Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Chapter 703 The Reawakening of Yao Guang

Tianyue Sect, Exit of the Ascension Passage.

Li Yuan stepped out of the passage, concealed his aura, and transformed into a beam of light, flying towards the Misty Forest Market.

After landing, he first went to the Tianyue Sect contact point, took out the official offering token, and infused it with spiritual power.

Several unread messages appeared on the surface of the token.

The first one comes from the Tianyue Sect's Information Hall.

Multiple spatial anomalies have been observed at the edge of the Yao Guang Secret Realm, and investigating cultivators have discovered residual spiritual energy resembling demonic activity. The Tian Yue Sect has issued a joint investigation order to various forces in the lower realms, requesting cultivators entering the Yao Guang Secret Realm to be alert for traces of demonic activity.

The second one also comes from the Intelligence Hall, but the wording is more formal.

Tianyue Sect has learned that Li Yuan has been invited by Longyuan Pavilion and has obtained a spot in the Yaoguang Secret Realm. In view of Li Yuan's previous discovery and removal of the Yuan Sect's old method tracking marks in the Lingzhou Rift Cluster and Youyuan Deep Valley, the sect has specially commissioned Li Yuan to search for similar marks within the secret realm.

The third one comes from Zhou Heng.

Xuanpu has officially gone into seclusion to attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. The seclusion location is a deep secret chamber within the Mingyuan Sect's lower realm stronghold, where Zhou Heng has personally set up a protective formation. It will take at least several months.

Li Yuan stored the three messages in his mind and put away the token.

Just as he was about to leave the contact point, another communication token on his waist vibrated slightly.

It is a communication token of Longyuan Pavilion.

Li Yuan infused his spiritual power, and a message entered his mind.

"Fellow Daoist Li, Wang Zhen of Longyuan Pavilion. Your spot in the secret realm has been officially confirmed. We will meet at Yaoguang Island in three days. I will lead the team, which will consist of twelve people."

After a slight pause in the message, Wang Zhen's tone lowered.

"There is another matter I would like to ask for your help privately. You came in first place in the secret realm assessment last time and were granted extra privileges."

"After entering the secret realm this time, the Dragon Abyss Pavilion hopes that you, fellow Daoist, can use this authority to investigate the deeper levels of the secret realm for us. The Dragon Abyss Pavilion has managed the Yao Guang Secret Realm for hundreds of years, but we have never been able to enter its deeper levels and know very little about it."

"Compensation will be calculated separately; details will be discussed in person."

Wang Zhen is in the late stage of the Golden Core realm. Liu Heng, whom I met on Yaoguang Island last time, is an elder of the Longyuan Pavilion; Wang Zhen should be another person in charge.

Li Yuan replied to the message, saying he would arrive on time in three days.

As for exploring deeper levels, that depends on the situation within the secret realm. The Dragon Abyss Pavilion previously provided a Nascent Soul cultivation manual, and that favor still applies; we'll help if we can.

Three days is not long.

Li Yuan secluded himself at his residence in the Misty Forest Market for two and a half days, simultaneously practicing the Nascent Soul Returning to Origin Technique and the Dark Abyss Demonic Origin Technique, continuously accelerating the Breakthrough Mirror Condensation Speed ​​attribute. The dark golden luster and silver ripples on the surface of his Nascent Soul were slowly deepening.

On the morning of the third day, Li Yuan transformed into a beam of light and rushed to Yaoguang Island.

On the sea, the small island floated in the mist. The island was sparsely covered with vegetation, and the central stone platform still stood, not much different from when I first came here a few years ago.

A large crowd had already gathered around the stone platform.

The Longyuan Pavilion group stood on the east side of the stone platform, their dark silver robes neatly arranged, eleven out of twelve present. The leading cultivator was of medium build, with a lean face and a short beard on his chin, his spiritual energy emanating from the late Golden Core stage.

Wangzhen.

When Li Yuan landed on the island, Wang Zhen came to greet him.

"Fellow Daoist Li." Wang Zhen cupped his hands, his gaze lingering on Li Yuan for a moment.

The late-stage Golden Core cultivator's divine sense couldn't probe the mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator's true abilities, but Wang Zhen clearly sensed something amiss. His brows furrowed slightly, but he didn't ask any further questions.

"Everyone's here, we can set off anytime," Wang Zhen said. "The entrance to the secret realm is deep in the canyon, in a different location than last time."

Li Yuan nodded and followed the group toward the northern coast of the island.

A spirit boat was moored at the shore. The two men boarded the boat, which broke through the waves and sailed into the deep sea along a secret route.

About an hour later, the spirit boat came to rest above a canyon on the sea.

The canyon splits open from the sea surface, with sheer cliffs on both sides that seem to drop to an unseen bottom. Seawater churns at the canyon's edge but cannot flow in, as if blocked by an invisible barrier.

The spirit boat descended into the canyon.

The rock walls on both sides receded, and the light gradually dimmed. After descending about a hundred feet, an open space appeared between the rock walls in front.

In the center of the canyon, the walls of space are slowly tearing apart.

The rift was about two zhang wide, with silvery-white spiritual light flowing around its edges. The tear continued to widen, eventually converging into a silvery-white gate of light. The surface of the gate was covered with dense spiritual runes, and waves of spiritual energy emanated from within.

The Myriad Manifestations Reversal operates on its own, dismantling the spiritual energy frequency of the light gate layer by layer.

The frequency structure is similar to that when Li Yuan first entered the Yao Guang Secret Realm several years ago, but the intensity is higher and the spiritual rune circuits are more complex. After years of spiritual energy supply from the Longyuan Pavilion, the interior of the secret realm should be more mature than before.

After the light gate stabilized, Wang Zhen was the first to step inside.

The Longyuan Pavilion group followed in turn. Li Yuan was in the middle of the line, entering the gate of light along with the other cultivators.

A change in perspective.

Beneath their feet lay a wide stone path, its white jade walls on either side densely covered with spiritual patterns. A surge of spiritual energy, several times denser than outside, was palpable, carrying within it a unique aura that resonated naturally with their divine sense.

The environment in the secret realm enhances enlightenment.

The feeling of the "Ten Thousand Laws Practice True Realm" entry overlapping with the secret realm environment was not unfamiliar to Li Yuan. It was just that this time it was even stronger. His soul, at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, was far superior to that of the Golden Core stage, allowing him to absorb much more from the secret realm.

Li Yuan paused half a step and released his senses with his mid-Nascent Soul cultivation.

After mastering the Spatial Exploration Technique, the passive perception spanned eight hundred feet. The internal spatial structure of the secret realm was extremely stable, and the accuracy of perception was even higher than that of the outside world. The structure of the rock walls on both sides of the stone path, the layout of the spiritual patterns, and the direction of the deep space were all reflected in the sea of ​​consciousness.

The spatial biological characteristics of the small world, after its origin was made permanent, were also taking effect. Standing in this independent space, Li Yuan could glean more information from the vibrations of the spatial walls.

The secret realm is vast, much larger than the area I sensed last time.

When his perception reached about 700 zhang, Li Yuan detected an anomaly.

Extremely faint demonic aura.

Dark Fiend Insight extracted that wisp of demonic energy from the spiritual energy of the secret realm. Its concentration was extremely low; had it not been for the permanent enhancement of its aura-discriminating ability through Trace Insight, it would have been virtually impossible to detect.

The frequency of demonic energy closely matches the residual energy in the deep abyss.

Li Yuan remained expressionless, withdrew his senses, and continued forward with the group.

Make a note of this. There are many cultivators within the secret realm; making a rash move could easily alert those hiding in the shadows.

The stone path extends forward for several dozen feet before forking.

The fork in the road was marked with five assessment directions, just like last time: magic, formations, alchemy, weapon crafting, and talismans.

Without hesitation, Li Yuan explored each of the five paths one by one.

The formation assessment involved completing the missing formation runes. With the purple attribute of the Formation Dao Heavenly Pivot and the level of a fourth-order formation master, it was completed in less than 30% of the time limit.

The alchemy assessment requires refining a batch of pills within a time limit. With a mastery of the fourth-order alchemy technique, the technique is stable enough, and the alchemical fire, now permanently imbued with the spiritual essence of the fire technique, requires little adjustment.

The spell assessment aims to complete the incomplete spiritual power model. After the minor realm's origin was made permanent, the spiritual power possesses inherent spatial attributes, making the completion speed several times faster than before.

The weapon-refining assessment involved repairing damaged weapon patterns. The mastery of weapon principles and the ability to trace back the myriad phenomena were combined, achieving a level of precision far exceeding that of ordinary cultivators.

The talisman assessment requires crafting a fourth-tier talisman. This talisman must be crafted to the level of a proficient fourth-tier talisman maker, with the addition of the purple "Mysterious Talisman Enlightenment" and the permanent "Ink Spirit Control" affixes, demonstrating precise and fluid execution.

He passed all five tests one by one.

Throughout the assessment, the Myriad Manifestations Recall was constantly operating within the sea of ​​consciousness, monitoring the fluctuations of spiritual energy within the secret realm.

The concentration of demonic energy is slowly increasing.

It was almost imperceptible when I first entered the secret realm, but by the time I passed the third test, the concentration had increased by about 20%. The change was very slow, and it was not easy to distinguish among the spiritual energy of the secret realm, but every fluctuation was recorded by the Myriad Manifestations Recall.

Li Yuan continued forward.

Several cultivators were already waiting in the circular plaza where the competitive assessment was being conducted. The assessment officially began shortly after Li Yuan entered.

The process is the same as last time. The secret realm releases the test questions in sequence, covering five areas. Everyone answers simultaneously, and the secret realm judges and scores the answers.

Li Yuan was at the forefront in all five areas. His advantage was greatest in formations and alchemy, while he was also firmly in the lead in spells and talismans. Although his weapon crafting did not reach a perfect score due to grade limitations, it still ranked first.

The assessment is over.

First place: Li Yuan.

When the rankings were finalized, the changes in access permissions from the secret realm were more pronounced than before. Previously closed areas became accessible, and some were even directly opened. The permissions gained from the first assessment, combined with this one, further expanded Li Yuan's perception range of the secret realm's deeper layers.

The reward then fell.

The sphere of light split into several clusters of light, which floated one by one in front of Li Yuan.

Both the quantity and quality were more generous than the first time. Those with mid-Nascent Soul cultivation participating in the assessment received rewards from the secret realm that were a level higher.

Li Yuan checked them one by one.

Most of them were spiritual materials and pills, ranging in quality from high-grade third rank to low-grade fourth rank. Two items in particular caught Li Yuan's eye.

The first item was a jade slip with a pale golden sheen on its surface.

Within a three-foot perception range, blue text rippled.

Li Yuan held the jade slip in his hand, and the complete panel appeared.

[Equipable item detected: Tier 4 Yao Guang Ning Yuan Pill Recipe]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Jade Light Elixir - Blue]

[Effect: Permanently increases the success rate of pill refining by 30%; permanently increases the efficacy of refined pills by an additional 20%.]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Successfully refine ten batches of Yao Guang Ning Yuan Pills (0/10)]

The success rate and efficacy of the pills are both greatly improved, which is very useful for alchemists. The condition for permanentization is to refine ten batches of Yao Guang Ning Yuan Pills, and the pill formula is in this jade slip, which is not too demanding.

Li Yuan doesn't have any equipment yet, so he'll store it in his personal miniature world first.

The second item is also a jade slip, but the material is different from the first one, and the surface patterns are denser.

Li Yuan picked up the jade slip.

[Equipable item detected: Tier 4 Rune Crafting Recipe]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Yao Guang Rune - Blue]

[Effect: Permanently increases the success rate of talisman crafting by 30%; permanently increases the effectiveness of crafted talismans by 20%.]

[Preview of Permanentization Requirements: Successfully craft twenty Tier 4 Talismans (0/20)]

The bonus to talisman crafting is similar to that of the Yao Guang Dan Yun, both providing a double boost to success rate and effectiveness. The condition for permanent enhancement is the creation of twenty fourth-tier talismans, which Li Yuan can accomplish in a short time given his current proficiency in fourth-tier talisman crafting.

It seems that entries from the same system have similar effects.

Li Yuan also earns income from his personal mobile device.

He carefully collected all the remaining rewards. Li Yuan stepped down from the training platform and glanced across the square.

The latest changes in the myriad phenomena surfaced in the sea of ​​consciousness.

The concentration of demonic energy within the secret realm has increased by nearly 40% compared to when we entered, and the rate of increase is accelerating.

Li Yuan remained calm as he followed the Longyuan Pavilion team toward the exit.