Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Chapter 580 Mingyuan Sect Recruitment

After returning to Liangzhou, Li Yuan first went to Qinghefang City.

The changes in Qinghefang Market are greater than expected.

A newly built stone wall surrounds the market, inlaid with uniform defensive spirit runes—not of high grade, but with wide coverage. The buildings inside the wall have nearly doubled in size, with new shops extending along both sides of the main street, their signs brand new. Cultivators come and go on the street, mostly Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, with the occasional Golden Core cultivator's escape light sweeping overhead.

The advantages of geographical location were amplified after the Tianyue Sect expanded.

Qinghe Market is strategically located on the main transportation route connecting Tianyue Market to Shuizhou and Baihezhou. After the expansion of Tianyue Sect, trade between the various states increased dramatically, and the number of caravans and independent cultivators passing through this area multiplied several times over.

The market manager, appointed by Ji Wenyuan, reported the recent business data in the main hall. The turnover of spirit stones had increased by 40% compared to three months ago, and the shop leases were already booked until next year.

"The cooperation with Tianyue Sect has also deepened."

The manager handed over a cooperation agreement.

"The Tianyue Sect has signed a reciprocal agreement with us for the three new markets they established in Liangzhou. Their cultivators will receive a 10% discount on their purchases in the Qinghe market, and our caravans will receive the same discount when they go to their markets."

Li Yuan flipped through the document; the terms were reasonable.

"Did they sign an agreement with Wulinfang Market as well?"

"It's signed. Manager Ji negotiated it personally, and the terms are agreed upon."

The commercial cooperation between the two markets and the Tianyue Sect has gradually deepened. The Tianyue Sect not only provides trade preferences but also priority supply rights for certain spiritual materials. After the Nascent Soul cultivator ascended to the Heavenly Realm, the spiritual energy poured in from the upper realm restored the spiritual veins of the Tianyue Mountains, and the output of spiritual materials is rebounding. The resources in the hands of the Tianyue Sect are rapidly becoming abundant.

The steward brought up another matter.

"The Tianyue Sect has recently opened its gates to recruit disciples, but not for its own use."

"Mingyuan Sect."

"Yes, to recruit people for the Mingyuan Sect in the Upper Realm." The steward lowered his voice.

"The disciples with good aptitude were selected and sent directly up. After the news spread, young cultivators from several surrounding states flocked here. Every day, the line to register in Tianyue Market stretched from one end of the street to the other."

To recruit disciples for the upper realm.

The Mingyuan Sect's investment in the lower realms goes beyond just spiritual energy and resources; it also includes the recruitment of talent. While the lower realms are lacking in spiritual energy, they occasionally produce exceptionally gifted cultivators. Sending them to the upper realms for cultivation is more valuable than keeping them there.

Li Yuan didn't ask any further questions and returned to Wulin Market after finishing his business in Qinghe Market.

The stone door to the seclusion chamber was closed.

The communication token lit up that afternoon. Lu Yang.

"Fellow Daoist Li, the clan has discussed it and plans to add another category to our cooperation on magical artifacts. The new category is mine tunnel support piles, second-tier high-grade, used to reinforce the mine tunnel structure and prevent collapse. The blueprints and materials will be sent out today and will arrive within three days."

Mine tunnel support piles. They have a single function and a simple structure, but require a high degree of uniformity in the infusion of spiritual energy.

"In addition," Lu Yang continued in his message, "this time the quantity is larger, fifty-four pieces. The reward will be increased by 20% on the original basis, plus a batch of newly mined rare mineral materials."

Fifty-four items.

Based on the efficiency of six parallel processes, nine batches are sufficient to complete the task.

"OK."

The materials arrived three days later.

Li Yuan opened the furnace in the secluded training room and began to practice his weapon-refining technique.

The process of making mine tunnel support piles is simpler than that of ore vein probes. The main material is iron spine ore, which is common in Baihe Prefecture, supplemented with a small amount of spirit metal to strengthen the connection points. The finished product is a gray-black pile about three feet long, covered with reinforcing spirit runes. It can be activated with spirit power after being embedded in the mine tunnel wall.

After completing the first piece, Li Yuan touched the surface of the pile with his finger.

A fluctuation in the green grade was detected.

[Equipable item detected: Mine tunnel support pile]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Solidified Ore Vein (Green)]

[Effect: Meridian strength increased by 50%, meridian recovery speed increased by 50%]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: The mine tunnel reinforced with this type of pile has accumulated 1200 days of operation without any collapses during this period (0/120)]

Green attribute. Effects refer to the stability and geological perception of the mining tunnel array, aligning with the Lu family's direction of cooperation on mineral veins. Permanent status requires 120 days of operation without collapses, a long time but passively accumulated.

Li Yuan stored the first finished product separately, and when it was delivered to the Lu family, it could be embedded in the mine tunnel to start the timer.

The materials provided by the Lu family were quite plentiful, enough to supply half of what was needed, given my own skill in weapon crafting.

He forges weapons by day and cultivates at night.

The focus of Ye Xiu's training was on the technique of transforming demons into human form.

The purple attribute of the Golden Toad Suppressing Yuan increases the total spiritual energy by 40%, providing a more abundant reserve of spiritual energy for the advancement of the spiritual energy reversal cycle. The semi-autonomous pulsating tempering after the minor completion of the Dragon Blood Tempering Technique provides continuous foundational support for the meridian system, making the meridians far more resilient to pressure during high-intensity spiritual energy reversals than those of the same level.

In the proficient stage, the middle circulation covers about 30% of the meridians in the whole body.

The mastery stage requires expanding the middle circulation into a large circulation, covering more than 60% of the body's meridian network.

The spiritual energy reversal path extends outward from the already opened central circulation meridians. Each newly added meridian's reversal pathway requires a complete reversal of the spiritual energy flow within that meridian's inner wall. The Golden Toad's total spiritual energy boost makes the spiritual energy supply for each reversal more abundant, significantly reducing the risk of spiritual energy flow interruption during the reversal process.

After several nights of continuous progress, the coverage rate of the large circulation increased from 30% to 50%, and then broke through the critical line of 60% on the sixth night.

A large cycle is formed.

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

The outward manifestations of the transformed demon have undergone a significant leap.

Li Yuan actively circulated his internal energy, and clear, dark blue scales appeared on the surface of his forearms and calves. Unlike the proficient stage, the scales in the master stage were no longer subcutaneous rudiments, but had substantially broken through the skin's surface.

The scales are about the size of a fingernail, tightly packed, with sharp edges, and are several levels harder than the scales you would have encountered when you first started learning.

The changes at the fingertips were even more noticeable. The nails turned into dark blue, sharp claws, extending about half an inch in length, with enough hardness and sharpness to leave clear marks on ordinary rocks.

Li Yuan raised his forearm and examined the distribution of the scales.

Dark blue-green. A characteristic of a dragon.

Li Yuan withdrew his spiritual power, and the scales and sharp claws slowly disappeared.

He restarted his cultivation technique, but this time he did not follow the reverse path of the dragon bloodline. Instead, he directed his spiritual energy towards the remaining aura of other demonic beasts in his meridians.

During the cultivation of the Dragon Blood Tempering Technique, the user absorbed a large amount of demon beast blood and materials. The meridians not only contain the blood energy of the dragon, but also traces of other demon beast blood energy.

The spiritual energy reversed along a faint trace of animalistic blood energy.

After the scales on the forearm disappeared, they did not completely revert to human skin; instead, a layer of fine, grayish-brown short hairs appeared on the surface.

Hair.

It's not scales, it's animal hair.

Li Yuan looked at the short hairs on his forearm. They were coarse and densely packed, and the texture was similar to the skin texture of the rock scale lizard he had killed in Baihe Prefecture, but they were closer to mammals than reptiles.

It can switch between demon forms.

It is not limited to the characteristics of a single demonic beast, the jiaolong, but can selectively manifest different forms based on the traces of different demonic beast blood energy remaining in the meridians. The jiaolong form has scales and sharp claws, while the beast form has fur and other possible features.

The richness of the forms depends on the types of demonic beast blood energy accumulated in the meridians.

Li Yuan finished his treatment, the hair disappeared, and his skin returned to normal.

The ability to switch between multiple forms has a concealed value in actual combat. Different forms have different physical attributes; scales provide strong defense, while fur may offer advantages in speed and explosive power.

However, the form switching is not yet fully developed. Only the dragon form is complete; the beast form only shows changes in the surface layer, while the deeper skeletal and muscular structures have not kept up. Further training is needed to make the other forms usable.

During breaks in his cultivation, Li Yuan continued to refine his top-grade golden elixir.

Once the Golden Core is perfected, one's cultivation level has reached its limit. However, unlike the upper, middle, and lower grades, the highest-grade Golden Core has no fixed upper limit in terms of quality and can be continuously refined and improved. The purity of spiritual energy and demonic energy, the luster of the Golden Core's surface, and the density of the internal spiritual energy circulation—these indicators all have room for further optimization.

With the combined support of all the relevant terms, the success rate of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage is basically stable.

However, the grade of a Nascent Soul is hard to say.

Success rate and grade are two different things. It's unrealistic for me to rely on external means to break through at my current level.

The Earthly Spirit Embryo requires hundreds of years to cultivate, and other spiritual materials that aid in breakthroughs are almost extinct in the lower realms. All that can be done is to refine the quality of the Golden Core itself as much as possible, raising its potential.