Time passed quickly. When Chen Ze woke from a night's sleep, the Soul Searching Technique had already successfully advanced to the proficient level.
However, Chen Ze was in no hurry to search Shopkeeper Tong's soul.
Now that Shopkeeper Tong, the greatest hidden danger, was under his control, he had all the time in the world to slowly play with him.
Like Chen Fan and Zhao Yun, who were guarding him, Shopkeeper Tong had not closed his eyes all night. He was still trapped in deep despair.
"Chen Fan, go make breakfast!"
"Yes, Master."
Chen Ze sent his doppelganger, Chen Fan, to cook while he went to wash up, not even sparing Shopkeeper Tong a glance.
Before long, Chen Ze had finished washing up, but Chen Fan had yet to finish the meal.
Chen Ze used the Soul Searching Technique to increase his proficiency while waiting for Chen Fan to finish cooking.
Not long after, Chen Fan finished the meal and brought it to the table in the main hall, waiting for Chen Ze to eat.
As he ate the sumptuous meal, Chen Ze felt thoroughly satisfied.
Although the dishes were all made with ordinary ingredients, they tasted quite good.
The bowl of rice, however, had been cooked from Spirit Rice. Not only did it taste delicious, but a thread of Spiritual Energy flowed into his dantian.
Just then, Chen Ze felt his aura tremble, and his entire body became incomparably refreshed.
"My cultivation has broken through again."
When he looked at Chen Fan and Zhao Yun, their auras were likewise rising as their cultivation broke through along with his.
Shopkeeper Tong had still been drowning in despair when he suddenly sensed three auras rising. He immediately looked around carefully.
With his Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivation, he quickly realized that Chen Ze and the other two had broken through.
However, he could not tell what realm the three had reached. Their auras had only appeared for an instant before vanishing.
Still, Shopkeeper Tong stared at Chen Ze in shock, his heart filled with uncertainty.
Was this still the Chen Ze he knew?
How had he broken through just by eating a meal?
Wasn't he the worthless trash Qingyun Sect had driven down the mountain?
Even though his cultivation had broken through, Chen Ze did not stop eating. This had all been within his expectations.
As long as he carefully calculated it, he could determine how long it would take for him to break through.
Paying no attention to any of this, Chen Ze continued eating. He still had other things to do after the meal.
Before long, after Chen Ze finished eating, he had Chen Fan come over and clear the table.
After eating, Chen Ze did not hurry to search Shopkeeper Tong's soul. Instead, he sat down on a reclining chair in the courtyard and leisurely basked in the morning sunlight.
Why did he do this?
In Chen Ze's words, "What could be more comfortable than zoning out after a full meal? Even if the sky fell, it could wait for this moment."
Before long, Chen Fan finished cleaning up and returned to Shopkeeper Tong's side to continue guarding him.
After relaxing for a while, Chen Ze rose from the reclining chair and walked over to Shopkeeper Tong.
"I already let you live through the night. Are you ready now?"
Shopkeeper Tong begged for mercy again, but his mouth was gagged. All he could make were muffled "Mm, mm" sounds.
Chen Ze ignored him and directly activated the Soul Searching Technique, placing his palm on Shopkeeper Tong's head.
A pained expression appeared on Shopkeeper Tong's face once more.
This time, Chen Ze's soul search finally succeeded.
Every memory in Shopkeeper Tong's mind began merging into Chen Ze's mind bit by bit.
Time passed quickly, and Chen Ze completed the soul search.
Shopkeeper Tong, meanwhile, seemed to have suffered a tremendous mental blow. His eyes had become dull and vacant.
Chen Ze glanced at the now-mindless Shopkeeper Tong and said lightly, "Kill him. Make it clean."
"Yes." Chen Fan and Zhao Yun answered at the same time.
It was not that Chen Ze treated life too lightly. Rather, after searching Shopkeeper Tong's soul, he discovered that Shopkeeper Tong had committed far too many evil deeds. Even dying ten times would not be enough to atone for them.
Even with all of Shopkeeper Tong's memories, Chen Ze did not want to keep looking through them.
He directly discarded all those memories, keeping only the information he wanted to know.
He now knew the location of the mine, as well as the Lineage that had been cooperating with Shopkeeper Tong.
"Ye Family? Heh, soon."
"This mine is rather far away. Zhao Yun, make a trip there!"
"Yes."
Shopkeeper Tong had also been dealt with, reduced to flying ash.
After receiving his orders, Zhao Yun left the residence.
"Chen Fan, take a trip outside. See what the City Lord's Mansion is doing right now, and gather some information about the Ye Family while you're at it."
"Yes."
Chen Fan left as well.
The vast residence was once again left with only Chen Ze.
Only then did Chen Ze begin inspecting the two Storage Rings Shopkeeper Tong had carried on him.
The space inside a Storage Ring was far larger than that of a Storage Bag. Only wealthy people like Shopkeeper Tong could afford one.
Chen Ze spent some time removing the restrictions Shopkeeper Tong had left on the Storage Rings. Then, when his Spiritual Sense entered them, everything inside was laid bare at a glance.
Of the two Storage Rings taken from Shopkeeper Tong, one held all of Shopkeeper Tong's Spirit Stones.
After looking at the contents of just one Storage Ring, Chen Ze could not help sighing. "He really was rich, but being rich without benevolence was your mistake."
To his surprise, Shopkeeper Tong's other Storage Ring contained a huge pile of pills, along with two Yellow-grade High-rank Magic Artifacts.
Seeing even one Yellow-grade High-rank Magic Artifact on a Qi Refining Realm cultivator was already rare, yet Shopkeeper Tong had two.
Chen Ze took out both Magic Artifacts and tested their power in his hands.
The two Magic Artifacts were a long blade and a fan.
The long blade felt fairly good in his hand, but the fan was somewhat lacking.
"Forget it. I'll recycle them both at the Myriad Things Shop later and exchange them for Magic Artifacts better suited to Chen Fan and Zhao Yun."
Chen Ze did not inspect the other items in detail. He planned to recycle them all at the Myriad Things Shop.
That pile of Spirit Stones, however, truly opened Chen Ze's eyes. It was his first time seeing so many Spirit Stones.
"A full five thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones, and thirty Mid-grade Spirit Stones as well."
One Mid-grade Spirit Stone could be exchanged for one hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones. Mid-grade Spirit Stones were nothing particularly rare in Qingyun Sect.
But in a small city like Wannan City, having enough Low-grade Spirit Stones did not mean one could exchange them for Mid-grade Spirit Stones.
This Shopkeeper Tong really was rich. Who knew how many murders and robberies he had committed?
This Mysterious Iron Ore mine was truly profitable too. No wonder he dared take such an enormous risk and do something like this.
But if I got a hundred doppelgangers to mine, wouldn't I no longer need to worry about lacking Spirit Stones?
Unfortunately, the price of doppelgangers increases with each purchase. Buying a hundred of them would still be rather difficult.
Still, this can be done. It's a black mine anyway, and they've captured so many laborers. If I seize this mine, I'll also be rescuing those miners.
It's just that the Ye Family might be a little troublesome.
I should wait for Zhao Yun to inspect the mine first. For now, I'll buy them two weapons that suit them.
Chen Ze's consciousness entered the Myriad Things Space.
Inside the Myriad Things Shop, Chen Ze directly handed all the items from Shopkeeper Tong's Storage Rings to the Green-robed Woman for recycling.
"A total of 4,500 Points. If I add in the Spirit Stones, my wealth has directly surpassed ten thousand."
Chen Ze felt a surge of delight. He had never imagined that dealing with a single Shopkeeper Tong would directly grant him financial freedom.
However, Shopkeeper Tong had brought this upon himself. Chen Ze was merely carrying out justice on behalf of heaven, and he did not feel the slightest guilt.
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