Tao Qian stood in front of the simple wooden hut, glanced at the eerie fairy tale to his left, then at the Bronze Terracotta City to his right, and sighed inwardly.
However, on the surface, Tao Qian revealed a smile, praising the hard work of the two little ones in setting everything up.
Although both Sui and Lian Jing'er had mysterious origins, they were essentially still children; when praised by an adult, Sui, who could show emotions, was overjoyed, hopping and jumping about.
Lian Jing'er's pair of ruby eyes flashed, using this to express his emotions, and mechanical voice spit out, "Task complete... task complete..."
This interaction seemed to dissolve the last vestiges of a subtle divide between Tao Qian and the two peculiar youngsters.
Indeed, as Lin Xiaohua had said, they were innately spiritual, instinctively drawing close to Tao Qian.
The only trouble was that they were not yet ready to contribute in battles, somewhat of a burden for Tao Qian at this stage.
But, it was only temporary.
Lin Xiaohua had judged Sui and Lian Jing'er's talents and potential based on her knowledge.
Whereas Tao Qian had judged based on his intuitive perception, thus he knew all too well the terrifying potential the two alien species possessed.
In the Record, there was not much information disclosed about them.
Each had only a short comment:
Innate alien species, essence of flesh and blood, if it finds the fitting Basic Method, it can step into the path of flesh in an instant, swallowing everything to nourish itself.
Acquired alien species, bearing a piece of ancient secret heritage, if it can retrieve its fragmented divine soul, it can restart the ancient Dao lineage in this world.
Besides these two Records, Tao Qian could not delve deeper into more information.
But from these comments alone, it was clear, both Sui and Lian Jing'er possessed extremely formidable talents.
"The only problem, it's hard to realize."
"Even Lin Xiaohua can't find a suitable Basic Method for 'Taisui Baby's cultivation, where should I search for it temporarily?"
"As for Lian Jing'er, that's even more absurd, there are no clues or opportunities whatsoever."
"Lin Xiaohua entrusting these two little things to me, she perhaps also had her plans, after all, Spirit Treasure Sect discriminates the least against alien species in the Cultivation World and is a very powerful sect; if they join the sect with me, their chances of finding the Dao indeed increase significantly."
"If both of them truly find the Dao within Spirit Treasure Sect, not only would the world have two less Great Demons, I would also gain two significant helpers."
"But these are matters of a distant future, the primary issue I face now is how to survive the calamity?"
"I am bound to face a disaster en route to Spirit Treasure, and given the increasingly perilous situation in Southern Yue, although I have entered the 'Qi Refining Realm' and my combat strength has greatly increased, even counting Lin Xiaohua's legacy, venturing out still poses substantial risks."
"Why not take advantage of the safety of this Secret Realm which still lasts for half a month longer, and bolster some Protecting Dao measures?"
"Lin Xiaohua also mentioned before, if there truly exists a cultivator in this world who fears no cost, then whether it's absorbing Source Qi or refining divine powers, more is always better."
These tumultuous thoughts flickered through his mind, and Tao Qian quickly made a decision.
He called the two little ones over again and repeated his old trick, instructing them:
"Sui, Lian Jing'er, the inner scenes you've arranged are quite extraordinary, but still lack some details, not lively or interesting enough; I still need some time to refine my methods, so keep improving it, and when I leave the retreat, I'll check your results again."
Sure enough, nothing unexpected.
After Tao Qian spoke, he again saw two pairs of gem-like eyes light up, both excitedly accepting the new assignment.
Imagining constructing their own little worlds, even adults can hardly refuse, let alone two alien children?
As Tao Qian turned and headed back to the wooden hut, he said somewhat smugly to himself, "Raising kids is really quite easy."
Oblivious to the fact that he'd once again set a precedent, Tao Qian habitually sealed the hut and sat down cross-legged.
In his mind, he immediately started calculating the cultivation manuals and divine power techniques he currently possessed.
Those like the "Earth Element Manual" and "Mad Demon Sword Skill" that he obtained earlier, which were weak and incomplete, Tao Qian naturally didn't consider them.
He was equally reluctant to cultivate the evil techniques he obtained from Pan Hongniang.
His thoughts rapidly shifted, and Tao Qian found his target.
He composed himself, and in a moment, entered meditation.
Breathing in and out, Tao Qian's primordial spirit was seated on the familiar Secret Acupoint Platform.
In his hands, he was pinching a piece of black jade bone, carved with hundreds of tadpole-like obscure characters.
This object was the Heavenly Demon Bone, carrying a major divine power technique called "Secret Demon Transformation Technique."
And this was precisely the Protecting Dao technique that Tao Qian wanted to refine now.
"According to the Record, the Secret Demon Transformation Technique is quite formidable, once refined, even the Daoist and Buddhist Major Sects would have headaches."
"Before, I was concerned that refining this technique would make me antagonistic to the Daoist and Buddhist Sects, but since both Lin Xiaohua and Master Xiao said that the Secret Demon Sect had spread the technique throughout the world, even the true disciples of Daoist and Buddhist secretly practice one or two of them."
"Having refined it, there's no significant repercussions."
"Only, this technique is different from other divine powers, it's intricate and difficult to understand, primarily relying on perception, though I can exempt the cost, it's still not guaranteed that I can refine it."
"But, why not give it a try?"
In the midst of his speech, Tao Qian suddenly clasped his hands together in a snap.
The black jade bone immediately turned into a beam of black light, entering Tao Qian's forehead.
Instantly, Tao Qian's primordial spirit felt dragged into a dark space, in front of him hundreds of eerie tadpoles were swimming around, every time Tao Qian tried to clearly see a character, to decipher its meaning, he would feel a daze sweeping over him, directly disrupting his focus.
It took a long time, but Tao Qian had only managed to discern dozens of near-hundred characters, indicating a slow progress.
And what was fatal was that the training of the Secret Demon Transformation Technique was also a one-shot deal.
If one could cultivate it, then they would!
There was no such thing as repeatedly studying and pondering.
It was no wonder that even the original Secret Demon Sect had very few cultivators who could master this technique, as it was extremely difficult.
Just as those "tadpole characters" were about to fade and disappear, Tao Qian was about to sigh in lamentation that he would miss this method.
Suddenly, the primordial spirit of Tao Qian shuddered.
He saw the "Innate Dao Seed" wrapped in ninety-nine streams of Spirit Treasure Immortal Spirit Qi abruptly leap into Tao Qian's primordial spirit, hanging there like a white sun, continuously moving and churning above the tadpole characters.
As the light imbued with the Dao rhyme of the immortal spirit spilled down, these obscure characters were fixed in place.
Although it lasted only for a few breaths, it was enough for Tao Qian to fully comprehend the reasoning behind all the remaining characters.
Almost instantly, all the tadpole characters transformed into black light and merged unimpeded into Tao Qian's primordial spirit.
Subsequently, inside the real wooden house, Tao Qian suddenly opened his eyes, a nearly uncontrollable itching and intense pain engulfing his entire body, almost causing him to let out a howling scream.
But this was only the beginning.
At this moment, if someone were also inside the house, they would see the original young Daoist, who looked like a scholar, begin to undergo a crazy transformation. His black and white distinct eyes turned completely black, and densely packed black lights and tadpole characters crazily emerged as if they were alive... As these scenes unfolded, Tao Qian's body also began to change, gradually merging into a bizarre mixture of blood, bones, skin, organs, and brain matter.
Each flash of black light intensified the itch and pain, and Tao Qian's body randomly transformed into different life forms.
Thus, in this house, with the flashing of the black light, a multitude of humans, demons, and alien species began to appear, including his original identity, the Executioner who chopped off his head, the girl loved by the scholar's original identity, Miss Zhou, both bosses, Black Maggot Demon, Pan Hongniang, Pig Demon, Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva, and so on.
Crucially, although each transformed being did not possess the same internals, their external forms and temperaments were impeccable.
During this process, Tao Qian felt "life-threatening danger" over a hundred times.
This could either be the collapse of the divine soul or becoming permanently fixed as a certain life form.
Thus, while enduring the itching and intense pain, Tao Qian also shook uncontrollably, shivering hundreds of times.
It represented an exemption cost for the peculiarities of Tao Qian's soul.
He had experience with this and had grown accustomed to it.
No one knew how much time had passed when suddenly a particularly dazzling black light flashed violently.
When it stopped, the terrifying changes inside the house also abruptly came to a halt.
Upon the meditation cushion, Tao Qian, looking slightly pale, sat peacefully.
"Secret Demon Transformation...success!"
The moment he joyfully uttered those words, Tao Qian casually envisioned a mirror inside the room.
Then, his body shook on the spot, and visibly, he transformed from a scholar-like Daoist into a young prisoner dressed in dirty prison clothes, covered in stench, suffering torment to the extent that scars and wounds were everywhere, even his tongue had been mostly pulled out.
After thinking it over, he changed thoughts again and his body shook.
This time, he transformed into the half-human, half-dragon body he had once used, with the temperament and appearance, even details, identical to before, without a single flaw.
Until the third change, which was merely a brief acquaintance, swiftly appearing and then disappearing the Daoist known as "Gu Zhichang." The record stated that he was a true disciple of the Shenxiao Sect who later left due to circumstances and sided with a group of heroes to resist the court's tyranny.
Although Tao Qian's recollection was accurate, at least through the mirror, he could see four to five major mistakes, and the temperament also differed significantly.
One didn't need to be overly familiar with that Gu Zhichang; just a few meetings were enough to see through Tao Qian.
To this, Tao Qian was not surprised, his body shook again, returning to his own, while he thought to himself:
"The Secret Demon Transformation Technique is indeed mysterious and magical, but it is not omnipotent."
"To transform perfectly, one needs to master the subject completely. It's not easy to achieve this with someone else's body."
"However, this is just the beginning. With continued cultivation, one day I might reach the level of those Secret Demon Cultivators who once stirred chaos in the Daoist and Buddhist Sects."
"In those days, those great cultivators of the Secret Demon Sect could even transform into high monks and Dao Masters of the enemy camp, swaggering into their mountain gate's forbidden lands."
"If it weren't for those Daoist and Buddhist Sects coming up with countermeasures later, the Secret Demon Sect might have really turned the tables and secured a victory."
"My transformation technique has just been completed, and I am naturally far from that level."
After muttering this.
Tao Qian seemed to think of something, his mind moved, and he saw the Innate Dao Seed leap out again.
Unable to hold back, Tao Qian smiled.
"Fishing, once you've done it once, you think about a second time."
"Now that I've mastered the transformation technique, I might as well change my appearance, rise from the Secret Acupoint Platform again, embrace the Dao Seed as bait, and combine it with the Secret Demon Refining God Technique, to fish for some Outer Realm Heaven Demons."
"If luck is indeed good, perhaps I can gather some Divine Power Skills of the Secret Demon Sect."
"At the very least, I can consume some Heavenly Demons to nourish my own Primordial Spirit."
"These days of arduous cultivation, and the weary refining of this new divine power, my divine soul has long been starving."
As these thoughts settled, Tao Qian's primordial spirit, now embracing the fragrant Dao Seed, had already changed its appearance, and he quietly sat back on the Secret Acupoint Platform.
With a thought, the sealed Secret Acupoint opened on its own, resonating with the Outer Realm.
The fragrance of the Dao Seed began to spread out, thread by thread.