Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

In fact, not much preparation is needed.

It took a day to cross the high mountains.

The mountain range was extremely high, with snow-capped peaks that never melted, and the air was so thin that even the flow of spiritual energy was slightly affected. Li Yuan used earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a type of magic that allows one to travel through the interior of the mountain, avoiding the harsh environment on the surface), but the density of the rock layers reached its limit in the core area of ​​the mountain range, reducing the speed of earth-遁术 to 30% of its usual speed.

After crossing the mountains, the Spirit-Slaying Zone arrived as scheduled.

The ground beneath their feet resembled a dried-up corpse, drained of its blood. The concentration of spiritual energy had plummeted to a negligible level, and even the air was filled with a withered, astringent smell. Vegetation was extremely sparse, and the few shrubs that did appear were half-dead, a grayish-brown color with withered, curled leaves.

Li Yuan's physical sensations were very clear. The natural flow rate of spiritual energy in his meridians had dropped to less than one-tenth of what it would be under normal conditions, making it almost impossible to absorb spiritual energy from the outside to replenish his dantian.

However, the purple attribute indicating the spiritual vein's nourishment remained stable. The passive effect of automatic spiritual energy recovery did not depend on the concentration of external spiritual energy, but rather was extracted from the Golden Core's own energy cycle, and it remained effective even in the Spirit-Severed Zone. The recovery speed was significantly slower than in normal environments, but it was sufficient to maintain basic spiritual energy consumption.

It took three days to cross the Spirit-Slaying Zone.

On the morning of the fourth day, the concentration of spiritual energy in the air began to rise again.

It wasn't a uniform rise, but rather seeped from the ground to the east, carrying a damp, salty, and fishy smell. The spiritual energy was water-oriented, and its texture was completely different from the spiritual energy commonly found in Liangzhou and Jingzhou.

The radiation range of the underwater spiritual vein has been reached.

After walking for another half day, Li Yuan stood on a mountain ridge, where the view suddenly opened up before him.

The sea.

The grey-blue sea stretched to the horizon in the morning light, waves surging, and the sea breeze carrying a strong salty smell. The coastline meandered along the north-south axis, with several islands of varying sizes scattered near the shore, their dense vegetation forming a stark contrast to the desolate Spirit Zone behind them.

In the bay below the ridge, a port town is built against the mountain.

Sunset Harbor.

The port was not large, far less bustling than Shirakyō-bō, but its layout was compact. The docks stretched along the inner side of the bay, with more than twenty boats of varying sizes moored there. The town's main street extended from the docks toward the hillside, lined with densely packed wooden and stone buildings, their rooftops adorned with various flags and signs.

Li Yuan walked down the mountain path and blended into the crowd at the port.

The dock was bustling with activity. Porters carried wooden crates back and forth, fishermen hawked fresh seafood at their stalls, and several monks in short shirts squatted by the dock repairing magical artifacts.

Li Yuan's gaze swept over the ships moored in the harbor.

Three fleets flying different flags occupied three areas of the dock.

The northernmost ship, bearing the Su family's light blue flag, is flanked by three medium-sized merchant ships. Stacks of cargo containers are piled on their decks, and the crew is loading and unloading them in an orderly manner.

The middle ship flew a dark green flag with a family crest he didn't recognize embroidered on it. The two large cargo ships, with deep drafts, were clearly carrying heavy loads.

The southernmost one flew a greyish-white flag. Two small, fast boats, narrow and long, clearly designed for long-distance ocean voyages. They had fewer crew members than the previous two, and fewer cargo boxes on deck, but each box was sealed.

Li Yuan's Dark Insight detected something unusual when it swept across the third fleet.

In the hold of the fast ship with its grey and white flags, several cargo boxes bore extremely faint demonic energy markings on their seals. The markings were deliberately concealed, wrapped in a concealing array pattern; an ordinary cultivator's divine sense would only reveal ordinary seals.

However, the precision of Dark Fiend's insight is unmatched by ordinary cultivators.

This at least indicates that the goods of the Demonic Sect, or the channels related to the Demonic Sect, have extended to the coast.

Whether the Demon Sect will personally set up the distribution points or use local forces to move the goods remains to be seen.

Li Yuan didn't linger. He withdrew his senses and turned to walk towards the Su family's shop.

The Su family's storefront in Luoxia Port was a three-story stone building. The first floor was a shop, the second floor was a warehouse, and the third floor was a private room for receiving distinguished guests. Li Yuan showed the letter of introduction written by Xu Zhang and was led to the third floor by the shop assistant.

He was received by a steward from the Su family, a middle-aged cultivator in his early forties, at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, with a dark complexion and large hands, clearly someone who had spent many years dealing with the sea.

"A partner of the Mingyuan Chamber of Commerce?" The manager's attitude became much warmer after reading the letter of introduction. "Manager Xu's letter mentioned that he needs Bi Chao Sand and Hai Yun Pearl Powder. These two items are in our regular inventory, and there's plenty of them."

"I need five catties of Bi Chao Sha (碧潮砂) and three liang (两) of Hai Yun Zhu Fen (海蕴珠粉). Do you have any freshly harvested?"

"We have the Bi Chao Sand ready-made in the warehouse. It was just dredged up from the sea this morning and has the highest spiritual quality. The Hai Yun Pearl Powder will take half a day to prepare; it needs to be ground fresh." The manager got up, walked to the window, and called out. An apprentice ran up from downstairs, took the order, and went to prepare.

"Besides these two items, what else does the shop have?" Li Yuan asked casually.

The steward smiled and took out a wooden tray from the cabinet, on which were placed five or six small items.

"These are miscellaneous items recently salvaged from the sea, some of them are in pretty good condition. The monks by the sea don't pay much attention to these things, but guests from inland areas occasionally take a liking to one or two."

Li Yuan's gaze swept over the tray.

Several ordinary water-attribute spirit stones, a translucent sea-blue ore, a rusty short sword, and an oval jade pendant.

The jade pendant is light blue throughout, with fine patterns on its surface formed by long-term immersion in seawater. It is not large, about two inches long, and is tied with a faded silk cord.

The perception of words within a three-foot radius was triggered.

Li Yuan picked up the jade pendant.

Green entry: The range of divine sense within water areas has increased by 50%, and the accuracy of water-based spiritual energy perception has increased by 30%.

"How much is this?"

The steward glanced at it.

"Oh, that was salvaged from a shipwreck. I don't know how old it is. If you like it, take it for twenty spirit stones."

"become."

Li Yuan took the jade pendant, and a panel popped up.

[Equipable item detected: Tidal Jade Pendant (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Water Vein Overview (Green)]

[Effect: Increases the range of divine sense detection by 50% in aquatic environments; improves the accuracy of water-based spiritual energy perception by 30%]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Meditate at the underwater leyline node for 50 hours]

The Azure Tide Sand, Ocean Pearl Powder, and Tide Jade Pendant will be settled together.

The foreman issued a receipt, and the apprentice packed the processed materials into boxes and brought them up.

Li Yuan put everything into his storage bag and left the Su family shop.

After leaving Luoxia Port, he did not return the way he came, but walked north along the coastline for about ten miles until he arrived at a secluded bay.

Several uninhabited islets are scattered around the bay. The closest one is about three miles from the coast. It is small and covered with dense shrubs, looking like a green stone floating on the sea from a distance.

Li Yuan used his water-based escape technique to skim across the sea and land on the rocks of the small island.

The island was indeed deserted. There were no signs of cultivator activity, nor any trace of demonic beasts.

On the south side of the island, there is a rock wall that has been eroded by the sea over a long period of time. At the base of the rock wall, there is a hole about half a person's height, half of which is submerged in the sea and is completely submerged at high tide.

Li Yuan bent down and went inside.

The cave wasn't deep, ending at about ten zhang (approximately 33 meters). The cave walls were covered with grooves left by seawater erosion, and the ground was slippery, covered with a shallow layer of seawater.

At the end of the cave was a smooth rock wall. Several lines, almost completely eroded by seawater, were carved into the rock wall.

Li Yuan leaned closer to take a closer look.

It's not a natural pattern. It's a remnant of an artificially carved pattern.

Its style is in line with that of the Xuanyou Sect.

At the base of the rock wall, half-buried in the accumulated water, lies a bronze vessel about the size of a bowl. The surface of the vessel is covered with verdigris and shell fragments, making its original shape almost unrecognizable, but it can be seen that it is some kind of disc-shaped object.

Li Yuan squatted down, fished the utensils out of the water, and used his spiritual power to remove the residue from their surface.

A compass.

The compass has a bronze dial, approximately six inches in diameter. It is engraved with dense directional markings and array patterns, with a rusted pointer at the center. The bottom of the compass is cast with a tiny inscription, consistent with the array inscription system of the Xuan You Sect.

A nautical compass from the Xuanyou Sect era.

Word perception triggers within a three-foot range.

[Equipable item detected: Navigational Compass (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Slightly Distinguishing Directions (White)]

[Results: Slightly improved accuracy in orientation perception; less prone to getting lost in unfamiliar environments]

[Preview of conditions for permanentization: Divine consciousness reaches the late stage of Qi Refining]

White text. Conditions met.

"equipment."

[Equipped: Nautical compass (complete)]

【Microscopic orientation (white) has become a permanent entry】

The phantom image of the compass flashed briefly in the equipment slot before dissipating into a white dot of light.

The enhanced sense of direction is a passive effect and does not require active triggering. Li Yuan closed his eyes and felt it; his judgment of his own location and the surrounding geographical orientation became clearer and sharper, as if he had gained an infallible compass in his mind.

After putting away the compass, Li Yuan extended his divine sense into the underground of the cave.

The Earth Vein Spirit Pivot's perception penetrated the rock layers at the bottom of the cave and touched an extremely weak energy signal at a depth of about sixty feet.

Seal the aftermath.

The signal's properties were the same as the sealing energy he sensed outside the sealed area of ​​Mozhou, but its intensity was several orders of magnitude lower. The energy fluctuations in the sealed area of ​​Mozhou could be clearly sensed even through rock layers hundreds of feet away, but the aftershocks here were so weak that they almost blended into the background noise of the underwater spiritual veins.

If it weren't for the combined effects of the Earth Vein Spirit Pivot and the slightly enhanced array sensation, it would be impossible to detect.

The Xuanyou Sect also established sealing nodes along the coast in the past. However, their scale was far smaller than that of Mozhou, probably just a peripheral branch of the entire sealing system. After hundreds of years of decay, the main function of the seal has long since failed, leaving only a faint aftereffect deep within the rock strata.

Li Yuan meticulously memorized these coordinates.

Every node in the sealing system may contain valuable information. Even if a node is extremely small, it is possible that it contains some residual data or clues.

Li Yuan withdrew from the cave and returned to the rocks on the island.

The sea breeze was blowing. In the distance, Sunset Harbor was lit up with twinkling lights in the twilight.