Chapter 11: Casually Slaying a Sixth-Tier Magical Beast
One hundred li outside Wu Tan City, dusk settled over the desolate wilderness, the steady clop of the unicorn's hooves the only sound.
"It's getting dark…" Xiao Mei said, pulling her head back inside the carriage, her small face tinged with fear.
"Look at you, fearless back at the Xiao family, but scared on your first trip away?" Xiao Yu teased. Having accompanied the Great Elder to other cities for supplies, she was braver by comparison.
"Something's off… It's too quiet," Nalan Yanran said, sensing danger, only to be distracted by a sudden movement.
Yun Xian, who'd been lying across her lap, flipped over, his face now nestled against her side. His warm breath seeped through her thin gauze dress, grazing her abdomen. Nalan Yanran clapped a hand over her mouth, her ears flushing red.
"Now! Strike!"
Jia Lie Bi led the Jia Lie family's elite—six Dou Shi and eighteen Dou Zhe—surging toward the carriage from all directions.
Time seemed to freeze.
An invisible wave of soul force rippled outward from the carriage.
In the next instant—
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Every attacker collapsed.
"What?!"
Liu Xi, the first-grade alchemist, stood dumbfounded. Before he could react, his body convulsed, eyes rolled back, and he crumpled.
"Ambush! A powerhouse!"
Mo Cheng's face twisted in horror. Without hesitation, he channeled his Dou Qi and bolted.
Damn it! A trap!
Did Yun Lan Sect spot me and set up an ambush?
To wipe out the Jia Lie forces in a blink, the enemy had to be at least a Dou Wang! Knowing he was outmatched, Mo Cheng gritted his teeth and unleashed a secret technique. His sleeves shattered as his arms swelled, morphing into the crimson limbs of a fifth-tier Blazing Mountain Rhino.
Boom! Boom!
Searing air blasted from his beastly arms, propelling him forward with recoil force, his speed rivaling Dou Qi wings. This technique had once let him escape a Dou Wang's pursuit. He was certain he'd slip away again.
Thud!
Mid-sprint, Mo Cheng's body stiffened and he faceplanted into the dirt, motionless.
With that, Mo Cheng and the Jia Lie forces were all dead—felled by a mere wisp of Yun Xian's soul, a fraction less than a billionth of his Emperor Realm Soul Force.
In the sky, a faint shimmer glanced toward a shadowed corner.
"!!!"
Ling Ying, a peak Dou Huang, felt his heart lurch. His Low Di-Class technique, Shadow Art, which concealed his presence, shattered, exposing him.
"Great Lord, please spare me! I am of the Gu Clan…"
With no will to resist or flee, Ling Ying begged, revealing his identity. After a long silence with no response, he cautiously looked up. The mysterious shimmer was gone. Relieved, he unfurled black Dou Qi wings and fled in a panic.
Xiao Family
"You're saying a hidden powerhouse protects Yun Lan Sect's group?"
Gu Xun'er paused, her fingers lingering on a potted plant.
Mo Cheng and the Jia Lie family's plot hadn't escaped her intelligence network. Out of affection for the Xiao family, she'd sent Ling Ying to secretly guard Xiao Yu and Xiao Mei.
"Yes, Miss," Ling Ying said, kneeling. "This person's strength is terrifying. With soul force alone, they instantly killed Mo Cheng and the Jia Lie forces. They also detected me. Had they been hostile, I wouldn't have returned."
His face still bore traces of dread. To effortlessly slay a peak Dou Huang like him, the enemy was at least a high-tier Dou Zong!
"Since Yun Po Tian, Yun Lan Sect declined swiftly, retreating to the barren northwest continent as a second-rate sect. Who knew they hid such a powerhouse?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Gu Xun'er's calm eyes. At its peak, Yun Lan Sect held sway in Central Plains, its founder Yun Po Tian a young Dou Zun, noted by the Gu Clan as a "peerless genius."
"Miss, should we continue investigating Yun Lan Sect?" Ling Ying asked cautiously.
"No, let it end here," Gu Xun'er said, shaking her head.
She'd long known of Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran's engagement, keeping tabs on Nalan Yanran. Her intelligence painted Nalan Yanran as arrogant and willful. Gu Xun'er had expected her to storm the Xiao family with Yun Lan Sect's might to annul the engagement. Yet, Yun Xian, the "Little Uncle-Master," not only facilitated the dissolution but deftly averted a feud. Though the process deviated, Gu Xun'er was pleased with the outcome.
Te Lan City, Flight Transport Station
Yun Xian's group boarded a Thick-Winged Bird, heading toward the imperial capital. Xiao Yu and Xiao Mei, first-time fliers, chattered excitedly.
"Wow! Is that the Magical Beast Mountain Range?"
"Little Uncle-Master, look! A mercenary group's hunting a beast!"
Nalan Yanran glared at the Xiao sisters clinging to Yun Xian, muttering inwardly, Damn little vixens!
"Magical Beast Mountain Range…"
Gazing at the sprawling mountains below, Yun Xian recalled the original story where Yun Yun battled the Amethyst Winged Lion King, leading to a chance encounter and fleeting romance with Xiao Yan. That part's unnecessary, right?
Truth be told, Yun Xian had his eye on his senior sister, Yun Yun. While he supported Xiao Yan in principle, he wasn't about to grovel. As the saying goes, women only slow your cultivation. For Xiao Yan to become the Flame Emperor swiftly, let a mundane guy like me bear the burden of women!
With a thought, his soul force blanketed the entire mountain range.
"Found it."
Yun Xian pinpointed the lair of the sixth-tier Amethyst Winged Lion King.
Under the blazing sun, the Lion King lounged at a volcanic crater, its spiral horn greedily absorbing solar and geothermal energy.
"My power grows steadily…"
"This place is a cultivation treasure. In another century, I'll evolve into a seventh-tier beast. They say seventh-tier beasts can take human form. I'll infiltrate human society and snack on a few Dou Huangs—hahaha!"
Lost in its delightful daydream, the Lion King felt something emerge from its chest. Looking down, it saw a fist-sized deep purple crystal, eerily familiar… like the magical cores it harvested from prey.
"A core…"
"That's my core?!"
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