Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Deep inside the cave, the wooden tub for the medicinal bath was moved to the very center of the old lair of the Fire Fiend Beast.

This is the location with the highest concentration of fire-elemental spiritual energy in the entire cave. Dark red mineral crystals radiate scorching light from the cave walls, and the concentration of fire-elemental spiritual energy mixed with fire in the air is more than ten times that of the ground. The permanent attribute of "Fire and Elemental Unity" transforms this scorching heat into a gentle aid to cultivation, and Li Yuan sits in the wooden tub as if soaking in a hot spring.

The medicine was a potent purgative he had specially prepared over the past few days, and its potency was 20% stronger than the formulas he had used before.

After the Spirit Vein Affinity is permanently established, the effect of increasing cultivation speed by an additional 20% near the Spirit Vein is active all day long. Caves are located within the coverage area of ​​the Market's Spirit Vein, and the cultivation bonus stacks reliably.

Li Yuan circulated his Golden Body Technique, channeling spiritual energy along the energy pathway to all the tendons and muscles in his body. He solidified his vital energy and condensed his meridians, firmly protecting the inner walls of his meridians and minimizing the damage caused by the impact of the spiritual energy.

The potent medicinal power seeped from the skin into the deep layers of the muscles, penetrating every joint where tendons and bones met along the muscle fibers. Spiritual energy pushed from within, while the medicinal power pressed from the outside; under this double attack, the tendons endured the ultimate load.

The first attempt to break through. Spiritual energy surged into every tendon and joint in his body, and dozens of joints simultaneously emitted a dense series of muffled thuds. The tendons were stretched to their limit, and the spiritual energy was bounced back at the last moment.

failure.

Adjust your breathing, for the second time.

This time, he changed the rhythm of his spiritual energy infusion, no longer channeling it into all the nodes simultaneously, but instead proceeding layer by layer from the outside in, according to the distribution of the tendons. The outer tendons were broken through first, freeing up space for the spiritual energy to flow more smoothly into the deeper layers.

The outer layer loosened first. A muffled thud started from the extremities and spread towards the torso.

However, the deep core tendons remained firmly stuck, and the spiritual energy could no longer be pushed forward once it reached the last layer.

failure.

the third time.

Li Yuan adjusted his strategy. The five divine sense lines were no longer just used for monitoring, but were directly involved in the distribution of spiritual energy. Each divine sense line was responsible for a set of tendon nodes, precisely controlling the spiritual energy poured into each node and the timing of the impact.

The five groups of tendons were subjected to the impact in sequence at different times. The shockwave released after the first group broke through was transmitted to the second group's nodes, resonating and superimposing with the spiritual energy impact of the second group. The resonance continued to propagate, and by the fifth group, the impact force had far exceeded the limit of a single infusion.

All the tendons in the body broke through at the same instant.

From head and neck to ankles, a series of muffled crackling sounds emanated from the joints. Spiritual energy flowed through, etching an irreversible strengthening mark into the deepest fibers of every tendon.

A panel pops up.

[Golden Body Skill: Mastery (0\/800)]

Li Yuan stood up from the medicinal bath. The murky liquid slid down his muscle lines, and his tendons felt faintly hot.

He clenched his fist, feeling the explosive power transmitted even more sharply than in the proficient stage. The toughness and elasticity of his tendons had improved significantly, and the transmission of power when punching was almost without any loss, flowing seamlessly from the soles of his feet to the knuckles.

Of the four body-refining techniques, the Nameless Body Refining Technique was perfected, the Iron Wall Body Refining Art was mastered, the Mysterious Iron Bone Forging Technique was proficient, and the Golden Body Technique was mastered. The foundation of his physical body continued to rise.

That night, Li Yuan went to the hidden teleportation node on the limestone plateau.

The teleportation array was activated, establishing a connection with the Stone Wasteland node. The teleportation channel stabilized and took shape. Li Yuan stood on the stone platform and channeled his spiritual energy into the array's core.

Space distorted, and he landed a few breaths later.

Everything in the underground stone chamber remained the same. The storage boxes that had been looted last time were now empty, piled up in the corner.

Li Yuan did not linger in the stone chamber. He used earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a technique that allows one to escape through stone walls and move upwards to the ground.)

It broke through the soil after passing through dozens of meters of rock layers.

The desolate landscape of the Stone Wasteland appeared even more lifeless in the night. Grayish-white gravel covered the ground, showing no sign of life.

Li Yuan stood on the ground, releasing the affinity of his spiritual veins.

The doubled range of his spiritual vein perception after permanentization spread across this wasteland. Last time, he only roughly detected a very thin branch of spiritual vein deep beneath his feet; this time, he planned to conduct a more in-depth exploration along the branch's course.

The senses extended southeastward along a branch of the spiritual vein. This branch was extremely thin, extending over a hundred feet underground, winding its way through the barren strata.

Li Yuan used earth-遁术 (earth-遁术, a technique that allows one to move quickly underground) to track the direction of the spiritual vein branch.

After traveling for about twenty miles, the course of the tributary of the spiritual vein changed. It changed from a gentle horizontal extension to a downward slope, with the angle becoming steeper and steeper, and finally disappeared into the deeper layers of the earth.

Li Yuan stopped.

He stood on the ground and repositioned himself.

This area is already within the territory of Melbourne.

Li Yuan continued his pursuit deeper along the branch of the spiritual vein. His earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a technique used in Chinese fantasy novels) allowed him to traverse increasingly dense rock layers, reaching ever greater depths. One hundred zhang, one hundred and twenty zhang, one hundred and fifty zhang.

The branch of the spiritual vein suddenly expanded at a depth of 160 feet.

It's not that the branch line has become thicker, but rather that the branch line has merged into a completely different spiritual vein.

The branch of the spiritual vein suddenly expanded at a depth of 160 feet.

It's not that the branch line has become thicker, but rather that the branch line has merged into a completely different spiritual vein.

This spiritual vein is far larger than the branch veins, and its thickness is comparable to the large spiritual veins of Misty Forest Market. However, it is in an extremely special state—the spiritual vein itself is intact, full of spiritual energy, and its vein wall structure is solid, showing no signs of decay.

But the spiritual veins were sealed off.

A layer of artificially imposed restrictions completely enveloped the entire spiritual vein. The structure of the restrictions was extremely ancient, and its style was consistent with the array patterns of the Xuan You Sect. The restrictions completely sealed the spiritual power within the vein, preventing even the slightest leakage.

This is why the spiritual energy concentration on the surface of the Stone Wasteland is almost zero. It's not that the spiritual veins are depleted, but rather that they have been artificially sealed off.

The sentence recorded in the disciple's diary came to mind—"The sect leader extracts spiritual veins to cultivate something."

Most of the spiritual veins in Mozhou were drained, but this particular spiritual vein was not drained; instead, it was sealed away.

What is the purpose of sealing it?

Li Yuan probed the restrictive layer on the surface of the spiritual vein with his spiritual power.

When a finger touches the edge of the restriction, the panel pops up.

[Equipable item detected: Large Spirit Vein (Complete)]

It has the same name and effect as the large spiritual vein in Wulinfang City.

Li Yuan withdrew his hand and recorded the precise coordinates, depth, scale, and restrictive structure of the sealed spiritual vein in the jade slip.

Beneath the surface of Mozhou lies a perfectly preserved spiritual vein sealed by the Xuanyou Sect. If the seal could be broken one day, this spiritual vein would be enough to support the operation of a large market town.

He returned to the underground stone chamber of the Stone Wasteland by the same route and teleported back to the limestone plateau via a teleportation array.

After returning to the market, Li Yuan sat cross-legged in the stone house and spread his spiritual affinity perception fully towards the Ghost Mist Forest.

The amount of information perceived is more concentrated than in the past few days.

The spiritual energy clusters of the two Yuan Yang Sect exploration teams were still slowly advancing deep into the Ghost Mist Forest, less than twenty miles from the central area. At the same time, in a more distant direction, several other scattered spiritual energy fluctuations were moving towards the same area, their auras bearing obvious traces of demonic energy.

People from the Dark Abyss Society.

But what truly alerted Li Yuan was an extremely faint fluctuation of spiritual energy.

The fluctuation wasn't inside the Ghost Mist Forest, but rather emanated from its northern outskirts. The fluctuation was extremely weak, as if deliberately suppressed to its limit, yet the heightened perception accuracy due to the doubled affinity with the spiritual veins still detected it.

The spiritual energy fluctuations at the Golden Core level.

The distance was too great, and the direction wasn't in the heart of the Ghost Mist Forest. It could be a Golden Core cultivator observing from afar, or it could simply be passing by. But the very existence of this fluctuation indicated one thing—this area had already attracted the attention of Golden Core cultivators.

Both the Yuan Yang Sect and the Sha Mo Sect behind the Dark Abyss Society are converging on the Ghost Mist Forest.

The next morning, Chen Yi personally came to the stone house and handed over a jade slip with a red seal.

"Official sect mission."

Li Yuan took the jade slip and probed it with his divine sense.

The mission is clear: travel approximately 180 miles northeast of Ghost Mist Forest and attack a confirmed medium-sized outpost of the Dark Abyss Society. There are estimated to be three to four Foundation Establishment stage demonic cultivators inside.

The quest comes with one item.

Chen Yi took a sealed jade box from his storage bag and placed it on the table.

"This thing can emit an aura at the Golden Core level, lasting for about fifteen minutes. Activate it during the attack to make Dark Abyss think that a Golden Core cultivator is personally taking action."

Li Yuan opened the jade box.

Inside the box was a dark blue bead about the size of a thumb, its surface shimmering with an extremely restrained spiritual light.

The panel pops up the moment your finger touches the bead.

[Equipable item detected: Mystic Pearl]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Mystic Pearl (Blue)]

[Effect: Allows you to get a rough idea of ​​the next realm's abilities in advance, but does not improve your actual strength]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Breaking Through to a Major Level]

Blue entries.

It allows him to experience the rudimentary abilities of a Golden Core cultivator in advance. It doesn't improve his actual strength, but it allows him to experience some of the sensory perspectives and ability usage methods of a Golden Core cultivator while still in the Foundation Establishment stage.

It is extremely valuable for the preparation of the Golden Core stage.

The condition for permanentization is breaking through a major realm—successfully forming the Golden Core.

"What's the reward after the mission is completed?" Li Yuan asked.

"A medicinal herb that can significantly increase the success rate of Core Formation," Chen Yi said. "He didn't specify which sect it's from, but it's guaranteed to directly help those at the Foundation Establishment stage break through to the Golden Core stage."

Li Yuan put the Mysterious Pearl back into the jade box and closed the lid.

The sect's intentions are unclear. Although it was agreed that Golden Core cultivators could not participate, they could not help but participate when faced with a treasure that could increase the success rate of Nascent Soul formation.

"I'll think about it," Li Yuan said.

Chen Yi nodded and turned to leave.

After closing the stone house door, Li Yuan once again extended his spiritual affinity perception towards the Ghost Mist Forest.

The activity density is even higher than yesterday. The two exploration teams from the Yuan Yang Sect have stopped on the outer edge of the central area, seemingly establishing temporary camps. The demonic energy fluctuations from the direction of the Dark Abyss Society are also increasing, with at least three small teams active deep within the Ghost Mist Forest.

Various forces are rapidly converging.

He had already looted everything in the Xuan You branch hall, but he wasn't sure if there were any other undiscovered ruins or resources deep within the Ghost Mist Forest. Some of the points marked on the incomplete map were very close to the central area, while others were scattered further out on the periphery.