Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

After breaking through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, Li Yuan did not rush to go out.

Inside the stone house, spiritual energy circulated repeatedly throughout the body.

The liquid spiritual energy in his dantian was much thicker than before he went into seclusion, and it flowed through his meridians without any stagnation.

What we really need to adapt to is not this part, but the changes brought about by the integration of the three elements.

Spiritual power, blood and qi, and the soul each originally had their own operating paths. Now, it seems that there are several hidden threads connecting the three, which are not obvious normally, but can be connected immediately when activated.

Li Yuan sat cross-legged, first mobilizing the spiritual energy in his dantian, circulating it throughout his body, and then, with a slight thought, separating a wisp of his qi and blood.

The moment the two come into contact, a reaction occurs in the body.

The vital energy was drawn away through the newly appeared pathway and transferred to the dantian. The originally warm and heavy power quickly dissolved, leaving only a portion of pure spiritual energy.

The quantity was reduced by nearly half, but the conversion process was extremely stable.

Li Yuan continued to try converting his soul into spiritual power.

This time it was even quieter. A slight sinking sensation arose in his sea of ​​consciousness, and a cool feeling descended from between his brows, dissolving into his dantian.

The transformed spiritual energy is equally pure, but the loss remains the same, leaving no room for trickery.

Li Yuan did not continue to test it further. Spirit and vital energy are not things that can be squandered; knowing how to use them is enough.

Over the next few days, I spent most of my time consolidating my cultivation and adapting to the new situation.

He would occasionally patrol the market, but spent most of his time cultivating in the stone house, and only occasionally tried out his spells.

The fireball spell can be cast with a simple gesture, and the condensation speed is much faster than before.

If spiritual energy is interrupted even slightly, blood and qi can immediately replenish it, and the outline of the spell will not dissipate. When the divine sense is extended, it is also more stable, and there is no longer that vague sense of separation between the sea of ​​consciousness and the physical body, as if the whole person is being squeezed tighter.

This change is invisible, yet it is everywhere.

Several days later, Li Yuan reopened the panel and slowly reviewed the current situation.

The regular equipment slots were still full, with the Three Elements Unity Bead firmly occupying one spot. In the special equipment slots, the Fiend Vein was still slowly circulating. The gray text at the bottom of the panel was still there.

[Next Special Equipment Slot Unlock Condition: Permanently acquire one purple-quality affix (0/1)]

Li Yuan's gaze paused for a moment, then he looked up.

The conditions for the permanent formation of the three elements remain the same two.

[Preview of conditions for permanentization: Condensing a high-grade Golden Core, or both physical body and soul cultivation reaching the third tier level (0/1)]

If you want to advance to the Golden Core stage in the future, your goal cannot be just to form the core.

It's not just for the permanent unification of the three elements, but also for the future prospects.

With so many affixes and enhancements, forming a Golden Core of ordinary quality would be a waste.

Although I don't even know how to form my core yet, it doesn't stop me from making decisions.

Li Yuan put away the panel, got up and went out.

The Fog Forest Market is busier than it was a few days ago. Several new shops have appeared on both sides of the main street, and there are more independent cultivators coming and going from the south. The outpost hasn't been officially completed yet, but the news has already spread, and many people have come to check it out in advance.

The more bustling the market, the more useful it is for exploring the demon array.

The array's core is buried underground in the management office, and the nodes at the four entrances operate daily. Li Yuan hasn't been specifically monitoring the three people with demonic energy lately, only instructing the demon-detecting array and patrolling cultivators to continue recording information as usual.

On the seventh day, the three men's behavior finally changed.

The first person went south and asked a few independent cultivators who often mined around the market about the location of the evil mine.

The second person walked around outside the management office and, under the pretext of renting a stone house, asked which direction the outpost would be built in.

The third person was the most cautious. He went to several demon-hunting teams that frequently ventured deep into the Ghost Mist Forest, only asking indirectly whether the ruins were in the southwest area.

After receiving the record from the patrol, Li Yuan did not alert anyone. He simply took out his guardian token and sent a message to Chen Yi.

Half an hour later, Chen Yi replied.

"Don't move, keep watching."

"I need to know who they're contacting and where the messages are being sent."

Li Yuan put away the token and immediately instructed the management office, the guard team, and the patrolling cultivators to change their methods of doing things.

On the surface, everything in the market and neighborhoods remained the same.

Secretly, the demon-detecting nodes at the four entrances and exits began to closely monitor the times when the three people entered and exited.

The management office retrieved the transaction records for the past month and sifted through all the shops, rental locations, and visiting monks that these three individuals had contacted.

Three days later, the thread was slowly untangled.

The three of them rarely came into contact with each other, and only exchanged messages through different intermediaries.

The information wasn't handed over directly, but rather passed through layers of intermediaries. Today, an extra cup might be placed at the tea stall; tomorrow, a piece of charred wood might be left under the stone pillar at the North Gate.

The movements were subtle and well-hidden.

But the market town was originally Li Yuan's territory. As long as you keep an eye on it long enough, you can uncover even the smallest clues.

Another day passed, and Chen Yi came in person.

The two met on the second floor of the management office, where a simple map was laid out on the table. It marked the residences of three demonic cultivators, their usual routes, and the locations where several intermediaries usually stayed.

After Chen Yi finished reading, he tapped the image with his finger.

"We'll close the net tonight."

"Only these three?"

"Arrest these three first," Chen Yi said. "Don't rush the middleman; leave him for later. Take what they have first."

Li Yuan nodded without asking any further questions.

As night fell, Li Yuan stood on the roof of the management office, slowly spreading his divine sense.

All three of them were there.

Chen Yi did not appear in public; instead, several Foundation Establishment cultivators brought by the Yuan Yang Sect made their move first. Under the cover of night, they approached separately, moving extremely stealthily, and surrounded the three locations simultaneously.

The next moment, three beams of light descended simultaneously.

At the same time, a dark purple wave erupted almost simultaneously in three locations.

It wasn't a self-destruction of spiritual energy.

Li Yuan's divine sense clearly saw that demonic energy surged out of their bodies, rising along their meridians, even causing blackened lines to bulge on their skin. Conventional spirit-sealing methods only lock spiritual power and are completely useless against this thing.

Li Yuan's eyes narrowed.

But Chen Yi was clearly prepared.

Above the stone house to the south, a crimson-gold talisman net descended. Instead of suppressing the spiritual energy, the net directly adhered to the surging demonic energy. The spiritual patterns lit up, and the dark purple fluctuations seemed to be pinned down, momentarily halting.

The same applies to the north gate.

In the last courtyard, Chen Yi personally took action.

He stepped into the courtyard, and a palm-sized bronze mirror flew out from his sleeve. The mirror turned, reflecting a pale white light. Just as the demonic runes on the demon cultivator's body were about to crack, the white light pressed in along the runes, freezing the demonic energy. The cultivator froze on the spot, unable to utter a sound.

It happened in just a few breaths.

All three self-destructions were aborted.

When Li Yuan landed on the roof, the battle in the courtyard had already ended. The demonic cultivator was kneeling on the ground, his face ashen, veins throbbing on his forehead, and eyes filled with ferocity, yet he couldn't move his body.

Chen Yi put away the bronze mirror and glanced at him.

"It's the same old routine, just as I expected."

Li Yuan took a few steps closer and smelled a very faint burnt smell. It wasn't from burning flesh and blood, but more like the smell of demonic energy being forcibly suppressed.

"Is this something the sect just created?"

"It took several attempts to figure out how to deal with these people," Chen Yi said calmly. "They rely on demonic energy to self-destruct, which is not the same as spiritual energy. We suffered losses from this before."

"Furthermore, I suspect that their demonic energy self-destruction was pre-programmed, not triggered by themselves."

After he finished speaking, he gestured for several disciples to come forward and search him.

The three arrests were quickly concluded, and all three were taken to a stone chamber behind the management office.

The middlemen didn't make a move, and there wasn't much commotion in the market. Only a few scattered cultivators nearby heard some noise, which was quickly calmed down by the patrol.

Inside the stone chamber, three piles of things were placed on the table.

Storage bag, jade slip, several pieces of animal hide recording the route, two ordinary magical artifacts, and a few other miscellaneous materials.

Only four things are truly useful.

A tattered map, only half of it remains, with a few lines outlining the location of the Sha mine, ruins, and the direction of a vaguely defined underground passage.

A jade slip with magical patterns, its surface covered in dark purple spiritual patterns, clearly not meant for ordinary cultivators.

A magic artifact that breaks the taboo, shaped like a short cone, is grayish-white all over, with extremely fine lines engraved on the tip.

There was also an old token with severely worn edges. It was made of neither gold nor stone, and the pattern on the front was blurred. It could only be seen that it was something left behind by an old sect.

Chen Yi first picked up the old token, glanced at it, and then handed it to the disciple next to him, asking him to put it away separately.

"This item should be sent to the sect for identification first."

Li Yuan's gaze fell on the magic artifact that broke the restriction, and he could sense the green text on it.

The moment the magical artifact landed in his hand, the control panel popped up.

[Equipable item detected: Barrier Cone (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Spirit Rune Analysis (Green)]

[Effect: Improves the efficiency of analyzing array patterns, restrictions, and mechanical structures]

[Preview of conditions for permanentization: Destroy five Tier 1 superior-grade formations, and these formations cannot be ones you set up yourself (0/5)]

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

Green entries.

Li Yuan glanced at it only once before putting the magic weapon back, his expression unchanged.

Chen Yi glanced at him.

"Is there a problem?"

"It seems like it was specifically designed to bypass restrictions," Li Yuan said. "It'll be useful for exploring historical sites."

Chen Yi nodded and didn't press further. He knew Li Yuan had some knowledge of formations, so it wasn't surprising that he could see their purpose.

"Then you can have this."

As Chen Yi spoke, he carefully packed away the various supplies, then looked towards the other side of the stone chamber.

The three demonic cultivators had their spiritual and demonic powers sealed, and were held in different locations with gags stuffed in their mouths, preventing them from even biting their tongues.

"Next, the sect will conduct the trial."

He raised his hand and rubbed his temples, but his face didn't look tired at all.

"We've caught them alive this time. Let's see how much more they can pull out and how stubborn they can be."

Li Yuan hummed in agreement.

Three survivors were taken away overnight, leaving only two Foundation Establishment cultivators to guard the market, in case someone else came to their aid. By the time the stone chamber was emptied, it was almost dawn.

Scattered early-rising cultivators were emerging from the main street, the murderous aura of the previous night seemingly dissipated. Patrols continued as usual, shops remained open, and the market continued to operate as normal.

Li Yuan stood outside the management office and glanced south.

The Sha Mine is still there, the outpost hasn't been built yet, and the ruins are still deep in the Ghost Mist Forest. Clearly, the Dark Abyss has its sights set on more than just what's on the surface of the market.