Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 266: Chapter 256: Spirit Vein Branch

Inside the stone house, a few items were spread out on the table.

The tattered book’s pages were curled from frequent use, and the Earth Vein Map was covered in a dense web of lines. Li Yuan didn’t read them from the beginning, focusing only on the most critical parts.

First, there were several underground nodes that had been specially marked.

Second, there was the incomplete Earth Vein line that seemed to vaguely connect to the direction of the ruins.

Third, there were the locations of the abnormal backflows he had previously noted.

By cross-referencing these three clues, a direction slowly began to emerge.

It wasn’t directly toward the ruins, nor was it directly toward the Evil Ore mine. Instead, it was in a deeper area situated between the two. The terrain there was complex, with many forests, stone slopes, and faults on the surface. A normal Loose Cultivator wouldn’t intentionally explore in that direction. If not for his earlier abnormal perception and the supplement of the tattered map he had acquired, he would have never guessed something was hidden underground just by looking at the topography.

The next morning, Li Yuan left the market district alone.

He didn’t take the common path toward the outpost and the ruins. Instead, he circled out from the southeast of the market district, skirting the edge of the Ghost Mist Forest for a while. Only after he was completely out of sight did he turn toward the deeper regions.

Along the way, he alternated between using his Vein Probing technique and his Evil Vein perception.

He found nothing for the first half of the day.

But after noon, the terrain ahead suddenly changed.

The once relatively flat, black-soiled woodland began to show large areas of collapse. Fractured stone layers were overturned, as if someone had peeled back the entire surface of the land, exposing the grayish-white rock strata beneath. Several fissures cut horizontally through the forest. The widest was about ten feet across, its dark depths bottomless.

Li Yuan paused at the edge of a fissure. He sent his Vein Probing technique downward, and his brow twitched.

’The Evil Qi is actually weaker here.’

It wasn’t gone, but rather pushed aside by something. It was as if a purer power, buried deeper down, had forcibly created a gap in the surrounding Evil Qi.

He followed the edge of the fissure for several dozen more yards before finally finding a half-hidden entrance beneath a heavily collapsed stone slope.

The entrance wasn’t large. It was mostly obscured by broken rocks and vines, and it slanted down into the earth. The wind blowing out of it was cool and carried no Evil Qi, but rather the scent of exceptionally pure Spiritual Power.

Li Yuan didn’t enter immediately. He first stood outside and probed the area with his Divine Sense for a moment.

The Guiding Talisman was also pointing inside, so Li Yuan finally made his way down the stone slope.

Below was not a mineshaft, but a naturally formed subterranean karst layer.

The stone walls were smooth from water erosion, rising and falling, widening and narrowing unpredictably. Large, grayish-white stalactites hung from the ceiling, and the ground was a crust of stone that had dried, cracked, and then re-fused. The most peculiar thing was the Spiritual Power in the air. Although not dense, it was incredibly pure. A single breath made the Spiritual Power in his Dantian feel a little lighter.

Further ahead, a faint line of light suddenly appeared in the depths of the cave.

It wasn’t fire, nor was it an Array Pattern. It was a kind of natural Spiritual Radiance, clinging to the stone walls and ground like a thin mist.

Li Yuan paused, slowly extending his Divine Sense toward it.

Ahead was a tributary of a Spirit Vein, buried between the subterranean rock layers.

It wasn’t large in scale, far from a Sect Level main vein, and wasn’t even much stronger than the small Spiritual Acupoints commonly found near the market district. But the Spiritual Qi in this tributary was extremely pure—so pure it didn’t seem like something that should exist in a place like the Ghost Mist Forest. The Spiritual Qi seeped out from the depths of the rock and was sealed in by the surrounding karst layers, preventing it from leaking out completely.

Li Yuan didn’t step forward. He first scanned his surroundings.

Soon, he understood why this place had remained hidden until now.

Lying before the Spirit Vein was a Demon Beast.

It wasn’t particularly large, about ten feet long, and its body was grayish-black, but its spine faintly glowed with azure Spirit Patterns. It lay beside the node where the Spirit Vein was most potent, its forelimbs thick and its head lowered. It looked like a wolf, but heavier and more robust. Most noticeably, as its chest and abdomen rose and fell, it seemed to be connected to the Spiritual Radiance surrounding the Spirit Vein.

Tier Two High Grade.

And it wasn’t an ordinary Tier Two High Grade Demon Beast.

It had been absorbing the Spiritual Qi of this tributary, using the location to advance its Cultivation to a profound level.

The Demon Beast quickly sensed the foreign presence. It slowly raised its head, its vertical pupils flashing once in the dim cave, and then it rose to its feet.

Just the act of it standing up caused the ground to tremble slightly.

The next moment, it lunged directly at him.

It was fast and powerful. When its forelimbs landed, they cracked the stone crust on the ground. A flash of movement came from under Li Yuan’s feet as the Wind Escape Skill carried him sideways. The Demon Beast shot past, its fangs grazing his sleeve.

The initial exchange was all Li Yuan needed to size it up.

Against a normal Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, this beast would indeed be a tough opponent. It had a strong body, dense Demonic Power, and the advantage of the Spirit Vein node. If the fight dragged on, it would only grow more confident.

But he was no normal Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Li Yuan wasn’t in a hurry to end the fight. Instead, he took the opportunity to test his "Three Yuan Unity" again.

The Demon Beast turned and lunged again, its sharp claws stirring up a cold gust of wind as it swiped at his chest. Li Yuan raised a hand to block, his body wrapped in Spiritual Power as he met the blow head-on. He only slid back a few steps, his arm numb, but he was fundamentally unharmed.

Under the effect of Three Yuan Unity, his Qi Blood, Spiritual Power, and Divine Soul were already more tightly coordinated.

This kind of direct clash was the perfect chance to test the upper limits of his endurance when his physical body and Spiritual Power were exerted in unison.

Seeing its attack fail to tear him open, the Demon Beast’s eyes grew fiercer. It opened its mouth and spat out a highly compressed ball of grayish-blue demonic wind. The wind didn’t disperse; instead, it flew toward him like a compressed mass of sharp blades.

Li Yuan condensed Spiritual Power in his palm and met it head-on with the Fire Python Skill.

The moment fire and wind collided, a muffled explosion rocked the cave, and a shower of rock fragments rained down.

The Spiritual Power in his Dantian dipped slightly.

The Demon Beast used the cave’s terrain to close the distance again. Li Yuan decided not to retreat and instead unleashed his Divine Sense. The pressure from his Divine Sense, strengthened by his Minor Achievement in the Soul Condensation Skill and coordinated by Three Yuan Unity, caused the Demon Beast’s movements to falter for half a beat.

That was the moment.

Li Yuan struck with his palm, and Fire Spiritual Power exploded from it, blasting the side of the beast’s neck. The creature was knocked aside and let out a furious roar, whipping its tail in a horizontal sweep. The bladed tip of its tail, carrying a fierce wind, smashed toward Li Yuan’s waist.

Li Yuan didn’t dodge. Instead, he used the momentum to sink his stance, channeling his dense Qi Blood and Spiritual Power into his legs to firmly anchor himself. With his other hand, he formed a blade-hand, and the Golden Blade Skill sliced across the beast’s flank.

SQUELCH! The beast’s hide split open, and blood gushed out.

The Demon Beast roared in pain and retreated, flashing back to its position near the Spirit Vein node. It had clearly realized that this Cultivator was no easy opponent. A low growl rumbled in its throat as the Demonic Power in its body began to gather in its limbs and spine.

Li Yuan activated his Wind Escape Skill, his body becoming a blur as he closed the distance in an instant.

At the same time, he suppressed it with his Divine Sense again, causing its movements to slow for another instant.

Two consecutive suppressions with his Divine Soul had clearly taken a toll on his Sea of Consciousness.

Without hesitation, Li Yuan converted some Spiritual Power into Divine Soul to replenish his reserves, then immediately cast the Fire Python Skill.

A crimson Fire Serpent shot out along the ground and burrowed directly into the wound on the Demon Beast’s chest and abdomen.

It was a vicious blow.

The Fire Python Skill was already powerful on its own. Coupled with his refined Flame Essence, the Yang-Flame Technique, and his Mid-stage Foundation Establishment foundation, the attack blew a large hole in the Demon Beast’s torso, even severing the flow of its Demonic Power within.

It let out a wild roar and tried to lunge again.

Li Yuan flickered to its side, Spiritual Power and Qi Blood erupting from his palm simultaneously as he landed a heavy blow on the side of its head. With a dull THUD, the beast’s entire head was knocked askew. Its forelimbs buckled, and it fell halfway to its knees.

Another Golden Blade Skill followed immediately.

This time, he held nothing back.

A sharp Spiritual Light sliced into the weakest point of its neck vertebrae, unleashing a spray of hot beast blood. The Tier Two High Grade Demon Beast convulsed violently, staggered forward two steps, and collapsed heavily beside the Spirit Vein node, never to rise again.

The cave fell silent, with only the sound of falling rubble remaining.

Li Yuan stood in place and regulated his breathing for a moment, reviewing the various conversions brought about by his Three Yuan Unity. A clearer conclusion formed in his mind.

’This trait really is powerful.’

’Its strength lies in connecting the three separate pools, giving me greater fault tolerance and endurance in battle.’

Li Yuan snapped out of his thoughts and went to deal with the Demon Beast’s carcass.

After he was done, he walked slowly along the cave, gradually mapping out the path of this Spirit Vein tributary.

The Spirit Vein wasn’t long—at least, the exposed section wasn’t. It branched off from a deeper rock stratum, surfaced in this karst cave, split into several smaller streams, and was then suppressed by underground faults and the occupying Demon Beast. This was what created the current situation: a vein that was neither large nor small, but exceptionally pure.

Once he had more or less mapped out the entire tributary, the panel finally appeared.

[Equippable Target: Spirit Vein (Incomplete)]

[Current Status: Spirit Vein is incomplete. Some areas have not been explored. Cannot equip.]

[Equipment Condition: Fully explore the entire vein.]

Li Yuan’s gaze sharpened.

’Can’t equip until the entire Spirit Vein is explored.’

’In other words, what’s exposed here is just a tributary, not the complete Spirit Vein. The special equipment requires the entire line, not just this severed section.’

Li Yuan didn’t immediately feel disappointed. Instead, he followed the tributary, tracing it deeper underground.

’Since the tributary is here, the main vein should theoretically be deeper in.’

But after less than half an hour of searching, he stopped.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t find the Spiritual Power, but that he couldn’t find a path.

Once the tributary reached the deeper rock layers, his perception of it seemed to be artificially severed, as if it had naturally split into countless forks.

The Spiritual Power was still flowing inward, but it no longer provided a clear direction. When he pushed his Vein Probing technique forward, the only feedback was a mass of chaotic echoes, as if many layers of rock walls, faults, and old Restrictions had completely shattered his perception beyond that point.

Li Yuan tried two other directions, but the result was the same.

’I can’t find the main vein by following this tributary.’

Li Yuan didn’t persist in his forceful probing.

For now, it was enough to know that a Spirit Vein tributary was here and that this wasn’t the end. Trying to go deeper as a mere Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, with no existing path and insufficient confidence, would only lead to trouble if he charged in blindly.

He committed the surrounding terrain, the cave structure, and the location of the exposed tributary to memory before turning to leave.

By the time he emerged from the subterranean cave, the sky outside had already grown dark.

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