Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Only two days after the branch forces had been besieged, and before the rumors in the market had completely died down, Chen Yi arrived.

At that time, Li Yuan was meditating in the stone house when he heard footsteps outside the door. He used his divine sense to probe and recognized the aura of the person who came.

When the stone door opened, Chen Yi walked in, still wearing the black robe he always wore at the outpost. His expression wasn't bad, but he didn't have his usual casualness.

"Is something the matter?" Li Yuan asked, standing up.

Chen Yi glanced at him, but didn't sit down immediately. Instead, he asked a very direct question.

"Didn't the Li family ask you to break a formation a few days ago?"

Li Yuan's expression remained unchanged.

However, before he could speak, Chen Yi raised his hand.

"Don't rush to answer."

"I didn't come here to chase after you."

After speaking, Chen Yi pulled up a chair and sat down, his tone softening slightly.

"That formation was deliberately set up by the sect."

Li Yuan looked at him but didn't reply.

Chen Yi continued speaking.

"That spot on the outer layer wasn't really meant to stop people. It was just bait, placed there to make the Demon Sect think there was something there, and that they were only one step away from getting inside."

"The formation wasn't difficult to dismantle; they even deliberately left gaps that could be detected. The purpose was to see who the Demonic Sect would hire to dismantle it, and who would be implicated behind it."

At this point, Chen Yi's lips twitched slightly.

"We originally planned to follow the clues and pull out more leads. But before we could fully understand the Demonic Sect, they dragged the Li family into it first."

After those words were spoken, the stone house fell silent for a moment.

Only then did Li Yuan speak.

"You knew all along that the Li family was connected to the Demonic Sect?"

"I don't know," Chen Yi shook his head.

"If I had known earlier, things wouldn't have turned out this way."

"At this point, all we can say is that the Li family has stumbled into this mess on their own."

He spoke very directly, without beating around the bush.

The Yuan Yang Sect's bait was indeed aimed at the Demonic Sect.

When the Li family approached him, they probably didn't expect that the hidden array was deliberately set up.

Now that the hidden threads have been uncovered, the old connection between the Li family and the Demonic Sect has been brought to light, becoming an unexpected bonus in this operation to close in on the branch.

After hearing this, Li Yuan's preconceived notion was completely confirmed.

Chen Yi looked at him and continued, "When you went to break the formation that time, the sect won't use it to cause you trouble. The Li family asked you to do the work, and you went; the matter itself wasn't against the rules."

"And to be honest, you did throw out the bait for the sect."

This wasn't a joke, but it also didn't imply any intention to hold anyone accountable.

Li Yuan asked directly, "Fellow Daoist Chen, you didn't come just to clear things up, did you?"

Chen Yi nodded.

"I was also planning to ask you what kind of scriptures you might need from the sect."

"Fellow Daoist has helped the sect a great deal."

Li Yuan did not feign refusal.

Spirit stones, magical artifacts, and array materials are not what he lacks most right now. On the contrary, it is the art of alchemy that he needs to continue to advance in his studies, and a suitable alchemy manual is more practical than anything else.

"Alchemy manuals," Li Yuan said.

Chen Yi glanced at him and nodded.

"I happen to have a copy here."

After saying that, he raised his hand and flipped it open, taking out a book with a bluish-gray cover from his storage bag and placing it directly on the table.

"This was just compiled by Curry at the outpost. It's not exactly a second-tier core inheritance, but the foundation is good enough for you to use now."

Li Yuan reached out and took it.

The moment the object entered within three feet, the senses immediately reacted. This time, the book was already mine, and the control panel popped up completely.

[Equipable item detected: Alchemy Manual (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Proficiency in Alchemy (Green)]

[Effect: Increases perception of changes in medicinal properties by 40% during alchemy, and accelerates the speed of comprehending the Dao of Alchemy]

[Preview of Permanentization Requirements: Successfully refine ten different types of pills (0/10)]

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

Green entries.

Li Yuan's gaze lingered on the panel for a moment before he looked away.

This entry is very relevant to my current situation. My perception of changes in medicinal properties has improved by 40%. When applied to alchemy, it not only makes me more accurate in observing the herbs, but also makes it easier to see subtle changes in the heat, the interaction of medicinal liquids, and the subtle changes before and after the pill is formed.

As I encounter more and more second-tier pills in the future, this thing will be of great use.

Li Yuan directly put the book into his storage bag.

Chen Yi watched him pack his things away without asking any further questions. He simply stood up and said, "The sect will keep an eye on the Li family themselves. You don't need to worry about it."

"The market has been crowded and busy lately, so please be careful."

Li Yuan nodded.

After Chen Yi left, the stone house fell silent again.

Li Yuan took out the alchemy manual again and flipped through it, examining the contents in detail.

Not long after, another incident occurred outside the market.

The incident occurred on the outskirts of the market, near a temporary retreat for independent cultivators.

This location also falls under the jurisdiction of the market guard team.

After Li Yuan approached, he only glanced at her before his gaze darkened.

The corpse was a middle-aged rogue cultivator. His clothes didn't reveal many wounds, but what was truly bizarre was that his entire body had withered away. His flesh seemed to have been drained away all at once, clinging tightly to his bones. His cheeks were sunken, and his limbs were stiff, as if he had lost all his vital essence in a very short time.

This appearance is exactly the same as those corpses that had their life essence drained in the Ghost Mist Forest.

However, the problem is that the location where it was discovered is on the outskirts of the Ghost Mist Forest, so theoretically it shouldn't have had its life essence drained.

Thinking back to the Blood Fiend Stone from before, Li Yuan judged that it might have been man-made.

"When was it discovered?" Li Yuan asked.

A patrolling monk nearby immediately replied:

"About 15 minutes ago, two rogue cultivators returned from outside the monastery and happened to see a person lying on the roadside. At first, they thought it was an old corpse, but when they got closer, they found that the person had just died recently."

Li Yuan glanced around the corpse again.

"Has the deceased's identity been checked?"

"Checked." The patrolling cultivator handed over a registration plaque. "A rogue cultivator who just entered the ward a few days ago, living in the temporary residence on the west side. He usually takes on jobs like collecting demon materials and running errands. He doesn't have any special background."

Li Yuan took the wooden plaque, glanced at it, and casually returned it. Only then did he spread out his divine sense and perception, examining the area around the corpse little by little.

The scattered auras around were quickly sifted away. The patrolling cultivators, the onlookers, the two who discovered the corpse, and the old traces that had passed by—after each layer was peeled away, the most incongruous remnant near the corpse was revealed.

It carried a slightly chilling aura, much like the feeling left over after the Blood Fiend Stone had been activated.

Li Yuan followed the lingering scent and chased after it.

After the aura left the corpse, it did not leave the neighborhood directly. Instead, it first went north along the outer path, bypassing the main road where the most people were, and then turned into a narrower alley along the perimeter of the temporary residence.

"Over here."

After Li Yuan finished speaking, he had already chased after them.

The other patrolling monks immediately followed.

As we walked further in, the traces we uncovered weren't particularly strong, but they were persistent.

The man was very cautious. After leaving the scene, he had tried to suppress his aura and erase his traces. However, the tracking system was too reliable in locking onto the familiar aura and residual fluctuations, and still managed to pinpoint the direction he had taken little by little.

The group eventually stopped in front of a temporary courtyard house on the west side of the market.

The courtyard gate was half-open, and there was no one inside.

The patrolling monks rushed in to search first and quickly reported the results.

"The house is empty; the people are gone."

Li Yuan walked into the courtyard and looked around.

The room wasn't large, nor was it particularly messy, but this only suggested that the person had left hastily yet with restraint. A half-finished cup of spiritual tea remained on the table, and there were no extra items in the corner; the storage bag and almost all personal belongings had been taken.

"Get this person's registration, entry and exit records, and transaction records for the past few days, and then check who he has been in contact with."

"Yes."

One of the patrolling monks immediately left in a hurry.

The courtyard was searched again, but no clues were found.

After returning to the stone house, Li Yuan continued his cultivation.

The next morning, a patrolling cultivator reported to Li Yuan, still holding a booklet in his hand.

"It's a transaction record."

Li Yuan took it and examined it closely.

The notes on it weren't many, but they were quite varied.

There are ordinary healing pills, exploration tools, and one or two kinds of materials that are clearly biased towards Yin blood and nourishing evil spirits.

There were also some items traded with independent cultivators, but it was unclear what they were.

More importantly, the monk's recent entry and exit records and temporary rental records were very closely timed, indicating that he was a recently arrived outsider monk.

In other words, the person only entered the neighborhood recently, took action shortly after settling in, and is now leaving immediately.

This was a well-prepared trip.

"Master, these are items I borrowed from one of the rogue cultivators during a transaction."

The patrolling monk took out a jade bottle and handed it to Li Yuan.

When Li Yuan picked up the jade bottle, his heart skipped a beat. This feeling was very similar to when he bought the Demonic Qi Longevity Pill at the Foundation Establishment Trade Fair, except that the aura on this bottle was more mixed. It didn't have such a strong demonic smell, but instead had a feeling of herbs and blood intertwined.

Li Yuan gave the order to continue the investigation, and then sat cross-legged again to begin his cultivation.

The spiritual energy surged within his body.