Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Chapter 568 Shadowy Trail

Li Yuan meditated cross-legged in the guest room, his divine sense maintaining a semi-expanded peripheral perception, covering an area of ​​about a hundred feet around the guest room.

The fusion entry for Dark Insight suddenly gave a signal.

An extremely faint aura of demonic energy emanated from beneath the sea to the southeast of the main island.

The aura was extremely faint and decayed very quickly, as if someone had deliberately compressed the spread of the demonic energy, leaving only a fleeting trace underwater.

The direction is southeast.

The direction in which the golden toad sank into the sea when it departed was also southeast.

Li Yuan's divine sense tracked that wisp of demonic energy for about three breaths before the aura completely dissipated into the spiritual energy background of the seawater.

The distance is too far and the concentration is too low to confirm the source.

But the coincidence in direction is not a coincidence.

Li Yuan kept this discovery in mind and did not make a fuss about it.

He withdrew his peripheral divine sense and took out the Nascent Soul experience manual provided by the Kunpeng Alliance from his personal space.

The content of the text was different from all the materials on infant formation that I had read before.

The basic infant formation process is a standardized operating manual that tells monks what to do.

The Nascent Soul advancement manual provides the theoretical framework, explaining why it should be done this way. This experiential manual is a battlefield log from those who experienced it firsthand, recording what actually happened during the process.

The author is a Nascent Soul senior from the Kunpeng Alliance.

From the time one begins preparations for forming the Nascent Soul stage after achieving the Golden Core stage, to the final successful breakthrough, the process spans approximately thirty years.

The classic texts contain a wealth of practical details that are not found in books.

At the critical moment of the Golden Core transforming into the Nascent Soul, spiritual energy is not released from the Golden Core at a constant speed, but rather surges out in a pulse-like rhythm.

There is a very brief interval between each pulse, during which micro-cracks will appear on the surface of the Golden Core. The location and depth of the cracks determine the direction of the spiritual energy in the next pulse.

If the cracks are allowed to generate randomly, the flow of spiritual energy will deviate from the preset path, resulting in distortions when the nascent soul is formed.

It is necessary to actively intervene in the direction of crack propagation with one's divine sense during each pulse interval, and one has a natural advantage in the precise control of one's sixteen divine sense lines in this aspect.

Another key record concerns the synchronization rate of the three elements: essence, energy, and spirit.

During the formation of the nascent soul, the three elements of essence, energy, and spirit must be transformed into the components of the nascent soul simultaneously. If the transformation speed of the three elements is not consistent, the part that completes the transformation first will exert reverse pressure on the part that has not yet completed. When the pressure accumulates to a certain extent, it will cause the formation of the nascent soul to be interrupted.

The total spiritual power of a top-grade Golden Elixir far exceeds that of other tiers, meaning that the transformation of Qi during the Nascent Soul stage will become the biggest bottleneck.

Li Yuan highlighted this key point.

The text also contains numerous strategies for dealing with failed breakthroughs, emergency handling methods for various unexpected situations during the formation of the Nascent Soul, and precautions for the stabilization period after a breakthrough. Each entry is accompanied by the author's personal experiences and feelings, making it extremely valuable for practical reference.

After reading it through once, Li Yuan put the book away.

Stepping out of the guest room, it was already late at night.

The main island was sparsely lit, and most of the cultivators were resting in their respective positions.

In the open space outside the council hall, several rogue cultivators at the Golden Core stage were sitting on stone benches, talking in hushed tones.

Li Yuan walked over and sat down on the stone bench next to him.

The group glanced at him, and one of them, a square-faced mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, nodded in greeting.

"Fellow Daoist Li, did you spend the entire day at the critical juncture?"

"good."

"Impressive. My node's spiritual energy is depleted too quickly; I have to switch people every two hours." The square-faced cultivator shook his head. "This golden toad is not easy to deal with."

Another thin, long-faced late-stage Golden Core cultivator chimed in, "It's more than just difficult to deal with. This beast is a high-grade fourth-tier cultivator. If it really goes all out, we definitely won't be able to stop it. We just don't know why it seems to be holding back."

Fourth-grade superior quality.

Li Yuan's previous assessment of the Golden Toad was limited to the broad category of fourth rank, without specifying any particular grade. The long-faced cultivator's assessment was more detailed.

After exchanging words for a while, Li Yuan left.

On the way back to the guest room, my peripheral senses detected some movement.

The spiritual energy fluctuations were kept very low, and the movements were deliberately made very gentle.

Three figures were near a small escape boat.

This is not a normal scheduling of a duty assignment.

Li Yuan continued walking, without changing his pace.

Unconsciously, the divine sense expanded its coverage area, sweeping across all the buildings on the main island.

In a secluded cultivation room in the western district, two Golden Core cultivators were talking in hushed tones. They spoke very quickly, and the soundproofing was so rough that some of their conversation leaked out through the gaps.

"—Let's leave first thing tomorrow morning. If we drag this out until that beast comes back, we won't be able to leave—"

"—The payment hasn't been settled yet—"

"—Is life more important or spirit stones?"

Li Yuan returned to his guest room, closed the stone door, and began to cultivate with his eyes closed.

About an hour later, the stone door to the guest room was knocked on three times.

The spiritual energy fluctuations were calm and restrained, indicating the completion of the Golden Core stage.

Jiang, the deputy leader of the alliance.

Li Yuan got up and opened the door.

Vice Alliance Leader Jiang stood outside the door, without anyone following him. Moonlight shone on his long, gray hair, making his face appear even older than during the day.

"Fellow Daoist Li, I apologize for disturbing you."

"Please come in."

Vice Alliance Leader Jiang entered the guest room but did not sit down; instead, he stood by the stone table.

"I've been observing the nodes all day, and your spiritual energy consumption is far lower than others," he said bluntly.

Li Yuan did not deny it.

Vice Alliance Leader Jiang remained silent for a moment, then took out a jade slip from his storage bag and placed it on the stone table.

"The situation on the island is not optimistic."

Li Yuan nodded.

"No fewer than five people will leave tomorrow."

Vice Alliance Leader Jiang spoke calmly, as if he were stating the weather.

"That's why you came to find me."

"That's right." Vice Alliance Leader Jiang looked directly at Li Yuan. "I'll double the reward for you, and reopen the alliance's internal treasure vault. Not the previous one."

He paused for a moment.

"The previous treasure vault was for the public, and its quality was limited. The internal treasure vault is the accumulated wealth of the alliance over generations, and its quality is much higher. Fellow Daoist, you can choose one item from it."

The inner treasure vault.

"lead the way."

Vice Alliance Leader Jiang led Li Yuan through a secret passage behind the main building, at the end of which was a stone door.

The level of the restrictions on the stone gate was significantly higher than that of the external treasure pavilion, and the method of unlocking them was also more complicated. Vice Alliance Leader Jiang used three different spiritual energy imprints to open the gate.

The stone chamber was not large, about three zhang square.

There are only six display cases on the four walls, and each display case contains one item.

The moment Li Yuan stepped into the stone chamber, the fluctuations of the entry rushed towards him.

Of the six items, three are blue and two are green.

The last one, purple.

The purple fluctuations originated from the display case on the far left. Inside the display case was a dark golden elixir the size of a chicken egg, with extremely fine toad-like patterns on its surface, within which flowed a deep green spiritual light.

Li Yuan walked up to the display case.

The description on the stone tablet was extremely brief: "Golden Toad Demon Artifact, made from the inner core of a fourth-tier Golden Toad Demon."

Purple entry.

"this."

Vice Alliance Leader Jiang glanced at the items in the display case, his brows twitching almost imperceptibly, but without hesitation, he released the restriction and took out the pill.

Li Yuan reached out and touched it.

[Equipable item detected: Golden Toad Demon Artifact (Fragment)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Golden Toad Zhenyuan (Purple)]

[Effect: Permanently increases total spiritual power by 40%; permanently increases suppression effect on demonic beasts by 30%; when breaking through to a major realm, an additional layer of demonic energy can be condensed to protect the body, reducing the backlash damage from a failed breakthrough]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Use this treasure to assist in cultivating a fourth-tier demon beast technique to its full potential]

Li Yuan took the pill and put it into his equipment slot. The pill disappeared from his hand.

The effect of increasing total spiritual power by 40% takes effect immediately.

The supreme dark golden core in the dantian trembled slightly the moment the spiritual power expanded. The spiritual power and demonic energy reserves, which had been stabilized to the extreme after the core was perfected, were forcibly increased by a significant amount.

Thank you.

Li Yuan nodded to Vice Leader Jiang.

"It's good that you're staying, fellow Daoist." Vice Alliance Leader Jiang's expression was somewhat more relaxed than when he arrived, and he turned and walked out of the stone chamber.

After returning to his room, Li Yuan sat down cross-legged.

Time should not be wasted.

The cultivation of the demon-transformation-into-human form technique progressed faster than expected, thanks to the increased spiritual energy efficiency from Kunpeng's Guardian Breath and the increased total spiritual energy from the Golden Toad's Suppressing Origin.

The path of spiritual energy reversal cycle has already opened up the initial small cycle in the introductory stage. From beginner to proficient, it is necessary to expand the small cycle into a medium cycle that covers more meridians.

During the day, he maintained the array nodes; at night, he cultivated the demon-humanoid technique.

The golden toad will appear once a day for the next few days, attacking for two to three hours before leaving.

The offensive was indeed more intense than on the first day; the venom was more corrosive, and the frequency of spiritual energy shockwaves was higher. However, Li Yuan's performance at each critical juncture remained stable, and his spiritual energy consumption was kept at an extremely low level.

The number of Golden Core cultivators on the island decreased to seventeen on the third day. On the fourth day, it decreased to fifteen.

Li Yuan is the only non-Kunpeng Alliance Golden Core cultivator who remained.

Vice Alliance Leader Jiang's expression grew more somber each day.

At night, the spiritual energy of the demon-humanoid technique reversed its flow and circulated along the twenty-fourth meridian, completing its closure.

The circulation covers about 30% of the body's meridian network. The path of spiritual energy reversal no longer needs to be deliberately maintained. After the central circulation is formed, it has the ability to operate on its own. Spiritual energy flows slowly along the reversal path without the need for additional spiritual energy input.

The outward manifestations of demon transformation also become more pronounced than the faint scale patterns at the beginning. When actively circulating the technique, clear dark blue scale patterns will appear on the skin of the forearms and calves, the fingertips will become slightly sharper, and the hardness and sharpness of the nails will increase.

He is proficient in the technique of transforming a demon into human form.

Li Yuan finished his practice and looked at the scales on his forearm that were slowly fading away.

The level of demon transformation is still very low, but it is much stronger than when it first started. In the proficient stage, the scales are no longer just patterns on the surface of the skin, but rather the actual scale structure begins to form under the skin, although it has not yet broken through the skin surface.

The spiritual energy was withdrawn, and the scales faded.

Outside the window, the moonlight was cool and clear, and the sea was calm.

On nights when the golden toad is not around, the main island is as quiet as if nothing had ever happened.