After paying respects to the Ancestor, the Ancestor rewarded Xiao Fei and Huang Feifei with a mountain peak each, which they could then use as their own dojos.
Huang Feifei had always been at the very bottom of the sect, and every bit of resource she obtained came with extreme difficulty. She never expected that by following Xiao Fei on this mission, she would receive rewards from a Nascent Soul Ancestor and be allocated a mountain peak with extremely rich spiritual energy. For the perpetually impoverished Huang Feifei, this was akin to a windfall from heaven. With this mountain peak, she could cultivate spiritual herbs, fruits, and grains, ensuring a continuous source of income without having to risk her life fighting others.
Xiao Fei was indifferent to the mountain peak he received. For him, the greatest benefit was having an entire mountain to himself, allowing for a more comfortable living space. However, a heavy stone remained in his heart: the black spot within his primordial spirit's chest. He hadn't dared to inquire about it during his last meeting with the two Ancestors. This matter concerned his privacy, and if he could resolve it himself, it was best not to trouble the Ancestors. If he truly couldn't manage it, he would then consider seeking their help.
Recently, he had noticed that the small black spot in his chest had grown by another fraction. Moreover, inexplicably, he felt his temper becoming more volatile. To address this, he took out a batch of pills, exchanged them for tens of thousands of contribution points at the Pill Hall, and borrowed a pile of ancient texts from the Library. Although he was now a Golden Core cultivator, the books in the Library still required contribution points for access. With greater strength came easier ways to earn contribution points and higher privileges, granting him access to all floors of the Library.
Xiao Fei took this collection of texts and materials into his space for careful study. His primary suspicion was that this thing might be a demon seed. He had encountered demons too many times. The earliest Sect Master was a host to a demon seed, and they had spent a long time together. Later, he went to the Demon Sealing Cave, and subsequently fought several battles with the Nine-Eyed Demons, any of which could have led to him being parasitized by a demon seed. If he was indeed infected by a demon seed, it was equivalent to a terminal illness in the cultivation world. Once discovered, he would be subjected to a "harmless" treatment: killed, cremated, and his ashes scattered.
After Xiao Fei reviewed all records related to demon seeds, his expression turned grim. The black spot within his body was, most likely, a demon seed. His current state of mind was complex, much like those who knew they had a terminal illness, with the remainder of their lives to be counted day by day. However, after observing for some time, he discovered that as long as he remained within his space, he could suppress the growth of this black spot. Upon returning to his physical body, the black spot would slowly begin to grow again. Perhaps because he was the master of everything within the space, the demon seed could not affect him. It was a pity that the Creation Jade Disk had too many cracks, and his connection to the space was not yet strong enough.
Seeing this, Xiao Fei spent his days in the space whenever he had nothing else to do. Only when his primordial spirit was exhausted would he return to his physical body to eat, drink some Spirit-Nourishing Tea, and occasionally sleep. If this continued, the demon seed would eventually grow and replace him. Staying in the space day after day was merely an escape when there was no other option. Xiao Fei did not wish to simply wait for death. Even with a terminal illness, one should live each day to the fullest. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, his daily cultivation could not stop. What if he didn't die in the end?
In the space, Xiao Fei spent his time managing spiritual herbs and fruits, and the rest of his time reading books from the Library. Since he had nothing else to do, he read all types of books, including alchemy, formations, artifact refining, talisman making, cooking, fishing, flower cultivation, the markings of various spirit beasts, ores, and so on. He read everything, and when he encountered content related to demons or demon seeds, he studied it intently.
During this period of waiting for death, he also successfully cultivated the Five-Colored Divine Light that the two Ancestors had taught him. He had tried using the Five-Colored Divine Light on his own body, but it had no effect. Besides the Five-Colored Divine Thunder, he still had the Primordial Chaos Divine Thunder to try. This divine thunder, if unleashed upon himself, would undoubtedly destroy the demon seed, but it would also shatter his primordial spirit, resulting in mutual destruction.
Another year passed in this state of waiting for death. Despite his constant hiding and evasion within the space, the demon seed in his chest had grown to the size of an egg. Countless tiny root-like tendrils had sprouted around the demon seed, completely entwined with Xiao Fei's primordial spirit. Xiao Fei felt a slight dizziness, indicating his primordial spirit was exhausted, and he had to temporarily withdraw from the space.
His physical body, sitting in the secret chamber, slowly opened its eyes. Besides exhaustion, a trace of brutality could be seen in them. As he stood up, he casually kicked a stone bed, shattering it. "Roar!" He unleashed another punch, knocking over a weapon rack. Unexpectedly, an arrow from the rack pierced his hand. The intense pain drove him into a frenzy, and he unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks, smashing everything in the secret chamber into pieces. After venting his frustration, Xiao Fei sat on the ground, panting. He knew that since being parasitized by the demon seed, his emotions had been unstable, finding fault with everything he saw, and he was on the verge of an outburst at any moment. Rather than constantly suppressing his emotions, he preferred to vent them on these objects. After venting, he finally felt refreshed.
Each time Xiao Fei entered his space, his emotions were adjusted. What he didn't know was that far away in the Qin Kingdom, a great general had just killed his own son with a single sword strike. The great general, having committed a grave error, came to his senses to find his son dead and could only weep on the ground.
In reality, after this period of exploration, Xiao Fei felt he had two more paths to try. One was to attempt to invest more spirit stones into his space, to see if he could strengthen his connection to it and completely suppress the demon seed. The other was his Primordial Chaos Divine Thunder. While unleashing the complete Primordial Chaos Divine Thunder would undoubtedly obliterate him, if he could weaken it to a certain extent and master it skillfully, perhaps he could slowly kill the demon seed like undergoing radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Although it would cause some damage to his spirit, it would be within a bearable limit. However, both of these endeavors required time. Earning spirit stones took time, and researching and refining the Primordial Chaos Divine Thunder also required time. For him, a man on the verge of death, time was the most precious commodity.
With this thought, Xiao Fei felt that investing spirit stones into his space could be the primary option. Investing spirit stones would increase the flow of time within the space, thereby indirectly granting him more time.