Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Deep within the underground karst layer, all was quiet.

Between the gray-white stone walls, the spiritual light emanating from the edge of the main vein resembled a very thin mist, slowly flowing along the ground. Li Yuan stood still, not moving immediately, and first surveyed his surroundings again.

After confirming that everything was correct, Li Yuan calmed down and brought up the control panel.

The Fiend Vein is still in the special equipment slot.

I've never taken this equipment off since I got it.

Absorption of malevolent energy, cultivation of talent, circulation of mineral veins—many changes are built up little by little through this process.

Li Yuan did not hesitate and raised his hand to confirm.

[Special equipment removed: Evil Vein]

The special equipment slots were immediately emptied.

Immediately afterwards, Li Yuan equipped the large spiritual vein.

[Special equipment already equipped: Large spiritual vein]

[Spirit Vein Nourishing Energy (Purple) is in effect]

The moment the panel was placed down, the changes came crashing down.

The first part to move is the dantian.

The liquid spiritual energy that was originally submerged in the dantian trembled slightly, as if it had been filtered by something.

There was no surge or rapid rise; it was just that the peculiar sluggishness that had always been there was a layer of lightened.

The spiritual energy was still his own, but its texture was much clearer, and its operation was smoother and more stable.

A second change followed immediately.

Before Li Yuan could even circulate his energy, the spiritual power within his body began to recover on its own. The speed wasn't fast, but it was very clear. It was as if a stable flow had suddenly appeared between his dantian and meridians, and even if he stood still, the depleted spiritual power was slowly being replenished.

The third change is the least significant, yet the most peculiar.

A slight movement occurred at the edge of his sea of ​​consciousness, as if a faint force was rotating along a familiar path.

It wasn't a disturbance of the soul, nor an invasion of external forces, but rather as if someone had taken over the cultivation for me—quiet, slow, yet constantly in motion.

Li Yuan stood still for a few breaths before opening his eyes again.

He didn't linger there daydreaming; his divine sense immediately spread out, probing out along the main vein and the surrounding strata.

The next moment, the world I perceived suddenly changed.

If relying on pulse detection techniques, divine sense, and existing judgments before was like piecing together pieces of a puzzle, now it's like the whole picture has been lit up.

As long as it's within the coverage area of ​​the spiritual vein, all spiritual energy fluctuations are much clearer.

The route of each underground branch is crystal clear: which one turns after the fault line, and which one deviates towards the ruins.

The cross-sections of the surrounding stone layers are no longer just blurry outlines.

You can tell at a glance where the rock collapsed naturally, where it looks like it was washed by spiritual energy in the past, and where there are rock layers with even stronger spiritual energy.

Further away, the familiar malevolent aura emanating from the direction of the mine was also reflected in the air.

That was the backflow trajectory formed by the cultivation array of evil ore and the long-term operation of the entire evil vein. Even now, from such a distance, it can still be clearly sensed and captured by the spiritual vein.

There are also things in the direction of the ruins.

It wasn't a complete formation, but rather some residual fluctuations. Like the remnants left after an old restriction was dismantled, or like some deep, still-suppressed loopholes. The fluctuations were hidden behind deeper layers of stone, usually difficult to pinpoint, but now they were like shadows seen through a semi-transparent stone wall.

A hundred feet away, a tiny wisp of demonic energy suddenly flashed.

Li Yuan followed his divine sense and saw a small demon beast dart through a crack in the stone wall. With a flick of its tail, it vanished without a trace.

At the same time, another, more stable humanoid aura swept past from the other side.

A hundred feet away, a cultivator passed by.

The other party had obviously only passed by a side road on the periphery and had not actually reached the main vein, but under the spiritual vein's perception, the movement trajectory of that aura was still clearly revealed.

Li Yuan stood still, but his eyes narrowed slightly.

He continued looking upwards along the main vein.

Soon, the layer of restriction they had sensed earlier reappeared. This time, however, it was much clearer than before.

The restriction was not placed on a single section of stone, but rather spread out along the direction above the main vein, like a thin net, eventually disappearing into the direction where the ruins were located.

After observing for a moment, Li Yuan made a judgment.

The area above this barrier likely leads to some other place.

Based on its location, that place should be a deep-seated site.

It's not completely confirmed, but the direction is pretty much on track. The main vein, the restrictions, and the deeper layers of the ruins—there's clearly a connection between these three.

Li Yuan slowly exhaled.

At this point, the choice is now before us.

There is only one slot for special equipment.

Since a malevolent vein cannot be attached to a large spiritual vein, we have to choose one over the other.

There's no question about which one to choose.

At this stage, we should focus on cultivating using large spiritual veins.

As for the mining operations, the actual cultivation continues as usual, without any conflict.

After the thought settled, Li Yuan used his spiritual vein perception to thoroughly examine the area around the main vein once more.

This time, many things that were previously only vaguely discernible have finally been revealed.

The layers of restrictions surrounding the main vein are indeed for locking the vein.

It's not a simple sealing off; rather, it hides the true core of the main vein deeper inside, making it difficult for outsiders to probe in along the branches.

What makes it even more troublesome is that it also contains a unidirectional flow structure.

Some branch spiritual energy can be drawn out, and even touched along the edges, but if one tries to use those branches to deduce the core of the main channel, the perception will be misled. It's like walking down a seemingly correct path, only to end up circling back to the edge.

Seeing this, Li Yuan already knew what was going on.

The Dark Abyss Society and the Demonic Sect have mostly only scratched the surface of the spiritual veins.

They knew there was something here, and they had indeed gone in and out along the branch veins, and may even have conducted several explorations. But to say they had truly grasped the core of the main vein, they probably hadn't.

Otherwise, they wouldn't keep buying pulse-detecting equipment outside, nor would they still be circling around the old routes.

Having seen enough, Li Yuan didn't linger any longer.

He withdrew his divine sense, retraced his steps, exited the melting layer, and returned to the outside. On his way back to the market, the effects of the spiritual veins nourishing the spirit continued; the spiritual energy in his dantian was clearer than usual, and the recovery never stopped. The slow, pulsating sensation at the edge of his sea of ​​consciousness also persisted.

By the time they returned to Wulin Market, it was already evening.

Li Yuan first returned to the stone house, and then went to check out the mine in the south.

Several mid-grade evil stones have now formed in the vein, and the evil-cultivating array is operating more smoothly than before, indicating that the foundation of the entire evil vein has become much stronger. However, it is still far from being able to completely overcome the obstacle.

We have a medium-grade evil stone.

However, the overall quality of the ore vein has not yet truly reached that threshold.

Li Yuan stood in the mine tunnel for a while, without pausing for long, and had already rearranged the focus of his mind.

The large spiritual veins will be left hanging for cultivation purposes.

Cultivating Sha ore should be the next top priority.

Two paths: one to increase our own wealth, and the other to nurture the mineral veins. Neither can afford to stop.

As night fell, the malevolent aura deep within the mine slowly returned.