In the morning, Qin Guiya was already standing by the Spirit Field behind his Immortal Cave, holding a grain of Jade Marrow Rice between his fingertips.
This low-grade Spirit Grain needed half a year to mature, making it the best choice to test time acceleration.
"Husband, you're up so early."
Liu Qingchan's voice came from behind him. Qin Guiya turned around and said calmly, "I will be in seclusion for half a day."
A hint of sadness flashed in the woman's eyes, but she still bowed obediently and retreated.
Returning to the quiet room, Qin Guiya activated the Immortal Cave's isolation Restriction.
He sat cross-legged, his Divine Sense sinking into his Sea of Consciousness.
The mysterious Ancient Tree showed no changes.
"Enter."
Qin Guiya touched the tree's main trunk with his Divine Sense, silently chanting in his heart.
In an instant, the world spun.
When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in the center of a hazy space.
The soil beneath his feet was a rare purplish-gold, emitting a faint Spiritual Qi.
Qin Guiya bent down and grabbed a handful of soil, seeing golden specks shimmering within the soil particles.
This was clearly the legendary "Purple Gold Spirit Soil," a rare Spirit Soil sold by the grain in the Azure Blue Realm!
Looking up, there were no sun, moon, or stars, only flowing mist forming the "sky."
Qin Guiya looked down at his hands in astonishment—it was his actual Physical Body, not a Divine Sense projection!
This meant that the Ancient Tree Space could accommodate physical entities, not just a simple consciousness space.
"One day outside, ten days inside..."
He mumbled to himself, suddenly thinking of a crucial question.
If he Cultivated here for ten days, and only one day passed outside, would his Lifespan be calculated according to the actual time experienced, or according to the time elapsed outside?
If he emerged after a hundred years of seclusion, directly becoming an old man with white hair, that would truly be "a moment of bliss in the Immortal Cave, a crematorium upon emergence."
This thought made his heart race.
Qin Guiya immediately circulated the Cultivation Technique, Heavenly Flame Incineration Art. After the Spiritual Qi completed one cycle through his Meridians, he opened his eyes, his expression strange.
"Spiritual power growth... like a snail crawling?"
The increase in Spiritual power within his body was negligible, no different from Cultivating outside.
Even stranger, he didn't feel any signs of accelerated life force depletion.
"So time acceleration is only effective for Spirit Plants?"
Qin Guiya frowned deeply.
With a thought, the scene of his quiet room suddenly appeared before his eyes, as if through a transparent water curtain.
The meditation cushion was empty; he had indeed completely disappeared.
And even more preposterous—the Ancient Tree was actually invisible in the real world!
"Good heavens, it comes with an invisibility function? This tree is quite particular about privacy protection..."
Now he was completely relieved; at least he didn't have to worry about being discovered one day for secretly using a cheat.
"Whoosh—"
Qin Guiya flashed back to the quiet room and, without a word, pulled out his Spirit Beast bag.
"Bang!"
A monkey, entirely crimson with a particularly prominent tuft of golden fur on its forehead, leaped out.
It was his old partner, "Little Flame," an Exploding Monkey with a temper bigger than his abilities.
"Squeak! Squeak!"
The monkey rubbed affectionately against his palm.
"You'll have to endure for a bit."
Qin Guiya gently stroked the monkey's head and entered the space again, this time bringing the Spirit Beast.
Little Flame nervously paced in circles on the purplish-black soil, occasionally scratching its ears and cheeks.
After observing for an hour, Qin Guiya's face fell—
Not only did the monkey not accelerate its growth, it didn't even shed an extra hair!
"So this space discriminates against species?"
His initial elation immediately cooled by half.
If he couldn't accelerate his Cultivation, the value of this space was greatly diminished.
The last test.
Qin Guiya carefully planted the Jade Marrow Rice in the center of the space and awkwardly cast a minor Cloud Rain spell.
The speed at which the tender sprout broke through the soil astonished him.
In just fifteen minutes, the Spirit Rice completed a growth stage that would have taken several days outside!
"This..."
Qin Guiya squatted down, his fingers lightly touching the tender green seedling.
In the following days, he personally witnessed this Spirit Rice rapidly ear, flower, and set seed at a visible pace, finally maturing completely in eighteen days.
The golden Jade Marrow Rice stalks hung heavy, the grains plump and round, a full size larger than ordinary Spirit Rice.
Qin Guiya picked a grain and put it into his mouth, immediately feeling a pure Spiritual power dissolve in his mouth.
"The quality has improved by at least thirty percent!"
This discovery invigorated him.
Although he couldn't directly cheat his Cultivation, with this "Spirit Plant Accelerator," planting some Heaven And Earth Treasure to sell would mean he could have as many Cultivation resources as he wanted, wouldn't it?
Leaving the space, Qin Guiya looked at the large hourglass in the quiet room, confirming that only eighteen days had passed both outside and within the space.
"Husband, do you require supper tonight?"
Liu Qingchan's voice sounded from outside the door.
Qin Guiya was about to respond when he suddenly remembered there was still a side branch. His Divine Sense gently touched it.
In an instant, a piece of information flooded his mind:
【Liu Qingchan】
Spiritual Root: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth (Five Spiritual Roots)
Realm: Foundation Establishment Early Stage
Talent: Spirit Plant (Average)
"Spirit Plant talent?"
Qin Guiya's pupils contracted slightly.
In the Cultivation world, a very small number of people are naturally affinity with Spirit Plants; such people Cultivate Spirit Medicine with half the effort and twice the result.
He hadn't expected that this woman, sent by the Liu Family to curry favor with the Qin Family, would possess such a talent!
Of course, he also didn't know if the Spirit Plant (Average) talent in this information was the same as in reality.
The stone door was gently knocked, interrupting his thoughts.
"Come in." Qin Guiya quickly composed himself.
Liu Qingchan entered gracefully, carrying a food tray.
Today she had changed into a light green ruqun, with a freshly picked Spirit Jasmine pinned in her hair.
"Husband, why are you staring at me?"
Liu Qingchan put down the food tray, her ear tips slightly red.
Qin Guiya came back to his senses and, as if possessed, asked:
"When you were in the Liu Family, did you ever learn Spirit Plant techniques?"
The woman's wrist trembled, and she lowered her head to hide the surprise in her eyes:
"I... indeed worked as a servant in the Spirit Medicine Garden when I was young."
Qin Guiya thoughtfully scooped a spoonful of Spirit Rice porridge. Upon tasting it, he realized it was indeed the Jade Marrow Rice cultivated in the space, but the cooking method was clearly much more refined than usual.
"This rice..."
"I saw that Husband had been researching Jade Marrow Rice these past few days, so I guessed you might want to eat it..."
Liu Qingchan's voice grew softer. "If it's not to your liking, I'll go make something else."
"It's delicious."
Qin Guiya interrupted her, took a sip, then paused and added, "Better than usual."
Liu Qingchan suddenly looked up, her eyes sparkling with disbelief.
In the ten years she had been here, this was the first time her husband had praised her.
Qin Guiya suddenly realized that he had never truly understood this Dao Companion with whom he spent every day.
What did she like? What did she dislike? Why did she have a talent for Spirit Plants?
"Qingchan."
He put down his bowl and chopsticks, his voice gentle. "Tomorrow, come with me to the Spirit Plant Hall."
"Spirit Plant Hall?"
Liu Qingchan blinked in confusion. "Husband, if you need any Spirit Plants, I can go fetch them..."
"No."
Qin Guiya looked into her eyes. "I want to ask you to help me take care of some Spirit Medicine."
Liu Qingchan's eyes lit up.
The corners of her mouth curved upwards, revealing the first genuine smile Qin Guiya had seen from her in ten years:
"I... would be delighted."
Before going to bed, Qin Guiya entered the Ancient Tree Space again.
The newly harvested Jade Marrow Rice was neatly piled in a corner, and the purplish-gold soil glowed with a strange luster.
He stroked his chin and smiled: "Although I can't directly cheat my Cultivation..."
"But!"
He grabbed a handful of Spirit Rice. "With an unlimited supply of Heaven And Earth Treasure, am I still afraid of not cultivating a Soul Transformation Old Ancestor?"
More importantly.
He seemed to have accidentally unlocked the correct way to utilize his Dao Companion.
This wasn't just a wife; she was clearly a human-shaped cheat code!