Chapter 875: Terrifying Furnace

The dried God Transformation blood in his embrace pulsed with an unprecedented eagerness. It was clear this little tiger definitely possessed the God Transformation blood he had longed for. Moreover, he recalled the little tiger taking a sip from the gourd, and its aura had strangely increased by a significant margin! The difference between Nascent Soul realm cultivators should far exceed that between Golden Core realm cultivators, shouldn't it? For something to forcefully boost Nascent Soul realm strength, Jiang Fan couldn't think of anything else it could be, apart from God Transformation blood.

"Roar!" After an angry outburst, the little tiger turned and walked away, seemingly annoyed. Jiang Fan quietly followed behind it. His gaze was fixed on its feeding bottle, and he subtly licked his lips.

The little tiger ran along the main path, heading deeper and deeper. As time passed, its aura visibly diminished. From a Four-Orifice Nascent Soul, to a Three-Orifice Nascent Soul, then a Two-Orifice Nascent Soul. Eventually, it wasn't even in the Nascent Soul realm anymore. It had dropped down to the Golden Core realm. Indeed, its temporary power was clearly linked to the contents of the gourd.

By the time it had fallen to the sixth level of the Golden Core realm, it had reached the end of the path. The area was completely dark, and ahead lay the boundary of space. It was a black spatial barrier. The search by the Northern Sea Demon Clan had also abruptly stopped here.

However, the little tiger shot two beams of blue light from its eyes, striking the spatial barrier. A small blue door actually materialized!

"There's actually a hidden space?" Jiang Fan's breath hitched. Seeing the little tiger run inside, and the blue door begin to close, he quickly and stealthily slipped through.

Once inside, he discovered that this hidden space was actually a magnificent hall! The hall was resplendent, with dragons carved and phoenixes etched on its walls. The stone pillars were adorned with intricate dragon patterns. At the far end stood a towering dragon throne. It was clearly laid out like the Golden Luan Hall in a human imperial palace.

Beside the dragon throne, there was a crystal coffin, resembling a sarcophagus. Its lid was currently open, as if a being that had slumbered for countless ages had recently awakened. In the center of the Golden Luan Hall, there was a sunken square pool. Blue lava churned within it. What made Jiang Fan's pupils contract was this: Within the lava, there was a furnace bound by countless chains! From time to time, blue lava bubbled up from within it. And from the blue lava, blue flames occasionally rose. The blue flames seen at the Gate of Flame, powerful enough to melt Gengjin Stone, actually originated from this very furnace! Even more astonishing, the chains binding it could endure burning in the blue lava for a thousand years without deteriorating! Their material was at least on par with spiritual artifacts! What level then was this furnace? It was simply unimaginable!

At this moment, the lava pool was almost full. It wouldn't be many years before it would overflow, flooding the entire space.

After the little tiger entered the space, it looked around boredly, as if it were home. Then it lay down in a haystack in the corner. Spotting a yarn ball beside it, it picked it up and played for a while. Eventually, bored with playing, it yawned, stretched leisurely, and then curled up on its side and fell asleep.

Before long, snores echoed through the hall. Jiang Fan finally seized his chance, quietly approaching the sleeping creature. He looked at the little tiger, curled up like a large ginger cat. He licked his parched lips. With a pounding heart, he reached out and grasped the small gourd, made of an unknown material. Feeling the heavy liquid inside, his heart rate accelerated even further. This was entirely God Transformation blood! Far more than just a single drop!

With slightly trembling hands, he untied the string from the gourd. The moment he held the gourd in his palm, his excitement was unprecedented. If Nascent Soul spirits were hard to find, then God Transformation blood was an even more elusive existence. He had never dared to hope he would actually find it. Yet now, he held a gourd heavy with God Transformation essence blood. It felt like a dream!

However, he still needed to confirm if it was truly God Transformation blood. He took out the amber containing the dried God Transformation blood. He placed it against the gourd. The God Transformation blood emitted a strong, bloody glow. Without a doubt, this was indeed God Transformation blood! Jiang Fan couldn't help but smile. He finally had it! The biggest obstacle to his Nascent Soul breakthrough was finally cleared! He only needed to capture one more Nascent Soul spirit to activate the Fate-Changing Jade Butterfly!

However, just at that moment, Jiang Fan suddenly felt a tremor in the air. He looked down to see the little tiger was staring directly at him. It was the God Transformation blood from the amber that had awakened it. It gazed at the air in front of it with confusion. Soon, it realized something was missing from its neck. It sprang up instantly. It opened its mouth and let out a series of "aows." Without its Nascent Soul realm power, its roars were weak and adorable, like a kitten's meows.

Jiang Fan smiled. He quietly backed away, not choosing to deliver a killing blow. This little tiger had, in a way, bestowed upon him the fortune of God Transformation blood. To then kill it would be somewhat unjustified. But just as he was about to leave, the Dust-Free Talisman on his body finally lost its effect, turning to ash and scattering. His previously concealed form was revealed.

The little tiger froze, then instantly recognized Jiang Fan. It immediately started stomping its feet in fury. First, he stole its Demon Nascent Fruit, and now he was trying to take its feeding bottle too? How shameless! Huffing with indignation, it lunged forward with a fierce pounce. However, its cultivation had long since dropped to merely the first or second level of the Golden Core realm. Jiang Fan easily grabbed the fur on its neck, lifting it into the air.

"Little fellow!" Jiang Fan chuckled. "Were you just cursing me?" Since he had been exposed, Jiang Fan decided to drop the pretense of politeness. Remembering how the creature had just "aow-aowed" insults at him, he raised his hand and swatted its bottom. "Learning to curse at such a young age!"

"Are you still going to curse?""Aow aow aow!""Still dare to be fierce?"*Smack, smack, smack—*"Are you still going to curse?""Aow! Aow!"*Smack, smack, smack—**Smack, smack, smack—*"Wuwuwu..."

The little tiger's bottom turned red and swollen from the spanking, and it cried miserably in pain. Jiang Fan let out a laugh. He patted its small head and said, "Little one, I'll spare your life. Don't be so aggressive in the future, understand?"

With that, he placed it back in the haystack. In a cheerful mood, he returned to the hall entrance. Just as he was about to open the door, the hall doors creaked open by themselves!

Venerable Qiyin, Venerable Xietong, Yu Peiyuan, and Wei Chaoran stood shoulder to shoulder in the doorway. Jiang Fan was startled. But he quickly composed himself and asked in surprise, "Senior Qiyin, Senior Sister Yu, how did you all manage to find this place?"

This was strange. He had only found this hidden space, concealed within the spatial barrier, by following the little tiger. How did these four know about it?

Even more unsettling, the four of them remained silent. Their faces were etched with fear. Yu Peiyuan was particularly pale, continuously trying to signal Jiang Fan with her eyes. Jiang Fan immediately felt a bad premonition. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that Venerable Qiyin's chest was stained with blood, and Venerable Xietong's clothes were covered in mud, as if he had been beaten and rolled in it. His heart sank. He suddenly remembered the giant footprints he had seen in the medicine garden. Those weren't the little tiger's footprints, were they? Thinking more carefully, this little tiger even carried a feeding bottle. It clearly seemed to be under someone's care. Could it be that there was an even more ferocious entity in this ruin?

Just then, he caught sight of someone standing coldly behind Venerable Qiyin! A trickle of cold sweat ran down his forehead.