Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Chapter 528 Successful Fishing

They waited in the valley for three days.

Nothing happened on the first day. On the evening of the second day, Tianyan Tongqian's passive perception detected a very faint causal fluctuation, indicating someone was searching for the direction of the tracking mark in the distance using some means. The fluctuation lasted for about half an hour before dissipating; the other party seemed to have locked onto a general area but was still hesitant.

On the afternoon of the third day, three streaks of light swept in from the northeast.

The speed was slow, and the flight altitude was kept low as it advanced along the ridgeline, clearly to avoid attracting attention. Ahead, a beam of light emitted a steady fluctuation of spiritual energy, indicating an early-stage Golden Core cultivator. Two beams of light followed closely behind, indicating late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Li Yuan opened his eyes, continuing to maintain his late-stage Foundation Establishment aura disguise, and sat cross-legged on a rock by the stream without moving.

The three streaks of light stopped at the edge of the valley.

The early-stage Golden Core cultivator landed on the ridge south of the valley entrance, probing the valley with his divine sense. The other two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators landed on the east and west slopes respectively, forming a three-way encirclement.

My divine sense swept over.

Li Yuan allowed the other party's divine sense to pass over him, his late-stage Foundation Establishment aura disguised without any flaws. His Hidden Formation technique completely suppressed his true cultivation level, while his Concealed Spiritual Waves technique further reduced the leakage of spiritual energy fluctuations.

From the other party's perspective, there was only one late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator practicing alone in the valley.

The combined aura of the three tracking marks on his body was quite noticeable to the divine sense of a Golden Core cultivator.

A moment later, footsteps came from the direction of the valley entrance.

The early-stage Golden Core cultivator did not rush to appear, but instead had the late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator on the east side come down from the hillside first.

The newcomer was a male cultivator in his early thirties, dressed in black robes. His face was gloomy, and he held a short knife in his hand, the blade of which was wreathed in faint demonic energy.

Demonic cultivator.

"Fellow Daoist, come out and let's talk." The black-robed male cultivator stopped ten feet away, his tone unfriendly.

Li Yuan raised his head, revealing a wary expression.

The black-robed male cultivator lingered on Li Yuan for a few moments, then turned his head and nodded slightly towards the valley entrance.

signal.

From the direction of the valley entrance, a cultivator at the early stage of the Golden Core realm appeared.

The middle-aged male cultivator, around forty years old, wore a gray robe, had an ordinary face, and exuded a calm aura. With his right hand behind his back, he walked into the valley at a leisurely pace, his gaze always fixed on Li Yuan.

The second late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator on the western hillside also emerged from his hiding place, blocking the retreat route upstream of the stream.

Surrounded on three sides.

The gray-robed Golden Core cultivator stopped two thousand feet away and said, "Fellow Daoist, your aura is somewhat unusual. We are here to investigate. Please cooperate."

Li Yuan stood up, took two steps back, and assumed a defensive posture.

"What are you checking?"

"You don't need to know." The gray-robed cultivator raised his right hand, condensing a ball of dark purple spiritual energy in his palm, and pushed it towards Li Yuan.

Dark purple spiritual energy transformed into a light barrier, rapidly enveloping Li Yuan. The barrier's spiritual energy structure contained a kind of detection spell; upon contact with the target, it could forcibly strip away the target's disguised aura.

Just in time.

Li Yuan did not dodge, letting the light curtain fall on him.

When the light barrier touched the camouflage layer of the Hidden and Unseen, the spiritual energy structure began to tremble, attempting to penetrate the disguise. However, the Hidden and Unseen was a purple-level concealment attribute formed by the fusion of four green and blue attributes, which was completely unaffected by detection spells used in the early stages of the Golden Core realm.

The gray-robed monk frowned slightly.

"Something's strange," he muttered, then suddenly increased his spiritual power output, doubling the intensity of the dark purple light barrier.

It still couldn't penetrate.

The gray-robed monk's expression changed.

A rogue cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage could even have his aura disguised so well that it could be forcibly stripped away by a Golden Core stage cultivator.

"Take it down."

As soon as the gray-robed cultivator finished speaking, the late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators on the east and west sides attacked simultaneously. The black-robed male cultivator's short sword, imbued with demonic energy, slashed down, while the cultivator on the west side shot out a chain of spiritual energy from his palm, heading straight for Li Yuan's hands.

Li Yuan made a move.

The disguise of being hidden and elusive vanished in an instant.

The spiritual energy fluctuations of the late-stage Golden Core cultivator erupted without any concealment, and the dark golden spiritual energy spread outwards like a tide.

The three trackers froze simultaneously.

The gray-robed cultivator's pupils constricted sharply, and he instinctively took a step back. Before the attacks of the two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators even reached them, they were forced off course by the suppression of the late-stage Golden Core cultivator's spiritual power.

The short sword cleaved through the air, causing the spiritual energy chain to veer off course by two zhang.

Li Yuan flipped his right hand, and a blade of light that could cleave the sky condensed in front of his palm. After the initial forging of spiritual essence became permanent, the spell's formation speed increased by 50%. Coupled with the precise control of the spiritual power created by the alchemy platform, the blade of light took less than half a breath to condense and take shape.

The blade's edge slashed towards the black-robed male cultivator on the east side.

But just before the blade's edge was about to strike, Li Yuan slightly shifted the angle.

The blade grazed the black-robed man's shoulder, slicing off half of his sleeve and cutting a three-foot-deep crack in the mountain wall behind him.

The black-robed male cultivator shuddered, his face turning deathly pale.

Without hesitation, he transformed into a streak of light and fled frantically in the northeast direction.

Li Yuan did not pursue.

The spiritual power in her right hand was slightly directed in the direction the black-robed man had fled. A wisp of extremely fine demonic energy silently adhered to the trail of his escape light, disappearing behind the mountain ridge along with the black-robed man's escape light.

Demonic energy tracking mark.

The Xuan You Pearl's permanent blue attribute once again proved useful in its passive perception ability at the late Golden Core stage. The Xuan You Pearl's effect allows for the vague perception of aura fluctuations at the Nascent Soul level, more than sufficient to assist in setting up a Golden Core-level tracking mark. Furthermore, the refined control over demonic energy gained after the fusion of spirit and demon makes the demonic energy mark extremely well-concealed, virtually impossible for a late Foundation Establishment cultivator to detect.

Release a fish, then follow the line to find its nest.

The late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator on the west side tried to run the moment the spiritual energy chains were broken, but he wasn't as quick as the black-robed male cultivator.

Li Yuan raised his left hand, activating the teleportation technique.

The space distorted and twisted, interrupting the cultivator on the west side as soon as he started his escape. He was pulled by the spatial force, his escape light shattered, and he fell from mid-air.

The gray-robed Golden Core cultivator gritted his teeth and attacked.

With both palms clapping together, dark purple spiritual energy condensed into a tangible shockwave of demonic energy, which slammed head-on into Li Yuan.

A full-force attack from the early stage of the Golden Core realm.

Li Yuan extended his right hand, and the spiritual membrane protecting his body appeared on his surface, while the spiritual armor protecting his body, made of golden energy, simultaneously took shape. The shockwave struck the spiritual membrane and armor, causing a slight tremor in the spiritual energy, but without causing any substantial damage.

The gap is too big.

Li Yuan took a step forward and pushed forward with his right palm.

The blade light of the Sky-Splitting Slash condensed again, this time without deviating, but with reduced force.

The gray-robed cultivator barely managed to raise a protective aura, but the blade's light crashed down, shattering the protective aura like paper. The gray-robed cultivator groaned, several wounds opening on his chest from the aftershocks of the spatial blade's light, and he was sent flying backward, crashing into the valley wall.

The spiritual energy chains simultaneously bound the gray-robed cultivator and the late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator on the west side.

The battle is over.

It took less than twenty breaths in total.

Li Yuan first processed his own tracking tags.

All three tracking markers have been cleared.

Li Yuan then walked up to the gray-robed cultivator.

The gray-robed cultivator leaned against the valley wall, blood still seeping from his chest wound, his face pale. His spiritual energy was sealed by chains, rendering him unable to move.

"Who set up the tracking tags?"

The gray-robed monk remained silent for a few moments.

"Will I live if I answer that?"

"Not answering will mean certain death."

The gray-robed cultivator gave a bitter smile and stopped struggling.

"Yuanzong. The markers were uniformly deployed by Yuanzong, covering several major towns and cities in Baijing, Lingzhou, and Liangzhou."

The types of items distributed are not fixed; they include ritual implements, spiritual materials, and miscellaneous items. The purpose is not to track down any specific person, but to cast a wide net.

"Who are you tracking?"

"Disciples of the White Nether Sect," the gray-robed cultivator said. "After the destruction of the Profound Nether Sect, the White Nether Sect was established on its foundation. However, the White Nether Sect did not last long and was also destroyed. Some of its legacy has not been found to this day."

How is "casting a wide net" defined?

"The aura of the marker itself is extremely faint, and a single marker is almost impossible to track. However, Yuanzong tampered with the placement of the markers, so that the auras of anyone who comes into contact with multiple marked items will overlap. The more they come into contact with, the stronger the aura becomes, and the easier it is to locate them."

"What about the cost of proactive tracking?"

"Very high." The gray-robed cultivator shook his head. "The marker itself is too weak. Active tracking requires a continuous consumption of spiritual energy to maintain perception, which is a waste of manpower and resources. Therefore, the Yuan Sect's strategy is to passively wait until the aura accumulates to a sufficiently strong level and the target reveals itself, and then send people to investigate."

"Are you three here for the inspection?"

"Yes. We received a message saying there was a target with a very high concentration of odor in the southwest of Liangzhou, and we were asked to come and take a look."

The information is sufficient.

Li Yuan withdrew the spiritual energy chains.

A glimmer of hope flashed in the gray-robed monk's eyes, only to be extinguished shortly afterward.

The Sky-Splitting Slash descended.

Two bodies lay in the valley.

Li Yuan searched his personal belongings.

There were two storage bags, a number of spirit stones, several bottles of pills, and dozens of magical artifacts, all imbued with the aura of different cultivators, but none of them were of high quality.

Something caught my attention.

Deep within the grey-robed cultivator's storage pouch lay a dark red rune, about the size of a thumb, its surface covered with extremely fine communication runes. This was a communication rune, used to receive messages from within the Yuan Sect.

Li Yuan held the talisman in his palm.

A green light appeared.

[Equipable item detected: Transmission Talisman Stone (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Message Translation (Green)]

[Effect: Improves the accuracy of capturing information about previously encountered sound transmission stone items by 40%]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Successfully decoded five different encryption schemes of message signals (0/5)]

Li Yuan then cleaned up the traces in the valley and disappeared in a flash of light.

As the light swept across the mountain ridge, his divine sense extended slightly to the northeast.

The signal from the demonic energy tracking mark was clear; the black-robed male cultivator was still running.

No rush. Let him run further away.

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