Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Read Chapter 365, "Space Crystal Clues," now to begin today's exciting chapter.

Yuan Yang Sect withdrew two more stewards.

This is the third batch of management personnel to be transferred in the past month. After the two exploration teams entered the depths of Ghost Mist Forest, the logistical pressure on the outpost increased sharply, and the sect had to draw manpower from various markets to fill the gap.

Li Yuan began filling the vacancies with his own people.

Ji Huaiyuan's grandson, Ji Wenchuan, took over the daily coordination affairs of the southern district, mainly responsible for liaising with shops and artisans. The Wang family also sent two clansmen to the management office to share the work of mine area scheduling and material inventory.

Wang Ting'an found Li Yuan at this critical juncture.

"Brother Li, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

The two sat down in a side hall of the management office.

Wang Ting'an poured two cups of tea, took a sip himself, and then got straight to the point.

"The number of people from the sect is decreasing, and sooner or later the management of the market will fall entirely on our own. I want to send more people from the Wang family to take over the patrol, storage, and entry and exit registration."

Li Yuan did not respond immediately, but held his teacup and waited for him to finish speaking.

Wang Ting'an put down his cup and leaned forward slightly.

"I'd also like to adjust the profit-sharing arrangement in the mine. Right now it's 40/60, with the Wang family getting 40% and you getting 60%. My idea is to change it to 30/70, where we reduce it to 30% and you get 70%."

They voluntarily gave up 10% of the mine's profits in exchange for more control over management positions.

Wang Ting'an's calculations are not hard to understand. The profits from the mines are fixed, but the implicit benefits from the market management rights are dynamic. Procurement channels, resource allocation, and personnel access approvals—each of these can generate additional advantages. Exchanging 10% of the mine's profits for these things is a worthwhile deal for the Wang family.

Li Yuan didn't lose out either. The mine's profits increased by 10%, and the extra manpower saved him the trouble of managing it; he still maintained actual control of the market.

"Okay." Li Yuan put down his teacup. "Let me review the candidates for management positions. I will still have the authority to dispatch the patrol team."

Wang Ting'an nodded repeatedly, a smile spreading across his face.

"That's natural."

After seeing Wang Ting'an off, Li Yuan went to the branch of the Mingyuan Chamber of Commerce in the East District.

Xu Zhang was sorting through a batch of newly arrived goods in the back room when he saw Li Yuan arrive. He quickly put down his work and came to greet him.

"Master Li, you've come at the right time. There are some things I'd like to show you."

Xu Zhang invited Li Yuan into the inner room, pulled out a huge animal skin scroll from under the table, and spread it out on the entire tabletop.

A map of the trade routes between the four states.

The map is marked with dozens of trade routes using ink lines of varying thicknesses. These routes start from the mining areas in eastern Jingzhou, pass through several trade routes in northern Yunzhou, and eventually converge into various towns and cities within Liangzhou.

"This is a trade route overview used internally by our chamber of commerce." Xu Zhang pointed to a densely marked area on the east side of the map. "Eastern Jingzhou is the richest source of ores and raw materials for magical artifacts in the entire four states. Most of the black iron essence, flowing silver ore, spirit copper, and talisman paper pulp come from here."

His finger slid westward along a thick ink line.

"The goods depart from Jingzhou and travel through the Luoxia Corridor in northern Yunzhou into Liangzhou. The Luoxia Corridor is the main trade route between Jingzhou and Liangzhou, stretching for about four thousand li, with seven or eight transit markets along the way. It takes our guild's escort team about two and a half months to make a trip."

Li Yuan's gaze did not linger on the main trade route, but instead shifted to the northeast corner of the map.

Several thin ink lines also mark the trade routes in the direction of Mexico.

"Business in Melbourne too?"

Xu Zhang nodded.

"The spiritual energy in Mozhou is indeed nearing depletion. However, the decline in spiritual energy does not affect the mineral resources. The underground mineral veins there are still very rich, but no one is mining them anymore. Occasionally, some daring rogue cultivators venture deep into the abandoned mining areas, and if they are lucky, they can dig up quite a few good things."

He lowered his voice.

"Some people have even dug out entire boxes of spiritual materials from the abandoned treasure vaults of ancient powers. There used to be quite a few powers in Mozhou, and the things they left behind after their destruction were scattered everywhere, and no one has systematically cleaned them up."

Li Yuan memorized the trade route towards Mozhou and didn't ask any further questions.

Xu Zhang put away the map and changed the subject.

"By the way, there's a large-scale auction going on in Baijingfang City in Jingzhou next month. I've received an internal preview list of the auction items."

Xu Zhang then handed over the list.

"The contents of this list cannot be guaranteed to remain unchanged, but it is highly likely that they will be included."

When Li Yuan took the list, his gaze froze for a moment when he saw the space crystal.

Space Crystal. The last crucial material needed to repair the hidden teleportation node. He had already prepared space array stones, spirit-guiding copper sheets, and spirit-energy clay, but this space crystal was still nowhere to be found.

Where is Baijingfang Market located in Jingzhou?

"In the central part of Jingzhou," Xu Zhang said, "Jingzhou has three Golden Core sects and our Chamber of Commerce. Each has one or two Golden Core cultivators, and their power is not very great. In terms of size alone, they are not as powerful as Yuanyang Sect, which has five Golden Core cultivators."

"However, there is a Nascent Soul sect that spans three states next to Jingzhou, so none of the three families in Jingzhou dare to cause trouble, and the area is quite peaceful. Baijing Market is a neutral market jointly managed by the three families, and the auction is also jointly organized by the three families."

"Can you take photos for me?"

Xu Zhang looked troubled and shook his head.

"Space crystals can't be used with teleportation arrays. Items with spatial properties conflict with teleportation arrays; forcibly teleporting would consume an absurd amount of energy and risk damaging the crystal's structure."

He sighed.

"But our chamber of commerce is currently short-staffed. A round trip to Jingzhou takes at least three or four months, and we simply can't spare anyone to make that trip just for a single crystal."

Li Yuan remained silent for a few moments.

When is the auction?

"Mid-next month."

Li Yuan nodded, stood up, and took his leave.

On his way back to the stone house, he mentally reviewed the itinerary.

Starting from Wulinfang City, one travels along the eastern section of the Luoxia Corridor into Jingzhou, then south from northern Jingzhou to Baijingfang City. The one-way journey takes about ten days, and the round trip is nearly a month.

The market's management has a stable framework, and the Wang and Ji families have enough manpower to maintain daily operations. Each line—mining output, spirit fields, talisman shops, and elixir supply—has dedicated personnel in charge.

He'll be gone for a month, and the market won't have any problems.

The space crystals can't wait any longer.

Li Yuan returned to the stone house, pushed open the back door, and headed towards the spirit field.

From afar, a patch of grayish-green vegetation could be seen thriving within the area enclosed by the array. The leaves of the Soul-Slaying Grass had grown from narrow and pointed as seedlings to broad and thick ones. The dark red veins along the leaf edges were deep and rich, and the entire quarantine area exuded a heavy, chilly medicinal fragrance.

Lingon was squatting in the field doing the final harvest.

"Master, the first batch is all ripe." Lingnong stood up, patted the mud off his hands, and couldn't hide his excitement. "The total yield is 40% higher than expected."

Li Yuan walked into the quarantine area, casually picked up a Soul-Slaying Grass that had already been harvested, and probed its roots with his spiritual power.

medicinal properties It has a sufficient amount of malevolent energy and stable quality.

The production rate exceeding 40% means that the raw materials for the Condensing Fiend Pill have been completely self-sufficient. At the current refining efficiency, the monthly production of Condensing Fiend Pills can not only meet the needs of the producers and the Fiend-type cultivators in the market, but also have a considerable surplus that can be sold to others.

The Ning Sha Pill has always been a hot commodity in the surrounding markets, with supply falling short of demand. This surplus production capacity will become a new and stable source of income for the Misty Forest Market.

Li Yuan instructed the spirit farmer to dry the herbs according to the established procedure and then store them in the medicine warehouse before turning and leaving the spirit field.

Life continues to progress through cultivation.

Although progress in teleportation techniques is slower than in Sky-Splitting Slash, it has been steadily improving.

The displacement distance expanded from five zhang to seven zhang, then eight zhang, and finally, through continuous practice, broke through the ten-zhang threshold. Upon landing, the body was completely stable, without the slightest stagger. Spiritual energy consumption decreased by about 20% compared to when the beginner level, and the cooldown interval was also significantly shortened.

A panel pops up.

Teleportation Skill: Proficient (0/400)

A displacement distance of ten zhang is sufficient for an effective surprise attack or escape in actual combat. Combined with the stealth effect of triple concealment, one can first approach within ten zhang range by stealth, and then instantly appear in front of the target using teleportation—the opponent will have almost no chance to react effectively.

Both spatial spells have reached the proficiency stage, and the path to making the teleportation stone permanent is steadily shortening.

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