Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

After the confrontation between the Golden Core cultivators, Ghost Mist Forest was quiet for a few days.

This quiet is not true peace.

The Yuan Yang Sect's frontline troops did not retreat, nor did the Sha Mo Sect's forces disperse. The two sides kept an eye on each other across the perimeter of the ruins and several key areas, neither willing to break through the final barrier.

The news that first reached the market was something else entirely.

Another Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Demonic Fiend Sect has entered Liangzhou.

There were quite a few of them, but their methods differed from those of the Dark Abyss. This group didn't cause trouble in the markets, outposts, or surrounding villages, nor did they deliberately set fires or kill people. Instead, they seemed to be pressing in on the outskirts of Liangzhou and the Ghost Mist Forest in large groups, making their intimidation obvious.

Soon, word spread throughout the market.

Some say the Demonic Sect is about to make a big move, others say Liangzhou is about to change, and still others are quietly packing up their belongings to retreat further.

Li Yuan was in the mine when he heard the news.

The cultivation of the evil vein is still progressing. After the first medium-grade evil stone stabilized and solidified, the overall flow of the vein became significantly smoother.

Now, when we use the perception of evil veins to look again, not only is the direction of evil energy flow inside and outside the mine vein clearer, but even the changes in the strata further away are beginning to show little by little.

That day, Li Yuan sat cross-legged deep in the natural cavity, closing his eyes and regulating his breathing.

The malevolent energy flowed into his body through the special equipment of the malevolent veins, and was then dispersed and dispersed by the unified malevolent energy. After one cycle was completed, he spread his divine sense outwards, and with the newly permanent malevolent energy perception, many things on the ground that were previously blurry became clearer than before.

The abnormal backflow around the ore vein is still there.

But unlike before, this time, after that backflow, he vaguely sensed something deeper, farther, and heavier.

It's not malevolent energy.

That thing was hidden very deep, like a thick vein buried behind a larger stratum, only occasionally revealing a glimpse through faults and backflows. If it weren't for the fact that his perception of the evil veins was clearer than before, Li Yuan might not have even been able to touch this clue.

Main vein.

Or rather, it resembles a remnant of the main vein of a large spiritual vein.

Li Yuan wasn't in a hurry. He memorized the direction and approximate location first, and then continued to steadily practice his cultivation technique.

During this time, he also continued to practice the Green Wood Longevity Technique.

Compared to the Soul Condensation Technique's upward surge, the Green Wood Longevity Technique is more like a gentle, continuous flow. Each time it is circulated, the wood spirit energy slowly spreads from the depths of the meridians, first passing through the internal organs, then nourishing the flesh and blood, and finally leaving a faint trace of vitality throughout the body.

This accumulation may not be immediately apparent, but as it accumulates day by day, change will eventually occur.

As the night progressed into the latter half of the practice, and the final cycle of the Azure Wood Longevity Technique was completed, the wood spirit energy, which had been scattered throughout the meridians, suddenly connected into a single line, like scattered streams slowly converging into a more stable watercourse. The circulation of the technique became much smoother, and even the long-lasting vitality within the body rose upwards.

The panel vibrated slightly.

【Technique: Green Wood Longevity Technique - Mastery (0/800)】

Finally, I've reached the point of mastery.

Li Yuan slowly exhaled, and when he opened his eyes, even his vision seemed clearer. His lifespan was still increasing, but not by much.

Chen Yi arrived the next day at noon.

When he entered the management office this time, his expression was a little strange than the previous times, as if he found it troublesome, or as if he was suppressing some kind of displeasure.

Li Yuan poured him a cup of tea and asked directly, "Any changes at the front?"

"Yes." Chen Yi took the tea but didn't drink it. "That Golden Core cultivator from the Demon Sect made a request."

Li Yuan looked at him.

"He wants to examine your vital energy."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Li Yuan's eyebrows twitched slightly, not too surprised.

Previously, the Dark Abyss Society had inquired about the Fiend Mine and its veins, and when they later closed in, they clearly included the Fiend Mine as one of their targets. Now that the Fiend Demon Sect's Golden Core cultivator has personally intervened, it's not surprising that they've set their sights on this place.

"Did Yuanyang Sect agree?" Li Yuan asked.

"He neither agreed nor refused outright." Chen Yi rubbed his temples. "His reason was simple: the Dark Abyss Society had previously investigated clues about the Fiend Vein, and now that both sides are locked in a standoff in the Ghost Mist Forest, he wants to personally confirm whether there is a problem with this Fiend Vein."

"What about the sect?"

"The sect's patriarch also wanted to take a look," Chen Yi said, looking at him. "And he even said in front of that Golden Core cultivator from the Fiend Demon Sect that this is the fiend vein of his own Foundation Establishment Protector, not sect property, and cannot be touched casually."

The meaning was quite clear from those words.

Li Yuan thought for a moment and then asked only one question.

"Okay, but what about compensation?"

Chen Yi was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled.

"I knew you'd ask that first."

"That Golden Core cultivator from the Demon Fiend Sect immediately said that he wouldn't let us see it for free and would compensate us. The sect didn't stop us either, because if they really didn't let us see it at all, it would make the place seem haunted."

Li Yuan nodded.

At this point, there wasn't much room for maneuver. With the Golden Core level already targeting it, forcibly stopping them was pointless. Fortunately, the Fiend Vein itself was a special piece of equipment; as long as the equipment remained on his person, he could control the perception and information flow of the entire vein.

Others can see the mineral veins and even sense the intensity of the malevolent energy, but they cannot see the part of it that is truly open to them at the level of special equipment.

This is where Li Yuan truly feels at ease.

Half a day later, the group arrived at the entrance of the mine.

Li Yuan walked at the front, with Chen Yi beside him, and behind them were two figures whose auras were so deep they were almost oppressive. One was the Golden Core cultivator from the Yuan Yang Sect whom they had met before, and the other was a Golden Core cultivator from the Sha Mo Sect, dressed in a black robe with wide sleeves and silent.

The mine tunnel was originally filled with extremely malevolent energy, but after these two entered, their energy simply spread out naturally, as if the surrounding malevolent energy had been separated by a layer.

Li Yuan led his men down the path, his expression calm, but his heart remained constantly on edge.

Normally, those nodes, backflows, deep quality changes, and abnormal fluctuations in the periphery will naturally open up to him.

But Li Yuan had already made preparations yesterday, gathering all the information that could be emanating from the entire evil vein, leaving only the outermost part of the vein's true form.

Upon reaching the natural cavity, the two Golden Core cultivators finally stopped.

The Golden Core cultivator from the Yuan Yang Sect scanned the area first, remaining silent. The Golden Core cultivator from the Sha Mo Sect slowly raised his hand, a speck of gray light spreading from his fingertip, gradually extending outwards along the cavity and several branch channels.

The gray light didn't touch Li Yuan; it just circulated within the mine.

Li Yuan could clearly sense that the other party's divine sense and magical power were probing deeper and deeper into the mine.

If it were an ordinary mineral vein, such an exploration would uncover many secrets. But this is different. The part of the evil vein that is truly connected to the special equipment is as if it is separated by another membrane. When the other party's divine sense sweeps over it, all they see is the mineral vein, evil stones, the flow of evil energy, and some normal traces left by the recent cultivation array.

A full quarter of an hour passed before the Golden Core cultivator of the Demon Sect withdrew his hand.

"Ordinary evil veins," he said calmly. "The quality has improved slightly, as if someone has nurtured it, but that's about it."

At this moment, the Golden Core cultivator from the Yuan Yang Sect also spoke up: "It was just a malevolent vein to begin with. If there were any other clues, the Dark Abyss Society would have already dug up something here."

The Golden Core cultivator from the Demon Sect didn't respond to that, but instead turned to look at Li Yuan.

"Are you the protector of this market?"

"Yes." Li Yuan cupped his hands in greeting.

An object flew out from the sleeve of the Demon Sect's Golden Core cultivator, landed in mid-air, and stopped in front of Li Yuan. "Compensation."

It was a dark blue bead about the size of a thumb, with a restrained luster on its surface, and a wisp of black energy slowly flowing inside.

Li Yuan reached out and caught it; the panel popped up as soon as his palm touched it.

[Equipable item detected: Demon Transformation Orb (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Magic Power Enhancement (Green)]

[Effect: Increases personal demonic cultivation speed by 30%, and demonic energy absorption speed by 30%]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Master a demonic art to perfection (0/1)]

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

Green entries.

Li Yuan glanced at it only once before pressing the panel down, revealing no unusual color.

Chen Yi, however, showed a subtle change in expression.

The compensation given by the Demon Sect's Golden Core cultivators happened to be related to demonic arts, which is hard to say whether it's good or bad.

If it were someone else, they would probably hesitate to accept it. But Li Yuan knew in his heart that this bead was not useless to him; on the contrary, it was very useful. It's just that his equipment inventory was full right now, so it wasn't his turn yet.

After handing over the items, the Golden Core cultivator from the Demon Sect did not linger in the mine and turned to leave the mine tunnel.

Before leaving, the Golden Core cultivator from Yuanyang Sect glanced at Li Yuan one more time.

"Keep a close watch on the market these next few days."

"Yes."

After the two Golden Core cultivators left, Li Yuan exited the mine.

It was still light outside, but people in the spirit fields south of the market had already begun harvesting the first batch of usable low-grade spirit herbs.

After returning to the stone house, Li Yuan first put away the Demon Transformation Pearl, and then circulated the Green Wood Longevity Technique once more.

After mastering it, the wood elemental energy of this technique became more stable. Although the increase in lifespan was still slow, it had more staying power than before. The next, even greater hurdle was still far away, but the path was already laid out before them.