Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Chapter 550 Departure to Obtain the Classics

On the third day after completing the Burning Wood Everlasting Spring Technique, Li Yuan emerged from seclusion.

The passive regeneration cycle of wood-elemental spiritual energy in all the meridians of the body has become completely stable. Even without actively circulating the cultivation technique, the spiritual energy flows and replenishes itself within the body at an extremely slow rate. This feeling is similar to a root system that never withers growing inside the body, constantly absorbing spiritual energy.

Ji Wenyuan was handling affairs in the main hall when he saw Li Yuan come out and stood up to greet him.

"Master, nothing major has happened these past few days. The goods from the Mingyuan Chamber of Commerce have arrived, and the restocking arrangements for the spirit material shops in Qinghe Market have been completed."

Li Yuan nodded: "I'm going to the Tianyue Mountains. I might stay for a few days."

"clear."

They transformed into streaks of light and left the Misty Forest Market, flying towards the Tianyue Mountains.

As the light swept across the rolling hills of eastern Liangzhou, the innate perception of the pulse-connecting meridians activated automatically. The direction of the earth's veins beneath their feet appeared as clearly in their consciousness as breathing, and the minute changes in the concentration of spiritual energy updated in real time with the movement of the light.

As they approached the outer edge of the Tianyue Mountains, the change in the concentration of spiritual energy in the direction of the main peak caught Li Yuan's attention.

Last time I came, the spiritual mist was already 20-30% thinner than the first time. This time, the mist has dissipated considerably, with only a thick white fog remaining at the very top of the main peak. The rate at which spiritual energy is being extracted from the spiritual veins is accelerating.

It landed on the outskirts of Tianyuefang Market.

The market town is much larger than when I last visited; Tianyue Sect is accelerating its expansion.

Li Yuan walked through the main street of the market and took out a communication token.

The reply I received was to go to the council chamber.

The council chamber is located in the northern part of the market, adjacent to the outer gate of the Tianyue Sect.

Push the door open and go inside.

Master Xuanpu sat behind the tea table on the second floor, with a pot of spiritual tea and several blank jade slips in front of him.

"sit."

Li Yuan sat down opposite him.

Xuanpu poured him a cup of tea and, without any formalities, got straight to the point.

"Did you bring the Zhao family's things?"

Li Yuan took out two jade slips from his personal space and pushed them onto the table.

"The rubbings of the records of the Zhao family's interactions with the Yuan clan include the frequency of contact over the past three years, the types of goods exchanged, and the general transit routes." He pointed to the first rubbing, "The second rubbing shows the complete route of the target after departing from Zhaoyang Town, passing through eastern Lingzhou, Jingzhou, and Shuizhou, and finally entering the sea."

Xuanpu picked up the first jade slip, probed it with his divine sense, and scanned it for a moment.

"More detailed than I expected." He put down the jade slip and picked up the second one. "This tracking route can be cross-referenced with our existing Yuanzong peripheral communication network, which is of great value."

"And this too." Li Yuan took out another talisman that recorded the aura of a demonic cultivator and placed it on the table.

"Keep the talisman; the sect has others."

Li Yuan did not refuse and took back the talisman.

"What happens after the target enters the sea?" Xuanpu asked.

Li Yuan picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"The trail was broken. After entering the sea, the ocean currents washed away the remaining traces of the trail, which quickly became diluted. It was tracked to the eastern waters of Shuizhou and then completely disappeared."

There was a pause.

"However, during the final tracking before entering the sea, the faint aura of a fourth-tier demonic beast could be detected in the distance. The distance was too great to confirm whether it was related to the target."

Xuanpu's brows furrowed slightly.

"Fourth tier? Are you sure?"

"I'm not sure, I just have a vague feeling about it. It could also be a wild monster from the deep sea."

Xuanpu remained silent for a moment, then noted down the information.

"Understood. I will report the matter of the fourth-tier demonic beast. If you make any new discoveries, please contact me immediately."

Contribution points are settled quickly.

The four pieces of information—Zhao family intelligence, target's movement route, spatial fluctuation remnant records, and Yuanzong encrypted talisman—were combined. Xuanpu immediately signed and confirmed the document, and the contribution points were credited to his account.

"With your previous savings, you have enough to exchange for the Nascent Soul cultivation manual." Xuanpu took out a wooden box from under the tea table and pushed it in front of Li Yuan. "It's a set, with three books in total, all inside."

Li Yuan opened the wooden box.

The three jade slips were arranged neatly.

Basic Nascent Soul Formation Process, Essentials of Soul Refinement, and Outline of Spiritual Sea Expansion.

"The Basic Nascent Soul Formation Process is the general outline, containing the standard steps for Nascent Soul Formation, the path of spiritual energy circulation, and the key points during breakthroughs," Xuanpu explained briefly. "The Essentials of Soul Tempering focus on the preparation of the soul before Nascent Soul Formation, while the Outline of Spiritual Sea Expansion focuses on the expansion and stabilization of the spiritual sea. The three books should be used together."

Li Yuan took out the jade slips one by one.

The moment the finger touched the essence of soul tempering, a green-grade fluctuation emanated from the jade slip.

[Equipable item detected: Soul Tempering Essentials]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Soul Refinement Minor (Green)]

[Effect: Increases the precision of perception of subtle changes in the soul by 30% when cultivating soul-based techniques; reduces spiritual energy loss by 10% during soul tempering.]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Effective tempering of the soul for twenty consecutive days using a soul-based cultivation technique (0/20)]

Li Yuan put the three jade slips into his personal space, closed the wooden box, and pushed it back.

Thank you.

"It's deserved." Xuanpu picked up his teacup.

After leaving the council chamber, Li Yuan did not immediately head to the comprehension area.

Take out the sound transmission stone and place the talisman in your hand.

The green text in the message translation takes effect. Spiritual energy is infused into the encrypted runes on the surface of the talisman, and the core logic of the encrypted structure is disassembled layer by layer.

The core structure of the fourth encryption system is fully presented in consciousness.

A panel pops up.

[Message Translation (Green) Permanentization Progress Update: 4/5]

Four types, one more is missing.

Li Yuan carefully put away the talisman and the sound transmission stone.

The expansion of Tianyuefang Market is not only reflected in its area.

Li Yuan strolled around the newly opened eastern section of the market. The eastern section used to be an empty space, but now it has been transformed into several rows of brick and stone shops, offering everything from spiritual materials and elixirs to magical artifacts. The quality of the shops is much higher than that of the old market area outside the south gate, and the facade decorations of some shops are even comparable to those of large inland markets.

The number of cultivators has also increased significantly. Not only are there local independent cultivators, but also a large number of cultivators who have come from other states.

At the end of the eastern section is a newly built plaza.

Thirty or forty Golden Core cultivators had gathered in the square, holding some kind of exchange meeting.

Li Yuan walked closer and took a look; it was a spell exchange meeting for Golden Core cultivators.

Participants showcased their expertise in magic or unique techniques, while others observed and asked questions. Occasionally, someone would trade techniques or spiritual materials on the spot. The atmosphere was relaxed yet orderly; there was no one to lead the discussion, and everyone took turns participating.

Li Yuan stood on the periphery and listened for a while.

Several Golden Core cultivators with considerable skill in array formations were discussing optimization plans for the spiritual energy circulation of large-scale defensive arrays. One of them mentioned the node offset problem encountered when setting up a mineral vein production enhancement array, and another chimed in, saying that his state also had a similar need, but they couldn't find a suitable array master.

When Li Yuan heard the words "ore vein production enhancement formation," he took note.

After the man finished speaking, Li Yuan stepped forward and said a few words.

The other party was a middle-aged male cultivator in the early stage of the Golden Core realm, who claimed to be surnamed Lu and from Baihe Prefecture.

"What scale is the mineral production enhancement formation that Fellow Daoist Lu just mentioned?"

The cultivator surnamed Lu glanced at Li Yuan, judging from the fluctuations in spiritual energy that his cultivation level was not low, and his attitude became more polite.

"Medium-sized. Our family owns several mines in Baihe Prefecture, but the output of one of them has been consistently low. We'd like to hire someone to set up a production-boosting formation to try and improve it. We've consulted two formation masters before, and they both said they had design plans but weren't confident in their ability to debug them on-site."

"I work with formations; I've set up formations to increase mineral production."

The cultivator surnamed Lu's eyes lit up.

"Fellow Daoist, are you a formation master?"

"The Tianyue Sect's main role is in creating formations and refining elixirs."

Upon hearing the words "offered by the Tianyue Sect," the cultivator surnamed Lu became even more respectful. The Tianyue Sect Master was currently breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, making the sect's offerings significantly more valuable than usual.

The two discussed the technical details of the mineral production enhancement array for a while. Li Yuan already had practical experience in setting up mineral production enhancement arrays, and the mineral vein conditions and requirements described by the other party were not complicated.

"I still have some things to take care of, so I'm not in a hurry to go. I'll contact you by message once everything is arranged."

"Alright, I'll be waiting anytime." The cultivator surnamed Lu handed over a communication jade slip.

Li Yuan carefully put away the jade piece and left the exchange meeting.

Continue strolling around the market's trading area.

The Nascent Soul Ceremony continued, and the variety of items brought by visiting cultivators was still richer than usual. Li Yuan stopped at several stalls, browsing through some miscellaneous items, most of which were of little value.

As I walked past a corner stall in the inner part of the East District, a white-grade fluctuation emanated from within a three-foot radius.

The source of the fluctuation was a jade stone about the size of a thumbnail on the stall.

"What is this thing?"

The stall owner, a young rogue cultivator in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, glanced at the broken pieces and said, "Two mid-grade spirit stones, fellow Daoist, take them and play with them."

Li Yuan paid with spirit stones and picked up the fragment.

[Equipable item detected: Spirit Stone]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Spiritual Sense Discernment (White)]

[Effect: Improves mastery of magical artifacts]

White entries are made permanent.

【Spiritual Insight (White) has become a permanent entry】

The fragments shattered and dissipated between my fingers.

The scene flashed by, showing a cultivator using magic to fight an enemy, with extremely minor enhancements.

Li Yuan withdrew his hand and continued walking forward.

After searching the trading area, no other items with the same attribute were found.

As the sun began to set, Li Yuan headed to the enlightenment area on the south side of the main peak.

After the invitation jade tablet is activated, it lands at the edge of the perception area through the outer array.

There were far fewer cultivators than last time, with only seven or eight sitting cross-legged in meditation. Most of the visiting cultivators had already left after absorbing a round of insights; those remaining either had special needs or were long-term disciples of the Tianyue Sect.

Li Yuan found a spot in the field, sat down, and activated his senses.

The spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from the main peak were noticeably different from the last time.

Last time I came, the fragments of my insights were scattered, but each one was clearly discernible, like a complete page falling from an open book. This time, the insights I received were more fragmented, and the frequency was faster. The intervals between the fragments were shorter, but the content of each piece was much blurrier.

It's as if the breakthrough process is accelerating, but the process is becoming increasingly unsettled.

Li Yuan closed his eyes and sensed for about half an hour.

The concentration of spiritual energy in the spiritual veins below the main peak had dropped even further compared to the last time. The intuitive perception of the Meridian Pivot provided clear data: the concentration was nearly ten percent lower than the last time. With only a month or two between the two visits, the rate at which the spiritual energy in the veins was being depleted was accelerating.

Large spiritual veins have vast reserves of spiritual energy that will not be exhausted in a short time, but the trend is clear.

If the breakthrough takes several more months, the final spiritual energy consumption will far exceed the requirements of a normal Nascent Soul breakthrough.

Li Yuan kept this change in mind.

This adds another piece of evidence to the decline of spiritual energy in the world. The spiritual energy in the spiritual veins is being extracted at an accelerated pace, and the overflowing insights during the breakthrough process have become chaotic and rapid. Both of these points in the same direction: the supply of spiritual energy from the outside world is insufficient, forcing the breakthrough seeker to increase the speed at which they draw energy from the spiritual veins to make up for the shortfall.

Finish your practice and stand up.

The things you can gain in the perception area are limited, so it's not worth staying there for long.

Li Yuan left the Tianyue Mountains and returned to Tianyue Market.

It was already dark.

He sat down in the temporary seclusion room in the market area, took out the three basic Nascent Soul texts he had obtained today, and went through the table of contents and outlines one by one.

Don't rush into in-depth reading. First, get a general overview of the framework to understand the focus of each of the three classics, then go back and study them systematically in seclusion.

The Basic Nascent Soul Formation Process serves as the general outline, encompassing all steps involved in forming the Nascent Soul. The Essentials of Soul Tempering focus on the preparation of the soul before forming the Nascent Soul, and largely overlaps with the cultivation direction of the Soul Condensation and Consciousness Control Method. The Outline of Spiritual Sea Expansion focuses on the expansion and stabilization of the Spiritual Sea, involving adjustments to the spiritual energy circulation system after the Golden Core is perfected.

The framework of the three classic texts formed a rough knowledge structure in my mind.

Li Yuan put the jade slip away and closed his eyes to rest.

The following morning, in the eastern district of Tianyuefang.

After replenishing his supplies of spiritual materials at the shops in the trading area, Li Yuan transformed into a beam of light and returned to the Misty Forest Market.