Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

High-energy chapter 426, Dual-Line Sprint, updated! Read now:

After dealing with the fragments of the array plate seized by the trackers, Li Yuan turned his attention back to a clue he had previously set aside.

The array materials in the storage bags of the two trackers pointed to a very clear source: ancient array powder, fragments of old artifacts from the Xuan You Sect, and animal hide array pattern diagrams. These things couldn't be found casually in the wilderness; there must have been a stable supply channel.

Li Yuan retrieved the passive perception data of the Spirit Detective Talisman network in the market and surrounding areas, and traced back the activity trajectory of the two trackers before they entered the market according to the timeline.

The permanent entry for tracking traces came into play. Although most of the spiritual energy trails left by the two when they entered the market had dissipated, the remaining directionality could still be discerned.

The trajectory points to the west side of the market.

The western district was the earliest developed area of ​​the market, with old shops, mostly small businesses run by Qi Refining cultivators. It offered a mix of goods, including pills, general merchandise, secondhand item recycling, and spiritual materials sales.

Li Yuan walked along the main street of the West District, his passive perception of Dark Insight scanning every shop.

When I reached the last shop at the end of the street, my senses detected a faint anomaly.

A small antique consignment shop with a faded sign. The characters on the sign are mottled, but the three characters "Shi Yi Zhai" can be barely made out. The shop is extremely small, with a few dusty old ritual implements and a few pieces of mediocre minerals displayed on a wooden shelf at the entrance, looking completely unremarkable.

The problem wasn't in the store, it was in the backyard.

Dark Insight penetrated the mud wall behind the shop and detected an extremely faint but unique residual spiritual energy in the cellar of the backyard. The frequency characteristics of the residual energy were identical to those of the Xuan You Sect's array inscription system.

Li Yuan did not go in immediately.

He walked around to a teahouse opposite Shiyizhai, sat down, ordered a pot of coarse tea, and casually glanced at the shops across the street.

The shop owner was an old, hunched-over monk who had reached the pinnacle of Qi cultivation. His hair was white, his face was sallow, and his cloudy eyes were half-closed as he dozed off in the chair behind the counter.

Judging from his aura, this old cultivator had been stuck at the Qi Refining Perfection stage for a long time. He most likely lacked the aptitude and resources for Foundation Establishment and exhausted his life in the Qi Refining stage. Such cultivators were commonplace in the market, living off their meager skills and remaining stock, and were not worth a second glance from anyone.

But the things in his backyard cellar suggest that he is not as simple as he appears.

Li Yuan drank half a pot of tea and observed the situation discreetly for about an hour.

Two rogue cultivators entered the shop to look at the goods, but they only glanced at them briefly before leaving. The old cultivator remained half-asleep in his chair, showing no signs of distress.

An hour later, the old cultivator suddenly opened his eyes and moved.

He got up and went to the back of the shop, took a tattered cloth bag off the wall, and began stuffing things into it. First, there were several jade slips on the lower shelf of the counter, then a small sealed wooden box, and finally, he pulled out a small piece of ore from a hidden compartment.

The movements were unhurried, but each item was taken from a concealed location; they were not supplies for daily operations.

Packing their belongings for their escape.

Li Yuan put down his teacup and stood up.

I crossed the street, pushed open the wooden door of Shiyizhai, and went inside.

The old cultivator stopped abruptly when he heard the door open. He turned around and saw Li Yuan. A hint of wariness flashed in his cloudy eyes, but he quickly put on a smile.

"Master, take a look, I have some here..."

Li Yuan interrupted him, took out the market management token and flashed it, "Routine inspection. The warehouse behind the shop needs to be opened for inspection."

The old monk's smile froze.

"Master, my shop has always operated legally, there's nothing wrong with it..."

"Open the door."

The old monk's lips twitched twice, but he ultimately offered no further explanation. He took a rusty brass key from his waist, hunched over, and walked to the backyard, opening the iron gate to the cellar entrance.

Li Yuan followed behind.

The cellar was small, about two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) square. It had mud walls on all four sides, and the floor was paved with rough stone slabs. In the very center was a low table with several wooden boxes on it.

Li Yuan opened the first wooden box.

Inside, there were neatly stacked more than a dozen array fragments of varying sizes. The material and array pattern style of the fragments were completely consistent with those of the Xuan You Sect, and the residual spiritual energy on the surface was exactly the same as the auxiliary materials of the same origin that he had previously obtained from various channels.

The second wooden box contained a batch of ground ancient battle formation residue, packaged in a dozen small porcelain bottles.

At the bottom of the third wooden box was a layer of old cotton cloth. Underneath the cloth was a round bead the size of a pigeon's egg.

The bead was dark gray in color, and its surface was covered with extremely fine array patterns. The direction and density of the array patterns were different from any magical artifact he had ever seen, and were closer to the core components of some kind of miniature array.

Word perception triggers within a three-foot range.

Li Yuan picked up the ball, and a panel popped up.

[Equipable item detected: Mystic Micro-Array Bead (Complete)]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Rewind five different first-order formations (0/5)]

[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace current equipment?]

Green entries. Extremely useful.

Being able to trace the energy trajectory of the array's most recent activation means that no array is a black box in his eyes. Who activated it, what the spiritual energy spectrum looks like, and where the source is—all of this is crystal clear.

The condition for permanentization is to trace back five different Tier 1 formations. The defensive formation system within the market contains a large number of basic Tier 1 formations, so choosing any five will satisfy the condition.

Li Yuan put the micro-array bead into his storage bag and turned to look at the old cultivator.

The old monk huddled in a corner of the cellar, his face ashen.

"Where did these things come from?"

The old monk opened his mouth, his voice trembling.

"Thirty or thirty years ago, I mined on the outskirts of Ghost Mist Forest. Back then, Ghost Mist Forest wasn't as dangerous as it is now, and there were many abandoned mine shafts in the outer area. Once, I dug up a collapsed basement, which was full of these fragments."

"Who did you sell it to?"

"There are all sorts of people." The old cultivator lowered his head, not daring to look Li Yuan in the eye. "There are independent cultivators who collect old things, merchants who deal in antiques, and... there are also some people whose backgrounds are not very clear."

"Someone whose origins are unclear." Li Yuan repeated.

The old monk shuddered.

"This old man has no idea who they are. They come every few months, offering 30% more than others, and only want fragments and remnants related to formations. This old man is just doing business; I really don't know their identities..."

How do they contact you?

"I left a communication jade slip." The old cultivator took out an extremely ordinary white jade slip from his pocket and handed it over with trembling hands.

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

It contains only one message, encoded on a fixed transmission frequency band. The encoding format is a standard three-segment pulse.

The contact information for the Demon Sect.

Everything made sense. Thirty years ago, this old cultivator accidentally unearthed a batch of fragments and remains of a branch hall of the Xuan You Sect. Subsequently, he was targeted by the outer channels of the Sha Mo Sect and served as a long-term, sporadic supplier. He probably didn't know the buyer's true identity, nor did he care; as long as he got the spirit stones, that was enough.

However, after the Demon Sect issued the investigation notice, this downstream supplier probably also received some kind of hint and sensed danger, which is why they prepared to run away.

"Seize all of these things." Li Yuan tidied up the three wooden boxes in the cellar and took them away along with the communication jade slip. "After the investigation is completed and there are no problems, I will compensate you at the market price."

The old monk slumped to the ground, nodding repeatedly.

Li Yuan left Shiyizhai and returned to the stone house.

Take the micro-array beads out of the storage bag and place them on the table.

"Equip the Mysterious Nether Micro Array Beads."

[Equipped: Mysterious Nether Micro-Array Bead (Complete)]

[Base Retrospection (Green) Effective]

As the illusory image of the micro-array bead disappeared into the equipment slot, Li Yuan immediately felt a special perceptual dimension appear in his divine sense. The surrounding space seemed to become more transparent, and the flow of spiritual energy of the hidden array on the stone house walls clearly appeared in his consciousness.

Li Yuan got up and walked out of the stone house.

The defensive array system of the market covers the entire complex, with three layers from the outer perimeter to the core. Most of the basic arrays at the bottom layer are first-tier, which he personally set up or guided Ji Wenchuan to set up.

He walked to the array node inside the north gate of the market and placed his palm on the array eye.

The effect of array base backtracking is activated.

An extremely subtle sensation seeped into the array's core through his palm, like a scene played in reverse, the energy trajectory of the array when it was last activated was completely replayed in his mind. The spiritual energy started from the array's core, radiating outward along the twelve main lines, leaping sequentially at the twenty-four nodes, and finally forming a stable warning barrier within a thirty-zhang radius.

The direction of each route, the energy distribution ratio of each node, and the spectrum characteristics of spiritual energy when activated are all clearly visible.

A panel pops up.

[Base Retrospective (Green) Permanentization Progress: 1/5]

Li Yuan withdrew his palm.

The amount of information obtained from this retrospective analysis far exceeded that of a simple spiritual scan. He not only saw the static structure of the formation, but also the details of energy flow during its dynamic operation. These details were extremely helpful in understanding the underlying logic of the formation's design.

He walked one by one toward the core nodes of the other first-order formations in the market.

A moment later, the rewind was complete.

The conditions for permanentizing the array base (green) have been met (5/5)

"Permanentization".

[Base Retrospection (Green) has become a permanent entry]

The illusory image of the micro-array bead shattered in the equipment slot, turning into green light spots that merged into the body. The slot became free.

From then on, touching any array would allow him to trace back the complete energy trajectory of its most recent activation. For someone like him who had long dealt with various arrays, the strategic value of this entry was immeasurable.