Fang Hao’s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly ceased his cultivation, not daring to make a sound.

In the dead of night, in a godforsaken place like this abandoned mine, how could there be the sound of fighting? Could it be a ghost?

He crouched low, creeping stealthily toward the source of the noise. As he moved forward, the sounds of battle became clearer, interspersed with the explosive cracks of Spell collisions and men’s angry shouts.

Good heavens, those are Cultivators fighting. Fang Hao’s heart hammered against his ribs. As a mere Qi Refining Second Layer Servant Disciple, wasn’t getting involved in this just seeking death?

But curiosity killed the cat. Fang Hao couldn’t resist drawing closer, hiding behind a large boulder to steal a glance.

In an open area of the mine, two Cultivators in green robes were locked in a life-and-death struggle. One look told him they weren’t Servant Disciples; the quality of those robes and the Aura of their spellcasting suggested they were at least at the level of Outer Sect Disciples or higher.

One used Fire Spells, fireballs whistling through the air; the other used Water Spells, water arrows shooting out with a whoosh. Fire and water were incompatible, making for quite a spectacle.

"Zhao Kun. Hand over the item, and I’ll spare your life." shouted the Cultivator using water arrows.

"Li Ming. In your dreams. I found this treasure first." The Cultivator with the fireballs refused to back down.

The two cursed each other while forming hand seals, fireballs and water arrows colliding with loud bangs, shaking debris from the mine’s ceiling. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Fang Hao watched with a racing heart. If he were discovered, his life would surely be forfeit. Just as he was considering making a run for it, the situation suddenly shifted.

The fire Cultivator named Zhao Kun seemed to run low on spiritual energy; he failed to conjure a fireball and was pierced through the chest by one of Li Ming’s water arrows.

With a wet thud, Zhao Kun spat out a mouthful of blood and stumbled back.

Li Ming was overjoyed and was about to move in for the kill, but he didn’t expect Zhao Kun’s dying counterattack. Zhao Kun exhausted his remaining spiritual energy to condense a massive fireball, blasting it directly at Li Ming’s face.

Unable to dodge in time, Li Ming was hit squarely by the fireball. He instantly became a human torch, rolling on the ground with agonizing screams.

In just a few moments, the two Cultivators who had been so full of life were now lying motionless. One had a gaping hole in his chest, and the other was charred black.

Hiding behind the rock, Fang Hao’s legs went weak. What the hell was going on? Did these two big shots just kill each other?

He waited for a long while, and after confirming there was no more movement, he summoned his courage to approach.

The two were dead as doornails; there was no saving them. The air was thick with the smell of charred flesh and blood, making Fang Hao nearly gag.

He stared at the corpses, a battle raging in his mind. This... looting bodies isn’t very good, is it? Respect the dead and all that.

But on second thought, these two had clearly fought over some treasure, so it must be extraordinary. Besides, if he didn’t take it, someone else eventually would.

Fang Hao gritted his teeth and decided to go for it! Anyway, in this desolate wilderness, no one would see.

He first searched the charred Li Ming. After a thorough search, he found a palm-sized pouch, grey and unremarkable. Fang Hao tried to open it, but found a Restriction on the opening, making it impossible to open.

"What is this thing?" Fang Hao muttered, then moved to search Zhao Kun.

Zhao Kun had even fewer items; he only wore a simple, ancient-looking ring on his finger. It took Fang Hao quite an effort to pull the ring off.

Aside from these two items, there was nothing else. Fang Hao was a bit disappointed; he had expected to find some divine weapon.

Just as he was about to make his escape, he suddenly heard footsteps and voices approaching from a distance!

"The sounds of fighting came from this direction."

"Quick, go look."

Fang Hao’s scalp tingled; if he were caught, he’d never be able to clear his name. He hurriedly stuffed the pouch and ring into his robe and slunk back the way he came.

Back in his dilapidated shack, Fang Hao’s heart was still pounding. He bolted the door, lit the oil lamp, and finally took out the two looted items to examine them closely.

The grey pouch was made of a special material that felt slippery to the touch. There were faint spiritual energy fluctuations at the opening; it clearly had a Restriction. Fang Hao tried to channel a sliver of spiritual energy into it, but it was repelled.

"Could it be a Storage bag?" Fang Hao’s eyes lit up. He had heard of such things among the Servant Disciples; supposedly, only Inner Sect Disciples were qualified to use Storage Pouches, which could hold many things.

Turning to the ring, it was bronze-colored with profound patterns engraved on it, and a grain-sized transparent stone was embedded in its face. Fang Hao tried it on his finger, and it fit perfectly.

He mimicked what he’d heard Servant Disciples bragging about, focusing his mind and trying to sense the ring.

Suddenly, he saw a space about ten feet square! Inside the space were several Spirit Stones, an old book, a few small bottles, and some miscellaneous items.

"A Storage Ring." Fang Hao nearly shouted in excitement. This was an even more Advanced item than a Storage bag.

He tried to take out a Spirit Stone with his consciousness. With a single thought, a crystal-clear Low-Grade Spirit Stone appeared in his hand.

"I’m rich, I’m rich." Fang Hao’s grin stretched from ear to ear. This was the first time in his life he’d ever touched a Spirit Stone, and a Low-Grade Spirit Stone at that. A Servant Disciple couldn’t even earn one Low-Grade Spirit Stone in a whole year of work.

He then tried to take out the book. The cover read Detailed Explanation of Basic Spells. Flipping it open, he found records of seven or eight common basic Spells, such as Fireball Art, Wind Control Art, Spiritual Rain Art, Earth Wall Art, Cleansing Art, and so on.

Fang Hao felt like he had found a priceless treasure. He had been worried about only knowing how to Cultivate without knowing any Spells, and now they had been delivered right to him.

The small bottles contained Medicinal Pills, with labels stuck on them: qi gathering pills, Rejuvenation Powder, Fasting Pills. They were all common Medicinal Pills used by Cultivators.

Amidst his joy, Fang Hao felt a bit troubled. These things were great, but their origin was illicit. If he were ever found out, it would mean certain death.

After much thought, Fang Hao put the storage ring on his finger and bit his finger to drop a bead of blood onto it. He had heard this could bind an item to its owner, so others couldn’t open it.

Sure enough, after the blood was absorbed by the ring, he felt a wondrous connection with it.

As for the Storage bag, since Fang Hao couldn’t open it for now, he hid it in a gap under his bedboards.

That night, Fang Hao suffered from insomnia. Part of it was excitement from gaining the treasures, and the other part was fear that the two corpses would be discovered and the investigation would lead to him.

Over the next few days, Fang Hao remained on edge, but it seemed no one cared about two people dying in the abandoned mine. Then again, in this world of immortal cultivation, a few deaths weren’t exactly news.

Only then did Fang Hao relax and begin studying the Detailed Explanation of Basic Spells.

The first thing he learned was the Cleansing Art. This Spell was practical; with a simple hand seal, he could make himself and his clothes perfectly clean, saving him the trouble of laundry. After three days of practice, he could finally cast it proficiently.

Next, he learned the Fireball Art. This was very useful for his secret nightly cultivation, as he no longer needed to carry a fire starter. After five days of practice, he could produce a stable flame.

What interested Fang Hao the most was the Wind Control Art. Once mastered, he could run faster and jump higher, which might come in handy for escaping one day. However, this Spell was more difficult; it took Fang Hao over ten days to get the hang of it.

With the aid of the Medicinal Pills and his nightly practice of the Myriad Manifestations Heaven Swallowing Art by the spiritual spring, Fang Hao’s cultivation progressed rapidly, already approaching the Qi Refining Second Layer Peak.

One night, while Fang Hao was cultivating, he suddenly felt spiritual energy surging within his Dantian, a sign that he was about to achieve a Breakthrough. He quickly focused his mind and stabilized his breathing, circulating his technique to strike at the Bottleneck.

Unknowingly, the speed at which he absorbed spiritual energy grew faster and faster, forming a small spiritual energy vortex around him. Just then, the storage ring on his finger suddenly emitted a faint light, resonating with the Spiritual Qi from the spring.

Fang Hao felt an unprecedented surge of pure spiritual energy flood into his body, breaking through the barrier with a resounding boom.

Qi Refining Third Layer.

Fang Hao was ecstatic. Just as he was about to consolidate his cultivation, he suddenly noticed that the storage ring’s space seemed to have expanded; the originally ten-foot-square space was now nearly fifteen feet.

Even more miraculously, the Restriction on the Storage bag he previously couldn’t open seemed to have weakened significantly. Fang Hao tried to input spiritual energy and actually opened it with ease.

There weren’t many things in the pouch: a few Talismans, a small sword, and a Jade Slip.

Fang Hao took out the Jade Slip and pressed it to his forehead, instantly becoming stunned.

Recorded within the Jade Slip was actually a Treasure Map. The location marked on the map seemed to be somewhere within this very abandoned mine.

Fang Hao’s heart hammered. Could it be that those two Cultivators fought over this? There’s still treasure hidden in this abandoned mine?

As he was pondering, he suddenly heard footsteps outside; someone was coming toward his shack.

Fang Hao hurriedly stuffed everything back into the storage ring, blew out the oil lamp, and pretended to sleep.

"Fang Hao. Fang Hao. Open up." It was the old man who guarded the abandoned mine calling at the door.

Fang Hao’s heart tightened. Could his secret have been exposed?