Chapter 66

With a thunderous boom, the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King slammed into the Shan Mai, its claws like searing red iron forcibly sealing its wounds with intense heat.

"Kill that human woman!!!"

The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King glared with blood-red eyes, letting out a ferocious roar brimming with murderous intent, causing every demon beast still fleeing across the land to freeze—thousands of them turned in unison toward Yun Yun, who was falling from the sky.

Countless demon beasts, like sharks scenting blood, surrounded her simultaneously from all directions.

Undoubtedly, a Dou Huang whose Dou Qi was sealed was no different from a weak woman before countless demon beasts; even if she didn't die from the fall, she'd be torn to shreds by them.

With all his Dou Qi channeled, a surge of bloodlust erupted from Xiao Yan—terrifying crimson energy coalesced into a massive spectral lion that wrapped around his entire body, his Third-Star Dou Shi Dou Qi combined with his own bloodline energy surging from every pore.

"Get the hell out of my way!"

Xiao Yan unleashed the Furious Lion's Roar; as his roar echoed, a colossal energy lion surged forth, its furious bellow shaking the entire forest.

Roar!! A ferocious crimson lion, like a runaway tank, crushed every tree in its path—First and Second-Tier Magic Beasts that merely touched it were pulverized into blood mist.

After carving a bloody path, Xiao Yan slammed his right foot into the ground—with a boom—the crushing pressure stamped a small crater into the earth, spraying dirt everywhere.

Xiao Yan moved like a streak of wind, his body wrapped in a Black Soul Robe, appearing like a ghostly shadow as he shot straight toward the spot where Yun Yun had fallen.

Xiao Yan, whose physique had already been honed to rival that of a demon beast, now resembled a furious male lion under the power of the Furious Lion's Roar—even third-grade magical beasts had to avoid his sharp edge.

Leaping three zhang high, the next instant, a pair of dark purple Yun Wings appeared behind Xiao Yan. He condensed his Dou Qi and flapped hard—transforming into an arrow released from a bow, he caught Yun Yun mid-fall.

Suddenly embraced by a man clad entirely in a Black Robe, his face hidden beneath a Hood, Yun Yun instinctively tried to struggle free.

"If you don't want to die, don't move!" Xiao Yan barked in a low voice.

He had no time to soothe her with baby-talk—they weren't out of danger yet!

"Human! You seek death!!" A scorching roar came from behind Xiao Yan.

The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King had only been wounded—it wasn't dead! And it could still fly!

Enraged, the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King beat its wings and closed in at top speed; Xiao Yan knew that with his Dou Shi cultivation, even with a Flying Dou Technique, he couldn't outpace the Sixth Rank demon beast.

Xiao Yan's eyes flashed with ruthlessness—he used his left hand to grip Yun Yun's back, pulling her tightly against him, her softness pressing firmly against his chest.

"You!" A flush spread across Yun Yun's cheeks—she had never before been so intimately close to a man!

Before Yun Yun could react, Xiao Yan spun mid-air, his gaze sharpening, and a powerful Soul Force burst forth from his body.

Soul Shock!

Thud! Xiao Yan's mind spun with dizziness. Even though the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King was a demon beast with little Soul cultivation, it was still a Sixth Rank demon beast—its soul had naturally strengthened through repeated ascensions.

Xiao Yan's Soul Force was inferior to its own.

Roar roar roar!! The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King never expected Xiao Yan to possess a Soul Technique; caught off-guard, its soul pierced with agony, its newly healed wounds burst open again.

Xiao Yan knew this wasn't enough—he bit his tongue to snap himself awake. With a thought, a wisp of Black Flame appeared in his right palm; he swept his hand—and countless shards of Black Flame split into tiny black sparks, descending like a rain of darkness.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!! These were the Black Flames of Swallowing Flame—even the offspring flames retained Swallowing Flame's nature.

Just a few sparks ignited vast stretches of forest; black flames spread across mountains and valleys, thick smoke rolling, obscuring all vision.

Without hesitation, Xiao Yan swallowed a Third-Rank Great Qi-Replenishing Pill—the Black Flame instantly flooded his entire Yun Wings, pushing his speed to its limit; using the Black Flame as cover, he vanished beyond the horizon.

The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's furious roars faded into the distance; eventually, Xiao Yan successfully escaped with Yun Yun.

The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King stared at the Black Flames burning its territory, its expression grim—because these Black Flames couldn't be extinguished by water.

Only its own Purple Crystal Fire could forcibly burn them away.

"This Black Flame is clearly weak—why does it feel so dangerous? What kind of flame is this?" The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King suspected that if the opponent's strength matched its own, even its Purple Crystal Fire might be consumed by these Black Flames.

On the other side, exhausted Xiao Yan barely managed to fly back to the Cave with his Dou Qi; Yun Yun, sealed and deprived of Dou Qi, was already pale—but Xiao Yan, whose Dou Qi was severely depleted, was even whiter!

Xiao Yan lifted the Hood of his Soul Robe, revealing a youthful face, then sat cross-legged on the ground to absorb the Great Qi-Replenishing Pill and restore his Dou Qi.

Glancing at Yun Yun, standing nearby with wary eyes, Xiao Yan forced calmness into his voice: "There's a Cave on the cliff—you can go there to change clothes. Even without Dou Qi, you should be able to climb up, right?"

Hearing this, Yun Yun's face flushed red, and she instinctively clutched her torn clothing.

Every second of the battle with the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King had been perilous—Yun Yun's body bore multiple wounds, her clothes shredded, many patches burned through by Purple Crystal Fire, revealing glimpses of her snowy skin, her figure half-exposed.

Dressed in a plain silk dress, Yun Yun now radiated elegance and nobility.

Yun Yun's brows furrowed slightly—she realized she couldn't break through the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's Flame Sealing in the short term.

Curious, she looked at Xiao Yan, who was cultivating to restore his Dou Qi, and asked: "Who are you? Why did you save me?"

After a moment, Xiao Yan exhaled—he'd regained some Dou Qi. Though he'd looked heroic just now, if his Soul Force had been weaker, he wouldn't have stopped the wounded Purple Crystal Winged Lion King—and both he and Yun Yun would've become prey.

"Before asking for my name, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Xiao Yan gazed at Yun Yun with eyes as calm as water.

Stunned, Yun Yun had only ever met men who flattered her—she'd never encountered a boy as composed as Xiao Yan, especially one who'd just saved her life.

Yun Yun's beautiful eyes flickered slightly, and she smiled faintly: "I'm Yun Zhi."

Xiao Yan's eyelid twitched—he saw Yun Zhi's slight pride in her false name, and he nearly felt embarrassed enough to crawl into a hole.

A fake name is one thing—but you didn't even change your surname?!

"Uh… I'm Yao Yan." What could he do? Pretend he didn't notice her lie.

"Why did you save me?" Yun Yun asked softly; she clearly didn't recognize Xiao Yan, and couldn't fathom why he'd risked his life for her.

"I need to enter the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's lair to retrieve something. You're a Dou Huang—you can hold it off." Straightforward, unhidden.

Xiao Yan's blunt words left Yun Yun speechless—using me as a pawn? That's too direct!

Hero saves beauty? Not a chance.

Xiao Yan was direct—he made it clear he saved her for a purpose.

Surprisingly, Yun Yun nodded—she didn't believe Xiao Yan saved her out of attraction; his candor actually left a good impression on her.

"The Purple Spirit Crystal I need is probably in the lair too—but my Dou Qi is sealed, and I can't break the seal anytime soon. If the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King recovers, retrieving it won't be easy," Yun Yun said anxiously.

The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King was wounded now—if it fully healed, entering the lair would be even harder. And Yun Yun had been there once—next time, the Lion King might heavily guard its domain.

Xiao Yan smiled calmly—he'd already devised a way to break the seal. Slowly, he extended his right index finger. Whoosh—a wisp of Black Flame appeared at his fingertip.

"I can help you remove the seal."

Swallowing Flame possesses the ability to devour everything; Xiao Yan planned to use Swallowing Flame's nature to slowly consume the Flame Sealing.