Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 242: Chapter 234: Evil Ore

The new market town was officially completed after more than half a month.

The construction team sent by the Primordial Yang Sect sped up their progress in the last month. The stone houses, shops, warehouse, and main road were all completed. The five-layered Gathering Evil Array operated stably, and the concentration of Evil Qi within the market town’s range was on par with the outskirts of Yunyang Market.

The market town wasn’t large, but it was fully functional. Over thirty shops lined both sides of the main street, most of which already had tenants. At the end of the street was a two-story warehouse, guarded by administrative personnel stationed by the Primordial Yang Sect.

Dozens of stalls were marked out in the square at the center of the market town, for Loose Cultivators to set up temporary stalls for trade.

On the first day of business, over a hundred Loose Cultivators showed up. Most were familiar faces who were active around the Ghost Mist Forest, but some had rushed over from even farther away.

In the following days, the foot traffic in the market town grew steadily.

The reason was simple. Location.

The new market town was situated on the edge of the Ghost Mist Forest. To the west was Lingxi Valley, and to the east, through the Ghost Mist Forest, was the Withered River Shoal. These three areas were frequent haunts for Loose Cultivators, who bustled back and forth between them to gather herbs, hunt Demon Beasts, and mine ore.

Previously, these Loose Cultivators had to return to Yunyang Market to resupply every time they went out, wasting a lot of time on the round trip. Now, the new market town was right at the junction of these three areas, allowing them to resupply, trade, and rest conveniently nearby.

In less than half a month, the market town had replaced most of the functions of the outer areas of Yunyang Market. Many of the Loose Cultivators who had originally set up stalls on the outskirts of Yunyang Market moved directly to the new market town.

The market town’s plans also reserved a large amount of empty land. The shops on both sides of the main street only took up about thirty percent of the total area, with the rest designated for future expansion. At the current rate of growth, the first phase of expansion would be needed before long.

After the market town’s operations were on the right track, Chen Yi brought another piece of news.

The Primordial Yang Sect’s mining team had discovered a new ore vein deep within the Ghost Mist Forest.

It wasn’t a Spirit Iron mine, but an Evil Ore mine.

The ore contained not Spiritual Qi, but Evil Qi. Evil Ore had few uses, mainly for refining certain special Magical Artifacts and for the Array Foundation Stones used to set up a Gathering Evil Array. Market demand was limited, and the price wasn’t high.

"The vein’s reserves aren’t large, and the quality is average."

Chen Yi sat at the stone table in Li Yuan’s stone house and pointed out the vein’s location on a map. "The Sect assessed it. The mining costs and potential returns would basically break even. It’s not worth sending a dedicated team to excavate."

He paused for a moment.

"However, there are signs of Demon Beast activity in the mine. Claw marks, droppings, and even ore that’s been chewed on. The people from the Sect speculate that the Demon Armor Giant Beetle you encountered in the mine shaft before might have come from this Evil Ore vein."

Evil-type Demon Beasts feed on Evil Qi, making Evil Ore their natural food source.

"The Sect’s decision is to assign this Evil Ore vein to you." Chen Yi pushed the map toward Li Yuan. "It’s not profitable for the Sect to mine it anyway, and since you practice an Evil Qi Cultivation Technique, you can make good use of it. You can mine the Evil Ore from the vein as you please, and you can also use the Evil Ore to substitute for the Array Foundation Stones of the Gathering Evil Array, saving you a good bit on material costs."

Li Yuan glanced at the location marked on the map.

The Evil Ore vein was deep in the Ghost Mist Forest, toward the south, about six hundred zhang from the new market town. It wasn’t too far, but it was outside the range of the Gathering Evil Array, and the Evil Qi concentration was very high.

"Alright."

After Chen Yi left, Li Yuan made a mental note of the matter. The Evil Ore mine was not urgent; he would deal with it after the market town’s affairs had stabilized further.

「A few more days passed.」

A group of traveling merchants arrived at the market town.

Traveling merchants were a vital link between Loose Cultivator settlements and market towns. They bustled back and forth between various markets, earning Spirit Stones through informational arbitrage and transportation fees. After news of the new market town’s completion spread, many traveling merchants added it to their routes.

Li Yuan took a walk down the market’s main street. His "entry perception" was constantly active within a three-chi radius, scanning the roadside stalls and passing pedestrians.

As he neared the square, the perceptual effect of his Demon Essence Incarnation suddenly reacted.

Demonic Qi.

The Demonic Qi was coming from a person.

Li Yuan didn’t break his stride, his gaze discreetly sweeping over the crowd in the square.

His perception locked onto the target.

A middle-aged Cultivator in a dark gray robe, at Late-stage Qi Refining, was squatting in front of a stall, looking through some Spirit Grass. His appearance was no different from that of an ordinary traveling merchant; his aura was steady, and his movements were natural.

But a trace of Demonic Qi lingered deep within his body.

The concentration wasn’t high—considerably fainter than that of the Demon Cultivator who was killed before—but it was definitely there.

Li Yuan walked past him without a second glance and continued on his way.

After returning to his stone house, Li Yuan sat down and thought for a moment.

’Someone with Demonic Qi has appeared in the market town. I need to confirm this traveling merchant’s identity, but I can’t act rashly. The last Demon Cultivator attacked me first in a remote part of the station, so killing him in self-defense was fine. Here in the market, with people coming and going, attacking him directly would cause a panic.’

’First, I’ll observe. I’ll see what this person does, who he interacts with, and where he goes.’

’If I can confirm he’s a Demon Cultivator, then I’ll deal with him.’

Li Yuan set the matter aside for the time being and took something else out of his storage bag.

The Inner Core of a Tier Two evil-type Demon Beast, which the short-bearded cultivator had sent over later.

The Inner Core was of good quality. Its dark gray surface shimmered with the uniquely heavy luster of Evil Qi, and its Spiritual Power fluctuations were stable.

The condition to make the "Evil Spirit Transformation" entry on the Evil Spirit Banner permanent was to consume one Tier Two evil-type Demon Beast Core.

’I have the Inner Core now. There’s no reason to wait any longer.’

Li Yuan placed the Inner Core in his palm, opened his mouth, and swallowed it.

The moment the Inner Core entered his stomach, a heavy and dense wave of Evil Qi exploded from his abdomen.

The concentration of Evil Qi was extremely high, far surpassing any source of Evil Qi he had encountered during his usual cultivation. His "Evil Essence Unity" activated automatically at the first instant, intercepting the Evil Qi that was surging into his meridians and organs, and drawing it into its passive processing cycle.

The Evil Qi seeped into his muscles and bones along the Body Tempering path, scoured his Divine Soul nodes along the Soul Tempering path, and was converted into Spiritual Power to replenish his Dantian along the conversion path. The three paths operated at full capacity simultaneously, rapidly digesting the Evil Qi contained within the Inner Core.

Replenished by the converted Evil Qi, the Spiritual Power in his Dantian slowly rose, and the total amount of liquid Spiritual Power increased.

His cultivation was increasing.

The energy within the Inner Core was extremely abundant, and the digestion process lasted for nearly two shichen.

After the Evil Qi was completely digested, the panel popped up.

[Evil Spirit Transformation (Blue) permanence condition has been met]

[Make permanent?]

Yes.

[Permanence successful]

[Evil Spirit Transformation (Blue) has become a permanent entry]

[Equipment consumed]

The fourth blue entry was now permanent.

An equipment slot had been freed up.

Li Yuan checked the change in his cultivation.

After the Evil Qi from the Inner Core was converted into Spiritual Power, the total amount of liquid Spiritual Power in his Dantian had grown noticeably. He was still some distance from the threshold of Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, but it was no longer far off.

At his current cultivation speed, coupled with the Evil Qi supply from the Gathering Evil Array’s Array Foundation Stones, it would take roughly another few months to half a year.

Li Yuan organized his equipment slots, then sat down cross-legged to continue his cultivation.

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