Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

On the way back from the Abyssal Rift Valley, Li Yuan slowed his pace.

With his Shadowless Trace technique fully active, his figure vanished into the dense fog of the Ghost Mist Forest. His Golden Core Stage perception spread out from him like a web, capturing every movement within a radius of several miles.

About twenty miles northwest of the market city, three groups of figures appeared in his perception almost simultaneously.

The first to enter his range were two scouts from the Primordial Yang Sect. Both were at the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, clad in standard-issue gray combat attire, and moved swiftly through the high branches. They worked in perfect coordination, maintaining a distance of about one hundred and fifty yards. The one in front was responsible for scouting, the one behind for mapping the terrain.

At almost the same moment, deep within the bushes to the northeast, his Dark Evil Insight detected a flicker of deliberately suppressed Demonic Qi. A Demon Cultivator, also at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, crouched at the base of a giant, rotting tree. He wore a Magical Artifact that concealed his aura, much like the Qi Concealing Pills Li Yuan had previously confiscated. Through a gap in the leaves, he watched the direction of the two Primordial Yang Sect scouts.

’A lookout from the Dark Abyss Association.’

The third group appeared further to the west. Two Cultivators were walking on an old animal trail almost completely covered in moss. They wore off-white daoist robes with a mountain crest embroidered in gold thread on their cuffs.

’Celestial Peak Sect.’

Both were at the Late-stage Foundation Establishment, their steps steady and their demeanor calm. One of them held a Compass-like Magical Artifact, which he consulted every few steps. The other periodically swept the surroundings with his Divine Sense, maintaining a wide perimeter of vigilance.

The scouts from the three factions moved in overlapping patterns within a half-mile radius, at times coming within a few hundred yards of each other.

The Primordial Yang Sect scout in the lead was the first to sense something was amiss. He stopped abruptly, his right hand falling to the Magical Artifact at his waist as he stared in the direction of the hidden Dark Abyss Association lookout for several long moments.

The Demon Cultivator from the Dark Abyss Association tensed, his fingers closing around a pitch-black Talisman, ready to activate it at a moment’s notice.

But neither side made a move.

The scout, however, didn’t seem to have an exact lock on his position, only an instinct that something was wrong in that direction. He gave a hand signal to his partner, and the two seamlessly changed course, swinging north in an arc to move away from the lookout’s hiding spot.

The Demon Cultivator from the Dark Abyss Association slowly relaxed his grip on the Talisman, watching as the two scouts disappeared into the fog.

Meanwhile, the two Cultivators from the Celestial Peak Sect never altered their course. Their path took them directly through the gap between the other two parties. The one holding the Compass would occasionally glance into the distance, his expression placid, as if completely unaware of the tense undercurrents.

The three parties, mutually wary yet restrained, maintained a delicate balance in the increasingly crowded territory of the Ghost Mist Forest.

From his perch high on a dead tree, Li Yuan took in the entire scene.

’The exploratory arms of the three factions have already reached the edges of the Ghost Mist Forest’s interior. They’re less than twenty miles from the Abyssal Rift Valley. At this pace, the first team will reach the valley in ten to fifteen days, tops.’

Without drawing anyone’s attention, he continued on his way back to the market city.

---

When he returned to the market city, Xu Zhang was already waiting outside the stone house.

"How long have you been waiting?"

"An hour." Xu Zhang followed him into the house and, before even taking a seat, pulled a jade slip from his sleeve. He pushed it across the table. "Urgent. It just arrived."

Li Yuan took the jade slip and probed it with his Divine Sense.

Two pieces of intelligence.

The first piece of intel: The Celestial Peak Sect had dispatched another elite team toward the Sunset Glow Corridor. The leader was confirmed to be a Late-stage Golden Core elder of the Sect. His daoist title was unknown, but his power was said to be immense. The team was moving toward Liangzhou and was expected to reach the outpost area in three to five days.

’Late-stage Golden Core.’

’The elder from the Primordial Yang Sect stationed at the outpost is only at the Early-stage Golden Core. By sending a Late-stage Golden Core expert, the Celestial Peak Sect isn’t just cooperating—they’re asserting dominance.’

The second piece of intelligence was even more significant.

The identity of the Evil Slaying Sect’s Golden Core Cultivator stationed at Black Water Valley had been confirmed by the guild’s intelligence network. His daoist title was Blood Evil, a Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator ranked second in power within the Evil Slaying Sect. He was infamous for his blood-refining Secret Technique, his hands stained with the blood of countless righteous cultivators, and was a permanent fixture on the most-wanted lists of the sects around Liangzhou.

Li Yuan lowered the jade slip.

"How certain is this?"

"Over eighty percent," Xu Zhang said, his expression grave. "Ten years ago, Blood Evil massacred a small sect in southern Jingzhou. His methods were exceptionally cruel—not one of the sect’s three hundred-plus members survived. The Celestial Peak Sect put out a kill order on him, but he was never caught. The guild has had specialists tracking his movements for years, and this time, the identity was confirmed by cross-referencing reports from our informants near Black Water Valley."

’Late-stage Golden Core. Second most powerful in the Evil Slaying Sect.’

’And the Primordial Yang Sect’s expert? Early-stage Golden Core.’

’A difference of two minor realms.’

’If the Celestial Peak Sect’s Late-stage Golden Core elder doesn’t get involved, the Primordial Yang Sect is completely outmatched at the highest level. But the Celestial Peak Sect isn’t getting involved to help them; they have their own agenda.’

After Xu Zhang left, Li Yuan sat at the table and reviewed the situation.

’The Golden Core Level powers of three factions are about to clash in the Ghost Mist Forest. Primordial Yang Sect: Early-stage Golden Core. Celestial Peak Sect: Late-stage Golden Core. Evil Slaying Sect: Late-stage Golden Core. And I’m at the Early-stage Golden Core, but I can’t reveal my identity.’

---

「That night, at Midnight.」

Li Yuan slipped into the Ghost Mist Forest once more.

This time, his destination wasn’t the Abyssal Rift Valley, but the three anomalous points on the northern line.

The low-lying basin, the sheer cliff, and the poison marsh. He had investigated all three during his Foundation Establishment Stage, but he had always examined them individually. Each time, he had either found nothing or detected only the briefest flicker of a Demonic Qi harmonic.

His Golden Core Stage perception gave him an entirely new perspective.

He spent the entire night moving between the three locations. He no longer examined them one by one; instead, he encompassed all three within his perception at once, analyzing them as a whole from the perspective of Arrays and Earth Veins.

His perception, attuned to the Earth Veins, penetrated the surface, delving hundreds of feet deep into the rock formations beneath the three locations.

The geological features of the three locations were completely different. The low-lying basin was a soft sedimentary layer, the cliff was hard granite, and the poison marsh was a peat layer rich in humus.

But deeper still, three extremely fine branch lines of the Earth Vein extended downward from each location, all converging in a single direction.

They didn’t merge into the main Spirit Vein, but instead connected to a network of man-made underground tunnels.

The modifications to the tunnels were ancient, their style consistent with the diversion systems of the Profound Nether Sect. The Earth Vein branches at the three locations were, in fact, the openings at the end of this tunnel network.

’Vents. Or more accurately, air holes.’

’Just as a massive underground structure requires ventilation, this system of ruins left three inconspicuous vents on the surface. Normally, almost no energy leaks from them. But under specific conditions, the aura from within seeps up through the tunnels and out of these three openings.’

Li Yuan recorded the precise coordinates of the three vents, the direction of the tunnels, and their respective geological features, sketching a simple map of the outer layout on a blank sheet of talisman paper.

The annotations on the map used his own self-created shorthand, with no text for explanation. If it were to fall into enemy hands, they would see nothing but a meaningless collection of dots and curves.

Once the map was drawn, Li Yuan returned to a spot above the low-lying basin, sat cross-legged, and pushed the precision of his Dark Evil Insight to its absolute limit.

At the Golden Core Stage, his Dark Evil Insight was far more powerful, allowing him to capture deep-layer Demonic Qi harmonics completely undetectable to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. The signals, filtered through thick layers of rock until only a ten-thousandth of their original strength remained, now throbbed in his perception as clearly as a heartbeat.

He collected the signals from all three vents simultaneously, comparing their frequencies and phases one by one.

The oscillations were periodic.

’The harmonic frequencies from the three vents are perfectly synchronized, and the phase difference is constant. This proves they all come from the same source.’

Li Yuan put away the map and returned to the market city.

Back in the stone house, he didn’t rest.

’The window of opportunity is limited. The three Golden Core powers are about to clash, and the situation in the Ghost Mist Forest could change dramatically at any moment. As soon as a Golden Core Cultivator enters the Abyssal Rift Valley, the exploration rights for the entire ruin will be instantly claimed.’

’I have to speed up the process of shattering and reforming my Core.’

He took a list of supplementary materials for Core Formation that he had been compiling from his storage bag and checked it item by item.

’I’m still missing two key supplementary medicines for Spiritual Power Core Formation, but I can get them through Xu Zhang’s channels. The Array to stabilize my Dantian needs higher-quality boundary stones, which should be for sale in the White Mirror market city. As for a failsafe when shattering my core, the permanent trait from my Demon Pill has that covered, so I don’t need to prepare anything extra.’

’As for the location, I’ll use the Mozhou Spirit Vein. When I shatter and reforge my Core, I’ll re-equip the Spirit Vein into its special slot. With my control authority over it, I can guide the Spiritual Qi, and combined with the permanent Spiritual Power quality bonus from its Spirit Nurturing effect, I’ll have all the conditions met to aim for a Top-grade Golden Core.’

After mapping out the process, Li Yuan began to cultivate.

After his breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage, the quantity and quality of his Spiritual Power had undergone a fundamental transformation. This change had an immediate and pronounced effect when applied to his Body Refining Techniques.

At dawn, Li Yuan exhaled a turbid breath and clenched his fists. A series of sharp cracks echoed from his knuckles. The elasticity and resilience of his tendons had risen to a new level.

[Golden Body Skill: Proficient → Minor Achievement (0/1600)]