Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Chapter 504 Three Things About Seclusion

The next morning, Master Xuanpu returned to Wulin Market.

This time, they didn't go into the main hall, but waited in an open space on the outskirts of the market.

As Li Yuan walked out of the market gate, Xuan Pu stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the defensive formations surrounding the market, and he nodded slightly.

"Fellow Daoist Li's skill in formations is quite high."

"Master Xuanpu has come again today. Is there something else?" Li Yuan walked up to him.

Xuanpu turned around and got straight to the point.

"There's no need to rush to answer about yesterday's matter, Fellow Daoist Li. I've come today to discuss something else."

"My proposal is for Wulin Market and Tianyue Market to establish cooperation and exchange resources. Spiritual materials, elixirs, and talismans can be shared and allocated between the two markets."

Xuanpu paused for a moment.

"This is merely a commercial cooperation at the market level, and does not involve any sect relations. Fellow Daoist Li will remain a retainer of the Yuanyang Sect, and I will not insist on that. We can discuss other matters later when Fellow Daoist Li has thought things through."

The conditions were very restrained.

It's merely a commercial collaboration between markets, not tied to any sect affiliation, and doesn't require anyone to take sides. For Li Yuan, it's almost a burden, yet he can gain resource support through the Tianyue Sect's channels.

"Okay," Li Yuan said.

Xuanpu nodded without saying anything more, and took out a communication token from his storage bag and handed it over.

"For the communication token of Tianyue Market, just have your manager handle the specific matters with me."

Li Yuan accepted the token, Xuan Pu cupped his hands in greeting, turned around, and transformed into a streak of light, disappearing into the distance.

After seeing Xuanpu off, Li Yuan stood at the entrance of the market, his gaze fixed on the direction in which the disappearing light had vanished.

Tianyue Sect adopted a very humble attitude, but its purpose was not hard to guess.

To win them over.

With the Yuan Yang Sect besieged and Zhou Mingyuan missing, the power structure of Liangzhou is being reshuffled. It's only natural for the Tian Yue Sect to seize this opportunity to infiltrate Liangzhou and win over the only Golden Core cultivator besides the Yuan Yang Sect.

As for alliances and covenants, the Tianyue Sect's attitude towards the Yuanyang Sect after Zhou Mingyuan obtained the spiritual embryo already explained everything. How long an alliance can last depends entirely on how large the benefits are.

Li Yuan turned around and returned to the market.

In the following days, news continued to arrive.

Ji Wenyuan pieced together a clear picture from the intelligence gathered from various sources: the Golden Core cultivators outside the Yuanyang Sect's mountain gate had not changed their strategy of surrounding but not attacking, but the Yuanyang Sect's resource points in Liangzhou were being eliminated one by one.

The Foundation Establishment disciples stationed at several mining sites were expelled, their spiritual fields were seized, and even some remote herb gardens were not spared. The Yuan Yang Sect's sphere of influence shrank at a visible rate, retreating to the core area within a hundred miles of its mountain gate.

Li Yuan did not stand idly by.

One night, he concealed his presence and left the Misty Forest Market using stealth methods, heading towards the Yuanyang Sect's mountain gate.

We didn't get too close.

In a dense forest about sixty miles from the Yuanyang Sect's mountain gate, Li Yuan's divine sense detected several fluctuations of energy at the Golden Core level.

Three Golden Core cultivators were gathered in a cave deep in the dense forest, seemingly resting. Their spiritual energy fluctuations were very similar to those of the Tianyue Sect.

Li Yuan lowered his breath and crept into the treetop above the cave.

The expanded range of divine sense, enhanced by the enhanced communication sensitivity, completely enveloped the cave. The conversation between the three people inside the cave reached his ears intermittently.

"—Zhou Mingyuan still hasn't returned. Those Golden Core cultivators from Yuanyang Sect are guarding the mountain gate, not daring to leave."

"Where did you say he ran off to? Did he hide with the spirit fetus?"

"Who knows. Anyway, there's no rush to fight. If that guy surnamed Zhou really manages to form his Nascent Soul in some remote corner and comes back to kill us, we might be in big trouble."

The third person's voice was even lower.

"Nascent Soul stage? Does he have that ability?"

"What if?"

There was silence for a moment.

"If you push someone too far, and they actually manage to form a Nascent Soul, all of us here combined wouldn't be enough to withstand a single slap from him."

""

"So we're just going to wait it out like this?"

"Let's just wait it out for now. We don't know what the other sects are thinking, but we'll just keep at it and take advantage of the situation to take over Liangzhou's resources."

The conversation ended there, and the three of them closed their eyes to rest.

Li Yuan silently withdrew from the tree canopy and sneaked back to the Misty Forest Market.

Zhou Mingyuan is attempting to form an infant.

All the factions guessed this, so they dared not kill the Yuanyang Sect.

I'm afraid that if it succeeds, it might turn into a scene reminiscent of the Dragon King's return.

Encircle without attacking, slowly whittling down the surrounding resources. Attacking the mountain gate would not bring much benefit and would also offend people.

After returning to his secluded training room, Li Yuan turned his attention back to the array formation.

Since he began his garrison at Kugu Ridge, Li Yuan has never stopped his research on array formations.

Li Yuan took out the fragments of the Xuan You Sect's incomplete array he had brought back from the Dry Bone Ridge from his personal space and studied them in comparison with the array manual in his hand.

The array patterns of the Xuanyou Sect in this site differ significantly from conventional array systems.

Conventional array formations primarily use straight lines and curves, with relatively fixed connections between nodes. However, the array formations of the Xuan You Sect extensively utilize zigzag and spiral structures, making node connections more flexible and varied, and the flow of spiritual energy within them more complex.

The root of this difference lies in spatial attributes.

It is the thirty-first day since the entry was obtained.

A panel pops up.

[Conditions for permanent application of the array's luminous (green) effect have been met]

[Condition: Conduct continuous research on array formations for thirty days]

【Array luminescence (green) has become a permanent entry】

A green light merged into his consciousness. The array formation manual disappeared from his equipment inventory.

A scene flashed into my mind.

The image doesn't depict a specific person or scene, but rather an extremely abstract perception.

Countless array patterns intertwined, separated, and recombine in the field of vision. Each array pattern possessed its own attribute color: metal, wood, etc.

Water, fire, earth, and even rarer elements like space, time, and yin and yang. The connections between array patterns are no longer mechanical lines joining together, but rather carry a natural affinity or repulsion.

This affinity and repulsion is called texture compatibility.

Ancient array masters, unlike modern array masters, did not rely on calculations and deductions to determine the combination of array patterns when designing arrays. They relied on an intuition accumulated over many years, an instinctive perception of the compatibility of patterns. They knew without thinking which two array patterns would amplify each other and which would weaken each other; they knew with a simple movement.

This way of thinking is not knowledge, but instinct.

After the image disappeared, Li Yuan closed his eyes and felt it for a moment.

What appeared in my mind wasn't a specific array technique, but rather a layer of underlying perception filter. From now on, when looking at any array patterns, I will automatically perceive the compatibility relationships between them, without needing to consciously analyze them.

While the permanence of the array-based micro-light is being achieved, another project is also underway.

The Heart Sutra of Tide Array.

The cultivation method of this array technique involves internalizing the array circuits into the meridians, making the body itself a living array. In the introductory stage, there are only two circuits, the number of nodes is limited, and the operation method is relatively simple.

However, the effect of the "Symbiotic Array" attribute has been working over the past month: when practicing array techniques, one's array mastery and skill cultivation increase simultaneously.

Each day Li Yuan practices the Tide Array Heart Sutra, his mastery of array formations increases by one point. Conversely, each day he studies array formation texts and the Xuan You Remnant Array, his proficiency with the Tide Array Heart Sutra also increases by one point.

The two paths complement each other, forming a stable positive cycle.

With the accumulation of practical experience in setting up formations, adjusting defensive formations, and maintaining spirit-gathering formations in and out of the market, his proficiency in the Tide Formation Manual is already quite high.

After the array's subtle light became permanent, the instinctive perception of the array's pattern gave the Tide Array Heart Sutra its final push.

The internal array circuits suddenly underwent a spontaneous adjustment.

An additional connecting structure was added between the original two loops, allowing the two sets of nodes to operate simultaneously without interfering with each other.

The flow of spiritual energy in the meridians changed from a single serial flow to a dual-channel flow that could run in parallel, doubling the efficiency of the array's operation.

【The Art of Tide Formation: Beginner to Proficient】

Li Yuan opened his eyes and sensed the changes within his body.

The array patterns in the meridians were much more complex than when they first started, but they operated much more smoothly. When the two sets of nodes operated simultaneously, the spiritual energy formed a loop pattern similar to a nested double-layer array within the body, which could both increase the output efficiency of spells and accelerate the condensation of spiritual energy during cultivation.

The harvest along the array path has come to an end.

Li Yuan sat cross-legged in meditation.

The tasks in my mind gradually became clearer.

The first item is a third-tier Divine Soul cultivation technique. The condition for making the "Sensitive Communication" attribute permanent is mastering a third-tier Divine Soul cultivation technique, which I currently do not possess. I need to find a way to acquire one.

The second item is the Void Crystal, a key material for the core of your natal magical artifact.

The third item is Spirit Jade. It's the outer shell material for my natal magic weapon, requiring a balance between hardness and spiritual energy conductivity. Currently, I haven't found anything about it.

Fourthly, the spatial magic system. The two permanent attributes, Spatial Folding and Lingering Echoes, have laid the foundation, but the practical application of spatial magic is still rudimentary. The principle of spatial shaping magic has been conceptualized from permanent visual representations, but further in-depth research and practice are needed.

None of these four things can be resolved in the short term.

But now that the direction is clear, all that's left is to take it one step at a time.

Li Yuan opened his eyes and walked out of the seclusion room.