Dao Heart Seed Demon and the Dao Demon Space

"Mm..." Xue Ke groaned in pain as consciousness gradually returned. Her eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and her entire body ached as if it had been torn apart. After struggling for quite some time, she slowly opened her eyes.

All she saw was profound darkness—endless darkness. The surroundings were deathly silent. There was no sun, no moon, only silent, lifeless darkness.

"Hiss—It hurts!"

Xue Ke tried to circulate her Soul Power, only to discover in shock that it had been completely drained. Even the slightest movement made her grimace in pain.

Xue Ke's delicate little face was deathly pale, devoid of any color. Several of her ribs were broken, and her injuries were extremely severe.

"This should be the Dao Demon Space."

After taking three immortal herbs in succession, Xue Ke's Sunflower Scripture internal cultivation had successfully broken through to the third realm, allowing her to obtain the Dao Heart Seed Demon Method.

The general principle of the Dao Heart Seed Demon Method: What is whole must have flaws; what reaches the extreme must reverse. When things reach their limit, they turn back—this is called cyclical flow. When Dao and demon energies resonate, the Gate of Truth shall open.

The first step in cultivating this method was to condense either a Dao Seed or a Demon Seed within one's dantian.

On the very night she arrived in Suotuo City, Xue Ke successfully condensed a Dao Seed the size of a pea in her dantian.

Xue Ke's Dao Seed emitted a jade-green radiance throughout its entirety, identical to the light emitted by her Jade Swan Martial Soul.

Then, Xue Ke delightedly discovered that her Soul Power cultivation speed had actually become ten times faster than before. Moreover, her Soul Power had become more solid than it had been in the past. This was undoubtedly the Dao Seed's doing.

With the Dao Seed's enhancement, Xue Ke finally broke through to level 35 on the second night after settling into Shrek Academy. This rocket-like cultivation speed left her feeling utterly refreshed.

Besides accelerating cultivation, the Dao Seed also allowed its cultivator to connect with a strange space known as the Dao Demon Space.

The Dao Demon Space was a parallel dimension independent of Douluo Continent. As long as Xue Ke circulated her Dao Seed, she could sense the Dao Demon Space. Then, by expending a certain amount of spiritual energy, she could open a spatial passage and enter it.

As for how this strange space had come into being, or what secrets it hid, Xue Ke had no way of knowing for now.

On the day of the ambush, Xue Ke had stalled Tang Hao with her words while circulating the Sunflower Scripture and activating the Dao Seed's spiritual energy. At the critical moment, she finally succeeded in opening a spatial passage to the Dao Demon Space and escaped disaster.

Enduring the agonizing pain throughout her body, Xue Ke slowly circulated her internal cultivation method to heal her wounds. At the same time, her Soul Power gradually began to recover.

Once more than half of her Soul Power had returned, Xue Ke summoned her Jade Swan Martial Soul and used her first soul skill to heal herself. After an unknown amount of time, Xue Ke was finally able to slowly stand.

Rubbing her empty stomach, Xue Ke took out some food from her Storage Ring and wolfed down a hearty meal.

"This incident has taught me a valuable lesson. From now on, I need to bring more bodyguards whenever I go out. If I hadn't brought Flash this time, Tang Hao would have succeeded."

"Tang Hao, just wait. One day, I'll return every bit of pain you inflicted on me twofold!"

Xue Ke recuperated in the pitch-black Dao Demon Space for nearly half a month before her injuries fully healed.

As the saying went, destruction was followed by rebirth. After surviving this life-and-death crisis, Xue Ke's Soul Power successfully broke through to level 36 and charged steadily toward level 37.

"I have to master the Dao Heart Seed Demon Method as quickly as possible. Time waits for no one. The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament will be held in two years."

The second step of cultivating the Dao Heart Seed Demon Method was, with the help of a Spirit Medium, to enter demonhood through Dao and transform the Dao Seed into a Demon Seed.

A Spirit Medium meant finding someone who possessed either a Dao Seed or a Demon Seed. Through exchanging spiritual energy, the two would connect their Dao Seeds or Demon Seeds and become each other's Spirit Medium. Ultimately, they would reach the realm of entering demonhood through Dao or entering Dao through demonhood.

Two people who served as each other's Spirit Medium could develop a spiritual connection and borrow a portion of each other's power. Cultivating together could also accelerate their cultivation speed.

Xue Ke vaguely sensed that the Dao Heart Seed Demon Method and the Dao Demon Space still held many secrets waiting for her to uncover. To excavate those secrets, she had to find someone trustworthy to serve as her Spirit Medium.

There was no doubt about the candidate for this Spirit Medium. Xue Ke would only choose Qian Renxue.

"After I return this time, I have to force Qian Renxue to come completely clean with me. If I can't gain Qian Renxue's complete trust, we won't be able to cultivate this Dao Heart Seed Demon Method together."

That was what she thought, but Xue Ke still had no idea how exactly to go about it.

Tang Hao's sudden attack had also sounded an alarm for Xue Ke, causing her to temporarily cast aside her carefree attitude toward life.

Xue Ke had originally believed with great confidence that, by relying on her foreknowledge of the plot, suppressing Tang San's growth, and cutting away his wings as much as possible, she would ultimately be able to defeat Tang San and save Qian Renxue.

But after this incident, Xue Ke deeply understood the importance of strength in this world. On Douluo Continent, an otherworldly land that worshipped the law of the jungle and allowed individual power to expand without limit, strength was the only hard truth. Before absolute strength, all flashy schemes and conspiracies were nothing but illusions.

Xue Ke took a deep breath and clenched her fists. An incomparably resolute light appeared in her brown eyes.

Through her Dao Seed, Xue Ke sensed Douluo Continent, then opened a spatial rift and left the Dao Demon Space.

Heaven Dou City, Princess Xue Ke's residence.

Xue Qinghe entered Xue Ke's spotless room and sat at the bedside. He gently caressed the brocade quilt Xue Ke had once used and softly inhaled the lingering scent that belonged only to her. It seemed that as long as he could smell that trace of fragrance, Xue Ke was still by his side.

Memories of Xue Ke's former voice and smile surfaced in his mind. Xue Qinghe tightly clutched Xue Ke's favorite little bear hair clip. Tears streamed down his less-than-handsome face, falling onto the spotless white sheets like pearls dropping onto a jade plate, drip by drip.

It had been nearly a month, and there was still no news of Xue Ke. Yet Xue Qinghe remained unwilling to believe that Xue Ke was dead.

Xue Ke's "death" made Xue Qinghe feel as though his world had lost its light forever. Apart from Grandfather, there would no longer be anyone in this world who truly cared for him. The cold court, the cold Prince's Mansion—there was no longer that warm sunlight to brighten his heart.

"Xiao Ke, your brother waits for you to come back every day..." Xue Qinghe murmured.

Heaven Dou City, entrance to Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

"Whew—This Princess is finally back!" Xue Ke stepped down from the carriage. Looking at the familiar scenery before her, she felt as though a lifetime had passed.

The Dao Heart Seed Demon Method was a secondary setting I created by borrowing the name and concept of a martial art from Master Huang's novels. It was essentially an entirely new cultivation method. I spent a great deal of effort thinking it through for a long time because it was extremely important to the later plot.

I revised this chapter many times, afraid that it might be too obscure or insufficiently clear. For more future "functions" of the Dao Heart Seed Demon Method and the Dao Demon Space, please continue with the following plot.

Finally, a reminder: sweet moments are coming soon. I'll keep the speed under control, or this book will be gone.