Chapter 365: Amethyst Winged Lion King: Ahem… This Is My Last Source Crystal.
"Let's go." Escorted by the Amethyst Winged Lion King, Jiang Lin stepped out of the Amethyst Cave Mansion and quietly spoke to Yun Yun and Hai Bodong, who were anxiously waiting outside.
Buzz!
The six crimson-gold wings spread behind Jiang Lin. Propelled by immense energy, he floated in the air, then turned back to bid farewell to the Amethyst Winged Lion King: "It shouldn't take too long. I'll come back when the time comes."
With that, Jiang Lin, under the watchful gaze of the Amethyst Winged Lion King, turned and left with Yun Yun and Hai Bodong.
"Is that… it?" Under the sky above the Magical Beast Mountains, Yun Yun hesitated for a long moment before finally speaking.
"What do you mean otherwise?" Jiang Lin slightly tilted his head mid-flight and smiled gently at her.
Beside them, Hai Bodong looked thoughtful: "By the way, in the Gamma Empire, aside from the royal family, it's rare for anyone to cooperate with magical beasts, right?"
Yun Yun nodded: "At least judging by your actions, it seems you also want to pull the Magical Beast Mountains into some kind of shared-interest alliance."
"But…" Yun Yun's tone shifted, tinged with doubt: "Why are you making such a big alliance here? If it's just for safety, the Yunlan Sect is more than enough to ensure your protection."
Jiang Lin shook his head, gazing at the warm colors fading on the horizon. He spoke softly: "Seek common ground while preserving differences, cooperate for mutual benefit, and establish a continent-wide community of shared destiny."
Yun Yun: "???"
Hai Bodong: "???"
"What are you talking about?"
"Hehe," Jiang Lin chuckled lightly, then spoke seriously: "On the Dou Qi Continent, our position is extremely remote. Compared to other powerful forces, we are too weak. But if everyone unites, we could become a dominant regional power."
"Together we're a blazing fire; apart we're scattered stars. To consolidate power across the Gamma Empire's regions, we must offer a more enticing benefit. And if the Artificer Guild wants to expand, it must have strong enough protection to safeguard its interests on the continent. It's a reciprocal process: I provide a new platform of benefits, and these people will naturally defend this collective interest."
"No… I meant, how did you convince the Amethyst Winged Lion King? It doesn't seem like a beast that's easy to persuade." Yun Yun admitted. Every word Jiang Lin spoke was familiar, yet strung together, it gave her a slight headache.
"Well…" On the way back to Gamma Imperial City, Jiang Lin thought for a moment before saying: "Through mutual benefit. Yun Yun, Hai Bodong, you're both on my side, so I can reveal a bit to you. If you each retrieve two sixth-rank Wind or Ice magical core crystals, I can help make your path from Dou Huang to Dou Zong smoother."
Since Hai Bodong and Yun Yun were considered allies, Jiang Lin had no reason to hoard the core crystals.
"The reason I invited the Amethyst Winged Lion King is that its species possesses an essential material for forging certain Dou Tools. The material isn't rare, but without it, the Dou Tool cannot be refined."
Hai Bodong's eyes flickered, and he asked: "You mean the translucent pearls inside Xiao Yan's body?"
Jiang Lin nodded, confirming Hai Bodong's guess. He wasn't surprised Hai Bodong discovered the fire-type crystal core inside Xiao Yan—once Xiao Yan left Yao Chen, his aura concealment was weak. Having spent a lot of time in close contact, Hai Bodong naturally noticed the peculiar fire-energy pearl.
"If the Transformation Pill turns a magical beast into a human, then that kind of Dou Tool turns a human into a magical beast. The technology isn't mature enough yet to replicate the self-cultivation effect of a true magical core." Jiang Lin explained candidly.
As for why he was telling Yun Yun and Hai Bodong all this: now that he had completed the Five-Element Crystal Cores, the Amethyst Winged Lion King had gifted him the last fragments of amethyst source crystals from the Magical Beast Mountains. These fragments were not true amethyst source, but failed crystal remnants with very low source crystal content. Jiang Lin stored several cubic units in his spatial ring, enough to extract one full unit.
With that unit, Jiang Lin could refine the final Earth-element crystal core using the sixth-rank Earth-type magical core given by Jia Xingtian.
In other words, Jiang Lin had effectively cleared the path to Dou Wang. The next step was to find Wind, Ice, and Thunder-element crystal cores to advance from Dou Huang to Dou Zong.
Theoretically, he only needed two more differing-element crystal cores to cultivate to the peak of Nine-Star Dou Huang. After that, he would have to find materials to refine seventh-rank cores.
Sharing the information with Yun Yun and Hai Bodong was also a way to make these Dou Huangs more vigilant—if they discovered high-rank magical cores in the future, they would immediately act to acquire them.
Yun Yun and Hai Bodong exchanged glances, both noticing a fleeting flash of astonishment in each other's eyes.
The human-version Transformation Pill.
If true…
No! It's true!
"Don't worry! We'll keep an eye out!" Yun Yun and Hai Bodong said in unison. Though Jiang Lin hadn't revealed the core crystal's central data, they realized from his reluctance to fully disclose the technique that this "human Transformation Pill" was beyond imagination.
"Mm." Jiang Lin nodded gently, then said no more. His wings burst into brilliant light, and he sped toward Gamma Imperial City.
Upon returning, Yun Yun and Hai Bodong went their separate ways to seek the "magical core crystals" Jiang Lin mentioned, while Jiang Lin returned to the Gamma Artificer Guild to refine the scraps of metal given by the Amethyst Winged Lion King.
"Ah, having even a little is considered lucky." Half a day later, in the red-tinged Artificer Chamber, Jiang Lin examined a fingertip-sized transparent crystal extracted from the Qingxuan Cauldron. He pondered for a long while before smiling helplessly.
He had hoped for more—even just a bit more—but in the end, he only obtained this tiny piece: barely one full unit. The Amethyst Winged Lion King was unwilling to give him more.
(END CHAPTER)
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