Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Chapter 499 The Ruins of Dry Bone Ridge

The mid-stage Golden Core demon cultivator from the Demonic Cultivator Sect stared intently at Li Yuan, his killing intent almost tangible.

The situation was similar on Yuanzong's side. The leading late-stage Golden Core cultivator had a gloomy expression, his gaze lingering on Li Yuan for a few moments before he finally remained silent.

Everyone is enduring it.

The formation was about to break, and this unexpected turn of events only benefited the onlookers.

Beneath the depression, the last few nodes of the restriction collapsed one after another as the array master dismantled them. The cracks on the surface of the array patterns expanded rapidly, and the spiritual energy circulation was completely severed.

A deep, rumbling sound came from underground.

The ground in the depression shook violently, and the central rock layer collapsed several feet, revealing an entrance less than ten feet wide. Fragments of the last layer of array patterns remained on the rocks at the edge of the entrance, their spiritual light flickering before extinguishing.

broken.

More than a dozen eyes turned to the entrance at the same time.

The entrance was small, allowing only two people to walk side by side. But when the first divine sense probed into it, the expressions of all the Golden Core cultivators subtly changed.

The space inside the entrance is much larger than it appears from the outside.

Zhou Mingyuan stood on the giant rock and spoke.

"Space folding".

His voice wasn't loud, but everyone present heard it.

"It should be a building from the later period of the Xuanyou Sect. At that time, the sect leader of the Xuanyou Sect had reached the pinnacle of spatial mastery, and could fold up an internal space several times or even dozens of times larger within a very small entrance. This branch hall is a product of that period."

No one questioned Zhou Mingyuan about how he knew so much. Over the years, the Yuanyang Sect had definitely learned a lot about the Xuanyou Sect.

The entrance wasn't large, but no one wanted to fall behind.

The late-stage Golden Core cultivator from Yuanzong was the first to move, disappearing into the entrance in a flash. The Blood Fiend True Man from the Fiend Demon Sect followed closely behind.

The cultivators from Tianyue Sect, Bitan Sect, and Qishui Sect also followed suit.

Li Yuan followed behind, entering almost simultaneously with the female cultivator.

The space inside the entrance suddenly opens up.

A grand hall.

The dome was over ten zhang high, and the four walls were made of dark gray rock, the surface of which was covered with dense array patterns. The style of the array patterns was consistent with the outer restrictions, but even more intricate and complex. The main hall was extremely vast, roughly estimated to be several hundred zhang in circumference, forming a stark contrast with the less than one zhang wide entrance outside.

The main hall is surrounded by more than a dozen secret rooms, with stone doors tightly closed and each door engraved with a different restrictive array pattern.

In the very center of the main hall, on a stone platform about half a person's height, sits a jade petri dish.

Two beads lay quietly in the petri dish.

One big and one small.

The large bead is the size of a fist, with a warm, milky white color and a very faint luster flowing across its surface. The small bead is only the size of a fingernail, with a dull color and almost no visible luster.

All the Golden Core cultivators' divine senses simultaneously surged toward the stone platform.

A moment later, Yuan Zong, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, spoke first.

"Earth Spirit Fetus."

The voice was calm.

Most of the Golden Core cultivators present clearly recognized this rare treasure nurtured with spiritual veins. The reputation of the Earthly Origin Spirit Embryo was not unfamiliar in the Golden Core circle. It was a precious treasure that aided in breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, and for non-demonic Golden Core cultivators in the late stage, it was an extremely rare and sought-after treasure.

The large pearl is mature and can be consumed directly. The small pearl is not yet mature and needs to absorb spiritual energy from the spiritual veins for a thousand years before it can be used.

A nurturing array was set up around the stone platform. The array's patterns were still intact, but the array itself had stopped functioning. The spiritual energy supply from the spiritual vein had been cut off at some point, and the nurturing array, having lost its source of spiritual energy, could no longer operate despite not being damaged.

Fortunately, the life force of the Earthly Spirit Embryo was still intact. Although the radiance on the surface of the large pearl was faint, it had not been extinguished.

Everyone's attention was focused on the large bead.

The smaller pearl needs to be cultivated for another thousand years before it can be used, and no one present has the patience or the means to do so. The larger pearl is the core.

The silence lasted for several breaths.

The late-stage Golden Core cultivator from the Bitan Sect was the first to break the silence.

"There's only one spirit embryo, and there are over a dozen people present. How will it be divided?"

"Auction," suggested a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator from the Qishui Sect. "The highest bidder wins."

"Is your Qishui Sect's wealth enough to compete?" Blood Fiend True Man sneered.

The Qishui Sect cultivators froze, remaining silent.

Yuan Zong, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, glanced at everyone present.

"Yuan Sect is offering three thousand high-grade spirit stones, plus a quota for refining a fourth-grade pill. Whoever can afford the higher price gets it."

As soon as the price was announced, the faces of several weaker Golden Core cultivators darkened simultaneously. Three thousand high-grade spirit stones was the savings of a mid-level sect over several years, plus a quota for refining fourth-grade pills. This was using the Nascent Soul ancestor behind the Yuan Sect to pressure them.

Master Xuanpu of the Tianyue Sect remained expressionless and did not participate in the bidding.

Zhou Mingyuan remained silent as well.

Negotiations continued, but the atmosphere became increasingly tense.

With each additional moment of stalemate, the spiritual energy fluctuations of the cultivators present tightened further.

The late-stage Golden Core cultivator of the Bitan Sect suddenly took a step toward the stone platform.

Just one step.

But this step caused the nurturing array around the stone platform to suddenly light up. The remaining spiritual energy of the array activated the protective mechanism the moment it was touched, and a semi-transparent light curtain rose from the edge of the stone platform, enveloping the nurturing dish and the two beads.

The light barrier wasn't thick, but it blocked everyone's divine senses.

The late-stage Golden Core cultivator from the Bitan Sect stopped in his tracks, looked at the light screen, and frowned.

Although the nurturing array has ceased its nurturing function, its protective function remains. As long as the array is not completely destroyed, the spiritual embryo cannot be extracted.

Destroying the formation takes time.

Whoever breaks the formation first will expose their back to the others during the process.

Another stalemate ensued.

The mid-stage Golden Core cultivator from the Demon Sect finally lost his patience.

He slammed his palm down on the light screen, and thick demonic energy condensed into a pitch-black sphere in his palm, which slammed heavily onto the surface of the light screen.

The light curtain trembled violently, and a crack appeared on its surface.

The next moment, everyone moved.

Blood Fiend True Man was the fastest, unleashing a crimson blade of light from his palm, slashing fiercely at the other side of the light barrier. The late-stage Golden Core cultivator from the Jade Pool Sect formed hand seals, sending a jet of water, imbued with sharp spiritual energy, hurtling towards the top of the light barrier. Two mid-stage Golden Core cultivators from the Qi Water Sect also attacked simultaneously, their spells striking from two directions.

The light barrier shattered rapidly under the combined attack of several spells.

The moment it shattered, the figure of Yuan Zong, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, rushed towards the stone platform first, his right hand already reaching for the large bead in the cultivation dish.

Blood Fiend Master's blade swept across, forcing Yuan Zong, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, to withdraw his hand to block.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the late-stage Golden Core cultivator from the Bitan Sect inserted himself from the side, his hand already touching the edge of the petri dish.

A Golden Core cultivator from the Tianyue Sect suddenly descended from above, and a thick barrier of spiritual energy repelled the late-stage Golden Core cultivator from the Bitan Sect several feet away.

The area around the stone platform was in complete chaos.

Spells intertwined, and spiritual light shot forth.

But everyone exercised extreme restraint, avoiding the culture dish and the spirit embryo itself. Not a single spell's aftershock reached the two beads on the stone platform.

Everyone knew that if the spirit embryo was destroyed, everyone present would join forces to tear him to pieces.

Zhou Mingyuan remained standing at the edge of the main hall, hands behind his back, calmly watching the chaotic battle. He did not intervene.

Li Yuan also did not participate in the scramble.

The moment the melee broke out, Li Yuan had already retreated from the crowd and approached the stone platform.

It wasn't about stealing the spirit embryo.

The large pearl was less than three feet away from Li Yuan.

Within a three-foot radius, a purple light shone.

Two beams of purple light.

Li Yuan's gaze fell on the large bead. The two purple entries should have the same effect.

Li Yuan withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the secret chambers surrounding the main hall.

The stone doors to the dozen or so secret chambers were tightly shut, but the restrictive array patterns were still in operation. Divine sense could not penetrate the restrictions to probe their interiors, but the quality of the restrictions themselves was not uniform. The secret chambers near the entrance of the main hall had lower-grade restrictions, roughly between the upper second tier and the lower third tier. The deeper one went into the main hall, the higher the quality of the restrictions.

The Golden Core cultivators were all focused on the Earthly Spirit Embryo, and no one paid any attention to the secret chamber.

Li Yuan walked to the secret room furthest from the stone platform.

The restrictive array patterns on the stone gate were dark gray, and the flow of spiritual energy was complex. As a mid-grade third-order restriction, its spiritual light was dim, and in this spatial ruin, replenishing spiritual energy was difficult, so its effectiveness was obviously greatly reduced.

It's not too difficult for Li Yuan's current mastery of array formations.

Li Yuan's divine sense probed into the surface of the restrictive array, searching for weak points along the spiritual energy pathways one by one.

In less than ten breaths, the restrictions on the stone gate completely failed.

Li Yuan pushed open the stone door.

The secret chamber was not large, about two zhang square. Several artifacts were placed on the stone shelf, most of which were decayed and damaged, with only two remaining intact.

Li Yuan swept it with his divine sense and put it into his personal space.

The first item is a small bronze tripod with faded engravings on its surface. There is no entry for it.

The second item was a palm-sized jade tablet with a smooth, mirror-like surface and extremely weak spiritual energy fluctuations.

No light shone within a three-foot radius. No entry exists.

Turn to the next secret room.

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