Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Chapter 731 Blood Sacrifice to Break the Abyss

Thirty li northeast of Lingzhou, the site of the Demon Abyss is located.

The streaking light landed on the top of a barren mountain.

Ahead, deep within the mountainside, a spatial rift was expanding. The rift was about ten feet wide, its edges flashing with alternating silvery-white spiritual light and dark purple demonic energy, and the sound of the spatial walls shattering emanated from the crack.

The passive perception spread out over a distance of 1,800 zhang.

Fifty feet ahead of the crevice, two demons crouched behind the rocks.

Mid-stage Nascent Soul. One head is robust, with dark gray scales marked with dark red patterns, and short, thick horns growing from its forehead. The other head is slender and long, with jet-black scales and a row of bony spikes on its back.

Both demons stared at the crack, as if guarding something.

Li Yuan did not slow down; his escape light slammed directly into the front of the crack.

The burly demon was the first to notice the commotion; his blood-red vertical pupils contracted, and he turned his head to look upwards.

Spatial confinement technique.

The confinement field of the Great Completion stage descended first, its edges actively resisting the mountain's rock walls, locking the space within a fifty-zhang radius.

The burly demon's body stiffened, his demonic energy erupted, and the demonic patterns on his twin horns lit up, forcefully expanding outwards. The power of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

It was not weak; a ripple appeared at the edge of the confinement field, but it did not shatter.

The spatial cutting technique followed immediately.

The invisible blade, once fully formed, shot out from the inner side of the confinement field, empowered by the power of primordial chaos. It first cut through the protective layer of demonic energy, then pierced into the gaps between the scales.

A single slash pierced through.

After the blade pierced through the neck, a very thin spatial crack remained in its trajectory. The crack persisted for two or three breaths, and the demonic energy flowing through the robust demon's body was cut a second time, completely severing the main channel of demonic energy in the neck.

Dark red blood spurted from between the scales, and the burly demon collapsed to the ground.

The black-scaled demon had already fled towards the rift when its companion was killed. It was incredibly fast, its spinal spikes unfurling, demonic energy surging from between them, propelling its body forward with tremendous force.

Shadow Erosion Technique.

Once the passage is completed, it only takes two or three breaths to open. Demonic energy surged from Li Yuan's fingertips, eroding the mountain's rock walls, and a short passage opened in the wall, with the exit positioned precisely between the dark demons and the crack.

Li Yuan crossed the passage and blocked the way.

The dark demon was unable to stop its momentum and crashed into Li Yuan, who was only five feet away from him.

A Dark Demon Erosion Rune was affixed to its chest. An erosion wave was released, and the permanent effect of the condensed demonic energy was maximized, causing large sections of the protective demonic aura to melt away.

The second cut of the spatial cutting technique was delivered.

The blade cut into the chest, piercing the base of the bone spurs. The remaining spatial rift tore open the wound again, severing the demonic energy pathway along the spine.

The dark demon's body stiffened, its blood-red eyes dimmed, and it collapsed in front of the crack.

The two Nascent Soul stage demons fell to the ground one after the other, their demonic energy disintegrating and collapsing, their scales peeling off, and their flesh turning to ash.

The True Demon Core inside the storage bag reacted, absorbing the essence of demonic energy from the disintegration of the two demons.

Progress on the same path: 6/10.

Li Yuan returned to the confinement area, not lingering on the corpses, and headed towards the crack.

The token at his waist vibrated.

Zhou Heng sent a message.

"The main battlefield is temporarily stabilized. Xuan Ying is locked in combat with the Crimson Demon Clan, while the Yuan Sect Master is suppressing the Dark Gray Demon Clan. The Nascent Soul Demon Clan is being held back by the formation and has not yet made a large-scale breakthrough. What's the situation on your end?"

"The two mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators have been dealt with," Li Yuan replied. "We are currently setting up a sealing array."

"As soon as possible."

Li Yuan put away the token and stood three zhang in front of the crack.

The crack continued to widen, its edges cracking incessantly, and dark purple demonic energy seeped from it. The demonic energy on the other side was extremely dense.

The Dark Abyss Demonic Essence Technique completed its cycle and operated automatically. The demonic energy surging from the opposite side was drawn in and circulated through Li Yuan's body along the demonic energy pathway.

The concentration of demonic energy far exceeds that of the Dark Vein Abyss Zone.

After mastering the ancient demonic body-refining secret technique, the synchronized body-refining process automatically begins. Demonic energy is distributed to every bone along the grid of the light-demonic interwoven layer, compressing the bone marrow.

The demonic energy in the rift was so abundant that it condensed almost twice as fast as in the abyss.

The combined effects of the Dark Marrow Bone Tempering blue attribute's 50% tempering efficiency, the 50% total efficiency of Bone Tempering and Yuan Nourishment Permanence, and the 50% cultivation speed of Abyss Demon Nourishment, all pressed down at once.

Bone marrow density crossed the threshold in a very short time.

The overall bone marrow's condensation level has surpassed the limit from the late stage of mastery. The compression of demonic energy within the bone marrow no longer requires external guidance; the bone marrow itself begins to actively absorb demonic energy, completing the condensation cycle on its own.

Ancient Demonic Body Refining Secret Technique, Minor Success.

Having just passed the threshold of minor success, the demonic energy surging from the other side of the rift continues to pour in, and the condensation cycle in the bone marrow continues to accelerate.

The bone marrow density of every bone is increasing. The light-magic interwoven layer in the gaps between the bone trabeculae is stretched open and then compacted again, and even the interwoven layer itself is thickening.

The light vein network and the demonic energy condensation channel squeezed each other in the interwoven layer, eventually merging into one instead of going their separate ways.

The repair fibers of light-attribute spiritual power and the channels for condensing demonic energy are completely intertwined, forming the same net.

The secret method of body refining in the ancient demonic way is completed.

The equipment slot jolted violently.

Dark Marrow Mystic Ore. The blue entry for Dark Marrow Bone Tempering requires: mastering a demonic body-refining technique.

The conditions are met.

The Dark Marrow Ore shattered and dissipated in the equipment slot, and a stream of blue light surged out, flowing into Li Yuan's entire skeleton.

The scene unfolded in his mind's eye. A cultivator sat cross-legged in an underground cave filled with surging demonic energy, his entire skeleton glowing with a dark golden-purple light.

Demonic energy surged from his bone marrow, spreading along the trabeculae of his bones throughout his body, tempering his muscle fibers and meridian walls. The cultivator raised his hand and struck out with a palm, the demonic energy in the palm wind like a knife, slicing through the giant rock in front of him.

The image fades away.

[Permanentization complete]

【Dark Marrow Tempering - Blue】

[Effect: Permanently increases tempering efficiency by 50% when practicing demonic energy body-refining techniques; permanently increases demonic energy damage by 30%.]

The fifth slot in the equipment inventory is now empty.

The blue light flowed deep into the bones. Fifty percent of the tempering efficiency and thirty percent of the demonic damage were permanently solidified.

Li Yuan withdrew his inner vision and turned to face the crack.

The sealing array has been set.

Spiritual energy surged from his palm, outlining a closed loop in the void. The sealing array, with spatial sealing runes at its core, had six nodes surrounding the edge of the crack. The closed loop of spiritual energy circulated between the nodes, suppressing the expansion stress on the crack wall.

The six nodes were embedded one by one into the surrounding rock wall. The array's core stone landed directly above the crack.

The moment the formation closed, all six nodes lit up simultaneously. The spatial sealing runes activated, and spiritual energy pressed towards the edge of the crack from six directions. The crack's expansion rate plummeted, and the cracking sounds became sparse.

After the sealing array operated for several dozen breaths, the cracks began to slowly shrink.

Within a three-foot perception range, blue text fluctuations emanated from the array's core.

Li Yuan placed his palm on the array eye spirit stone.

[Equipable item detected: Gap Sealing Array Eye Stone]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Sealed Abyss - Blue]

[Effect: Permanently increases the sealing power of sealing spells by 30%; grants the ability to actively close spatial rifts.]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Successfully sealed three spatial rifts (0/3)]

The 30% increase in sealing strength, along with the ability to actively close spatial rifts, are both very useful. The conditions for permanentization are the same as previous formation attributes; the first seat does not count towards the progress.

Li Yuan took the array core and replaced it with the same source of spirit ore.

After the sealing array was completed, the cracks shrank to less than half a foot, and the amount of demonic energy seeping out dropped to an extremely low level.

Li Yuan stood beside the formation, examining his entire skeletal structure.

After mastering the ancient demonic body-refining secret technique, it developed a deeper synergy with the mastery of the spiritual light body-tempering technique.

Previously, although the two body-refining techniques could operate simultaneously, the light veins and demonic energy condensation channels still ran independently within the bones, interacting only on the surface of the interwoven layer. Now, things are different. The repair fibers of light-attribute spiritual energy and the demonic energy condensation channels have completely merged, becoming one.

Zhang grid.

The light veins repair and reinforce the bones from the outside, while the demonic energy tempers and strengthens them from the inside. The two forces operate in sync, with each round of tempering accompanied by repair, and each repair laying the foundation for the next round of tempering.

The interwoven layers of light and demonic energy form a complete grid throughout the entire skeleton, from the skull to the toe bones, leaving no one out. Within this grid, light-attribute spiritual energy and demonic energy flow in a fixed proportion, automatically balanced by the depth of cultivation of the Spiritual Light Tempering Technique and the ancient demonic secret arts.

Physical defense has reached a new level.

Li Yuan withdrew his inner vision and transformed into a beam of light, leaving the desolate mountain.

On the way to the next rift node, the perception spanned 1,800 zhang.

The conditions along the way were not good.

In the mountains and forests of northeastern Lingzhou, scattered demonic auras began to appear. Most were at the Golden Core level, with an occasional Foundation Establishment level. They emerged from the ground through various dark veins and branches, scattering across the mountains, forests, ruins, and valleys, like ants swarming out of an anthill.

They are few in number but widely distributed.

After the Demon Blood Sacrifice Array was activated ahead of schedule, the cracks were forcibly opened, allowing a large number of low-level demons to pour in. Most of the Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation level demons were blocked on the main battlefield, while the Golden Core and Foundation Establishment level demons seeped in through the dark vein branches and scattered in all directions.

For ordinary mortals and low-level cultivators, these scattered soldiers were deadly enough.

Li Yuan did not stop the clearing operation; there wasn't enough time.

The beam of light continued to advance towards the next crack node.

During the journey, the token vibrated again.

It wasn't Zhou Heng, it was Xuanpu.

"Li Yuan, things have changed on the main battlefield. Elder Xuan Ying can't hold on any longer. The Crimson Demon Clan is stronger than expected, and Xuan Ying can't suppress them even with 60% of her strength. The Yuan Sect Master is too busy to help, and the Dark Gray Demon Clan is also a serious problem."

The message paused for a moment.

"Zhou Heng wants you to immediately return to the main battlefield after sealing the current rift."

Li Yuan put away the token and accelerated his escape.