Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

After staying at the Ji family's house for two days, Li Yuan got a general idea of ​​the surrounding environment.

Thirty li east of Jijiawubao, there is a market town.

The Ji family disciple mentioned that the area was the largest trading hub in the vicinity, called Huode Market.

On the morning of the third day, Li Yuan finished his cultivation and left the fortified village, heading east.

Using the Wind Walk technique, the outline of Huode Market was visible in less than half an hour.

From a distance, the market was much larger than expected.

The area enclosed by the stone wall was at least twice the size of Yunyang Market. The city gate was bustling with people, and cultivators came and went in an endless stream. Several flags with flame patterns embroidered on them hung on the city wall, fluttering in the wind.

There were no strict guards or checks on either side of the city gate; only two cultivators stood at the entrance to maintain order. Li Yuan followed the flow of people through the city gate and onto the main street.

The main street was wide, with shops lining both sides, making it much more prosperous than Lijiafang Market and Qinghefang Market.

The shops were incredibly diverse. There were shops selling pills, magical artifacts, spiritual herbs, talismans, ores, and animal supplies, one after another. Many shops also had temporary stalls set up in front of them, where independent cultivators squatted and shouted their wares, their voices rising and falling.

The number of cultivators on the streets far exceeded that of Yunyang Market. Most were at the Qi Refining stage, with only one or two at the early Foundation Establishment stage occasionally detectable, blending seamlessly into the crowd.

Li Yuan walked along the main street for a while and then stopped next to a tea shop.

The tea shop owner was an old cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining, and he was pouring tea for a few rogue cultivators.

"Why is it so lively here?" Li Yuan sat down and ordered a cup of tea.

The shopkeeper pushed the teacup towards him and smiled.

"Senior, you must be from out of town? Huode Market has always been like this. It's the only decent market within a radius of two or three hundred miles, and all the businesses of the surrounding families and independent cultivator settlements are conducted here."

He gestured with his finger across the street.

"In addition, there are itinerant merchants. This area on the outskirts of Liangzhou is remote, and the major sects' merchants are unwilling to set up offices here, so they rely on itinerant merchants to travel back and forth. The goods that itinerant merchants bring back after a trip that they can't sell elsewhere can basically be cleared out here. So the variety of goods here is actually more complete than some regular markets."

Li Yuan nodded, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

Itinerant merchants. Traveling merchants who shuttle between various markets, earning spirit stones by exploiting information gaps and transportation fees. Markets in remote areas often rely more heavily on itinerant merchants to replenish their supplies.

After finishing his tea, Li Yuan got up and continued walking along the main street.

The entry sensing function operates continuously within a three-foot range, automatically scanning each store it passes by.

When Li Yuan reached the middle of the main street, his pace suddenly slowed down.

It's not a reaction based on the perception of the term.

It is the effect of the "Demon Essence Incarnation" entry.

It can sense the presence of demonic energy in the surroundings.

Li Yuan detected a very faint fluctuation of demonic energy in his divine sense.

The fluctuations came from the crowds on the street.

Li Yuan did not stop and continued to walk forward, while focusing his senses on the direction of the demonic energy fluctuations.

A middle-aged rogue cultivator wearing a brown short-sleeved shirt, with a cultivation level at the late stage of Qi Refining, mingled in the crowd and walked towards a ore shop. His aura was no different from that of an ordinary rogue cultivator, but a trace of extremely faint demonic energy remained deep within his body.

If it weren't for the perception effect of the demonic avatar, it would be completely undetectable.

Li Yuan continued walking.

Two streets later, the second one.

A young cultivator in his thirties, at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, squatted in front of a stall selecting spiritual herbs. Deep within his body, there were also remnants of demonic energy, though slightly more concentrated than the first one.

The third one appeared in a shop selling Buddhist artifacts.

A female cultivator in her forties, at the late stage of Qi Refining, was haggling with the shopkeeper. The concentration of residual demonic energy was about the same as the second one.

Li Yuan walked around the main street and sensed demonic energy from five people.

The five individuals were scattered throughout the market, with no apparent connection between them. Their cultivation levels were all in the mid-to-late stages of Qi Refining, and their attire was indistinguishable from that of ordinary rogue cultivators.

Chen Yi said that some remnants of the Foundation Establishment stage of the Demonic Sect have not been eliminated, and cultivating demonic arts requires a large amount of demonic energy.

The demonic energy residue on these people was very faint, unlike those who were Foundation Establishment stage demonic cultivators. It was more likely that they had come into contact with the source of the demonic energy or had cultivated some kind of low-level demonic technique.

Huodefang Market is located in a remote area with lax management, making it an easy place for people to hide.

Li Yuan didn't linger; he kept the matter in mind and continued strolling through the market.

The entry perception scanned through the shops on both sides of the main street one by one.

I didn't find anything in most of the shops. Although Huode Market has a wide variety of goods, the quality varies greatly, and there aren't many high-quality items.

As I walked into a general store, I sensed a faint fluctuation.

white.

The fluctuation came from a small wooden box in the corner of the counter.

Li Yuan walked over and opened the wooden box.

Inside was a dark bead about the size of a thumb, with a smooth and round surface, resembling the crystallization of some kind of monster.

"What's the price?"

The shopkeeper glanced at it. "I'm not sure, but the quality is good. Fifteen spirit stones."

"Take it."

Li Yuan put down the spirit stone and put the dark pearl into his storage bag.

After leaving the grocery store, I stopped in a quiet alley.

He took out a dark-colored bead from his storage bag and placed his finger on it.

[Equipable item detected: Magic Spirit Orb (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Demonic Energy Enhancement (White) - Increases the effect of demonic energy on one's cultivation by 20%]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: A demonic skill reaches perfection (0/1)]

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

White text. Magic Enhancement.

Demonic energy increases the effectiveness of one's cultivation by 20%.

Combined with the effects of the Demonic Essence Avatar, the cultivation efficiency of the Demonic Essence Technique can be further enhanced. The strengthening effect of spiritual energy penetrating deep into the body after being converted into demonic energy will increase by 20%, and the same amount of demonic energy can produce more improvements.

The condition for permanentization is that a magical skill reaches perfection.

The Demonic Essence Technique is currently only at the beginner level and far from perfection. However, this skill can be equipped for now and will continue to have an effect during the cultivation of the Demonic Essence Technique. It can be permanently activated once the Demonic Essence Technique is perfected.

Li Yuan put away the Demon Spirit Orb, walked back to the main street along the alley, left Huode Market, and flew back towards the Ji family.