Zhou Yan hesitated for a long time before finally entering.
"Rustle."
This cave was much larger than the previous one. It was very dim inside, with only an oil lamp emitting a pale green light.
Zhou Yan casually lit the oil lamp, and the cave instantly became bright.
"Huh?" Suddenly, Zhou Yan froze. His gaze fell upon a depression in the center of the cave.
A skeleton lay there.
The skeleton was enormous. Zhou Yan estimated that its remains were at least two thousand meters in size.
There was a hole in the chest of the skeleton, from which dripped drops of bright red liquid.
The color of this bright red liquid was like fresh blood, incredibly vivid.
"Is this blood?" Seeing this, Zhou Yan couldn't help but wonder if the monsters here had taken out hearts from human chests.
The more Zhou Yan thought about it, the more plausible this guess seemed.
These monsters were incredibly brutal and bloodthirsty, killing humans as easily as cutting grass.
It seemed that these monsters had indeed removed hearts from human chests.
With his questions answered, Zhou Yan no longer hesitated.
He immediately walked over, intending to pick up the bloody heart. He wanted to see what color this heart was.
The shape of this heart differed from ordinary hearts, and its color was also different. It looked like it was made from a special material.
When Zhou Yan picked up the heart, he discovered it was forged from some peculiar ore.
Zhou Yan's cultivation talent was excellent. Although he couldn't refine pills, his sea of consciousness contained vast knowledge, allowing him to recognize many precious alchemical ingredients.
Zhou Yan knew that the material of this heart was called a spirit stone. Spirit stones were valuable and could be used to refine various elixirs of excellent quality.
After storing the spirit stone in his storage ring, Zhou Yan prepared to leave.
But the moment Zhou Yan turned, his pupils suddenly contracted. He saw a dense surge of malevolent energy erupt from the depths of the cave.
This malevolent energy was terrifying. If struck by it, even a Nascent Soul stage cultivator would instantly perish.
Seeing the terrifying power of this malevolent energy, Zhou Yan was greatly alarmed and hurriedly dodged to the side.
As Zhou Yan dodged, he felt a chill run down his back, as if something icy was staring at him, making him extremely uncomfortable.
Zhou Yan turned his head and saw a colossal head staring intently at him from behind.
It was a giant wolf, covered in black fur, with a long tail, sharp fangs, and a pair of blood-red eyes.
The moment Zhou Yan saw this black giant wolf, his body trembled, and his expression changed slightly: "What a powerful ferocious beast!"
He could feel that this giant wolf possessed the strength of an early-stage Divine Monarch.
Zhou Yan's gaze fell upon the top of the black giant wolf's head.
A blood-red saber floated above the black giant wolf's head.
This blood-red saber was incredibly strange. Its tip was covered in blood-colored patterns, and barbs grew from the tip, making it look like a demonic blade.
Zhou Yan's gaze settled on the top of the giant wolf's head, and his heart skipped a beat. He felt a terrible premonition.
He could sense the terrifying aura of slaughter emanating from this blood-red demonic saber.
Zhou Yan didn't know what this blood-red demonic saber was or why it exuded such terrifying might.
Zhou Yan knew that this demonic saber must be a treasure, otherwise, it wouldn't have attracted such a massive ferocious beast.
However, this demonic saber was too aggressive. Once struck by its blade energy, even a Divine Monarch would suffer, if not death, then severe injuries.
"This demonic beast must be incredibly powerful. I should run!" Zhou Yan thought, and immediately turned to flee.
"Roar!"
Seeing Zhou Yan turn and flee, the demonic beast let out a roar. Its body leaped into the air with astonishing speed, reaching Zhou Yan in an instant. It swiped its claw towards the back of Zhou Yan's head.
At this moment, Zhou Yan felt as if his neck had snapped. His breathing became difficult, and he could barely control his body, on the verge of falling to the ground.
Just as Zhou Yan felt overwhelming fear, his body suddenly regained its mobility. Zhou Yan twisted, narrowly evading the attack of the colossal ferocious beast.
"What's going on?" Zhou Yan was astonished. He found that his speed, strength, reaction time, and other aspects far surpassed ordinary people. Even his most proficient movement technique could be executed with ease.
"Could it be because I swallowed the Blood Demon Bead?" Zhou Yan pondered in his mind. "The Blood Demon Bead was found in an ancient altar of the Blood Tribe. It was forged from a Blood Demon Stone and contains immense energy. This demon wolf probably also consumed a Blood Demon Stone, hence its terrifying combat prowess."
Zhou Yan's guess was correct. The demon wolf had indeed consumed a Blood Demon Stone, which gave it such formidable combat power.
Seeing that he had evaded the giant wolf's attack, Zhou Yan felt immensely relieved.
Earlier, the terrifying pressure and aura had been truly frightening.
"Fortunately, my reaction was timely. Had I been even a half-second slower, I would likely be dead under the beast's claws by now," Zhou Yan thought, a fine sheen of sweat appearing on his forehead.
"Awooo~"
Before Zhou Yan could catch his breath, the giant wolf lunged again. It opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp fangs, and lunged at Zhou Yan.
"I cannot let it bite me. If I'm caught by this beast, I'll be in trouble." Zhou Yan quickly circulated his cultivation technique, maximizing his speed to evade the demon wolf's attack and flee deeper into the cave.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Seeing Zhou Yan flee, the giant wolf immediately gave chase.
Before long, Zhou Yan had escaped into the depths of the mountain.
His speed was like lightning, and the giant wolf couldn't keep up.
"Whoosh~"
Zhou Yan reached the deepest part of the mountain and stopped.
This part of the mountain had a winding passage leading to the end of another mountain range.
This valley must be the path leading into the depths of the Blood Pool Abyss. Zhou Yan hadn't expected to stumble into this valley.
Zhou Yan walked towards the passage, wanting to investigate what lay within this valley. However, the valley was filled with lava everywhere, making it impossible to enter.
"It seems I have no choice but to force my way through," Zhou Yan's expression darkened.