Chapter 13 One sword, one thought, seizing the purple flame

The Amethyst Winged Lion King's lair soon appeared before his eyes.

Gu He looked indifferently at the two Tier 3 Demonic Beasts in front of the cave, holding the unsheathed Crimson Sky Sword, and muttered:

"Cloud Misty Immortal Sword Art!"

Sword Dao knowledge surged toward him like a flood; in less than three seconds, he had mastered all the secrets of this sword technique.

Gu He held the Crimson Sky Sword and began to use the Demonic Beasts for practice.

*Swoosh—*

Countless sword shadows flickered.

The two Demonic Beasts seemed to have no time to react before being slain under the blade of the Crimson Sky Sword.

"Your Lion King master has already left, so there's no need to keep guard here..." Gu He murmured softly.

Then, he walked quickly into the cave.

Inside the cave, purple crystal blocks covering the walls emitted a faint purple light, illuminating the view.

Suddenly, Gu He stopped in his tracks, his brow furrowing slightly.

A fork in the road had appeared before him, leading left and right.

After a momentary daze, Gu He walked toward the right corner without stopping.

"I remember the description in the original work; a cub of the Amethyst Winged Lion King should be hidden here, and the purple spirit crystal is near it," Gu He thought to himself.

As he gradually approached the target, the burning sensation from the heatwave ahead became more and more intense.

After turning another corner, Gu He's suspicion was confirmed—

A small Amethyst Winged Lion King was lying fast asleep on a stone platform that shimmered with purple light.

This little beast possessed the purest Amethyst Winged Lion King Bloodline; it had displayed the strength of a Tier 3 Demonic Beast since birth and was not to be underestimated.

Gu He knew this little beast was strong, but that was only for the current Xiao Yan. For him, Gu He, it was nothing!

"Void Breaking Slash!" Gu He shouted coldly, his entire body's Dou Qi condensing at the tip of the Crimson Sky Sword.

The moment he swung the sword, the Sword Qi was like a bolt of crimson lightning streaking through the air, aiming straight for the small Amethyst Winged Lion King's throat.

The little lion king was originally fast asleep, but it woke up alertly after hearing the noise. However, before it could even stand up, the fierce Void Breaking Slash struck it mercilessly.

"Roar—"

The little lion king was left dizzy and disoriented by the Void Breaking Slash, but because its intelligence had not yet developed, it could only roar helplessly.

Watching the little lion king leap up warily but stumble around, Gu He remained composed, stroking the cool, smooth blade of the sword.

"Heavenly Fire Descent!"

As the words fell, the Sword Qi transformed into a bolt of thunder-like flame, striking directly at the small Amethyst Winged Lion King with overwhelming force.

*Bang!*

Under the massive impact and aftershock, the little lion king's body flew out like an arrow from a bow.

The purple crystal scales on its body instantly shattered across the ground.

Soon after, there was no more sound.

"This is the law of the jungle..."

Gu He sighed and took all the purple spirit crystals from the area.

After collecting them, he returned to the original fork and headed the other way.

Unsurprisingly, at the end was the accompanying purple crystal source.

A purple sphere was embedded in a massive purple stone platform, with a purple liquid flowing inside it.

This liquid was exactly the accompanying purple crystal source that the original work's Flame Emperor had groveled for!

Gu He thought for a moment and placed his hand on the purple sphere.

Did you think he would carefully crack open the sphere bit by bit and then grovel like Xiao Yan?

Impossible!

He, the pill king of the Jia Ma Empire, had some dignity.

[Ding!]

The System's prompt sounded as expected.

Gu He nodded with satisfaction.

He had a System; did he need to be as shameless as Xiao Yan?

He was all about "righteousness"!

[Discovered 'accompanying purple crystal source'! Does the host wish to absorb it?]

Gu He decisively chose to absorb it.

[Absorbing accompanying purple crystal source...]

[10%...]

[30%...]

[100%!]

...

[Ding! Absorption of accompanying purple crystal source complete. Congratulations to the host for advancing to an Eight-Star Dou Wang!]

[Ding! Successfully refined 'purple flame'!]

[Absorbing purple flame! Congratulations to the host, the Heaven Rank Low-Level Cultivation Technique Myriad Fire Art has reached the Intermediate level!]

[The host's primary Cultivation Technique is now Heaven Rank Intermediate!]

The process of becoming stronger was incredibly comfortable, just like.

The large sphere before Gu He's eyes was now empty, with not a single drop of the crystal source remaining.

Elegant, so elegant!

Gu He left the Amethyst Winged Lion King's Immortal Cave with a full harvest and a light step.

Just as Gu He was preparing to leave, another figure appeared sneakily, treading softly toward the cave.

Gu He put away the Crimson Sky Sword, hid behind a tree, and took a quick glance.

Sure enough, with short ink-black hair and a massive black ruler wrapped in black bandages on his back—it was Xiao Yan.

He seemed to freeze for a moment upon seeing the Demonic Beast corpses outside the cave, then hurried inside.

Gu He curled his lip and left with a flick of his sleeve.

The wonderful feeling of having snatched the protagonist's opportunity went without saying.

His Yun Yun was still waiting for him elsewhere!

...

After Xiao Yan entered the Immortal Cave, he found that the purple spirit crystals and the purple flame were gone.

He had discovered this place yesterday, but at that time, the Immortal Cave was guarded by the Amethyst Winged Lion King.

It had lost a horn and was in a state of manic rage, so Xiao Yan had cautiously chosen to wait.

But today, when he prepared to enter the cave to seek treasure and seize the opportunity, he found...

Aside from the corpse of the little lion king killed by Sword Qi, nothing remained in the cave!

Someone had already beaten him to it!

In a fit of rage, Xiao Yan struck the cave wall with an Eight Extremities Collapse, a bitter sense of unwilling resentment surging in his heart.

He had endured so much hardship in the Magical Beast Mountain Range all for the sake of the Three-Year Agreement.

Now, a great opportunity had been snatched away, and he didn't even know who that person was!

...

Gu He rushed back to the cave where Yun Yun was recuperating.

"Yun Yun, I'm back!"

His voice was heard before he arrived.

As the familiar voice rang out, Yun Yun's beautiful eyes, filled with expectation, looked toward the cave entrance.

"Did you encounter any danger?" Yun Yun asked anxiously.

She only wanted Gu He to return safely; it didn't matter even if he didn't bring back the purple spirit crystals.

Gu He smiled calmly and spoke concisely: "Everything went smoothly! I've taken care of the minions outside and the little lion king!"

He stepped forward quickly, took one of Yun Yun's slender, jade-like hands, and placed the purple spirit crystal he had been holding into her palm.

"Is this... a purple spirit crystal?"

"Yes!" Gu He nodded.

"Whatever you entrust to me, I, Gu He, will certainly accomplish!"

Yun Yun looked at the shimmering purple crystal, her fingers involuntarily stroking it twice.

Everything she entrusted... could he really complete it all?

Could this... be considered a confession?

Yun Yun subtly hid her thoughts.

"Gu He, come here."

"Hmm? What is it?" Gu He was startled; the two of them were already quite close. Any closer, and there would be negative distance.

Yun Yun cursed inwardly: Dummy!

She took the initiative to lean closer to Gu He, her faint fragrance enveloping them both.

Gu He only felt that,

her lips were very soft, and the breath from her nose was warm.

Her glistening eyes suddenly widened, her long eyelashes curling into a beautiful arc; it seemed as if only Gu He existed in her eyes and heart.

And they shone brightly because of his slight response.

Gu He's throat bobbed as he continued his movements.

Until Yun Yun's fair, cool face turned as red as a cooked shrimp.

...