"Go."
Since the magical beast was being so bold, Chen Xiaoming didn't hesitate either. With a flick of his right hand, the refined Nine-Marked Blood Vitality Pill flew out.
Freed from the spatial seal, the moment the pill emerged, a vast surge of blood vitality burst forth. It was as if a crimson sea had formed above everyone's heads. The scent of blood rushed toward them. Chen Xiaoming furrowed his brow slightly and waved his hand gently, activating his Imperial Soul Realm to suppress it.
"This pill...?"
The onlookers near the testing grounds hadn't left yet. After all, it was rare to see the three powerhouses personally test a pill, and they were eager to witness the spectacle. To their surprise, the one testing the pill wasn't one of the three, but rather the silver-haired youth.
Still, none of them had time to care who the tester was now—their gazes were completely locked on the blood-red Nine-Marked Pill.
Anyone assigned to the testing area was naturally an alchemist of the Pill Tower. The middle-aged man in the lead was a Fifth-Rank Alchemist himself. Yet even he was stunned upon seeing this Nine-Marked Pill.
"What a fine pill!"
The moment the Violet-Gold Lion King laid eyes on the pill, a gleam lit up in his eyes. The overwhelming blood vitality radiating from it had an irresistible allure to a magical beast like him.
While magical beasts also cultivated Dou Qi, they placed equal importance on strengthening their physical bodies. The greater the blood vitality within their bodies, the stronger their combat prowess typically became.
The Violet-Gold Lion King had been captured by the Pill Tower to serve as a test subject. At first, he had refused, but then he realized: not only did they provide food and shelter, the ambient Dou Qi was denser than outside, and occasionally, they even gave him medicinal pills as snacks. It was a pretty sweet deal.
Before he knew it, his strength had nearly broken through to the level of Dou Ancestor—far more progress than he'd have made on his own in the wild.
There's a saying: Magical beasts never serve others—unless you feed and house them!
Now, staring at the Nine-Marked Blood Vitality Pill before him, the Violet-Gold Lion King shot a questioning glance toward Xuan Kongzi and the others. Before they could answer, Chen Xiaoming responded lightly.
Whoosh—
A streak of light flashed as the Violet-Gold Lion King darted through the air. His gaping maw snapped shut around the pill, swallowing it in one gulp. A look of delight spread across his face, and even a bit of drool trickled down from the corners of his mouth.
Boom—
A violent surge of blood vitality exploded outward. Crimson mist radiated from his body, and though the Lion King had just been beaming with joy, agony now twisted his features. Roaring in pain, he repeatedly slammed down from the skies toward the ground, sending waves of terrifying energy rippling out in all directions.
"Roar... roar... roar...!"
His bellows shook the heavens as his massive body flailed wildly, overwhelming blood vitality coursing through him. Tiny cracks tore open across his robust frame, fine lines of blood oozing out.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He crashed into the ground again and again, venting the violent energy rampaging within him. His mane bristled, each hair standing on end like gleaming needles.
The other magical beasts who had come with him had long since retreated, now watching from a distance with hidden relief. Thank the heavens we didn't eat that pill first!
"What terrifying blood vitality. Even the Violet-Gold Lion King can't withstand it," Xuankongzi marveled inwardly. The lion's strength was already nearing the Dou Ancestor level, yet even he couldn't contain the energy within that pill. Among humans, likely only a rare few could safely consume it.
Boom!
With another crash, the Lion King slammed into the clearing at the forest's edge, carving a deep crater into the earth. He lay there bloodied and breathless.
The blood vitality in that pill was simply monstrous. This was the only way he could release the pressure and gradually adapt to it.
"It's about to end," Xuan Kongzi murmured, sensing the shift in the Lion King's condition. He rose, preparing to intervene, but Chen Xiaoming stopped him.
"Wait a moment—look."
He pointed toward the crater. Within it, the previously exhausted Lion King was slowly regaining his strength. His aura began to climb once more as his massive body rose from the pit.
His wounds were rapidly healing beneath a thin sheen of crimson mist.
ROAR!!!
A deafening roar split the skies as the Violet-Gold Lion King expelled the last of the surging energy, forming it into a pillar of blood vitality that was then drawn back into his body.
At that moment, the Dou Qi of heaven and earth surged around him. That long-elusive step was finally crossed, and with the support of the pill's energy, his cultivation broke through in an instant. The Violet-Gold Lion King's strength soared once more.
"Well, he certainly knows how to seize the moment. Took the chance to break through to Dou Ancestor, huh?" Xuan Kongzi muttered with exasperation but returned to his seat, no longer intervening.
Chen Xiaoming watched with an amused smile. The Lion King was starting to grow on him. Perhaps he was worth grooming—he could test future pills too.
With that thought taking root in his heart, the Violet-Gold Lion King, still floating mid-air after his breakthrough, suddenly felt a chill for no apparent reason—as if something ominous was looming.
But then again, his breakthrough was more important than any vague unease, so he pushed the feeling aside.
With his vast alchemical knowledge, Chen Xiaoming was able to roughly gauge the pill's potency based on the Lion King's reaction.
It was likely comparable to a late-stage Sixth-Rank pill—worthy of those nine golden inscriptions.
To think that even a First-Rank pill inscribed with nine marks could possess such potency… Chen Xiaoming began to wonder: What would happen if I refined a Ninth-Rank pill and then enhanced it to nine inscriptions?
But the thought passed as quickly as it came. He knew the nature of his system too well—the better the item, the more experience it cost to upgrade.
A First-Rank pill boosted to nine inscriptions only cost a few million experience points—he could earn that back in no time.
But a Ninth-Rank pill boosted to nine inscriptions? That would be an astronomical figure.
Still, compared to the one trillion experience points needed to upgrade his bloodline, it didn't seem so bad. Worst case, he'd just lay low for a while longer... wait for Xiao Yan to become a Dou God, and then beat him up. That'd be a trip worth remembering.
A faint smile crept across his face. Off to the side, Xiao Xun'er shivered inwardly as she saw it.
Whenever her teacher smiled like that, it meant someone was about to suffer. She just didn't know who to pity this time.
ROAR!
The lion's triumphant roar echoed across the skies. The Violet-Gold Lion King had successfully broken through. His violet-gold fur now gleamed even more brilliantly after the baptism of the Blood Vitality Pill. Slowly, he descended from the skies.
"Human, thank you."
He spoke in human tongue and offered Chen Xiaoming a sincere thanks. His breakthrough and physical refinement were both thanks to that single pill. The Violet-Gold Lion King remembered favors—and paid them back.
Chen Xiaoming snapped out of his thoughts and watched the massive beast approach. Somehow, he couldn't help but recall a certain goofy leopard he used to know.
In a flash, he moved before the Lion King, smiling casually as he asked:
"Interested in following me from now on?"
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