Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

The next day, Chen Yi personally visited the market.

His expression was relatively calm when he entered.

"People from the Demonic Sect have arrived."

The Demon Sect, the same demon sect that fought against the Qishui Sect, is almost certainly the force behind the Dark Abyss Society.

Li Yuan put down the account book in his hand and looked at him.

"How many?"

"Several groups of Foundation Establishment cultivators have arrived." Chen Yi paused. "The crucial point is that a Golden Core cultivator has also arrived."

"The people haven't actually entered the ruins yet; they're just stopping on the outer edge of the Ghost Mist Forest, as if they're watching, or as if they're waiting."

Golden Core of the Demon Sect.

The room fell silent for a moment after those four words were spoken.

Chen Yi continued, "The sect has already reported this, and even higher-ranking cultivators are on their way. In the next few days, the markets, outposts, and ruins entrance will all be operating under wartime preparedness."

"If the independent cultivators want to leave, let them go. Those who wish to stay to do business or take on missions, don't stop them either."

"You, first stabilize the market."

Li Yuan nodded.

Over the next two days, the Misty Forest Marketplace underwent a complete transformation.

The sounds of laughter and haggling that used to fill the main street have diminished considerably, replaced by groups of people carrying supplies back and forth. Healing pills, rejuvenation pills, talismans, defensive array materials, standard magical artifacts, and protective amulets are almost all being sent to the outpost in boxes.

Some independent practitioners have also begun to withdraw.

At the same time, more supplies and more people poured in.

Merchants increased their staff and shop assistants, pharmacies raised prices for spirit herbs and monster materials, and queues even formed in front of magical artifact repair shops. The market was like a machine that had been suddenly tightened; it seemed less idle on the surface, but it was running faster than before.

The outpost has also entered a semi-closed state.

Li Yuan had been there once, and there were already three layers of temporary defense lines outside.

That evening, a heavy, oppressive aura suddenly emanated from the south, making one's chest feel heavy.

The aura wasn't deliberately released, yet it pressed down like an invisible hand from the depths of the Ghost Mist Forest all the way to the outpost. The market, the outpost, and even the surrounding woodlands fell silent at that moment. The cultivators who had been carrying supplies stopped and looked up to the south.

Li Yuan stood on the high platform outside the outpost, his expression slightly serious.

The next moment, another equally steady and powerful aura rose from the outpost and met it head-on.

The two energies, one from the south and one from the north, had not yet collided, but the surrounding spiritual energy had already begun to become chaotic.

A large open space had already been cleared on the south side of the outpost, but now it seemed as if it were being forcibly separated by two invisible forces.

Li Yuan moved closer, his Foundation Establishment level eyesight was excellent, and the scene before him was clearly imprinted in his eyes.

A large clearing was cleared out of the Ghost Mist Forest. At each end of the clearing stood a group of people.

On one side is the Yuanyang Sect.

There weren't many people, and only one person was actually standing at the very front.

It was a middle-aged cultivator dressed in a crimson-gold robe, standing with his hands behind his back in mid-air. He didn't deliberately release any pressure, but the spiritual energy around him seemed to naturally swirl around him. Behind him were several Foundation Establishment cultivators and a row of array artifacts that had already been set up.

On the other side were the people from the Demonic Sect.

At the very front was a single figure, clad in a black robe with wide sleeves, his face obscured, standing within a very faint gray mist. The mist didn't expand outwards, yet it seemed to drain the color from the vegetation several feet around him. Behind him were more than ten other cultivators, their auras varying in strength, clearly there to provide backup.

Neither side made a move.

The area in the middle of the open space seemed to have been forcibly separated by two invisible forces. The clouds above were low and oppressive, and the gravel on the ground occasionally trembled slightly. Closer broken branches would even silently crumble into wood chips.

Li Yuan stood on the edge of the high slope, his eyes slightly narrowed.

This is the Golden Elixir.

Without any fancy spells or earth-shattering explosions, just the two of them standing there completely controlled the energy of an area.

In the open space below, the author, a writing prodigy, personally recommends: "I hope you enjoy the story of 'Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes' on Cola Novels." The Golden Core cultivator from the Yuan Yang Sect finally spoke; his voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly across the high slope.

"The Ghost Mist Forest is within the territory of my Yuan Yang Sect, and its ruins are also within Liangzhou. You people from the Demon Fiend Sect have overstepped your bounds."

The black-robed cultivator opposite him chuckled.

"Just because your Yuan Yang Sect discovered it early, does that automatically mean it's yours?"

"Relics are inanimate objects; the capable will obtain them. Besides, don't you yourselves admit that there are traces of the Demonic Sect within them?"

Soon, the Golden Core cultivator from Yuanyang Sect stopped talking and simply took a step forward.

With this step, everyone on the high slope was startled.

It wasn't an earthquake, but rather the spiritual energy of the entire area seemed to have been suddenly struck by a heavy hammer. The airflow above the open space in front visibly distorted for a moment.

The Golden Core cultivator from the Demon Sect opposite them also raised his hand.

A wisp of gray mist swept through, and the force that had just been suppressed in the center of the open space was abruptly held aloft. Several old trees nearby exploded on the spot, but the wood chips and leaves did not fly around; instead, they were held in mid-air, like a layer of solidified gray curtain.

Li Yuan's pupils contracted slightly.

This wasn't the kind of power he'd witnessed when Foundation Establishment cultivators fought; it was on a completely different level. In the hands of a Golden Core cultivator, spiritual energy was no longer just a force circulating within the body, but could directly alter the flow of spiritual energy in the surrounding world.

No wonder everyone regards Core Formation as a watershed moment.

No matter how strong one's Foundation Establishment is, one still ultimately relies on external forces. The Golden Core, on the other hand, seems to truly channel one's own power into this area.

The two sides remained at a standoff without actually fighting.

After returning to the market, Li Yuan also inspected his own mine.

With war preparations in full swing, everything else had to be put on hold, but the Shamai side gave him a pleasant surprise at this crucial moment.

The nurturing array that had been set up earlier had been operating slowly, and after the second-tier evil pills nourished the area, the higher-quality evil stones deep within the mine had also been accumulating gradually. Over the past few months, the changes have finally begun to surface.

As soon as Li Yuan stepped inside, his senses of evil energy immediately gave him feedback.

That's not an illusion.

One of the evil stones has already crossed that hurdle.

Medium-grade evil stone.

The quantity is still small, but it's enough to show that the previous cultivation efforts weren't in vain. It's not that the evil veins spontaneously grew mid-grade evil stones, but rather that the previous slow nurturing and evil pill feedback process has finally begun to bear fruit.

Li Yuan stood in front of the rock layer, not in a hurry to start, but first scanned the inside and outside of the vein again.

As the first mid-grade evil stone solidified, the energy of the entire mine vein subsided slightly. More evil energy could be drawn back, and the return flow was smoother. The most direct change was that the low-evil area south of the market expanded further, and even several spirit fields with unstable edges became completely quiet.

But Li Yuan knew very well that it wasn't truly finished yet.

Having the first mid-grade evil stone does not mean that the entire evil vein is now stably capable of producing mid-grade evil stones. This is only a preliminary achievement; there is still a long way to go before it is fully confirmed.

Without much thought, he raised his hand and drew out the mid-grade evil stone.

At the same time, equip the previously acquired Pei Sha Stone.

With a flick of spiritual energy from his palm, the malevolent energy within the mid-grade malevolent stone was slowly drawn out through the array's core. The process wasn't fast, but it was very steady. Once the last wisp of mid-grade malevolent energy was completely absorbed, a panel popped up.

The conditions for permanent "Aura Perception (White)" have been met.

Is it permanent?

Li Yuan confirmed it directly.

[Permanentization successful]

【Perception of Malevolent Aura (White)】 has become a permanent entry.

[Equipment consumed]

A very faint coolness swept across the edge of my consciousness and then spread into my senses.

The next moment, when he looked at the entire vein again, his perception was much clearer than before. It wasn't just the overall sense brought by the special equipment for the evil vein, but also a more detailed identification of the surrounding evil energy itself. Where it was concentrated, where it was dispersed, and where impurities were mixed in were all much more distinct than before.

This thing is very useful in a place like Ghost Mist Forest.