Junior Xiao Ran

The Heavenly Cauldron appeared out of thin air, suddenly startling the two Thunderfire Tiger cubs.

They first hopped backward with their clumsy, tiger-headed curiosity, then cautiously crept toward the Heavenly Cauldron floating in the palm of Meng Haoran's hand.

After being stolen from their den in the Tianyang Mountain Range by that female cultivator, they had spent the entire journey being dragged across Qingyang County, kept locked in cold iron cages almost all day long; they had never seen anything like the Heavenly Cauldron.

Watching the bewildered expressions of the two Thunderfire Tigers, Meng Haoran couldn't help but whisper, "The reason the Thunderfire Tiger is called a Thunderfire Tiger is that countless years ago, the crossbreeding of a Thunder Tiger and a Fire Tiger gave rise to this lineage. Books have recorded that once a Thunderfire Tiger consumes enough cultivation resources, it will break through to the third tier. At that time, lightning will flicker around its body, and scorching flames will radiate from its pores—it is truly majestic!"

Meng Haoran looked at the Thunderfire Tiger that was wobbling as it walked and laughed, "Other Thunderfire Tigers walk with the power and prestige of a tiger, so why are you still looking so frail and weak?"

As soon as he finished speaking, ignoring the squeaky beast-cries of the Thunderfire Tiger, Meng Haoran scooped it up and placed it in front of the Heavenly Cauldron.

At this moment, the usually steady and motionless Heavenly Cauldron suddenly trembled, and the newly formed Cauldron Liquid within it rippled in response.

The Cauldron Liquid swayed gently, emitting a faint, fragrant scent.

Upon smelling it, the Thunderfire Tiger began to bare its fangs and brandish its claws, seemingly desperate to drink the Cauldron Liquid.

Seeing this, Meng Haoran focused his mind. The Cauldron Liquid within the vessel suddenly floated out. He tucked the Thunderfire Tiger into his arms, pried open its tiger jaws, and the Cauldron Liquid flowed naturally into its body.

Turning to the other Thunderfire Tiger, Meng Haoran followed suit, feeding it a portion of the Cauldron Liquid as well.

Barely ten breaths after the frail Thunderfire Tiger consumed the Cauldron Liquid, its body began to undergo a transformation!

Meng Haoran assumed a defensive stance, watching the Thunderfire Tiger with a hint of wariness.

He saw that thin, pathetic-looking Thunderfire Tiger suddenly sprawl its four limbs out, lying weakly on the ground as a "humming" sound resonated from within its body.

Before long, the surface of its body began to turn red and hot, and tiny specks of silver light flickered across its fur.

Seeing this, Meng Haoran was slightly startled and said, "This is... lightning and fire!"

Watching the silver light flicker and the red glow drift, memories of the records regarding spirit beasts in his books naturally surfaced in his mind.

Every spirit beast possessed a trace of Ancient Bloodline Power within its body. Only by activating this power could a spirit beast potentially break through its own limits and ascend to a higher tier!

Meng Haoran muttered to himself, "My Meng Family is also a major cultivator of spirit beasts, but most of the ones we raise are mild-tempered and only first-tier spirit beasts."

Everyone knew the potential of spirit beasts, but why didn't the Meng Family raise creatures like the Thunderfire Tiger?

It was because the Thunderfire Tiger was time-consuming and labor-intensive to raise. The current Meng Family could neither afford to wait for the time it took for a Thunderfire Tiger to grow, nor could they spare the cultivation resources required to nurture one.

More importantly, a Thunderfire Tiger was always a spirit beast; unlike the members of the Meng Family, it would never truly be one of them.

If the Meng Family were to spend a vast amount of time and spirit stones to raise a Thunderfire Tiger, once it grew strong enough to rival the family, its beastly nature might take over. Injuring family members would be a minor issue, but fleeing the Meng Family would be the true catastrophe.

Observing the strange changes in this Thunderfire Tiger, Meng Haoran said, "According to the theory in the books, a Thunderfire Tiger should only manifest its lightning and fire powers after at least a year. Judging by its size, it is at most three months old. It is truly strange that such a change could occur at this point in time."

Meng Haoran turned his head to look at the other Thunderfire Tiger.

After consuming the Cauldron Liquid, there was no obvious change on the surface of that one's body.

"It seems the Heavenly Cauldron must have sensed the Ancient Bloodline Power within that specific Thunderfire Tiger, knowing it was easily activated, which is why it guided me to purchase it!"

Although every spirit beast possessed Ancient Bloodline Power, whether or not it could be successfully activated depended on their individual fortune.

Clearly, this Thunderfire Tiger was not as lucky.

Meng Haoran focused his attention back on the Thunderfire Tiger showing physical changes and continued, "It is the combination of the Ancient Bloodline Power within the Thunderfire Tiger and the Cauldron Liquid from the Heavenly Cauldron that has caused such a transformation."

Scooping the transformed Thunderfire Tiger into his arms, Meng Haoran said softly, "Little guy, meeting me is your good fortune!"

If Meng Haoran had not attended the black market, he would never have encountered this frail Thunderfire Tiger, and the Heavenly Cauldron within him would not have guided him to purchase it.

Had things continued as they were, this Thunderfire Tiger would surely have died during the journey while being dragged back and forth by that female cultivator.

Perhaps the Thunderfire Tiger heard Meng Haoran's words, as it actually bared its teeth and gave him a little grin.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.

"Brother Haoran, are you inside?"

Hearing this familiar voice, Meng Haoran held the Thunderfire Tiger, stood up, and opened the door, saying, "It's Xiao Ran, I'm inside."

The door was pushed open, and a youth, slightly younger than Haoran, walked in with a smile on his face.

This person was Meng Bohai's son, Meng Xiaoran.

"Brother Haoran, I just came from my father's place. He said that while you were out with him, you purchased two Thunderfire Tiger cubs, so I came to take a look."

Meng Xiaoran was a bit younger than Meng Haoran, and his cultivation was also slightly behind. Before Meng Haoran had left for Qingyang County, he had often received guidance on cultivation from him, so the relationship between the two was naturally quite close.

"There are two in total; one is here with me, and the other is over there."

Meng Haoran stepped aside to let Meng Xiaoran in and asked, "Xiao Ran, do you want that Thunderfire Tiger?"

Meng Xiaoran crouched down, and upon hearing this, asked with pleasant surprise, "Brother Haoran, may I? I heard from my father that you bought both of these Thunderfire Tigers yourself."

Meng Haoran nodded and said, "That's right, buying these two Thunderfire Tigers has left me completely penniless!"

Meng Xiaoran laughed, "Brother Haoran, how about this? I'll buy this Thunderfire Tiger, and I'll give you the spirit stones once I've saved enough later. How does that sound?"

Meng Haoran replied, "Forget it, I'll just give it to you."

Meng Xiaoran's current cultivation had not yet reached the Third Layer of Qi Refining, so all his needs were provided for by his elders.

Within the Meng Family, only cultivators who reached the Third Layer of Qi Refining or higher were eligible to receive direct spirit stone support from the clan.

"Give it to me?" Meng Xiaoran was slightly stunned.

Meng Haoran continued, "The most important thing for you right now is to focus on raising your cultivation to the Third Layer of Qi Refining. Consider this Thunderfire Tiger a gift from me!"

Meng Xiaoran asked joyfully, "Really?"

Meng Haoran laughed, "Your Brother Haoran has never been one to go back on his word, but there is one thing I must warn you about in advance."

Meng Xiaoran nodded, "Brother Haoran, please tell me."

"The Thunderfire Tiger is different from ordinary wild beasts, and it is also different from the spirit beasts our Meng Family keeps. It is a true wild spirit beast, and its inherent beastly nature is much harder to suppress. It is still young now, so you cannot see its wild side, but as it grows, that nature will slowly reveal itself to you. Therefore, you must control it; if you cannot manage it, you must be willing to part with it and stop raising it!"

Meng Haoran continued, "The Thunderfire Tiger is a spirit beast. Like us cultivators, it requires cultivation resources and the support of spirit items and spirit stones. While you cultivate yourself, you must also take good care of it. Otherwise, this Thunderfire Tiger will die from the exhaustion of its internal beastly power due to a lack of external resources. You must remember this."

Meng Xiaoran replied earnestly, "Brother Haoran, I will remember. Besides, I am not the only one raising this Thunderfire Tiger; I still have my father."

"That's right. Whether it is in terms of cultivation or daily life, if you encounter difficulties you cannot solve, you can always ask Clan Uncle Bohai. He will certainly be able to help you resolve them," Meng Haoran reminded him.

Meng Xiaoran picked up the Thunderfire Tiger and laughed, "Brother Haoran, even though you said you are giving this Thunderfire Tiger to me, I will definitely return the full value to you once I have the spirit stones in the future!"

Having said that, he didn't wait for Meng Haoran to speak, and holding the tiger-headed cub, he ran off in a flash.

Watching Meng Xiaoran's slowly disappearing back, Meng Haoran shook his head and smiled.

Turning back to sit on the stone steps at the doorway, Meng Haoran began to ponder his future cultivation plans.

"Since the Heavenly Cauldron was able to actively guide me to purchase the Thunderfire Tiger, it must possess many other functions that I have yet to uncover."

"Since this Thunderfire Tiger has begun to move past its frail state, I must make good use of the Cauldron Liquid in the Heavenly Cauldron to nurture it carefully, activating its Ancient Bloodline Power as much as possible so that it can become a great asset to my combat and cultivation in the future."

"Furthermore, there is the matter of the spirit plant field. In about seven days, the batch of spirit plants in the Meng Family's field will all be mature. When that time comes, I must quietly harvest those second-tier spirit plants, the Six-Pattern Wheat, and bring them to Xinghua Village."

"Now that the Clan Head has ordered that I am responsible for the newly cultivated spirit plant field, I can boldly use the Cauldron Liquid from the Heavenly Cauldron. Second-tier spirit plants like the Six-Pattern Wheat are different from the first-tier Three-Pattern Wheat; the heaven and earth spiritual energy and other auxiliary Daoist Magic required during their growth are much more demanding, which will also serve to train my daily Daoist Magic skills."

Thinking of this, Meng Haoran stood up and walked outside.

"I must also take good care of those spirit plants!"