Su Zhan opened his eyes in excitement. With just a thought, he flipped his palm.
A spirit stone that had been stored inside the storage space quietly appeared in his hand, as if out of thin air.
"Success!"
He tried several more times.
With each attempt, his actions—whether taking something out or putting it in—became faster and more fluid.
From handling a single spirit stone… to several at once… and finally, even gathering up a pile of impure spirit stones too large to hold in one hand—within less than half an hour, Su Zhan had mastered nearly every function of the storage space.
Before long, he had summarized its rules:
1. Requirement for storage: The item must be touched directly to store it. Air storage, like in fantasy novels, was impossible. However, removing items had no such restriction—he could take out everything inside in one go if he wished.
2. Size limit: Items longer than one meter could not be stored—such as a hoe. It was uncertain whether this limit might expand if the Black Mark's level increased.
3. No living beings: The space could not store any living creatures—not even an ant—exactly like the rules in the fantasy novels of his previous life.
4. Time stasis: Everything stored would remain unchanged, frozen in time. This was particularly satisfying to Su Zhan—for example, any meal he couldn't finish would stay perfectly fresh forever, with no worry of spoilage.
"Wait…"
"If I can use this storage space… can the Clones use it too?"
This thought made his heart race.
For him, the storage space was already an incredible convenience—but if the Shadow Clones could also access it, that would be a leap from zero to one… a complete game-changer.
"Clones, take out the spirit stones from the storage space."
The moment the command formed in his mind, Su Zhan gave the order.
The Clone froze for a second.
Then, it stopped mining, turned over its black shadowy hand, and revealed a low-grade spirit stone in its palm.
"It works!"
"This… this is unbelievable!"
Su Zhan's eyes burned with excitement, his blood surging.
If the Clones could also use the storage space, then from now on, there was no need for them to run back and forth. They could remain stationed outside indefinitely, exchanging items with him instantly at any time.
When a Clone dug up an impure spirit stone, it could collect and store it immediately. Once enough were gathered, they could be exchanged on the spot.
Not only that—if Su Zhan wanted food from outside, one command would deliver it fresh and hot, without the need for travel or the risk of being seen.
Elixirs, cultivation manuals, weapons, magical treasures—anything could be passed to them in an instant.
"And the biggest advantage…" Su Zhan's eyes gleamed coldly. "…is that killing and looting will be far easier."
He had never dismissed the idea of killing for spoils. He had simply been cautious.
But now, with the storage space, there was no need to worry.
From now on, he could fully arm his Clones and let them take advantage of their lack of fear for death. They could hunt down enemies in the mine, strike them down, collect their treasures instantly, and then vanish—without wasting time running back and forth. If they encountered a powerful foe, they could store the enemy's weapon on the spot and disappear immediately.
In short, this storage space was an absolute artifact—perfect for travel, daily life… and theft.
And this was only the beginning. The more he used it, the more clever applications he would discover.
"The third stage only increased the number of Clones. But the fourth stage…" Su Zhan's gaze deepened. "…increased the Clones and created a Clone Space. If my guess is right, future stages will keep increasing the number of Clones without reducing it, while also adding new functions that build on the previous ones."
"Which means… the two extra Clones from the fourth stage are only the foundation. The real gift is the Clone Space itself."
"And if that's true, then the more spirit stones I feed into the Black Mark…"
Su Zhan's lips curved into a smile.
"…the greater the rewards will be."