Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 271: Chapter 261: Great Success in Tier 1 Array Dao

A few days after the trade fair, Li Yuan used the high-tier Evil Qi crystals and the bone core he had acquired.

By now, the Cultivation Array in the vein was running with more than enough stability. The key nodes were interlocked, and the backflow of Evil Qi was much smoother than before.

After the first Mid-grade Evil Stone condensed, several other high-quality Evil Stones slowly began to form as well. Now, infusing the Tier Two Evil Qi crystals and the bone core would have an even more direct effect.

When the first crystal dispersed, the Evil Qi in the cavern felt as if it had been forcefully shoved inward.

When the second crystal followed, several tributary flows deep within the vein, which had been faint and wispy, immediately solidified and sank.

By the time the bone core had also been slowly ground down, the entire Evil Vein’s ebb and flow rose a notch. The change was still subtle, but it was more stable than when he had used a single Evil Pill. It wasn’t a sharp spike, but a deepening of its foundation.

Li Yuan stood in the cavern, closing his eyes to perceive the changes for a moment.

The vein was growing.

The range from which the Evil Vein could draw in Evil Qi had widened, and the pull of the backflow was more uniform. As a result, the low-Evil Qi zone south of the marketplace was pushed out a bit farther. A few areas on its edge, once rather gloomy, had now fallen quiet.

This time, the Evil Vein’s growth wasn’t just a slight upgrade in the quality of the stones; the entire vein network had become more like a living creature.

Li Yuan made a mental note of this, then turned and left the vein.

He had just returned to the marketplace when someone from the administration office brought him a message from the Sect.

They were officially recruiting people to help break the arrays at the ruins.

After he finished reading the jade slip, he didn’t agree at once. Instead, he first asked the disciple who had delivered the message a question.

"Are the two Golden Cores still on-site?"

"They aren’t here anymore," the disciple replied. "The two seniors returned to the Sect a few days ago. They just left word that they’ll return to force open the deeper levels once the outer and middle sections are mostly cleared."

Li Yuan nodded. After a moment’s thought, he decided to go anyway.

His reasoning was simple.

Breaking the arrays in the ruins came with its own contribution rewards, but more importantly, it was a rare opportunity. Normally, learning about arrays meant slowly grinding through jade slips and fragmented legacies. There were very few places in all of Liangzhou that laid out all sorts of old Restrictions, mechanism patterns, and remnant array structures for one to dismantle piece by piece.

Besides, Li Yuan’s Array Dao was currently stalled, right on the cusp of advancing beyond Tier One Minor Achievement.

It would be a waste not to go.

Early the next morning, he set off for the outskirts of the ruins.

The outpost had completely transformed. What had been a temporary collection of stone houses and defensive lines had now expanded outward in a ring. It now included quiet chambers for the array-breaking Cultivators, stone warehouses for storing Array Materials, and a desk for registering contributions.

The first thing Li Yuan did upon arrival was go to the registration desk.

The one in charge of registration was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Primordial Yang Sect. He was quite polite when he saw Li Yuan.

"Protector Li, Senior Brother Chen already gave instructions. You can go straight to the east array chamber to collect the jade slips."

Li Yuan nodded and followed the directions.

The east array chamber contained several rows of jade slips, most of which the Sect had temporarily compiled for the reference of the Cultivators participating in the effort.

Each Cultivator was issued a set of jade slips.

Some slips detailed the structures of Restrictions already dismantled from the ruins’ periphery, while others described methods for breaking down common array pathways found in old sects.

Li Yuan received a set as well. He casually picked up a few and quickly skimmed through their contents.

All of it was practical stuff.

When he reached the innermost row, Li Yuan suddenly felt a stir in his mind.

He stopped, his gaze falling upon a grayish-green jade slip in the corner.

’There’s a trait.’

He reached out to pick it up, and the panel immediately popped up.

[Detected Equippable Item: Array and Talisman Mutual Reference Scroll (Complete)]

[Trait Preview: Array-Talisman Synergy (Green)]

[Effect: Proficiency in the Array Dao is enhanced by proficiency in the Talisman Dao, and vice versa.]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Achieve Tier One Great Perfection in both the Talisman Dao and Array Dao (0/1)]

[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace a currently equipped item?]

’A green trait.’

’Reciprocal synergy.’

Li Yuan merely glanced at it before putting the jade slip away. He didn’t try to mess with his equipment slots right then and there.

His slots were still full, and figuring out if he should—and could—replace an item would require careful consideration. Besides, the condition for making the trait permanent was clear, and it was far beyond his current reach. The logical thing to do was to hold onto the slip for now.

After receiving the jade slips and several copied Array Maps, Li Yuan officially joined the array-breaking effort.

At first, Li Yuan mostly observed.

He watched how the Sect’s veteran Array Masters went about their work, noting which lines they dismantled first and which circuits they suppressed when faced with different Restrictions. Then, he would meticulously cross-reference the information in his jade slips with the actual mechanisms before him.

With his permanent Spirit Pattern Analysis trait, he already had an easier time understanding these things than others.

Now, with continuous hands-on practice, many things he had only known in theory were slowly becoming practical skills.

After one old identification array was dismantled, he could quickly tell which strokes in the pattern were designed to prevent false breaches and which were merely decoys.

At the interlocking Restrictions outside another alchemy chamber, he even spotted the true connection point between the mechanism and the locking patterns a step ahead of the Primordial Yang Sect Array Master beside him.

The days passed, one by one.

Li Yuan didn’t go to the ruins every day, but he visited every few days. He would first deal with any business at the marketplace, then head to the ruins to hone his array skills in his free time. This rhythm of switching back and forth actually suited him better.

The results of this steady accumulation soon became apparent.

One evening, he and two other array Cultivators were dismantling the outer gate of an old sect’s medicine repository. The gate had a triple-layered Spirit Pattern: the outermost for identification, the middle for dissipating force, and the innermost for drawing on the Spiritual Power of the entire wall to create a backflow. As the other two neared the end of their work, they grew hesitant, feeling that the main pattern’s position was off.

Li Yuan extended his Divine Sense, tracing the few faint Spiritual Flows within the wall, and suddenly raised his hand.

"Don’t touch that. The backflow is a decoy."

The words had barely left his lips when he pressed his own Spiritual Power into an inconspicuous diagonal pattern on the other side.

The diagonal pattern dimmed, and half of the door’s entire Spiritual Flow instantly collapsed. The other two Cultivators’ eyes lit up, and they immediately began dismantling from the opening he had created.

About ten minutes later, the outer gate of the medicine repository slid open without a sound.

Li Yuan stood his ground. In that same instant, it was as if many concepts regarding the Tier One Array Dao in his sea of consciousness were suddenly straightened out and made clear.

The panel slowly popped up.

[Technique: Tier One Array Dao—Great Success (0/3200)]

’Great Success in the Array Dao.’

Li Yuan exhaled, remaining still as he savored and stabilized the feeling of that moment.

The biggest difference between Great Success and Minor Achievement wasn’t just about ability, but about a deeper level of perception. Before, when faced with a complex Restriction, he had to dismantle it layer by layer to understand it. Now, the moment an array path came into view, his mind would have already deduced how it likely operated, where it could be severed, and where he absolutely could not touch.

Once the Array Dao reached Great Success, another white trait could also be made permanent.

[Permanence Condition for Array Pattern Fortification (White) has been met]

[Make Permanent?]

Without hesitation, Li Yuan confirmed it.

[Array Pattern Fortification (White) is now a permanent trait.]

An extremely faint power swept over the surface of his skin before quickly sinking in.

He raised a hand and clenched his fist. Without any other movement, he could clearly feel a new layer of incredibly thin yet remarkably stable toughness on his skin’s surface. When stacked with his original Body Refining foundation and other defensive traits, this boost was by no means minor in actual combat.

For the next few days, Li Yuan didn’t continue breaking arrays nonstop, choosing instead to slow his pace.

Having just achieved a breakthrough in the Array Dao, it was more beneficial to first stabilize his new realm than to keep forcing his progress.

Meanwhile, there were also matters at the marketplace awaiting his attention.

The Mist Forest Marketplace was getting bigger and bigger, but its selection of goods was still incomplete.

This was especially true since Demon Cultivators had started to openly frequent the marketplace, creating new demand for items that ordinary Loose Cultivators rarely used. Furthermore, its reputation as the primary supply point for the front line was becoming more established. Many people came to the Mist Forest Marketplace not because it was cheaper, but because it was close to the Ghost Mist Forest, making for a convenient trip.

If the selection of goods remained insufficient, people would eventually find it inconvenient and go elsewhere to resupply.

After some thought, Li Yuan decided to make a trip to Yunyang Marketplace to restock on items that were in short supply at his own.

Yunyang Marketplace was the same as ever—large in scale, with a diverse crowd. But not long after entering, Li Yuan noticed something was different.

Demon Cultivators had started appearing here as well.

There weren’t many, and they were far more discreet than the ones at the Mist Forest Marketplace. They were likely still in the exploratory phase, dressing and acting as low-key as possible, blending in with the ordinary Cultivators. Without a close look, one might not even be able to distinguish them.

Li Yuan’s gaze swept over a few of them but didn’t linger. The main purpose of this trip was procurement.

He bought large quantities of everything in batches: Replenishing Essence Pills, Wound Healing Powder, low-tier Array Materials, common talisman paper, old Magical Artifact components, several types of reconnaissance tools commonly used by frontline Cultivators, and even Spirit Grass seeds, which several shops back at his marketplace were always out of.

Near the end of his shopping trip, Li Yuan paused before a small shop specializing in miscellaneous Magical Artifacts.

The reason was simple.

Two men who looked like Demon Cultivators were browsing inside the shop. And they weren’t picking out offensive Magical Artifacts or Demon Dao materials, but rather equipment used for detecting Spiritual Qi.

A Spirit Testing Disc, a Pulse-Examining Needle, and a thin mirror designed specifically to observe the flow of subterranean Spiritual Power.

Li Yuan stood nearby, his gaze falling on them for an imperceptible instant before he naturally looked away.

Demon Cultivators buying equipment to detect Spiritual Qi—that in itself was unusual.

Li Yuan didn’t approach or alert the two men. He acted as if he were just a passerby and continued to procure the rest of the items on his list.

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