Breaking Through Foundation Establishment

At this thought, Shen Mo could not help praising, "Those jade stones were really worth it. This is great—now I'll never have to worry about running out of spiritual energy again."

This meant he no longer needed to restrain the speed at which he absorbed the demonic energy outside. As long as his spiritual energy kept pace with the demonic energy, his cultivation speed would rapidly increase. And as long as they remained balanced, there would be no bottlenecks in advancing.

With that thought, Shen Mo's mood greatly improved. While madly absorbing the spiritual energy around him, he toured every inch of the area within the space not covered by white mist, as though inspecting his own territory.

He soon discovered that medicinal herbs made up the majority, though there were also some vegetables and fruit trees.

The fruits and vegetables nurtured in this place rich with spiritual energy carried a trace of spiritual energy themselves, and tasted exceptionally good.

Unfortunately, these spiritual plants were not suitable for taking outside to eat, or the energy they contained would be difficult to explain.

But once mutated plants began appearing in the middle stage, he should be able to bring them out and eat them openly.

The most gratifying thing in this space was that there was also a springhead. Its spring water was rich in spiritual energy and sweet to the taste. In this resource-starved world, he would no longer need to worry about having no water to drink.

Though its output was somewhat low. The spring's opening was only as large as a pot, and water seemed to seep out drop by drop. Any excess flowed into the river beneath the springhead.

Feeling it was a pity, Shen Mo found a container and collected all the Spirit Spring water from the already full springhead. Only after it began slowly seeping out drop by drop again did he turn his gaze downward.

Below the springhead lay the river that ran through the entire medicinal field. Both its source and end were hidden by mist, making it impossible to see where it came from or where it flowed. Still, the water was crystal clear, and it seemed to contain no fish, shrimp, or other creatures.

But no fish was no problem. Before animals completely mutated, he could catch some fish, shrimp, seafood, and the like to raise in the river.

Shen Mo continued downstream along the river. A branch split off from the lower reaches, and the stream gathered into a lake. By the lake stood a small wooden house and a broad stretch of flat land. When he opened the cabin, he found a cauldron inside.

This cauldron looked exactly like the one in his Divine Sea. It was probably that cauldron's true body. He had not expected this thing to be inside the space as well. That meant he could directly refine pills within the space.

After all, there was spiritual energy here, so doing so would yield twice the result with half the effort.

Shen Mo rested his chin in his hand as he looked over the vast open space before the house, then found some seeds among the supplies he had collected earlier.

Using tools, he roughly tilled the level field in front of the cabin, planned it out, scattered the seeds, and then watered them with lake water.

The supplies he had collected would eventually run out, but since he had this space, he had to make good use of it. After all, in another sense, its yield could be considered an inexhaustible source.

If he planted now, he would have fresh vegetables to eat after some time.

These later-planted vegetables did not contain as much spiritual energy as those naturally grown within the space, but they were more suitable for consumption in this world, making them easier to pass off if he took them outside.

Shen Mo washed his hands by the river, then washed a peach he had picked from a tree. He bit into it, and juice filled his mouth as spiritual energy flowed through his body, leaving him pleasantly warm.

After finishing the peach, he buried the pit beside the little river, washed his hands once more, and simply sat down to cultivate.

Since Shen Mo had been crazily absorbing the space's spiritual energy from the moment he entered, with Jade Pearl's support, the spiritual energy in his body quickly began to rise. Before long, it had reached parity with his demonic cultivation.

Once the energies were balanced, Shen Mo stopped, intending to continue cultivating after he went outside.

After all, with his current constitution, cultivating spiritual energy and demonic energy together was the optimal method. Not only would it cause him no discomfort, it would also yield twice the result with half the effort.

He could not absorb the demonic energy outside from within the space, but the space was within his soul, so outside, he could absorb the spiritual energy from within the space.

Since he could choose a comfortable way to cultivate, who would willingly endure that pain?

With this, the chaotic energy outside was no longer a bad thing for him.

At this rate, he should be able to complete Foundation Establishment today.

Once he reached Foundation Establishment, he could casually disguise himself as having a spiritual root, then openly masquerade as an ability user.

Thinking this, Shen Mo rose and found a medicinal herb in the herb field that could assist with Foundation Establishment, then left the space.

The instant he left the space, Shen Mo immediately tossed the herb into his mouth. Spiritual energy and demonic energy surged through his body at once.

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Mo heard a crack. The energy around him scattered in every direction like a whirlwind.

The walls of the room were carved with deep marks by the whirlwind, and a round pit had been left around where he sat in meditation.

There were no cultivators in this world, and naturally no lightning tribulations in its rules either, yet he truly had advanced.

Did that mean he would not have to endure multiplied lightning tribulations?

Just as Shen Mo rejoiced at not having to be struck by lightning, he suddenly sensed a probing gaze. He immediately concealed every trace of his aura.

This feeling was like the Heavenly Dao of this world.

Sure enough, the system had been right about one thing—they had been noticed!

The probing gaze searched the area for a long while. As though it had failed to find its target, several displeased rumbles sounded from the sky before it departed.

Only then did Shen Mo change locations. But the moment he stepped out of that house, several nearby houses came crashing down with a clatter.