Fortunately, both the Badge Disciples and the Blood Clan possessed incredibly robust bodies. Even when buried by the avalanche, they did not perish; they were merely entombed in snow. After rescue by their companions, they all emerged from the snow in a rather disheveled state.
However, one Badge Disciple and two Blood Clan members did not escape the calamity. By the time their companions pulled them out, they were already lifeless.
At this moment, everyone's mind was filled with a single question.
What had happened?
Why did the avalanche occur so suddenly?
In truth, Ning Beichen had overestimated them. He had expected them to discover him along the way. However, Ning Beichen had taken an unconventional route. The Badge Disciples and the Blood Clan had not anticipated Ning Beichen finding the ancient Blood Clan's treasure vault so quickly.
Therefore, they were still waiting for Ning Beichen's arrival outside, completely unaware that Ning Beichen was the cause of the avalanche. They were lamenting their misfortune, believing they had encountered a natural disaster, all the while unaware that Ning Beichen had already gained entry to the Blood Clan's treasure vault.
While the Badge Disciples and the Blood Clan outside were caught in the avalanche, Ning Beichen, inside the cave, had already blasted a long crack into the stone door.
Seeing this, Ning Beichen's face lit up with surprise.
He was not afraid of depleting his inner energy; his concern was whether his attacks would be effective against the stone door.
Now that the stone door bore a crack, it proved that it was not an indestructible object.
Thus, Ning Beichen did not give up. He struck the stone door two more times.
After these two punches, the stone door could no longer withstand Ning Beichen's assault. With a loud boom, it fractured, and the crack began to spread from its origin point to the very edges of the door.
After a short while.
The stone door began to split open, revealing a gap in the center large enough for a person to pass through.
"Done."
Ning Beichen looked at the gaping entrance and grinned inwardly. He mused that even the hardest stone doors or mechanisms were destined to crumble before absolute power.
Soon after, Ning Beichen entered through the fractured opening and discovered that behind the stone door lay a massive treasure vault.
James, who followed him in, felt his heart pound at the sight of the treasures within.
However, without Ning Beichen's permission, he dared not touch anything in the vault.
Moreover, his wife and children were still held captive by the Badge Disciples or the Blood Clan. Compared to these riches, James prioritized his family.
Yet, like the cave dwellings and blessed lands of ancient Eastern kingdoms, most of the items in this vault had weathered away, turning to dust simply by being exposed to air, requiring no touch.
Due to Ning Beichen shattering the vault's stone door, the influx of air had triggered a chemical reaction with the contents.
Despite the abundance of items originally stored in the vault, and even the three cups crafted from pure gold that Ning Beichen spotted on the ground, these golden cups had now also disintegrated into powder.
Had Ning Beichen opened the stone door through conventional means, and if he had immediately closed it afterward, there might have been a chance to salvage some of the contents.
But Ning Beichen had blasted the door apart, rendering it incapable of isolating the interior from the outside air.
Before long, little remained of the vault's contents, with most having turned to dust. However, a few items within the vault had resisted the decay, seemingly out of respect for Ning Beichen.
These few unweathered items included a peculiar staff. While called a staff, it more closely resembled a snake, possessing a serpentine texture and giving the unnerving sensation of being alive, which was quite chilling.
As Ning Beichen grasped this snake-like staff, an unknown malevolent force surged into his body through it. This force also attempted to influence his thoughts, seeking to control him and turn him into the staff's slave.
Ning Beichen let out a scoff. The cultivation of his "Crossing the Sea of Suffering" technique flowed like a tide, instantly pulverizing the staff's malevolent energy into nothingness. It was as if the "Crossing the Sea of Suffering" power had been provoked, acting with overbearing dominance, crushing the enemy without mercy, leaving no opportunity for retreat.
The staff in Ning Beichen's hand writhed like a python, struggling desperately. It was filled with terror and fear, trying to escape his grasp.
But Ning Beichen's hand held it fast like a vise. The malevolent staff was utterly incapable of breaking free and, under the suppression of the "Crossing the Sea of Suffering" technique, dared not even move.
If the "Crossing the Sea of Suffering" technique was akin to an emperor, then the staff was merely its servant. How could a servant dare to defy an emperor?
Thus, after a short while, the staff trembled in Ning Beichen's hand and fell silent, seemingly having surrendered.
With the suppression of the "Crossing the Sea of Suffering" technique, Ning Beichen no longer feared the staff's influence. He picked up the staff and began to examine it closely.
Upon observation, Ning Beichen realized that the staff did not merely resemble a snake; it was, in fact, a snake that had somehow been transformed into a staff in ancient times, due to some unknown experience.
Furthermore, staffs made from snakes were not uncommon in ancient times, as these snakes were known as "immortal snakes," said to have been bestowed with immortal power by the first generation of the Blood Clan.
The immortal snake possessed immense power. When fashioned into a staff, it could wield this serpentine malevolence, making it the Blood Clan's most mysterious and prized staff, an artifact only their king was qualified to wield.
This was likely the reason the Blood Clan had gone to such lengths to open the treasure vault. If they had obtained this immortal snake staff, their strength would have significantly increased.
But now, with the immortal snake staff in Ning Beichen's possession, the Blood Clan's hope of reclaiming it was nothing more than a pipe dream.
Besides the immortal snake staff, there were other treasures, and Ning Beichen naturally accepted them all with a smile.
Whether these treasures could be used or were of any use to him was a separate matter.
However, since these treasures had fallen into Ning Beichen's hands, given his character and temperament, even if he couldn't use them and they were considered trash by him, Ning Beichen would rather destroy them than give them to the Blood Clan or the Badge Disciples.
Among these treasures, the most significant was a heart contained within a wooden box.
This heart was what all the vampires in the world desired. For this was the heart of the ancient Blood Ancestor.
If vampires obtained the Blood Ancestor's heart, their bloodline would undergo a significant evolution. This was far beyond the capabilities of the immortal snake staff. This Blood Ancestor's heart was their true objective.
And it was the Blood Ancestor's heart that Ning Beichen now held.
Strangely, this heart was still beating, as if alive, similar to the immortal snake staff, and perhaps even more formidable than the staff.