Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

The communication token given by Master He Dan lit up on the third night.

Li Yuan was meditating cross-legged when a very faint fluctuation of spiritual energy emanated from his storage bag.

Take out the token, and several lines of pale gold text will appear on its surface.

The trade fair will be held tomorrow at noon in a secret underground room north of Yunyangfang Market.

At noon the next day, Li Yuan arrived at a quiet alley north of the market, following the location marked on the token.

At the end of the alley is a stone door, with restrictive runes carved on the door frame.

Li Yuan displayed his token, and the stone gate opened automatically.

Behind the stone gate was a downward-sloping stone staircase, much longer than the one at the underground trade fair. After climbing more than twenty steps, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

The underground chamber was extremely spacious, spanning over ten zhang in circumference. Dozens of spirit stones were embedded in the dome to provide lighting, creating a soft yet bright ambiance. The four stone walls were covered with spirit patterns that served as soundproofing and protective barriers, and the spiritual energy fluctuations were calm and profound.

In the center of the secret room stood a round table with a dark spirit wood tabletop, its surface polished smooth as a mirror.

Eight stone chairs were placed around the round table, and people were already sitting on them.

Li Yuan glanced at the people present.

Master He sat in the north-facing seat, holding his white porcelain teacup, his expression calm.

Chen Yi, an elder of the Yuanyang Sect, sat next to Alchemist He with an upright posture.

Ji Huaiyuan sat in the easternmost seat, with an empty chair next to him.

There are three other people.

A monk in his fifties sat in the westernmost position. He had a square face, a short beard, and wore a dark brown robe without any markings on it.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator possessed a calm and composed spiritual pressure, and his cultivation level was significantly higher than Li Yuan's.

Beside her sat a female cultivator in her forties, with a cold expression, wearing a dark blue dress and a short sword at her waist. She was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, her spiritual pressure concealed.

The last person sat in the south-facing position.

Li Yuan's gaze lingered on this person for a moment longer.

He appeared to be around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with delicate features and fair skin. He wore an exquisitely crafted grey-blue robe. The jade pendant at his waist was engraved with the character "Li".

The Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Li family.

It's not the Li family patriarch. The Li family patriarch was an elderly Foundation Establishment cultivator, whom I'd heard mentioned before in the area where rogue cultivators gathered. This person is too young; he must be another Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Li family.

Li Yuan walked to the empty stone chair and sat down.

Those present glanced at him. Most people's gazes merely swept over him without lingering. Master He nodded slightly to him. Ji Huaiyuan also nodded.

Chen Yi spoke.

"Everyone's here."

His tone was concise, without any unnecessary formalities.

"Same as always, just say what you want to trade."

There were no pleasantries, no introductions, and we started right away.

Those present were clearly familiar with this procedure.

The short-bearded monk spoke first.

"I'll go first."

He placed his hands on the table, his voice steady.

"I have a spirit iron mine. The mine is located on the eastern foothills of the Yuanheng Mountains. The grade is medium to high, and it can produce at least 3,000 catties of spirit iron ore per year."

He paused for a moment.

"But I don't have mine repair capabilities myself, nor do I have enough manpower to mine it. The ore veins are just sitting there gathering dust, a waste."

He glanced at the people at the table.

"I'm selling the mining rights to this vein for ten years. The buyer can allocate their own manpower for mining, and all profits belong to the buyer. The highest bidder wins."

Ten-year mining rights for the Ling Tie vein.

As soon as the Foundation Establishment stage trade fair opened, Li Yuan sensed something different. It wasn't some ordinary item, but the right to mine a spirit mine.

An annual production of 3,000 catties of spirit iron ore would amount to 30,000 catties in ten years. Medium to high grade spirit iron ore is priced at approximately one spirit stone per catty, so 30,000 catties would be worth 30,000 spirit stones.

But this is the gross output value. After deducting mining costs, labor, transportation, and losses, the actual profit is only about half.

A profit margin of 15,000 spirit stones.

It's not small.

None of the people present spoke immediately, as if they were calculating their own terms.

After a few moments of silence, the Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Li family spoke.

"I will offer a Qingyun clam pearl."

His voice was neither hurried nor slow.

Azure Cloud Clam Pearl.

The short-bearded monk's eyebrows twitched.

The female cultivator next to her also glanced at the Li family cultivator, her gaze carrying a hint of meaning.

Li Yuan didn't know what the Azure Cloud Clam Jade Bead was, but judging from the reactions of the people present, it was quite valuable.

The short-bearded cultivator pondered for a moment. "Azure Cloud Clam Jade Pearl…when did your Li family acquire Azure Cloud Clams?"

The Li family cultivator smiled slightly.

"A second-tier demon beast captured deep in the Yuanheng Mountains two years ago, kept in the spiritual spring pool at home. It produces a jade bead every three months, with consistent quality."

The short-bearded cultivator nodded, a hint of emotion in his eyes. "The Li family is truly blessed; they actually control a second-tier demonic beast."

The female cultivator also said softly, "The jade beads of the Azure Cloud Clam are top-grade materials for refining Foundation Establishment stage auxiliary pills; they are priceless and unavailable on the market."

The Li family cultivator did not respond, but simply waited quietly for the short-bearded cultivator's reply.

The short-bearded monk thought for a moment and then nodded.

"make a deal."

The two exchanged documents on the spot. The short-bearded cultivator handed over the mining rights contract for the spirit iron vein, and the Li family cultivator took out an exquisite jade box from his storage bag. He opened the lid, and inside lay a milky white bead about the size of a thumb, its surface shimmering with a pale blue luster.

The first transaction is complete.

Then, the female cultivator spoke.

"I also have a sum of money here."

She placed a scroll of animal hide contracts on the table.

"The five hundred mu of spirit fields are located sixty li south of Yunyang Market and are staffed with thirty-two spirit farmers. The fields mainly produce spirit rice and low-grade spirit herbs, with an annual income of about two thousand spirit stones."

She glanced at everyone present.

"I want to replace it with a complete second-tier defensive formation."

Second-tier defensive formation.

This demand is considerable. The value of a second-tier formation far exceeds that of a first-tier one; the cost of materials and setup alone is at least tens of thousands of spirit stones. While the annual income from five hundred acres of spirit fields is stable, it pales in comparison to that of a second-tier formation.

There was a moment of silence in the room.

Chen Yi spoke up. "I don't have a complete second-tier defensive formation, but I do have a high-grade first-tier composite defensive formation, with effects close to a low-grade second-tier formation. If you're willing, you can exchange this formation for three hundred spirit stones."

The female cultivator thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."

The second transaction was completed.

Next, the Li family cultivator spoke again.

"I have one more thing to sell."

He took out a black jade box from his storage bag and placed it on the table.

"The inner core of a second-tier divine soul-type demon beast."

'

He opened the jade box.

Inside the box lay an inner core the size of a pigeon's egg, its entire body a dark purple, with extremely fine silver patterns flowing across its surface. An extremely concentrated spiritual energy emanated from the inner core, slightly affecting the spiritual senses of the people present.

"We don't accept spirit stones." The Li family cultivator closed the jade box and looked around at everyone present.

"I want an inner core from a second-tier demon beast, either fire or water attribute is fine. The other party will also need to pay an additional 500 spirit stones."

If you exchange pills for pills, you still have to pay the price difference.

The conditions weren't too demanding, but they weren't cheap either. The inner core of a second-tier demon beast was already quite valuable, and with the added cost of 500 spirit stones, the total cost wasn't low.

Those present did not respond immediately.

Li Yuan asked, "What's the market price of the inner core of a second-tier Divine Soul type demonic beast?"

The Li family cultivator glanced at Li Yuan. This was the first time Li Yuan had spoken today, and everyone present turned to look at him.

"The inner cores of spirit-type demonic beasts are in short supply, but even fewer are produced," the Li family cultivator said calmly. "Second-tier spirit-type inner cores circulating in the market are extremely rare, with a price but no market. If I had to give a price, it would be tens of thousands of spirit stones."

Li Yuan mentally calculated his family's assets.

Far from enough.

Even without considering spirit stones, he didn't have any second-tier demon beast cores to exchange for them.

Seeing that no one responded, the Li family cultivator put the jade box back into his storage bag.

"No rush. If someone gathers all the necessary information, they can find me at the Li family residence in Lijiafang Market. My name is Li Ze'an."

His tone was casual, as if he didn't care whether the inner core was sold or not.

The trade fair will continue.

Several more small transactions were completed—elixir for spiritual herbs, cultivation techniques for ores, etc. Li Yuan did not participate, but watched quietly from the side.

As they reached the second half, a cultivator who had remained silent until then suddenly took out a scroll of animal hide from his storage bag and placed it on the table.

It's that short-bearded monk. He hadn't said a word since selling the mining rights to the spirit iron vein, but now he's brought out something new.

"The Method of Transforming Evil Spirits." He pushed the animal-skin booklet towards the center of the table. "A method related to evil energy."

He gave a brief introduction.

"This technique has two core effects. First, it can strengthen the soul with malevolent energy, increasing its refinement and attack power. Second, it can infuse ores and magical artifacts with malevolent energy, altering their spiritual attributes and imbuing them with malevolent energy characteristics."

He looked around at everyone present.

"It's of little use to most cultivators; anyone who touches baleful energy is doomed. But if someone is naturally drawn to baleful energy, or has cultivated related techniques, then this method becomes very valuable."

Li Yuan's gaze fell on the rolled-up animal skin booklet.

The malevolent energy strengthens the soul. The malevolent energy is infused into ores and magical artifacts.

Both of these effects are extremely useful to me.

The symbiosis of malevolent energy ensures that malevolent energy has no negative impact on oneself, and one even stores a large amount of malevolent energy within the body. If one can use malevolent energy to strengthen one's soul, it's equivalent to having an additional path to enhance one's soul.

Infusing magical artifacts with malevolent energy directly boosts combat power.

Li Yuan reached out and touched the rolled-up animal skin booklet.

"May I take a look?"

The short-bearded monk nodded.

Li Yuan picked up the animal-skin booklet and placed his fingers on the cover.

The panel popped up.

[Equipable item detected]

[Item Attribute Level: Green]

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

Green entries.

Li Yuan flipped through two pages of the booklet, pretending to read the contents, but in reality, he was making rapid calculations in his mind.

The green-labeled inauspicious techniques are extremely valuable to oneself.

The question is, what will we exchange it for?

I don't have enough spirit stones. I've only recently established my foundation, and I have less than five hundred spirit stones on hand.

Li Yuan closed the booklet and looked at the short-bearded monk.

Green entries.

Li Yuan flipped through two pages of the booklet, pretending to read the contents, but in reality, he was making rapid calculations in his mind.

The green-labeled inauspicious techniques are extremely valuable to oneself.

The question is, what will we exchange it for?

I don't have enough spirit stones. I've only recently established my foundation, and I have less than five hundred spirit stones on hand.

Li Yuan closed the booklet and looked at the short-bearded monk.

"What's the price?"

"Fiveteen hundred spirit stones," the short-bearded cultivator quoted. "Or we can exchange them for equivalent goods."

One thousand five hundred.

After Li Yuan established his foundation, he hadn't had time to accumulate enough wealth, so it wasn't enough for him now.

After thinking for a moment, he took out a dark gray jade token from his storage bag and placed it on the table.

The Ji family's weapon-refining token.

"The Ji family will provide one free opportunity to craft a magical artifact," Li Yuan said.

The eyes of everyone present were fixed on the token.

"A weapon-refining quota for the Ji family?"

He glanced at Ji Huaiyuan.

Ji Huaiyuan nodded. "It's true. I personally handed over both tokens to Fellow Daoist Li."

The short-bearded monk pondered for a few moments.

The Ji family's weapon-refining skills have an excellent reputation in this area. This token, which offers one free weapon-refining session, is actually worth no less than 1,000 spirit stones.

But it's still a far cry from the price of 1,500.

Li Yuan then took out several hundred spirit stones from his storage bag and placed them next to the token.

"The token plus these spirit stones."

The short-bearded monk gathered the spirit stones and token together and nodded.

"make a deal."

He pushed the animal-skin booklet containing the Demon Spirit Transformation Technique in front of Li Yuan.

Li Yuan put the booklet into his storage bag.

The trade fair continued for a while, and after several small transactions were completed, Chen Yi announced its conclusion.

The people present gradually got up and left.

Li Yuan walked up the stone steps, exited the alley, and headed back along the main street.

The main street was still crowded with people, and the excitement of the Immortal Clan Conference continued.

Li Yuan walked through the crowd, returned to the courtyard, and closed the door.

He took out the animal hide booklet of the Fiend Spirit Transformation Technique from his storage bag and placed it on the table.

Touch the cover with your fingertip, and the panel pops up again.

This booklet is now mine.

[Equipable item detected: Fiend Spirit Conversion Technique (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Soul Tempering (Green) - Absorbs malevolent energy to promote cultivation growth]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Use one hundred evil stones and absorb all the evil energy within them (0/100)]

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

Green entry. Soul-Refining Essence.

It can absorb malevolent energy and promote cultivation growth.

This means that the malevolent energy has gained another use—it can be directly converted into cultivation.

The condition for permanentization is to use one hundred evil stones and absorb all the evil energy.

There are veins of evil stones in the mines of Ghost Mist Forest; I've mined there before. A hundred evil stones isn't a lot; it just takes some time to mine them.

Li Yuan put the booklet away and sat down on the bed.

Today's harvest was quite substantial.