Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

United Ship Island is located thirty miles off the coast of Nanyuanfang. Dozens of large merchant ships are linked end to end with thick iron chains, forming a continuous stretch of flat land amidst the undulating waves.

Li Yuan transformed into a light blue beam of light and landed lightly on the deck of one of the merchant ships.

The deck was brightly lit, with various merchant guilds and independent cultivators setting up stalls, resembling a small floating market. The sounds of hawking, bargaining, and waves crashing against the hull mingled together, creating a rather noisy atmosphere.

Li Yuan walked among the various stalls.

The stall was filled with a dazzling array of goods, but most of them were basic marine spiritual materials, first and second-tier demon beast materials, and common water-repelling magical artifacts. For Li Yuan, who now possessed a wealth of resources, these things were hardly of any interest.

He walked around, stopping frequently, and finally stopped in front of a stall that specialized in all kinds of books and catalogs.

The stall owner was a gaunt old man with perfected Qi cultivation. When he saw a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator stop by, he immediately greeted him warmly.

Li Yuan's gaze swept across the stall, pointing to a scroll of animal skin illustrations hidden beneath several tattered travelogues.

"What kind of nautical chart is that?"

"Senior has excellent eyesight." The gaunt old man quickly pulled out the animal hide map and unfolded it. "This is the most detailed inland sea map in our shop. It not only marks the locations of hundreds of islands of all sizes around the Kunpeng Island Alliance, but also provides detailed markings of some reefs and turbulent currents where high-level demonic beasts often appear."

Li Yuan glanced at it and found that the markings on the map were indeed extremely detailed, much more precise than the simplified nautical chart that Zhou He had given him before.

After paying a few mid-grade spirit stones, Li Yuan put the sea map into his personal space.

Continuing forward, near the edge of a grocery stall, the faint light of the entry perception shone in my field of vision.

Two streaks of gray light.

Li Yuan stopped. The stall displayed some worn-out fishing nets and low-grade talisman water, with a few thread-bound books stained with salt piled in the corner. Two of the books were glowing.

He reached out and picked it up.

"Tidal Breathing Method" and "Fisherman's Stance Exercise".

[Equipable item detected: Tidal Breathing Technique (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Tidal Breathing Technique (Gray)]

[Effect: Slightly increases affinity with water-based spiritual energy, providing a very minor boost to cultivation efficiency in aquatic environments]

[Equipable item detected: Fisherman's Stance (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Fisherman's Stance (Gray)]

[Effect: Slightly enhances lower body stability, making it less likely to lose balance during combat in bumpy environments]

Both are the most basic mortal cultivation techniques, not even reaching the first level.

"You're selling this kind of mortal cultivation technique?" Li Yuan looked at the stall owner.

The stall owner, a middle-aged man in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, chuckled twice: "Senior, you may not know this. There are many mortals living and multiplying on various islands in the outer sea. In order to make a living on the rocking ship and work in the humid environment, the mortals on the island are required to cultivate these kinds of techniques from a young age. These two are revised versions, and occasionally Qi Refining cultivators buy them to temper their bodies."

Without wasting any words, Li Yuan casually tossed down a few low-grade spirit stones and put away the two books.

[The Breathing Technique (Gray) has become a permanent entry]

[Fisherman's Stakes (Ash) has become a permanent entry]

An extremely faint heat flowed through his body. Two gray-colored buffs solidified within him; though their effects were minimal, every little bit helps, and accumulating small gains is the correct way to use gray-colored attributes.

Two days later.

The main escort fleet of the Tianyue Sect finally arrived and anchored around the United Island. The entire massive fleet weighed anchor and set sail, officially heading into the depths of the inland sea.

Li Yuan boarded the large merchant ship arranged by Zhou He.

The ship is over thirty feet long and consists of three levels. It is made entirely of sturdy ironwood, and the sides of the hull are covered with densely packed defensive and water-repelling patterns.

As soon as Li Yuan stepped onto the deck, he felt a surge of pure water-based spiritual energy rushing towards him.

He secretly activated his senses and discovered that not only was there a large spirit-gathering array engraved on the bottom of the ship, but there was also a complete small water-based spiritual vein embedded in it, continuously providing the entire ship with power and spiritual energy.

Zhou He came down from the upper deck to greet Li Yuan.

"How's it going? Is the ship stable enough?" Zhou He patted the gunwale with a smile. "It's an ocean-going spirit ship jointly built by several chambers of commerce. For this trade fair, there are also two early-stage Golden Core cultivators stationed in the core cabin at the bottom, so safety is absolutely guaranteed."

Li Yuan nodded. The sea voyage was long and tedious, but the ship's facilities were indeed comprehensive.

"Is there an alchemy room on board?"

"Of course. There are cultivation rooms and alchemy rooms specially prepared for the ship's cultivators on the second floor. They draw on the earth fire formation from the lower floor, and the spiritual energy is abundant."

Zhou He quickly arranged for the steward to prepare a top-of-the-line alchemy room for Li Yuan.

After sailing for several days, all around them was the vast ocean and the occasional low-level sea beasts leaping out of the water.

Li Yuan stayed in the alchemy room, not in a hurry to go into seclusion. The water-based spiritual energy environment on the ship was excellent, and he planned to take this opportunity to refine a batch of water-based pills.

In the alchemy room area, he encountered several other alchemists who were also traveling by ship to the trade fair. Most of these people were at the second-tier level and made their living at sea year-round.

Li Yuan, posing as a rogue alchemist, struck up a conversation with them and soon began exchanging experiences.

One of them wanted to try terrestrial elixirs, so he took out a formula called Condensing Tide Powder and exchanged it with Li Yuan.

This is a mid-grade, second-tier auxiliary medicine powder. When taken by cultivators while diving or fighting in the deep sea, it can greatly alleviate the swelling and pain in their meridians caused by water pressure and accelerate the recovery of their water-based spiritual energy in a short period of time. It is extremely sought after among cultivators in the sea area.

Back in the alchemy room, Li Yuan took out the medicinal herbs he had purchased from Yunyang and Baijing Market and lit the earth fire.

With a mastery of the third-tier alchemy technique, coupled with the enhancement of permanent attributes such as alchemical fire refinement and profound understanding of alchemical principles, refining this second-tier mid-grade medicinal powder is a piece of cake.

With precise control of spiritual energy, the medicinal herbs were added one by one.

Half an hour later, the furnace was opened.

More than ten pale blue powder particles clumped together at the bottom of the furnace, emitting a cool, moist vapor.

The quality of the finished product is excellent.

Li Yuan refined three batches in succession, his technique becoming increasingly refined. When the third batch of Condensed Tide Dispersed was produced, the senses within a three-foot radius finally detected that familiar green light.

[Equipable item detected: Tide Condensation Powder (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Tide-Gathering Powder (Green)]

[Effect: Increases the success rate of refining water-based pills by 20%, and extends the duration of the pill's effects.]

[Permanentization Condition: Successfully refine ten batches of water-based pills consecutively without any failures (0/10)]

Green entries not only increase the success rate of pill formation but also prolong the medicinal effect.

During the rest of the voyage, Li Yuan would occasionally leave the alchemy room and go out onto the deck for some fresh air.

The merchant ship proceeded smoothly along the established safe route.

The voyage continued for ten days.

The once calm sea surface was suddenly surging with large undercurrents.

The ship shuddered slightly, and then ripples spread across the outer defensive array's light screen, followed by a piercing alarm that echoed across the deck.

Li Yuan pushed open the cabin door and stepped out.

The surrounding seawater churned violently, and more than a dozen huge dorsal fins sliced ​​through the water like sharp blades, rapidly approaching the merchant ship.

Second-tier mid-stage Siren, Azure-scaled Sawtooth Shark.

The monks on the deck were not panicked; on the contrary, many of them showed signs of excitement.

Zhou He stood on the railing of the second-floor pavilion, looking down, and turned to Li Yuan with a smile: "Brother Li, there's no need to worry. Merchant ships sometimes deliberately release specially made demon-attracting incense underwater to supplement their expenses along the way, attracting some lone demon beasts or small groups of beasts."

"The ship's defensive formations are strong enough to withstand the attacks of third-tier demonic beasts; these second-tier sea monsters can't break through the shield. The Foundation Establishment cultivators below can go down and hunt demons to earn some extra money."

Sure enough, as soon as Zhou He finished speaking, more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators on board couldn't wait to unleash their magical artifacts, pass through the array's light barrier, and leap into the sea to fight the sharks.

Li Yuan looked at the blood churning on the sea and a thought struck him.

With a leap, Li Yuan transformed into a streak of azure light, bursting through the light barrier and landing steadily on the rolling waves.

He suppressed his cultivation level, displaying the spiritual energy fluctuations of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. He formed a hand seal with his right hand, and the Ice Sealing Technique was instantly activated.

The seawater froze rapidly beneath his feet, and a sharp ice spike burst forth, precisely piercing the belly of a saw-toothed shark that was preparing to ambush other cultivators.

The massive body of the mid-stage second-tier sea monster suddenly stiffened, and before blood could even spurt from its wounds, it was completely sealed by the extremely cold ice.

Li Yuan moved with lightning speed, his Shadow Step leaving a trail of afterimages on the sea. He didn't use any magical weapons, but simply flicked his fingers like knives, unleashing a series of palm strikes imbued with demonic energy and water-based spiritual power.

Click!Click!

Two more saw sharks were struck in vital areas by him, their skulls shattered, and their massive carcasses rolled and floated to the surface.

The clean and efficient killing method drew the attention of several Foundation Establishment cultivators who were struggling in the surrounding area.

After leaving behind seven or eight corpses, the sirens finally realized the danger and quickly retreated into the deep sea.

Li Yuan raised his hand and pulled the corpse of the three-headed saw-tooth shark he had killed closer. He then formed his fingers into a knife and precisely sliced ​​open the monster's abdomen, extracting three inner cores that emitted a rich aquatic spiritual energy.

The moment one of the inner cores was grasped, a green light flashed.

[Equipable item detected: Sawtooth Shark Inner Core (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Bone and Blood Drain (Green)]

[Effect: Consumes essence blood to greatly increase the power of malevolent energy spells for a short period of time, and enhance their ability to penetrate defenses.]

[Permanentization Condition: Defeat three different types of Tier 2 monsters while under the buff of this attribute (0/3)]

Green entries.

An extreme method that overdraws one's life essence in exchange for burst damage, combined with his perfected Xuanming Sha Gong, can unleash destructive power far exceeding that of others of the same level in an instant.