Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Chapter 557 Golden Core Perfection

The monster offensive lasted for half a month with no sign of abating.

On the central array panel of the alliance stronghold, the number of red dots increased from the initial two or three to seven or eight, almost covering half of the demon-detecting array points. New reports of demon attacks were being sent back every day, gradually evolving from sporadic small groups of second-tier monsters into large-scale second-tier monster squads.

On the twelfth day, news from Longyuan Pavilion shook the entire sea area.

Fourth-tier great demons joined the battle.

A peripheral outpost of Longyuan Pavilion in the eastern sea area was directly attacked by a fourth-tier demonic beast. The third-tier defensive array of the outpost was shattered in one blow, and the two Golden Core cultivators stationed there escaped with serious injuries. Longyuan Pavilion urgently activated the large-scale defensive array of its headquarters, which forced the fourth-tier demonic beast back.

When the news reached the Loose Cultivator Alliance stronghold, the council hall remained silent for a long time.

A fourth-tier demonic beast is equivalent to a Nascent Soul level cultivator. No one present had the ability to confront it head-on.

"Where are the Nascent Soul seniors from the Kunpeng Alliance?" someone asked.

"They're still at Tianyue Sect." The guild leader's voice was heavy. "The message has been sent, but the Kunpeng Alliance said they haven't replied."

There are no Nascent Soul level combatants available in the sea area for the time being.

The guild leader readjusted the defensive deployment. All Golden Core cultivators were no longer scattered and stationed elsewhere, but instead concentrated on the main island and several key nodes, forming a joint defense to deal with any potential third- or even fourth-tier demonic beasts. The scattered smaller islands were patrolled in shifts by Foundation Establishment cultivators, who were to immediately retreat and report upon encountering demonic beasts of the second tier or higher.

However, the problem is that there is a shortage of manpower.

The Loose Cultivator Alliance has many Golden Core cultivators, but they are relatively free. Faced with this situation, many Golden Core cultivators are backing down, and the guild leader can only keep increasing the rewards.

Li Yuan did not leave; he was assigned to garrison a small island northeast of the main island.

This island is about fifteen miles from the main island and is in a remote location. The nearby monster-detecting array has only reported the activity of second-tier monsters recently, with no signs of third-tier monsters appearing.

After landing on the island, Li Yuan set up a simple early warning array at the highest point of the island, covering a radius of five miles. The early warning array and the demon detection array complemented each other; the demon detection array focused on long-distance detection, while the early warning array focused on close-range, precise perception.

The days spent stationed there were not leisurely.

On the evening of the first day, the warning array sounded an alarm.

Three low-grade, second-tier spinybacks swam from the east, heading straight for the island. Their speed wasn't fast, but their direction was clear; they didn't seem to be just passing by, but rather being driven in this direction by something.

Li Yuan got up from the reef and went into the water.

Three Sky-Splitting Slashes, one for each enemy. The spiny fish had very weak defenses; the blade's energy didn't even need the added effect of spatial cutting to kill it.

When collecting the materials, Li Yuan noticed something unusual.

A faint trace of demonic energy remained inside the third spiny fish.

The demonic energy adhered to the surface of the spinyback's inner core, at an extremely low concentration, as if it had seeped in from the outside rather than being generated by the fish itself. The spinyback is an ordinary second-tier sea beast and could not possibly cultivate demonic energy on its own.

Li Yuan held the inner core in his palm and carefully examined it using the fusion entry of Dark Fiend Insight.

The characteristics of the demonic energy were highly consistent with the traces of Yuanzong's infiltration previously discovered on the outskirts of the Demon Beast Alliance.

Someone is using demonic energy to control monsters, similar to the methods used by the Dark Abyss Society, but more sophisticated.

Li Yuan carefully kept the inner core of the spiny-backed fish as evidence.

In the days that followed, several more waves of first and second-tier demonic beasts attacked. They were small in scale, each wave consisting of three to five beasts, all common second-tier low-grade or mid-grade sea beasts. Li Yuan killed them one by one, and among the demonic beasts he subsequently killed, he discovered two more with trace amounts of demonic energy remaining within their bodies.

The proportion is about 30%.

Not all demonic beasts are driven by demonic energy, but a considerable number are indeed affected by it. Demonic beasts without any trace of demonic energy may be wild individuals that were coerced by their companions or followed others in the chaos.

During a lull in the fighting, Li Yuan sat down cross-legged at a temporary seclusion spot on the island.

He took out a jade slip containing the basic Nascent Soul formation process from his personal space.

With the demon-detecting array completed, the Soul-Condensing and Consciousness-Controlling Technique perfected, and the dual-track Body Refinement mastered, these recent breakthroughs have significantly improved all the basic parameters of my cultivation. Now is the time to reassess my current state and prepare systematically for Nascent Soul formation.

The learning speed of "Wanfa Xizhen" doubles and the comprehension of "Wudao Qingming" accelerates by 50% simultaneously.

The chapters concerning the Golden Core Perfection stage in the basic Nascent Soul formation process were studied repeatedly.

The crucial step between the late stage of the Golden Core and its completion is the final refinement of the Golden Core's smoothness. The smoothness of the Golden Core determines the evenness of the release of spiritual energy from it during the formation of the Nascent Soul. The higher the smoothness, the more even the release of spiritual energy, and the better the stability of the Nascent Soul's formation.

The perfection of the highest grade Golden Elixir is naturally superior to that of other grades, but there is still room for improvement.

Li Yuan circulated his spiritual power and focused his attention on the supreme dark golden elixir in his dantian.

The surface of the golden core shimmered with a dark golden luster, its surface interwoven with patterns of spiritual and demonic energy, resembling a polished gemstone. However, under the precise perception of the Array Dao Heavenly Pivot, several extremely subtle unevennesses remained on the surface of the golden core.

These unevennesses will not have any impact on the normal operation in the later stage of Golden Core, but under the extreme conditions of Nascent Soul Breakthrough, any slight unevenness may become a disturbance point when releasing spiritual power.

Li Yuan began to refine each step one by one.

Spiritual energy circulates on the surface of the Golden Core with extremely low intensity and high precision, each circulation making minute corrections to any unevenness. The permanent purple attribute of the Primordial Spirit Pool ensures the spiritual energy is of exceptionally pure quality, preventing the introduction of new impurities during the polishing process.

This process is extremely slow, and can only correct a very small area at a time.

But there is enough time between battles.

After each defeat of an invading monster, Li Yuan would return to his secluded training ground to continue refining his skills. Each refinement session would last about half an hour, correcting one or two uneven areas, and then he would circulate his spiritual energy to test the results.

day to day.

On the seventh day of their garrison duty, the frequency of monster attacks began to decrease. The number of alarms from the monster-detecting array in the northeast direction dropped from three or four times a day to one or two, and the number and quality of the attacking monsters also decreased.

However, the pressure from other directions remains immense. The demon-detecting arrays to the south and southeast continue to sound alarms, with sightings of third-tier demonic beasts increasing to once or twice a day. Although the fourth-tier demonic beasts from the direction of Dragon Abyss Pavilion have not reappeared after being forced back, no one dares to let their guard down.

Li Yuan continued to stand guard, alternating between fighting and honing his skills.

The eleventh day of my posting.

After finishing his morning cultivation, Li Yuan circulated his spiritual energy through the surface of his golden core.

All unevenness has been corrected one by one in the past eleven days of repeated polishing. The surface of the Golden Core has become completely smooth in perception, and the fusion patterns of spiritual power and demonic energy are evenly distributed to the extreme, without any disturbance point.

Its roundness has reached the limit of a top-grade golden elixir.

The way spiritual energy circulates within the Golden Core has changed.

Previously, the circulation of spiritual energy in the late Golden Core stage was like a wide river with occasional eddies, characterized by a large flow and high speed, but with slight turbulence in some areas. Now, the circulation of spiritual energy has become a completely still mirror lake, with the direction and speed of every drop of spiritual energy flowing precisely and uniformly, without any turbulence or disturbance.

The total amount of spiritual energy did not increase, but the efficiency of spiritual energy output saw an overall improvement after the smoothness reached its limit. With the same consumption of spiritual energy, the power of the released spells was about 20% higher than that of the late Golden Core stage, not because there was more spiritual energy, but because the utilization rate of spiritual energy was higher.

The Golden Elixir has been perfected.

Li Yuan opened his eyes.

The supreme grade dark gold elixir, perfect.

This is the last major realm before reaching the Nascent Soul stage. From now on, the basic preparations for cultivation are in place; what remains is the strengthening of the divine soul, the expansion of the spiritual sea, and the accumulation of external resources.

The golden elixir in the dantian was circulating steadily in the senses, and its dark golden luster was more restrained and gentle than before, with all its sharpness concealed beneath its rounded surface.

The changes in spiritual energy are instantaneous.

Li Yuan raised his right hand, gathering spiritual energy in his palm.

The dark golden blade aura of the Sky-Splitting Slash solidified. Its color was deeper than before, and the spatial distortion at its edges was more pronounced. The spell's formation speed remained unchanged, but the density of spiritual energy within the blade aura visibly increased.

Withdraw your spiritual power.

The warning array sounded the alarm again.

Five mid-grade, second-tier iron-scaled fish swam in from the northeast at a very fast speed.

Li Yuan got up and went into the water.

Five Sky-Splitting Slashes were executed in one smooth motion. The increased efficiency of spiritual power output after the Golden Core stage was fully achieved was clearly evident in actual combat. The power of each blade was significantly stronger than before, and the Iron-Scaled Fish's scales were as fragile as paper in front of the blades.

Collect materials.

Two of the five iron-scaled fish had residual demonic energy in their bodies, consistent with previous observations.

The materials are stored in a personal space and then float to the surface of the sea.

Back on the island, Li Yuan sat cross-legged and closed his eyes to feel the changes in all aspects after achieving the perfection of the Golden Core.

Total spiritual energy, output efficiency, spell power, and spiritual energy recovery speed are all comprehensively improved. The completion of the Golden Core stage is a complete watershed moment; from here on, all the growth potential offered by the Golden Core stage has been exhausted. The next step is Nascent Soul formation.

But there's no rush.

There is still much preparation needed for Nascent Soul Formation. The threshold for soul strength described in the Essentials of Soul Tempering has been approached but not fully reached after mastering the Soul Condensation and Consciousness Control Technique. The requirement for spiritual sea stability in the Spiritual Sea Expansion Outline also requires specialized techniques to advance. Furthermore, the requirement of three hundred years of cultivation for the permanent formation of the Earthly Origin Spiritual Embryo is far from being met.

Take it one step at a time.

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