Chapter 31: A Full-Power Strike, Slaying the Amethyst Winged Lion King!

"—Roar!"

Deafening lion roars continuously echoed from outside the cave.

Just as Zhu Chen and the others reached the cave entrance, they looked up to see a streak of purple light appearing at the edge of the forest.

"Oh no, the Amethyst Winged Lion King is back."

Yao Lao's expression changed drastically. He hadn't expected the Amethyst Winged Lion King to return so quickly.

"Don't be afraid, watch me..."

At that moment, Naruto suddenly stepped forward, his hands moving rapidly to form a hand seal.

"—Beast Harem Technique!"

*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*

With a series of white smoke explosions, dozens of "fearsome-looking" Amethyst Winged Lion Kings suddenly appeared around the group!

These Amethyst Winged Lion Kings were of different colors, but they were all quite "graceful"—some were pinkish-red and exuded charm, while others were pure white, as if carved from flawless jade.

They were all "lionesses" created by Uzumaki Naruto using Shadow Clone and Transformation techniques!

Last time, Naruto had successfully used this method to bewitch the Amethyst Winged Lion King, allowing Xiao Yan, Lin Dong, and the others to escape its clutches!

Just as Naruto unleashed his "Beast Harem Technique," the charging Amethyst Winged Lion King also beat its wings and flew toward them.

"You despicable humans, I shall tear you into ten thousand pieces..."

"—Roar!"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King spoke in human tongue, then opened its mouth to let out a deafening roar.

An invisible sonic wave crashed down, instantly destroying the "lionesses" Naruto had transformed.

"Damn, my Beast Harem Technique is useless against it."

A look of disbelief crossed Naruto's face, as if he couldn't believe what was happening before his eyes.

Xiao Yan rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought: "It seems it just wants a different batch..."

Yao Lao slapped him directly on the back of the head: "What do you mean 'different batch'? That unorthodox trick of his only worked last time because he got lucky and confused it for a few seconds. Do you really think it's useful? Run, quickly—"

Xiao Yan opened his mouth, about to say something more.

However, before he could speak, a figure suddenly soared into the air from behind him. With a flap of wings, the figure charged directly toward the Amethyst Winged Lion King.

Zhu Chen had made his move.

He approached the Amethyst Winged Lion King with lightning speed, then threw a punch. Carrying the sky-covering phantom of the Vermilion Bird, his fist collided with the lion's descending claw.

The cry of the phoenix echoed through heaven and earth.

Endless flames surged from the void, surrounding Zhu Chen and making the Vermilion Bird phantom behind him appear increasingly real.

The Vermilion Bird manifested, and a sea of fire surged.

Terrifying energy fluctuations spread wildly in all directions like a surging tide.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King was sent flying by the force of Zhu Chen's punch. Its massive body, like a kite with a broken string, was smashed directly into a mountain range tens of thousands of meters away, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

"He crippled the Amethyst Winged Lion King in one strike? Is this kid even human?"

"My god, this isn't an eighty percent chance of winning; this is a total stomp!"

"Holy crap, if we knew Brother Zhu was this powerful, why were we being so cautious just now? We should have just gone into the cave and looted it!"

"As expected of Big Brother Zhu Chen..."

Seeing Zhu Chen cripple the Amethyst Winged Lion King with such thunderous force in mid-air, Xiao Yan, Lin Dong, and the others were stunned.

They knew Zhu Chen was strong, but they hadn't expected him to be this powerful. That Amethyst Winged Lion King was a Rank 6 magical beast comparable to a Dou Huang expert, yet he had knocked it down with a single punch!

While Xiao Yan and the others were exclaiming in shock, Zhu Chen, sensing that the Amethyst Winged Lion King was not yet dead, launched another attack.

He swung his arms, performed several consecutive hand seals, and then suddenly pointed forward.

"—Chiu!"

With a bright phoenix cry, the Vermilion Bird phantom behind him spread its wings, trailing an endless wake of flames, and crashed directly into the mountain range where the lion had fallen.

"—Rumble!"

The moment the Vermilion Bird phantom entered the mountains, the entire Magical Beast Mountain Range shook violently.

Immediately after, a pillar of fire a thousand meters in diameter erupted from the ground, soaring into the clouds and dyeing the entire sky red.

The pillar of fire spread at an incredible speed, turning the forests within a radius of dozens of miles into ash. Wherever the sea of fire passed, nothing remained—not even a blade of grass or a single beast.

"It should be dead now..."

Zhu Chen exhaled a breath of turbid air, then flapped the Vermilion Bird's wings to return to the ground.

Xiao Yan and the others were now completely dumbfounded, including Yao Lao.

"Brother Zhu, you... didn't you just say you only had an eighty percent chance of winning?" Xiao Yan swallowed hard, looking at Zhu Chen in disbelief.

"That was just a conservative estimate. Besides, that Amethyst Winged Lion King was already injured and its strength had declined, so I just took advantage of the situation..." Zhu Chen shrugged nonchalantly.

He wasn't being humble. The Amethyst Winged Lion King had likely suffered a setback at the hands of Yun Yun earlier, which allowed him to defeat it so decisively. Of course, a large part of the reason was that the lion had initially tried to engage him in melee combat, attempting to trade punches with its claws, only to be suppressed by him. He then pressed the advantage, fully activating the Vermilion Bird Treasure Technique to deliver the fatal blow.

"Brother Zhu, I have finally witnessed your true strength today. From now on, I will take you as my role model and cultivate hard when I return. Otherwise, I feel like you won't even want me around when we fight in the future." Lin Dong cupped his hands toward Zhu Chen, then turned to Xiao Yan. "Brother Xiao, the Amethyst Winged Lion King has been taken down by Brother Zhu. It's time for me to head back. We shall meet again!"

Xiao Yan pulled a bottle of medicinal pills from his robe and tossed it over: "Brother, these are Body Tempering Pills. Didn't you say you were in the Body Tempering Realm last time? I think these should help you. Thanks for everything this time."

Lin Dong shook his head sheepishly: "I haven't been much help, yet you're giving me this? I feel unworthy of accepting it."

Despite his words, he tucked the bottle of Body Tempering Pills into his robe.

Afterward, Xiao Yan generously gave Uzumaki Naruto a bottle of Body Tempering Pills as well. This was the reward he had promised them earlier.

However, when he intended to give Zhu Chen his reward, his hand paused for a moment. He had originally intended to give Zhu Chen Body Tempering Pills, as these were personally refined by Yao Lao and possessed a pure medicinal potency that he could not match.

But after witnessing Zhu Chen's terrifying strength, he hesitated. Zhu Chen was too strong. Even though these pills were refined by Yao Lao, they likely wouldn't have much effect on an expert of his level.

Seeing Xiao Yan's confusion, Yao Lao spoke up for him: "Little friend Zhu Chen, did you obtain many spiritual herbs and precious medicines in the Amethyst Winged Lion King's nest just now?"

"Yes," Zhu Chen nodded. Everyone had been present; there was no need to hide it.

Yao Lao smiled calmly: "If I am not mistaken, several of those herbs are the primary ingredients for refining the Rank 6 Emperor Pill. If you trust me, you could give those herbs to Xiao Yan. In a few days, once I have gathered all the necessary ingredients, how about I help you refine a batch of Emperor Pills?"

"Sure, I'll trouble you then." Zhu Chen did not hesitate, decisively handing the herbs he had scavenged over to Xiao Yan.

Body Tempering Pills were indeed useless to him, but the Emperor Pill was a Rank 6 pill used to increase the cultivation of Dou Huang experts. That should be useful.

"Don't worry, Brother Zhu. I will gather all the ingredients as quickly as possible so my teacher can refine the Emperor Pills for you!" Xiao Yan accepted the herbs, cupped his hands to Zhu Chen, and turned to leave. He had many things to do and could not stay long.

Before leaving, however, he gave Zhu Chen several bottles of recovery pills. He felt that since Zhu Chen had just fought a great battle with the Amethyst Winged Lion King, he would likely need them.

"Coming over just to get a few Rank 6 pills for free... this is quite a good deal."

After bidding farewell to Xiao Yan and the others, Zhu Chen planned to return to his own world. He intended to find Lin Dong first to borrow the Ancestral Stone upon his return.

However, just as he opened the cross-world function, a staggering amount of spiritual energy suddenly surged within his body.

"I'm about to break through. Is it because of that battle just now?"

Zhu Chen didn't know if crossing worlds at this moment would affect his breakthrough, and he didn't dare take the risk. Thus, he immediately closed the cross-world function and turned back toward the Amethyst Winged Lion King's nest.

With a breakthrough imminent, Zhu Chen had no time to think. He tossed the bottles of pills Xiao Yan had given him aside, sat down cross-legged on the spot, and began to condense the spiritual energy in his body to manifest the Divine Ring Grotto-Heaven!

But just then...

Outside the nest.

A long-haired woman dressed in a plain green dress, her body covered in wounds, arrived at the scene, clutching her chest with one hand and staggering forward.

...

(End of Chapter)