Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Chapter 512 Encounters Along the Way

Before setting off for Baijing Market, Li Yuan completed his final training session in the secluded training room of Wulin Market.

Demonic Spirit Fusion Technique.

After reaching the Great Perfection, the cultivation progress slowed down considerably. The further one progressed in fusing cultivation techniques, the more difficult it became. The conversion and coexistence of spiritual energy and demonic energy within the body required extremely precise balance and control.

However, the enhancement from the affix system was too powerful. The combined effect of the three purple affixes—"Demonic Spiritual Origin," "Spiritual and Demonic Void Absorption," and "Demonic Core Creation"—allowed the mutual conversion and fusion between spiritual power and demonic energy to far exceed the limits designed for the cultivation technique itself. Coupled with the continuous boost to cultivation speed from "Practicing the Truth of All Techniques," the bottlenecks after reaching the Great Completion stage were gradually worn away.

As he finished his practice that morning, the circulation of spiritual and demonic energy within his body completed its final fine-tuning. The two forces flowed in parallel within his dantian, the interval between switching shortened from less than a breath to an almost negligible degree, and the transformation between spiritual and demonic energy had become close to an instinctive reaction.

The demonic fusion technique has been perfected.

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

The completion of the cultivation technique means that one can prepare to condense the Demonic Qi Golden Core again. The last condensed mid-grade late-stage Demonic Qi Golden Core shattered during the integration with the Spiritual Qi Golden Core, and the fragments are still preserved in the personal space. The fragments have lost their essence, energy, and spirit, but the amount of demonic energy they contain is still abundant, which can be used as raw materials for condensing the core again.

However, even if the cultivation technique is perfected, the fusion of the spiritual pill and the demonic pill cannot be perfected.

The original design involved fusing the embryo with a complete elixir or demonic core, since no one can form a core twice.

Even if I could form my core again, it wouldn't work. The limit of the cultivation technique design is one main and one secondary element, which has limited impact on overall strength. But the problem is that I already have the entry for it.

With the enhancement of the cultivation technique, the fusion of spiritual power and demonic energy has reached an extremely high level.

The key point is that the Demonic Core must reach the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm and be of the highest quality from the very beginning of its formation. Only in this way can the Demonic Core and the current highest-grade Spiritual Core be completely equivalent in size and grade, making it possible to achieve true unity with the help of the astrological attributes, rather than simply one being the primary and the other secondary.

The conditions are demanding, but not impossible.

The fragments of the previously shattered demonic energy core can provide a large amount of demonic energy raw materials, saving the time of accumulating it from scratch. The thirteen spiritual meridians in the body can also convert spiritual energy into demonic energy. After a little preparation and accumulating enough demonic energy reserves, we can start trying it out.

But there's no rush.

There are more important things to do right now.

After packing up, Li Yuan transformed into a beam of light and left the Misty Forest Market, flying towards the White Mirror Market.

The streaking light swept across the hilly region in central Liangzhou, heading west along the official road. The terrain below gradually transitioned from low hills to more undulating mountains, densely vegetated and sparsely populated.

This area is already close to the outer edge of the Yuanyang Sect.

Li Yuan did not deliberately approach the direction of the Yuan Yang Sect; his escape light followed a conventional route. However, the passive perception range after the Myriad Manifestations Reversal was permanently established was extremely large, automatically capturing all spiritual energy fluctuations within several miles.

After flying for about half an hour, Li Yuan suddenly sensed a fluctuation in energy.

About four miles to the southeast, there were fluctuations from a clash of spiritual energy.

The intensity of the fluctuations wasn't high, roughly at the late Foundation Establishment stage. However, the pattern of the fluctuations was very abnormal. One side's spiritual energy output was intermittent and getting weaker, while the other side's two spiritual energy fluctuations were stable and aggressive.

One against two, the weaker side is being hunted down.

Without hesitation, Li Yuan turned around and escaped.

When he got within about a mile of the tree, Li Yuan landed on the canopy of an ancient tree and extended his divine sense.

The scene in the valley was vividly imprinted in my mind.

A young cultivator was desperately fleeing. He looked to be in his early twenties, wearing a grayish-blue robe that was torn in half, with the dark red emblem of the Yuan Yang Sect embroidered on the chest. His left arm was covered in blood from the shoulder down, and blood dripped from the cuff onto the gravel at his feet, leaving a long trail of blood behind him.

The spiritual energy fluctuations at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage are extremely unstable, sometimes strong and sometimes weak, clearly indicating that the person has suffered significant internal injuries.

Two black-robed monks were chasing after him.

The two men were about twenty feet apart, positioned in a pincer movement. The one in front was tall and thin, holding a dark red talisman in his hand, his spiritual energy fluctuations steady, indicating he was in the late Foundation Establishment stage. The one behind was slightly shorter, with a ball of black mist suspended in his palm, within which surged a malevolent aura; he was also in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

People from the Demonic Sect.

The tall, thin cultivator tossed the talisman in his hand, and a dark red light transformed into a fiery serpent, rushing straight for the young cultivator's back. The young cultivator dodged to the side, but the injury to his left arm slowed his reaction speed. The fiery serpent grazed his ribs, burning a large, charred hole in his robe.

The young cultivator stumbled a few steps and knelt down on one knee.

The short cultivator approached from behind, condensing black mist in his palm into a black cone of light, which he hurled at the back of the young cultivator's head.

Li Yuan made a move.

His natal magical artifact instantly appeared from his dantian, its oval shape stretching into a three-foot-long sword in his palm. The patterns on the milky-white sword blade lit up, and spiritual energy concentrated at the tip.

The sword was thrown directly.

The longsword transformed into a streak of white light, silently sweeping across the valley and cutting into the gap between the two demonic cultivators from the side.

The short cultivator was the first to notice the anomaly. Before the black light cone he threw could hit its target, a white flash appeared in his peripheral vision, already three feet in front of him.

There was no time to dodge.

A white light pierced through his shoulder, penetrating his robes, protective spiritual energy, and flesh, exiting from the other side. Blood splattered, and the short cultivator's body was severed in two, his upper and lower halves falling in opposite directions, the spiritual energy fluctuations instantly dissipating.

The tall, thin cultivator reacted even faster. The instant the white light appeared, he turned and retreated, his footwork suddenly accelerating as he fled towards the dense forest on the north side of the valley.

Li Yuan made a fist with his right hand, and his natal magic weapon spun back into his palm.

At the same time, he raised his left hand and unleashed a Sky-Splitting Slash.

A visible spatial blade of light shot out from his palm, precisely slicing through the trajectory of the tall, thin cultivator.

The moment the blade struck, the protective spiritual energy around the tall, thin cultivator was torn apart like paper, and the force of spatial cutting pierced directly through his chest cavity.

The tall, thin cultivator glanced down at the wound on his chest, his expression shifting from terror to bewilderment. Then, his body went limp and he collapsed to the ground, the fluctuations of his spiritual energy completely disappearing.

Both of them were killed.

The valley fell silent.

The young cultivator from the Yuan Yang Sect knelt on one knee, his face covered in blood, staring wide-eyed at everything that was happening before him.

Li Yuan fell from the treetop, and his natal magic weapon returned to its oval shape.

The young cultivator struggled to his feet, pressing his right hand against the wound on his left arm, blood seeping from between his fingers. He looked at Li Yuan, his lips trembling, then suddenly knelt down on one knee.

"Thank you so much for saving my life, senior."

His voice was hoarse, trembling with the shock of surviving a disaster.

"Get up." Li Yuan glanced at him. "What's your name?"

The young monk stood up, enduring the pain.

"This junior is Fang Yue, an inner disciple of the Yuan Yang Sect."

"How did things come to this?"

Fang Yue gritted his teeth, a bitter look flashing in his eyes.

"The sect sent me out to deliver a message and contact the disciples outside. But less than half a day after leaving the sect's territory, I was spotted by the Demon Sect and chased for more than thirty miles, but we couldn't shake them off."

"The sect's outer perimeter has been sealed off by the Demonic Fiend Sect?"

Fang Yue nodded, then shook his head.

"It's not really a blockade; what's truly encircled are the people of the Tianyue Sect. However, the Shamo Sect has placed a large number of sentries within a hundred miles of the Yuanyang Sect. Almost every Yuanyang Sect disciple who leaves the sect is detected. In the past two months, seven or eight disciples have been intercepted and killed while going out."

He paused for a moment, then lowered his voice.

"The situation within the sect is also not good."

Li Yuan didn't urge him, and waited for him to continue.

Fang Yue remained silent for a moment, seemingly hesitant about how much to say. But given the debt of gratitude he owed her, he finally spoke.

"The sect has split internally. The four Golden Core elders disagree and have argued several times. Two of the elders advocate surrendering to the Tianyue Sect in exchange for the safety of the disciples and the survival of the sect. The other two elders firmly oppose this, believing that Sect Master Zhou will return sooner or later, and that as long as they hold the mountain gate, there is hope."

"The two sides are deadlocked. Most disciples dare not express their opinions and can only stay in the sect. However, most of the sect's resources have been cut off. The surrounding mines and spirit fields have all been lost, and the food reserves will not last long."

"Where is Zhou Mingyuan?" Li Yuan asked.

Fang Yue shook his head.

"No news. There has been no word since Grandmaster Zhou left with the spirit embryo. The four elders have tried to contact him many times using their communication tokens, but there has been no response."

Li Yuan didn't ask any more questions.

Fang Yue's injuries were serious, but not life-threatening. Li Yuan took out a bottle of Qi-restoring pills from his personal space and handed it to him.

Fang Yue accepted the pill, thanked him repeatedly, and after taking it, sat cross-legged on the ground to heal his injuries.

Li Yuan walked to the two corpses of demonic cultivators.

He bent down and picked up two storage bags.

The first storage bag didn't contain much: a few dozen spirit stones, a few low-level magic talismans, and a second-grade low-quality black iron dagger—all common equipment for demonic cultivators.

The second storage bag contained slightly more items: spirit stones, pills, a tattered map, and several communication talismans.

Li Yuan took out the items from the storage bag one by one and sensed them within a three-foot range.

Most of them have no entries.

He paused for a moment when his finger touched a dark bone bead.

Green light.

The bone bead is about the size of a thumb, completely black, with extremely fine cracks on its surface. It contains a residual malevolent energy, not strong, but extremely concentrated.

A panel pops up.

[Equipable item detected: Soul-Devouring Dark Orb (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Shadow Assault (Green)]

[Effect: Spiritual energy fluctuations are reduced by 30% while in stealth mode; the first attack when striking from stealth mode is increased by 20%]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Successfully ambush three targets at least at the late Foundation Establishment stage from a stealthy state (0/3)]

Green attribute. Leans towards assassination and sneak attacks; effective but doesn't quite fit my current fighting style.

While in stealth mode, spiritual energy fluctuations are reduced by 30%, which has some overlap with the effects of the Hidden Breath Technique. The first attack from stealth mode is increased by 20%, which is very valuable in scenarios involving preemptive strikes.

The condition for permanentization is to ambush three targets at the late Foundation Establishment stage or above while in a lurking state. It's not too difficult, but it requires a specific scenario.

Li Yuan stored the Soul-Devouring Dark Pearl in his personal space, not in a hurry to equip it. There weren't many slots in his equipment inventory, and the Ink Spirit Brush was still progressing towards permanent status, so there were no empty slots for the time being.

There was nothing of value among the remaining items. The spirit stones were taken, and the magic artifacts and pills were of too low quality to be kept. The tattered map, however, was worth a look; it marked several outposts of the Demonic Fiend Sect on the outskirts of the Yuan Yang Sect.

Li Yuan carefully put the map away.

After Fang Yue finished healing his injuries, he stood up. Thanks to the effects of the Meridian-Regenerating Pill and the recovery of his own spiritual energy, the wound on his left arm had stopped bleeding and scabbed over, and his movements were not greatly affected.

"I will always remember your great kindness, senior." Fang Yue bowed again.

Fang Yue then turned and fled into the southeastern forest, his figure quickly disappearing among the treetops.

Li Yuan stood still, looking in the direction where Fang Yue had disappeared, before turning his gaze away after a moment.

The situation at Yuanyang Sect was worse than they had anticipated.

Internal divisions, resource depletion, disciples besieged, and the sect leader missing. The four Golden Core elders faced off in pairs, neither able to persuade the other.

But the problem is that nobody knows when Zhou Mingyuan will come back, or even if he can come back at all.

Li Yuan wiped away the remaining spiritual energy fluctuations from the two demonic cultivator corpses, transformed into a beam of light, and rose back into the air, continuing to fly towards Baijing Market.