A Brand-New Plan

Early the next morning, a sudden explosion rang out deep within the Magical Beast Mountain Range, startling the Amethyst Winged Lion King from her slumber outside.

At the same time, thick black clouds gathered, shrouding the area within a hundred meters of the cave entrance and forming an unusual phenomenon.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King knew exactly what had caused it! The Emperor's Extreme Pill she had long yearned for had been refined.

At the thought, even a magical beast of her profound cultivation could not contain her excitement. She spread her wings, soared into the air, and shot toward the phenomenon.

As she passed through the dark clouds, the Lion King roared and spat a beam of purple light, tearing a gap in the clouds and letting the sunlight through.

The Lion King looked closely and still felt dissatisfied. She turned her head back and forth, directing the purple light along the gap until she had completely dispersed the entire mass of dark clouds.

After all, the natural phenomenon caused by a Sixth-Grade Pill was no small matter. A single misstep could draw other Sixth-Order Magical Beasts, or even human Dou Huang experts.

Only after doing all this did the Lion King breathe a sigh of relief and glide back to wait by the cave entrance.

A little while later, the soul barrier at the cave entrance slowly dissipated, revealing a slender figure.

It was none other than Xiao Yan!

At this moment, however, the Amethyst Winged Lion King's gaze was not on the young man. Instead, she had noticed the jade bottle he was turning over in his hand.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King sniffed with her keen nose and immediately caught a rich medicinal fragrance. Her heart stirred again, and she let out a low growl before pouncing toward Xiao Yan.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan stood sideways, swinging the jade bottle in his left hand. Dou Qi burst from his body, blowing his flowing long hair upward.

He struck a pose he thought was dashing and waited for the Lion King to praise him.

But when he saw her greedy gaze, he grew angry. "Seriously, you're not even looking at me. And here I went to all the trouble of putting on a show."

"Hmph, that's what you get for ignoring me. Take this!" Xiao Yan said, aggrieved. He tightened his grip on the jade bottle and hurled it toward the Lion King in front of him.

"Aaaaah!"

Seeing the precious pill about to crash to the ground, the Amethyst Winged Lion King quickly panicked. She dropped into a sliding kneel, stretched out both claws, and caught the jade bottle with a fierce effort.

"Good thing I reacted in time. Lord Xiao Yan, why were you in such a monkey-like rush? You just tossed such a precious pill away so casually. What if it had gotten dirty?"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King straightened up, carefully pried out the wooden stopper with both claws, and poured out a golden pill the size of a longan. Then she complained to Xiao Yan.

"Tch, look at you, like some country bumpkin who's never seen the world!"

Xiao Yan folded his arms and curled his lip in disdain.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King could not be bothered to pay him any attention. She went off to one side to absorb the pill.

Xiao Yan was not angry at the sight. He merely shrugged helplessly, took a map from his robes, and strolled to the edge of the nearby woods to study it carefully.

"Teacher, I have a plan for what to do next, though I don't know if I should say it."

Xiao Yan sank his consciousness into his mind and called Yao Lao's name in his heart.

"Let's hear it!"

As the old, weary voice sounded, Yao Lao once again emerged eerily from the young man's chest and hovered in midair, looking down at him.

Xiao Yan immediately continued, "Teacher, actually, I started thinking about this when we brought the Amethyst Winged Lion King under our control..."

The young man approached a secluded path, pushing aside the dead leaves with his feet as he strolled through the woods.

As he walked toward a distant mountain peak, he explained at length:

"There are so many magical beast overlords in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. If we brought a few more Sixth-Order Magical Beasts under our control, wouldn't they and their subordinates be enough to form a faction comparable to the Misty Cloud Sect?"

Yao Lao raised an eyebrow, roughly understanding what he was thinking. He asked in a faintly teasing tone:

"What, because Nalan Yanran used the Misty Cloud Sect's backing to lord her power over you back then, you want to form an even bigger faction and borrow the tiger's might like a fox when the Three-Year Agreement comes around?"

Xiao Yan fell silent at Yao Lao's teasing.

In truth, he did not care much about the Three-Year Agreement. He only wanted to build a faction ahead of time to protect the Xiao Clan and fight the Hall of Souls, nothing more.

But then Xiao Yan thought that his body was still going through adolescence, when youthful spirits ran high. Why not use Yao Lao's explanation to achieve his goal of building a faction?

At that thought, the corners of Xiao Yan's mouth rose slightly, and he replied calmly:

"That's right, teacher. I couldn't accept Nalan Yanran breaking off our engagement in public, so I thought of paying her back an eye for an eye. I want Nalan Yanran to have a taste of losing face too!"

Yao Lao was stunned, then burst out laughing. "Hahaha, good! Since you've got such ambition, lad, I'll lend you a hand!"

At that, he pounded his chest and declared boldly:

"Don't worry, Xiao Yan. You're my disciple, not someone just any third-rate sect can bully!"

"When the time comes, I'll personally invite all my old Dou Zun and Half-Saint friends over to lend you their support!"

"Huh!!!"

Yao Lao's loud shout gave Xiao Yan a fright. He hurriedly waved his hands.

"No, no, no, isn't that a bit much? A Dou Zun would be one thing, but you want to invite a Half-Saint too?"

In truth, Xiao Yan did not think Nalan Yanran was a bad person. At most, he found her behavior somewhat unpleasant, and there was no need to stir up such a commotion for revenge.

But Yao Lao gave a cold snort and said seriously:

"What are you afraid of? What does the Misty Cloud Sect amount to? In my prime, I could have taken on the entire Northwest Continent by myself. Even if I've fallen on hard times, they still can't bully me as they please!"

Hearing Yao Lao's words, Xiao Yan felt a warmth in his heart. He knew Yao Lao wanted to protect him and could not help feeling moved. At the same time, he remembered the scene of Yao Lao being taken away in his previous life.

Back then, the Misty Cloud Sect had colluded with the Hall of Souls, nearly bringing the Xiao Clan to ruin. Yao Lao had been taken away and subjected to every kind of torture, ultimately losing most of his Soul Origin. Xiao Yan's heart had ached for him for who knew how long...

"Teacher, setting out a day earlier gives us a better chance of victory. I don't want to wait anymore. Let's leave now!"

Xiao Yan spoke in a grave voice, finally bringing the conversation back on track.

At that very moment, the young man happened to reach the top of a cliff. He gazed at the distant scenery, as though the whole world lay beneath his feet.

"Good! I agree. But once the faction is established, you mustn't use this power so lightly again. It's bad for both your body and your training. Do you understand?"

Yao Lao solemnly gave Xiao Yan this earnest warning, then abruptly plunged into his chest. He became a milky-white halo that enveloped Xiao Yan, carefully merging his soul power into it.

Before long, Xiao Yan's presence grew increasingly powerful, and he once again possessed strength comparable to that of a Four-Star Dou Zong.

"Yes, I understand, teacher!"

Xiao Yan nodded solemnly and spoke with a firm, determined gaze.

Of course he understood what Yao Lao meant.

His Dou Qi cultivation was still only at the Dou Zhe level. Drawing on Yao Lao's soul power for too long would certainly place a tremendous burden on his body.

"In that case, let's begin conquering the Magical Beast Mountain Range!"

The young man put away the map, spread his arms, took a deep breath, and threw back his head with a long laugh.

His voice rang out across the sky, full of confidence and determination.

After that, he suddenly leaped off the cliff and raced through the air, heading west across the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

There lay the dwelling of another Sixth-Order Magical Beast marked on the map, the Deadly Mad Bird.