"Silver Spirit Phantom Mouse, deal with this snake," Lv Xiaoling commanded loudly, and the subdued Silver Spirit Phantom Mouse leapt into action.

"Ssss ssss..."

Little Dragon growled deeply, flicking its long, crimson tongue, its eyes fiercely fixed on the Silver Spirit Phantom Mouse.

"Squeak squeak..."

The six-meter-long Silver Spirit Phantom Mouse eyed Little Dragon cautiously, squeaking anxiously, not daring to approach due to Little Dragon's formidable aura.

"Such a strong aura, you're also a spirit beast, with a bloodline superior to the Silver Spirit Phantom Mouse," Lv Xiaoling observed Little Dragon. The bloodline of the Phantom Mouse was already high, but now it seemed to fear the yellow snake, indicating that Little Dragon's bloodline was even higher; otherwise, even if less powerful, it wouldn't be able to suppress the Phantom Mouse.

"Roar..."

Li Lin suddenly opened his eyes. The Skywing Snow Lion, which had been lying prostrate, roared fiercely, its powerful aura fully restored.

Li Lin stood up, looking up at the Skywing Snow Lion's huge body. The Snow Lion, with its large head bowed, now looked at Li Lin with reverence and submissively stood behind him.

"You liar, you thief! You stole my Skywing Snow Lion, give it back to me," Lv Xiaoling exclaimed, realizing what had happened. She had always thought that Li Lin was just a warrior who couldn't control a magical beast on his own without the help of a spirit manipulator.

But she didn't expect him to be a spirit manipulator too. She knew that all spirit manipulators would claim a beast like the Skywing Snow Lion as their own, hence why she sought help from warriors. But it turned out Li Lin was a spirit manipulator as well.

"I didn't steal it; the Skywing Snow Lion was subdued by me. You just helped guide me here, thanks for that," Li Lin said with a slight smile, then commanded the Skywing Snow Lion, "Let's go, Snow Lion."

"Roar!"

The Skywing Snow Lion roared and leaped into the air, flapping its wings to create a powerful whirlwind, scattering stones as it hovered mid-air.

"Little Dragon, let's go," Li Lin said softly. Little Dragon shrank its body, transforming into a 20-centimeter-long creature and spiraled onto Li Lin's shoulder.

"Thanks, Lv Xiaoling. I'll be going ahead. Remember, next time we meet, don't dress so provocatively, or I might not be able to resist 'circling' and 'crossing' you, haha." After saying this, Li Lin tapped his foot on a rock, leaping up to the broad back of the Skywing Snow Lion in the sky.

"You liar, give me back my Skywing Snow Lion!" Lv Xiaoling lunged towards Li Lin.

"Roar..."

The Skywing Snow Lion flapped its wings, casting a glance at the Silver Spirit Phantom Mouse as if saying goodbye to a companion, then quickly disappeared into the distance with a flap of its wings.

"You liar, I won't let you off..." Lv Xiaoling angrily watched the direction in which the Skywing Snow Lion disappeared, then shouted, "Hey, you can't leave me here alone, I can't walk..."

"It's a magical beast, a flying magical beast."

"Look, there's someone on it, that beast already has an owner."

In the Lanling Mountains, many people looked up to the sky, seeing a flying magical beast disappearing, feeling dejected for not gaining anything in the Lanling Mountains.

"Such speed," Li Lin marveled, sitting on the Skywing Snow Lion. Its speed was much faster than the Black-crested Pheasant and the Yanyang Sect's Rock Eagle he had previously encountered, not even in the same league.

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"Snow Lion, use your fastest speed," Li Lin requested, curious to know the maximum speed of the Skywing Snow Lion, which was evidently not yet at its peak.

"Roar..."

The Skywing Snow Lion roared, its wings flapping instantly. A powerful airstream whistled forth, propelling its body like an arrow shooting through the air.

"So fast," Li Lin exclaimed. This speed was terrifying, at least five times faster than the Black-crested Pheasant.

Li Lin was amazed. The Skywing Snow Lion was only a late second-stage magical beast now. If it reached the third or fourth stage, its speed would undoubtedly increase even more.

In just two hours, Li Lin, riding the Skywing Snow Lion, arrived outside Flying Spirit Mountain. The speed of the Skywing Snow Lion was astonishingly fast.

"Whoosh..."

The Skywing Snow Lion landed on a mountaintop, folding its wings tightly against its belly, seamlessly blending them like a layer of scale armor, perfectly integrated and seamless.

Even with its wings folded, the Skywing Snow Lion still measured about forty meters in size, standing several meters tall. With such a colossal creature, it wasn't feasible to return to the Flying Spirit Gate.

"Snow Lion, can you shrink your body?" Li Lin asked the Skywing Snow Lion.

"Roar roar..." The Skywing Snow Lion softly growled, its eyes looking at Li Lin as if communicating.

Only Li Lin knew what the Skywing Snow Lion was saying. Having imprinted the Blood Soul Mark in its mind, he could instantly understand the Snow Lion's thoughts. The Snow Lion informed him that it couldn't reduce its size unless it reached the fourth stage, where it would gain the ability to freely change its body size.

"This is troublesome," Li Lin frowned, realizing he had to take the Skywing Snow Lion to Flying Spirit Gate. Leaving the Snow Lion outside could attract unwanted attention from powerful individuals.

"Snow Lion, don't spread your wings," Li Lin instructed, deciding to take the Snow Lion to Flying Spirit Gate and keep a low profile. He guessed that without its wings spread, even Huang Haibo and others might not recognize it.

"Roar..."

The Skywing Snow Lion growled lowly, seemingly responding to Li Lin's words.

"Look, the Sect Master is back."

"The Sect Master has brought back a beast, it's so beautiful."

Outside Flying Spirit Gate, as Li Lin returned with the Skywing Snow Lion, many disciples came out to greet him. They were surprised to see the huge creature following Li Lin.

"Greetings, Sect Master."

The crowd saluted. Li Lin nodded slightly and continued with the Skywing Snow Lion to his residence. The disciples curiously observed the Snow Lion from a distance, but none dared to approach closely.

"Brother..."

Li Xintong, hearing the commotion outside, came out of her residence and rushed to Li Lin upon seeing him return.

"What a big and beautiful dog," Li Xintong remarked, looking at the Skywing Snow Lion behind Li Lin. The Snow Lion, with its wings folded and some of its mane burnt off in the battle with Little Dragon, indeed resembled a large dog.

"Roar..."

The Skywing Snow Lion roared in protest, clearly offended at being mistaken for a dog.

"What kind of beast is this? I've never seen it before," Fang Xinqi emerged, looking at the Skywing Snow Lion in surprise.

"Snow Lion, stay in the back mountain and don’t leave," Li Lin instructed gently.

The Skywing Snow Lion growled lowly and quickly headed to the back mountain.

"Sect Master, did you subdue this beast?" Fang Xinqi asked in amazement.

"Yes, it's my guardian beast and also my mount," Li Lin replied.

"Sect Master is so powerful to have a beast mount."

"This beast is so big; it must be a third-stage magical beast, right?"

The ordinary disciples started discussing among themselves, all amazed. For the disciples of Flying Spirit Gate, having their own beast mount was like a dream. Even in larger sects, not every disciple had such a privilege.

After the initial surprise, the disciples dispersed. At night, after dinner, Li Lin went to his room to cultivate.

Sitting cross-legged, Li Lin thought about Lv Xiaoling. She shouldn't be in any danger with the Silver Spirit Phantom Mouse and being a third-level spirit manipulator herself. But he hoped not to meet her again. Having taken her Skywing Snow Lion, even if she couldn’t harm him herself, her backing could easily target him.

Li Lin also considered that now with the Skywing Snow Lion as his mount, traveling to Yanyang Sect seemed feasible. But the dangerous beasts in the mountains were too formidable for his current strength, and even Little Dragon couldn’t handle them. It would be best to join a mercenary group or wait until he grew stronger.

Moreover, he had promised to avenge Li Xintong and couldn't leave right away. Also, the secret chamber items in Flying Spirit Gate were worth exploring; there might be valuable things.

"Cultivation."

Li Lin popped two third-grade pills into his mouth and began to refine them. The Yin-Yang Spirit Martial Art was expensive to maintain; the two third-grade pills were of medium quality, together worth over ten thousand gold coins.

The pills transformed into massive energy within his body. Li Lin activated the Yin-Yang Spirit Martial Art to refine the energy, drawing out pure qi into his dantian.

Moments later, Li Lin was enveloped in a yellow light, his aura slowly rising.

After a night of cultivation, the next morning, Li Lin stopped as dawn broke. The energy from the two third-grade pills was fully refined, and he felt his qi had reached the peak of the eighth level of the warrior stage.