Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

However, after leaving the port area, Li Yuan did not immediately flee.

The conditions for making the Tide Jade Pendant permanent remain. Undersea spiritual vein nodes are rare, and since it's been confirmed that this sea area outside Luoxia Harbor shares the same origin as the Xuanyou Sect's terminal sealing system, there might be weak nodes nearby suitable for short-term meditation. If they can make some progress along the way, the return journey will be much easier.

Instead of leaving via the official road, he lowered his breath and circled back along the coastline to the small island outside the harbor.

When he investigated the aftershocks of the seal in the morning, he vaguely sensed a faint swirling water vein in the rock strata beneath the island's base. The fluctuation was extremely faint, almost completely submerged by the background spiritual currents formed by the waves crashing against the reefs. If it weren't for the simultaneous enhancement of the earth vein spiritual hub and the tidal jade pendant, it would have been impossible to distinguish it.

Back on the island, Li Yuan sat cross-legged on the rock where he had previously stayed, once again focusing his senses on his feet.

The earth's spiritual core extends downwards little by little along the rock fissures.

After more than ten breaths, the faint swirling current was finally locked in. About seven or eight zhang deep at the bottom of the island, a very thin tributary of the sea vein brushed past between the rock layers. It was extremely small, only the tip of the tip, but its spiritual energy was exceptionally pure, originating from the same source as the pulsation near the stone tablet on the seabed in the outer sea.

enough.

The Tidal Jade Pendant requires meditation at a node on an underwater spiritual vein, but it doesn't require the node to be large. As long as the determination is valid, even a weak node hidden in the cracks of an island's foundation can slowly accumulate progress.

Li Yuan immediately suppressed his distracting thoughts and began to circulate his internal energy.

The spiritual energy within his meridians rose and fell with each breath, resonating with the faint sea vein beneath his feet, gradually forming a small but stable resonance. The Tide Jade Pendant hung in his equipment slot, its pale blue luster appearing and disappearing.

Several days later, Li Yuan slowly opened his eyes. His water-based spiritual power surged, achieving a perfect resonance with the water vein energy in the surrounding environment.

The panel popped up on time.

The conditions for making the Tide Jade Pendant (Green) permanent have been met.

The "Waterway Overview (Green)" entry has become a permanent term.

The phantom of the Tide Jade Pendant flickered in the equipment slot before turning into a green dot and merging into the body.

Li Yuan opened his eyes.

Without any deliberate activation, the expansion of divine sense and the precision of water perception within the water area had become instinctive. An empty slot was freed up in the equipment inventory.

He took out the water demon's inner core from his storage bag.

"Equip the Tide Scale Pill."

[Equipped: Tide Scale Pill (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Water Escape Swiftness (Green) - Increases the speed of water-based escape techniques by 30%, and the power of water-based spells by 30%]

He got up and left the reef. Instead of returning to Sunset Harbor, he slithered along the coast to a secluded beach on the outer side, took out the map and the materials list from his storage bag, and checked them one last time.

In the second phase of repairing the missing materials for the Jade Bead, in addition to the previously prepared Nethermoss, there are two other marine materials.

The item has been sealed in a spirit-sealing jade bottle, which is sufficient to ensure that its spiritual essence will not dissipate within three days in the marine environment.

The aftereffects of the seal have now been investigated, and the necessary materials have been prepared. There is little point in staying in Shuizhou any longer.

It's time to go back.

The spiritual energy of the Azure Tide Sand and Ocean Essence Pearl Powder in the storage bag diminishes rapidly once they leave the seawater environment. If they are not used within three days, these two key auxiliary materials will completely turn into a pile of waste.

Li Yuan stood up, activated his Water Exploration Technique, and transformed into a streak of water, skimming across the sea and heading straight for the coastline.

[Progress of Permanentizing Tide Scale Pill (Complete): 3/10]

After getting ashore, Li Yuan sped back along the route he had come from.

The mountain range was left behind after half a day.

The dry, astringent wind of the Spirit-Severing Zone swept over him once more. Chapter Update Notice: Chapter 414 Jade Bead Second Stage Repair, Read Here. There was not a trace of spiritual energy in the air to replenish his strength. Li Yuan maintained his maximum speed by relying on the self-sufficiency of his Golden Core and the restorative effect of the Spirit Vein's nourishing properties.

Day two of entering the Spirit-Slaying Zone.

On the desolate Gobi Desert, Dark Fiend's passive perception suddenly detected a fluctuation of spiritual energy ahead.

An extremely chaotic clash of spiritual energy.

Li Yuan slowed down his escape speed, using several huge weathered rocks as cover, and quietly approached.

A mile ahead, a small caravan consisting of three beast-drawn carts was being besieged by five rogue cultivators. The caravan's guards consisted of only two early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators and seven or eight Qi Refining cultivators, and more than half of them had already been killed or wounded. The leader of the attacking rogue cultivators was a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator who was extremely ruthless and was currently dominating the caravan's leader.

"Hand over the goods, and we'll leave you with your corpses intact!"

The bandit leader cleaved through the leader's shield with a spell and roared.

The leader was a middle-aged cultivator with several deep, bone-revealing knife wounds on his body, gritting his teeth and enduring the pain.

Li Yuan's gaze swept across the battlefield.

This was a gray area bordering Shuizhou and the two other states, where bandits were rampant. He had no intention of meddling, but the flags hanging on the caravan's wagons caught his attention.

A light blue background with water-patterned borders. That's a common symbol of the coastal forces of Shuizhou. Judging from the style, they probably came from the direction of Luoxia Port.

Li Yuan touched the ground with his toes.

His true cultivation level and aura were perfectly concealed by his stealth and invisibility.

Li Yuan's figure instantly covered a distance of dozens of feet, directly cutting into the flank of the battlefield.

Before the bandit leader could react, a semi-transparent, dark blue ice spike was already in front of him.

With the boost from the water element, the ice cone technique condenses at an abnormally fast speed.

"puff!"

An ice spike pierced the leader's temple, drawing out a spray of blood mixed with shards of ice. The mid-Foundation Establishment bandit leader didn't even have time to scream before collapsing to the ground.

The remaining four robbers were terrified when they saw this and turned to flee.

Li Yuan did not pursue them. Instead, he flicked out four water blades from his fingertips, precisely severing the four men's calves. The four men tumbled to the ground, their screams echoing across the Gobi Desert.

The caravan leader, panting heavily, was stunned for a moment before reacting. He forced himself to walk up to Li Yuan and bowed deeply.

"Thank you for saving our lives, fellow Daoist! I am the manager of the Lin family caravan in Xiashui Prefecture. If it weren't for your help, we would all be dead today."

"Just doing it casually," Li Yuan said calmly, without revealing his true appearance.

Seeing that Li Yuan was unwilling to talk more, the team leader immediately changed the subject. He took out a jade box from his storage bag and presented it with both hands.

"We have no way to repay your life-saving grace. This is a century-old spiritual ginseng that we obtained from the inland. We hope you will accept it, fellow Daoist."

Li Yuan took the jade box and put it into his storage bag.

"You've come from Shuizhou?"

"Exactly. We set off from Luoxia Port intending to exchange some pills at the border of Jingzhou, but we didn't expect to be targeted in this desolate area." The team leader sighed.

"Has Luoxia Port been rather unsettled lately?" Li Yuan asked casually.

The team leader lowered his voice and looked around.

"If you are going to Luoxia Port, please be very careful. In the past half month, a group of unfamiliar faces have arrived at the north side of the port, and they are acting extremely domineeringly. Some people have heard rumors that they are an outer branch of a certain demonic sect, and they are stockpiling supplies along the coast. Even local tyrants like the Su family are turning a blind eye to them."

A branch of the Demonic Sect.

Warehouses north of Luoxia Port. A fleet of ships with grey and white flags.

The information matched perfectly. Yuanzong's reach had extended not only to the coast, but he had also begun substantive resource allocation.

"Thank you for the reminder." Li Yuan didn't linger. His figure transformed into water ripples once more and disappeared into the depths of the Gobi Desert.