Chapter 409 - 391: Profound Stone
After returning to Liangzhou, Li Yuan didn’t rush to deal with the spoils from the Mozhou ambush.
He spread a copy of the northern supply route map on his desk and brought up the data that Dark Evil Insight had accumulated through passive surveillance, comparing the two point by point.
The route map marked three waystations. The first was on the northeastern outskirts of the Ghost Mist Forest, the second in a hilly area on the northern border, and the third’s location was marked vaguely, only reading "near the Profound Stone mine."
In the surveillance data from Dark Evil Insight, there was indeed a persistent Demonic Qi signal source on the northern edge of the Ghost Mist Forest. The signal wasn’t strong, but it was extremely stable, unlike the intermittent fluctuations of a temporary stronghold. It was more like a fixed facility in long-term operation.
The location of the signal source was a perfect match for the third waystation marked on the route map.
Li Yuan overlaid the two sets of data and drew a circle on the map.
The northern edge of the Ghost Mist Forest, about one hundred and forty li from the market city.
「That night, at Midnight.」
With his stealth technique fully active, Li Yuan left the market city and sped along the northern route.
In less than the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, the target area appeared within his sensory range.
It was an open area where hills and forest met. The surface was covered with low shrubs and gravel, looking no different from the wilderness on the outskirts of the Ghost Mist Forest. But when Dark Evil Insight penetrated the surface, the scene underground was completely different.
A mine.
Between ten and thirty zhang underground lay a crisscrossing network of mining tunnels. The scale of the tunnels was considerable; the main passage was about two zhang wide, with branch tunnels as dense as a spiderweb. Judging from the excavation marks left on the tunnel walls, this mine was originally for excavating Profound Stone. Profound Stone is a common supplementary material for Arrays; its quality is average, but it’s used in huge quantities, making it a bulk consumable in the cultivation world.
The shallower levels of the mine had already been dug out and abandoned. But at the deepest level, around thirty zhang underground, the structure of the tunnels changed significantly.
The naturally excavated tunnels had been artificially reinforced. The walls were recast with some kind of black material, the floors were laid with Spirit Copper pipes, and at regular intervals, a Lighting Array Stone powered by Demonic Qi was embedded.
A forward base modified by the Dark Abyss Association.
Li Yuan pushed the precision of his senses to the limit and carefully scanned the base’s interior.
Thirteen Demonic Qi signals. Two were Late-stage Foundation Establishment, five were Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, and six were Early-stage Foundation Establishment. It was a fair number of people, but their overall combat strength wasn’t particularly outstanding. There was no Golden Core Cultivator overseeing the base.
The base’s layout was oblong, stretching along the deepest main tunnel. The front was a guard zone, the middle held the living quarters and supply warehouse, and the end was an area currently under construction.
Li Yuan’s attention focused on the far end.
At the end of the construction area, the tunnel connected to a naturally formed fissure in the rock strata. The fissure ran northwest, pointing directly toward the heart of the Ghost Mist Forest.
The Dark Abyss Association was widening this fissure.
At the construction site, he could sense several Demon Cultivators using Magic in coordination with tools, gradually expanding the fissure from less than a chi wide to a size a person could pass through. Estimating based on the current progress, it would take about ten more days to open up a passage large enough for a single person.
Once the passage was complete, the Dark Abyss Association could bypass all the surface defenses of the Ghost Mist Forest and directly flank the relic site in the hinterland from underground.
This was far stealthier than a surface advance, and also far more dangerous.
Li Yuan hovered for a moment on the surface above the mine, committing the base’s layout, personnel deployment, and construction progress to memory.
He didn’t make a move.
Taking out thirteen Demon Cultivators at once wouldn’t be a problem. But the cost of destroying this base was exposing the extent of his infiltration of the northern route. Once the Dark Abyss Association discovered their northern route had been compromised, they would immediately change all contact codes and supply routes, rendering all previously intercepted intelligence useless.
At this stage, intelligence was more important than resources.
Leaving this base intact meant it could be a continuous source of intelligence.
As Li Yuan prepared to leave, his sensory net swept over a deserted tunnel in the shallower part of the mine. At the end of the tunnel was a pile of discarded ore scraps, their edges rough, their grayish-black surfaces covered in fine crystalline particles.
His Attribute Perception, with its three-chi range, was triggered.
Li Yuan frowned. ’I’m more than twenty zhang away from that pile of scraps, not within three chi. But the sensory signal is definitely there, just so faint it’s almost negligible.’
He sank down, using the Earth Escape Technique to pass through the rock strata and silently approach the pile of scrap ore.
Once the distance closed to within three chi, the panel popped up.
[Equippable Item Detected: Profound Stone (Intact)]
[Equipment Attribute Preview: Demon Qi Condensation (Green)]
[Effect: Increases Demon Qi Refinement Level by 30%]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Reach the ’Introductory’ level in one Tier Two Demon Qi Skill (Not Met)]
’A green attribute. Increases Demon Qi Refinement Level by thirty percent.’
’For a Demon Cultivator, this stone would be a treasure. But I don’t know any Demon Qi Skills right now, so I can’t meet the permanence condition.’
’This Profound Stone is valuable, but it’s not a high priority.’
Li Yuan placed the Profound Stone into his storage bag, deciding not to equip it for now. He would figure out what to do with it later, once he had a Demon Qi Skill.
He retraced his steps out of the mine area and returned to the market city without a sound.
After returning to his stone house, Li Yuan took out the high-quality Pill Furnace.
The experience from his last failed attempt at refining the Celestial Essence Pill had settled in his mind for several days. He had analyzed the reason for the failure clearly: the weaving speed of the Spiritual Power Condensation Field couldn’t keep up with the window for the medicinal liquid to concentrate, causing the deviation of the Spiritual Power Lines to accumulate beyond the tolerable range.
The medicinal ingredients were the second batch of raw materials for the Celestial Essence Pill, purchased from the Yunyang market city.
He ignited the Pill Furnace.
The first step, the second, the third...
The fourth step.
Spiritual Power Condensation Core.
Li Yuan took a deep breath, his Divine Sense probing into the furnace at the same time.
Spiritual Power Lines shot from his fingertips, a full thirty percent faster than last time. The first, second, and third lines landed with precision. The fourth through sixth followed close behind, the margin of error controlled to within a hair’s breadth.
The entire process was flawless.
An extremely faint hum came from within the furnace. It was the unique Spiritual Power resonance that occurred when a pill was forming.
Li Yuan maintained the stable output of the Condensation Field, waiting for the final window for the Solidifying Pill.
After about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the humming gradually subsided.
He retracted his Divine Sense Lines and cut off the Spiritual Power output.
He lifted the furnace lid.
A plump, perfectly round pill lay quietly at the bottom of the furnace. Its body displayed a texture of interwoven pale gold and milky white. The surface had a subdued luster, its medicinal properties perfectly sealed within its core without the slightest bit leaking out.
’A Tier Three Low Grade Celestial Essence Pill. Success.’
Li Yuan took the pill from the furnace, holding it between his fingertips.
The panel popped up.
[Equippable Item Detected: Celestial Essence Pill (Intact)]
[Equipment Attribute Preview: Sustained Core (Blue)]
[Effect: Continuously increases Golden Core solidity by 30%; increases Spiritual Power recovery speed by 50%]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Golden Core Cultivation reaches Mid-stage Golden Core (Not Met)]
’A blue attribute.’
’Increasing Golden Core solidity by thirty percent will provide a direct and continuous boost to my current cultivation. A fifty percent increase in Spiritual Power recovery speed means my recovery time after combat and Alchemy will be drastically reduced.’
’The permanence condition is Mid-stage Golden Core, which I can’t achieve in the short term. But the attribute’s effect activates immediately upon equipping. I’ll just equip it and let it level up over time.’
"Equip."
[Equipped: Celestial Essence Pill (Intact)]
[Sustained Core (Blue) is now active]
A phantom image of the Celestial Essence Pill faded into the equipment slot.
The moment it took effect, a faint halo of light appeared on the surface of the Demon Qi Golden Core in his Dantian. The Golden Core’s rotation speed didn’t change, but the energy released with each pulse became more solid. The recovery speed of his Spiritual Power also increased significantly, and the spent Spiritual Power in his meridians began to replenish at a visible rate.
Li Yuan wiped the Pill Furnace clean and put it away in his storage bag.
Then, one final notification popped up on the panel.
[Alchemy Proficiency: Tier Three - Introductory (0/200)]
Tier Three.
The leap from Tier Two Perfection to Tier Three - Introductory was far more difficult than any breakthrough within Tier Two. But the strength of his Divine Sense at the Golden Core Stage, the bonus from Pill-Formation Refinement, and the precious experience accumulated from that one failed batch had all worked together to push him over this threshold.
From this moment on, he was officially a Pill Refiner capable of creating Tier Three pills.
Although he was only at the introductory level, with enormous room for improvement in his success rate and pill quality, reaching Tier Three - Introductory itself meant his skill in the field of Alchemy had reached a level that most Golden Core Cultivators could only dream of.
Li Yuan stood up, stretching his stiff neck and shoulders.
Outside the window, the sky had brightened, and the faint clamor of the market city could be heard.