Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

After Qu Bo chased after him, the hillside fell silent.

Li Yuan maintained his spiritual energy output, sitting cross-legged next to the spiritual energy entrance of the formation. The aura of the Spiritual Essence Fruit continued to spread in all directions, and the formation operated smoothly.

The wind blew from the northwest, and the leaves of the bushes rustled for a while.

The breath memory suddenly reacted.

It is profound, somber, and extremely oppressive.

Nine layers of Qi refinement.

It smelled exactly the same as the scent I remembered from the shop entrance before.

Li Yuan opened his eyes.

The aura approached from the northeast at a considerable speed, but without any deliberate attempt to conceal it. It seemed to know that the formation was in operation and that someone was on the hillside, but it didn't care.

Luring the tiger away from the mountain.

First, send a fake to lure Qu Bo away, then the real person comes from another direction.

Li Yuan stood up and withdrew the spiritual power he had poured into the formation.

The array's aura dimmed, and the aura of the Spirit Essence Fruit quickly dissipated.

It's pointless.

The enemy has already arrived; leaving the formation in place will only expose our location.

Li Yuan faced northeast and retreated to a protruding rock at the top of the slope. The rock was more than half a person's height, and leaning against it at least meant he didn't have to worry about what was behind him.

The scent was getting closer and closer.

From three hundred zhang to two hundred zhang, from two hundred zhang to one hundred zhang.

A figure emerged from the bushes to the northeast.

It wasn't the face of the middle-aged monk I'd seen at the shop entrance before, nor was it the face with the narrow face and high cheekbones from before.

This time it was a completely unfamiliar face.

He looked to be in his forties, with a rugged face, a broad jaw, and prominent brow bones.

He was wearing a dark brown leather armor, with a short knife at his waist and a worn iron sword in his hand.

But your aura doesn't lie.

The aura was instantly recognized. It was exactly the aura of someone at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

The man stopped fifty feet away, his gaze sweeping over the remnants of the array on the hilltop before settling on Li Yuan.

He sized him up for a couple of breaths.

"Just you alone?"

His voice was deep and carried a hint of impatience.

Li Yuan remained silent.

The man glanced around again, and after confirming that no one else was around, he twitched the corner of his mouth.

He held the iron sword horizontally in front of him, its blade swirling with spiritual energy and gleaming with a dark blue light, before stepping up the hillside.

His speed wasn't fast, but the ground trembled slightly with each step he took. The spiritual power of the ninth level of Qi Refining emanated from his body, and the oppressive feeling could be clearly felt from fifty feet away.

Li Yuan raised his right hand, palm facing forward.

Fireball.

Spiritual energy surged from the dantian, flowed along the meridians into the right arm, and gathered in the palm.

The Fire Element Conversion technique converts the attributes of spiritual energy instantly, with almost no loss.

The rapid application of fire magic accelerated the spell's formation process, allowing spiritual energy to gather and take shape in half the time of an ordinary person.

A fireball the size of a fist condensed in the palm of his hand; the effect of condensed spiritual energy made the fireball's density far exceed that of other fireballs of the same level.

The Flame Marrow Body technique increases the power of fire magic by another 20%.

The fireball flew out of his hand.

The precise target was locked, and the fireball flew in a straight line toward the man's chest.

The man frowned and swept his iron sword horizontally.

The dark blue aura on the sword collided with the fireball.

boom.

The fireball exploded, sending scorching heatwaves spreading in all directions. The leaves of the low shrubs instantly curled and charred in the heat.

The person was pushed back half a step by the blast wave.

He glanced down at his right hand, which was holding the sword. The area between his thumb and forefinger was slightly red, and there was a burning, stinging sensation in his palm.

His eyes changed.

"Eighth level of Qi Refining?"

He originally thought the one left on the hillside was a mere Qi Refining Level 6 weakling that he could easily deal with. But he didn't expect it to be a Qi Refining Level 8 cultivator.

Moreover, a fireball spell at the eighth level of Qi Refining should not have this kind of power.

Li Yuan didn't give him time to think.

A second fireball followed immediately.

This time, it wasn't aimed directly at his chest, but rather deflected half a foot to his right hand, the one holding the sword.

The man dodged to the side, the fireball grazing the outside of his right arm before exploding in the bushes behind him.

The third shot.

Li Yuan raised his left hand at the same time, unleashing the Fire Arrow Technique.

A fire arrow, about the thickness of a finger, shot out from his left palm, traveling almost twice as fast as a fireball.

The fire arrow wasn't aimed at the man's body, but rather at the spot where he landed after dodging the fireball.

The precise targeting came in handy at this moment. The trajectory of the fire arrow was precisely aimed in the direction in which the person shifted their weight after turning to the side.

The man had barely dodged the fireball and hadn't even regained his footing when the fire arrow was already upon him.

He held the iron sword upright in front of him.

The fire arrow struck the sword, exploding into a shower of sparks. The impact was not strong.

However, the high temperature of the fire arrow exploding left a dark red burn mark on the sword.

The man finally steadied himself and charged forward.

Close range.

The cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining made the right decision to engage in close combat. He had already suffered at a disadvantage at long range; the power and accuracy of the fireball spell had exceeded his expectations.

He was very fast. The distance of fifty zhang was shortened to less than ten zhang in just a few breaths.

The iron sword slashed diagonally, and a dark blue spiritual light extended more than a foot along the blade, striking towards Li Yuan's left shoulder.

The iron sword slashed diagonally, and a dark blue spiritual light extended more than a foot along the blade, striking towards Li Yuan's left shoulder.

Li Yuan stepped to the right.

The sword light flashed past the outside of his left shoulder, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound.

Nearly.

The man's iron sword followed closely, sweeping horizontally from left to right towards Li Yuan's waist.

Li Yuan took a step back and then saw the person opposite him unleash a golden blade.

The golden blade was thrown hastily and its power was not great.

Li Yuan raised his left arm, his forearm meeting the golden blade.

clang.

The sound of metal striking metal.

The man's pupils suddenly contracted.

The scales protecting the body significantly enhance the skin's surface defense.

The iron membrane forms a second layer of defense under the skin, and the toughness of the meridians is also strengthened simultaneously.

The muscle fiber density of those tempered by malevolent energy and those who have been tempered by malevolent energy for a long time far exceeds that of ordinary people.

The two perfected mortal cultivation techniques also provided assistance.

The blade cut into the skin, but couldn't cut through the flesh underneath.

Li Yuan's right fist had already arrived.

The fist, imbued with spiritual energy, slammed into the man's ribs.

The condensed spiritual energy made the density of this punch far exceed that of others of the same level. The jade elephant's ability to support the body's increased capacity allowed him to pour more spiritual energy into his fist in an instant without worrying about his meridians and muscles being unable to withstand it.

The man didn't have time to sheathe his sword and parry, so he leaned back to the side and avoided the fist head-on.

But the force of the punch still grazed his ribs.

A muffled thud.

The man's body jolted, and he slid back two steps.

His ribs weren't broken, but they hurt. His leather armor was dented where the punch had grazed.

The man gritted his teeth, sheathed his iron sword, and poured his spiritual energy into it to its limit. The dark cyan light on the sword surged, extending from one foot to nearly three feet.

They went all out.

The sword light slashed downwards, its speed increasing by 30%. All the spiritual power of the ninth level of Qi Refining was concentrated on this sword strike, causing the air around the blade to vibrate and hum due to the compressed spiritual power.

Li Yuan did not take the hit head-on.

The Divine Step.

He shifted two zhang to the right, and the sword light slashed down from where he was standing, hitting the rock and shearing off a large chunk of its edge.

Gravel flew everywhere.

As Li Yuan moved sideways, his right palm was already poised to unleash another fireball.

The distance was only three zhang.

At this distance, precise keywords are almost equivalent to being locked in.

The fireball slipped from his hand.

The man had just finished slashing with his sword, and the momentum of the iron sword had not yet subsided, causing his body's center of gravity to shift to the left.

The fireball struck him head-on in the chest.

boom.

It was more powerful than every previous shot.

At a distance of three zhang, the fireball had almost no flight time, traveling from the palm to the chest in a mere instant. The density of condensed spiritual energy, the power boost from the Flame Marrow Body, and the reduced losses from the fire element conversion were all combined in this single shot.

The man's leather armor blasted open at the point of impact of the fireball, creating a hole the size of a bowl. Scorching spiritual energy poured into his body through the hole, simultaneously burning the meridians and internal organs in his chest cavity.

The man groaned, his body flying backward, rolling twice on the ground before coming to a stop.

The iron sword slipped from his hand and landed three steps away.

He struggled to stand, his hands bracing against the ground, but blood continued to gush from the wound in his chest, mingling with the smell of burning. His spiritual energy dissipated from his damaged meridians, and his Qi Refining Level Nine aura rapidly diminished.

Li Yuan walked over.

The man raised his head, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with resentment and confusion.

He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.

Li Yuan didn't wait for him to finish speaking.

Fire Arrow Technique.

A fiery arrow shot from his palm and pierced the man's throat.

The breath completely dissipated.

Li Yuan stood still and looked down at his left forearm.

The wound left by the golden blade was not deep, and the bleeding had already stopped. The two concepts of "self-generation of qi and blood" and "return of qi and blood" were operating simultaneously at the wound site, and the tissue at the edge of the wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Li Yuan sensed the spiritual energy within him, but it wasn't much of a drain.

Spiritual energy condensation makes one's spiritual energy more durable, and subtle manipulation of spiritual energy reduces its consumption. The opening of all meridians and the expansion of spiritual essence combined to make Li Yuan's total spiritual energy 30-40% higher than that of others of the same level.

Li Yuan looked into the distance, where the hillside had returned to silence.