Shangguan Laozu, after gifting Xiao Fei a Thousand Mile Teleportation Talisman and the Five Elements Evasion Technique, produced a jade plate artifact.
Xiao Fei found the jade plate artifact familiar, as he had refined one himself to detect whether cultivators were infested with demon seeds and to measure their strength.
"This is an artifact that can detect hosts of demon seeds. You can use it to screen, starting with the Dan Xin Sect. Be sure not to miss anyone."
Shangguan Laozu sent the jade plate to Xiao Fei with his spiritual power.
"Start with yourself!"
Xiao Fei broke out in a cold sweat, only grateful that he had just eradicated the demon seed within him. Otherwise, he would have been executed for kinship by Shangguan Laozu today.
Given the disposition of these ancient monsters who had lived for thousands of years, they would not hesitate to eliminate him.
Xiao Fei hesitated, placing his palm on the jade plate and channeling spiritual power into it. The plate remained inert.
In fact, he wished Shangguan Laozu and Peng Laozu would lead by example and demonstrate the artifact's usage first.
This would confirm whether the two ancestors of the sect were infested with demon seeds.
However, if he truly did that, he would be courting death.
If the two were fine, they would at most praise him for his diligence and responsibility. If they were found to be infested with demon seeds, he would likely be silenced.
Xiao Fei used the artifact to test himself in front of Shangguan Laozu, confirming his body was clean and not infested with demon seeds. He then took his leave from Shangguan Laozu.
As he departed, Shangguan Laozu also agreed to let him assemble a team from the sect, with a maximum of twenty members.
He could also mobilize two more Golden Core cultivators and ten Foundation Establishment cultivators to assist.
After all, dealing with hidden demons and their hosts was not an easy task.
Xiao Fei accepted Shangguan Laozu's mission, and he didn't feel particularly resistant. He now possessed the divine ability to eradicate demon seeds within cultivators, which was precisely his forte.
At this moment, he even felt a surge of heroic pride, thinking, "In this era, who else but me?"
However, while he thought this, he still needed to make thorough preparations. If he were to capsize in a ditch, he might lose his life.
As for the remaining two Golden Core cultivators, he had already decided. He would seek out Zhu Yu and Huang Feifei. Having collaborated multiple times, the three had developed a certain tacit understanding.
Huang Feifei would certainly be willing to team up with him. Zhu Yu might be a bit hesitant, but he could probably be persuaded.
Xiao Fei returned to his cave dwelling but did not act immediately. Instead, he closed the cave dwelling door and entered his spatial realm.
Within the realm, his wood spirit fruit tree had bloomed a few more small flowers. In three thousand years, he would be able to harvest another batch of wood spirit fruits.
In the center of the realm, when he advanced to the Golden Core stage, the realm underwent an anomaly, and a small sapling actually grew.
Now, over a hundred years had passed in the realm since his Golden Core formation, yet this sapling had only grown a dozen or so leaves.
It now appeared that this strange sapling was likely a vine, growing about one leaf every ten years.
He still hadn't figured out what it was, but judging by its appearance, it didn't seem like ordinary firewood.
The realm contained two lakes, one large and one small. The large lake was the habitat of flying fish.
The small lake was planted with aquatic spiritual plants, such as the Five-Colored Spirit Lotus and Nine-Bend Golden Lotus. Additionally, he raised some fish, shrimp, and crabs as daily meat for his palate.
Xiao Fei walked to the edge of the small lake and dug out several sections of Nine-Bend Golden Lotus, aged five to six hundred years.
This was the primary material for refining substitute puppets. Each puppet could replace him in death once, but it would cost a portion of his divine consciousness and vital blood, and his primordial spirit would also suffer some damage.
He spent several months working alone in the realm, while only a few days had passed in the outside world. By this time, he had completed the refinement of all the substitute puppets.
He emerged from the secret chamber and sent out a communication talisman to the outside.
Then, he sat alone in the main hall of his cave dwelling. On the table, he laid out a few small dishes, a large plate of big crabs, and a jar of spiritual wine.
Before he could start eating, Huang Feifei arrived in a flurry.
"Young Master, I'm here!"
Huang Feifei's personality had changed slightly since her last invasion by a demon seed, becoming even more enthusiastic.
"Come! Sit down and have some wine."
Huang Feifei sat down without ceremony, picked up a wine cup, poured herself a large one, and took a hearty gulp ungracefully.
"Mmm! This wine smells so good!"
The spiritual wine Xiao Fei usually drank was aged over a hundred years in his realm, something ordinary drunkards rarely had the chance to taste.
"What do you need me for again?"
Just then, Zhu Yu arrived, his face sullen and looking impatient.
Xiao Fei couldn't fathom what was so appealing about his appearance, yet many female disciples in the sect were infatuated with him.
However, Huang Feifei, also a female cultivator, felt nothing for him and even found Zhu Yu quite displeasing.
Especially when she was alone with Xiao Fei, having this bothersome face appear next to them was an annoyance, even making her feel a slight sense of crisis.
"By order of the two ancestors, you are conscripted to serve the sect!"
Xiao Fei didn't bother to be polite and directly used the authority of the two ancestors to pressure him.
"Ancestor's order... How come I didn't know?"
Zhu Yu clearly didn't believe it. He was the person Shangguan Laozu was closest to.
"This matter not only concerns the safety of the Dan Xin Sect but also the survival of the entire cultivation world. It's not something you can know."
Xiao Fei glanced at Zhu Yu disdainfully, his knowledge as shallow as his long hair!
Next, Xiao Fei briefly explained the mission assigned by Shangguan Laozu.
Xiao Fei then produced two substitute puppets and tossed them to each of them.
Last time, he had almost gotten them killed when he took them out. This time, he had prepared a puppet for each of them.
"Only the two of you know that I can treat demon seeds. This must absolutely not be leaked at this stage.
Otherwise, not only will I face the threat of death, but it will also implicate the Dan Xin Sect, potentially leading to its annihilation."
Xiao Fei had long considered this matter. Before this, demon seeds were an unsolvable existence. Once this information spread, he would become the center of the storm.