Chapter Ten: The Treasure Pavilion

  After reporting for registration, formal classes began in less than two days. Han Xing, another roommate in the dormitory, also returned to the dormitory on time.

  Han Xing is a Northeasterner, but his figure is not particularly tall and sturdy, on the contrary, he is somewhat thin. He has an open personality and is quite straightforward, he is especially obsessed with CS, organized his own team, often takes the team to participate in competitions, in the CS circle, also has some reputation.

  The days passed quietly, with nothing special happening. Zhao Rui spent every day finding a quiet place to practice the "Ba Huang Luan Xian Jue" except for attending classes.

  In addition, he would sometimes go to the school library to borrow some ancient mythological legends and various historical materials related to magical tools.

  He borrowed these materials mainly to gain a deeper understanding of Xiuzhen, as he had never been exposed to this knowledge before, and at most, he would only take a look at the starting point of Xiuzhen.

  That afternoon, he leaned against the bed, staring blankly at a stack of documents, when his phone suddenly rang.

  Zhao Rui picked up the phone and heard it was Sun Xiaolan calling.

  "Xiao Rui, do you have time?"

  "What's wrong? Little Orchid?"

  "If you have time, come out with me for a trip!"

  "Where are we going?" Zhao Rui asked with some fatigue, rubbing his temples.

  "Academy Gate."

  "What's the point of going to the Academy Gate? That's just an antique market, what can you do there?" Zhao Rui was somewhat puzzled.

  "My mom's birthday is next week, I want to buy her a gift."

  "Oh? It's Auntie's birthday! I should get her a gift. However, the market outside the school is very deep, and it's hard for those who don't understand to buy genuine goods without getting cheated. Even if you do manage to buy genuine goods, they might not be worth the price."

  "It's okay, it's okay. I don't have much money on me and wasn't planning to buy any expensive antiques anyway. Just spending a little money to get some small trinkets will make my mom happy. At worst, I can just buy a fake one and put it at home for decoration."

  "Alright then... I'll come down right away, where are you waiting for me?"

  Basketball court.

  "Alright, I'll be right there." Zhao Rui replied and started changing his clothes and putting on his shoes.

  Today is Saturday, Zhou Wei ran to the music academy to pick up girls last night and hasn't been seen until now. Han Xing and Luo Cheng were playing CS with other dormitories because of their late work, they played until 3 or 4 in the morning and are still sleeping with their heads covered. He was bored after reading materials for several hours in the dormitory.

  Met Sun Xiaolan at the basketball court and the two of them left school directly, taking a bus to Shuyuanmen.

  The gate of the academy is not a single door, but a street. On both sides of the street, there are over 100 shops concentrated on both sides, including stele rubbings, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, seals and seal albums, and stationery.

  The small shop's vermilion lattice door was half open, with large and small lake pens hanging down from the eaves, carrying a strong ancient flavor.

  Occasionally, some small vendors can also be seen secretly setting up stalls on this street, but as soon as the city management comes, they roll up their things and disappear.

  Dong'an is an ancient capital, and the antique trade is exceptionally hot. The Shuyuan Gate is the largest antique market in Dong'an City, with countless open and secret transactions taking place here. Those who can do business here are not simple people from all walks of life.

  It's probably because it was a Saturday, and this street is originally a famous tourist spot. The narrow streets were crowded with people coming and going constantly.

  Sun Xiaolan was excited to look around here and there, from time to time running into the shops on the street, picking out some small items and haggling with the boss, but after strolling for half a day, she ended up not buying anything.

  "This is called exploring the market." Afraid that Zhao Rui would be impatient, Sun Xiaolan solemnly defended herself.

  Zhao Rui was both annoyed and amused, with a budget of only a few hundred yuan, there were really very few things that could be bought here, and yet she said something about exploring the market, actually it was just because she liked window shopping, however, seeing her so enthusiastic, it wasn't good to expose her.

  Before she could speak, Sun Xiaolan suddenly stretched out her hand and pointed forward: "Hey, let's go take a look at that antique shop!"

  After finishing speaking, he ran over with a whoosh, and Zhao Rui could only smile wryly and follow behind.

  It was a rather elegant antique shop, a three-story small building, with decorations inside that exuded luxury in an ancient style without being tacky, and several employees dressed in traditional Chinese attire standing inside.

  Zhao Rui looked up at the signboard of this antique shop, "Ji Bao Zhai" three gold-plated characters reflected in the sunlight, dazzling people a bit.

  "Ji Bao Zhai?"

  He felt the name was somewhat familiar, and after careful consideration, he suddenly remembered that when he worked part-time as a waiter in a bar, he had heard customers mention that Jibaozhai was probably the largest antique shop in Shuyuanmen, with nearly twenty years of history. Boss Wu Liang originally relied on tomb raiding to make a living, and had a group of highly skilled tomb raiders under his command, with great influence in Shuyuanmen. At least half of the antiques in the store were of unknown origin, but due to his complicated relationship with the Dong'an Yun family, he had remained unscathed until now, without any major incidents.

  After twenty years of wealth accumulation, Wu Liang can be said to be quite wealthy, but he is extremely stingy and must compare every detail. He also has another problem, which is that apart from himself, he does not trust anyone else, no matter what, everything must be done personally. Doing business with him, not being cheated is already considered very good, wanting to make a profit is simply extremely difficult.

  Zhao Rui originally wanted to stop Sun Xiaolan, but Sun Xiaolan had already run into the store at this time, and he could only follow her in.

  The shop assistant in the store saw two people coming in, took a glance, and then turned his gaze elsewhere, without going up to greet them. Having been a shop assistant at Jibaozhai for so long, his eyes had become extremely sharp, and with just one glance, he could tell who was there to buy something and who was just wandering around aimlessly.

  It's clear that the two people who just came in belong to the latter category, they are too lazy to put in effort to entertain.

  Sun Xiaolan was indeed a stroller, entering the store and carefully selecting some exquisite antiques for appreciation.

  But Zhao Rui was different, the moment he stepped into the antique shop, he sensed that the antiques in the shop all carried a faint aura, and each type of antique had a different aura.

  Zhao Rui Xian found it strange, but after careful consideration, he immediately understood. Most of these antiques had been buried underground for many years, only to be discovered by chance and appear in the world. After absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for a long time, they would naturally carry some with them. The longer they were buried, the more spiritual energy the antiques contained.

  In addition, those exquisite antiques embody the wisdom and inspiration of their creators, and the spiritual energy they contain is even more abundant.

  As for those fake goods, they naturally cannot contain any spiritual energy and can be distinguished at a glance.

  Zhao Rui suddenly understood this point, his heart slightly delighted, and began to ponder whether he could use this skill to pick up leaks in the antique shop, take advantage of it to make a fortune, and thoroughly let himself escape poverty and become rich.

  However, after walking around in Jibaozhai, he found that the antiques here were quite expensive and there was no room for him to pick up bargains.

  Zhao Rui's plan was instantly shattered, and he couldn't help but feel greatly disappointed. Just as he was about to call out to Luo Cheng to leave, he suddenly noticed a small, pale yellow jade plaque placed in an inconspicuous corner of the glass counter.

  The jade pendant is simple in style but dull in luster, and because it's far away, I couldn't see it clearly for the time being.

  Zhao Rui's attention was almost instantly drawn to the jade pendant, because he faintly felt a very strong spiritual energy emanating from it!

  Zhao Rui walked up to the counter and carefully examined the jade pendant. His heart suddenly skipped a beat.

  This jade pendant is actually made of terrestrial jade essence!

  What is referred to as "Terrestrial Jade Essence" refers to jade deposits deeply buried underground, which after being washed away for thousands of years and absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, gather all their essence onto a small piece of spiritual jade.

  It takes hundreds of thousands of tons of jade to produce just one piece of fine jade like this!

  In the Geocentric Jade Essence, a vast and mighty spiritual energy is condensed, which can greatly help the cultivators of truth. If absorbed properly, it can even allow the cultivator's strength to be greatly enhanced in a short period of time!

  Zhao Rui's heart was set on raising his own strength to the mid-term of the Soul Snatcher, and this piece of Earth Heart Jade Essence undoubtedly had an extremely important role for him!