The Little Purple Crystal Winged Lion King was blasted away by the sudden attack. Purple crystals shattered across its body as deep gashes tore open its flesh.
The beast, caught completely off guard, glared at Xiao Tian with furious beast pupils that glowed with a menacing purple light.
Its sharp claws dug viciously into the ground, carving deep cracks. With a roar, it pounced, swinging its massive claws toward Xiao Tian.
Xiao Tian used the World Piercing Needle to flash sideways, easily dodging the strike.
Enraged at missing its target, the Little Purple Crystal Winged Lion King turned its head, opened its gaping maw, and spewed a scorching purple flame straight at him.
"Flaming Lotus!"
Xiao Tian launched a flaming lotus formed from his Dou Qi. The lotus collided with the incoming purple flame, causing both to dissipate in a violent explosion. The entire mountain cave trembled violently as purple crystals rained down from the ceiling. Fortunately, the cave was sturdy enough to hold, which was also why Xiao Tian didn't dare use his full power — he feared collapsing the entire cave and burying everyone inside.
Man and beast continued their fierce close-quarters combat. Xiao Tian deliberately guided the Little Purple Crystal Winged Lion King further and further away from the center of the cave.
Seeing the fight moving farther away, Xiao Yan quickly rushed to the spot where the beast had been lying. Feeling the Purple Spirit Crystal growing hotter in his hand, he lifted a stone slab and discovered the hidden Purple Spirit Crystal beneath it.
He swiftly stored it away and hurried out of the cave.
"Eight Extremities Collapse!"
Arriving at the battlefield, Xiao Yan quietly crept closer and struck the Little Purple Crystal Winged Lion King from behind. The hidden force exploded inside its body, interrupting its attack.
Xiao Tian seized the opening. He slammed his halberd down heavily onto the beast's head, instantly knocking it unconscious.
Looking at the unconscious Little Purple Crystal Winged Lion King on the ground, Xiao Yan stepped forward, ready to kill it. Xiao Tian quickly stopped him:
"We can't kill it. If we do, the Amethyst Winged Lion King will sense it immediately and rush back in a frenzy. We'd be in grave danger. Do you have any medicine to keep it unconscious?"
"Yes." Xiao Yan took out a jade bottle from his storage ring, walked over, and poured the black liquid into the beast's mouth. "This is my Soul Calming Liquid. It won't wake up for at least three hours."
"Good. Let's go then. I'll take you to find some even better stuff." Xiao Tian waved at Xiao Yan.
They returned to the fork in the cave and entered the passage on the left.
"Tian Ge, this is what you wanted." Xiao Yan walked beside him and handed over the Purple Spirit Crystal and the other crystal.
"Keep the Purple Spirit Crystal for now — it'll be useful later." Xiao Tian took only the crystal and stored it in his system space.
After walking for about five minutes, they reached the end of the passage. In the center of the cave stood a platform made of purple crystal stones, over a meter high. On top of it rested a spherical purple object the size of a football.
"Tian Ge, what is this thing?" Xiao Yan asked curiously.
"This is the rare Accompanying Purple Crystal Source."
Hearing Xiao Tian's words, Yao Lao's surprised voice immediately echoed in Xiao Yan's mind. He then explained in detail what the Accompanying Purple Crystal Source was.
After listening, Xiao Yan's eyes lit up with greed.
"Xiao Yan Zi, wipe your drool — it's about to drip onto the ground," Xiao Tian teased, seeing his little brother's money-grubbing expression.
Xiao Yan quickly wiped the corner of his mouth, only to find nothing there. "Tian Ge, you tricked me again! Last time you tricked me into going to the back mountain and I almost got chopped to death by that tomboy."
"Hahaha, that was just an accident, wasn't it? Here, I'll split everything here with you fairly. Good enough?" Xiao Tian laughed heartily.
"More than enough. With treasures like this, getting tricked a few more times is no problem at all."
"Then use the Purple Spirit Crystal to crack open the sphere. Only a Purple Spirit Crystal can open it."
Xiao Yan tapped the sphere with the Purple Spirit Crystal. With a crisp bang, the sphere shattered instantly, and thick purple liquid flowed out, dripping onto the stone platform.
"Quickly use a jade bottle to collect the liquid!" Yao Lao's anxious voice rang out in Xiao Yan's mind.
While Xiao Tian was still deep in thought, Xiao Yan had already collected every drop. He walked over with six full jade bottles. "Tian Ge, it's all collected. I filled six bottles. These four are yours, and here's the Purple Spirit Crystal too."
"I'll take three bottles. That's fair — we agreed to split it." Xiao Tian took three bottles and the Purple Spirit Crystal, storing them in his system space, then pushed the remaining bottle back to Xiao Yan.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan didn't bother with polite refusals. He accepted it silently, already thinking about how he would repay his elder brother properly in the future.
"Then let's go. There's nothing left here." Xiao Tian said after looking around.
Not hearing a response, he turned and saw Xiao Yan staring intently at the small amount of Accompanying Purple Crystal Source that had spilled onto the stone platform.
Just as Xiao Tian was about to call him, Xiao Yan suddenly lunged forward and licked every last drop off the platform into his mouth.
"Holy cow, what an animal!" Xiao Tian couldn't help cursing. Inside the ring, Yao Lao covered his face in utter exasperation.
"Cough, cough… Waste is shameful. I firmly despise wasteful people," Xiao Yan said shamelessly while wiping his mouth.
"You're the best." Xiao Tian gave him a thumbs-up. "Time's almost up. I don't know what the situation is like outside. To avoid getting blocked, let's hurry."
The two sprinted out of the mountain cave. Once outside, they didn't stop, continuing to run wildly into the distance.
Yun Yun, who had been sensing Xiao Tian's aura, swung a huge azure wind blade at the Amethyst Winged Lion King, forcing it back. She then flew straight toward Xiao Tian.
Arriving above him, she put away her longsword, descended beside him, and embraced him, ready to fly away immediately.
"Take my brother with you too." Xiao Tian held Yun Yun tightly with one arm and pointed at Xiao Yan with the other.
Yun Yun glanced at Xiao Yan, who was still running desperately behind them, reached down, grabbed him by the collar, and quickly flew off into the distance.
"Cunning humans! I, the Amethyst Winged Lion King, will never rest until I have my revenge!" The Amethyst Winged Lion King roared furiously as it watched Yun Yun disappear from sight.
Yun Yun flew rapidly with the two brothers. When they reached a safe area, she landed steadily and casually dropped Xiao Yan, whom she had been holding by the collar the entire time.
She then looked at Xiao Tian and said, "Aren't you going to let go?"
Xiao Tian reluctantly released his hands from her waist. As he did so, he couldn't resist giving her a quick, playful touch, which immediately earned him a fierce glare from Yun Yun.