Chapter Fourteen: Mid-Soul Stealing

  Yunlu Garden is located in the southern suburbs of Dong'an City, with elegant surroundings and vast land area. It is the largest and most high-end villa district in Dong'an.

  This garden has never been sold outside and is only for the internal use of the Yun family, so the locals generally call it the Cloud Family Mansion.

  In the largest and most luxurious villa in Yunlu Garden, lived Yun Xiong, the helmsman of the Yun family, and his only granddaughter Yun Fei.

  Next to it was another villa, which was the residence of Yun Lao Guan's family.

  Yunfeng was now standing in front of Lao Guan's house, reporting to him what he had seen and heard at Jibao Pawnshop just now.

  The old steward was slender in figure, with a clear and refined appearance, elegant in temperament. Although he had passed his seventieth year, there wasn't a single white hair on his head, looking very spirited.

  The old steward listened to Yunfeng's report with his ears, rubbing the stack of banknotes stained with evil spirits in his hands, his face expressionless, silent and deep in thought.

  The situation reported by Yunfeng far exceeded his expectations.

  Recently, he inadvertently heard that Jibaozhai bought a treasure about a year ago, which might be the terrestrial jade essence, so he hastily ordered Yunfeng to buy it.

  Unexpectedly, someone had taken a step ahead and bought the Earth Core Jade Essence, and it was even an already transformed demon in human form!

  At this thought, Yun's old butler couldn't help but clench the stack of banknotes a little tighter.

  For these ancient warriors, the Earth Core Jade Essence has a huge attraction. If they can obtain the spiritual power contained within, their cultivation will make rapid progress and shorten decades of bitter practice!

  It's a pity that such a treasure has fallen into someone else's hands!

  But what made him even more worried was that mysterious demon who suddenly appeared.

  The intense and eerie aura left on the banknote can tell that the mysterious demon's strength is quite astonishing!

  He must figure out what the true purpose of the demon's arrival in Dong'an is and whether it will pose any threat to the Yun family of Dong'an!

  Yunfeng didn't dare disturb him, he just hung his head with both hands behind his back, standing quietly on one side.

  The surroundings were quiet for a moment, making people feel depressed.

  After a long while, the old steward suddenly raised his hand and shot out the true energy in his body, instantly turning the stack of banknotes into ashes.

  "Make a thorough investigation, conduct secret visits, but absolutely do not make a big show of it, lest you startle the snake in the grass!" His voice echoed softly in the courtyard. "Also, if you really discover that demon, observe from a hidden location and report back quickly, under no circumstances should you become his enemy."

  "Slashing demons and eliminating evil is our Cloud family's responsibility, why are we still hiding from that demon?" Yun Feng asked respectfully.

  The old steward said coldly, "Slashing demons and eliminating evil is indeed the responsibility of the Yun family, but it also depends on the person. This mysterious demon's power is extremely strong, if it absorbs the spiritual energy of the terrestrial jade essence, it will be even more terrifying. If our Yun family rashly makes an enemy of it, I'm afraid we'll pay a terrible price. If that demon hasn't done anything to harm heaven and earth, but just happens to pass through Dong'an, why must we let the young masters of the Yun family go to their deaths?"

  Yunfeng was secretly shocked, the old steward seemed refined and elegant, but in reality he had always been decisive and ruthless, never so cautious before. It seems that this unknown demon is indeed very powerful.

  "Right, you must also pay special attention to the safety of the young lady. She is the old master's precious gem, and absolutely cannot have any mishaps!"

  "Yes. I'll go and prepare now."

  Yunfeng bowed and exited the courtyard, hastily arranging for people to be sent.

  Zhao Rui had no idea that after buying the Earth Heart Jade Essence, he would cause such a commotion at the entrance of the Academy; he was even more unaware that the faint aura of evil he unintentionally left on the banknote was mistaken by the Cloud An's largest family, the Yun Family, as an attack by a demon, and they quietly entered a state of emergency!

  He left the school gate and didn't go back to school, but went straight home to study the Heart Jade carefully, after all, there were many inconvenient places in school.

  The Ge Zhong Yu Jing is quite different from ordinary jade, containing spiritual energy and a subtle luster. No wonder Wu Liang was deceived after being in the antique circle for twenty years.

  Zhao Rui carefully rubbed the Earth Heart Jade Essence in his hand for a while before injecting his true energy into it.

  At the moment when the true energy was injected, a bright yellow light spot appeared in the center of the earth's heart jade, emitting a dim glow outward, like a candle covered with a shade.

  As the true energy continued to pour in, that bright spot began to spread outwards, creeping in all directions, as if it was going to ignite the entire Earth Heart Jade Essence!

  Finally, the entire Terrestrial Jade Essence lit up brightly. The bright yellow glow that had been obscured burst forth from its restraints and exploded into dazzling brilliance, making it almost impossible for anyone to gaze directly at it!

  At the same time, a vast and pure spiritual energy, like an unbridled wild horse, burst out of the Earth Heart Jade Essence and rushed into Zhao Rui's body!

  Zhao Rui's wrist suddenly shook violently, almost dropping the piece of terrestrial jade essence!

  He did not expect that the spiritual energy contained in the terrestrial jade essence would be so vast!

  He hastily closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and conjured up the second light diagram of the "Ba Huang Lüe Xian Jue". According to the recorded mantra, he carefully guided this torrent into his body.

  He controlled the speed at which spiritual energy flowed into his meridians, not daring to let it enter too quickly. Otherwise, even this body that had merged with ancient demon genes would be unable to withstand it.

  The spiritual energy condensed over millions of years in the Earth's core, continuously flowed into Zhao Rui's meridians, slowly circulating inside, and finally entered the dantian, where it was refined and transformed into true qi that he could utilize.

  As the spiritual energy poured in, the cloud-like true energy in his dantian grew stronger, and the true energy flowing through his meridians also increased. A dense and intense demonic aura emanated from his body, enveloping him within.

  Zhao Rui felt a slight swelling sensation in his dantian, as if it had been filled to the brim. Probably due to absorbing too much spiritual energy, his true qi had grown too quickly over a short period of time.

  He took advantage of the momentum to lead the true energy in his dantian out, flowing towards his fingertips, hoping to break through that invisible barrier.

  It was unknown how much time had passed like this, the true energy on his fingertips grew more and more abundant, while the light emitted by the Earth Heart Jade Essence gradually dimmed.

  Finally, the light emitted by the Geocentric Jade Essence completely disappeared, and the spiritual energy it contained flowed into Zhao Rui's body.

  At the moment when the essence of the jade heart lost its spiritual energy and turned into powder, Zhao Rui's true energy also condensed to its maximum. His eyes suddenly opened, and he let out a low shout, pointing at the void with one finger.

  All that could be heard was a "hiss" sound, the true energy condensed at the fingertips finally broke through the invisible barrier and shot out, emitting a sharp piercing sound.

  Although the true energy was under his deliberate control and did not crash into the wall, the intense airflow that was stirred up still pressed out several cracks on the wall.

  If it really hits, this wall will be destroyed in an instant!

  Zhao Rui's face revealed a satisfied smile, he finally broke through the bottleneck and stepped into the mid-term realm of Soul Snatching!

  Having entered the mid-term of Soul Snatching, Zhao Rui already possessed the ability to open higher-level fairy tombs in the Xianmo Cemetery.

  He naturally hoped to re-enter the Xianmo Cemetery and obtain the ancient treasures sealed in the tomb. However, the gate of the Xianmo Cemetery only opens on full moon nights, and those who hold the entrance token can only enter on full moon nights.

  Zhao Rui calculated that the night of the full moon was the 15th day of the lunar calendar, and now it's already the 17th. If he wants to go in, he'll have to wait until next month.

  He wasn't in a hurry either, those ancient treasures were stored in the Xianmo Cemetery, which was even safer than a bank vault. It didn't matter whether it was earlier or later, at most, he just felt a little itchy in his heart.