Chapter 859: Lion Qilin Beast and Flood Dragon Qilin Beast

Wang Rongmiao was about to answer when a deafening roar came from behind them, followed by a streak of crimson fire heading straight for them.

The crimson light moved swiftly. Wang Ruyan quickly discerned its true form: a gigantic, unusual beast. The beast had the head of a lion and the body of a Qilin, covered in fist-sized crimson scales. It had a pair of large feathered wings on its back and a long, slender tail.

"A Lion-Qilin Beast!" Wang Ruyan exclaimed with a hint of surprise and interest. She didn't have her own spirit beast yet, and taming this low-grade Level 3 Lion-Qilin Beast would be a good option.

Roar! Roar! The Lion-Qilin Beast let out an angry roar and spat out a jet of crimson flames, as thick as a grown man's arm, towards Wang Ruyan. An immense heatwave surged forth, distorting the air around them; the very space seemed on the verge of igniting.

Wang Ruyan's expression changed. She quickly formed a hand seal, and the Azure Origin Talisman Soldiers moved their fists, sending two several-zhang-large azure fist shadows flying towards the crimson flames.

Boom! The two azure fist shadows were shattered by the crimson flames, which then scattered. Where the flames landed on the ground, they immediately ignited, turning into a roaring inferno. Countless azure weeds grew wildly, transforming into dozens of azure ropes that coiled around the Lion-Qilin Beast's limbs. A burst of crimson flames suddenly erupted from the Lion-Qilin Beast's limbs, quickly burning through the azure ropes. By this time, Wang Ruyan and Wang Rongmiao had already made their escape. The Lion-Qilin Beast did not pursue them; it returned to its lair.

Inside the crimson bamboo forest, Wang Rongmiao was recounting his experiences over the years and explaining why he was in this location to Wang Ruyan.

"Ancestor, there's a Fiery Jujube Tree in that cave that's a thousand years old. It's guarded by a single Level 3 demonic beast."

Wang Ruyan nodded and instructed, "Stay with me and don't wander off."

A quarter of an hour later, they appeared halfway up the mountain. Not far away was a large cave, where the Lion-Qilin Beast resided. Wang Ruyan took out hundreds of shimmering white formation flags and buried them near the cave entrance. This set of high-grade Level 3 formation, the "Frigid Cloud Demon Slaying Formation," was obtained from a Nascent Soul cultivator's storage ring and was perfectly suited for dealing with the Lion-Qilin Beast. She then set up another high-grade Level 2 formation, the "Spirit Concealing Formation," and handed its control to Wang Rongmiao.

"Rongmiao, you just need to control the Spirit Concealing Formation later; I'll handle the rest," Wang Ruyan instructed, taking out a yellow formation disk and handing it to Wang Rongmiao.

"Yes, Ancestor."

Wang Rongmiao took the yellow formation disk, cast a spell, and countless yellow mists emerged from the ground, covering a large area. If a Core Formation cultivator passed through here without careful investigation, they wouldn't notice anything unusual.

Wang Ruyan stepped into the cave. An unbearable heatwave immediately hit her, and even with her protective spiritual light, a fine layer of sweat appeared on her forehead. Soon after, she stopped. Ahead was a large grotto, several hundred zhang wide. In the upper left corner stood a red jujube tree, five or six zhang tall, adorned with over twenty small red jujubes that emitted an enticing, unusual fragrance. The surface of the red jujubes shimmered with iridescent light, as if enshrouded in crimson flames.

The Lion-Qilin Beast was nowhere to be seen; it seemed to have left. Wang Ruyan extended her divine sense but still couldn't detect the Lion-Qilin Beast. It appeared the Lion-Qilin Beast knew some form of concealment art. In such a hot environment, it was indeed easier for it to hide its presence.

Wang Ruyan released a Level 1 puppet beast and sent it towards the jujube tree. As soon as the puppet beast got within ten zhang of the tree, a giant fire sphere the size of a water vat descended from above, slamming forcefully onto the puppet beast. The next moment, the Lion-Qilin Beast descended from above, transforming into a streak of crimson fire, and pounced on Wang Ruyan.

Wang Ruyan remained unperturbed. She summoned a shimmering white command flag and gently waved it. A whistling sound grew loud as a biting cold wind surged out, forming a white wind python over ten zhang long that lunged at the Lion-Qilin Beast. The Lion-Qilin Beast opened its gaping maw and bit off the white wind python's head in one bite. The zither music blared loudly, and dozens of gigantic wind blades shot out, striking the Lion-Qilin Beast fiercely, producing clanging sounds of metal on metal.

Having done all this, Wang Ruyan quickly retreated along the path she came, and the Lion-Qilin Beast immediately pursued her out. Wang Rongmiao stood outside the cave, looking somewhat nervous. A massive roar echoed from inside the cave. Wang Ruyan burst out of the cave, with a thick jet of crimson flames following closely behind her. Fortunately, the flames didn't harm her.

Roar! Roar! The Lion-Qilin Beast charged out of the cave. The moment it exited, the weeds on the ground suddenly grew wildly, quickly coiling around its body. A large area of crimson flames erupted from its body, burning through the weeds. Just then, the surrounding scenery shifted dramatically. It suddenly found itself on a desolate ice plain, where a biting cold wind howled and large white snowflakes drifted down from the sky. On the ground not far away was a gigantic white silkworm, which was the Azure-Eyed Cold Silkworm. Beside it stood the Azure Origin Talisman Soldiers. The Azure-Eyed Cold Silkworm spat white cold air towards the Lion-Qilin Beast, while the Azure Origin Talisman Soldiers, wielding an azure long saber, charged at the Lion-Qilin Beast. Wang Ruyan simultaneously controlled the formation and directed the Azure-Eyed Cold Silkworm and the Azure Origin Talisman Soldiers to attack the Lion-Qilin Beast. Taming the Lion-Qilin Beast was only a matter of time.

Atop a ten-thousand-zhang-high crimson mountain, there was a several-hundred-zhang-wide underground fire pool. Crimson-red magma continuously churned within, bubbling with molten pockets. Around the underground fire pool was a crimson-red ground, where a five or six zhang tall crimson fruit tree stood. This tree was bare, without leaves, and bore six oval-shaped fruits, entirely red as if carved from spiritual jade. The fruits emitted an enticing, unusual fragrance. Their surfaces had golden patterns that, upon closer inspection, closely resembled a crimson fire sparrow.

A dark cloud flew from afar and hovered above the volcano. It was Fang Mu.

"Vermilion Phoenix Fruit. It looks to be over two thousand years old."

Fang Mu propped his chin with one hand, an interested expression on his face. He flicked his sleeve, and a dark light shot out, speeding directly towards the Vermilion Phoenix Fruit tree. Just as the dark light approached within five zhang of the Vermilion Phoenix Fruit, a stream of crimson magma, as thick as a grown man's arm, erupted from the underground fire pool and struck the dark light. With a muffled thud, the dark light collided with the crimson magma, and a burst of crimson flames followed the dark light, heading straight for Fang Mu.

Fang Mu frowned, flicked his hand, and the flames vanished in a flash. His right fist glowed with a dark light. He punched at the empty space above the underground fire pool, sending a five-zhang-large black fist shadow flying down to strike the pool.

Boom! A streak of crimson fire shot out from the underground fire pool, shattering the black fist shadow. The crimson magma churned violently, and a gigantic demonic beast emerged from the underground fire pool. It was an unusual beast with a dragon-like body and Qilin scales. A crimson horn, about a foot long, protruded from its head. This was a high-grade Level 3 demonic beast.

"A Dragon-Qilin Beast! It would be a shame not to refine it into a zombie." Fang Mu's eyes lit up. He spoke with some excitement, his gaze fervent.

The Dragon-Qilin Beast let out a strange roar, transformed into a red streak, and sped directly towards Fang Mu. Fang Mu snorted lightly. With a flip of his hand, a shimmering dark small pagoda appeared in his palm. The moment the small pagoda appeared, an eerie wind suddenly swept through the vicinity, accompanied by loud wails and howls. The black small pagoda instantly enlarged, and hundreds of bronze-armored zombies leaped out from within. Fang Mu then released four Core Formation stage zombies, which lunged at the Dragon-Qilin Beast. The four Core Formation stage zombies howled towards the sky, baring their fangs, and pounced on the Dragon-Qilin Beast.

Soon after, a massive roar erupted, and flames scattered everywhere. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it was only a matter of time before he eliminated the Dragon-Qilin Beast.