Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

The author's latest work, "Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes," is exclusively published on Cola Novels!

In the morning, Li Yuan sensed the aura of a second-tier demonic beast near the spiritual vein while he was cultivating.

Li Yuan immediately equipped himself with the Qi-Strengthening and Breath-Prolonging Technique, his experience with the technique flooding his mind, before fleeing the market.

[Equipped: Strengthening Qi and Prolonging Breath Technique (Complete)]

[Qi and Blood Circulation (Green) in effect]

The change comes very gently. It's not the feeling of a sudden surge in qi and blood, but rather a permanent optimization of the way qi and blood circulate within the body. The loss of qi and blood as they flow through the meridians and blood vessels is reduced, as if some rough pipes have been polished smooth.

Upon arriving at the middle level of the Ghost Mist Forest, Li Yuan followed the traces of aura he had sensed from the spiritual veins and ventured deeper into the forest.

The target appeared half an hour ago in a dense forest on the eastern side of a branch of the spiritual vein. Its aura was deep and cold, and its fluctuation intensity was around the middle level of the second rank.

Li Yuan slowed his steps, moving forward by brushing against the shadows of the trees. He simultaneously suppressed both Concealing His Aura and Hidden Aura, reducing his own aura to an extremely low level.

When they were less than twenty feet from their target, the atmosphere in the forest suddenly changed.

A fishy, ​​acrid smell filled the air, like a mixture of rotting leaves and the distinctive stench of snakes. Several patches of the fallen leaves on the ground were slightly raised, their outlines long and thin, like a thick rope buried beneath the leaves.

Venomous scale snake.

Li Yuan did not act immediately, but first used his spiritual perception to carefully scan the environment around the venomous scale snake.

When I was halfway through the scan, I sensed something new.

Demonic energy.

It was very faint, clinging to the outer layer of the venomous serpent's aura like a thin membrane. It wasn't produced by the beast itself, but rather came from elsewhere.

Li Yuan's gaze sharpened slightly before he withdrew his senses, not lingering on the matter any longer.

It does not affect the hunting.

But the purpose of this hunt was not just the hunt itself.

The conditions for achieving permanent health and vitality are: engaging in continuous combat with someone of the same level for more than an hour without reducing health and vitality to below 80%.

The venomous scorpion was a mid-tier second-order serpent, the same tier as himself. With Li Yuan's current strength, a quick, direct confrontation would suffice. However, to fulfill the conditions for permanent transformation, the battle would have to drag on for over an hour.

Li Yuan adjusted his approach.

Don't go all out, control your output, and just let it wear you down.

He raised his hand and unleashed a fire arrow, not aiming for a vital spot, but instead striking the ground in front of the venomous serpent's ambush position.

With a muffled thud, dead leaves and bits of soil were blasted into the air.

The venomous snake did not pounce immediately, but instead coiled its body into a ball, its head swaying slightly from side to side, as if assessing the strength of its prey.

Li Yuan stood twenty feet away and did not continue the attack.

After waiting a few breaths and seeing that Li Yuan did not move, the venomous serpent made its first move.

The snake suddenly shot out at great speed, its more than three-zhang-long body stretching into a dark green straight line in mid-air. Its head opened, and two venomous fangs emerged from its upper jaw, lunging straight at Li Yuan's face.

Li Yuan dodged to the side, and the snake's head grazed past his shoulder, bringing with it a foul stench.

He didn't retaliate, but instead took two steps back to create distance.

After missing its target, the venomous serpent turned and swung its tail horizontally. Li Yuan raised his hand to block it, and the spiritual membrane protecting his body automatically rose, dissipating most of the impact from the serpent's tail.

Li Yuan silently noted the time in his mind, and then began to deal with the venomous snake.

In the ensuing battle, Li Yuan fought with great restraint.

Each time the venomous serpent pounced, he would simply dodge or take the hit with his spirit membrane. Occasionally, he would unleash a fire arrow or a golden blade, but he would never aim for vital points. Instead, he would simply strike the serpent's body, leaving shallow wounds to keep it motivated to attack.

If the injury is too minor, the venomous snake will escape.

If the injuries are too severe, the battle will end prematurely.

The venomous scale snake has a very simple attack method: either it strikes with its head by flicking its tongue or it sweeps and coils its tail. Occasionally, it will spray a venomous mist from between its scales. The mist is pale green and does not spread over a large area, but it is highly concentrated.

When Li Yuan first encountered the poisonous fog, the spiritual membrane protecting his body with the Three Elements blocked most of it. With sufficient physical strength, the small amount of toxins that had seeped into his body were treated as impurities and directly transformed into evil energy.

After fighting for nearly an hour, Li Yuan's keen senses suddenly detected an unfamiliar aura.

About 100 zhang away in the northeast direction.

The aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator carries demonic energy.

Demonic cultivator.

Li Yuan's movements remained unchanged; he continued to maneuver against the venomous snake at the same pace.

The aura stopped a short distance away, neither approaching nor leaving. It simply remained at a distance, as if observing.

Li Yuan used his spiritual perception to pinpoint the other party's location.

Hidden in the canopy of an old tree, its figure was low to the ground, and its aura was deliberately concealed. If it weren't for the wide coverage of its enhanced passive perception and the extra sensitivity to demonic energy amplified by its demonic senses, it would be difficult to detect.

He appeared to be in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, but his aura wasn't particularly strong.

Li Yuan kept quiet.

A few breaths later, the aura of the demonic cultivator in the northeast direction suddenly stirred.

gone.

Li Yuan memorized the direction the other person left in, but did not chase after them.

It's almost time.

A little over an hour has passed since the start of the battle.

Li Yuan stopped holding back.

The Fire Serpent Technique materialized in his palm, the crimson flames more intense than ever before. Once formed, the fire serpent lunged straight at the venomous serpent's head. The serpent tried to dodge, but having exhausted most of its strength, its speed was far less than before.

The fire python slammed into the side of the snake's head, and the venomous snake hissed in agony as half of its head was charred black by the intense heat.

A panel pops up.

The conditions for achieving permanent Qi and Blood Circulation (Green) have been met.

[Fighted continuously with an opponent of the same level for more than an hour without losing more than 80% of your health (met the requirement)]

Is it permanent?

Li Yuan confirmed.

【The phrase "prolonged blood and qi circulation (green)" has become a permanent entry.

Li Yuan stretched his body to make sure he was in good condition before going forward to clean up the venomous snake's corpse.

The scales, venom sacs, and bones of the venomous scorpion are all useful. The venom sacs, in particular, contain toxins that can be used to refine poison pills or applied to magical artifacts to enhance their corrosive effects; they can be sold for a considerable amount of spirit stones in the market.

After the inner core was taken out, it was swallowed directly. A cold force pressed down along the stomach wall into the bones. As usual, the evil energy was stripped away from the evil components. The remaining demonic power was received by the river of qi and blood and slowly digested along the method.

After packing up the materials, Li Yuan returned to the market town along the same route.

When they returned to the market, the atmosphere was off.

The main street was packed with people, more lively than ever before, but the liveliness was chaotic. Everywhere there were cultivators dragging storage bags, long queues outside several shops, and many people squatting by the roadside, their faces ashen, looking like they had just fled a disaster.

When Li Yuan arrived at the entrance of the management office, a monk on duty came to greet him.

"Master, something terrible has happened."

"What is it?"

"In Yunzhou, a key stronghold of the Qishui Sect has fallen. A large number of cultivators have retreated into Liangzhou, and they started pouring into the market early this morning, and it hasn't stopped yet."

Li Yuan walked into the management office, where a stack of temporary entry and exit registration books was already piled up on the table.

A glance at the register revealed that the number of newly registered cultivators today was more than five times the usual amount. The vast majority came from the direction of Yunzhou, ranging from the Qi Refining stage to the Foundation Establishment stage, mostly independent cultivators, with a few also marked as disciples of the Qishui Sect.

News of the loss of the stronghold spread quickly throughout the market.

By the afternoon, almost everyone knew. A key stronghold of the Qishui Sect in eastern Yunzhou had been breached by the Shamo Sect. The defending cultivators suffered heavy casualties, and the remaining members, along with the surrounding rogue cultivators, retreated, with most of them flowing into Liangzhou.

Panic spread along with the flow of people.

Prices in the market began to fluctuate wildly that afternoon.

Elixirs were the first to be affected. Healing pills, rejuvenating pills, and detoxifying pills—these were the most consumed pills during wartime—doubled in price within two hours. Several elixir shops were completely sold out, forcing shopkeepers to post notices limiting purchases.

Material prices followed suit and rose. Spirit sand, spirit ore, alchemy auxiliary materials, and talisman-making materials—almost all categories saw price increases, ranging from 30% to 100%.

Looking at the real-time price summary sent by the management office, Li Yuan did not hesitate and began shipping goods that same day.

The wartime consumables he had previously stockpiled—such as Rejuvenating Grass, Purple Mystic Stone Powder, and Gathering Yuan Sand—had more than doubled in price. Li Yuan sold off most of them, keeping only a small amount for his own use.

A batch of longevity-enhancing auxiliary materials has also been released. The prices of life-extending grass and meridian-nourishing cinnabar are 20% higher than at their peak. Taking advantage of this wave of panic buying, Li Yuan sold off half of his remaining stock.

After several transactions were completed, the amount of spirit stones recovered was quite considerable.

The net profit was higher than any of his previous deals.

That evening, Li Yuan went to the Core Formation District again.

The work of setting up the auxiliary formation is still ongoing, but the progress has slowed down significantly.

The reason is simple: there's a shortage of materials.

When Li Yuan arrived, the two cultivators from the materials team were counting the remaining inventory, and their expressions were not good.

"We only have two portions of the Stabilizing Spirit Sand left, and the Spirit Guiding Powder is almost gone," one of them said to the other. "At this rate, we can only set up three more arrays before we have to stop."

Li Yuan didn't ask any more questions and went directly to find Chen Yi.

"Why are the materials for the formation so scarce?"

Chen Yi sighed.

"The sect's regular reserves are actually sufficient; we don't lack pills, magic tools, or ordinary spirit sand. However, the materials used for the Core Formation Platform's auxiliary array are special, and we don't usually stockpile a lot of several items. We originally planned to replenish them by purchasing them from the market. But recently, these materials have become increasingly difficult to buy."

"Can't buy it?"

"It's not just that we can't buy them," Chen Yi said in a low voice. "There are unknown forces secretly buying up similar materials, and they're doing it very aggressively. When the sect's procurement channels went to get the goods, they found that the inventory of several suppliers had been cleared out in advance."

Li Yuan did not respond.

An unknown force secretly acquired materials for setting up the Core Formation Platform.

This matched the two contradictory phenomena observed earlier in the market. Some people were collecting, some were selling at low prices, and the Yuan Yang Sect disciple was acting as an intermediary.

After leaving the Core Formation area, Li Yuan returned to the stone house and continued his cultivation.