Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 270: Chapter 260: The Demon Sect Retreats

After the Demon Sect’s Golden Core Cultivator inspected the Evil Vein, the Ghost Mist Forest fell quiet for another two days.

But this time, the quiet didn’t last long.

At noon on the third day, a new presence suddenly appeared in the sky.

The presence arrived extremely fast and wasn’t deliberately ostentatious. Yet, the moment it entered the airspace above the Ghost Mist Forest, the Spiritual Power of the entire region felt as if it had been gently suppressed. In the marketplace, many Cultivators immediately looked up, and the array artifacts at the outpost flashed several times in succession.

Li Yuan stood outside the stone building of the administrative office, looking south.

’Another Golden Core has arrived.’

’And from the Primordial Yang Sect, no less.’

Chen Yi rushed over from the other end of the main street at almost the same time. His steps were quick, but the tension on his face had eased compared to the past few days.

"The second Golden Core ancestor has arrived."

Li Yuan nodded.

With this development, the situation in the Ghost Mist Forest was more or less settled. Before, it had been one Primordial Yang Sect Golden Core against one Demon Sect Golden Core, with neither side willing to make a rash move. Now that the Primordial Yang Sect had another, the scales had tipped.

That afternoon, a standoff once again occurred on the outskirts of the Ghost Mist Forest’s depths.

Chen Yi didn’t return until nighttime.

After entering the house, he first gulped down some tea before speaking. "They’ve reached an agreement."

"The Evil Slaying Sect has backed down," Chen Yi said. "The Primordial Yang Sect will take over the ruins, and the Demon Sect will no longer interfere with the ruins themselves. In exchange, Liangzhou will recognize the Dark Abyss Association’s right to operate openly."

Li Yuan’s brow twitched slightly.

Chen Yi glanced at him and continued, "It’s not like they can just run wild. The Sect drew a line: they are not to harm the innocent. If they dare to slaughter people indiscriminately for their demonic techniques like before, the Primordial Yang Sect will intervene directly."

After he said this, the room was silent for a moment.

The Dark Abyss Association’s transformation from an underground organization to a semi-public force in Liangzhou was a more significant change than the mere retreat of a Golden Core.

Li Yuan didn’t comment immediately, only asking, "Will the Demon Sect really play by the rules?"

"Whether they do or not isn’t something that can be set in stone right now," Chen Yi said. "But what they want at the moment is a foothold, not to completely fall out with the Primordial Yang Sect. As long as the Qi Shui Sect is still holding the line, they won’t take things to the extreme in Liangzhou."

The Qi Shui Sect.

It wasn’t the first time Li Yuan had heard that name. That was the main battlefield where the Demon Sect was truly applying pressure. No matter how chaotic things got in Liangzhou and the Ghost Mist Forest, they were ultimately just a side-board in the grand game.

Now that the situation was decided, the Primordial Yang Sect wasted no time.

Starting the next day, the ruins officially fell under the Primordial Yang Sect’s control. A new batch of personnel was added outside the outpost, and the teams that had originally just been guarding the perimeter began to clear a path inward more systematically.

The core task, however, was still to break the array in the depths.

Both Primordial Yang Sect Golden Cores went in person.

Li Yuan didn’t follow them in. He only helped on the outer layer, tidying up some Array Patterns and clearing old paths. By the time the two Golden Cores actually emerged from the depths, a large crowd was already waiting outside.

The result was not unexpected.

It could be broken, but not quickly.

The Restriction in the depths was far more complex than the ones on the outer layer. Even if the Golden Core Cultivators had enough raw power, it wasn’t suitable to just crush it with brute force.

If they really were to blast it open, the gate might not open, but the structures and remaining resources inside would likely be destroyed by the shockwaves first.

When Chen Yi returned, he only told Li Yuan two things.

"The higher-ups have decided. We’re going to recruit both Loose Cultivator Array Masters and Sect Array Masters to assist."

"We’ll grind it down slowly."

This step also meant that the subsequent development of the ruins would become more public. Once the news got out, many Foundation Establishment Cultivators from Liangzhou and the surrounding regions who made a living through the Array Dao would likely be drawn over.

And that Foundation Establishment exchange meet, which should have been held much earlier, finally had a new date set.

Because of the prior situation with the Demon Cultivators and the Ghost Mist Forest, it had been delayed again and again, only to be reorganized now that the three-way game had reached a temporary conclusion.

Li Yuan went as usual.

The location was the same old place, but this time it was more lively and also more mixed than before. Many Foundation Establishment Cultivators had come—some from within the Primordial Yang Sect’s territory, others who had detoured from nearby prefectures. Even a few people who carried the air of demonic techniques had mixed in. No one pointed it out, so everyone pretended not to see.

As soon as the exchange meet began, the conversation inevitably turned to the current situation.

"I guess the Dark Abyss Association is officially out in the open now."

"Things in Liangzhou are only going to get more chaotic from here on out."

"I heard the Qi Shui Sect is having a hard time holding on. The Demon Sect is still focusing most of its strength over there."

People talked, but when it came time to actually trade, no one’s hands were idle. In times like these, resources were all the more valuable. Items like Healing Medicine, Tunneling Skill Spiritual Artifacts, Array Materials, and tracking disks sold much more easily than usual.

Li Yuan’s goal for this trip was also very clear: he wouldn’t get involved with miscellaneous items, focusing solely on evil-type resources.

The Evil Vein was already starting to approach the Middle Grade level; now was the time to add more fuel to the fire. If he could get some more high-quality Tier Two or higher Evil Qi crystals or evil-type materials, he could naturally push its development speed even further.

After making two rounds, he finally saw what he was looking for in the possession of a black-robed Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

The man’s stall was small and his wares were miscellaneous, but among them were three dark-colored crystals sealed in a small box. The moment the lid was opened, a dense wave of Evil Qi emanated from within. Its quality was clearly a cut above that of ordinary Evil Stones.

"Tier Two Evil Qi crystals?" Li Yuan asked.

The black-robed Cultivator glanced up.

"Two are Low Grade, one is close to Middle Grade. If you want them, pay with Spirit Stones or trade for Healing Pills of the same tier."

Li Yuan didn’t waste time with words and directly inspected the goods.

There was nothing wrong with the items, and the price wasn’t outrageous. In the end, he traded a batch of Healing Elixirs and some Spirit Stones for all three Evil Qi crystals. In addition, he traded for a high-quality evil-type material from another person—the residual bone core of some kind of Tier Two Evil Demon, which could also be used to nourish his vein.

It was a fruitful trip.

During the second half of the exchange meet, the crowd continued to discuss the situation outside.

Some said the Dark Abyss Association would set up outposts in the future. Others said that since the Demon Cultivators’ presence was now tacitly accepted, Liangzhou would likely see more friction ahead.

Li Yuan didn’t participate. He just put away the resources he needed and took mental note of a few rumors related to the Ghost Mist Forest.

By the time he returned to the Mist Forest Marketplace, many changes were already out in the open.

On the main street, there were a few new faces that would have never appeared before.

They were dressed in black with gloomy auras, yet they were well-behaved when buying materials to repair Magical Artifacts or purchasing Healing Pills, and they paid with Spirit Stones without hesitation. The Loose Cultivators in the marketplace initially gave them a wide berth, but after a few days without any incidents, they gradually grew bolder.

Demon Cultivators began to trade openly in the marketplace.

The first time Li Yuan saw it, he paused in his tracks.

They weren’t making secret rendezvous, nor were they disguised as Loose Cultivators. They were really just walking down the main street, going to the medicine shop, the second-hand goods store, and the Magical Artifact repair shop, buying and selling things like ordinary Cultivators.

In the following days, the changes in the marketplace became even more obvious.

After the Demon Cultivators arrived, many businesses, instead of declining, actually saw an increase in traffic. After all, apart from their different Cultivation Techniques and sources of Demonic Qi, many of their needs weren’t that different from normal Cultivators. They needed to buy pills, collect Spirit Grass, and repair damaged Magical Artifacts. When exploring outside, they also needed maps, Talismans, and supplies.

Demon Cultivators had always been active near the Mist Forest Marketplace. Now that they could enter the marketplace openly, business would only get better.

At first, the Shopkeepers wore stern expressions, but after a few days of collecting real Spirit Stones, their attitudes relaxed.

’As long as they don’t cause trouble in the marketplace, a sale is a sale.’

It was as if the Mist Forest Marketplace had undergone another growth spurt overnight.

Li Yuan didn’t say much about this, instead focusing his attention back on his vein and the ruins. The livelier the marketplace became, the more complicated the situation grew. On the surface, the three-way game had concluded, but in reality, the open conflict had simply shifted to a different kind of undercurrent.

Returning to his stone house at night, he took out the three High Tier Evil Qi crystals and the bone core he had acquired at the exchange meet.

’The Evil Vein still needs to be nurtured.’

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