Several bowls emptied the purple crystal essence from the stone platform. Xiao Yan casually wiped the mud off his lips and turned to gaze at the medicine elder, who was wide-eyed in astonishment. With a disdainful hum, he declared, "Wasting is shameful!" "Indeed... it is quite shameful," the elder nodded, expressionlessly, shaking his head with a mixture of embarrassment and amusement, then urged, "Come on, hurry up and retreat! Otherwise, that little thing will come back." "Ah," hearing the elder's reminder, Xiao Yan quickly nodded, his gaze lingering once more on the faint purple streaks still visible on the platform before he turned and rushed toward the entrance. The wind-energy qi left by the Cloud Mushroom had now fully awakened within him, making Xiao Yan's speed remarkably swift—his feet dancing so rapidly that a slight blur began to form. After bursting out of the passage, he made no pause and continued sprinting furiously toward the cave's outer entrance. Yet just shortly after he had stepped out of the corridor, a furious roar of a lion echoed from ahead, and then the small purple-crystal-winged lion king appeared before Xiao Yan, his eyes blazing with anger. Gazing at the sudden surge of the small purple-crystal-winged lion king, Xiao Yan's face slightly changed, slowing his swift pace and stepping to steady himself, his feet scraping the ground for over ten meters before he finally settled. At that moment, the distance between Xiao Yan and the lion king was merely a few dozen meters. With a look of weary frustration upon the nearly half-channel-wide creature, Xiao Yan chuckled, "I would have thought those laxative potions would have killed this beast outright." "Apologies again—I've completely forgotten. This young purple-crystal-winged lion king was born alongside the companion purple-crystal source. Therefore, it can sense every change in the source's condition. When you shattered the source earlier, I believe that's precisely what startled it." Just as Xiao Yan was troubled, a voice from the ring—slightly apologetic, surprisingly unimpressive—resonated. With a sudden spasm of muscle at his mouth, Xiao Yan took a deep breath and, without further time to attend to the Ye-Lao, raised his head, his entire body tense, gazing at this creature that, in his eyes, was a true giant. The beast stared fiercely at Xiao Yan, the faint purple hue gradually spreading across the small purple-crystal eyes of the young purple-winged lion king. The thin layer of purple crystal on its body—thinner than that of its father—began to glow with a soft purple light. Fortunately, the cave was shaded from direct sunlight, so it had not yet succeeded in summoning the purple flame; otherwise, Xiao Yan would have had absolutely no chance of escape. "Roar!" With a single step forward, the immense power radiating from its forepaws caused the cave to tremble slightly, several fragments of stone dislodging from the walls and falling to land at Xiao Yan's feet. Swallowing a lump of saliva, Xiao Yan grasped the Xuanzhong Chi firmly, tugging hard and spinning it once in his palm before sealing it into his Na Ji. Facing this creature, already at the pinnacle among three-stage beasts, Xiao Yan dared not conceal the slightest detail—sometimes, it might just be a matter of a fraction of a second, the difference between life and death. Once the Xuanzhong Chi detached from his body, Xiao Yan felt even lighter, his internal Qi flowing more fiercely and powerfully, now free from constraints, radiating boundless strength throughout his entire being. Nervously shifting his feet, Xiao Yan gradually calmed himself, beginning to search for openings to escape. The paw gently scraped the ground, its sharp claws tearing fine fissures into the hard surface. Little Purple Crystal-Winged Lion King took another step forward. Suddenly, his massive tail slammed down with force, shattering a large boulder into fragments. Leveraging the power of the tail, the young lion king leapt out several meters and then charged toward Xiao Yan with a furious roar. The enormous shadow cast upon the ground created a deeply imposing presence. Looking up at the towering figure pressing down like a mountain, Xiao Yan slightly bent his legs and raised his hands straight toward the ceiling. With a powerful inward suction force surging from his palms, he shot upward, eventually clinging to the stone wall like a gecko, inverted. Observing the attack that missed, Xiao Yan gripped the rock wall tightly, continuously releasing the suction force, and his body hung upside down along the mountain wall, desperately crawling toward the entrance of the cave. Having just crawled a short distance, the young purple-crystal winged lion king suddenly turned his head, gazing upward at Xiao Yan climbing along the ceiling. With his massive mouth open and head arched back, he suddenly expelled a powerful surge of purple flame that shot directly toward Xiao Yan. "Whoa!" Feeling the intense heat of the purple flame, Xiao Yan loosened his grip, flipped over, and landed on the ground. With a quick push-off from the stone wall, his slightly bent body launched like an arrow, racing wildly toward the entrance of the cave. Watching the thief who had stolen his companion's essence flee, the purple-crystal winged lion king roared in fury once more. His wings, pressed against his waist, vibrated powerfully and instantly unfurled, spreading out within the cave. With a powerful foot press against the ground, he lifted himself half a foot off the surface and charged after the fleeing figure ahead. Inside the cave, one person and one beast—fleeing and pursuing—now raced in a desperate, urgent pursuit. Step back a bit more, and a surge of powerful qi shot forth behind him. Xiao Yan quickly bent his body, and a massive stone flew past his head, crashing heavily against the stone wall with a thunderous splatter, leaving several cracks in the wall. Staring at the force contained within the stone, Xiao Yan drew a deep breath, his steps growing increasingly frantic. Yet even with his speed, he could not match the soaring flight of the young purple crystal-winged lion king. After several minutes of continuous pursuit and evasion, Xiao Yan finally sensed the scent of blood growing stronger behind him—clearly, the lion king was closing in. Under such intense pressure, Xiao Yan constantly withdrew powdered herbs from his storage ring, tossing them blindly toward the rear without caring what they were. "Crash! Crash! Crash!" The shattering of the jade vials spread colorful powders throughout the corridor, yet these seemed to pose little resistance to the young purple crystal-winged lion king. After running for a while, Xiao Yan suddenly noticed something strange—his body was growing increasingly warm, waves of heat seeping out from various meridians, gradually merging into his bones and flesh, one strand at a time. "What's going on?" The sudden changes within him made him momentarily stunned. Yet at this moment, he couldn't afford to dwell on thoughts—energies carried by the warm waves surged through him, dramatically boosting his speed and allowing him to escape the lion's grasp. "Ah, right—was it the purple crystal essence I consumed earlier?" As he ran, a sudden realization struck him. "Such a strong energy..." exclaimed Xiao Yan, his face suddenly turning pale. It seemed that the internal heat waves, growing more intense with each stride, had initially been manageable—he had managed to absorb them through his physical strength. But once his body reached its limit, the heat continued to surge, eventually causing his skin to gradually turn purple. "For goodness' sake! I only drank a few sips of it—how come it's taking up so much energy? You're overflowing, you're piling up everywhere!" The increasingly scorching body sent Xiao Yan into a state of growing panic, and he began to curse furiously. "Ah!" As the clothes on his body dried out, his face flushed with a mix of red and purple, his mouth constantly exhaling hot breath, looking quite alarming. "Roar!" Pursuing Xiang Yan, the young crystal-winged lion king stared at the purple aura rising from his body, his eyes blazing with growing fury. This was something that had always belonged to him—now it was being taken away by this damned human. As he thought this, the lion king roared fiercely, stamping his palm and claws onto the ground. The purple glow on his back wings surged dramatically, propelling him to a sudden burst of speed. With his massive head aimed straight at Xiang Yan's back, he charged forward—should he make contact, Xiang Yan would surely be shattered. The immense force radiating from his arms sent Xiao Yan's body shooting backward, spewing out a gush of blood that soaked his garments. Though he appeared disheveled, the fierce little crystal-winged lion king, whose aura had been so intimidating, was knocked off balance, spinning several times in midair before crashing into the stone wall with a resounding thud, cracks spreading across the surface behind it. Retreating on the rock wall, Xiao Yan finally came to a halt. Without time to wipe the blood from his lips, he looked up at the small crystal-winged lion king, now charging with renewed ferocity, and turned once more to sprint ahead. Ignoring the growing roar of fury from behind, the purple thermal waves surging within him, after having initially erupted, had now gradually subsided. Drawing strength from the immense energy radiating from the strange entity, Xiao Yan pressed on, desperately racing toward the now clearly visible opening. "Roar!" Behind him, a surge of heat washed over, burning the clothes clinging to his back to ash, and a continuous flame left a scar upon his shoulders. Clenching his teeth and bracing against the pain, Xiāo Yīn stared with blazing eyes, desperately running—any pause, and it would be death. The white light at the entrance grew brighter and brighter, until he could even hear the roars of the beasts outside. With another step, he shot forward, then drove his body hard against the rock wall, finally launching himself out of the cave. Emerging into the open, the intense sunlight stung his eyes. He forced himself to turn around mid-air, only to be startled—there, where he was about to land, two three-tiered guardians stationed outside had opened their fierce, gaping mouths directly at him. Gazing at the close, stinking maw, Xiāo Yīn felt a wave of despair wash over him. With his body drained of strength, he had little to no power left to turn the tide. As he closed his eyes, waiting to die, two piercing sword gusts suddenly burst downward from the heavens, cleaving two fierce beast creatures in half right down the middle. At the same moment, Xiang Yan's vision blurred, and his body landed softly into a fragrant, yielding bed.