The pond water gurgled, and its temperature rose rapidly.
"You little thief, what exactly did you do?!" The Rank 3 guard glared furiously at Fang Yuan, grabbing him by the throat and squeezing hard.
Though he felt intense pain, it was nothing to Fang Yuan.
He did not even glance at the guard, instead carefully sizing up the pond water amid this transformation.
"That Sheepskin Map was exactly as I had guessed. It had to be an immortal material that had been treated, leaving no trace of its origins on the surface. Now that it had been soaked in this pond water, it immediately reacted."
"I had found it strange from the start that the oasis inhabited by this tribe was so small. Now it seemed that someone had tampered with it long ago, turning it into a Gu Refining Ground."
In the Western Desert, normal oases were never small. Or rather, any oasis that could endure for long was large, at the very least possessing a lake.
A small oasis like this pond was like a shooting star in the night sky, appearing only briefly before being buried beneath the desert sands after some time.
The tribe where Young Heavenly Theft lived had been able to survive and multiply by relying on this small oasis, showing that it had existed for many years. Even with Gu Masters protecting it, mortals ultimately found it difficult to withstand heaven's might for long. Thus, there had to be something strange about this small oasis being able to endure.
"Are you going to talk or not? If you still refuse, I'll strangle you to death!" The Rank 3 Gu Master's eyes spat fire with rage.
The water temperature continued to rise, already reaching a level unbearable for ordinary people.
The Rank 3 Gu