Stealing the Jade Seal

Lately, the Zhenyue Ghost King had been wrestling with a dilemma—a problem right in front of him that demanded a solution. "Should I steal the Hereditary Jade Seal back or not?" Zhou You had fished the wooden box out right from under his nose, and Chu Xiaoyao had opened it and taken the Hereditary Jade Seal. He had wanted to act then and there. The trouble was that Nuomi had been watching from the sidelines, so he couldn't lift a finger. "That girl Chu Xiaoyao is really lucky. She didn't take the seal home that night, but had Nuomi guard it and bring it back to the classroom instead." If Chu Xiaoyao had taken the jade seal home, he would have stormed her place and snatched it back without a second thought. Strange as it was that Chu Xiaoyao could open the wooden box, he, the Zhenyue Ghost King, was no pushover. A thousand years ago, he had already been a bona fide ghost king, and over the past millennium, his power had only grown. Few in this world were stronger than him. "Let's flip a coin. Heads, I go steal the jade seal; tails, I'll put it off until tomorrow." The Zhenyue Ghost King pulled out a coin and flicked it high into the air. It spun continuously before hitting the ground and bouncing a few times. Heads. "Let's verify again." Thorough and cautious, the Zhenyue Ghost King picked up the coin and tossed it once more. The coin hit the ground. Heads. The Zhenyue Ghost King stared at the coin for a while before steeling his resolve. "Let's verify... forget it, I'll just go." Resigned, he scooped up the coin, thinking that next time he ought to throw it out the window. That way, heads or tails, he wouldn't be able to see it, and he could trick himself into believing it had landed on tails. Inside the classroom, Nuomi was scrolling on a smartphone with great fascination. She had never realized before that such an entertaining thing existed. She had truly wasted the past two years in the old dormitory building. "Pay attention: this man's name is Xiao Ming..." "Believe it or not..." "Today, our challenge is to eat our way through Chang'an on a hundred yuan..." As she scrolled, a red prompt popped up. [Alert: Battery below 10%] Nuomi put the phone down reluctantly. "The Grand Elder said this means it's about to run out of battery." A smartphone was fun, but it burned through power too quickly. She had barely played with it for any time at all before it died. "Forget it, time to cultivate." Nuomi closed her eyes and began her imagination training just as Chu Xiaoyao had instructed. She repeatedly chanted the Zhenyue Ghost King's name in her mind, picturing his appearance while gesturing randomly with her hands, attempting to sketch out his outline. The Zhenyue Ghost King clung to the doorway, poking his head out with his heart in his throat. He didn't even dare use his divine sense for fear of alarming Nuomi. Peering through the small window in the door, he saw Nuomi flailing her arms and legs as though performing some sort of ancient sacrificial ritual. The Hereditary Jade Seal sat quietly on Chu Xiaoyao's desk, weighing down a stack of exam papers. When she wasn't using the seal to stamp things, Chu Xiaoyao mainly used it as a paperweight, terrified that the wind might blow her papers away. The seal was compact yet heavy, making it perfectly suited for the job. Never in his life had the Zhenyue Ghost King imagined the jade seal could be put to such a use. Not even the White Rainbow Dao Lord would have dared treat it that way. "Still, this is my chance!" Whatever ritual Nuomi was performing, the important thing was that her eyes were closed! Delight surged through the Zhenyue Ghost King. It seemed the coin toss really was accurate after all. He slipped through the back door and crept along the rear wall toward Nuomi. Three meters, two meters, one meter... he drew closer and closer to the Hereditary Jade Seal. Suddenly, Nuomi opened her eyes. Two ghosts, four eyes, staring right at each other. "Hey, the Grand Elder's method really works! I actually visualized him!" After failing so many times, she had finally succeeded once. The Zhenyue Ghost King: "?" What did that mean? Before he could react, Nuomi threw a punch with a "he-yo!", sending him flying seven or eight meters back. "Even the reaction feels so real?" Nuomi had thought just visualizing his likeness would be enough. She hadn't expected the reaction to manifest too—it was a complete success in one go! "Wait!" the Zhenyue Ghost King pleaded in a panic. This was the exact situation he dreaded most. "He even has dialogue!" Pressing her advantage, Nuomi unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks on the Zhenyue Ghost King. To an outsider, her strikes would have looked light and weightless, but only he knew how terrifying those fists truly were. Every blow landing on his body felt no different from three mountains and five sacred peaks crashing down upon him. Fortunately, Nuomi attacked without any structured technique, making it easy to spot openings. The Zhenyue Ghost King blocked the strikes as best he could while searching for an opportunity. Finally, catching the right moment, he dispersed into mist, feigned collapse, and slipped away. "Gone?" Nuomi scratched her head. Had her imagination run out? *** "Does this mineral water bottle hide a secret?" Lian Yi crouched on the floor, holding up a plastic mineral water bottle and examining it closely against an orb of light. The light orb came from the most basic Illumination Art, which generated a mobile light source and proved exceedingly convenient. Lian Yi's direct messages had gathered plenty of accounts concerning events in Chang'an that involved Golden Core cultivators, but right now her entire attention was devoted to studying the treasures she had stolen from Big Stone Lake. The treasures were spread across the living room floor. "Should I try infusing spiritual power?" Lian Yi channeled a wisp of spiritual power into the bottle, but no matter how much she poured into it, the bottle showed no change whatsoever. "That's enough. If I keep channeling, I'll end up turning this into a magic treasure." "If the bottle doesn't work, let's try this branch. Maybe it's a branch from the Fusang Tree or something?" "The branch... isn't it either." "The flashlight... it turned on?" Lian Yi hadn't even channeled any spiritual power. She had merely dried out the moisture with magic power, and the flashlight worked. Excitement surged through her—she had finally found something functional! "Wait, no! I didn't come here to collect trash!" Lian Yi snapped to her senses, nearly suffering an identity crisis. After testing it, it turned out to be just an ordinary flashlight. The entire night slipped by as Lian Yi continuously tested her guesses with spiritual power, meeting with complete failure every time. "I don't know if my method is wrong, or if this really is just pure trash." Lian Yi looked up and saw the sun gradually rising outside the window. "How is it morning already?" She rose to her feet and swayed, nearly losing her balance. She had spent the whole night expending spiritual power, leaving the reserves in her meridians practically drained dry. With no other choice, Lian Yi swallowed a Qi Gathering Pill to restore her spiritual power. Qi Gathering Pills were meant for the Qi Refining stage; for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, taking one was better than nothing. Her pills had been running low lately, so she had to save wherever she could. "I might as well wait by the door and walk to school with Zhou You." Lian Yi stood by the entrance, watching the activity across the hall through the peephole. She didn't do this every single time, which would be far too obvious, but doing it occasionally was fine. *Click.* Hearing movement across the hall, Lian Yi slipped on her backpack and opened her door at the same moment, running right into Zhou You, who was also heading out for school. "What a coincidence," Lian Yi said with a shy smile, her voice very soft. Originally, Zhou You had been reluctant to walk to school with Lian Yi, worried about rumors spreading. Yet as Lian Yi opened her door, he glanced inside her home and saw rubbish scattered messily all over the floor, with no telling where she had scavenged it all. Zhou You suddenly felt a twinge of pity for Lian Yi. Leaving her parents at such a young age to attend school in a big city, and even getting by on collecting scrap—her life was truly not easy. "If you run into any difficulties in life or school, just let me know." Lian Yi froze. Why was Zhou You suddenly pitying her out of the blue? At the school gate, Zhou You happened to run into Chu Xiaoyao, which gave him the perfect chance to slip away from Lian Yi and walk into the classroom with Chu Xiaoyao instead. The moment they stepped inside, Nuomi flew over to show off the results of her cultivation from the previous night, flexing her flab-free arm. "Grand Elder! Sect Master! I succeeded!" "What did you succeed at?" Zhou You asked, bewildered. "I visualized the Zhenyue Ghost King! I beat him up last night!" As she spoke, Nuomi threw two punches with a "hei-ha!", which Zhou You guessed were the exact moves she had used against the Zhenyue Ghost King. Chu Xiaoyao crossed her arms over her chest, wearing an expression that said everything was going as expected. "Well done. A student worth teaching." *This seat said I merely had amnesia and temporarily couldn't recall my experiences in the Hongmeng Continent, but the cultivation method from my subconscious was correct all along—and isn't this proof?* "Though I only visualized him once, and couldn't visualize him again after that." Nuomi had tried repeatedly afterward, but had failed every time. "Cultivate diligently. If you can succeed once, you can succeed a second time," Chu Xiaoyao encouraged her. "I will!" Nuomi declared, thoroughly inspired.