Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

That morning, Li Yuan was drawing talismans in the courtyard.

The efficiency of talisman making after Foundation Establishment is much higher than that of Qi Refining. With the perfected first-order talisman making technique and the precise control of liquid spiritual power, the quality of each finished product has reached the pinnacle of first-order talismans.

When the twelfth Rejuvenation Talisman was being drawn, there was a knock at the courtyard gate.

Li Yuan put down the talisman brush and walked to the door.

I opened the courtyard gate, and there were two people standing outside.

The one in front is Ji Huaiyuan.

The old man looked better than when we last met; the wrinkles on his face hadn't faded, but his eyes were brighter. He stood up straighter than before, and his breathing was more even.

Behind him followed a young cultivator in his thirties, dressed in a dark blue robe. His face bore a resemblance to Ji Huaiyuan's, with high cheekbones and a pointed chin.

Foundation Establishment cultivator.

His spiritual pressure was restrained yet stable. Unlike Ji Huaiyuan's faint, almost burnt-out spiritual pressure, this person's spiritual pressure was like a newly lit lamp, its flame not yet strong but very stable.

Newly established foundation.

Ji Huaiyuan bowed to Li Yuan.

"Fellow Daoist Li, thank you for providing the Breakthrough Pill."

"My grand-nephew has successfully completed the Foundation Establishment stage."

They entered the courtyard. Ji Huaiyuan sat down on a stone bench, and Li Yuan sat opposite him.

Ji Huaiyuan placed his hands on his knees and began to recount what had happened.

After taking the Breakthrough Pill back, the Ji family discussed it for three days and finally decided to send their grand-nephew Ji Mingyuan to attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

After taking the Breakthrough Pill, Ji Mingyuan secluded himself in the Ji family's seclusion room for five days, and successfully broke through on the fourth night.

The Ji family finally has a second Foundation Establishment cultivator.

As long as Ji Mingyuan is alive, the Ji family's status as a Foundation Establishment family will be preserved. Even if Ji Huaiyuan's lifespan ends, the Ji family's lineage will not be broken.

Li Yuan nodded without saying anything more.

Ji Huaiyuan took out a brocade bag from his sleeve and placed it on the stone table.

"This is an additional gift from the Ji family, beyond the previously agreed compensation. It includes spirit stones and some materials—not much, but it's the best the Ji family can offer right now."

Li Yuan took the brocade bag and glanced at it. Inside were several hundred spirit stones and several packages of spirit herbs.

Thank you.

Ji Huaiyuan waved his hand, as if he felt that this little bit was far from enough to express his gratitude, but he really couldn't offer any more.

Li Yuan put the brocade bag away and glanced at Ji Huaiyuan.

"Senior Ji, there's something I'd like to ask you."

"Fellow Daoist, please speak."

"It's about weapon crafting," Li Yuan cut straight to the point. "One of the clauses in our previous agreement was that the Ji family could custom-make two sets of magical artifacts for me. I'd like to understand the specific process. What materials are needed, what grade of ore, and what level of skill the Ji family's weapon craftsmen can achieve."

Ji Huaiyuan's expression relaxed a bit; he felt more at ease with these practical questions than with polite small talk.

"The Ji family has a crafting tradition that spans over three hundred years," he said, placing his fingers on the table one by one.

"Currently, I am the only weapon refiner in the family who can refine second-tier magic weapons. The success rate of making low-grade second-tier magic weapons is not low, but it is not possible to refine higher-grade ones, and the requirements for materials are extremely demanding."

"As for materials, the best options are various ores and the bones or leather of demonic beasts."

"The condition for two free weapon forging sessions is that you provide the materials yourself; the Ji family will provide the labor, not the materials. If you can't gather the materials right now, don't worry."

He paused for a moment and glanced at Li Yuan.

"And this condition doesn't necessarily have to be used by myself."

"What do you mean?"

"These two free weapon crafting slots are transferable."

Ji Huaiyuan took out two tokens from his sleeve and placed them on the table.

The token is smaller than a regular pass token, made of dark gray jade, with the character "季" (Ji) and a simple spirit pattern engraved on the front.

"Each token represents one free weapon crafting opportunity. The holder of the token can bring the materials to the Ji family, and I will craft a magical artifact for you free of charge."

He pushed the two tokens in front of Li Yuan.

"You can use it yourself, or you can trade it."

Li Yuan picked up the two tokens and examined them. The jade was warm and lustrous, the spiritual patterns were simple yet sturdy, and the workmanship was meticulous.

"I've accepted it."

Ji Huaiyuan nodded and stood up.

"Fellow Daoist Li, the doors of the Ji family are always open to you. If you need any help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask." Ji Huaiyuan cupped his hands in greeting to Li Yuan.

Li Yuan escorted the two to the courtyard gate. Ji Huaiyuan's figure disappeared along the side alley, the old man's back appearing much more upright than when he last visited.

Li Yuan closed the courtyard gate and put the two weapon-refining tokens into his storage bag.

He sat back at the table for a while, but did not continue drawing talismans.

Let's put the weapon forging aside for now.

The core materials are still unsettled, and materials are not something that can be obtained easily.

Li Yuan got up, packed his storage bag, and went out to walk towards the south gate of Yunyang Market.

Ghost Mist Forest.

The permanent attribute "Symbiotic with Malevolent Energy" makes the collection and utilization of malevolent energy a fully automatic passive effect, but the range of this passive effect is limited. To absorb large amounts of malevolent energy for body tempering cultivation, one still needs to go to the place with the highest concentration of malevolent energy.

Ghost Mist Forest is the best choice.

Leaving the city through the south gate, I headed southwest along the official road. Activating the Divine Speed ​​Step, my speed was even faster than during the Qi Refining stage. Having established my foundation, my spiritual energy was far more abundant than before, making the spiritual energy consumption of the Divine Speed ​​Step almost negligible.

Ghost Mist Forest is the best choice.

Leaving the city through the south gate, I headed southwest along the official road. Activating the Divine Speed ​​Step, my speed was even faster than during the Qi Refining stage. Having established my foundation, my spiritual energy was far more abundant than before, making the spiritual energy consumption of the Divine Speed ​​Step almost negligible.

About two hours later, a grayish-white wall of mist appeared in the distance.

Li Yuan did not linger outside the fog wall and went straight inside.

The moment I stepped into the thick fog, the "Symbiotic Evil Spirit" attribute automatically activated.

The feeling is completely different from that during the Qi Refining period.

When entering the Ghost Mist Forest during the Qi Refining stage, the passive gathering range of the evil energy is approximately within a few feet around the person.

The area has now expanded nearly three times.

Centered on Li Yuan, the malevolent energy within a radius of several dozen feet was slowly drawn towards him. The malevolent energy flowed like countless tiny streams, converging on him from all directions.

The leap in total spiritual power and meridian capacity after Foundation Establishment also boosts the passive effect of the symbiotic relationship between evil and malevolent energy.

Li Yuan walked deeper into the woods and found the open space where he had set up the formation last time.

Traces of the Gathering Evil Array were still visible. The array's foundation stones lay scattered on the ground, most of the conductive spirit sand had been washed away by rain and mist, and the Gathering Evil Stone had been taken away by him last time.

No need to rearrange the formation.

The passive gathering effect of the coexistence of evil energy, combined with the extremely high concentration of evil energy deep in the Ghost Mist Forest, made the evil energy around him sufficiently dense.

Li Yuan sat cross-legged in the center of the open space and began to practice the Iron Wall Body Refining Technique.

The Iron Wall Body Refining Technique has been perfected. The tempering path of the technique itself has reached its limit, and it is no longer possible to improve proficiency through the practice of the technique.

However, body tempering is not the same as skill cultivation.

The completion of a cultivation technique means that everything the technique can teach the body has been taught. However, there is no upper limit to the body's own strengthening.

Muscle density can be higher, bones can be harder, fascia can be more resilient, and internal organs can be stronger.

After the cultivation technique is perfected, body tempering becomes a pure accumulation of materials. The body is continuously cleansed with baleful energy, elixirs, and spiritual power, pushing the various indicators of the body upward little by little.

Without the guidance of cultivation techniques, the efficiency is much lower than before. However, the supply of malevolent energy is extremely abundant.

The symbiotic relationship between evil and malevolent energy continuously draws in the surrounding malevolent energy, which then seeps into the fascia and bones, slowly and steadily strengthening muscle fibers and bone density.

At the same time, some of the malevolent energy was transformed into spiritual energy to replenish the energy consumed during cultivation.

Li Yuan spent most of the day cultivating deep within the Ghost Mist Forest.

Although the tempering effect of the malevolent energy was slower than when guided by a cultivation technique, the absolute amount was not low. The concentration of malevolent energy deep in the Ghost Mist Forest was extremely high, and the gathering effect of the malevolent energy symbiosis further concentrated it. After half a day, the density of muscles and bones had been noticeably improved.

He finished his practice, stood up, and walked out along the path he had come from.

Pass through the fog wall and emerge from the Ghost Fog Forest.

The sunlight warmed me, dispelling the chill that clung to the Ghost Mist Forest.

They traveled along the official road towards Yunyangfang Market.

Before even reaching the city gate, the changes were already visible from afar.

The flow of people on the main street was at least two or three times greater than before. Long queues stretched from the city gate all the way to over a hundred feet away. The number of guards on both sides of the city gate increased from eight to twelve, two of whom were significantly more powerful, their early Foundation Establishment stage spiritual pressure weighing heavily on the air at the city gate.

The rogue cultivators in the group were dressed in various styles, with varying levels of cultivation, and many of them were unfamiliar faces who had come from other places.

Immortal Clan Assembly.

The recruitment of disciples for the Yuanyang Sect has officially begun.

The main street was several times busier than usual. The shop entrances on both sides were crowded with people, and the stalls of the independent cultivators' gathering area stretched from inside the stone railings to both sides of the main street. Even the entrances of alleys had temporary sheds set up.

Everywhere you look, you hear people talking about the Immortal Sect Conference.

"...The assessment starts tomorrow, have you registered yet?"

"I've signed up, but I heard the competition is fierce. There are already several hundred people applying for the late-stage Qi Refining level alone."

"Several hundred people? How many can you take in?"

"I don't know. I heard that they only take in twenty or thirty people each year."

Li Yuan walked through the crowd without stopping.

The Immortal Sect Assembly has nothing to do with me. I'm already a Foundation Establishment cultivator and hold the title of Protector of the Yuan Yang Sect, so I don't need to go through the examination to join the sect.

Back in the courtyard, I closed the door.

He took out the several pieces of evil stones and ores he had brought back from the Ghost Mist Forest from his storage bag, put them away, and sat on the bed to continue his cultivation.