Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

The influx of cultivators from Yunzhou showed no signs of slowing down.

After the Qishui Sect's defensive line in eastern Yunzhou was breached, the retreating cultivators flooded into Liangzhou like a tidal wave. As one of the largest settlements in southeastern Liangzhou, Wulin Market absorbed a significant portion of this influx of people.

The market area is no longer big enough.

The guest rooms on both sides of the main street were all full, and the temporary stalls in the trading area were so crowded that there was hardly any room to move. The backyards of several shops were also converted into temporary accommodations. The number of new faces registering to enter the community every day was three times that of the previous month, but the number of people leaving the community was decreasing. Most people dared not leave after entering.

Li Yuan met with Chen Yi at the management office.

"The market needs to be expanded." Li Yuan pushed the entry and exit registration data for the past half month in front of Chen Yi.

Chen Yi looked at the data and did not refute it.

"The sect is also urging us," Chen Yi said. "The outpost relayed the message, telling the market to find its own way to expand its capacity. They can apply for manpower and technical support, but the sect will pay for the materials."

Chen Yi looked up at him and said slowly.

"The information on array materials, the killing of demonic cultivators, and the deployment of auxiliary arrays that I have submitted these days have not yet been paid out."

"You don't need to pay for the expansion materials, and the new shop will be on your behalf as a bonus. Of course, you'll have to put in the effort, how about it?"

Li Yuan nodded, "Of course it's acceptable."

The expansion was carried out very quickly.

Li Yuan spent three days developing two areas, one on the east side and one on the south side of the market. The east side expanded with twelve shops and a row of houses, while the south side expanded with eight shops and a small storage area.

Many medicinal herbs cannot be stored in storage bags and require special arrays for preservation.

The protective array was laid out simultaneously, seamlessly connecting with the existing demon-detecting and exploration arrays in the market. The walls and restrictive structures of the expanded area were more robust than those of the old area, and the level of a second-tier array master was more than sufficient for this scale of project.

After the shops were built, Li Yuan kept four rooms for his own use and sold the rest.

Buyers were not hard to find. The market was crowded with Yunzhou cultivators who had nowhere to stay. Many of them had spirit stones, but what they lacked was a fixed place to operate. Twelve of the sixteen shops were sold on the same day they were put up for sale, and the remaining four were sold the following day.

The selling price was higher than Li Yuan had anticipated. Wartime premiums combined with supply shortages meant that the transaction price for each shop was nearly double the usual price.

The spirit stone was deposited into the account.

In between selling the shops, Li Yuan used some of the spirit stones he collected to systematically stockpile scarce materials.

With fewer and fewer itinerant merchants, the flow of goods between markets almost came to a standstill. The area around the Misty Forest Market had no shortage of locally produced goods: elixirs, talismans, evil stones, and fire evil stones—all had stable production. However, some materials couldn't be produced locally and had to be transported in from elsewhere.

Li Yuan went to Yunyang Market and bought up everything he could.

A lot of spirit stones have been spent, but these things will only become more expensive later.

On the third day after the stockpiling was completed, the Yuanyang Sect's new mission document was delivered to the management office.

Li Yuan opened the document and scanned it.

The content is divided into two parts.

The first part requires the deployment of a new sensing array and a coordinated defense array around the perimeter of the market to enhance the market's early warning and protection capabilities.

The Sensing Array's function is to detect unusual activity around the market. Once a cultivator or demonic beast approaches, the array will automatically transmit a warning signal to the market's interior. The Linked Defense Array automatically activates its outer defenses after the Sensing Array issues a warning, giving the market time to react.

In the second part, Yuan Yang Sect hopes to link the market formation, the outpost formation, and the ruins formation together. If any one of them triggers an alarm, the signal can be simultaneously transmitted to the other two.

Three-point joint defense.

After reading the document, Li Yuan accepted it without much thought.

With the market manager and the array master involved, this matter should have been overseen by him.

The deployment began on the second day.

The structure of the sensing array is not complex. At its core is a set of sensing nodes distributed around the perimeter of the market. These nodes are connected by guiding lines and converge into the array eye located in the center of the market. When the array eye receives an abnormal signal, it will send a warning to all defensive arrays within the market via a pulse of spiritual energy.

The linked defense array is simpler; it is essentially a set of defense restrictions that can be activated remotely. It is hung on the walls and entrances of the market and rises automatically after receiving a warning signal.

During the setup process, Li Yuan's multi-tasking approach proved invaluable. One main line controlled the direction of the array patterns and the embedding of nodes, one branch line monitored the overall spiritual energy balance of the array, and another branch line was attached to the spiritual vein to ensure that the construction process did not affect the normal operation of the spiritual vein.

The sensing array surrounding the market was finally completed.

Li Yuan squatted down next to the array's core, connected the last spiritual energy guide to the sensing stone, and sent out spiritual energy, causing the array to light up.

The panel pops up the moment the sensor stone enters a three-foot range.

[Equipable item detected: Sensing Stone (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Core Sensing (White)]

[Effect: Allows perception of abnormal fluctuations within the range of divine sense; the accuracy of perception increases with the level of divine soul]

[Preview of Permanentization Requirements: Mastery of one Detection spell]

White entries.

Li Yuan put it away, stood up from the array's core, and added a new stone to the newly placed sensing stone position, allowing the array to continue operating.

He then made final adjustments to the Sensing Array and the existing Demon Detection Array and Detection Array.

Each of the three formations governs a specific area.

The Demon-Detecting Array is specifically designed to detect demonic energy, covering the interior and entrance of the market. The Investigating Array monitors spiritual energy fluctuations within the market, offering the highest precision but the smallest coverage. The Sensing Array covers the outer perimeter of the market, boasting the largest coverage and serving as the outermost early warning network.

The three layers progress from the outside inwards, one layer at a time.

After completing the debugging, Li Yuan walked around the market to confirm that all nodes were working properly before returning to the stone house.

That evening, Li Yuan sat down at the table and did some calculations.

The monthly operating revenue statement is now available.

Pills: Continued shipments of Qi-boosting pills and Yuan-gathering pills, with extremely high profits due to wartime premiums.

Purple Fiend Stone Line: With the Fiend Cultivation Array operating stably, Purple Fiend Stones are produced on a cyclical basis, with both the Wang family channel and the independent cultivator channel operating simultaneously.

Fire Fiend Stone Line: Production speeds up after the three mines are connected. Ji Huaiyuan will purchase all of them at a price 30% higher than the standard price for Purple Fiend Stone.

In addition, there is the one-time income from the sale of the shops and the market management fee.

Combined across all three lines, total revenue this month reached a record high.

Li Yuan took stock of the spirit stone reserves.

It has broken through the five-figure mark.

This number is quite considerable for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Now that we have the spirit stones, the next question is how to spend them.

Having more spirit stones simply makes choices easier; it doesn't mean you can waste them.

Li Yuan put away the account books and then cut off a branch to sweep the spiritual veins.

Everything is normal along the spiritual veins. The spiritual energy of the main vein is still being drawn towards the Core Formation Platform, accounting for about 40-50%, unchanged from the previous few days. Two more demonic beasts have appeared in the northern section of the branch vein, both of which are first-tier and do not pose a threat for the time being.

Inside the market area, the demon-detecting array and the detection array are functioning normally.

The mole's presence remained at the patrol team's post, with shifts changing as usual, and the frequency of small transactions remained unchanged.

There were no unusual changes.

Since the news of the failed Core Formation attempt spread, the traitor's activities have actually become more restrained than before.

Li Yuan had no intention of provoking him.

The mole remained hidden, and I continued to monitor him. When and how to act would be decided when the time was right.

Li Yuan withdrew his senses and closed his eyes to circulate his internal energy.