Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Chapter 681 Jingzhou Secret Passage

Wulinfang Market, residence.

After a night of cultivation, Li Yuan opened his eyes.

The news of the Lingzhou Rift Cluster had been reported to the Tianyue Sect, but the origin of that tracking mark remained weighing on his mind.

The methods are the same as those of the Yuan Sect, but the structure has an additional layer. After the Yuan Sect's leader sacrificed the entire sect, he left the lower realm. Although the entire sect was wiped out, the Yuan Sect had been operating in the lower realm for hundreds of years, and its secret passages, strongholds, and cultivation sites may not have been completely eradicated. Yunzhou had the Tianyue Sect conducting investigations, but Jingzhou and Lingzhou were not as thorough.

Li Yuan took out the official offering token and looked through the task list.

Sure enough, there was a long-term job posting: investigate the remaining strongholds and secret passages of the Yuan Sect in various states of the lower realm. Once a demonic seal or secret passage is discovered, it can be taken on and cleared. Contributions are calculated based on the scale of the investigation.

Li Yuan accepted the task, and the handwriting on the token changed.

The light rose and headed towards Jingzhou.

Jingzhou is located in the northwest of the lower realm, mostly hilly and low-mountainous areas. Although the Tianyue Sect has a stronghold here, its control is far less than that of Yunzhou. This place was never the core territory of any power, so it would be more convenient for the Yuan Sect to hide things here.

Li Yuan did not go to the stronghold. Instead, he used the spiritual energy frequency he had tracked in Lingzhou last time to deduce the source of the energy.

Although the mark had been removed, Dark Fiend Insight had recorded the frequency of the core spirit rune. Such things don't appear out of thin air; they always have a source.

The beam of light lowered itself, skimming along the hillsides and ridges. Dark Fiend's Insight continuously scanned the surrounding area for any remaining demonic energy.

Half a day later, in the middle of an unnamed mountain range at the border of Jingzhou and Lingzhou, Dark Fiend Insight detected a very faint wisp of demonic energy.

The demonic energy was hidden within the mountain, seeping out from a deep natural crevice. If it weren't for An Sha's keen observation, most ordinary cultivators would have missed it entirely.

Li Yuan landed halfway up the mountain. The entrance to the crevice was no more than two feet wide, hidden by broken stones and withered vines, and from the outside it looked like an ordinary crack.

Dark Fiend Insight probed into the rock crevice, and the deeper it went, the heavier the demonic energy became.

Thirty feet later, the crevice bends, ending at a gray-black rock wall. The wall appears natural, but it conceals dense remnants of demonic spiritual patterns.

The entrance to the secret passage.

Li Yuan raised his hand and cast a spatial cutting spell, slicing along the edge of the rock wall. The gray-black rock wall cracked silently, and a dense demonic energy surged out, carrying a musty smell.

He slipped inside.

The secret passage extends downwards, about 1.5 zhang wide and 2 zhang high, its walls polished smooth by spiritual energy. It makes a turn every few dozen zhang, spiraling downwards into the ground.

Many demonic runes remain on the wall, their spiritual power long since exhausted, yet the patterns are still clear.

The work of Yuanzong.

The style of these spirit patterns is almost identical to those seen in the abandoned spirit mines of Lingzhou, only on a larger scale and with greater detail.

After descending about a hundred feet, the first seal blocked the way.

Third-order demonic seal.

The permanent entry of Netherworld Knowledge operates on its own, and the sealed structure emerges in the sea of ​​consciousness. It has three nested layers, with the core node hidden behind the intersection of the second layer of spiritual patterns, and a fake node placed in front of it.

Li Yuan extended his right hand, his spiritual power probing into the seal, bypassing the false nodes, and reaching the core. The first layer immediately dissipated, and the latter two layers followed suit.

The pathway is exposed.

Two hundred feet deep lies the second third-tier seal. Its structure is similar, but it has an additional backlash circuit; touching its core will trigger a rebound of demonic energy.

The Netherworld's knowledge clearly revealed the trigger point. Li Yuan used subtle spiritual power to bypass the trigger point, seeping into the core from the back of the path, silently breaking the seal.

Three hundred feet deep, the third third-order seal is more troublesome. The core node is divided into two, hidden in different locations, requiring pressure to be applied simultaneously.

Li Yuan split his divine sense into two lines, each guiding a wisp of spiritual energy to probe into the seal. A moment later, the seal dissipated.

The path continues downwards.

Four hundred feet deep, the secret passage suddenly widened.

Ahead lay an underground space several tens of feet in diameter. In the center stood a stone wall three feet high, covered with dark purple spiritual patterns, within which demonic energy still flowed slowly.

Fourth-order seal.

The Netherworld's comprehension unfolded the seal layer by layer. Six nested layers, with four core nodes connected by hidden threads, also containing two backlash loops and a self-destructive spirit rune. If the order is reversed, the entire seal will explode, destroying everything within.

The Array Dao Heavenly Pivot also began to operate, mutually verifying the underlying veins of the seal with the insights gained from fourth-order array formations.

Li Yuan didn't rush to make a move. He stared at the stone wall for a while before raising his hand and pointing to the junction of the second spiritual rune on the left.

The first floor is open.

In the second layer, he avoided the backlash path and used two lines of divine sense to probe the real node behind the disguised node. In the third layer, he suppressed his spiritual power to an extremely low level, slowly seeping into the core, avoiding the self-destructing spiritual runes.

The fourth and fifth layers were then unraveled.

Upon reaching the sixth level, the final core node was hidden at the bottom of the seal, enveloped by the backlash circuit. Li Yuan used micro-controlling spirit techniques to draw out a strand of spiritual energy, as thin as a hair, and gently pressed it down through the gap in the spirit patterns.

All six seals dissipated simultaneously.

The dark purple spiritual patterns faded from the stone wall, revealing a secret chamber about five zhang square behind it.

The secret room was dark and filled with demonic energy. Several storage bags and wooden boxes were placed on the floor, and a half-person-high stone shelf stood against the wall, on which were several jade slips and a dark porcelain bottle.

Li Yuan entered the secret room, his three-foot sense sweeping across the area.

There was no fluctuation in the number of entries.

The storage bag contained a large number of magic stones, roughly over three hundred, ranging in grade from second to third. It also contained dozens of third-grade magic materials, several fragments of dark-attribute ore, and a fist-sized fourth-grade dark-attribute ore, entirely black with a faint glow on its surface.

The wooden box contained auxiliary materials for setting up magical formations, similar to those found in abandoned spirit mines in Lingzhou.

The jade slips on the stone shelf are mostly internal cultivation records of the Yuan Sect. The contents are disorganized, including cultivation techniques and alchemy notes.

One of the jade slips was different.

Li Yuan probed with his divine sense, and the structure of the spell unfolded accordingly.

Demonic Entanglement Technique.

Second-tier, high-grade, binding-type demonic energy spell. It condenses demonic energy into several binding ropes to restrict the target's movement. The number and strength of the binding ropes depend on the caster's level of demonic energy refinement.

This technique overlaps somewhat with the Space Imprisonment Technique, but their approaches differ. The Space Imprisonment Technique locks in space, while the Demonic Entanglement Technique binds the body with demonic energy. Combining the two will result in a more stable control effect.

Li Yuan carefully put away the jade slip.

The magic stones and spiritual materials in the secret chamber were all stored in his personal microcosm. The fourth-tier dark attribute ore was of good quality and could be used for refining weapons or creating formations later.

The secret passage has been explored, and the remnants of the Yuan Sect have been cleared away.

Li Yuan returned to the ground along the original route, transforming into a beam of light and returning to the Misty Forest Market.

Upon arriving at the Tianyue Sect's stronghold, he reported the results using the official offering token.

"A secret passage remnant of the Yuan Sect was discovered at the border between Jingzhou and Lingzhou. The four demonic seals inside have been broken. More than 300 demonic stones, several third-tier demonic spiritual materials, one fourth-tier dark attribute ore, and one spell jade slip have been seized. The secret passage has been cleared and there are no further hidden dangers."

The disciples on duty recorded the information, and the contribution points were quickly credited to their accounts.

As is customary, magical materials and dark-attribute ores were handed over to the Tianyue Sect. Magic stones and spell jade slips were to be kept by Li Yuan himself; the mission description allowed for the retention of a portion of the spoils as an offering.

Back at their residence in Wulinfang, the stone gate was closed.

Li Yuan took out the jade slip containing the Demonic Entanglement Technique from his personal miniature world and probed into it again with his divine sense.

This spell isn't particularly complex. Its core is to compress loose demonic energy into a thread-like coil, then urge it to rotate and tighten at a specific frequency. The key is the speed of condensation; the faster it forms, the more effective it is in actual combat.

After achieving minor success in the Dark Abyss Demonic Essence Technique, the quality of demonic energy within his body was sufficient. Furthermore, the permanent "Demonic Bone Infusion" attribute increased the speed of demonic energy spell condensation by 20%, making the cultivation of this second-tier high-grade spell relatively effortless.

Li Yuan activated the Demonic Entanglement Technique.

On the first attempt, demonic energy surged from his fingertips, condensing into a dark purple line in front of his palm. The line formed quickly, dissipating in less than two breaths.

The second time, he increased the compression, making the lines thinner and more solid, and held for four breaths.

The third time, five binding ropes condensed simultaneously, varying in thickness, yet each maintained its position for more than six breaths.

Demonic Entanglement Technique, Beginner Level.

After mastering the basics, progress accelerated even further. The demonic energy provided by the Dark Abyss Demonic Essence Technique far exceeded the requirements of a second-tier spell, and the Demonic Bone Infusion further compressed the formation time. With the addition of permanent attributes such as Demonic Power Enhancement and Demonic Energy Condensation, this low-tier spell had almost no obstacles for him.

The number of binding ropes increased from five to twelve, and the formation time was reduced to less than a breath. The tightening force also increased, from barely binding the wooden stake to leaving marks on the stone pillar.

Demonic Entanglement Technique, mastered.

Li Yuan did not stop.

With practice, the entanglement rope is no longer just a straight line; it can bend, cross, and even weave into a net around the target. When tightening, the force is also distributed more evenly, rather than being concentrated on just a few strands of rope.

a few days later.

During cultivation, twelve binding ropes shot out simultaneously, condensing into a dark purple binding net three zhang away. The net was dense, emitting a low hum as it contracted, and it took less than half a breath from formation to tightening.

Master of the Demonic Entanglement Technique.

At this stage, this spell can be used in actual combat. The twelve binding ropes simultaneously restrain the opponent, and when combined with the spatial confinement spell, it is enough to instantly control opponents below the late Golden Core stage. Against Nascent Soul cultivators of the same level, the effect is limited, but it is not difficult to stall them for a moment.

Li Yuan finished his practice and put the magic jade slip back into his personal small world.

The cultivation continues.