Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Chapter 704 The Demon Descends Upon the Secret Realm

Li Yuan walked out of the competition assessment square and headed along the passage towards the exit of the secret realm.

The myriad phenomena revolved within his sea of ​​consciousness, his gaze fixed on the spiritual energy fluctuations within the secret realm.

The concentration of demonic energy is still rising. Since entering the secret realm, it has increased by nearly 50%.

As the group passed the second fork in the stone path, the "All Things Reflected" warning suddenly sounded.

About 600 feet northeast of the secret realm, a burst of demonic energy suddenly exploded.

It wasn't the slow seepage of before; something was no longer concealing itself, releasing its demonic energy all at once. The aura detected by Dark Fiend's Insight was exactly the same as that of the demons in the deep abyss valley.

The demon race of the Netherworld.

Its aura far surpassed that of the previous one, and it was already close to the Nascent Soul stage.

Li Yuan stopped in his tracks.

The demonic energy was still expanding six hundred feet away, causing the walls of the secret realm to tremble slightly. The passive perception of the mastered spatial detection technique reflected all these changes into the sea of ​​consciousness.

Li Yuan's figure flashed and disappeared on the stone path.

After the origin of the minor realm became permanent, spatial rifts and free movement through the void no longer harmed him. Although the interior space of the secret realm was stable, passing through it was not difficult for Li Yuan.

A few breaths later, the distance of six hundred feet had passed in a flash.

In the northeast corner of the secret realm, in a semi-enclosed rock chamber.

The spiritual patterns on the wall were eroded beyond recognition by demonic energy, and dark purple mist surged. In the center of the mist stood a tall figure, covered in dark red scales, with a single horn growing from the center of his forehead, on which dark gold patterns flowed.

Those blood-red vertical pupils appeared directly in front of Li Yuan.

With his fully mastered Dark Abyss Demonic Essence Technique, his senses swept over the demon, revealing that the demon's cultivation was approaching the threshold of the Nascent Soul stage, even surpassing the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

However, when Li Yuan's gaze fell on the demon's chest, the word preview within a three-foot radius was automatically triggered.

Below the demon's unicorn horn, a wisp of text rippled.

Purple grade.

[True Demon Core·Purple]

[Effects: Permanently doubles the range of perception of demonic energy; permanently increases the power of all demonic energy spells by 50%; after killing a demon, you can briefly absorb its demonic energy essence to enhance your cultivation.]

The entry's carrier is the core beneath the unicorn, not the unicorn itself.

The demon's vertical pupils narrowed slightly, seemingly not expecting a cultivator to arrive so quickly, let alone that there was only one mid-Nascent Soul cultivator.

It raised its hand and struck with a palm.

Dense demonic energy transformed into a gigantic hand, slamming down with the power to distort space. Wherever the demonic hand passed, large fragments of the spiritual runes on the walls of the cave were torn apart.

Li Yuan sidestepped to avoid it.

The demonic hand slammed down on the spot, causing the rock surface to collapse several feet, and rubble to fly everywhere.

The forbidden spatial technique descended.

A fifteen-zhang-long confinement field instantly enveloped the demon. However, a cultivation level approaching the Nascent Soul stage couldn't be completely locked down by the confinement field. The demon's body trembled, and the dark gold patterns on its horn lit up, causing the confinement field to shake violently from within.

But the no-fly zone didn't break.

The Demonic Binding Technique was activated, and twenty-four black binding ropes shot out from the inner wall of the forbidden area, binding the demon's limbs and torso. As the ropes tightened, wisps of blue smoke rose from the dark red scales, mingling with the opposing demonic energy.

The demon roared, its arms suddenly thrusting outwards, severing the binding ropes in six directions.

Li Yuan raised his right hand, and the spatial cutting technique descended.

The invisible blade line of minor precision, superimposed on the core of the Void Abyss Array, the Rift Battle Edge, and the pressure of the boundary flow, along with the spatial attributes added by the origin of the minor world and the spiritual essence of the Netherworld, all pressed into this one strike.

The blade cut into the gaps in the demon's neck scales, avoiding a direct confrontation, and instead following the thinnest part of the scales.

The demon sensed the killing intent, and the dark gold patterns on its horn lit up, forming a thick shield of demonic energy around its neck.

The stripping ability of the partially mastered spatial cutting technique was then activated.

The blade first cuts through the outer layer of the protective shield, then cuts into the scales.

As soon as the protective shield was torn away, the demon recoiled sharply, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow. The blade had only severed two accessory veins on the side of its neck, and dark red blood gushed out.

The demon went even crazier after being injured, thrusting its single horn forward and sending a dark golden pillar of demonic energy straight at Li Yuan's face.

The Dragon Scale Golden Body Technique activated, covering all the scales. The blood-red phantom scales, now permanently formed from the reverse scale plates, floated on the body's surface, and the force-dissipating layer of scale breath resonance also began to operate. The dark gold demonic energy pillar collided with the triple defenses, weakening them layer by layer, leaving only a tremor that entered the chest cavity.

Li Yuan did not retreat but advanced.

Dragon's Might Technique.

A directional, cone-shaped composite mental shockwave shot out from the sea of ​​consciousness, its oppressive power enhanced by thirty percent, and the mental suppression of the dragon's blood energy crushed the demon's divine consciousness.

The demon's body stiffened.

The spatial confinement spell seized the opportunity to tighten, pinning the demons to their spot. The remaining eighteen entanglements of the Demonic Entanglement spell were all tightened, and six new ones filled the gaps.

The second cut of the spatial cutting technique is delivered.

This slash didn't go through the neck, but went straight for the demon's chest.

With the stable support of the Void Abyss Array Core, the blade line was extremely steady. It first peeled away the protective shield, then pierced through the scales, and finally cut deep into the chest cavity, severing the main vein of spiritual energy.

The demon's pupils dilated suddenly, and dark red blood spilled from the corner of its mouth. The circulation of demonic energy within its body broke down, and the dark gold patterns on its horn flickered on and off before quickly extinguishing.

Its body went limp in the forbidden area and under the entanglement of ropes.

The demonic energy dissipated from its body, churning in the rock chamber for a moment before gradually dissolving. Dark red scales peeled off, flesh rotted, and bones shattered. Just like on the main island of the Loose Cultivator Alliance, the demon's physical body rapidly disintegrated after the demonic energy went out of control.

In the end, only a fist-sized piece of dark gold core rolled out of the shattered chest cavity.

It is precisely the carrier of the entry.

Li Yuan bent down and picked up the core. The moment his fingertips touched it, the complete panel appeared.

[Equipable item detected: True Demon Core]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: True Magic Core - Purple]

[Effect: Permanently doubles the range of perception of demonic energy; permanently increases the power of all demonic energy spells by 50%; after killing a demon, one can briefly absorb its demonic energy essence to enhance their cultivation.]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Kill one demon of a higher rank, or kill ten demons of the same rank (0/1, 0/10)]

[Current equipment slot is full (5/5). Replace current equipment?]

Li Yuan put the True Demon Core into his storage bag, but did not equip it for the time being.

At the same moment, a violent tremor came from the portable miniature world.

It wasn't caused by the True Demon Core, but by the Spatial Short Blade.

A stream of blue light pierced through the boundary wall of his personal miniature world and poured into Li Yuan's body.

The scene unfolds in the sea of ​​consciousness.

A cultivator hovered at the intersection of spatial rifts, a short blade gleaming with silver light in his hand. With a swing of the blade, an extremely fine spatial cutting line shot out from the tip, piercing through the cultivator's protective spiritual energy and physical defenses, severing his main spiritual energy meridian in one strike.

The image fades away.

[Permanentization complete]

【Space Edge - Blue】

[Effect: The spiritual energy possesses a slight spatial cutting attribute, which can ignore a certain degree of physical defense; the power of spatial spells is permanently increased by 20%.]

The spatial blade dissipated within the personal miniature world, and the blue light flowed into the meridians.

After the spatial sharpness is made permanent, the spatial cutting attribute attached to spiritual power no longer requires the assistance of magical artifacts. When combined with the spatial attribute brought by the origin of the minor world, the two perfectly complement each other.

Before Li Yuan could take a closer look at the changes, a violent tremor came from beneath his feet.

The walls of the secret realm are cracking.

The eruption of demonic energy, approaching the level of a Nascent Soul cultivator, caused severe damage within the secret realm. Passive perception using the Spatial Detection Technique revealed large cracks appearing on the northeast corner wall, spreading in all directions.

The secret realm's spatial structure is inherently fragile. It was previously said that when the Nascent Soul cultivators from the Kunpeng Alliance attempted to force their way in, they were stopped outside because the secret realm would activate its self-destruct program if they tried to force their way in.

This also proves that the secret realm cannot withstand the impact of Nascent Soul level spiritual power.

The secret realm is about to collapse.

The Myriad Manifestations Retrospection detected two more fluctuations of demonic energy, along with sounds of spiritual energy colliding.

There was more than one demon.

Li Yuan had no time to deal with the other two places; the walls of the secret realm were cracking faster and faster.

The spatial forbidden technique was activated, and the forbidden field unfolded, temporarily stabilizing the wall beneath his feet. The permanent affix of the Rune Domain Stabilization skill reduced consumption by 20%, the Void Abyss Array Core increased stability by 20%, and the Small Realm Origin also allowed Li Yuan to see the changes in wall stress more accurately.

The cracks were slowed from spreading, but they didn't stop. The secret realm was too vast; the forbidden techniques could only protect a localized area.

That's enough for now.

Li Yuan abandoned further reinforcement and turned to rush into the depths of the secret realm.

With the permissions stacked, deep perception has been activated. The secret realm is collapsing; if we don't go in soon, everything inside will be destroyed.

Stone paths, rock walls, and spirit rune arrays crumbled and collapsed behind him. Li Yuan traversed the closing passages, using spatial cutting techniques to cleave through the blocking rubble, and spatial confinement techniques to hold back the collapsing walls, advancing all the way towards the center of the secret realm.

At the heart of the secret realm lies a vast open space.

The dome was extremely high, and the walls on all four sides were covered with spiritual patterns, with a spiritual energy concentration several times that of the surrounding area. In the very center of the space, a lone tree stood.

The tree trunk was about two zhang tall, its branches were withered and thin, and its leaves were sparse and yellowish, giving the whole tree an air of decay. The roots exposed on the ground were dry and cracked, with only the thickest roots still retaining a faint spiritual energy.

The Enlightenment Tree.

The Enlightenment Tree tea leaves I received as a reward for entering the secret realm last time came from this tree. Back then, the tea leaves were full of spiritual energy, and the resonance frequency for enlightenment was extremely strong. Now, the entire tree has withered to its limit.

Li Yuan walked to the tree and looked down at its roots.

Within a three-foot perception range, a fluctuation of a word emanated from the thickest root.

Red grade.

Li Yuan squatted down and placed his palm on the root.

The full panel appears.

[Equipable item detected: Enlightenment Tree Root]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Enlightenment Origin - Red]

[Effect: Permanently doubles the comprehension speed when cultivating any technique or spell; with doubled cultivation speed, there is a chance to experience special insights during cultivation, directly raising one's realm or optimizing the technique. Permanent additional effect: Doubles the strength of the divine soul.]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Cultivate a new mature Enlightenment Tree]

[Note: Forcibly removing the roots will kill the Enlightenment Tree, and the tree has not yet produced any seeds.]

But it cannot be taken.

Forcibly removing the roots will kill the Enlightenment Tree. The root is the carrier of the entry; as long as the root exists, the tree exists. Moreover, the Enlightenment Tree has not yet generated seeds, so the conditions for permanence are out of the question.

The sound of cracking walls in the secret realm grew closer.

Li Yuan stood up, extended his spiritual power with both hands, and enveloped the entire root system of the Enlightenment Tree.

The Space Cutting Technique, at a low level of precision, was activated, cutting the entire Enlightenment Tree, roots and all, along the junction of its roots and the ground.

The cut surface is smooth and the roots are not damaged.

The entrance to the portable mini-world has been opened.

The small realm already has a cultivation area for spiritual herbs and medicines, with a spiritual energy concentration slightly higher than the outside world, continuously supplied by four small spiritual veins. Li Yuan moved the Enlightenment Tree, along with its roots and soil, into the small realm and planted it in the location with the highest spiritual energy.

After the Enlightenment Tree was buried, its withered yellow leaves trembled slightly, and its roots slowly penetrated the soil. The spiritual energy began to be absorbed by the root system, very slowly, but at least it did not decay any further.

Whether it can survive depends on subsequent care.

The cracks in the walls of the secret realm have spread to the center, the dome has split open, and rubble is falling down in a flurry.

Li Yuan didn't go to the exit, but turned around and walked deeper into the secret realm.

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