Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

The next morning, Li Yuan took Ji Huaiyuan and Ji Mingyuan on a tour of the marketplace’s southern expansion area.

This area had been newly developed during an expansion six months prior. The stone walls and wooden eaves were still new, but because it was located in the south, some distance from the marketplace’s main street, the occupancy rate had always been low. More than half the storefronts along the street were empty, and the courtyards behind them hadn’t even had all their door panels installed.

Li Yuan stopped at the end of the street and pointed to the neat rows of stone houses on both sides.

"From here to the south wall, all twelve storefronts will be assigned to the Ji family. The courtyard complex behind is also yours—it can house a hundred people. The deed will be processed at the administration office today."

Ji Huaiyuan looked around, his gaze sweeping over the street twice before he nodded.

"It’s enough."

Ji Mingyuan followed behind the two, holding a simple zoning map of the marketplace on which he had already marked several key locations.

He took a step forward and said, "I’ll take over the daily management of the southern district, including street order, business registration, and entry/exit checks. Pavilion Master Li, you only need to issue a management report once a month. You won’t have to worry about the rest."

Li Yuan glanced at him.

Although the man had only recently broken through to Foundation Establishment and his Spiritual Power was still somewhat unsettled, he spoke clearly and logically. He had clearly managed affairs for the Ji family before.

’Perfect. The marketplace just expanded, and the Primordial Yang Sect hasn’t sent reinforcements yet. I can mention it to Chen Yi and arrange for the Ji family to handle this. They’ll be paid in Spirit Stones as usual.’

’The entire marketplace is under my perception, so I’m not afraid of them pulling any tricks. It’s just a bit of a hassle.’

"Alright. The monthly salary for management will be paid as usual." Li Yuan turned to Ji Huaiyuan. "How do you plan to divide the storefronts?"

"Of the twelve, I’ll use two to open an Artifact Refining shop, taking on repairs for Magical Artifacts and custom orders for small items." Ji Huaiyuan counted on his fingers. "The rest will be given to a few branches of the clan for selling general goods and materials. The first priority is to get everyone settled."

Li Yuan had no objections. The Ji family, with over eighty members, had fled with their families in tow. If they relied solely on Ji Huaiyuan’s Artifact Refining to make a living, they wouldn’t last long. Giving a few storefronts to the clansmen to run small businesses would at least allow them to be self-sufficient.

"There’s one more thing," Li Yuan said.

Ji Huaiyuan stopped.

"The volume of pills I produce is considerable, but my sales channels are currently limited to within the marketplace. The Ji family has operated in Yunzhou for many years; you should still have plenty of old clients and network connections."

Ji Huaiyuan immediately understood his meaning.

"Pavilion Master Li, are you hoping to use the Ji family’s channels to distribute your goods?"

"Yes. In exchange, I’ll supply the basic pills the Ji family needs daily at cost."

Ji Huaiyuan pondered for a moment.

Although Yunzhou was in chaos, the Ji family had been in business for generations and had dealings with many cultivator families and mid-sized merchant guilds.

Those relationships wouldn’t be completely severed by a single war. As long as they could re-establish contact, the distribution channels for the pills would be set up much faster than starting from scratch.

"Done," Ji Huaiyuan said.

"I’ll handle the introductions for the channels. As for the specific profit-sharing ratios and supply quantities, we can decide those after the first shipment goes through successfully."

With the matter settled, Li Yuan saw the two back to the southern district and then headed for the Spirit Fields on the outskirts of the marketplace.

In the core area of the three-thousand-acre Spirit Fields, a sea of light green filled his vision.

Li Yuan walked inward along the ridges between the fields and soon saw the planting area for the Vascular Grass.

The second batch of Vascular Grass was fully mature. Compared to the first batch, the stalks of these plants were noticeably thicker, and the veins on their leaves were much clearer. Li Yuan crouched down, pulled one out, and gently pinched its stem.

A rich Spirit Liquid seeped from the break, much more than the first batch had yielded.

After being continuously nourished by the Master Level Soil Cultivation Skill for so long, the spirituality in the soil had been completely activated. The improvement in the Spirit Medicine’s quality was visible to the naked eye.

A dozen or so Spirit Farmers were busy in the fields. Small jade shears flashed as stalks of Vascular Grass were cut at the root and neatly placed into wooden baskets lined with moisture-proof cloth. A tall stack of baskets was already piled up by the ridges, waiting to be transported back to the marketplace’s storehouse.

Li Yuan didn’t stay long. He picked up two baskets of the highest-quality Vascular Grass and took them directly back to his stone house.

The doors and windows of the stone house were sealed, and the sound-insulating Array was activated.

Two Pill Furnaces stood side by side.

Five Divine Sense Lines spread out in an instant. The main line probed into the dark red Pill Furnace on the left, where Spiritual Power transformed into crimson Pill Fire, enveloping the bottom of the furnace. Vascular Grass and several supplementary herbs were added in sequence. The second line activated the Divine Soul Manipulation Skill, lifting a ball of Earth Fire beneath the bronze Pill Furnace on the right. The ingredients for the Replenishing Essence Pills were swept up by an unseen force and dropped precisely into the furnace chamber.

The third line was attached to the Spirit Vein, the fourth shrouded the stone house as an early warning system, and the fifth monitored the movements of the Ji family in the southern district.

The two furnaces operated in parallel, one primary and one auxiliary, without interfering with each other.

Two hours later, the left Pill Furnace trembled, and four Vessel Continuation Pills flew out, landing on a jade plate. The sheen on the pills’ surfaces was thicker than the previous batch, and their medicinal fragrance was more lingering.

Immediately after, the bronze Pill Furnace on the right let out a dull thud. Six Replenishing Essence Pills were caught steadily by his Divine Soul’s power and placed into a jade bottle.

Li Yuan didn’t stop. He added new medicinal ingredients to both Pill Furnaces, seamlessly starting the next batch.

That day, the two furnaces ran from afternoon until late at night. Vessel Continuation Pills, Gathering Essence Pills, Soul Condensing Pills, Healing Pills—all sorts of pills flew endlessly from the furnaces, piling up higher and higher in a wooden box in the corner of the stone house.

The next day, Li Yuan took all the pills from the wooden box and lined them up on the table.

Vessel Continuation Pills were placed in cyan jade bottles, Gathering Essence Pills in white jade bottles, Soul Condensing Pills in emerald green jade bottles, and Healing Pills were all sealed in gray ceramic vials. Each type of pill was divided into two piles.

The smaller pile on the left was the daily stock for retail in the storefront.

The much larger pile on the right was prepared specifically for the trade fair.

After sorting the pills, Li Yuan took out the premium Fire Evil Stones recently produced by the mine vein from his storage pouch. This batch of ore had been nourished by both the Fire Cultivation Array and the Cultivating Evil Array, and its quality had improved by a whole grade compared to the initial output. The fusion of Fire Spiritual Power and Evil Qi was extremely uniform, and faint, dark red patterns could even be seen flowing across their surfaces.

He packed the twenty-odd best specimens into a separate ironwood box and affixed a Sealing Spirit Talisman to it.

After finishing his preparations, Li Yuan sat back down at the table and called up his panel.

Condensed Bone-Aspect, Green. Permanence Condition: Reach the Proficient level in three Tier Two Body Refining Techniques. Currently, only the Nameless Body Refining Technique (Perfection Level) and the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill (Master Level) satisfy the condition. A third technique is still needed.

This was the first objective for the trade fair.

A complete Tier Two Body Refining Technique.

’It doesn’t need to be high-grade. As long as its path doesn’t conflict with the first two and I can train it to the Proficient level, it will be enough. Once Condensed Bone-Aspect becomes permanent, my physical strength will rise to another level.’

’The second objective is the High Tier primary ingredients for the Upper Element Pill. The three-hundred-year-old Jade Marrow Mushroom is the most critical shortage, but I also need to look out for Foggy Grass and Earth Spirit Fruit. These things are extremely hard to find on the open market. The trade fair might be an opportunity.’

’The third objective is general resources: pill recipes, Talisman schematics, Array diagrams, Body Refining pills—anything that can bolster my foundations. If I find something suitable, I’ll acquire it.’

Li Yuan committed the objectives to memory and dismissed the panel.

As night fell, the lights in the inner ring of the marketplace were gradually extinguished, leaving only the rhythmic echo of the patrol team’s footsteps on the main street.

Li Yuan sat cross-legged in his stone house, his five Divine Sense Lines spread out as usual. One of them, instead of being attached to the Spirit Vein or the outer perimeter for early warnings, silently extended toward the patrol post in the marketplace’s inner ring.

The garrison Cultivator on whom he had previously detected a faint trace of Demonic Qi was scheduled for the late-night shift tonight.

Forty-five minutes past Midnight, the man got up from his post, exchanged a few quiet words with his replacement, and then walked north along an alley in the inner ring.

Li Yuan’s Divine Sense Line trailed him from a distance.

The man walked at an unhurried pace, his footsteps so steady they nearly blended with the night wind. He didn’t take the main street, instead turning into a narrow alley that led toward the outpost. The alley was flanked by storehouses for miscellaneous goods, frequented during the day but deserted at night.

He stopped at the end of the alley, in a corner piled with the remains of old Array Discs, and crouched down.

He remained there for about twenty breaths.

During this time, he didn’t take out any items or release any Spiritual Power fluctuations. He just crouched there, motionless, as if waiting for something, or perhaps confirming something.

Then he stood up and returned to his post the same way he came, his movements extremely natural.

The entire process had no obvious flaws.

But in Li Yuan’s perception, as the man passed the end of the alley, an extremely faint fluctuation of Evil Qi flashed from the earth beneath his feet before vanishing.

The passive gathering effect of his Evil Essence Unification firmly locked onto the trace of Evil Qi, which was nearly impossible to detect through conventional means.

Li Yuan did not move.

He committed to memory the time the man stopped, his location, and the intensity and direction of the Evil Qi fluctuation in the ground.

This was the second time he had recorded a similar pattern of behavior.

The last time was seven days ago: the same time of night, the same route, the same corner.

Li Yuan withdrew his Divine Sense Line and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

’This thread could provide a lot of useful intelligence.’