Chapter 29: Theft

The cultivation area stood empty at this hour; Father and Mother Li performed their daily ‘Small Cloud Rain Spell’ ritual at a fixed time each day.

Li Zhen positioned himself in the center as the surrounding platform slowly rotated. This movement ensured all spirit rice received equal sunlight, maximizing space utilization.

He delved into his mind, connecting with the ‘Small Cloud Rain Spell Rune’ etched on the wall of his Dragon Heart Space.

As he channeled spiritual energy into the rune, it materialized before him, glowing with blue radiance—the activated spell rune.

Spells were categorized by three realms: Technique Mastery, Understanding Magic, and Clear Dao.

Technique Mastery allowed one to cast spells effectively, quickly generating offensive power for combat application.

Understanding Magic involved a deeper comprehension and insight into spell runes, enabling effortless control over both energy consumption and spell effects.

Clear Dao represented the pinnacle of spell mastery. By grasping the underlying principles within a spell, practitioners could cast them instantaneously, vastly exceeding the inherent limitations of the spell itself.

For instance, a low-level fireball spell cast by someone at the Clear Dao realm could match the power of a high-level fire magic cast by an ordinary cultivator.

When Li Zhen used Dragon Heart Space to perform the Small Cloud Rain Spell, its area of effect expanded to about twenty square meters—reaching the theoretical limit for the second layer of Qi Refining. Mother Li’s use of the Small Cloud Rain Spell also covered roughly the same area.

Based on this observation, Li Zhen surmised that both Father and Mother Li had likely attained the Understanding Magic stage with their Small Cloud Rain Spell.

His own execution of the spell just now could be considered instantaneous, which is characteristic of the Clear Dao realm.

Of course, his Small Cloud Rain Spell couldn’t truly reach the Clear Dao realm; he hadn’t even achieved the lowest Technique Mastery level yet. The enhancement was entirely due to the Dragon Heart Space.

He then checked his spiritual energy levels and discovered that casting the Small Cloud Rain Spell once consumed 4 points of spiritual energy.

If his Small Cloud Rain Spell were genuinely at the Clear Dao realm—or even just the Understanding Magic stage—he would have the flexibility to adjust spiritual energy consumption between 1 and 10 points as needed. By supplying more spiritual energy, he could further expand the range of the Small Cloud Rain Spell.

However, Dragon Heart Space did not possess this capability—or perhaps his cultivation realm had not yet reached the level required for such precise control.

After experimenting with the Minor Cloud Rain Spell, he gained a more realistic understanding of spells.

No wonder Qi Refining cultivators rarely used spells in combat unless they were prepared beforehand. The mere act of casting a spell would give ample time for an enemy to close the distance.

Before reaching the Clear Dao stage, invoking any spell required first drawing its magical runes. No matter how skilled one became, this process inevitably consumed time.

In a cultivator’s battle, victory or defeat often hung on a momentary decision. There was simply no room for the luxury of drawing magical runes.

This necessity gave birth to talismans—by pre-sealing spells within them, practitioners could achieve rapid deployment during combat.

Li Zhen pondered briefly before deciding against using Dragon Heart Space to cast the spell. Instead, he faithfully drew upon his spiritual energy to perform the Minor Cloud Rain Spell manually.

While relying solely on Dragon Heart Space allowed for faster casting and greater power, it offered little opportunity to truly master the spell itself.

He repeatedly cast the ‘Small Cloud Rain Spell’. Building on the Dragon Heart Space’s previous demonstrations, his mastery of the spell advanced rapidly. Each casting brought new insights.

His delight grew as he realized another function of the Dragon Heart Space: accelerating comprehension of magical techniques.

The space’s demonstrations were akin to step-by-step tutoring for Li Zhen. They covered the entire process from mobilizing spiritual energy to triggering the magic runes, with particular attention to the nuances of execution—the very pinnacle of effect achievable at his current cultivation stage.

Before long, his spiritual energy was depleted, insufficient for further casts of the ‘Small Cloud Rain Spell’. This was a key reason why Qi Refining cultivators often hesitated to engage in combat using spells—they consumed far too much spiritual energy.

The next day, Saturday, found Li Zhen back on his original cultivation schedule, now that all medicinal pills had been exhausted.

As always, he rose early, the sky still bathed in the soft light of dawn.

Eschewing his school uniform, he donned ordinary student attire before stepping out.

First, he caught a bus to a street near the ghost market, taking a moment to survey the area.

In the few days since his last visit, security personnel had vanished from the vicinity of the ghost market.

No matter how formidable the Security Bureau might be, it seemed they lacked the power to truly shut down this clandestine marketplace.

For the Ghost Market to persist in Yunxi County, it must have the backing of a powerful entity.

The Ghost Market typically opens at night; currently, it appears as an ordinary alleyway.

Li Zhen decided against waiting any longer. His age itself serves as the best disguise—a 12-year-old boy, particularly one with his misleading height and build, easily goes unnoticed among adults.

It seems peculiar that despite having a dragon heart within him, its strengthening effect hasn’t led to bulging muscles or rapid growth in stature. Instead, Li Zhen grows at a normal pace, even slower compared to his classmates.

At twelve years old, after channeling spiritual energy into their bodies, students usually experience a phase of accelerated development due to the influence of spiritual power.

This could well be related to the aesthetic preferences of the Chaos Divine Dragon lineage. Although possessing formidable physical strength, these dragons consider slender, elongated forms ideal, avoiding bulkiness from excessive muscle growth.

Walking through the Ghost Market’s alleys, the seemingly frail Li Zhen discreetly focused on sensing spiritual artifacts around him.

Some individuals secretly observed Li Zhen but quickly lost interest upon realizing he was just a child passing by without any suspicious actions.

Before Li Zhen reached the courtyard he had marked earlier, he sensed a significant gathering of spiritual objects within one of the courtyards along his path.

In another room, he detected a single mid-grade first-rank spirit object, which he deduced must belong to the courtyard’s owner.

Without hesitation, he allowed Dragon Heart Space to absorb all the clustered spirit objects. As he walked through the courtyard, his steps never faltered; every gathered spirit object was swiftly collected into his spatial realm.

He continued forward, encountering fewer spirit objects in subsequent courtyards—only two or three at a time. Yet even these he did not overlook, ensuring they too were stored away in Dragon Heart Space.

When he arrived at the day’s target courtyard, once again, he sensed an abundance of spirit objects.

With feigned nonchalance, he passed by. Had anyone been present in the rooms, opening their hidden safe filled with spirit artifacts, they would have witnessed the eerie disappearance of each item, one by one.

Emerging from the Ghost Market alleyway, Li Zhen headed towards a local breakfast shop. There, he purchased spirit fish buns—the establishment’s specialty—which nearly depleted his entire meager savings.

These very spirit fish buns served as both the breakfast shop’s signature dish and Li Zhen’s plausible excuse for traversing the Ghost Market.

With so many spiritual artifacts missing from the Ghost Market, it was certain that the Shi family would investigate. Although he was only twelve years old and just passing through, without a legitimate reason, they’d still consider him a suspect.

Once those behind the Ghost Market suspected him, he couldn’t guarantee what lengths they might go to.

Therefore, his task was clear: avoid arousing their suspicions at all costs.

Instead of retracing his steps, he found a nearby bus stop and rode to the Going Beyond Swordplay dojo.

The courtyards adjacent to the Ghost Market alleys housed some businesses connected to the market itself. These were designed to provide shelter for key merchants when necessary.

Even if the Security Bureau came to raid the Ghost Market, they wouldn’t enter these private yards. Searching them required obtaining separate search warrants—a significant barrier.

Merchants in the Ghost Market often slept late into the night, naturally leading to equally tardy mornings.

Pan Jinchuan was a merchant who made his living in the Ghost Market. Calling him a merchant was actually too generous; he mostly relied on tricking those unfamiliar with such things.

He didn’t get out of bed until half past ten in the morning.

As usual, he glanced at the bundle sitting nearby. It contained his wares—both real and fake.

Why does the bundle seem a bit flat? He knew every detail about that bundle since it represented his livelihood. Something felt off just from looking at it.

He quickly approached the bundle and opened it up.

“Thief!” With only one glance inside, he let out a blood-curdling scream.

Nothing much had been taken from the bundle, but that damned thief had stolen all the genuine spiritual items, leaving behind nothing but fakes.

The walls of the yard weren’t very soundproof. His cry startled everyone around, and soon people began checking their own belongings. One after another, they emitted similar screams of anguish.