Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

The next morning, the management office delivered a clan document.

The details are simple. Some array materials in the Core Formation area need to be replaced. The Yuan Yang Sect requires all array masters with access permissions to participate in the maintenance.

Li Yuan accepted the documents and went to the Core Formation District that afternoon.

The identification array in the outer ring corridor had an additional layer of checks, making entry and exit even more stringent than before. After showing his ID card, Li Yuan passed through two checks and walked along the corridor towards the inner ring.

The layout of the inner ring is not much different from when it was last completed, but the concentration of spiritual energy in the air is noticeably weaker than before.

Li Yuan passed through the transition area of ​​the inner ring and his gaze fell on the Core Formation Platform in the distance.

The altar stood quietly in the center of the core area, its surface array patterns not activated, remaining in standby mode.

Li Yuan noticed something was wrong after just one glance.

The surface of the altar was slightly dimmer than when it was last completed.

When the auxiliary array was completed last time, a very faint layer of spiritual light was contained within the stone surface of the Core Formation Platform. This was the external manifestation of the spiritual power contained within the main array of the platform. Now, that layer of spiritual light is still there, but its brightness has obviously decreased, like an oil lamp that has used up some fuel.

Li Yuan didn't ask any questions immediately, but went to the construction area first.

Several array masters have already begun dismantling the damaged auxiliary array materials on the outer ring.

After Li Yuan joined, he was in charge of the two linked arrays in the transition section between the inner ring and the core area. The array patterns of these two arrays were the most severely damaged, and the spiritual energy circulation of several key nodes had been broken, so they needed to be completely dismantled and rebuilt.

As the formation was being dismantled, an older formation master nearby suddenly spoke up.

"Don't you guys think the altar is darker than last time?"

Li Yuan kept working while listening intently.

Another array master looked up at the Core Formation Platform and nodded.

"It is indeed a bit darker. I thought I was seeing things, but it turns out you noticed too."

"It's not an illusion." The older array master lowered his voice, "When I came here last time, I made a special note of the intensity of the spiritual light on the surface of the altar, and it's at least ten percent weaker."

The group whispered among themselves for a few moments, but reached no conclusion, and then continued working.

The dismantling and reconstruction work lasted all day.

As they finished work in the evening, the late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator in charge of the garrison came over and explained some follow-up arrangements to several array masters. After he finished, Li Yuan took the opportunity to ask a question.

"The spiritual light emanating from the altar is significantly weaker than last time. Is this normal energy depletion, or is there a problem?"

The garrisoned cultivator glanced at him and hesitated for a moment.

"Normal consumption," he said. "The Core Formation Platform consumes its own spiritual power and a portion of its spiritual essence when assisting in Core Formation. After use, it needs to replenish its spiritual energy to recover."

He paused for a moment, then added another sentence.

"The altar itself also has a lifespan. Each use incurs a loss; it's not something that can be used indefinitely."

Li Yuan nodded and did not ask any further questions.

The Core Formation Platform has a limited number of uses.

It's not a perpetual motion machine; each time it assists in the formation of the Golden Core, it consumes the platform itself. The dimming of the spiritual light is a direct manifestation of this consumption.

"Was this Core Formation Platform originally part of the ruins?" another formation master asked.

"It seems that the Qishui Sect's Core Formation Platform was moved from elsewhere."

The garrisoned cultivator thought for a moment, then nodded.

It can be moved.

Li Yuan noted down the information and said nothing more.

Construction continued the following day.

The two interconnected arrays that Li Yuan was responsible for rebuilding were nearing completion. The materials for the array cores needed to be replaced, and Li Yuan selected suitable stones from the material boxes provided by the sect.

He rummaged through the materials box with his fingers and found a Fire Sun Stone.

It was of good quality, with a warm, dark red sheen on the surface and a regular flow of spiritual energy within. Li Yuan picked it up, preparing to embed it into the array's core.

The panel pops up the moment your finger touches the stone surface.

[Equipable item detected]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Fire Sun Enhancement (Green)]

[Effect: Enhances the wearer's fire magic power. The increase increases with the number of fire spells practiced, with a minimum of 10% and a maximum of 50%.]

[Note: The same attribute has been permanently added and cannot be equipped repeatedly.]

Li Yuan paused for a moment.

Unable to equip again. The reason is that the same entry has already been made permanent.

He glanced at the effect description displayed on the panel. It enhanced the power of fire spells, and its effect clearly overlapped with his permanent Flame Marrow Body.

The panel identifies the Fire Yang Stone's entry as originating from the same source as the Flame Marrow Essence Body.

The source of the Flame Marrow Body is the Spirit-Nourishing Jade Yang Stone. That stone was originally extracted from a mineral vein and has the effect of enhancing the power of fire-type spells and strengthening the physical body by consuming the flesh of demonic beasts.

Now, this ordinary Fire Yang Stone in front of us, after being embedded in the array's core, has generated an entry that only contains fire-elemental enhancement effects, without any part of it being converted into blood and qi by consuming monster meat.

The transformation of demonic power corresponds to the attributes of the array's core.

Fire-type enhancement corresponds to the inherent properties of the ore itself.

The effects of the two entries from different sources were passively merged together because the Spirit-Nourishing Jade Yang Stone simultaneously served as both the array's core and a mineral, forming the complete effect of the Flame Marrow Body Nourishing.

The ordinary Fire Yang Stone in front of us is just a key stone for the array. It does not have the nourishing properties of a natural mineral with a layer of spiritual veins, so it only produces half of the fire-type enhancement effect.

The panel recognizes that the two are from the same source and does not allow duplicate equipment.

Li Yuan put the Fire Yang Stone aside and took another stone of similar quality to embed in the array eye.

This discovery itself doesn't affect any current operations, but it gives Li Yuan a deeper understanding of the generation mechanism of affixes. Array affixes and material affixes can be fused, and the effect of the fused affix depends on the source of each affix's attribute.

The reconstruction work was completed on the afternoon of the third day.

After the newly set array was activated, Li Yuan stood in the inner ring and sensed the direction of the Core Formation Platform.

Perception was blocked.

The newly added arrays created an additional layer of concealment. Divine senses probing out from the outer ring were blocked by the arrays' spiritual energy field upon reaching the edge of the core area, unable to penetrate to the vicinity of the Core Formation Platform.

This layer of protection was not present when the auxiliary array was first completed; it was added after maintenance and reconstruction. The divine sense and perception methods of cultivators from the outside are completely shielded from the core area, and they cannot see anything about the Core Formation Platform from the outside.

Li Yuan tried switching to the spiritual vein monitoring line.

The perception channel of the spiritual vein does not travel through the spiritual energy level of the array, but rather permeates along the vein's own structural framework. The array's concealment targets external divine sense and spiritual energy detection, but does not obstruct the flow of spiritual energy within the vein itself.

The spiritual veins were perceived through the obscuring layer.

The flow of spiritual energy towards the Core Formation Platform remained clearly perceptible. The guiding array continued to operate, drawing spiritual energy from the main vein towards the Core Formation Platform, and the dimming spiritual light on the platform's surface could also be felt through the spiritual vein's perception.

The outside world was blocked, but he could still see everything happening in the direction of the Core Formation Platform through the spiritual veins.

After leaving the Core Formation area, Li Yuan returned to the stone house and sat cross-legged on the futon.

Three lines of consciousness are activated simultaneously, with the main line operating the Concentration and Soul Guiding Technique.

After mastering the Concentration and Soul Guiding Technique, I have been practicing continuously, and my progress is steady. After the Soul Concentration and Guarding skill took effect, the soul consumption for each practice session decreased by 20%, allowing me to complete more rounds of the process in the same amount of time, and my proficiency increased faster than expected.

When I was in the latter half of my energy cultivation tonight, the control panel popped up.

【Concentration and Soul Guiding Technique: Proficient (0/400)】

From beginner to expert.

The change occurs at the level of the soul.

At the beginning, the improvement of the spiritual essence's refinement is only a vague sense of direction, like knowing where to go but the path under your feet is not yet clear. After becoming proficient, that path becomes real. The refinement of the spiritual essence is no longer a passive, slow progression with the circulation of the technique, but rather, with each practice, you can clearly feel the spiritual essence becoming more solid and denser little by little.

Li Yuan assessed his current state of mind.

It's much better than when I first started.

The clarity and penetrating power of his divine sense have both improved to a new level, and the accuracy of his passive perception, which is characterized by keen spiritual awareness, has also increased slightly.

If the soul becomes stronger, can it split into one more line?

Li Yuan tried to maintain the three lines of divine consciousness while branching out a branch line from the main line.

The fourth line of consciousness.

At the moment of splitting, a brief dizziness occurred in my mind, as if my soul had been suddenly pulled. But the permanent key that allowed me to use my distraction skill immediately stabilized the primary and secondary relationships between the four lines, and the dizziness disappeared within a breath.

The four lines operate independently.

The main line is operating the Concentration and Soul Guiding Technique. The second line is connected to the spiritual vein monitoring system. The third line covers the daily perception around the stone house. The fourth line is empty, awaiting task assignment.

There is no pressure to maintain daily operations in the four cities.

Having an extra line means that you can do four things at the same time.