misty Cloud Sect!
As the foremost power in the Jia Ma Empire, its headquarters stood atop Misty Cloud Mountain, only a little over ten li from Jia Ma Holy City.
At that moment, in the main hall on Misty Cloud Mountain, Yun Yun was discussing something with Pill King Gu He, whose name resounded throughout the Jia Ma Empire.
"Elder Gu He, Yanran has remained in seclusion ever since she returned from the Xiao Clan. I'm worried that if she continues like this, something will go wrong with her cultivation."
"Could you refine some pills to aid her cultivation, so she won't have to push herself so desperately?"
Yun Yun asked, a trace of worry on her lovely face.
"Sect Leader, I do happen to know of a pill that can greatly increase the strength of anyone below the Da Dou Shi realm."
"However, I'm still missing one ingredient, and it's extremely difficult to obtain..."
Gu He pondered briefly before speaking somewhat helplessly.
"Elder Gu He, what ingredient are you missing?"
Yun Yun's delicate brows drew together slightly. She was curious about what could make even Pill King Gu He look so troubled.
"To be frank, Sect Leader, it's the purple spirit crystal shed by the Amethyst Winged Lion King in the Magical Beast Mountain Range!"
Gu He shook his head as he spoke. The Amethyst Winged Lion King was an expert comparable to a human Dou Emperor.
Asking him for purple spirit crystal was no different from pulling a tooth from a tiger's mouth.
"Purple spirit crystal?"
Yun Yun had heard of it as well. Apparently, it took at least twenty years for even a tiny piece to shed from the Amethyst Winged Lion King's body.
More importantly, before entering seclusion, Nalan Yanran had repeatedly insisted that no one else interfere with the three-year agreement.
She could handle it herself, and she had specifically warned Yun Yun that she must not go to the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
But now, watching her disciple cultivate bitterly in seclusion day and night, how could Yun Yun bear to stand by with her hands tucked in her sleeves?
"Elder Gu He, prepare some high-grade pills for me. I'll see whether I can trade them with the Amethyst Winged Lion King for some purple spirit crystal."
Yun Yun lowered her head slightly. In the end, she still decided to make a trip to the Magical Beast Mountain Range for her disciple's sake.
"Sect Leader, would you like me to accompany you?"
Gu He nodded as he asked.
"No need. There's no telling when Yanran will come out of seclusion. If she does, cover for me. Don't let her know I went to the Magical Beast Mountain Range."
"That child is proud and strong-willed. I'm afraid she'll throw a tantrum at her teacher if she finds out."
Yun Yun waved a hand lightly, and pale-green wings appeared behind her. Taking the Storage Ring Gu He handed her, she left the Misty Cloud Sect.
The outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range!
With their homes destroyed and nowhere else to go, the people of Qingshan Town could now only eke out a miserable existence in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Of the original Three Great Mercenary Corps, only Wolf Head and Blood Battle remained.
Even those two survivors were hanging on by a thread.
Not only had they lost half their members, but the intermittent magical beast attacks over the past several days had left every one of them injured and in extremely poor spirits.
"Commander, this Magical Beast Mountain Range really isn't a place for people to live!"
"Exactly! Why don't we find a city to settle in?"
"If this keeps up, the brothers won't be able to hold on much longer!"
The members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group were all crying out in misery.
Just moments earlier, a Tier 2 magical beast had attacked them.
Fortunately, Mu She was a Dou Shi and had barely managed to kill it.
"It's all those three hateful Dou Wangs' fault! If it weren't for them, how would we have ended up homeless?"
"I want to lead you to another city or town, too. But we're outsiders, after all. How could fitting into a new place be so easy?"
"There's no need to worry too much, everyone. I, Mu She, will lead you to a suitable place to live in this Magical Beast Mountain Range!"
Mu She's gloomy gaze swept over the crowd as he spoke.
In truth, the reason he refused to lead them away was that he did not want to give up his position as commander.
Once they went somewhere new, an outside force like theirs would surely be broken up and absorbed into other factions. That was something Mu She did not want to see.
A true man stands between heaven and earth. How could he languish beneath another forever?
"Mu She?"
"Are you from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group?"
Not long after Mu She finished speaking, a voice suddenly came from above.
Looking up, they saw a black-clad young man in his twenties gazing down at them from on high.
Naturally, the most striking sight was the pair of Dou Qi Wings behind the young man.
Dou Qi Transformation into Wings-he had to be a Dou Wang expert at the very least!
"M-my lord, I am Mu She, commander of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group. How may I be of service?"
Mu She looked at Xiao Yan in the air and spoke with a fawning smile.
Before you continue