As inner energy begins to emerge, hidden dangers lurk.

Nightmare remained in the cave, recuperating, his entire focus immersed in guiding and strengthening the "Internal Qi" within his body.

This process was far more difficult and slower than he had imagined. That bit of Internal Qi, stemming from the traces of the nirvana dao seed, was as weak as a candle in the wind; every time he guided it, he needed to concentrate all his spirit, enduring the tearing pain in his Divine Soul.

The damage to the rule fragment severely slowed his progress, making many sophisticated controls and deductions difficult to achieve.

He was like the most primitive craftsman, using crude tools to sort, guide, and gather bit by bit within his own broken "little world."

Medicine Old Man went out every day to gather herbs and find food, returning silently to change Nightmare's dressings and prepare meals. The herbs he provided, while unable to directly replenish energy, were indeed of great help in stabilizing injuries and replenishing blood and Qi, providing valuable foundational support for Nightmare's "internal refining."

The old man seemed to have noticed some subtle changes in Nightmare. Although Nightmare's aura remained weak, the dead, decaying sensation was gradually receding, replaced by a restrained, resilient vitality like that of a stubborn rock, slowly reviving. He did not ask much, but every time he changed the dressings, a flash of imperceptible surprise and understanding would cross his eyes.

On this day, Nightmare sat cross-legged in the corner of the cave as usual (he could barely maintain this posture), his mind sinking into his body.

After days of sleepless effort, that wisp of weak Nirvana Internal Qi was finally guided by him, arduously connecting a small, broken section of his Meridians in his arm. Although it was just an insignificant little section, it was a milestone Breakthrough!

As the Internal Qi flowed through, those originally withered and atrophied Meridians, like land receiving sweet rain after a long drought, greedily absorbed this nourishment originating from the Origin, sending a wave of numbness and a faint, warm sensation. The damaged parts began to heal slowly at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye!

What surprised him even more was that with the initial connection of this meridian, the rule fragment also seemed to receive subtle feedback; the tiniest crack on its surface seemed to... heal a little? Although it was minuscule, the stagnation and stinging pain when the rule fragment transmitted information had indeed lessened by a tiny bit!

"It works! The path of internal refining is viable!" Nightmare was exhilarated. Although this path was tortuous and long, the direction was correct! He was no longer a rootless duckweed, but had truly planted a wisp of his own Foundation in this Land of Absolute Spirit.

His rule fragment's remaining analytical capabilities, combined with the Primordial Theory, continuously optimized the internal refining method. He discovered that when guiding Internal Qi, if he could simulate the "understanding" and "resonance" of material energy structures from the primal cube's information stream, the efficiency would increase slightly. This made him even more convinced that the primal cube was his greatest reliance for establishing a foothold in this world.

Just as Nightmare was immersed in the joy of his initial success, Medicine Old Man, who had returned from outside, brought back an unusual atmosphere.

The old man's brows were slightly furrowed, his face carrying a hint of gravity. He set down the gathered herbs and prey, walked to the cave entrance, and carefully moved the giant rock used for concealment back into place, leaving only a small gap for ventilation.

"Old man, what happened?" Nightmare sensed something unusual and asked in a hoarse voice.

Medicine Old Man turned, the firelight reflecting on his wrinkled face, his eyes filled with a trace of worry: "It hasn't been peaceful in the mountains recently. I found traces of 'Black Tooth Jackal' while gathering herbs in the valley to the southwest today, and there was more than one."

"Black Tooth Jackal?" Nightmare's rule fragment instinctively recorded this term.

"They are a common pack of ferocious beasts on the outskirts of the Cangwu Mountain Range. They are fierce by nature, and their teeth carry a mild paralyzing toxin. They usually live deep in the mountains and rarely appear in such outer areas in groups," Medicine Old Man explained, his tone heavy. "When things happen contrary to the norm, there must be a demon. Either a predator they cannot confront has appeared deep in the mountains, driving them out; or... something has attracted them."

His gaze inadvertently swept over Nightmare.

Nightmare's heart tightened. His rule fragment was damaged, his perception greatly reduced, and he could not investigate the outside world. But Medicine Old Man's hint was clear—his injuries had been extremely severe, and he had bled a lot; although most of it was inside the cave, it was inevitable that some aura remained. For ferocious beasts with keen senses, this might be a huge temptation.

"Will they... find this place?" Nightmare asked in a deep voice. In his current state, let alone a pack of ferocious beasts, he would be unable to cope even with a single ordinary wild wolf.

"Hard to say." Medicine Old Man shook his head. "Black Tooth Jackals have a keen sense of smell and hold grudges. I covered the tracks along the way, but this cave is not absolutely safe. We need to be careful. Tomorrow morning, I will go to investigate again. If the situation is bad, I'm afraid we will have to leave this place as soon as possible."

Leave? Nightmare looked at his still dilapidated body. Moving now was tantamount to suicide. He had just seen a glimmer of hope for recovery and absolutely did not want to interrupt it, much less entrust his fate to an unknown migration.

He must recover some power to protect himself as soon as possible!

The sense of crisis was like a whip, lashing at Nightmare's nerves. He was no longer satisfied with slow nourishment; the rule fragment began to deduce more crazily, combining with the Primordial Theory, trying to find a way to accelerate the generation of Internal Qi.

His attention was once again cast into the space of the rule fragment.

That void lotus seed, under the previous rule impact and the fluctuation of the primal cube, had catalyzed a wisp of Innate spirituality in advance, which was still emitting a faint sense of spatial protection. The world tree seedling continued to release life energy, complementing his Nirvana Internal Qi.

"Internal Qi originates from one's own potential... Can the 'Dao Charm' and 'spirituality' contained within the items in the rule fragment space also be used as a special kind of 'potential' and be triggered by me?" A bold thought arose in Nightmare's heart.

The rule fragment itself was his lifebound object, and it was connected to the World Tree and the void lotus seed. Theoretically, their power could also be regarded as a part of his own power, only previously called upon through the rule fragment as an intermediary. Now that the rule fragment was half-useless, could he bypass the rule fragment and directly use the "internal refining" method to trigger the "Spirit" and "Intention" of these treasures themselves?

This was another unprecedented attempt, with huge risks, and could potentially trigger a rule backlash.

But Nightmare did not hesitate.

He took a deep breath, and the remaining power of the rule fragment carefully protected the core of his Sea of Consciousness. Then, he did not point his intention to guide the Internal Qi toward his Physical Body, but tried to... communicate with the silent void lotus seed in the rule fragment space!

His intention was like an invisible thread, piercing through the barrier of the rule fragment space, gently touching the lotus seed that emitted a faint silver glow and contained the mysteries of space.

At first, there was no reaction.

Nightmare did not give up. The rule fragment simulated the description of spatial structures in the primal cube's information stream, adjusting his own intention frequency to a band close to the wisp of Innate spirituality of the lotus seed.

Once, twice, three times...

Just as his Divine Soul power was about to be exhausted and his consciousness began to blur—

Hum!

The void lotus seed trembled slightly!

A wisp of extremely weak yet incomparably pure "Spirit Charm," carrying a sense of spatial stability and protection, slowly flowed out along the thread of Nightmare's intention. It did not pass through the rule fragment but directly merged into his Sea of Consciousness, intersecting with his newly born Nirvana Internal Qi!

With the integration of this wisp of spatial Spirit Charm, the Nirvana Internal Qi seemed to undergo some mysterious change. It was no longer just cold and deathly, but had an added characteristic of "accommodation" and "stability." As it circulated, its nourishing effect on his Physical Body and Divine Soul actually increased by more than double!

And even more miraculously, because of this "response" from the lotus seed, the cracks all over the rule fragment seemed to be smoothed out a little by this spatial Spirit Charm, and its stability increased slightly!

"Success!" Nightmare was ecstatic. He had found a shortcut! A shortcut to trigger the potential of his own treasures and nourish himself through "Spirit-Intention Resonance"!

Although this also consumed Divine Soul and could not be used frequently, it undoubtedly greatly accelerated his recovery speed!

He slowly opened his eyes, a flash of brilliance passing through them. Although his body was still severely injured, the confidence and sharpness deeply rooted in his Soul had returned somewhat.

He looked toward the entrance of the cave, his gaze seemingly piercing through the rock.

Black Tooth Jackal? Ferocious beasts of the Land of Absolute Spirit?

If you dare to come, then use yourselves... to verify the first glimmer of my, Nightmare's, new sharpness!