Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

On the third day after the maintenance and reconstruction of the Core Formation area's array was completed, the Yuanyang Sect arranged a comprehensive re-inspection.

The document clearly states that all array masters and related personnel who participated in this maintenance and reconstruction must be present to inspect the arrays in their respective areas, and sign off on the work after confirming that they are functioning normally.

Li Yuan was invited to participate, and he was still in charge of the outer formation.

That morning, more than ten cultivators arrived at the Core Formation area. There were five array masters, four garrison cultivators, and three inner disciples of the Yuan Yang Sect responsible for recording and supervising.

Li Yuan began his inspection from the first auxiliary array on the outer ring, walking along the flow lines inwards, checking the node status, loop integrity, and spiritual energy flow of each array one by one.

Four lines of divine sense operate simultaneously. The main line performs a re-examination, the second line is attached to the spiritual vein, the third line covers the daily perception within the Core Formation area, and the fourth line monitors the aura fluctuations of the surrounding people.

When the re-inspection reached the junction of the inner ring and the core area, Li Yuan met with two other array masters and a garrisoned cultivator in the same corridor.

The group members were busy with their own inspection work, occasionally exchanging a few words of advice.

At this moment, Li Yuan's fourth line of divine sense detected something unusual.

There was a very faint trace of something in the aura of the garrisoned cultivator.

It was very faint, almost completely masked by the fluctuations of the cultivator's own spiritual power. If it weren't for the inclusion of the "Demonic Avatar" entry, one would not have been able to sense it.

Demonic energy.

The concentration was extremely low, even fainter than the demonic energy previously sensed on the demonic beasts. It wasn't the deep-seated pollution caused by long-term cultivation of demonic arts; it was more like a trace left on the skin after a short period of contact with demonic energy.

Li Yuan didn't glance at that person even once.

The re-examination process remained unchanged. The fourth line of divine sense recorded the intensity, location, and characteristics of that aura, and then quietly withdrew, no longer lingering on that person.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator, a member of the Yuan Yang Sect stationed there, carrying a faint demonic aura.

It could be from contact with items imbued with demonic energy, from picking up the energy during an outer patrol, or something else entirely.

Li Yuan did not draw a conclusion, but simply memorized the person's appearance, aura, and location.

The re-inspection continued until evening. After all the formations were confirmed to be operating normally, everyone signed and left.

After leaving the Core Formation area, Li Yuan did not go directly back to the stone house, but went to the management office first.

I pulled out the patrol records and entry/exit logs from the past few days and compared them with them as usual.

Li Yuan paused for a moment when he turned to the patrol schedule.

The mole's schedule has changed.

Previously, he would take advantage of the gaps in his patrols to commit minor offenses during the night shift. Now that he has been transferred to the day shift, he still leaves the workshop at night.

Li Yuan closed the entry and exit register, sat for a moment, and then got up and left the management office.

The market was quieter in the evening than during the day.

Li Yuan walked slowly along the main street, without a specific destination, simply sensing the changes in the atmosphere inside the market under the coverage of the four divine sense lines.

As he walked into the repair and trading area of ​​the expanded eastern section, a stall caught his attention.

The stall was small, covered only by a gray cloth, on which were placed three jade slips and a few miscellaneous items whose purpose was unclear. The stall owner was a thin-faced man, whose aura was at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, carrying the weariness and travel-worn air unique to cultivators from Yunzhou.

Li Yuan's gaze fell on one of the jade slips.

The jade slip was engraved with three small characters: "Art of Controlling Objects".

Li Yuan squatted down and picked up the jade slip.

"May I take a look?"

The stall owner looked up at him and nodded.

Li Yuan probed the jade slip with his divine sense.

The details of the exercise unfolded in my mind.

The art of controlling objects with one's soul.

This is no ordinary object manipulation technique. Ordinary object manipulation techniques use spiritual power to control magical artifacts to fly or attack from a distance, and are essentially based on the method of spiritual power control. This soul object manipulation technique is completely different; it uses the power of the soul.

To solidify one's spiritual power to the point where one can manipulate physical objects outside the body.

Li Yuan continued reading.

The core of the technique is not just about controlling objects. The solidified spiritual power can replace the hands for precise operations, including controlling the fire and stirring the medicine when refining pills, wielding the brush and carving spiritual patterns when making talismans, and embedding nodes and adjusting circuits when setting up arrays.

It's like having an extra pair of invisible hands, and the precision of these hands depends on the strength of one's soul and the proficiency of one's cultivation technique.

Combine this with your ability to multitask and operate on four parallel lines...

Li Yuan put the jade slip back on the stall and looked at the stall owner.

"How much is this martial arts technique?"

The stall owner didn't rush to quote a price, but instead looked Li Yuan up and down a few times.

"I heard the shop owner is a formation master?"

"He also practiced alchemy and talisman making."

The stall owner's eyes lit up slightly, and then he took out another jade slip from under the gray cloth and placed it on the table.

"I also have a pill formula, a recipe for a second-tier Divine Soul Pill. I'll sell both of them together."

"What are the conditions?"

"I don't want spirit stones," the stall owner said.

"I am a weapon refiner, and I haven't been able to find a stable supply of materials since I came from Yunzhou. I need three things."

He held up three fingers.

"First, I want to live in this market town permanently. Not as a guest room, but as a permanent residence."

"Secondly, I need a stable supply of refining materials. A long-term supply, not a one-off one. I'll pay with spirit stones for the materials, but you have to provide the supply channels."

"Third, give me a share of the Soul-Refining Pills you make according to this formula. Fifteen pills will do; stop when you have enough. No more pills will be needed, but the supply of refining materials will continue."

Li Yuan looked at him.

The conditions are not too demanding.

Arranging accommodations in the market is not difficult; there are still quite a few rooms available after the expansion. The supply of refining materials is also within my capabilities. The Wang family's fire mine and my own evil mine can both produce ores for refining, and with materials from other sources in the market, gathering them shouldn't be a problem. The other party also said they would pay with spirit stones; it's not free.

The division of fifteen Divine Soul Pills is the only substantial cost. However, I already need to improve my Divine Soul, and I will refine and consume the pills myself after obtaining the formula. Refining more to share with the other party will not add too much extra burden.

"Okay." Li Yuan nodded. "Arrange accommodations today, and start coordinating the materials tomorrow."

The stall owner pushed both jade slips over.

Li Yuan carefully put away the jade slip and exchanged names with the stall owner. The other party was named Zhou Yuan, a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator specializing in weapon crafting. He used to work for a small family in Yunzhou, but after his family was scattered by the Demon Sect, he fled to Liangzhou alone.

That evening, after returning to the stone house, Li Yuan first looked at the prescription.

The second-tier soul-binding pill is called the Soul-Condensing Pill.

The main ingredient is a spiritual herb called Soul-Gathering Grass, supplemented with calming mineral powder and two other spiritual herbs to stabilize the soul. The difficulty of refining it is above average among second-tier pills. The key step is to use extremely precise heat control to gradually integrate the calming mineral powder into the liquid after the main ingredient has dissolved. If the integration speed is too fast, the liquid will disintegrate; if it is too slow, the medicinal properties will be lost.

Li Yuan didn't have any Soul-Gathering Grass on hand, but a herbal medicine shop in the market had a small amount in stock. As for Tranquilizing Mineral Powder, that was even simpler; similar minerals could be mined from the rock strata near the Sha Mine.

The next morning, Li Yuan gathered all the materials and started the furnace.

All four lines of divine sense were engaged. The main line controlled the pill fire, the second line monitored the temperature gradient inside the medicinal liquid, the third line kept track of the speed and depth of the calming mineral powder's absorption, and the fourth line covered external perception.

An hour later, a muffled sound came from the furnace, and the elixir was complete.

Three light blue pills fell into the jade plate. Their surfaces were smooth and their color was uniform. When held between the fingers, one could feel an extremely gentle force contained within the pills, like compressed morning dew.

Li Yuan took a pill into his hand.

A panel pops up.

[Equipable item detected: Soul Condensing Pill (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Soul Condensation Amplification (Green)]

[Effect: Increases soul refinement by 20%, and increases the natural recovery speed of the soul by 30%]

[Preview of conditions for permanentization: Accumulate the consumption of thirty second-tier or higher quality Divine Soul Pills, or achieve mastery of a second-tier Divine Soul cultivation technique]

Green entries.

The refinement of the divine soul increases by 20%, and the natural recovery speed increases by 30%. Both effects are very practical and perfectly match the cultivation direction of the Concentration and Soul Guiding Technique.

There are two conditions for permanent attainment: either consuming a cumulative total of thirty pills, or achieving mastery of a second-tier Divine Soul cultivation technique.

I've mastered the Concentration and Soul Guiding Technique, but it will take more time to reach mastery. Consuming thirty pills cumulatively is more straightforward; as long as I have enough materials, I can refine them myself.

Li Yuan carefully put away the three Soul Condensing Pills, leaving one for Zhou Yuan.

He then took out the jade slip containing the Divine Soul Manipulation Technique and probed it with his divine sense.

The techniques and experiences flooded into my mind.

The way the Soul Manipulation Technique operates is different from all the spells I've learned before. It doesn't travel through the meridians or the dantian; it directly draws a wisp of power from the soul, condenses it, and then pushes it out of the body.

Li Yuan tried to follow the guidance of the technique, separating a wisp of power from his soul and sending it toward his palm.

A faint, transparent ripple emerged from the palm of his hand, lingered in the air for two breaths, and then dissipated.

The solidity is insufficient, making it impossible to manipulate the actual object.

Li Yuan tried several more times, and on the third attempt, the ripple finally stabilized and lasted for five or six breaths before dissipating.

【Soul Manipulation Technique: Beginner (0/200)】

getting Started.

Li Yuan pushed a bottle of pills on the table in front of him and tried to control it using his Soul Manipulation Technique.

When that wisp of solidified divine soul power touched the bottle, the bottle swayed slightly and was then slowly lifted about an inch high.

shake.

The bottle trembled violently in the air, as if it were being held by a trembling hand. Li Yuan's spiritual precision was far from sufficient to support precise control; he could barely even hold a small bottle steadily.

Using such precision to control the fire in alchemy would likely cause the medicinal liquid to explode.

Li Yuan put the bottle down and withdrew his divine soul power.

The accuracy is far off, but the direction is correct.

As one's proficiency in the Divine Soul Manipulation Technique increases, coupled with the continuous enhancement of the Divine Soul's refinement through the Concentration and Soul Guiding Technique, the precision of this technique will gradually improve. At that point, one can combine it with the four parallel operations of multitasking—using spiritual power to control the fire, using divine soul power to manipulate the stirring of the medicinal liquid, monitoring the spiritual veins, and covering external perception.

The accuracy is far off, but the direction is correct.

As one's proficiency in the Divine Soul Manipulation Technique increases, coupled with the continuous enhancement of the Divine Soul's refinement through the Concentration and Soul Guiding Technique, the precision of this technique will gradually improve. At that point, one can combine it with the four parallel operations of multitasking—using spiritual power to control the fire, using divine soul power to manipulate the stirring of the medicinal liquid, monitoring the spiritual veins, and covering external perception.

The four things are completely separate and do not interfere with each other.

It has great potential, but it will take time.