Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

The new market was officially completed in about half a month.

The construction team sent by Yuanyang Sect accelerated the progress in the last month. Stone houses, shops, warehouses, and main roads were all completed, and the five-layered evil-gathering array was operating stably, with the concentration of evil energy within the market area being the same as that outside Yunyang Market.

The market town wasn't large, but it was fully functional. More than thirty shops lined both sides of the main street, most of which were already occupied. At the end of the street was a two-story warehouse, guarded by managers dispatched by the Yuanyang Sect.

Dozens of stalls were set up in the central square of the market for itinerant monks to temporarily set up stalls and trade.

On the first day of opening, over a hundred independent cultivators arrived. Most were familiar faces from the Ghost Mist Forest area, but some had come from even more distant places.

In the days that followed, the number of people visiting the market steadily increased.

The reason is simple: geographical location.

Xinfang City is located on the edge of Ghost Mist Forest. To the west lies Spirit Rhinoceros Valley, and to the east, beyond Ghost Mist Forest, lies the Dry River Beach. These three areas are frequented by independent cultivators, who travel back and forth between them gathering herbs, hunting demons, and mining.

Previously, these independent cultivators had to return to Yunyang Market to resupply every time they went out, wasting a lot of time on the round trip. Now, the new market is located at the intersection of three areas, so resupplying, trading, and resting can all be done nearby.

In less than half a month, the new market town had replaced most of the functions of the outer area of ​​Yunyang Market Town. Many of the independent cultivators who originally set up stalls on the outskirts of Yunyang Market Town moved directly to the new market town.

The market's plan also reserved a large amount of open space. Shops on both sides of the main street only occupy about 30% of the total area, with the remaining area designated for future expansion. At the current rate of growth, the first phase of expansion will be needed soon.

After the market was running smoothly, Chen Yi brought another piece of news.

The mining team of Yuanyang Sect discovered a new mineral vein deep in the Ghost Mist Forest.

It's not spirit iron ore, it's evil ore.

The ore contains not spiritual energy, but malevolent energy. Malevolent ore has few uses, mainly for refining certain special magical artifacts and as the foundation stone for setting up malevolent energy gathering arrays. Market demand is limited, and the price is not high.

"The ore vein has small reserves and is of average grade."

Chen Yi sat at the stone table in Li Yuan's stone house and pointed out the location of the mineral vein on the map. "The sect has assessed it, and the cost and profit of mining are basically balanced, so it's not worth sending people to mine it."

He paused for a moment.

"However, there are traces of demonic beast activity in the mine. Claw prints, feces, and gnawed ore. The sect speculates that the giant armored dung beetle you encountered in the mine may have come from this demonic mine."

The evil beasts feed on evil energy, and evil ore is their natural food source.

"The sect's intention is to allocate this evil ore mine to you." Chen Yi pushed the map in front of Li Yuan. "Anyway, it's not cost-effective for the sect to mine it, but it'll be perfect for your evil energy cultivation technique. You can mine as much evil ore as you want from the vein, and you can even use it to replace the foundation stones of the evil energy gathering array, saving you some material costs."

Li Yuan glanced at the location marked on the map.

The Sha Mine is located deep in the Ghost Mist Forest, slightly south, about 600 zhang from New Town. While not too far away, it lies outside the range of the Sha Gathering Array, where the concentration of Sha energy is very high.

"OK."

After Chen Yi left, Li Yuan made a note of the matter. The mine closure wasn't urgent; they could deal with it once the market situation stabilized further.

A few more days passed.

A group of itinerant merchants arrived in the market.

Itinerant merchants are an important link between the settlements of independent cultivators and the markets. They travel back and forth between the various markets, earning spirit stones by exploiting information gaps and transportation fees. After news of the new market's completion spread, many itinerant merchants added it to their routes.

Li Yuan walked around the main street of the market, his perception function continuously operating within a three-foot range, scanning the roadside stalls and passersby.

As they approached the plaza, the perception effect of the demonic avatar suddenly became active.

Demonic energy.

The demonic aura emanating from a person.

Li Yuan did not stop walking, his gaze sweeping over the crowd in the square without making a sound.

Perception has locked onto the target.

A middle-aged cultivator in a dark gray robe, at the late stage of Qi Refining, was squatting in front of a stall, examining spiritual herbs. He looked no different from an ordinary traveling merchant; his aura was steady, and his demeanor was natural.

But a trace of demonic energy remained deep within his body.

The concentration wasn't high; it was much weaker than the concentration of the demonic cultivator who had been killed earlier, but it was still present.

Li Yuan walked past him without giving him a second glance and continued walking forward.

After returning to the stone house, Li Yuan sat down and thought for a while.

A person emanating demonic energy has appeared in the market. This itinerant merchant's identity needs to be confirmed, but we can't act rashly. Last time, the demonic cultivator attacked from a secluded spot in the camp; retaliating and killing him wouldn't be a problem. The market is bustling with people; a direct attack would cause panic.

First, observe what this person does, who they contact, and where they go.

If it is confirmed that it is a demonic cultivation practice, then further action will be taken.

If it is confirmed that it is a demonic cultivation practice, then further action will be taken.

Li Yuan put the matter aside for the time being and took out another item from his storage bag.

The inner core of a second-tier evil-type demon beast was later delivered by the short-bearded cultivator.

The inner core was of good quality, with a dark gray surface that gleamed with a heavy luster characteristic of malevolent energy, and its spiritual energy fluctuations were stable.

The condition for making the "Demon Spirit Transformation" entry on the Demon Spirit Banner permanent is to consume the inner core of a second-tier demon beast.

The inner elixir is already in hand; there's no reason to wait any longer.

Li Yuan placed the inner elixir in his palm and swallowed it.

The moment the inner elixir entered the abdomen, a heavy and dense aura of malevolence exploded from the abdomen.

The concentration of malevolent energy was extremely high, far exceeding any source of malevolent energy encountered during normal cultivation. The "Malignant Essence Returns to One" technique was automatically activated immediately, intercepting the malevolent energy surging into the meridians and internal organs and incorporating it into a passive processing cycle.

The malevolent energy seeps into the muscles and bones along the body tempering route, washes over the soul nodes along the soul tempering route, and is transformed into spiritual energy to replenish the dantian along the transformation route. The three routes operate at full capacity simultaneously, rapidly digesting the malevolent energy contained in the inner core.

The spiritual energy in the dantian slowly increased as it was replenished by the transformation of evil energy, and the total amount of liquid spiritual energy increased.

His cultivation level is increasing.

The energy in the inner elixir was extremely abundant, and the digestion process lasted for nearly two hours.

After the evil energy was completely digested, the panel popped up.

The conditions for making the Demon Spirit Transformation (Blue) permanent have been met.

Is it permanent?

Yes.

[Permanentization successful]

[Shadow Spirit Transformation (Blue) has become a permanent keyword]

[Equipment consumed]

The fourth blue entry has been permanently added.

There is an empty slot in the equipment inventory.

Li Yuan checked the changes in his cultivation level.

After the malevolent energy within the inner core transformed into spiritual energy, the total amount of liquid spiritual energy in the dantian increased significantly. There's still some distance to go before reaching the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, but it's not far off.

Based on the current cultivation speed, and with the supply of evil energy from the foundation stone of the Gathering Evil Array, it will take approximately several months to half a year.

Li Yuan tidied up his equipment inventory, sat down cross-legged, and continued his cultivation.