Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Deep in the mine tunnels, the sound of chipping echoed ceaselessly.

The Wang family’s mining team had been working at the second excavation point for nearly half a month. The Fire Evil Stones deep within the convergence zone were of a much higher quality than those at the first point, and their daily output was steadily climbing.

Wang Ting’an was directing them from the side.

Li Yuan did not go to the Spirit Fields or the management office today. Early in the morning, he had gone to Ji Huaiyuan’s residence in the South District.

Ji Huaiyuan was in the backyard of his Artifact Refining workshop, a half-quenched flying sword laid out before him.

"Ji Huaiyuan, I was hoping to ask for your advice regarding Lifebound Spiritual Artifacts."

Ji Huaiyuan put down his forging hammer and wiped his hands.

"Are you thinking of refining a Lifebound Spiritual Artifact?"

"I’m still considering it."

Ji Huaiyuan nodded.

"If you decide to go through with it, just tell me what materials you’ve chosen, and I’ll refine it for you."

"Different materials have different properties. It’s best to choose one that aligns with your primary Cultivation Technique."

Li Yuan nodded his thanks. Just as he was about to ask for advice on materials, an extremely faint tremor ran through the ground beneath his feet.

His perception of the Earth Veins instantly fed him information.

The tremor came from deep within the mine, from the direction of the second excavation point. It wasn’t the fluctuation of an Array, nor was it the normal vibration of mining. It was a deeper, more muffled resonance of Spiritual Power.

Immediately after, a Cultivator who looked like a miner came running from the direction of the South District, his head covered in sweat.

"Pavilion Master Li! Something’s happened at the second excavation point!"

"Speak."

"When the brothers were digging at the deepest part of the convergence zone, they broke through a particularly hard rock shell. There’s a huge hole underneath, full of scalding air currents, and we heard roaring! All the workers have pulled back."

Li Yuan glanced at Ji Huaiyuan.

"Let’s go take a look."

Ji Huaiyuan set his forging hammer on the table, stood up, and followed.

The three of them descended quickly along the mine tunnel. The deeper they went, the higher the temperature rose, and the concentration of Fire Element Spiritual Qi and Evil Qi in the air climbed sharply.

When they reached the deepest part of the second excavation point, the miners had all retreated to the upper tunnels, huddled far back behind a bend.

Li Yuan walked to the very front.

A large hole, about two zhang in diameter, had been carved into the mine wall before them. The cross-section of the rock layer at the edge of the hole was extremely clear. The outermost layer was ordinary granite, the middle was the normal vein of the Fire Evil Stone deposit, and the innermost layer was a nearly black, dense rock shell. It was exceptionally hard, and the chiseled opening showed numerous white impact marks left by hammerheads.

An irregular-shaped opening had been smashed through the rock shell.

A blast of scorching air billowed out from the opening, carrying a strong smell of sulfur and an extremely high concentration of Fire Evil Spiritual Qi. The heat wave washed over their faces, and even Li Yuan felt a slight sting on the surface of his skin.

Looking down through the opening, there was only a pitch-black void.

A low roar, filled with obvious hostility, echoed up from the dark depths.

"A natural cavern," Ji Huaiyuan said from behind him, his voice slightly muffled by the heat wave. "When a Fire Vein and an Evil Vein converge deep underground, the clash of Spiritual Power can sometimes form a cavity like this. The Spiritual Qi concentration inside is usually extremely high, making it easy for Demon Beasts to breed."

Li Yuan didn’t say another word and leaped into the opening.

Ji Huaiyuan followed close behind. After a moment’s hesitation, Wang Ting’an followed as well.

The three of them slowly descended along the cavern wall.

The scale of the cavern far exceeded their expectations.

The space inside was vast. A rough estimate put its depth at over ten zhang, and its horizontal expanse stretched out of sight. The cavern walls were covered in large, dark red mineral crystals that cast a dim, crimson glow under the illumination of the Fire Element Spiritual Qi, bathing the entire cavern in a world of dark red.

The temperature was several times higher than in the mine tunnels.

The concentration of Fire Evil Spiritual Qi in the air was extremely high—Li Yuan’s initial assessment was that it was at least ten times greater than on the surface.

In this environment, the permanent trait of his Flame-Evil Spiritual Essence began to operate frantically. His Spiritual Power recovery and cultivation efficiency both skyrocketed.

The three landed at the bottom of the cavern.

The rocky ground underfoot was scalding, and a searing heat radiated through the soles of their boots.

The roar sounded again, closer this time. The source was in the very center of the cavern.

Li Yuan’s gaze swept across the area.

On a massive, fiery-red rock in the center of the cavern, a Demon Beast the size of a water buffalo was coiled. Its body was covered in dark red scales, and small flames licked out from the gaps between them. A pair of crimson, vertical pupils stared fixedly at the three intruders as it let out a low, threatening growl.

A Tier Two Middle Grade Fire Demon Beast.

It had lived for years in this high-concentration Fire Evil environment, feeding on the essence of the cavern’s mineral veins. It was incredibly tough, making it almost immune to Fire Element Magic.

But to Li Yuan, it was still just a Tier Two Middle Grade beast.

The Fire Demon Beast attacked first. It opened its massive maw, and a pillar of crimson fire shot toward Li Yuan. The pillar was as thick as a water tank, carrying a terrifying heat wave that instantly evaporated the moisture in the cavern’s air.

Li Yuan dodged to the side. The pillar of fire grazed his shoulder and slammed into the cavern wall behind him, sending a shower of shattered rock flying.

He pushed off his feet and shot forward.

His Flame-Evil Spiritual Essence’s affinity for Fire Element Spiritual Qi rendered the cavern’s high temperature completely ineffective against him. He fully activated his Iron Bones and Golden Body, gathering a thick layer of Evil Qi around his right fist.

His fist smashed heavily onto the Fire Demon Beast’s head.

Spirit-Breaking Sharp Blade pierced through the protective layer of Spiritual Power on its scales, and rampant Evil Qi poured into its skull.

The Fire Demon Beast let out a bloodcurdling shriek. Its massive body slid back several zhang, a large patch of its scales shattering.

It struggled to get up, but Li Yuan had already closed the distance, his second fist striking the very same spot.

The sound of a cracking skull echoed through the cavern.

The Fire Demon Beast’s body collapsed heavily. It twitched a few times, then fell completely still.

From attack to kill, it had taken no more than three breaths of time.

Ji Huaiyuan and Wang Ting’an walked forward.

"Clean and decisive," Ji Huaiyuan remarked, his gaze flicking over the Fire Demon Beast’s corpse with a hint of admiration.

Li Yuan crouched down and rolled the Fire Demon Beast’s corpse over.

Beneath the body, an extremely narrow mineral vein was exposed in the rock. The vein was less than half a chi wide, but its surface was a rare, deep purplish-red, and its Spiritual Power fluctuations were several times stronger than an ordinary Fire Evil Stone.

"A refined vein," Wang Ting’an gasped, crouching down to examine it closely. "A single Fire Evil Stone of this quality is worth ten of the ones outside."

Li Yuan ignored the vein. Instead, he reached into the Fire Demon Beast’s shattered skull and pulled out a thumb-sized, dark red Inner Core.

The Inner Core was scalding to the touch, and the Fire Evil Spiritual Qi sealed within was exceptionally pure.

A panel popped up.

[Detectable Equippable Item: Fire Evil Core (Intact)]

[Equipment Trait Preview: Flame-Evil Body Tempering (Green)]

[Effect: Increases physical resistance to Fire and Evil Element damage by 30%. Increases cultivation efficiency in high-temperature, high-Evil-Qi environments by an additional 20%.]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Cultivate continuously for thirty days in an environment with extremely high Fire Evil Spiritual Qi concentration (0/30)]

[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace a currently equipped item?]

Li Yuan glanced at the permanence condition.

Cultivate continuously for thirty days in an environment with extremely high Fire Evil Spiritual Qi concentration.

He looked around.

The entire cavern was a natural gathering place for Fire Evil Spiritual Qi, with a concentration more than ten times that of the surface. If he came down to cultivate for a few hours each day, he could easily fulfill the thirty-day requirement.

"Equip."

[Equipped: Fire Evil Core (Intact)]

[Flame-Evil Body Tempering (Green) is now active.]

[Permanence Condition for Flame-Evil Body Tempering (Green): Cultivate continuously for thirty days in an environment with extremely high Fire Evil Spiritual Qi concentration (0/30)]

The moment the trait took effect, an extremely thin, fiery-red membrane of light seeped out from the Inner Core, spreading through his veins to cover the layer just beneath his skin. The cavern’s previously uncomfortable, scorching heat suddenly diminished by more than half, and even the stinging sensation from the ambient Evil Qi became much milder.

Li Yuan stood up and looked at Wang Ting’an.

"I’ll leave the refined vein for you to excavate. Don’t touch the deeper parts of the cavern; leave them for my cultivation."

Wang Ting’an nodded repeatedly.

"Understood. I’ll bring some men in right away."

Just as the three were about to return the way they came, Wang Ting’an suddenly pointed to the western wall of the cavern and shouted.

"There seems to be a side path over there."

Li Yuan turned to look.

On the western wall of the cavern, an unnatural opening was indeed visible in a fissure in the rock. The edges of the opening were not the curved lines of natural erosion, but the flat, straight cuts of artificial excavation.

However, the passage was completely blocked by a large amount of collapsed rubble.

Li Yuan walked to the opening and planted his feet on the ground.

His perception of the Earth Veins instantly penetrated the layer of rubble, extending deep inside.

The information his perception fed back to him made his brow twitch slightly.

Behind the layer of rubble was a uniform mine tunnel, about five chi wide and seven chi high. The walls of the tunnel had been polished smooth, and the rock held traces of extremely ancient Spiritual Power.

The style of the wall treatment and the characteristics of the residual Spiritual Power were identical to the secret passages he had previously discovered beneath the marketplace.

’This is all Profound Nether Sect work.’

Li Yuan’s perception continued to extend deeper into the mine tunnel. Beyond the rubble, the tunnel snaked to the northwest, extending for about a hundred zhang before it went beyond the range of his Earth Vein perception.

’There might be a network of ancient tunnels under the entire Ghost Mist Forest, far more vast than I ever imagined.’

Li Yuan retracted his perception and turned to Ji Huaiyuan and Wang Ting’an.

"We won’t touch this old mine tunnel for now. Don’t clear the rubble blocking it, and don’t let any workers near it."

Ji Huaiyuan nodded, not asking any questions.

Wang Ting’an agreed, but his gaze lingered on the collapsed opening for an extra moment.

The three returned to the surface the way they came.