Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Cola Novels, a professional online novel platform, offers the most comfortable reading experience.

The matter concerning the Li family has finally been completely settled.

The message was brought by Chen Yi himself.

The Yuan Yang Sect's investigation into the Li family lasted for nearly two months, and they finally uncovered irrefutable evidence.

These are not vague connections or speculations, but rather solid records of intelligence exchanges, including communication fragments with the Dark Abyss Society, several material transaction vouchers with demonic cultivators, and a hand-drawn map marking the locations of several Yuan Yang Sect frontline outposts.

Ironclad evidence.

The sect officially ordered the liquidation of all of the Li family's properties in Liangzhou.

The moment this order was issued, the atmosphere in the market changed immediately.

The last remaining trace of the Li family's presence in Wulin Market disappeared completely within two days of the liquidation order being issued.

The shop was sealed off, the material inventory was confiscated, and the several independent cultivators affiliated with the shop were also investigated one by one. They were only released after it was confirmed that they had not directly participated in the demonic communication.

As the manager of the market, Li Yuan participated in the allocation of some resources during the liquidation process.

This wasn't something he actively sought; rather, the process itself required the involvement of the Market Management Office. The Management Office was responsible for registering, appraising, and coordinating the Li family's shops, material inventory, and several warehouses in the market during the sect's auction and redistribution.

During the distribution process, Li Yuan, as the manager, legitimately obtained a batch of items.

It mainly consists of high-grade pill materials and array materials.

Several key ingredients needed for second-tier pills, which were previously scarce and expensive in the market, were now cleared out of the Li family's inventory in one go. In addition, there was a batch of high-quality array materials, including several types of pattern-stabilizing spirit sand and flow-guiding stones that Li Yuan had previously been unable to obtain from the market.

These items were deducted from Li Yuan's sect contribution after being converted to market value, following a proper procedure.

Two days after the liquidation was completed, the Wang family came looking for them.

This person was none other than Wang Ting'an.

"Fellow Daoist Li, there's something I'd like to ask for your help with."

Wang Ting'an got straight to the point, talking about the formations of the Yuanheng Mountains.

"Now that the Li family's affairs have come to light, my Wang family previously suspected that the formation in the mountains was related to the Li family, but we cannot make a conclusion yet. We need to find a formation master to go in and investigate thoroughly."

"Aren't the sect's array masters good enough?" Li Yuan asked.

"We think it would be more appropriate to invite Senior Li."

"And the payment?"

"My family is currently short of spirit stones. How about the three shops in the market? If they are doing well, we won't change the signs, and we can arrange the staff ourselves, but all the profits will go to you, fellow Daoist."

Li Yuan thought for a moment and nodded.

"Okay. When are we leaving?"

"First thing tomorrow morning."

The next day, Li Yuan set off with Wang Ting'an towards the Yuanheng Mountains.

The Yuanheng Mountains are quite far from Wulinfang City; it took most of the day to reach the outskirts.

Wang Ting'an also brought in several cultivators from the Wang family.

The atmosphere at the entrance to the mountain range was more oppressive than Li Yuan had anticipated.

The forest was barren and desolate, with scattered remains of demonic beasts and traces of old blood on the ground. A faint smell of decay filled the air.

The situation was completely different from when I was climbing the mountain.

"We've already wiped out the monsters in this mountain range several times."

Wang Ting'an led the group along a cleared path, where claw marks and scorching burn marks could be seen on the tree trunks on both sides.

"The traces of an array are just ahead."

Wang Ting'an pointed to a rock wall halfway up the mountain, the very place where Master Zhou Zhen had intended to go in but was stopped by Wang Qu.

Li Yuan stepped forward and first used his divine sense to press down a layer.

The surface of the rock wall showed no unusual features, but once one probed with their divine sense, the things hidden in the lower layers of stone were revealed.

Array patterns.

It wasn't one layer, but several layers stacked together. The outermost layer was so damaged that it was almost unrecognizable, but the inner layers were better preserved than expected.

It's a very large formation. According to Li Yuan's calculations, the core of the formation might be quite far from its edge.

Li Yuan squatted down and pressed his divine sense even deeper.

The second-tier array master's keen eyesight came in handy here. After peeling away the layers of array patterns one by one with his perception, the primary and secondary relationships quickly became clear.

The bottom layer is the foundation of the entire formation. The formation patterns and layout exude a clear aura of aggression, and the spiritual energy circulation is rough and fierce, not for defense or support.

"This layer is the main body of the great formation," Li Yuan said.

Wang Ting'an immediately leaned closer to take a look.

"Can you figure out what it's for?"

"Absorb essence and blood."

Li Yuan pointed to a special loop in the main pattern.

"The function of this loop is to draw out the essence and blood from the bodies of external creatures and then channel it along the main runes to the array's core. It's not for killing, but for absorbing. As long as a living creature steps into the array's coverage area, its essence and blood will be slowly drawn away."

Wang Ting'an's face darkened.

"Things from the Demonic Sect."

"Most likely," Li Yuan nodded. "This kind of approach is almost never seen in the righteous path."

He continued looking up to the second floor.

The style of the array patterns on the second layer is significantly different from that of the first layer, following a more orthodox approach, and the circulation of spiritual energy is also much more orderly. This layer is not newly laid out, but rather modified based on the first layer, and traces of overlapping old and new array patterns can be seen in many places.

"This layer was modified later," Li Yuan said. "The original function of absorbing the essence of cultivators was changed to absorbing the essence of demonic beasts. The modification was very clean, and the technique was very skillful. The person who did the modification is quite skilled in array formations."

Wang Ting'an frowned, then relaxed.

"Changed by the Yuanyang Sect?"

"Judging from the methods used, it does indeed resemble the approach of a righteous sect."

After examining the first trace of the formation, the group continued deeper into the mountains.

Over the next half day, Li Yuan inspected the formations in four different locations.

The situation was slightly different in each place, but when they were put together, the complete formation of the Yuanheng Mountain Range slowly emerged.

Just as the formation master Zhou, whom the Wang family had previously invited, had determined, it was a complex structure consisting of a large formation containing various smaller formations.

The grand formation covered a considerable area of ​​the Yuanheng Mountains, with its core located deep within the mountain range. The core function of the formation remained unchanged: to absorb vital essence. The only difference was the target of the absorption, shifting from cultivators to demonic beasts.

The smaller formations nested within the larger formation have even more complex functions.

Some are responsible for breeding demonic beasts. These small arrays create an environment suitable for the reproduction of specific demonic beasts within their coverage area, including temperature, humidity, spiritual energy concentration, and food sources. Demonic beasts reproduce faster and in greater numbers in this environment.

Some are responsible for attracting demonic beasts. These smaller arrays release spiritual energy fluctuations of a specific frequency, drawing nearby demonic beasts into the array's coverage area. Once the demonic beasts enter the area, their life essence is slowly absorbed by the array.

Cultivate, attract, and absorb – these three steps form a complete closed loop.

After the Yuan Yang Sect modified the grand formation, this closed loop has been operating continuously. Demonic beasts are nurtured and attracted to the mountains by the smaller formations, and their essence and blood are absorbed by the grand formation. The absorbed essence and blood then converge at the formation's core, but its specific purpose is currently unknown.

But the problem arose later.

Li Yuan saw something left by a third hand at the fifth array mark.

Someone tampered with the material that Yuanyang Sect had already modified.

"These small arrays have been modified," Li Yuan said, standing on a hillside and pointing to the array patterns in the stone layers beneath his feet.

Wang Ting'an walked over quickly.

Li Yuan said, "The method is much cruder than the previous one, and the direction of the modification is completely different. Originally, these small formations were used to attract demonic beasts, but after being modified, they became used to repel them."

"Expel?"

"That's right." Li Yuan pointed to a section of the array that had been altered. "This section was originally meant to release attracting energy waves, but now it's been reversed. The direction of the energy waves is reversed, so the effect is naturally reversed as well. The demonic beasts won't be lured in; instead, they'll be driven away."

Wang Ting'an nodded.

"The Li family."

Li Yuan didn't respond, but just continued watching.

After several small arrays were altered to have a repulsion function, the original closed loop of nurturing, attracting, and absorbing was broken. The monsters were driven out by the small arrays.

In addition, a large number of second-tier demonic beasts died, and their corpses and residual demonic energy were scattered throughout the mountains.

Meanwhile, the expelled monsters surged towards the outer edge of the mountain range, crowding together with the monsters that were already active there. Territory disputes intensified, food became scarce, and riots naturally became more and more frequent.

Furthermore, the large formation's absorption of life essence caused a complete imbalance in the ecosystem of demonic beasts within the mountain range. After a large number of demonic beasts of the second rank and above died, the lower-ranking demonic beasts that were originally suppressed by them began to reproduce wildly, their numbers increasing dramatically, further escalating the intensity of the uprising.

The reasons for the accelerated rampage of monsters throughout the Yuanheng Mountain Range have now been fully clarified.

After listening to Li Yuan's analysis, Wang Ting'an simply nodded.

The Wang family had already analyzed the situation to a near-complete degree, and they were simply asking Li Yuanlai to make the final judgment.

Li Yuan turned his gaze away from the small formation and towards the heart of the mountain range.

The core of the great formation is over there.

The group continued deeper, passing through two areas where monsters had already been cleared, and finally arrived at the location of the array's core.

The key to the formation is hidden deep inside a natural cave. The entrance is small, but the interior is quite spacious.

The cave walls were densely covered with array patterns, stretching from the ground to the dome. These patterns were more complete and complex than anywhere else outside, with all the smaller arrays eventually converging here and connecting to a fist-sized dark red stone in the center.

That's the key point of the formation.

As Li Yuan approached, his gaze first fell on the surface of the stone. It was dark red, dense in texture, and had a faint, blood-like sheen that seemed to flow slowly across its surface.

The effect of absorbing essence blood is very similar to that of the Blood Fiend Stone encountered earlier.

Li Yuan stopped within a three-foot radius of the dark red stone.

The panel popped up.

[Equipable item detected]

[Item Attribute Level: Blue]

[Note: Items not belonging to the user cannot be equipped, and detailed information cannot be viewed.]

Blue entries.

Li Yuan's gaze narrowed slightly, then he looked away, not lingering in front of the formation.

After examining the array patterns on the cave walls, Wang Ting'an turned and asked, "Is this great array still usable?"

"The main array is still operating," Li Yuan said, "but the closed loop has been broken after the smaller arrays were tampered with. To reactivate it, we must first restore all the modified smaller arrays to their original state, and then recalibrate the connection between them and the main array."

Wang Ting'an nodded. "Take this array core down and bring it back with you."

After he finished speaking, he arranged for people to begin dismantling the array's core.

When the array core was peeled off from the main patterns on the cave wall, the operation of the entire array noticeably weakened. Most of the array patterns on the cave wall darkened, with only a few remaining patterns at the bottom still flickering faintly.

After Wang Ting'an put away the array core, he glanced at Li Yuan.

"This item is somewhat related to array formations, so it won't be of much use to me if I take it back. If Fellow Daoist Li finds it useful, please take it; consider it extra reward for this trip."

Li Yuan did not refuse and took over the array core.

Upon acquiring the dark red stone, the control panel immediately popped up completely.

[Equipable item detected: Essence Blood Array Eye (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Essence Blood Refinement (Blue)]

[Effect: Allows for the extraction of blood, converting up to 30% of one's own blood into essence blood, thus enhancing spiritual energy storage.]

[Preview of Permanent Status Conditions: Defeat five different types of Tier 2 monsters (0/5)]

Li Yuan scanned the panel, first putting the array core into his storage bag, without equipping it on the spot.

The blue entry has a very practical effect. Refining ordinary blood into essence blood not only improves the level of qi and blood, but also enhances the storage effect of spiritual energy.

The condition for permanent status is to kill five different types of second-tier monsters.

Li Yuan declined the Wang family's invitation to a banquet and returned directly to the market town.