Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

After returning to the market, Li Yuan sealed the doors and windows of the stone house and activated the soundproofing array.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, extending the perception nurtured by the evil veins in his special equipment inventory to the underground of the market.

The main branch of the evil vein is located about thirty feet directly below the stone house. Unlike the spiritual vein, the energy characteristics of the evil vein are more gloomy and corrosive, and prolonged contact with it can damage the meridians of ordinary cultivators. However, the permanent attributes within Li Yuan's body, such as the Unity of Evil Essence and the Integration of Flame and Evil, have already transformed the evil energy into a part of his cultivation system.

The effects of nourishing the evil veins began to take effect.

A wisp of extremely fine malevolent energy seeped into the foundation of the stone house from underground along the nodes of the earth's veins, and then entered his meridians through the guiding array patterns set up by Li Yuan. The moment the malevolent energy entered his body, the permanent attribute of "Integration of Flame and Malevolence" automatically merged it with the fire-attribute spiritual power within his body, forming a warm and dense mixed energy.

Li Yuan guided this mixed energy into his limbs and bones, and began to circulate the Golden Body Technique.

The Golden Body Technique differs from conventional body-refining exercises. It does not pursue absolute muscle hardness, but rather strengthens the resilient connection between muscles and bones, allowing the body to maintain both strength and elasticity when subjected to heavy blows.

The addition of malevolent energy significantly improved the efficiency of the Golden Body Technique. The affinity of malevolent energy provided by the Unity of Malevolent Energy, the fusion of malevolent energy with fire attributes provided by the Unity of Fiery Malevolent Energy, and the continuous supply from the nourishing malevolent veins, combined to form an extremely efficient closed loop of cultivation.

After circulating through the meridians for a full cycle, the mixed energy begins to penetrate the deep structure of the muscle fibers.

The muscle fibers contracted slightly under the tempering of the evil energy, then rearranged themselves in a more compact manner. The periosteum on the surface of the bones also strengthened simultaneously, and the increased resilience had a systemic effect.

Li Yuan clenched his fist. His knuckles didn't crack, but his grip strength was noticeably greater than before. The muscle definition in his arm hadn't changed significantly, but the density and elasticity of the internal fibers had definitely improved.

After a whole night of practice, the Golden Body Technique steadily progressed within the minor success stage.

As dawn broke, Li Yuan stepped out of the stone house.

The market's daily operations are running smoothly. With the joint signature system, rotation system, and mutual auditing of ledgers implemented, each department is operating even more efficiently than when the sect's stewards were in charge. The Wang family is in charge of patrols, the Ji family is in charge of the warehouse, and the Chamber of Commerce is in charge of the accounts. With the three parties keeping an eye on each other, no one dares to act recklessly.

Li Yuan strolled around the market, pondering another matter.

The defensive formations in the market haven't been updated in a long time. The original formation system set up by the Yuan Yang Sect was built according to the standards of the Foundation Establishment stage. It had limited coverage and thin layers, barely enough to deal with daily monster incursions, but it couldn't even provide early warnings if faced with a Golden Core level threat.

It needs to be refactored.

That afternoon, Li Yuan began to take action.

He started from the four corners of the market, dismantling the old array's cores and patterns one by one, and replacing them with a completely new layout.

The new formation system is divided into three layers.

The outermost layer is an early warning detection array. It covers a three-mile radius around the market. Any cultivator or large demon beast entering this area will trigger passive perception, and the signal will be directly transmitted to Li Yuan's Dark Fiend Insight Perception Network.

The middle layer is a defensive array. Using the market's walls as a base, a second-tier high-grade spiritual energy shield array is set up. When activated, the shield can withstand dozens of full-force attacks from a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, and can also provide a brief buffer against attacks from Golden Core cultivators.

The innermost layer is a concealment array. It covers the two core areas of the stone house and the management office, and functions like an enlarged version of the stealth and invisibility array. It can completely isolate the core areas from external perception when necessary.

The deployment of a three-layered array is an extremely large undertaking. Each layer involves the precise alignment of dozens of array nodes and hundreds of array lines, and any deviation in the position of any node will affect the overall defensive effectiveness.

Li Yuan took a full five days.

Over five days, he spent his days setting up the formation and his nights practicing the Golden Body Technique, using his spare time to handle market affairs. The process of setting up the formation itself was the best practice of the third-order formation theory. The calibration of each node and the connection of each formation pattern continuously deepened his understanding of the structure of the third-order formation.

When the last node is in place, a prompt will pop up on the panel.

[Formation Mastery: Level 3 Beginner (30/200 → 50/200)]

Progress is proceeding steadily. The actual deployment of the three-layer formation has transformed theoretical knowledge into practical experience.

After the formation was completed, Li Yuan returned to the stone house and took out the alchemy furnace.

Condensing Fiend Pills are the core profit-generating product of the market. After the Yuan Yang Sect steward left, he was solely responsible for the supply of pills. Fortunately, the pill-refining efficiency at the Golden Core stage is far superior to that at the Foundation Establishment stage. He can produce six to eight batches of Condensing Fiend Pills a day, with three to five pills per batch, and the quality is consistently between the upper-grade and the best of the second tier.

Li Yuan spent two days focusing on refining the Condensing Evil Pill, producing nearly fifty pills. He gave thirty pills to Ji Wenchuan to put on the market for sale, and kept the rest for reserves.

After refining the Condensing Evil Pill, continue refining the Heavenly Origin Pill.

The fourth batch of Heavenly Origin Pills. The core-condensing field has formed a stable three-sector parallel pattern, making the pill-forming speed ten percent faster than the third batch. One pill was produced, a low-grade third-tier pill, with the same quality as the third batch.

The fifth batch. Li Yuan attempted to add a layer of spiritual energy buffer at the central node of the condensation field, trying to increase the compression density of the medicinal essence. As a result, the stability of the condensation field decreased slightly, and the quality of the pills was not as good as the fourth batch. However, this attempt clarified the direction for optimizing the condensation field structure for him.

The sixth batch. The parameters of the buffer layer were corrected, and the spiritual energy distribution ratio of the three sectors was readjusted. One pill was successfully formed, with a slightly improved quality compared to the fourth batch, and the density of the medicinal properties was higher.

After six consecutive batches of Heavenly Origin Pills and a large quantity of Condensing Evil Pills were refined, a notification popped up on the panel.

[Alchemy Proficiency: Level 3, Beginner (50/200 → 75/200)]

His skill in third-tier alchemy was steadily improving. Each successful or unsuccessful attempt was accumulating practical experience, and the increased precision of his spiritual energy at the Golden Core stage, along with the bonuses from refined pill refinement, made his progress astonishingly fast.

Li Yuan carefully sorted and stored the refined Heavenly Origin Pills. A large number of auxiliary pills were needed for reforming broken pills, and the Heavenly Origin Pill was one of the most important; refining more was never a bad idea.

During this period, the pill shops in the market have been fully established. The main product is the Qi-Condensing Pill, supplemented by a small amount of the Mind-Condensing Pill and the Qi-Stabilizing Pill. The quality far exceeds the previous level of the market, and its reputation has quickly spread among independent cultivators. Many independent cultivators from the surrounding areas make special trips to the market to buy pills, boosting the overall customer traffic and transaction volume of the market.

On the evening of the seventh day, Ji Wenchuan delivered an urgent message.

"They came from the outpost."

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

The message was extremely brief: Master Xuanpu of the Tianyue Sect requested the head of the Wulin Market to go to the outpost by noon tomorrow to assist in planning the exploration route and resource allocation plan for the deeper areas of the Ghost Mist Forest.

After the door closed, Li Yuan returned to the stone house.

He took out all the items related to the Golden Core stage from his storage bag one by one. These included the jade slip recording the refining of the Heavenly Origin Pill, the recipe for a third-tier pill, the iron plate for making the Golden Body Armor, reference materials on high-level items that might have been seized from the Golden Core cultivators of the Demon Fiend Sect, and all the pills and magical artifacts whose quality clearly exceeded the scope of what a Foundation Establishment cultivator could possess.

Stuff everything into the deepest part of the storage bag and cover it with miscellaneous low-level supplies.

The storage bag contained items befitting a market supervisor: market ledgers, inspection reports, low-grade pills, and a general supplies list.

His stealth abilities were fully activated, and his aura was locked at the late Foundation Establishment stage. The pressure from his Golden Core cultivation was suppressed layer by layer. From the outside perspective, he appeared to be a relatively solid late Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Li Yuan arrived at the outpost before noon the next day.

The atmosphere at the outpost is completely different from what it was two weeks ago.

The tents of the Tianyue Sect occupied the core area of ​​the camp, with disciples in gray and white Taoist robes coming and going, their numbers at least three times that of the Yuanyang Sect's garrison. The Yuanyang Sect's barracks were squeezed into the most remote corner on the west side, and as the several deacons walked by with their heads down, they deliberately avoided the area where the Tianyue Sect disciples were active.

Li Yuan was led to the main tent by a late-stage Foundation Establishment disciple of the Tianyue Sect.

The main tent was enormous, constructed from spirit beast hides and engraved with spiritual energy amplification array patterns. The tent curtains were not lifted, but the aura within had already seeped through them.

Late stage of Golden Core.

The oppressive aura, like an invisible boulder, pressed heavily on an area of ​​ten zhang in radius. This oppressive aura was not deliberately released, but rather a natural overflow of the aura of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. The air seemed to thicken slightly.

Li Yuan's breathing remained unchanged, and his steps did not falter.

His elusive presence acted like an impenetrable suit of armor, firmly sealing off the oppressive aura of the Golden Core within him. All external perception could perceive was the steady aura of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The curtain was lifted.

The tent was simply furnished. There was a stone table, two wooden chairs, and a huge topographical map spread out on the table. The map marked the complete route of the Ghost Mist Forest from its outer perimeter to the Abyss Rift, with a marking density far exceeding any map Li Yuan had ever seen before.

A person was sitting behind the stone table.

He had a middle-aged appearance, with three long wisps of beard under his chin. His face was thin but his bones were broad. He wore a gray-white Taoist robe, and the gold mountain emblem on the cuffs was more exquisite than that of ordinary disciples. His eyes were half-closed, like an old monk in meditation, but Li Yuan could feel that the divine sense behind those eyes was like two sharp blades, which had already swept over him from head to toe the moment he stepped into the tent.

Xuanpu Zhenren.

The scan with his divine sense revealed nothing unusual. Xuanpu's brows relaxed slightly, and he gestured with his right hand toward the wooden chair opposite him.

"sit."

Li Yuan bowed and sat down.

"You're the manager of Wulin Market?" Xuanpu's voice was flat, devoid of any emotion.

"Yes. Market supervisor Li Yuan, I have met you in person."

"Hmm." Xuanpu's gaze fell on the topographical map, and he pointed to an area in the heart of the Ghost Mist Forest. "Are you familiar with the terrain in this area?"

"The daily patrol area of ​​the market extends to about sixty miles outside," Li Yuan answered from the perspective of the market manager. "The situation in the hinterland is mainly understood through feedback from the demon-hunting team, as the market itself does not have enough manpower to conduct in-depth investigations."

"What's been happening with the Demonic Fiend Sect lately?"

"The direct conflicts with the Yuanyang Sect have decreased significantly. The activities of demonic cultivators around the market have also become much less intense than before, and the patrol team has not encountered a single attack in the past two weeks."

Xuanpu nodded and did not ask any further questions.

His questions all revolved around the terrain and the dynamics of the Demon Sect. He asked very specific but restrained questions, without touching on the internal management and material details of the market.

Li Yuan answered each question meticulously, keeping all his responses strictly within the scope of information that the market supervisor should have. He knew ten times more than he could say, but he couldn't let Xuan Pu know a single word of those extra details.

The question and answer session lasted for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Xuanpu concluded by saying, "Someone will handle the logistics arrangements for you later. Go back and prepare."

Li Yuan rose to take his leave and withdrew from the main tent.

After leaving the outpost's perimeter, he released the passive perception network of Dark Fiend Insight and performed a complete scan of the outpost.

The three independent communication arrays that were discovered during the last visit are still operational. But this scan revealed something new.

An array node has been added to each of the four corners of the outpost. The array patterns are extremely intricate, with a level far exceeding the second tier.

Third-order monitoring array.

The four array nodes, centered on the main tent of the outpost, form a monitoring network covering the entire camp. The network's function is to record in real time the spiritual energy fluctuations, movement trajectories, and aura changes of all cultivators within the camp's boundaries. Any abnormal fluctuations will be automatically detected and transmitted to the core receiving array within the main tent.

Tianyue Sect transformed the entire outpost into a transparent fish tank.

Li Yuan, with his third-order entry-level array formation skills, carefully analyzed the structure of these four monitoring arrays.

He meticulously analyzed and recorded every detail of the array's patterns, the way spiritual energy was transmitted between nodes, and the frequency and precision of signal acquisition. The craftsmanship of the third-tier monitoring array was extremely high, at least two levels higher than the three-layered market defense array he had set up himself.

But precisely because of this, it offers much greater reference value.

The design concept of guiding spiritual energy in the array patterns caught his eye. The array masters of Tianyue Sect used a nested spatial folding scheme in the layout of signal acquisition nodes. Each node actually contains three layers of sub-arrays with different functions, which are responsible for acquisition, filtering and transmission respectively. The efficiency far exceeds any third-order array theory he has ever learned.

Li Yuan memorized all these details.

That night, after returning to the market, he repeatedly used his divine sense to simulate the structure of the four monitoring arrays in the stone house, trying to understand their underlying logic.

Although he can't replicate it yet, this close-up analysis has deepened his overall understanding of third-order formations. The nested spatial folding design concept is particularly inspiring and can be tried in his own formation layout.