The Heavenly Origin Ring

Chapter 4: The Heavenly Origin Ring

Bi Fan shook his head, no longer dwelling on it. Finding a way out was the most urgent thing now.

There was no food in the cavern, and even without the poisonous snakes, he couldn't stay there for long.

The cavern had only one exit: the passage Bi Fan had entered through. It sloped upward at a sixty-degree angle.

Bi Fan tried climbing it, but the passage was too smooth, with nowhere to get a foothold. There was no way he could climb it with his bare hands.

"How could I forget Blood Blade!" Bi Fan exclaimed in delight.

With a thought, Blood Blade appeared in Bi Fan's hand.

Bi Fan took Blood Blade and hacked footholds into the passage, then began climbing upward.

Every so often, Bi Fan used Blood Blade to carve out another small foothold.

If the famed Blood Demon True Monarch knew Bi Fan was using his renowned Blood Blade to dig dirt, he would probably leap out of the ground.

Bi Fan climbed step by step, digging until he was exhausted. Whenever he grew tired, he rested for a while, then continued.

He had no idea how long the passage was. He kept climbing and stopping, but after more than an hour, he still hadn't seen any light.

Suddenly, Bi Fan heard a rustling sound. He tensed at once, cold sweat breaking out all over.

"Poisonous snakes!"

What Bi Fan feared most was running into these slithering creatures. He had spent more than ten years at Qingyang Sect, so he had naturally heard plenty about Myriad Snake Den.

Myriad Snake Den was the most terrifying place on Qingyang Mountain. Everyone at Qingyang Sect turned pale at the mention of it.

Now that Bi Fan was inside Myriad Snake Den, he was naturally on tenterhooks.

After climbing a few more steps, Bi Fan saw the passage ahead crawling with poisonous snakes—big and small, too many to count.

"Whoosh..." Bi Fan was so frightened he nearly fell. He sucked in a sharp breath and tried to calm himself.

He was trapped between a rock and a hard place. Going back the way he came meant certain death, while the snakes blocked his way forward.

Bi Fan was filled with unwillingness and resentment.

"Ah!" Bi Fan roared. "I can't die. Never..."

A flash of black crossed Bi Fan's eyes, and a fierce, murderous aura burst from him.

"Rustle..." The snakes seemed frightened by Bi Fan and scattered away from him.

Bi Fan was baffled by what he saw.

But he soon stopped wondering about it. Getting out was what mattered most.

With the snakes appearing, Bi Fan sped up, digging his way upward without stopping, seemingly tireless.

At last, after two hours, Bi Fan saw daylight. He was so overcome with excitement he could hardly contain himself.

Soon, Bi Fan reached the end of the passage and stood on a jutting rock wall. When he looked up at the steep cliff face, he nearly swore aloud.

After finally climbing all the way to the end, he still had another obstacle to overcome.

The passage floor where Bi Fan stood was about ten meters below the top. The stretch between them was steep and slick; even the snakes couldn't climb it, let alone Bi Fan.

Bi Fan wasn't one to blame fate. He began thinking about how he could get out.

Above him was a sheer cliff, below him an unfathomable abyss, and around him countless poisonous snakes. One wrong step, and he would be shattered to pieces, not even leaving a corpse behind.

Bi Fan watched for a long time but couldn't come up with a foolproof plan. He had no choice but to risk climbing up.

If he hadn't just made it through the passage, Bi Fan wouldn't have dared attempt something so reckless.

After spending several hours crossing the passage, Bi Fan had discovered that his stamina, endurance, and strength had all improved dramatically. His body had also become much lighter and more agile.

Bi Fan had no idea that the Two-Colored Strange Lotus had cleansed and reforged his body. He thought it was because drinking the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Vein Spirit Milk had improved his constitution.

With his stronger body as a foundation and Blood Blade in hand, he had some confidence that he could climb up.

Bi Fan rested for a while. Once his strength had fully recovered, he began to climb.

He used the same method: first, he carved footholds and handholds into the cliff with Blood Blade, then started climbing, one step at a time.

The cliff was much steeper than the passage, making the climb more than ten times harder.

Bi Fan had only made it halfway when he was completely exhausted, drenched from head to toe.

He clenched his teeth so hard they cracked, forcing himself to keep going. Sweat ran into his eyes and mouth, but he couldn't spare a moment to wipe it away. The skin on all ten fingers had split, and blood streamed from them, but Bi Fan couldn't stop to tend to his hands.

"Whoosh..." At last, he escaped Myriad Snake Den. Bi Fan gasped for breath, too exhausted even to cheer.

"Roar!" After a long while, he finally let out a great shout, releasing all the frustration and excitement pent up inside him.

No one usually came to the back mountain, so he didn't have to worry about disturbing anyone.

Before he could rest, he remembered the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Vein Spirit Milk and reached for the Purple Gourd hanging from his waist.

The gourd was still there, but Bi Fan had forgotten that his hand was covered in blood. It smeared onto the gourd.

Purple light shone from the Purple Gourd. It was connected to Bi Fan by blood, and once again, he had bonded with a treasure by dripping blood onto it.

"Another magical treasure!" Bi Fan was thrilled.

Just like before, information about the Purple Gourd appeared in his mind.

The gourd was called the Eight Treasures Gourd. It had been a personal treasure of the Buddha Venerable Buzui, and contained sixty-four small spaces, each meant to hold different kinds of fine wine.

Bi Fan also learned the methods for refining and controlling the Eight Treasures Gourd: how to take things out of it and how to use it to collect items.

Following the method, Bi Fan successfully refined the Eight Treasures Gourd and could now store it inside his body at will.

After refining it, he knew exactly what was inside. Ten of the Eight Treasures Gourd's sixty-four spaces were filled with liquid, giving off the rich fragrance of wine. They must have held fine liquor.

Another small space contained a milky-white liquid. Naturally, it was the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Vein Spirit Milk.

Now that he knew how to control the Eight Treasures Gourd, he no longer had to go through so much trouble to store liquids. With a thought, he could instantly draw a large pool of water into it.

Bi Fan played with the Eight Treasures Gourd for a while before remembering that he was at Myriad Snake Den. He hurried away.

When he reached a patch of woods, Bi Fan stopped to rest.

He had obtained three treasures in Myriad Snake Den, two of which were at least magical treasures. He was eager to learn the origin of the Dragon Head Ring.

After his experience with the Eight Treasures Gourd, Bi Fan knew that not every treasure needed so much blood to bond with its owner.

Setting aside his doubts, he dripped a drop of blood onto the Dragon Head Ring. The blood vanished into it at once.

Bi Fan immediately felt a connection with the ring and, as before, learned a great deal about it.

The Heavenly Origin Ring was the key to the Heavenly Origin Secret Treasury. The treasury was a storehouse of treasures left behind by the ancient great sect, Heavenly Origin Mansion. It contained an endless supply of treasures.

The Heavenly Origin Ring was also a storage ring. Its inner space was enormous and would keep expanding as its owner grew stronger.

The Heavenly Origin Ring had many other functions, but Bi Fan was too weak to use them. For now, he could only use it to store things.

After refining three magical treasures in a row, Bi Fan was no longer so excited.

He began to think about what to do next.

He really wanted to leave Qingyang Mountain, but he wasn't strong enough to do so.

If he stayed, he couldn't explain who he was, and nobody would believe him anyway. He was twenty centimeters taller than he had been just a few days ago, and much more muscular. Even his face had changed. It was fuller and more resolute, with none of its former gauntness, and his skin was much fairer.

Even Bi Fan couldn't recognize himself, let alone anyone else.

Just as Bi Fan was at a loss, a woman's shout rang in his ears, as if she were fighting.

Bi Fan decided to take a look and carefully crept closer.

Peering through the grass, Bi Fan saw a woman dressed in white as pure as snow, her long hair flowing behind her as she fought a black bear three meters tall.

Bi Fan faced the black bear, so he couldn't see the woman's face. But she had a graceful figure, and her movements were elegant and composed, as if she were a celestial maiden. She carried herself with the bearing of a noble lady.

Of course, Bi Fan didn't understand any of that. He just thought the woman's figure was top-notch—a perfect hourglass figure.

Hidden in the shadows, Bi Fan made no effort to hide his impudent stare. His eyes lingered on the woman's waist and hips.