The Amethyst Winged Lion King let out a thunderous roar, its entire body radiating brilliant violet light.
A wisp of violet flame rolled across its form, and in the blink of an eye, it surged into a raging inferno, forming a massive column of purple fire that blasted toward Lin Ran.
The searing heat was like a volcanic eruption, threatening to reduce Lin Ran to ashes.
Seeing the lion king's reaction, Lin Ran merely smiled calmly. Facing the incoming blast of fire, he lifted his hand casually.
With that motion, a vast wave of Dou Qi suddenly surged within the cave.
This Dou Qi was invisible and intangible, but terrifyingly fierce. If the violet flame was a raging volcano erupting, then the Dou Qi Lin Ran released was a roaring tsunami.
"Boom!!"
The two forces collided in an instant. Violet fire and Dou Qi clashed again and again, each impact like thunder, rumbling through the cave as waves of Dou Qi rippled outward.
But the stalemate lasted only a moment. The towering column of purple fire was instantly extinguished by Lin Ran's Dou Qi—like a birthday candle blown out by the wind.
Seeing Lin Ran completely unharmed, the Amethyst Winged Lion King's expression changed dramatically. It finally noticed that Lin Ran was floating mid-air.
Humans weren't like Magic Beasts. Without wings, they couldn't fly naturally. Unless one possessed a flight-type Dou Technique or had reached the Dou Spirit realm and cultivated Dou Qi Wings, flight was impossible.
But not all humans needed wings to fly.
Once a cultivator reached the level of Dou Ancestor, they could begin to manipulate spatial energy.
To them, there was no real difference between the sky and the ground—both were simply structures of space they could walk through freely.
'This human boy… is a Dou Ancestor?!'
The Amethyst Winged Lion King found it hard to believe. Lin Ran looked far too young. How could someone of that age possibly be a Dou Ancestor?
But Lin Ran's aura was unimaginably deep, and he had casually dispersed its attack. Even if he wasn't a true Dou Ancestor, he had to be at least a high-level Dou Emperor—definitely stronger than that human woman who came two days ago!
"You human brat! You intruded into this king's domain, disturbed my slumber, and stole the Violet Amethyst Essence! What are your intentions?!"
The lion king locked eyes on Lin Ran and suddenly let out a furious roar in human speech.
"So you're not just a mindless beast, huh."
Lin Ran stared at the lion king and replied flatly, "I need a drop of your source blood. Will you give it willingly?"
Source blood?!
Hearing this, the Amethyst Winged Lion King froze, a look of rage flashing across its face.
For a Magic Beast, source blood was a sacred thing.
If the Monster Core was the essence of one's cultivation, then the source blood was the root of the beast's physical power—its very life force.
Losing even a drop would mean a sharp drop in cultivation, possibly even falling below tier-6!
"Looks like you're not willing."
Seeing its reaction, Lin Ran sighed softly.
Truth be told, he hadn't wanted to kill the Amethyst Winged Lion King.
Tier-6 Magic Beasts possessed strength on par with Dou Emperors. In fact, thanks to their powerful bodies and innate abilities, they were often even stronger than human cultivators of the same rank.
Since Lin Ran planned to establish a branch of the Cloud Rain Sect here in the Northwest, he lacked resources in every area.
Though this lion couldn't serve as a sect disciple, using it as a gatekeeper wouldn't have been a bad idea.
Unfortunately, the beast clearly hadn't understood the situation. Even after Lin Ran had shown his Dou Ancestor power, it still didn't grasp the reality before it.
"Forget it."
"Stop bluffing!"
The Amethyst Winged Lion King roared again. Violet light surged in its beastly eyes as its massive claw lit up with a radiant purple glow and swung down toward Lin Ran in fury.
The claw sliced through the air with such force it tore open the air itself. A piercing screech echoed—like space was being ripped apart.
But—
Just as the lion's attack closed in—
Lin Ran calmly raised his slender palm and pushed forward gently. Though it looked effortless, an overwhelming force exploded from his palm. Even space rippled with rings of compressed energy.
The blow seemed to pierce through space itself, landing directly on the Amethyst Winged Lion King in a flash.
Energy burst forth. The lion, charging ferociously a moment ago, let out a miserable howl.
Its massive body was blasted backward and slammed hard into the cave wall, burying itself in stone and sending dust and rock flying everywhere.
When the smoke finally cleared, the ruler of the Magic Beast Mountain Range lay half-dead, barely clinging to life.
Lin Ran walked forward. In a flash, he appeared beside the lion. His fingers curled into a blade, striking down into the beast's chest like a knife.
The lion king's defenses were formidable. Its flesh was tough, its power immense, and a thick layer of amethyst crystal covered its body.
But as Lin Ran's hand blade met those layers, it sliced through them like a hot knife through butter—barely encountering any resistance.
'Source blood is usually near the heart… the heart… mm, there it is.'
"Roar! Roar!!"
The lion king thrashed violently. The pain drove it mad. It let out agonized howls, flailing its wings and spewing purple flames in all directions in a desperate attempt to stop Lin Ran.
But it was no use.
"Settle down."
A wave of invisible pressure suddenly descended. The lion king's struggling body froze in place.
Spatial Lock—signature ability of high-level Dou Ancestors!
Now completely bound, the Amethyst Winged Lion King could only widen its beast eyes and watch as Lin Ran extracted its source blood. It could feel its life slowly slipping away… and could do nothing.
Death approached, quietly.
The drop of source blood was about the size of a fist—deep purple-red, boiling hot like a burning flame.
Lin Ran took out a special jade bottle from his storage ring and carefully sealed it inside.
Then he used his hand like a blade again, slicing open the lion's skull and retrieving its Monster Core.
The Heavenly Spirit Blood Dragon Pill required a tier-7 core. This one wasn't qualified—it was only tier-6—but still very valuable. Lin Ran wasn't about to waste it.
After pocketing the core, Lin Ran waved his hand and stored the entire corpse of the Amethyst Winged Lion King in his ring.
Nothing should go to waste. Not even a little.
A tier-6 Magic Beast corpse like this could be dissected for pill ingredients, forged into weapons and armor, or even cooked and eaten.
Even if Lin Ran didn't need any of that, just burying the body underground could enrich the natural energy of an area for decades.
The Northwest branch of the Cloud Rain Sect had yet to be built, and as the saying went—until you run the house, you don't know how expensive firewood is.
Lin Ran knew full well how many resources were needed to build a proper sect branch.
And those three old bastards weren't giving him a single thing—they expected him to figure everything out on his own.
'What could I even do? I'm helpless too, okay!'
(End of Chapter)