Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

The size of the gathering place steadily expanded over the next month.

Li Yuan began selling talismans and pills to the independent cultivators living in the area. The prices were 20% lower than in Yunyang Market, and the quality was even better.

After the news spread, cultivators from several nearby independent cultivation areas came to make purchases. Some left after buying, while others, seeing that the accommodations were quite nice, decided to stay.

By the end of the month, the number of resident non-Buddhist practitioners had increased from a dozen to more than thirty.

But the growth rate is slowing down.

The reason is simple: malevolent energy.

The evil energy in the core area of ​​the camp has been mostly absorbed, but some remains. The impact is not significant, but it requires some attention to fight against.

The outer perimeter is still Ghost Mist Forest's territory. Rogue cultivators coming from the market area need to pass through a region dense with malevolent energy to reach their camp. Early-stage Qi Refining cultivators find this route very uncomfortable, mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators can barely manage, and only late-stage Qi Refining cultivators are not significantly affected.

Moreover, the area of ​​the base is limited. The passive absorption range of the "Return to One" technique is about 100 zhang (approximately 333 meters). Beyond this range, the concentration of evil energy returns to the normal level of the Ghost Mist Forest. To expand the area of ​​low-evil energy zones, passive absorption alone is insufficient.

Li Yuan was planning to set up multiple evil-gathering formations to absorb evil energy in a coordinated manner.

At this moment, the warning array emitted a sound.

Li Yuan scanned the area with his divine sense and saw that Chen Yi had arrived.

Chen Yi walked around the camp, looking at the stone houses, the formations, the evil-gathering formation, and the wandering cultivators, before finally sitting down on a stone next to an open space.

"Fellow Daoist Li, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Li Yuan sat down opposite him.

"Have you ever considered expanding this community?"

Li Yuan glanced at him but didn't reply.

Chen Yi spoke quickly.

"The Yuan Yang Sect has noticed the situation here. More and more rogue cultivators are active around the Ghost Mist Forest, mining, gathering herbs, and hunting demons, which requires a lot of manpower. However, these rogue cultivators do not have a fixed place to stay, and they have to run back to Yunyang Market to replenish supplies and rest every time, which is very inefficient."

He glanced in the direction of the camp.

"Your place is already taking shape. It has a good location, low levels of malevolent energy, protective arrays, living quarters, and a supply of talismans and elixirs. If you expand it further and build a proper market town, it will benefit both sects and independent cultivators."

"Yuanyang Sect is willing to provide support."

Chen Yi said.

Li Yuan didn't speak, waiting for Chen Yi to continue.

"The initial construction costs, building construction, array setup, and management personnel allocation were all handled by the sect's agent."

He paused for a moment.

"But there are conditions."

"What are the conditions?"

"First, the management rules of the market must follow the framework of the Yuanyang Sect and cannot be set arbitrarily. Second, the sect will send management personnel to oversee the daily operation of the market. Third, 30% of the market's revenue will be handed over to the sect."

"Fourth, the sale of prohibited items and the harboring of wanted cultivators are not allowed in the market. Fifth, any expansion or renovation of the market must be reported to the sect in advance."

There were many conditions, but they were also within expectations.

The Yuan Yang Sect wouldn't contribute money and effort for nothing. The purpose of supporting the construction of the market town is to establish a stable outpost in the Ghost Mist Forest region, facilitating the management of independent cultivators' activities and resource development in this area.

"In exchange?"

"The initial construction of the market was entirely undertaken by the sect, including houses, formations, roads, and warehouses. The salaries of the management personnel were paid by the sect and were not deducted from the market's revenue."

Chen Yi held up two fingers.

"After the market is built, you will own half of the land within the market, while the sect will only take half for its outposts, shops, and management offices. Of all the profits generated from the normal operation of the market, such as stall fees and shop rents, you will receive 70%, and the sect will receive 30%."

"But the daily management expenses of the market, including maintaining the formation, repairing buildings, and the daily expenses of the management personnel, will come from your 70% share."

"You don't need to provide the people, just pay with spirit stones."

Li Yuan pondered for a few moments, then discussed various details with Chen Yi.

After discussing it, Li Yuan did some calculations.

Seventy percent of the profits minus management expenses... The next chapter is even more exciting: Chapter 232 The New Market, We Await Your Visit. The actual percentage received depends on the market's size and operating conditions. When the market is small, management expenses account for a high percentage, resulting in thin profits. As the market grows, the percentage of management expenses decreases, and profits increase.

You may not earn much in the early stages, but the long-term returns can be substantial.

Moreover, the biggest benefit is not the spirit stones.

It is a resource.

After the market was built, a large number of independent cultivators and itinerant merchants would trade here. The increased flow of goods meant more opportunities to find items with affixes. One's own affix perception covered a three-foot radius, and with people coming and going in the market, the number of items passing by each day far exceeded the number of items one could browse through each shop individually.

"Can."

Chen Yi nodded, his face showing no surprise, as if he had known all along that Li Yuan would agree.

"I'll go back and report, and the sect will arrange for someone to come as soon as possible."

Less than three days after Chen Yi left, the construction team from Yuanyang Sect arrived.

Construction work commenced immediately.

The disciples and independent cultivators of the Yuanyang Sect were responsible for building the houses and roads. Stone houses rose one after another, their specifications more regular than those built by Li Yuan using the Earth Transport Technique, and their walls smoother. The main road extended from the center of the settlement in four directions, wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side.

The array master is responsible for setting up the array.

It is based on the Gathering Evil Array, with one ring after another, but each layer has a larger coverage area, higher quality array base stones, and more refined laying of conductive spirit sand.

After all five layers of the evil-gathering array were activated, the area of ​​low-evil energy expanded from 150 zhang to nearly 500 zhang. The concentration of evil energy within the entire planned area of ​​the market town dropped to a considerably low level.

Li Yuan observed the entire process from the sidelines.

The array master's array-setting techniques differed significantly from his own. His own array-setting followed the inherited steps meticulously, methodical but somewhat rigid. The array master's movements were more fluid and natural; the placement of the array foundation stones didn't strictly adhere to standard geometric arrangements, but rather was subtly adjusted based on the terrain and the direction of the spiritual veins. The laying of the conductive spiritual sand wasn't a rigid arc, but rather incorporated certain curves and variations, as if writing a kind of spiritual rune.

Li Yuan used his divine sense to carefully record the details of every step the array master took.

The fine-tuning range of the array base position, the pattern of the bending and changing of the conductive spiritual sand, and the connection angle of the linkage nodes were compared with one's own array arrangement to find the differences.

The core difference lies in the utilization of the terrain and its spiritual energy.

The standard method of setting up an array involves placing the foundation stones in a fixed geometric arrangement, without considering terrain factors. The method of an array master is to first explore the direction of the spiritual veins beneath the terrain, and then place the foundation stones on the nodes of the spiritual veins, using the energy flow of the spiritual veins themselves to assist the operation of the array.

The array arranged in this way consumes less spiritual energy, operates more stably, and has a longer maintenance cycle.

Li Yuan digested and absorbed these techniques, and made corresponding adjustments to his own formation system.

Li Yuan also helped out, practicing formations.

The construction lasted for more than half a month. When the array master finished setting up the last evil-gathering array, the panel popped up.

[Array Dao: First-Order Array Dao - Proficient (0/800)]

He progressed from being familiar with array formations to becoming an expert.

Through observation and learning combined with practical experience, I jumped to a higher level in one go.

After the formation master finished setting up the formation, he left with his disciples, while the unaffiliated cultivators continued to build houses and roads.

The basic framework of the market has been erected, but it is far from complete. The main road has been repaired, half of the houses have been built, and the locations for warehouses and shops have been marked out but construction has not yet begun. At the current pace, it will take at least another month or two to complete.

According to Li Yuan's previous observations, the foundation stones of the Gathering Evil Array would accumulate evil energy every three to five days and need to be replaced. The Yuan Yang Sect would send people to replace the foundation stones regularly. The foundation stones that were replaced and were filled with evil energy were originally waste materials and needed to be specially disposed of.

Li Yuan and Chen Yi agreed that Li Yuan would keep all the replaced array foundation stones for himself.

Holding the array foundation stone brimming with malevolent energy in his hand, he used the "Malevolent Essence Returning to One" technique to extract the malevolent energy from it to temper his body and soul. The concentrated malevolent energy in a single array foundation stone was equivalent to the amount absorbed during two or three days of cultivation deep within the Ghost Mist Forest, making it several times more efficient.

The five-layered evil-gathering array has five array foundation stones in each layer, for a total of twenty-five. The foundation stones are replaced every three to five days, with each batch consisting of twenty-five array foundation stones filled with evil energy.

The supply of cultivation resources has increased dramatically.