Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Deep within the mine tunnels, the sounds of chisels striking each other rose and fell.

The Wang family's mining team has been working at the second mining site for almost half a month. The quality of the fire-evil stone in the deep layers of the intersection zone is much higher than that at the first mining site, and the daily output is steadily increasing.

Wang Ting'an directed from the side.

Li Yuan did not go to Lingtian or the management office today. He went to Ji Huaiyuan's residence in the South District early in the morning.

Ji Huaiyuan was in the backyard of the weapon-refining shop, with a flying sword that was half-tempered in front of him.

"Fellow Daoist Ji, I would like to ask you about the matter of natal magic artifacts."

Ji Huaiyuan put down the forging hammer in his hand and wiped his hands.

"You want to forge your own natal magic weapon?"

"Still considering it."

Ji Huaiyuan nodded.

"If you're interested in this, let me know once you've selected the materials, and I'll refine them for you."

"Different materials have different properties, so it's best to choose materials that match your main cultivation method."

Li Yuan nodded his thanks and was about to ask for advice on materials when a very slight tremor suddenly came from the ground beneath his feet.

The Earth Vein Spirit Pivot instantly fed back information.

The vibrations originated from deep within the ore vein, in the direction of the second mining point. They were neither fluctuations from an array nor normal mining vibrations, but rather a deeper, more muffled resonance of spiritual energy.

Immediately afterwards, a monk who looked like a miner ran over from the south side, covered in sweat.

"Master Li! Something's happened at the second mining site!"

"explain."

"When the brothers dug to the deepest part of the junction, they broke through a particularly hard layer of rock, and below was a large hole filled with scalding hot air and roaring sounds! All the workers were evacuated."

Li Yuan glanced at Ji Huaiyuan.

Let's go take a look.

Ji Huaiyuan put the forging hammer on the table, got up and followed.

The three of them descended rapidly along the mine tunnel. The deeper they went, the higher the temperature became, and the concentration of fire-type spiritual energy and malevolent energy in the air also increased dramatically.

Upon reaching the deepest part of the second mining site, the miners had all retreated to the upper mine tunnel, hiding far behind the corner.

Li Yuan walked to the front.

A large hole, about two zhang in diameter, had been carved out of the mine wall in front of them. The rock strata at the edge of the hole were very clear. The outermost layer was ordinary granite, the middle layer was the normal mineral zone of the Fire Fiend Stone vein, and the innermost layer was a dense, almost black rock shell that was extremely hard. At the chisel mark, a large number of white impact marks left by the hammer could be seen.

An irregular gap was punched through the rock shell.

A scorching wave of heat surged out from the gap, carrying with it a strong smell of sulfur and an extremely high concentration of fiery spiritual energy. The heat hit his face, and even Li Yuan felt a slight stinging sensation on the surface of his skin.

Looking down through the gap, all you could see was a pitch-black void.

A deep roar came from the depths of darkness, carrying obvious hostility.

"A natural cave," Ji Huaiyuan said from behind, his voice muffled by the heat. "When the fire veins and the evil veins converge deep underground, they sometimes form cavities due to conflicts in spiritual energy. The concentration of spiritual energy inside is usually extremely high, making it easy for demonic beasts to breed."

Without saying a word, Li Yuan leaped into the gap.

Ji Huaiyuan followed closely behind, and Wang Ting'an hesitated for a moment before catching up as well.

The three of them slowly descended along the inner wall of the cave.

The size of the cave far exceeded expectations.

The interior space was extremely spacious, roughly estimated to be at least ten zhang deep, and its horizontal extension seemed endless. The cave walls were covered with a large number of dark red mineral crystals, which emitted a dim red light under the illumination of fire-type spiritual energy, turning the entire cave into a dark red world.

The temperature was several times higher than in the mine tunnels.

The concentration of fire-evil mixed with spiritual energy in the air was extremely high. Li Yuan sensed it initially and found it to be at least ten times that of the ground.

The permanent attribute of the Flame Fiend Spirit Essence operates wildly in this environment, and the recovery of spiritual power and cultivation efficiency are both increasing rapidly.

The three of them landed at the bottom of the cave.

The rocky ground beneath my feet was scorching hot, and I felt a burning sensation on the soles of my boots.

The roar sounded again, this time closer, originating from the very center of the cave.

Li Yuan glanced at it.

On a massive, fiery red rock in the center of the cave, a monstrous beast the size of a water buffalo coiled. Its body was covered in dark red scales, from which tiny flames licked. Its crimson vertical pupils stared intently at the three uninvited guests, and it emitted a low, threatening roar.

Second-tier, mid-grade fire-evil beast.

Living year-round in this highly concentrated fiery environment, feeding on the mineral essence within the caves, they have thick skin and are almost immune to fire magic.

But for Li Yuan, it was just a mid-grade second-tier beast.

The Fire Fiend Beast launched the first attack. With its massive maw open, a crimson pillar of fire hurtled straight towards Li Yuan. The pillar of fire was as thick as a water vat, carrying a terrifying heatwave that instantly evaporated the air inside the cave.

Li Yuan dodged to the side, and the pillar of fire grazed his shoulder and slammed into the cave wall behind him, blasting up a shower of flying debris.

He pushed off with his feet and shot forward.

The affinity of the Flaming Spiritual Essence for fire-type spiritual energy rendered the intense heat permeating the cave completely ineffective against him. He fully activated his Iron Bones and Golden Body, condensing a thick layer of malevolent energy into his right fist.

The fist slammed heavily onto the fire demon beast's head.

The sharp blade pierced through the spiritual energy protective layer on the surface of the scales, and violent baleful energy poured into the skull.

The Fire Fiend Beast let out a mournful howl, its massive body sliding backward several feet, large patches of its scales shattering.

It struggled to stand up, but Li Yuan had already closed in and landed a second punch on the same spot.

The sound of skulls shattering echoed through the cave.

The fire demon beast's body fell heavily to the ground, twitched a few times, and then became completely still.

From the moment the attack was made to the moment the kill was achieved, it took only three breaths.

Ji Huaiyuan and Wang Ting'an stepped forward.

"Clean and efficient." Ji Huaiyuan glanced at the corpse of the Fire Fiend Beast, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

Li Yuan squatted down and turned the fire demon beast's corpse over.

Beneath the corpse, a very narrow vein of minerals emerged from the rock strata. The vein was less than half a foot wide, but its surface displayed an extremely rare deep purplish-red color, and its spiritual energy fluctuations were several times stronger than those of ordinary fire-evil stones.

"A high-quality mineral vein." Wang Ting'an gasped, squatted down to examine it closely, and said, "One piece of this quality of fire-evil stone is worth ten pieces outside."

Ignoring the mineral vein, Li Yuan reached into the shattered skull of the Fire Fiend Beast and retrieved a dark red inner core the size of a thumb.

The inner core was scalding hot to the touch, and the fire-evil spiritual energy sealed inside was extremely pure.

A panel pops up.

[Equipable item detected: Fire Fiend Inner Core (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Burning Body Tempering (Green)]

[Effect: Increases physical resistance to fire and evil damage by 30%; increases cultivation efficiency by an additional 20% in high-temperature, high-evil-attribute environments]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Cultivate continuously for thirty days in an environment with extremely high concentrations of fire-elemental energy (0/30)]

[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace current equipment?]

Li Yuan glanced at the conditions for permanentization.

He cultivated continuously for thirty days in an environment with extremely high concentrations of fire-evil spiritual energy.

He looked around.

The entire cave is a natural gathering place for fire-evil spiritual energy, with a concentration more than ten times that of the ground. By cultivating for a few hours each day, one can easily achieve the goal in thirty days.

"equipment."

[Equipped: Fire Fiend Inner Core (Complete)]

[Burning Body Tempering (Green) in effect]

[Conditions for permanent Fire Spirit Tempering (Green): Cultivate continuously for thirty days in an environment with extremely high concentration of Fire Spirit spiritual energy (0/30)]

The moment the incantation took effect, a thin, fiery red membrane seeped from the inner core, spreading along the blood vessels and covering the skin's surface. The unpleasant burning sensation in the cave suddenly lessened by more than half, and even the stinging aura of malevolent energy in the air became much milder.

Li Yuan stood up and looked at Wang Ting'an.

"You are free to mine the finest mineral veins. Do not disturb the depths of the cave; I will use them for my cultivation."

Wang Ting'an nodded repeatedly.

"Understood, I'll bring people in right away."

Just as the three were preparing to return the way they came, Wang Ting'an suddenly pointed to the west wall of the cave and shouted.

"There seems to be a fork in the road over there."

Li Yuan turned his head to look.

On the west wall of the cave, an unnatural gap is indeed visible through a crack in the rock strata. The edge of the gap is not a naturally weathered arc, but rather a straight cut surface that has been artificially carved.

However, the passage was completely blocked by a large amount of collapsed rubble.

Li Yuan walked to the gap and placed his feet on the ground.

The perception of the Earth Vein Spirit Pivot instantly penetrated the layer of rubble and extended into the depths.

The information he received from his senses made him twitch his brow slightly.

Behind the layer of gravel was a well-maintained mine tunnel, about five feet wide and seven feet high. The tunnel walls had been polished, and traces of extremely ancient spiritual energy remained in the rock strata.

The wall treatment method and the residual spiritual energy characteristics were exactly the same as those secret passages he had previously discovered underground in the market.

They are all from the Xuanyou Sect.

Li Yuan's perception continued to extend deeper into the mine tunnel. The tunnel meandered northwest behind the gravel layer, extending for about a hundred feet before exceeding the perception range of the Earth Vein Spirit Pivot.

There may be a much larger ancient network of passageways beneath the entire Ghost Mist Forest than he imagined.

Li Yuan withdrew his senses and turned to look at Ji Huaiyuan and Wang Ting'an.

"Leave this old mine tunnel untouched for now. Do not clear the rubble blocking the tunnel, and do not allow workers to approach it."

Ji Huaiyuan nodded without asking any further questions.

Wang Ting'an responded with an "okay," but his gaze lingered on the collapsed gap for a moment longer.

The three returned to the ground along the same route.

Chapter 352: A Surprise Awaits Deep Within the Mine. Click to unlock now.