Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Cola Novel Reading Feast: A vast collection of books and an ultimate reading experience.

Three days later, Chen Yi found Ghost Mist Forest.

Li Yuan was meditating cross-legged in an open space when his divine sense detected a familiar aura approaching from the direction of the fog wall.

Chen Yi walked through the thick fog, followed by two disciples of the Yuan Yang Sect.

"Ready, we're leaving tomorrow."

Chen Yi glanced at the dense fog around Li Yuan, drawn together by the gathering of malevolent energy, and a hint of understanding appeared in his eyes.

"The excavation team is in place, a total of fourteen people. Four are disciples of the Yuanyang Sect, and ten are independent cultivators, all of whom are in the late stage of Qi Refining and have experience in mining."

"What about my responsibilities?"

"Clear the malevolent energy," Chen Yi said directly. "The concentration of malevolent energy in the deeper layers is too high; ordinary cultivators can't stay inside for more than an hour before they have to come out. Your responsibility is to absorb and suppress the malevolent energy to a level they can tolerate, ensuring the excavation work can proceed normally."

He paused for a moment.

"You are also responsible for dealing with any demonic beasts you encounter. There have been traces of second-tier demonic beasts in the deeper levels, which are beyond the capabilities of cultivators in the Qi Refining stage."

Li Yuan nodded.

The next morning, Li Yuan met up with the excavation team at the entrance of the mine.

The fourteen cultivators were divided into three groups, each equipped with basic lighting stones, mining tools, and protective talismans. Four Yuan Yang Sect disciples were responsible for organization and coordination, while ten independent cultivators were responsible for the actual digging work.

Li Yuan led the way, guiding the team deeper into the mine.

After passing the shallow area of ​​spirit iron ore, the concentration of malevolent energy began to rise sharply.

The cultivators behind them clearly felt the pressure; their breathing became heavy, and some began to apply detoxification talismans and Vajra talismans to their bodies.

Li Yuan activated the "Return to One" technique, maximizing the area passively gathered.

The malevolent energy within a radius of several dozen feet was continuously drawn to him, causing the concentration of malevolent energy around him to drop dramatically.

The cultivators behind him breathed a sigh of relief, their breathing returning to normal.

A disciple of the Yuan Yang Sect whispered something to the rogue cultivator next to him, both of them looking somewhat surprised.

The team continued to advance deeper into the area.

Upon arriving at the area where they had previously mined the evil stones, Li Yuan ordered the team to stop.

"Start digging from here."

The monks dispersed, each finding a spot to begin chiseling at the rock face. The sound of pickaxes striking the rock echoed through the mine, as rubble and slag fell in droves.

Li Yuan did not participate in the excavation. He sat cross-legged in the middle of the mine tunnel, absorbing the evil energy to maintain a low-evil environment around him, while using his divine sense to explore the situation deep within the mine vein.

The divine consciousness extended forward along the mine tunnel.

About a hundred feet ahead, the main mine tunnel splits into three branch tunnels. The left one slopes downwards and has the highest concentration of malevolent energy. The middle one is basically straight and about the same width as the main tunnel. The right one slopes slightly upwards, and some vein patterns of spirit iron ore can be seen on the cave wall.

The concentration of malevolent energy in all three branch mines is very high, but the distribution is uneven.

Li Yuan's attention fell on the middle branch mine.

The concentration of malevolent energy in other areas was within the normal range, being dense, heavy, and evenly distributed. However, deep within the central branch mine, there was a section where the concentration of malevolent energy was abnormally low.

They are so rare that it's abnormal.

Despite the high concentration of malevolent energy in the surrounding area, this section of the area seemed to have been drained dry by something, making it almost impossible to detect the presence of malevolent energy.

Li Yuan opened his eyes and waved to a Yuan Yang Sect disciple beside him.

The disciple quickly came over.

"senior."

"There are three branch mines ahead. Have you explored the middle one before?"

The disciple thought for a moment and nodded.

"We explored it. Someone went into the middle branch mine before, going in about forty or fifty feet deep, but they didn't find any valuable veins and came back."

Has anyone recently gone deep into that side mine?

The disciple shook his head.

"No. The spirit iron ore at the shallow end hasn't been mined out yet, so no one goes that deep."

No one has ever gone in, but the evil energy in that area has been completely drained.

Li Yuan closed his eyes again, and his divine sense once more probed into the middle branch mine.

This time, he focused his perception on the area where the malevolent energy was thin, carefully discerning it.

The malevolent energy doesn't dissipate naturally. If it did, it would leave residue, with its concentration distributed in a gradient, slowly transitioning from high to low. But the malevolent energy in this area decreased abruptly, as if it had been actively absorbed by something.

Moreover, the boundary of the area where the malevolent energy is thin is slowly moving.

It's expanding outwards.

Something is inside, continuously absorbing the evil energy.

Li Yuan opened his eyes and stood up.

Just as they were about to head towards the middle branch mine, their divine sense suddenly detected a heavy fluctuation of energy.

It was coming from deep within the middle branch mine, and it was rapidly approaching.

Second-tier monster.

Moreover, its aura is stronger than that of the dragon-scaled lizard.

Second-tier, mid-grade.

Li Yuan paused for a moment.

A dull thud echoed from deep within the mine shaft, as if something enormous was moving within it, its body constantly scraping against the tunnel walls.

Gravel fell from the cave ceiling with a soft patter.

The excavating monks behind them stopped what they were doing and turned to look into the depths of the mine tunnel.

"Everyone back off." Li Yuan's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly through the mine.

Without hesitation, the mining cultivators put down their tools and quickly retreated. The Yuan Yang Sect disciples organized the scattered cultivators to retreat in an orderly manner, their footsteps echoing rapidly through the mine tunnels.

Li Yuan did not retreat, but instead took a few steps forward.

A huge figure appeared at the entrance of the intermediate branch mine.

It was a size larger than the Scaled Lizard, with short, thick but extremely powerful limbs that caused the ground to tremble slightly with each step. Its entire body was covered in a dark gray carapace, the surface of which was covered with dense cracks, from which a dark red light could be faintly seen.

Its head is flat and broad, without eyes; instead, it has two constantly trembling antennae on the top of its head. Its mouthparts consist of four intersecting keratinous flaps, which are slowly opening and closing, revealing densely packed tiny fangs inside with each opening and closing.

The giant dung beetle with its armored body.

Second-tier mid-grade demonic beast. It feeds on baleful energy, and its carapace becomes extremely hard after being soaked in baleful energy for many years. Ordinary spells feel like a tickle to it.

This is why the evil energy in that area was completely absorbed.

The giant dung beetle slowly crawled out of the branch mine, its tentacles trembling incessantly, as if sensing its surroundings.

Then its tentacles pointed in Li Yuan's direction.

The concentration of malevolent energy gathered on Li Yuan's body was extremely high, making him appear like a walking piece of meat in front of this demonic beast that fed on malevolent energy.

The giant dung beetle's mandibles opened and closed rapidly, making a grating friction sound, and its massive body began to accelerate.

Mines are not places for fighting.

The cave walls, ceiling, and supporting structures were all made of fragile rock. If a Foundation Establishment cultivator and a mid-grade second-tier demonic beast clashed inside the mine, a few spells would cause the entire mine tunnel to collapse.

Li Yuan turned around and walked quickly towards the entrance of the mine.

At the same time, it actively releases the evil energy stored in the body.

A large amount of malevolent energy surged from its body and spread backward along the mine tunnel. The dense aura of malevolent energy was like an invisible rope, firmly binding the attention of the giant dung beetle.

The giant dung beetle's tentacles trembled wildly, and it pushed off the ground with its limbs, giving chase.

Its speed wasn't fast; the width of the mine tunnel limited its massive size, and its carapace constantly scraped against the tunnel walls, tearing off large chunks of rock. But it pursued relentlessly, completely drawn in by the malevolent aura.

Li Yuan quickened his pace and walked out along the mine tunnel.

By the time they passed the location where the excavation team had retreated, all the cultivators had already retreated to the shallower areas. A disciple of the Yuan Yang Sect saw Li Yuan stride out from the depths, and heard heavy footsteps and the screeching sound of carapace scraping against the rock walls coming from the mine tunnel behind him. His expression changed.

"Senior, should we help...?"

"No need. Everyone, retreat outside the cave."

Li Yuan walked past them and continued towards the entrance of the mine.

The giant dung beetle in armor was hot on its heels, and the distance between them was slowly closing.

Light appeared ahead at the entrance to the mine.

Li Yuan sped up and rushed out of the cave in a few steps.

Sunlight and thick fog hit us at the same time.

Outside the mine was a clearing in the Ghost Mist Forest, surrounded by tall, withered trees and thick, greyish-white fog. The space was large enough to maneuver freely.

Li Yuan turned around and faced the entrance to the mine.

The figure of the giant dung beetle appeared at the cave entrance.

Its size was too large, and the opening of the cave was barely wide enough for it to pass through. Its carapace scraped against the rock walls on both sides of the opening and squeezed out, causing rubble to fall.

After exiting the mine, its movement speed noticeably increased. Freed from the constraints of the mine tunnel, its limbs were fully extended, and its massive body charged towards Li Yuan at an unexpected speed.

The ground trembled under its footsteps.

Li Yuan raised his right hand.

Fire Python Technique.

Crimson spiritual energy condensed, stretched, and shaped in his palm. A fiery serpent shot out from his palm, thicker and longer than during practice, dragging a scorching wave of air as it hurtled straight towards the head of the giant dung beetle.

The fire serpent collided with the carapace and exploded.

The scorching flames burned briefly on the carapace before going out.

A charred mark remained on the shell, but it did not crack.

Extremely strong defense.

The giant dung beetle did not slow down and continued to charge.