Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Chapter 576 Clearing the Passage of Evil

Tianyue Market, second floor of the Council Building.

Xuanpu sat behind the tea table, holding a teacup in his right hand.

The left arm was no longer an empty sleeve. A prosthetic arm made of spirit wood and spirit metal extended from the shoulder, with tiny spirit runes embedded in the joints. Although the range of motion of the fingers was limited, they could already perform basic grasping movements.

Li Yuan's gaze fell on the prosthetic arm for a moment.

"Is it getting better?"

"The Nascent Soul Ancestor sent down a batch of talismans and spiritual materials from the passage." Xuanpu moved the fingers of his prosthetic arm, his movements still a little stiff.

"The meridians are severed and cannot be reattached, but this prosthetic arm has a built-in independent spiritual energy circuit, which can barely replace the left hand for casting spells. The accuracy is far from perfect, but it's better than nothing."

"Fortunately, our ancestor passed down a technique that can restore the physical body, but it is difficult to cultivate."

He put down his teacup, gesturing for Li Yuan to sit down.

"Let me tell you about the passage beforehand."

Xuanpu took out a jade slip and placed it on the table.

"This spatial passage is not an ordinary ascension rift. The upper realm is also actively maintaining it, and both ends are stabilized simultaneously, making it much sturdier than a normal spatial passage. There are basically no restrictions on the transfer of items and decrees, and the transfer of personnel is also easier than through normal passages."

"What are the rules for teleportation?"

"Passing down from the upper realm to the lower realm is easy, but has high cultivation level restrictions. The lower the cultivation level, the easier it is to descend. However, Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining require magical artifacts and talismans for protection. Golden Core is the easiest, followed by Nascent Soul, and Deity Transformation is basically impossible."

"Conversely, the transmission from the lower realm to the upper realm is more difficult, but the higher one's cultivation level, the easier it is to ascend. Those at the Nascent Soul stage are directly guided by the Heavenly Dao and ascend directly, while those at the Enlightenment stage can actively travel by being guided by the upper realm."

"But in general, with the support of various methods, Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators can also teleport from the lower realm to the upper realm. However, there is a problem: whether it is teleporting from the upper to the lower realm or from the lower to the upper realm, it cannot be done frequently, and the number of people teleported cannot be too large, a few at most, otherwise it will wear down the spatial channel."

Li Yuan nodded.

The lower one's cultivation level, the easier it is to descend from the upper realm. The higher one's cultivation level, the easier it is to ascend from the lower realm. The rules for the two directions are exactly opposite.

"So people might come down from the upper realm."

"A Golden Core cultivator has already arrived," Xuanpu said. "A disciple from the Mingyuan Sect, who arrived a few days ago. More Nascent Soul cultivators may follow, mainly for expanding our influence."

Li Yuan thought of the massive amount of spiritual energy that surged out of the spatial passage during the ascension ceremony.

The upper realm maintains the passage, transmits supplies, dispatches disciples, and infuses spiritual energy to restore the spiritual veins. The Mingyuan Sect invests heavily in the Tianyue Sect, this lower realm branch.

Then Xuanpu picked out one of the jade slips from the table and pushed it over.

"This is the mission. To assist in eliminating the Demonic Sect's influence in Liangzhou."

Li Yuan took the jade slip and probed it with his divine sense.

The jade slip records the known locations of the Demonic Sect's outposts in Liangzhou. There are seven locations in total, scattered in the eastern and southern parts of Liangzhou. The size of each outpost, the estimated number of personnel stationed there, and the level of demonic energy concentration are all noted.

None of them are large in scale.

"Does Yuanzong not care?"

Upon hearing this, Xuanpu's tone turned colder.

"That Nascent Soul cultivator disappeared after slaughtering hundreds of cultivators and absorbing their essence. We believe he is looking for a place to digest and absorb it, preparing to forcefully break through to the Divine Transformation stage using demonic methods."

Xuanpu looked out the window towards the Tianyue Mountains.

"There are Nascent Soul cultivators in the upper realm, but it's too difficult for them to come down. All we can rely on here are the supplies and personnel transmitted through the passage. The Nascent Soul cultivators of the Kunpeng Alliance have taken the longevity-extending items and returned to the sea; they won't be involved in Liangzhou's affairs for the time being."

"The Yuan Sect has Nascent Soul cultivators, and we currently lack high-end combat power, so the two sides are maintaining a fragile balance."

He turned back to look at Li Yuan.

"Therefore, our current strategy is to eliminate the Demon Fiend Sect first. These people are not strong, but they are a hidden danger. We will deal with the Abyss Sect when the Nascent Soul Grandmaster from the Upper Realm comes down. The Tianyue Sect's territory across the three continents should also be expanded outwards."

"in addition."

Xuanpu lowered his voice slightly.

"Keep an eye out for any unusual fluctuations in demonic energy within Liangzhou. The kind with extremely high concentrations and long durations."

If that Nascent Soul cultivator from Yuanzong is truly attempting to break through to the Deity Transformation stage, he will inevitably need a stable place for secluded cultivation. The leakage of demonic energy during this process cannot be completely concealed.

"clear."

Li Yuan carefully put away the jade slip containing the mission instructions.

"There's one more thing," Li Yuan asked, "Does the Tianyue Sect have any third-tier wood-elemental pills?"

"Yes." Hyun-pu took out a list.

After reviewing the list, Li Yuan did the math. The contribution points consumed by the four cheapest pills combined were almost equivalent to the value of exchanging for a third-tier pill recipe. Moreover, once the recipe was obtained, it could be repeatedly refined, making it far more cost-effective than buying the finished product directly in the long run.

"I want to exchange for the Nourishing Essence and Strengthening Wood Pill."

Xuanpu nodded upon hearing this and took out a jade slip from his storage bag. "The main ingredient is a third-tier wood-type spiritual herb, and the auxiliary ingredients are common."

Li Yuan took the jade slip and scanned the contents of the pill formula with his divine sense.

The main ingredient is a third-tier spiritual herb called Qingyuan Wood Heart Grass, which grows in forest environments rich in spiritual energy. The auxiliary ingredients are several common second- to third-tier spiritual plants, which can be purchased on the market.

The formula is not complicated, and it is not difficult to master at the level of a third-order alchemy expert.

Contribution points deducted, jade slip obtained.

After leaving the council chamber, Li Yuan did not linger in Tianyue Market, but transformed into a beam of light and flew towards the eastern part of Liangzhou.

The first location marked on the mission jade slip is the Demon Sect's stronghold, located in Qingsong Ridge in eastern Liangzhou, about sixty miles from Wulin Market.

The escape light flew at a low altitude, skimming the ground, operating stealthily and with its aura compressed to an extremely low level.

As they approached Green Pine Ridge, the Dark Fiend Insight's fusion attribute was the first to give a signal.

Residual demonic energy. The concentration is low and the distribution is scattered, like background pollution left by long-term activities of the personnel stationed there.

Li Yuan landed in a dense forest three miles outside of Qingsong Ridge and spread his divine sense.

There were only two fluctuations of spiritual energy inside the cave.

Two individuals at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

Li Yuan withdrew his divine sense and appeared directly.

Two Foundation Establishment stage cultivators posed no threat to a Golden Core Perfection stage cultivator; suppression was merely a matter of moments.

The beam of light shot straight towards the cave entrance. The spiritual energy shattered the protective barriers as easily as tearing paper, revealing the entire cave interior. Two demonic cultivators, who were meditating cross-legged, suddenly opened their eyes upon hearing the sound of the barriers breaking.

One person attempted to activate an escape talisman from his storage bag, but a thread of spiritual energy shot from Li Yuan's fingertips, gripping his wrist and sealing his meridians. The other person reacted even faster, abandoning the cave and running towards the hidden passage behind it, but Li Yuan raised his hand and pulled him back with a strand of spiritual energy.

The two were subdued and searched.

The storage bag contained no valuable information, only a small amount of spirit stones and daily cultivation supplies.

Li Yuan used hallucination magic to gather intelligence, but unfortunately, he didn't find much.

The task was handed over to Ji Wenyuan to arrange for someone to transfer it to Tianyue Sect.

The second base was located in Kumugou, southeast of Liangzhou. There were three Foundation Establishment cultivators, one of whom was in the late stage of Foundation Establishment. The subjugation process took no more than ten breaths.

While examining the storage bag, fluctuations of green quality were felt within a three-foot radius.

It was a palm-sized, dark purple ore. The surface of the ore had fine lines, and faint traces of demonic energy remained within the lines.

Li Yuan took out the ore and touched it with his fingers.

[Equipable item detected: Shamanite Ore]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Demonic Body Condensation (Green)]

[Effect: Increases the efficiency of converting spiritual energy into demonic energy by 20%; accelerates the condensation speed of demonic energy spells by 30%]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Successfully cast 30 magic spells while this item is equipped (0/30)]

Green entry. The increased efficiency of demonic energy conversion techniques and the speed of demonic energy spell condensation are valuable for one's cultivation path of spiritual-demonic unity. The condition for permanent enhancement is casting thirty demonic energy spells while equipped, which is not difficult.

Li Yuan stored the ore in his personal space.

The third location is in the desolate ridges south of Liangzhou.

When Li Yuan arrived, the residence was already empty.

The situation was similar at the four subsequent outposts. Some were completely deserted, while others had only one or two Foundation Establishment cultivators making final preparations for evacuation. The Demonic Fiend Sect's influence in Liangzhou was already weak, and after the Abyss Sect withdrew, it lost its allies, so most of its members chose to flee.

All seven locations have been cleared.

A total of nine demonic cultivators were actually captured, all of whom were at the Foundation Establishment stage.

After handing over the captured demonic cultivators and the seized supplies to the Tianyue Sect, Li Yuan returned to Wulin Market.

The stone door to the seclusion chamber was closed.

He took out the formula for the Nourishing Essence and Strengthening Wood Pill from his personal space and compared it with his existing reserves of spiritual herbs.

The main ingredient, Azure Origin Wood Heart Grass, is unavailable. Two second-tier spiritual herbs are in ample supply among the auxiliary ingredients, but the other three third-tier auxiliary ingredients need to be purchased.

He took out the communication token and sent a purchase list to Xu Zhang.

While waiting for the materials to arrive, Li Yuan sat cross-legged and continued to refine his golden core.