"I… did I see wrong?"
James wasn't entirely sure, as he had only seen the two Ning Beichen figures for a very brief moment, less than a second.
"Yes, you saw wrong. Some people experience hallucinations in harsh environments. You must have been hallucinating just now."
Ning Beichen spun a plausible lie to deceive James.
"Is that so? Perhaps I really was hallucinating. How could there be two of you?"
James was easily convinced and dropped the matter.
Meanwhile, Ning Beichen pondered in his mind.
Logically, James shouldn't have been able to see his Yang Shen's departure, as the Yang Shen was invisible. The Yang Shen was essentially like the human soul, and who had ever heard of someone being able to see a soul?
However, Ning Beichen couldn't be entirely certain. After all, he himself had never seen his Yang Shen. Who knew if it was visible or not?
It seemed he needed to study the phenomenon of Yang Shen departure more thoroughly when he had the time.
While he couldn't achieve spontaneous Yang Shen departure yet, having succeeded once meant he could do it a second, third, and countless more times.
Therefore, Ning Beichen was not in a hurry. He hadn't come here to study Yang Shen departure.
Moreover, during his Yang Shen's departure, he had clearly seen a giant eagle diving ferociously from the sky towards his Yang Shen, as if intending to hunt it.
Yet, when his Yang Shen returned to his body, he found no trace of any eagle outside.
Ning Beichen suspected that perhaps when his Yang Shen departed, it entered a mysterious dimension, and the attacking eagle was not from this dimension, which was why he couldn't see it in reality.
As he thought about it, Ning Beichen increasingly felt this possibility was plausible, otherwise, the appearance of the eagle was difficult to explain.
But now was not the time to get to the bottom of it, and Ning Beichen did not attempt Yang Shen departure again.
It wasn't that he didn't want to; it was just that Ning Beichen didn't know how to make his Yang Shen depart.
Besides, James was here, and there were enemies on the snowy mountain. Ning Beichen didn't want to cause trouble at this moment.
From then on, Ning Beichen stopped thinking about Yang Shen departure and lay down to rest.
Neither of them slept soundly that night, and Ning Beichen remained vigilant, mainly worried about an avalanche burying their snow cave.
However, even without an avalanche, by the next day, Ning Beichen discovered that their snow cave had been buried by thick snow, and even their entrance was gone.
Ning Beichen exerted considerable effort to lead James out of the snow cave.
The weather outside was still snowy, and despite the sunlight, it was so cold that James shivered uncontrollably until he put on another thick jacket.
But no matter how cold it was, they still had to ascend the mountain, otherwise, James's family would be in danger.
However, they couldn't find an easy path up. Even if there had been one, it was now covered by deep snow, reaching their knees with every step.
With no other option, Ning Beichen dragged James, a nearly two-hundred-pound man, laboriously up the snowy mountain.
Fortunately, Ning Beichen possessed Qing Gong and was powerfully cultivated, so dragging James didn't consume too much of his strength.
Even so, it took Ning Beichen almost an entire day to bring James to the summit of the snowy mountain.
It wasn't that Ning Beichen couldn't endure it, but James couldn't. He had to rest periodically, or he would have collapsed before reaching the summit.
Fortunately, the journey was uneventful. In the afternoon, Ning Beichen and James finally arrived at the location indicated by the Badge Disciple.
This was not the summit, still some distance away, but it was where the Badge Disciple had instructed them to go.
However, the area was a vast expanse of white snow with nothing visible, making Ning Beichen doubt if an ancient blood clan treasury truly existed here.
Ning Beichen surveyed the surroundings. If an ancient blood clan treasury was indeed here, it must be buried within the snow mountain.
The wind and snow were so fierce that it was not unusual for the entrance to be concealed.
Yet, the Badge Disciples and the blood clan members had not appeared. What were they plotting?
Ning Beichen couldn't figure it out and decided not to waste his energy thinking about it. If he found the ancient blood clan treasury, he didn't believe they wouldn't show up.
However, to find the treasury, he would need to clear away the snow.
Ning Beichen only had a shovel, and trying to clear snow with it would likely result in more snow falling than he could remove.
Given this, Ning Beichen decided against such a laborious method. He moved James a safe distance away and then unleashed a palm strike towards the snow.
With a thunderous boom!
The snow was blasted away by his palm strike, revealing a large snow-free area.
However, there was nothing unusual about the exposed area, nor any sign of an entrance. Ning Beichen continued to strike other areas with his palm.
A series of rumbling sounds echoed, as if explosives were being detonated on the mountain, sending snow flying.
James, some distance away, cowered on the ground, too terrified to move. He couldn't see what was happening ahead and thought it was an avalanche.
After a total of ten palm strikes, Ning Beichen saw an opening appear on the wall, and his face lit up with joy.
If the Badge Disciple's information was correct, this must be the entrance to the ancient blood clan treasury.
Ning Beichen returned to find James and led him into the cave.
Indeed, deep within the cave, Ning Beichen discovered an ancient bronze giant door. On the door, there was a swirling vortex of blood.
This crimson vortex rotated slowly, appearing like an abyss, exuding an extremely eerie aura.
Ning Beichen examined the surroundings, noting how peculiar the place was. Without a key, it would be impossible to open the bronze giant door.
Large machinery couldn't possibly reach this spot, and using explosives would only bury them alive.
Ning Beichen looked at the swirling blood vortex and compared it to the Blood Key. If his guess was correct, this blood vortex was the keyhole to unlock the treasury.
With this thought.
Ning Beichen took out the Blood Key and extended it towards the rotating blood vortex.