Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

In the days that followed, Li Yuan solidified his practice of the Soul Condensation Technique.

Every night, during the breaks from practicing the Spirit Guiding Technique, I would set aside half an hour to practice the Soul Condensation Technique to strengthen my soul.

Compression, expansion, compression again, expansion again, in a continuous cycle.

After you get started, the improvement in each cycle is very small, but it is good because it is stacked with the three permanent attributes of Soul Mirror, Alchemy Insight, and Soul Tempering, and the cumulative effect is very solid.

The most obvious change is in perception.

The range of the aura-memory detection has expanded again, and the sensitivity of the hidden aura detection to malice has also improved significantly.

When making talismans, one can perceive the flow of spiritual energy within the talisman paper more precisely, and when refining pills, one can judge the state of the medicinal power in the furnace more accurately.

When your spirit is strong, everything else will follow suit.

After teaching Han Qing in the morning, Li Yuan went to Ziyuan Trading Company.

He was carrying a batch of finished talismans, delivering them as usual.

Manager Han was flipping through the account book behind the counter when he saw Li Yuan come in, so he closed the account book.

"They're here."

Li Yuan placed the talisman on the counter. Manager Han didn't look at it, but directly calculated the price in spirit stones according to the highest grade and pushed it over.

Li Yuan carefully put away the spirit stones and didn't leave in a hurry.

"Manager Han, there's something I'd like to ask you."

"you say."

"Do you have any channels to obtain the Emerald Lotus, Nine-Turn Lingzhi, and Purple Mansion Mystic Liquid?"

Manager Han paused for a moment.

He looked up at Li Yuan, put the account book in his hand under the counter, and straightened up.

Shopkeeper Han did not inquire about the purpose of the item. The customer had his reasons for wanting it, and asking too many questions was taboo.

"These three items can be bought on the market, but they are not commonly found."

"The Emerald Lotus is occasionally brought out by independent cultivators from secret realms or deep forests. Its quality varies and its price is unstable."

"When things are good, you can get it for 1,200 spirit stones; when things are expensive, it can be 1,500 or more. But you can't just buy it whenever you want; you have to wait."

The second finger.

"Nine-Turn Lingzhi is more troublesome. Only those over fifty years old are effective, and those over a hundred years old are the most effective. This thing grows slowly, and there are only a few production areas. The major sects and families keep an eye on it, so very little of it ends up in the hands of independent cultivators."

The third finger.

"Purple Mansion Mystic Liquid is relatively easy to find; several large herbal medicine shops in the market occasionally have some in stock. However, the purity varies greatly. Low-purity liquid is cheaper but less effective, while high-purity liquid is expensive and in high demand."

He withdrew his hand and rubbed his chin.

"Together, you'll need at least three thousand spirit stones. If you want them to be of good quality, four thousand is the minimum."

Li Yuan had inquired about these things before, and what Manager Han said was roughly the same as what he knew.

"Can Ziyuan Trading Company's channels help with the collection?"

Manager Han shook his head.

"Ziyuan Trading Company deals in talismans and common spiritual herbs; these high-level medicinal materials are not within our procurement scope. I can keep an eye out for them and let you know if I get any news, but I don't have the ability to actively purchase them."

He paused for a moment and looked at Li Yuan.

"It's very difficult to gather such rare items through normal channels."

"What do you mean?"

Manager Han lowered his voice.

"There aren't many rare items circulating in the market to begin with. If an individual has something good they want to sell, they usually wait for the right time to go to an auction."

"In auctions, the highest bidder wins, and even with a cut, the seller still gets a higher price."

"Selling it yourself will actually get you a lower price, but it takes time and you're more likely to be pressured to lower your price."

He rested his elbows on the counter and leaned closer to Li Yuan.

"There are underground trade fairs of all sizes in the market, which are held irregularly and vary in scale, all of which are tacitly approved by the Yuanyang Sect."

"Many items will appear there, but their origin is not necessarily legitimate."

"Illegally obtained?"

"Some of it was stolen goods obtained through robbery and hijacking, and some was acquired through shady channels."

"In addition, there are many good products, and some legitimate items are also sold there."

Shopkeeper Han shrugged. "In short, we don't ask where the goods come from; it's cash on delivery, and neither the buyer nor the seller leaves their name."

"Do you have the authority to introduce people to underground trade fairs?"

Manager Han smiled and shook his head.

"Although I have been doing business in Yunyangfang Market for more than 20 years, I have always used legitimate channels and have not had much contact with the people there."

"You can get in, but you don't have the qualifications to make an introduction."

Li Yuan nodded.

Auctions and underground trade fairs. Neither path is immediately viable, but at least we know the direction.

"Keep an eye out for me. Let me know if there's any news about the Jade Lotus, the Nine-Turn Spirit Mushroom, or the Purple Mansion Mystic Liquid."

"No problem." Manager Han patted the counter. "I'll let you know as soon as I have any news."

Li Yuan left the Ziyuan Trading Company and walked back along the main street.

A few days later, the artisans' circle held its third gathering.

Zhou Tie came a day in advance to give a heads-up, saying that there were more people coming this time than the previous two times, and there were several new faces.

That evening, Li Yuan went to a teahouse on East Street with Zhou Tie and Shen Yue.

The private room on the second floor was the same as the previous two times, with a long table covered with coarse cloth and various items for trading placed on it.

There were indeed quite a few more people, nearly thirty in total, making the private room a bit crowded.

As soon as Li Yuan entered, he noticed a new face.

On the east side of the table, a cultivator in his fifties occupied a table that was nearly ten feet long, and it was densely covered with things.

As soon as Li Yuan entered, he noticed a new face.

On the east side of the table, a cultivator in his fifties occupied a table that was nearly ten feet long, and it was densely covered with things.

The market is overflowing with a wide variety of items, including magical artifact components, finished magical artifacts, ores, spiritual herbs, and elixirs. Several wooden signs stand nearby, displaying prices and descriptions.

Cultivation level: Qi Refining Level 9.

He was the most skilled craftsman present.

This man was tall and strong, with very large hands and thick knuckles.

Weapon refiner.

There were four or five people surrounding him, and he was haggling with one of them. His voice was loud and clear, and he spoke bluntly.

"I forged this flying sword myself. The spirit iron content is no less than 70%. You can have it tested anytime. Sixty spirit stones, no bargaining."

The rogue cultivator opposite hesitated for a moment, examining the flying sword, before finally taking out a spirit stone.

Li Yuan slowly walked over to the table, his gaze sweeping over the things the person had laid out.

The craftsmanship of the magical artifacts was indeed quite good. Several flying swords, two shields, a pair of wrist guards, and three or four miscellaneous small magical artifacts were all of medium quality or above in the first tier.

Besides magical artifacts, there were also a large amount of ores and spiritual herbs, as if they had brought out their entire fortune.

At the other end of the table, there was a separate wooden sign that advertised the purchase of various rare elixirs.

Li Yuan's gaze lingered on the wooden sign for a moment.

He first circled around the table, bought a few portions of spiritual herbs and a bottle of mineral powder, and then walked up to the person.

"Did you make all these ritual implements yourself?"

The burly weapon refiner looked up at Li Yuan and nodded.

"Everything. From ore selection to forging to engraving, we handle it all."

He patted the table in front of him.

"We'll stop making them after this batch is sold out."

"Not doing it anymore?" Li Yuan looked at him.

The weapon refiner placed a piece of ore on the table, rubbed the iron filings off his fingers, and sighed.

"I need to prepare for Foundation Establishment, even though several of my friends don't recommend that I break through."

He spoke very casually, as if he were saying he was going to buy groceries tomorrow.

People nearby who heard what he said also turned their heads.

Do you have any Foundation Establishment Pills?

Li Yuan glanced at the wooden plaque on his desk that read "Purchase Pills".

"I can't afford it." The weapon refiner shook his head and chuckled.

"Do you know how expensive the materials for Foundation Establishment Pills are? I've saved up for most of my life, and even if I poured all my savings into it, it wouldn't be enough to gather even half the materials for a Foundation Establishment Pill."

"It's still available, but there's no market for it."

He crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Li Yuan looked at him.

What is the success rate of establishing a foundation without using Foundation Establishment Pills?

The weapon refiner remained silent for two breaths, then sighed again.

Less than 10%.

"The probability of failure is so high, you still want to try?"

The weapon refiner withdrew his hand and glanced at Li Yuan.

"If you don't try, you'll be stuck at the ninth level of Qi Refining for life."

He placed his arms on the table and leaned forward slightly.

"I'm fifty-three this year. I probably have another seventy or eighty years to live. That doesn't sound like a short time, but my cultivation level has stopped increasing. From now on, I'll just slowly grow old, my vital energy will gradually decline, and I'll get worse day by day."

He raised his right hand, clenched his fist, and his knuckles cracked.

"After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, one's lifespan will increase by at least fifty years, and the remaining lifespan will double."

"Besides, I don't want to give up on the path of immortality just like that; I have to give it a try."

"Moreover, without using pills, the potential for future breakthroughs is even greater. Maybe I'll have incredible luck and succeed."

Li Yuan did not respond.

The weapon refiner smiled and placed his hand back on the table.

"So I sold everything I could and exchanged it for spirit stones and pills to try and break through to the Foundation Establishment stage."

He gestured with his chin toward the ritual implements and materials on the table.

Li Yuan nodded without saying anything more.

His gaze swept over the magical artifacts in front of the weapon refiner, his fingers habitually touching a few items.

Most of them did not react.

When I scanned the far right of the desktop, something inconspicuous triggered a response from the panel.

A pair of armor.

Calling it armor is a bit of a stretch.

To be precise, it was a close-fitting armor vest made of gray-black spirit beast hide, with a palm-sized spirit iron plate inlaid on the front and back, and simple defensive spirit runes engraved on the plate.

The workmanship isn't particularly refined, but the materials are solid. The spirit beast hide is thick and supple, and the spirit iron plates have a very high density.

The wooden sign next to it reads: Spirit Iron Armor, a low-grade first-tier defensive magic weapon, 30 spirit stones.

The moment Li Yuan's finger touched the surface of the armor, the panel popped up.

[Equipable item detected]

[Item Attribute Level: White]

[Note: Items not belonging to the user cannot be equipped, and detailed information cannot be viewed.]

White entries.

Li Yuan picked up the armor and examined it. There were several signs of wear on the back of the spirit beast hide, and the edges of the spirit iron plates also had slight dents, indicating that it was a used item.

"How much is this one?"

"Thirty. It says so on the sign." The weapon refiner glanced at the wooden sign.

"Twenty-five."

"Twenty-eight."

"OK."

He put the spirit stone down and stored the armor in his storage bag.

Li Yuan circled the table again but found no other items with entries.

After the gathering ended, Li Yuan returned to the courtyard and closed the door.

He took the spirit iron armor out of his storage bag and placed it on the table.

Fingertips touch the surface of the nail guard.

[Equipable item detected: Spirit Iron Armor (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Spiritual Membrane Protection (White) - Automatically forms a spiritual energy protective membrane on the skin's surface, reducing damage taken by 10% and automatically resisting some corrosive attacks]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: One body-refining technique reaches perfection (0/1)]

[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace current equipment?]

White label. Spiritual membrane protection.

A protective layer of spiritual energy automatically appears on the skin's surface, passively reducing damage by 10% and resisting some erosion.

Unlike scale armor and iron membrane protection, which directly strengthen the physical defenses of the skin and meridians, spirit membrane protection adds another layer of spiritual energy barrier to the body's surface. With all three combined, the defense system becomes even thicker.

This ability to resist corrosive attacks is especially useful in the Ghost Mist Forest. The soul-corroding effects of ghosts and the penetration of poisonous mist are both examples of corrosive attacks.

Moreover, since it can resist on its own, it will not be affected by the cultivation of evil energy.

The condition for permanentization is that a body-refining technique has reached perfection.

The Iron Wall Body Refining Technique is currently at a minor level of completion; there is still a long way to go before it reaches perfection.

Li Yuan put the armor back into his storage bag and sat down on the bed.

He sat cross-legged and circulated his energy. The forging of the Soul Condensation Technique was interspersed between the circulation of the Spirit Guiding Technique, and his soul gradually became more solidified through compression and expansion.