Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

In the days following the sweep of the outposts, an eerie calm settled over the Sub-Palace deep within the Ghost Mist Forest.

On the surface, the Celestial Peak Sect and the Primordial Yang Sect seemed to have ceased hostilities, but their covert blockade was now even stricter than before.

Li Yuan didn’t touch the Sub-Palace lead again. He had already obtained the Jade Bead. What was worth digging into now was the supply network the Evil Slaying Sect had left in the northern part of the Ghost Mist Forest.

Especially the third waystation—it was the last piece of the puzzle for the remaining intelligence on the northern route.

...

Over ten days had passed since the Evil Slaying Sect’s northern supply line was suspended.

It was late at night when Li Yuan left the marketplace. He used a phantom mask to disguise himself with the same sinister Demon Cultivator face as before, tuning his Demonic Qi frequency to the Dark Abyss Association’s standard harmonic.

This time, his target was the third waystation.

Li Yuan executed the Earth Escape Technique, his body sinking into the ground.

Spiritual Power enveloped his body as he moved through the rock strata, his speed now noticeably faster. The permanent trait, "Minor Tunneling Speed," stacked and took effect the moment he used the Earth Escape Technique, increasing the efficiency of each burst of Spiritual Power by ten percent.

Li Yuan deliberately ran two tests along the way.

The first time, he maintained his original output, and his Tunneling Speed was significantly faster.

The second time, he reduced his Spiritual Power consumption, yet his speed was still comparable to when he used his full power before.

The effect was confirmed. For the same amount of Spiritual Power, the Earth Escape Technique’s duration was extended by about ten percent. For long-distance infiltration, this bonus meant less Spiritual Power consumption and a greater safety radius.

About an hour later, Li Yuan’s senses reached the target area.

The third waystation was located underground, beneath a desolate slope of gravel. The entrance was hidden at the base of a massive, fractured boulder, the gap between the rock and the ground concealed by withered branches and loose dirt.

Li Yuan didn’t barge in directly from underground. Instead, he surfaced about two hundred yards from the waystation’s perimeter and scanned the area with Dark Evil Insight first.

Two signals of Demonic Qi.

Both were at the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment. One was sitting inside the cave, while the other paced back and forth near the entrance.

’Only two people left.’

The sallow-faced man had said there were five people on duty at the third waystation. Now only two remained. The other three had either been reassigned or had left on their own after the supply line was suspended.

Li Yuan approached from the front.

He released his Demonic Qi frequency, triggering the Sensing Array on the cave’s perimeter. This array was the same model as the one at the first waystation, responding only to the specific Demonic Qi frequency of the Dark Abyss Association.

The alert was disarmed.

He pushed aside the withered branches and walked down a narrow, sloping path.

A skinny, dark-skinned Demon Cultivator was sitting on a straw mat, polishing a Magical Artifact. He merely glanced up when Li Yuan entered. Another, shorter and plumper Demon Cultivator was leaning against the cave entrance, dozing. Startled awake by the footsteps, he rubbed his eyes and asked groggily,

"Who’s there?"

"Came from the north." Li Yuan’s voice was hoarse and gravelly, typical of a Demon Cultivator. He tossed a small bag of Spirit Stones onto the ground. "Just looking for a place to rest."

The skinny Demon Cultivator glanced at the bag of Spirit Stones, then at Li Yuan’s face and the Demonic Qi fluctuating around him. He said nothing more and went back to polishing his Magical Artifact.

The shorter, plumper Demon Cultivator was more talkative. He’d probably been cooped up here for too long and was eager to chat with a new face.

"You’re from the north? Hasn’t the northern route been shut down?"

"It has, that’s why I had to detour this way." Li Yuan sat down against the wall. "Any new orders from above?"

The shorter Demon Cultivator pursed his lips.

"New orders? It’s just me and Old Zhao left. The higher-ups can’t even be bothered to send a message. There is one thing, though. Someone from the Abyss Sect is coming to pick up a shipment tomorrow."

Li Yuan looked up slightly.

"The Abyss Sect?"

"Not the Abyss Sect itself." The shorter Demon Cultivator waved his hand. "One of their peripheral forces, a family from over in Lingzhou. Can’t remember if it was the Li family or the Lu family. The Abyss Sect wouldn’t dirty their hands with this kind of errand. They always have their subordinate families do it."

"What are they trading?"

"The usual stuff. We provide Demon Qi Array Stones and a few copied Cultivation Techniques, and they give us Spirit Grass and Artifact Refining materials. It’s not a large amount, just a few crates’ worth. After the trade, this station is being abandoned. The higher-ups said there’s no need to maintain it anymore."

’Lingzhou. A subordinate family of the Abyss Sect.’

Li Yuan mentally cross-referenced this information with what he had previously intercepted from the Evil Slaying Sect’s Golden Core communication jade slip. The Evil Slaying Sect had reached out to the Abyss Sect, and while the Abyss Sect hadn’t given a clear response, they hadn’t refused either. It now seemed their cooperation had long been conducted through back channels via their peripheral families.

"How do you contact the people from the Abyss Sect?" Li Yuan asked casually.

The skinny Demon Cultivator interjected.

"Through Demonic Qi transmission. But they use a different frequency than us."

He picked up a shattered fragment of a jade slip from the ground and gestured with it in the air.

"You know the Dark Abyss Association’s transmission frequency, the standard three-part pulse. The Abyss Sect’s peripheral forces use a continuous wave. It’s not segmented—it comes through as a single, long transmission with a constant frequency, like a straight line. If you don’t know the format, you can’t decipher it even if you receive it."

’A continuous wave transmission. Constant frequency, no segmentation.’

It was completely different from the Dark Abyss Association’s three-part pulse. Li Yuan committed the characteristics of this communication method to memory. If he ever needed to intercept or forge communications from the Abyss Sect, this information would be key.

The shorter Demon Cultivator added another tidbit.

"Oh, right. Since you came from the north, have you heard about what’s happening at Skeleton Ridge?"

"What’s happening?"

"Skeleton Ridge, northwest of the Ghost Mist Forest." The shorter Demon Cultivator lowered his voice, a hint of excitement on his face. "They found an entrance underground, supposedly to the ruins of the Profound Nether Sect. But the entrance is sealed by several layers of Restrictions, Tier Three Top Grade. Not even a Golden Core can get through."

"Who found it?"

"No idea. Anyway, after the news reached the higher-ups, they didn’t say what to do about it. They’re probably waiting to see if the Abyss Sect has any experts who can break the Restrictions."

’Skeleton Ridge. Tier Three Top Grade Restrictions. The ruins of the Profound Nether Sect.’

Li Yuan impassively pieced this new information together with what he already knew.

With this, the complete picture of the Ghost Mist Forest’s northern supply chain finally clicked into place in his mind.

Starting from the northern sub-sect, the route entered the northern part of the Ghost Mist Forest via the outskirts of Skeleton Ridge. The first waystation was for receiving and distributing goods. The second was for transfer and temporary storage. The third was for trading materials with external forces. Linked together, the three stations formed a clandestine supply chain that ran through the northern Ghost Mist Forest.

Now, the second waystation had been taken out, and the third was set to be abandoned after tomorrow’s trade. The northern route was effectively severed.

They chatted for about an hour.

The shorter Demon Cultivator yawned and curled up on his straw mat to lie down. The skinny one also put down his Magical Artifact and leaned against the wall to rest with his eyes closed.

Li Yuan leaned against the base of the wall, also feigning rest.

The cave fell silent.

He waited for about a quarter of an hour.

The breathing of the two Demon Cultivators grew steady. The shorter one had already started to snore lightly. While the skinny one wasn’t sound asleep, the fluctuations in his aura indicated he had entered a state of semi-hibernation.

Li Yuan opened his eyes.

He brought two fingers of his right hand together.

Void-Rending Slash.

The first gray rift skimmed across the ground, silently slicing through the shorter Demon Cultivator’s throat. His snores stopped abruptly. His body twitched once and then fell still.

The skinny Demon Cultivator had sharp ears; he snapped his eyes open the instant the rift tore through the air. Before he could even raise the Magical Artifact in his hand, a second rift had already pierced his forehead.

It was over for both of them in a single breath.

Li Yuan retracted his Spiritual Power and stood up.

First, he looted their storage pouches.

The possessions of two Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivators were a bit richer than the guards at the second waystation. There were about fifty Middle Grade Spirit Stones in total, a few Low Tier Magical Artifacts, and some daily consumables.

The wooden crates in the corner mostly contained the Demon Qi Array Stones and copied Cultivation Techniques prepared for tomorrow’s trade.

Li Yuan inspected them one by one.

While searching the false bottom of the last wooden crate, his fingertips touched a palm-sized Talisman.

The Talisman’s material was different from ordinary talisman paper. Its surface glowed with a dark red luster, and its edges were secured with a Demon Qi Seal. The craftsmanship was neat and the patterns intricate—a standard product of the Evil Slaying Sect.

He peeled away the Demon Qi Seal.

The front of the Talisman was inscribed with a complex set of locking Array Patterns whose function was extremely clear: once placed on a target, it could completely block their Spiritual Power circulation for a certain period.

A Tier Two Spirit Locking Talisman.

It was a standard-issue item from the Evil Slaying Sect, used to seal a captive’s Spiritual Power to prevent escape or self-destruction. This kind of Talisman was standard issue for the Evil Slaying Sect’s internal law enforcement and interrogation teams. Leaving one at a peripheral waystation was likely a precaution.

Li Yuan put the Spirit Locking Talisman into his storage pouch.

Afterward, he used the Flame of Flame Fiend to incinerate the bodies and erase all traces, cleaning up everything inside and outside the waystation.

When he walked out of the cave, the night wind blew cold across the gravel slope.

Three waystations. He left a survivor at one, annihilated another to seize intelligence, and annihilated this one to seize supplies. From start to finish, he now held information on every link in the northern route.

Li Yuan executed the Earth Escape Technique, sinking into the earth and heading back toward the marketplace.