When people are truly overjoyed, they can't help but make some small gesture of celebration.
Su Zhan was no different.
The moment he felt the thrill of his success, he tossed the spirit stone in his left hand into the air, ready to catch it just for fun.
But—
The instant the spirit stone fell back into his palm… it vanished.
Out of thin air.
"Huh?!"
"What the—?!"
The smile froze on his face, his eyes widening. His entire expression shifted from joy to alarm in an instant, and he shot up from the ground.
"No… no way… it's just gone?"
He stared at his empty palm, then scanned the ground around him.
Nothing. No trace of the spirit stone at all.
A cold bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.
"Wait… could it be…?"
His gaze dropped to the black mark in his palm—the source of all his recent power.
Thinking back, everything strange had started after it devoured that eighty-first spirit stone. The two new Black Shadow Clones had appeared… but what if that wasn't the only change?
What if… it had gained a new ability he hadn't yet discovered?
A spark of realization flashed through him.
It was possible.
After all, hadn't he discovered Clones shared vision by accident?
"Only one way to find out."
He sat down cross-legged without hesitation and sank his consciousness inward.
He was practiced at this by now—sliding into that inner space felt as natural as breathing.
A single glance was enough to confirm it.
"Sure enough… here it is!"
Inside his consciousness, the four familiar clusters of black mist were now six—one for each Shadow Clone. But the biggest change wasn't them.
Beside the mists floated something new: a perfectly shaped black-gray cube, like a 3D model rendered in some strange, otherworldly design.
"Whoa…"
Su Zhan's eyes lit up. He approached it eagerly.
Unlike the hazy, intangible black mist, this cube radiated a solid, heavy presence. Every edge was razor-sharp, every face perfectly even.
"The mists let me share Clones vision. But this…? Only one cube, even though I have six Clones . What are you?"
After circling it a few times, finding nothing unusual, Su Zhan made up his mind.
Without hesitation, he entered it the same way he would enter a black mist.
The next instant—
"This is…!"
All his confusion melted away.
Inside the cube was a fully enclosed space—roughly one square meter in size. Not large, but far from useless.
And on its smooth, empty floor lay the missing spirit stone, glowing faintly.
"I get it now!"
"This… this is storage space! Just like a storage ring from those fantasy novels!"
The realization hit him like a bolt of lightning.
The two new Shadow Clones were nice—but this was the true gift of the Black Mark's fourth stage.
A personal storage space, existing entirely within his consciousness. No ring, no bag—completely invisible to anyone else.
And unlike the storage rings in this world—rare treasures owned only by sect leaders or nobles—this one was entirely under his control.
He had asked around before: storage rings existed, but they were priceless. Even in great sects, only the highest figures possessed them. Owning one was a mark of wealth, power, and status.
And even then, they were physical items—bags, belts, rings—that could be stolen, seized, or destroyed in battle.
But his… his was untouchable. Hidden in his own mind, in another dimension entirely. Even if he died, the contents would remain intact.
"Artifact… this is absolutely an artifact!"
Ideas flooded his mind in an instant.
With this, he could store spirit stones anywhere, anytime—never again worrying about hiding them from searches or inspections. When he wanted to cultivate, he could simply summon them out.
And in the future, his need for spirit stones would skyrocket. Storage would have been a problem. Now? Solved before it even began.
That wasn't all.
If he killed an enemy and seized their treasures—or even their corpse—this space would swallow it up without a trace.
When he obtained rare herbs, spiritual treasures, or powerful weapons, he'd have a secure place to keep them.
And his clones? Each would eventually need weapons too.
Without this space, whenever he recalled a clone, its weapon would be left behind, forcing him to gather them manually. That would be a nightmare with a whole squad of Clones .
But now? Problem gone.
"Time to test it."