Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Chapter 656 Travels in the Cangxuan Realm and Interactions with the Dragon Clan

Five days later, at the Shattered Void Wasteland stronghold.

When Li Yuan arrived at the stronghold, Fang Zhi was already waiting in the courtyard.

"Fellow Daoist Li, the supply list and route are the same as last time. This time, we have more time to stay, so the Chamber of Commerce isn't in a hurry to urge us to return."

Fang Zhi handed over the storage bag.

"The amount of supplies on the list is 20% more than last time, and the compensation has increased year-on-year."

Li Yuan took the storage bag, checked the list, and then entered the contents into his personal miniature world.

How long will you be staying?

"Anytime within ten days is fine."

Li Yuan nodded.

Walk to the bottom of the stone tower and enter the spatial passage.

A ghostly blue light engulfed its form. Spatial pressure surged from all directions, and the red inscription at the core of the collapsing miniature world operated passively, unnoticed.

The journey through the passage took about two hours.

Passing through the light curtain, into the Azure Profound Realm.

In the underground stone chamber at the exit of the passage, the guarding monks verified the tokens before allowing passage.

Li Yuan walked out of the passage and headed towards the Lingyuan Chamber of Commerce branch.

The goods are delivered, verified and signed for, and the spirit stone reward is settled on the spot.

The branch officer handed over an updated map showing the distribution of mineral supplies.

Li Yuan took the distribution map, put it away, and left the branch office. Following the map's directions, he headed to the Xuan Shi Market in the west.

As he was leaving, Li Yuan's consciousness stirred, and he looked at his personal miniature world.

Reverse scaly form.

Preview of permanent transformation conditions: Cultivate the demon-transformation human form technique to perfection and maintain the demon-transformation state for a whole day without interruption.

During the five-day period, I took a day off to complete the permanentization requirements.

The reverse scales transformed and dissipated within the personal miniature world. A stream of green light penetrated the walls of the miniature world and surged into the body, spreading along the meridians to the entire bloodline.

The images flooded into my mind.

A dragon swims in the deep sea, the shape of its scales constantly changing as it moves.

A wealth of experience regarding the transformation of demonic beast forms and the disguise of their auras has been poured in.

The image disappeared.

When combined with the effects of the perfected stage of demonic transformation into human form, the perfection of the demonic transformation reaches another level.

Li Yuan withdrew his senses and continued forward.

The Xuan Shi Market is larger than the market where the Chamber of Commerce's branch is located, and it has a more complete range of spiritual herbs. The cultivators in the market are mainly at the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stages.

Li Yuan walked along the main street of the market towards the Lingcai Shop.

The price of spiritual materials in the Cangxuan Realm remains extremely low.

It's a pity that the grade is not high; some truly precious spiritual materials can only be found in the Upper Realm.

Li Yuan made large-scale purchases.

The main and auxiliary ingredients of Guiyuan Nourishing Infant Pill, the spiritual materials of Ningyuan Powder, the auxiliary materials of Tianyuan Meridian Opening Pill, and several kinds of cultivation aids for personal use were all purchased in bulk in quantities of dozens of portions.

When they arrived at a herb shop in the western part of the market, the shopkeeper, an old cultivator in the late Golden Core stage, looked at Li Yuan for a while and took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

"Fellow Daoist, are you from the Upper Realm?"

"right."

"There have been quite a few more fellow Daoists coming from the Upper Realm recently."

The shopkeeper casually remarked as he weighed the medicinal herbs.

"We used to see only a few people a year, but in the last two or three months, we've seen seven or eight."

"How is the land divided in the Cangxuan Realm?" Li Yuan asked casually.

"There are four domains," the shopkeeper replied.

"The Eastern Region, Western Region, Southern Region, and Northern Region are called the Upper Realm of Law. Fellow Daoist, you are currently in the Eastern Region, and the exit of the Chamber of Commerce passage is within the Eastern Region."

"Are there Nascent Soul cultivators stationed in the Cangxuan Realm?"

The shopkeeper shook his head.

"No. Everyone who broke through to the Nascent Soul stage ascended to the upper realm."

Li Yuan nodded and continued purchasing.

After leaving the herbal medicine shop, continue walking along the main street of the market.

A phenomenon in the market caught Li Yuan's attention.

There are monsters in the street.

It is not a domesticated spirit pet, but a demon cultivator who walks in human form.

A tall man walked past Li Yuan. His face was no different from that of a human, but two tiny dark green scales could be vaguely seen behind his ears. His spiritual energy fluctuations were mixed with obvious demonic energy, indicating that he was at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

The man chatted and laughed with the human cultivator next to him, his attitude natural.

Further on, a female cultivator with vertical pupils and fine silver-white hairs faintly visible in her hair appeared. Also at the Golden Core stage, she was haggling with the human shopkeeper in front of a medicine shop.

Humans and demons live together.

This is completely different from the situation in the lower and upper realms where Li Yuan resides. In Li Yuan's lower realm, humans and demons are enemies, and demon beasts are the targets of hunting. The situation in the upper realm is similar, with demon beast materials being important cultivation resources.

The relationship between humans and demons in the Cangxuan Realm has clearly taken a different path.

Li Yuan didn't linger and continued purchasing.

After replenishing his remaining spiritual materials at a ore shop on the east side of Xuan Shi Fang City, Li Yuan prepared to leave.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait."

A steady voice came from behind.

Li Yuan turned around.

A middle-aged male cultivator stood about five zhang behind him, possessing the cultivation level of the early Nascent Soul stage. He had a square face, wore a dark blue robe, and had a jade token hanging at his waist, engraved with a mark that Li Yuan did not recognize.

Native cultivators of the Cangxuan Realm.

"Fellow Daoist, are you an upper realm cultivator who came from the Lingyuan Chamber of Commerce passage?" The male cultivator cupped his hands in greeting.

"right."

"My name is Zhou Yuanlang, a rogue cultivator from the Eastern Region," the male cultivator said, getting straight to the point. "I have a favor to ask of you, fellow cultivator."

"explain."

"When you come to the Cangxuan Realm next time, could you bring a batch of spiritual materials from the Upper Realm?" Zhou Yuanlang took out a bamboo book from his sleeve and handed it over.

"The spiritual materials on the list cannot be bought in the Cangxuan Realm; they are only available in the Upper Realm."

Li Yuan took the bamboo book and glanced at it.

The list contains seven types of spiritual materials, ranging from third to fourth grade. Most of them are spiritual herbs and ores native to the Upper Realm, and their prices there are not considered high.

"Why don't you just go up and buy it yourself?"

Zhou Yuanlang gave a wry smile.

"The passage is no longer viable. It has been in existence for nearly a century, and the walls are severely worn. Going down is still manageable, but the spatial pressure going up is several times greater than when the passage was first built. Golden Core cultivators can barely manage to go up, but the risk for Nascent Soul cultivators is already quite high."

He paused.

"Three years ago, a fellow cultivator in the early Nascent Soul stage attempted to ascend, but encountered a sudden increase in spatial pressure in the middle of the passage, severely damaging his meridians. Upon returning, his cultivation level regressed by half a stage. Since then, no Nascent Soul cultivator has dared to attempt it."

Li Yuan nodded.

The deterioration of passageways is a normal phenomenon. Maintaining passageways requires continuous investment of resources. Even the passageways of the Chamber of Commerce, which have dedicated maintenance personnel, experience wall wear. It is not surprising that a passageway that has been maintained for nearly a century is severely worn.

How are spirit stones calculated?

"Pay twice the market price at the previous level," Zhou Yuanlang said.

These spiritual materials are not expensive in the Upper Realm, so twice the price is almost pure profit for Li Yuan.

"Sure. Bring it next time you come."

Zhou Yuanlang's face lit up with joy, and he bowed to express his gratitude.

Just as he was about to leave, Li Yuan called out to Zhou Yuanlang.

"May I ask, fellow Daoist, it seems that humans and demons live in relatively harmonious coexistence in the Cangxuan Realm?"

Zhou Yuanlang didn't hide anything and spoke directly.

"That's because the demon race has mastered the method of transforming into human form and gaining intelligence ahead of time."

"Previously, it took three stages for the demon race to awaken their intelligence, so that they could be as few in number and not form a coherent system as the human race."

"In addition, the demon beasts were not very powerful, and over time, they coexisted with the human race for several thousand years."

After Zhou Yuanlang finished explaining, he took his leave.

The news spread very quickly.

Li Yuan stayed in the Xuan Shi Market for another half day, and five cultivators came to his door one after another, all with similar requests to buy things on his behalf.

The spiritual materials on the list are of various kinds, but they have one thing in common: they cannot be bought in the Cangxuan Realm and can only be found in the Upper Realm.

The fee for each commission is two to three times the market price at the previous level.

Li Yuan wrote down the list one by one and agreed to all of them.

I roughly estimated the total profit.

The profit from just one round trip of purchasing goods is equivalent to the income from selling dozens of batches of third-grade pills. Add to that the merchant guild's transportation fees and their own low-price purchasing and reselling, and the economic value of the Cangxuan Realm far exceeds expectations.

After completing the procurement and purchasing matters, Li Yuan did not return immediately.

With ample time to spare, there's one more thing I need to take care of.

The dragon clan of the Cangxuan Realm.

The observation of harmonious coexistence between humans and demons in the market previously suggests that the demon race's influence in the Cangxuan Realm is open. As a branch of the dragon race, the Jiaolong clan should have its own settlement in the Cangxuan Realm.

Li Yuan inquired about the location of the Flood Dragon Clan from the cultivators in the market.

"The Flood Dragon Clan? In the southeast of the Eastern Region, at Biyuan Lake."

A Golden Core cultivator pointed in a direction. "It's about a day's journey from here. They don't discriminate against humans, but it's best to inform them before entering their territory."

It transformed into a beam of light and flew southeast.

About a day later, a huge lake appeared in front of them.

Biyuan Lake.

The lake is vast, with deep blue water, and a spiritual energy continuously rises from its bottom. Along the lake shore are several stone buildings, with a rugged architectural style, constructed from huge stones, and with dragon patterns carved on the lintels.

Several demon cultivators were active on the lake shore. They had humanoid appearances but their auras clearly showed characteristics of dragon blood.

Li Yuan landed on the outer edge of the lake shore and proactively released a wisp of dragon blood energy to indicate his purpose.

A third-tier dragon cultivator emerged from the building, his vertical pupils scrutinizing Li Yuan for a moment.

"A human cultivator with dragon bloodline within him?"

"I have cultivated the Dragon Clan's techniques," Li Yuan said.

"I wish to exchange knowledge about dragon patterns with nobles and am willing to offer spirit stones and spiritual materials as payment."

The dragon cultivator pondered for a moment, then sized up Li Yuan for several breaths.

What would you like to discuss?

"The dragon pattern is imprinted and stabilized in the bloodline," Li Yuan said directly.

"I have mastered a bloodline inscription technique that can inscribe dragon patterns into the bloodline, but the stability of the inscribed pattern is not ideal."

This dragon cultivator was named Liu Yuan, and his vertical pupils slightly contracted.

"Bloodline Inscription Technique? Where did you learn that?"

"The legacy of a branch of the dragon race in the lower realm."

Liu Yuan remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

"We can communicate. As for compensation, spirit stones or spiritual materials from the upper realm are both acceptable."

The deal is done.

In return, Li Yuan engaged in a two-day in-depth exchange with the Flood Dragon Clan, using a batch of rare Upper Realm spiritual materials from the Cangxuan Realm as payment.

The core of the exchange was optimizing the stability of the dragon pattern when it is engraved in the bloodline.

The information provided by Liu Yuan was extremely crucial. The Jiaolong clan has passed down their bloodline memories through dragon patterns for generations, and they have a depth of understanding of the interaction mechanism between dragon patterns and bloodlines that is unmatched by human cultivators.

The key point lies in the blood vessel resonance frequency during recording.

Once the dragon pattern is engraved in the bloodline, if the frequency of the dragon pattern's own spiritual energy does not match the frequency of the blood energy flowing in the bloodline, the engraved structure will gradually loosen under the erosion of the blood energy, eventually falling off or deforming.

Li Yuan integrated this information with the bloodline inscription technique he had previously deciphered from his collaboration with the Lu family in the lower realm.

The efficiency and stability of the Bloodline Inscription Technique have been significantly improved after integration. The occasional loosening of the dragon pattern after inscription can be completely avoided after mastering the method of adjusting the resonance frequency.

After the exchange, Li Yuan thanked Liu Yuan and left Biyuan Lake.

He transformed into a beam of light and returned to his temporary residence near the market.

The stone chamber door closed.

Li Yuan sat down cross-legged and repeatedly processed the information he had gained from the exchange in his mind.

He took out several spirit pattern materials and a blank jade slip from his personal miniature world and began to record the experimental plan.

Research on bloodline spirit pattern inscription has officially begun.