Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

After another ten days or so, Li Yuan's cultivation entered a stable rhythm.

During the day, he cultivates his martial arts and practices spells, occasionally crafting talismans. At night, he alternates between circulating the Demonic Essence Technique and the Azure Wood Longevity Technique, while the Fiendish Essence Returns to One passively operates around the clock. The warning array is triggered only occasionally, when first-tier demonic beasts accidentally enter its range; Li Yuan intervenes to resolve the situation before continuing his cultivation.

That afternoon, Li Yuan was sitting cross-legged, circulating the Soul Condensation Technique, when his passive senses suddenly detected an aura.

There are Foundation Establishment cultivators approaching from the outer edge of Ghost Mist Forest.

Approaching from the outer edge of Ghost Mist Forest, at a slow pace, but with a clear direction, heading straight for the camp.

Li Yuan opened his eyes.

His aura was calm and deep, his spiritual pressure was restrained, and his cultivation level was probably at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

Li Yuan extended his divine sense outwards, locking onto the location of that aura.

About 120 feet away, they were walking this way along a small path deep in the Ghost Mist Forest. The thick fog obscured their vision, but their divine sense could clearly outline the figures.

He is of medium build, walks with a steady gait, and moves at a moderate pace.

Li Yuan focused his attention on discerning the characteristics of this aura; it was not an aura he had sensed before.

She does resemble another person somewhat.

Li Zean.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Li family.

But it wasn't Li Ze'an himself. Li Ze'an's aura had already been recorded in the entry.

This person's aura is eight or nine parts similar to Li Ze'an's, but there are subtle differences.

Another Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Li family?

The Li family only has two Foundation Establishment cultivators: Li Ze'an and the Li family patriarch. The Li family patriarch is an elderly Foundation Establishment cultivator, and his aura should be rather weak. This person's aura doesn't seem to belong to an elderly person.

The approaching person's distance had shrunk to eighty zhang, entering the range of the early warning array that Li Yuan had set up. The sensing jade of the early warning array glowed slightly, issuing a warning signal.

The person paused, as if sensing the presence of the warning array.

Then continue walking forward.

Sixty zhang. Forty zhang.

The figure of the person who came appeared from the thick fog.

He appeared to be in his thirties, with ordinary features, and wore a dark brown robe without any markings. A storage bag and a short knife hung at his waist.

His gaze lingered on Li Yuan for two breaths.

It wasn't a casual glance while passing by, but a purposeful scrutiny.

Li Yuan remained seated without moving or getting up.

The newcomer stopped twenty feet away and cupped his hands in greeting to Li Yuan.

"Fellow Daoist."

"Who are you?"

The visitor smiled and spoke politely.

"My surname is Fang, and I am a rogue cultivator. I have heard that you have been cultivating in the Ghost Mist Forest for a long time and are skilled in absorbing and utilizing baleful energy, so I have come to pay you a visit."

His gaze swept over the dense, malevolent mist surrounding the open space.

"I have a business deal I'd like to discuss with you, fellow Daoist."

He took out a black jade bottle from his storage bag and shook it in his hand.

"Evil energy. A large quantity of concentrated evil energy. I can supply it long-term, and the price is negotiable."

Supply Li Yuan with malevolent energy.

Li Yuan glanced at him.

The newcomer exudes demonic energy.

The demonic avatar's perception clearly detected the residual demonic energy deep within the newcomer's body. The concentration was not low, several times higher than the residue on the passersby in Huode Market.

This is not the result of accidental contact with demonic energy; it is the mark of long-term cultivation of demonic arts.

Moreover, his aura was similar to that of the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Li family.

Li Yuan didn't point it out, his expression remaining calm.

"What's the price?"

The newcomer's smile deepened.

"One bottle of concentrated evil energy costs fifty spirit stones. I have thirty bottles in stock, and I can continue to supply more."

He handed the black jade bottle forward.

"Fellow Daoist, you may inspect the goods first."

Li Yuan stood up and took two steps toward the person who had come.

"Can."

The newcomer's eyes flickered slightly.

Li Yuan stopped when he was ten zhang away.

The person's gesture of handing over the jade bottle suddenly changed.

The grip on the bottle in his right hand tightened abruptly, while his left hand was pulled from his sleeve, revealing a ball of dark green spiritual energy mixed with dense demonic energy, which hurtled toward Li Yuan's face.

Extremely fast speed, extremely close distance.

The dark green spiritual energy, carrying the corrosive power of demonic energy, made a sharp, piercing sound as it tore through the air.

Li Yuan's body began to move half a breath before the attack arrived.

His keen passive perception detected the unusual gathering of spiritual energy the instant the newcomer made his move. The suppressive presence of the newcomer, who remained completely hidden, caused the newcomer to misjudge Li Yuan's reaction speed.

Li Yuan sidestepped the dark green energy ball and raised his right hand.

Fire Python Technique.

A crimson fire serpent shot out from his palm, heading straight for the attacker's chest.

The newcomer reacted quickly, flipping his left hand and a small dark shield appeared out of thin air, blocking his way.

The fire serpent collided with the dark shield and exploded. Scorching flames splattered in all directions, forcing the intruder back three steps.

A crack appeared on the surface of the small shield, but it did not break.

The visitor's expression changed.

He clearly hadn't anticipated Li Yuan's reaction speed and attack power. After testing the waters with one strike, he immediately changed tactics, forming hand seals, and dark green spiritual energy rapidly swirled around him, forming a spiritual energy shield mixed with demonic energy.

At the same time, he pulled the short knife out of his storage bag with his right hand, and dark red spirit patterns lit up on the blade.

Li Yuan gave him no chance to catch his breath.

Raise your left hand, use the Condensation Technique.

The spiritual energy was instantly highly compressed in the dantian, and its density soared.

He raised his right hand again, unleashing the Fire Serpent Technique.

This fire serpent was twice as thick as the previous one, and its spiritual energy density reached an extremely high level thanks to the enhancement of the Condensation Technique. The fire serpent, trailing a scorching wave of air, rushed straight at the approaching figure.

The attacker brandished his knife to block.

The dark red spirit runes on the short sword collided with the fire serpent, emitting a piercing hiss. The impact of the fire serpent pushed the intruder back five steps, plowing two deep furrows into the ground beneath his feet.

The dark green spiritual energy shield was rapidly depleted under the scorching heat of the fire serpent, and shattered in less than two breaths.

The newcomer's face was deathly pale, and a trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

His expression turned terrified, and he turned and ran.

He activated the Windwalking Escape Technique, and his body rose upwards.

Li Yuan touched the ground with his toes, simultaneously activating the Wind Travel Technique, and his body rose into the air to catch up.

The approaching figure was flying at a considerable speed, but Li Yuan's total spiritual energy and sustained output far surpassed that of his opponent. After chasing for less than thirty zhang, the distance between them had shrunk to less than ten zhang.

Li Yuan raised his right hand.

Golden Blade Technique.

A silvery-white blade of light shot out from the fingertips, with the Golden Edge amplification and Breaking Barrier Penetration boosted simultaneously.

The blade pierced the person's back, penetrating the remaining spiritual energy protection, and emerged from their chest.

The person's body froze in mid-air, the spiritual power maintaining the Wind Walk Technique broke, and the body fell from the sky, crashing heavily to the ground.

Li Yuan landed and walked to the person's side.

The man lay on his back on the ground, blood still flowing from his chest wound, his breath rapidly fading. His eyes were still open, and his mouth opened but no sound came out.

A few breaths later, the aura completely dissipated.

Li Yuan squatted down, took the storage bag off the man's waist, and opened it to look inside.

There weren't many things in the storage bag.

Several mediocre magical artifacts, ranging from mid-grade to low-grade of the first tier, were scattered around, seemingly scavenged from various places. Dozens of spirit stones lay strewn in a corner. Two bottles of pills, their labels blurred, were in poor condition.

There was also a bottle filled with blood, the scent of which was almost identical to that of Li Ze'an.

Then there is a special item.

A fist-sized, dark gray bead with densely packed spiritual patterns engraved on its surface, its spiritual energy fluctuations extremely weak yet complex.

Li Yuan picked up the bead and probed it with his divine sense.

The spiritual pattern structure inside the bead is an aura simulation array that can replace the user's aura characteristics with a preset aura pattern.

A magical artifact used to disguise one's aura.

There's one more thing at the very bottom of the storage bag.

A flag.

The banner was about one and a half feet long, smaller than Li Yuan's Demonic Spirit Banner. The banner pole was made of dark iron, and the banner surface was dark purple with faintly visible twisted patterns.

The banner contains a large amount of energy.

It's not malevolent energy.

It's demonic energy.

A dense, heavy, and highly corrosive demonic aura.

This banner is a storage device for demonic energy, filled with a high concentration of demonic energy.

Li Yuan picked up the banner and placed his fingers on the banner pole.

The panel popped up.

[Equipable item detected: Demon Banner (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Demonic Essence (Green) - Absorbing demonic energy simultaneously tempers the meridians, increasing the meridians' capacity to bear spiritual power and demonic energy by 30%]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Absorb a total of thirty streams of demonic energy of Tier 2 or higher quality (0/30)]

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

Green entries.

Li Yuan put the Demon Banner into his storage bag and stood up.

The concentration of demonic energy on the newcomer, the magical artifact used to disguise his aura, and the banner storing a large amount of demonic energy—these three things point to one conclusion.

Remnants of the Demonic Sect.

They approached me under the pretense of supplying me with malevolent energy, then intended to kill me.

The actual purpose was unclear, and Li Yuan had several guesses in mind, but he couldn't make a definitive conclusion.

Li Yuan cleaned up the bodies of the inhabitants and the useless items in their storage bags, then returned to the open space of the camp and sat down.