Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 246: Chapter 238: Special Equipment

After returning to his stone house, Li Yuan sorted through the items in his storage bag.

Two Red Flame Condensing Essence Pills rested on the left side of the table, their fiery-red surfaces radiating a warm, restrained glow.

A Tier Two Low Grade Water Element Beast Core sat on the right, its deep blue surface giving off a cold gleam.

The condition to make Hundred Rivers to the Sea permanent was to consume two Tier Two pills of conflicting attributes at the same time. The Fire Attribute and Water Attribute were in conflict.

The Red Flame Condensing Essence Pill was a Tier Two Fire Attribute pill, so that part of the condition was clear.

The Water Element Beast Core was a Demon Beast Core, not a medicinal pill. But in essence, it was a Tier Two Water Attribute energy crystal, differing from a pill only in its origin.

’The condition specifies a "pill," not necessarily a "pill refined by a Pill Master."’

Li Yuan hesitated no longer. He picked up a Red Flame Condensing Essence Pill with his left hand and the Water Element Beast Core with his right, popping them both into his mouth at the same time.

’If this doesn’t work, the worst-case scenario is I go live in the mortal region for a month, make my aura concealment permanent, and gather the five blue traits I need.’

The instant the two items—pill and core—entered his stomach, two completely different energies erupted from his abdomen.

The Fire Attribute Spiritual Power was scorching and violent, like a mass of molten lava churning in his abdomen. The Water Attribute Spiritual Power was icy and serene, like a cold spring welling up from the depths of his belly.

The two energies collided head-on within his abdomen.

The clash of fire and water triggered violent tremors throughout his body. The Spiritual Power in his meridians was pulled by both energies at once, half of it skewing toward the Fire Attribute and the other half toward the Water Attribute. Violent ripples churned across the surface of the liquid Spiritual Power in his Dantian, as if two giant boulders had been dropped into a calm lake at the same time.

At that moment, the effect of the Hundred Rivers to the Sea trait activated automatically.

The circulation of his Spiritual Power, Qi Blood, and Mana began to automatically coordinate and optimize. Under the guidance of Hundred Rivers to the Sea, the head-on collision of the fire and water energies transformed into a spiraling, interwoven flow. The two energies no longer repelled each other but instead circulated within his body along their own paths. Any conflict at their points of intersection was neutralized by the effect of Hundred Rivers to the Sea.

The tremors gradually subsided.

The two energies were completely absorbed into his body. The Fire Attribute Spiritual Power strengthened the channels of his Fire Element meridians, while the Water Attribute Spiritual Power permeated the lowest level of his Dantian, adding depth and complexity to his Spiritual Power.

The panel popped up.

[Hundred Rivers to the Sea (Blue) - Permanence Condition Met]

[Make Permanent?]

Yes.

[Permanence Successful]

[Hundred Rivers to the Sea (Blue) has become a permanent trait]

[Equipped Item Consumed]

His fifth blue trait was now permanent.

Immediately after, a second notification appeared on the panel.

[Number of Permanent Blue Traits: 5/5]

[Unlock Condition Met]

[Unlocked: Special Trait Equipment Slot ×1]

A Special Trait Equipment Slot.

A new slot appeared at the bottom of the panel, parallel to the regular equipment slots, but its design was clearly different. The regular equipment slots were five square boxes, while there was only one special equipment slot, shaped like a hexagon with edges that glowed with a faint golden light.

The slot was empty.

Li Yuan took an equippable item from his storage bag and held it in his hand.

The regular equipment slots on the panel began to flash slowly, but the special equipment slot showed no change, nor did any notification appear.

The notifications that appeared were all for the regular equipment slots.

’This means the special slot is for equipping something... special.’

Li Yuan put the item away and didn’t dwell on the matter. The special equipment slot had just been unlocked; he would find out what it was for when the time came.

In the afternoon, Chen Yi arrived.

This time, Chen Yi’s expression was more serious than usual.

He sat down at the stone table inside the house and placed a bamboo scroll on its surface.

"The results of the investigation into the Token are in."

Li Yuan sat down opposite him.

Chen Yi unrolled the bamboo scroll, revealing it was covered in densely packed text.

"That Token belongs to a faction called the Dark Abyss Association."

’The Dark Abyss Association.’

"A Demon Cultivator organization," Chen Yi said.

"But it’s not like the Demon Sects of the past. A Demon Sect was a complete sect, presided over by Golden Core experts, with its own system and territory. The Dark Abyss Association’s structure is extremely loose, more like a network of scattered Demon Cultivators connected through their Tokens."

He tapped a line of text on the bamboo scroll with his finger.

"The barrier to entry is very low. As long as you have a Token and possess Demonic Qi, you can visit their strongholds. But you have to disguise your aura before entering; you can’t just walk around openly as a Demon Cultivator."

He turned the bamboo scroll to the next section.

"Here’s the important part."

His tone grew heavy.

"The Dark Abyss Association’s strongholds have some kind of special Array or Restriction set up inside. After entering, the strength of any non-Demon Cultivator is suppressed. The efficiency of their Spiritual Power circulation is reduced, the power of their Magic is diminished, and their physical constitution and Divine Soul are also weakened to varying degrees."

He looked at Li Yuan.

"Only Cultivators who practice demonic techniques can use their full strength inside the strongholds. In other words, even if a righteous Cultivator manages to sneak in, their power will be drastically reduced."

’Non-Demon Cultivators have their power suppressed, while Demon Cultivators are unaffected.’

"With the power these remnant Demon Cultivators possess, it’s impossible for them to sustain an operation of this scale on their own." Chen Yi rolled up the bamboo scroll. "The craftsmanship of the Tokens, the Arrays and Restrictions inside their strongholds, the communication network spanning multiple locations—all of these things would require vast resources and an extremely high level of attainment in the Array Dao to build."

He put the scroll away.

"The Sect believes it’s highly likely that another Demon Cultivator faction is backing the Dark Abyss Association. We are still investigating which specific faction it is."

Li Yuan committed this information to memory.

’Dark Abyss Association. A loose organization. Entry requires a Token and Demonic Qi. Inside their strongholds, non-Demon Cultivators are suppressed. And there’s a greater power behind them.’

"The Sect will continue its investigation," Chen Yi said, standing up. "You just need to remain vigilant. If anyone with Demonic Qi shows up in the marketplace again, just keep them under surveillance. Don’t tip our hand."

Li Yuan nodded.

After Chen Yi left, Li Yuan sat cross-legged and cultivated for a while before getting up, leaving the marketplace, and flying toward the Evil Ore mine.

The Evil Ore vein was located south of the deep parts of the Ghost Mist Forest. He had previously laid down a two-layer Gathering Evil Array that covered the mine’s entrance and a fifty-zhang radius around it. But the vein itself extended much further, stretching deeper where the concentration of Evil Qi was even higher.

To allow other Cultivators to come in and mine, the coverage of the Gathering Evil Array needed to be expanded.

Carrying a batch of Array Foundation Stones and Conductive Spirit Sand, Li Yuan began setting up a 3rd layer for the Gathering Evil Array deeper inside the mine.

He used Evil Ore as a substitute for the Array Foundation Stones, saving on material costs. The Conductive Spirit Sand was laid along the tunnel walls, its path curving to follow the mine’s natural contours.

As he was setting one of the Array Foundation Stones in place, Li Yuan’s fingers pressed against a piece of Evil Ore, pushing it into a groove in the tunnel wall.

At that exact moment, a notification popped up for the special equipment slot.

[Special Equipment Detected: Evil Vein (Incomplete)]

[This object can be equipped in the Special Equipment Slot]

Li Yuan’s movements froze.

’An Evil Vein.’

’Not the Evil Ore, not the Array Foundation Stone, but the Evil Vein.’

’The entire ore vein.’

’The object for the special equipment slot isn’t an item, but the vein itself.’

Li Yuan chose to view the detailed information.

A new line of text unfolded on the panel.

[Equippable Object: Evil Vein (Incomplete)]

[Current Status: Vein incomplete, some areas not yet explored. Cannot be equipped.]

[Equipment Condition: Fully explore the entire vein]

’The vein is incomplete. I need to explore it fully before I can equip it.’

Standing deep in the mine tunnel, Li Yuan extended his Divine Sense toward the far reaches of the vein.

The vein continued downward and deeper, with unexplored areas still ahead. He had only set up the Gathering Evil Array near the entrance before and hadn’t thoroughly explored the entire vein.

’I need to explore the entire vein.’

Li Yuan finished setting up the current Gathering Evil Array, then continued along the mine tunnel, heading deeper.

The concentration of Evil Qi climbed sharply, but his Evil Essence Unity ability operated at full capacity, absorbing all of the surging Evil Qi.

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