Breaking Through to Seventh Rank

Your flaws are too many. Ye Yun's voice was ice-cold. The Flying Knives in his hand shimmered with a faint golden light. Uncle Fu never called me by name, but always as "Young Master Yun." He walked forward slowly, each step leaving a scorched footprint on the floor – the mark of overflowing Essence Qi.

The phantom form of the female ghost flickered, and the black ichor flowing from its left eye suddenly solidified. The temperature in the room plummeted, frost forming like a spiderweb on the windowpanes.

Furthermore, Ye Yun flipped his wrist, and another Flying Knives slid into his palm. Uncle Fu had been adopted by my grandfather since he was young; he had never been to Qingyun Temple. The tip of the blade pointed at the fake Uncle Fu's throat. "You don't even know this, and you dare to try and trick me?"

Heh heh heh... A strange laughter echoed from all directions. Dozens of distorted child-like faces materialized on the walls. The fake Uncle Fu's skin began to peel away, revealing a grayish-green ghost face beneath: "Little brat, you have sharp eyes... but you think..."

"Your true body is still at the bottom of the Wang Mansion well," Ye Yun interrupted, golden light flaring in his eyes. "Do you think this little illusion can kill me?" He suddenly threw the Flying Knives, the blades entwined with faint golden Essence Qi, carving a scorching path through the air.

The female ghost shrieked and dissipated, turning into a black mist that slammed against the window. Just as it was about to pierce the paper, the incense ash Uncle Fu had scattered earlier suddenly glowed red, forming an invisible net that firmly trapped the black mist.

"Ah--!" A piercing scream shook the roof beams, causing dust to rain down. The black mist thrashed left and right, emitting smoke with every touch of the incense ash. "You wait... three more days... I'll be able to..."

"Roar!" Ye Yun bellowed. The Nine Nether Spirit Ginseng from his Storage Bag suddenly flew out on its own, its tendrils piercing the black mist like living things. The female ghost let out an unprecedented wail as the mist churned violently and was torn apart. In the end, only a wisp of black smoke escaped through the door crack.

A deathly silence fell upon the room. Ye Yun maintained his guard until he was certain there were no more anomalies, then let out a long sigh. Only then did he realize his back was soaked with cold sweat, and his hand holding the Flying Knives trembled slightly.

"Uncle Fu?" Ye Yun called out softly, cautiously pushing open the inner chamber door. Moonlight filtered through the window paper, illuminating the old man lying peacefully on the bed, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. Upon closer inspection, Ye Yun saw a faint black line between Uncle Fu's brows, slowly dissipating with his breaths.

"Uncle Fu? Wake up!" Ye Yun gently patted the old man's cheek; his skin was cold, not like a living person. He quickly circulated his Essence Qi, pressing a palm to Uncle Fu's chest and channeling pure internal energy into his meridians.

"Cough, cough..." Uncle Fu suddenly coughed violently, opening his cloudy eyes. "Young Master Yun? This old servant..." He looked around blankly. "Why am I lying in bed?"

Ye Yun recounted the events. When he heard about the female ghost's illusion, Uncle Fu's withered hand clenched the corner of the blanket. When Ye Yun mentioned the flaw in the Qingyun Temple handyman's disguise, a strange glint flashed in the old man's eyes.

"That fiend actually spoke a truth," Uncle Fu struggled to sit up, his voice hoarse. "Ordinary martial artists are indeed no match for these strange entities. The old general often said that to deal with them, you either need Gangkqi (Essence Qi) of the sixth rank or above, or the talismans of a cultivator."

The hoot of an owl outside the window was particularly jarring. Uncle Fu suddenly grabbed Ye Yun's wrist. "Young Master Yun, what did that thing mean by 'three more days'?"

Ye Yun shook his head, remaining silent.

"Regardless, I must break through as soon as possible," Ye Yun said in a deep voice, taking out the carved jade box from his embrace. The moment the lid was opened, the Essence Qi concentration in the room surged, and two vermilion fruits lay quietly on the velvet lining, their surfaces covered in golden meridians like flickering flames.

Uncle Fu gasped. "Vermilion Essence Fruit? You intend to use Vermilion Essence Fruit to break through..."

Ye Yun brushed it off lightly, his fingertip gently touching the surface of the fruit. Surging Essence Qi flowed in, causing the meridians in his entire arm to swell slightly. "The book says the second one's effect is halved, but I can't afford to worry about that now."

Uncle Fu hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping. Finally, he shakily got out of bed and took out a packet of medicinal herbs from the bottom of a chest. "This old servant will go and brew a pot of tonic soup to strengthen the foundation."

At a quarter past midnight, Ye Yun sat cross-legged on the stone platform in the courtyard. The moon was bright and the stars were sparse tonight, a perfect time for a breakthrough. He held a Vermilion Essence Fruit in his left hand and placed his right hand on the True Martial Secret Manual. The pages turned on their own, stopping at a meridian circulation diagram.

"Seventh-rank martial artist, Essence Qi like mercury, cleansing marrow and forging bones..." Ye Yun silently recited the incantation and put the Vermilion Essence Fruit into his mouth. The fruit dissolved upon contact, turning into a scorching torrent that rushed down his throat. This sensation was even more violent than the first time he took it, like swallowing a ball of burning magma!

Boom--

It was as if a barrier within his body was shattered, and Essence Qi surged out like a breached dam. Ye Yun's pores opened, expelling fine blood mist, which then transformed into a red glow encircling his body under the steaming Essence Qi. His bones crackled like popping beans, and his muscles expanded and contracted at a visible rate, each cycle becoming more solidified.

Uncle Fu stood in the corridor holding a bowl of medicine, watching the scene in astonishment. The plants in the courtyard swayed as if bowing to a king, leaning towards Ye Yun. Even more miraculously, the dark threads on the wounds tainted by Yin energy were being forced out bit by bit, turning to ash in the golden light.

"Not enough..." Ye Yun gritted his teeth, feeling the surging power within him. He had broken through the threshold of the seventh rank, but only a little more than half of the Essence Qi from the Vermilion Essence Fruit had been consumed. He decided to circulate the secret technique from the True Martial Secret Manual and actively guide the remaining Essence Qi to impact his meridians.

Crack!

A clear cracking sound echoed from within his body, as if a restraint had been broken. The originally faint golden Essence Qi suddenly solidified, its color turning to crimson-gold, making a mercury-like sound as it flowed through his meridians. This was the mark of mid-seventh rank – Essence Qi transforming into mercury!

Ye Yun's eyes snapped open, golden light flashing like lightning, leaving two afterimages in the darkness. With a casual wave of his hand, a bluestone three feet away split in two, its surface as smooth as a mirror. Even more wondrously, he could clearly see the dust motes drifting in the air, hear Uncle Fu's rapid heartbeat from ten feet away, and even smell the scent of each herb in the medicinal soup.

"Congratulations, Young Master Yun, on breaking through to the seventh rank," Uncle Fu approached, holding the bowl of medicine, his eyes filled with relief. "This old servant brewed the Foundation Strengthening Soup..."

Before he could finish, a shrill cat's cry suddenly came from afar. Immediately after, a black mist rose from the direction of the Wang family, coalescing into the shape of a blue-clothed little girl in the air, only to be pulled back by some force. A resentful curse could be faintly heard in the night wind:

"...Wait... in two days..."

Ye Yun and Uncle Fu exchanged glances, seeing the solemnity in each other's eyes. He took the bowl of medicine and drank it in one gulp, feeling the medicinal properties and Essence Qi merging within him.

"It's enough," Ye Yun clenched his fist, crimson-gold Essence Qi flowing between his fingers. "Tomorrow, I will go and find a way to deal with these strange entities. As for that well..." He looked towards the Wang family, his gaze sharp as a knife. "It's time to settle it once and for all."