Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 279: Chapter 269: Ore Vein Upgrade

After returning to Mist Forest Marketplace, Li Yuan went straight down into the mine.

Inside the natural cavern, the Cultivating Evil Array was still operating slowly. The Spirit Patterns between the few Array Hubs were now very stable, and the returning Evil Qi was much denser than before. Li Yuan walked to the center of the cavern and laid out the items he had brought back, sorting them into separate piles.

He first took out the Evil Qi materials.

One pile contained pure evil materials.

Those mixed with Demonic Qi were placed in another pile.

Li Yuan didn’t toss everything into the Cultivating Evil Array at once, but rather added them in batches.

The first batch consisted of the purest Evil Bones and two sealed fragments of Tier Two Evil Stones. With a push of Spiritual Power, the Cultivating Evil Array immediately drew out the dense Evil Qi within them, channeling it along several main patterns deep into the ore vein.

The cavern was silent, with only the patterns on the surface of the Array Hubs glowing faintly.

Only after the Evil Qi in the first batch of materials was completely drained did Li Yuan add the second batch.

This time, he added a few higher-level evil materials that were mixed with some impurities.

It took nearly two hours for this batch of evil materials to be fully absorbed.

Li Yuan closed his eyes and sensed the changes for a moment.

The changes in the ore vein were clear. The Cultivating Evil Array ran more smoothly, but it was still a ways off from completely absorbing the evil materials.

「Several days later, a change finally occurred.」

More than one Mid-grade Evil Stone was steadily forming, and the deepest currents of returning Evil Qi had also settled to a new level of density.

The momentum that was previously forced upward through replenishment and correction had now finally settled into the ore vein itself.

The overall grade of the ore vein had reached the level where it could produce Mid-grade Evil Stones.

This wasn’t a fluke, producing just one or two. The entire ore vein had finally crossed that threshold. As long as the Cultivating Evil Array continued to run, the ore vein itself could continue generating them.

Li Yuan stood for a moment before slowly opening his eyes.

’It’s done.’

The few Mid-grade Evil Stones from before were mostly sporadic crystallizations, forced into existence through replenishment and external power. This time was different. The foundation of the ore vein itself had truly crossed that line.

’From setting up the Cultivating Evil Array, hunting Evil Demons, and finding high-quality evil materials, to the gradual process of replenishment and correction—after all this time, I’ve finally pushed this Evil Ore to this stage.’

There were two conditions to make the special Evil Vein equipment permanent.

One was to cultivate it until it could produce Mid-grade Evil Stones.

That one was now fulfilled.

The other, however, was still lacking.

Equip it for fifty years.

Only half of the conditions were met.

’After I reach the Golden Core realm, I’ll be able to make the "Three Origins Return to One" attribute permanent, and also make the Spirit Vein permanent. That will free up two special equipment slots, enough to equip the Evil Vein.’

Li Yuan stood for a while longer, then turned and walked out of the mine tunnel, heading for the outpost.

Chen Yi had been there for the past few days.

When Li Yuan arrived, Chen Yi was with two disciples, checking over items dismantled from the periphery of the ruins in recent days.

Seeing Li Yuan enter, Chen Yi raised a hand, dismissing the two disciples first.

"Any new discoveries in the Ghost Mist Forest?" Chen Yi asked.

Li Yuan nodded and recounted his recent trip, explaining how he had gone out to hunt Evil Demons and encountered a Demon Cultivator scouting a branch of the Spirit Vein.

From discovering the Foundation Establishment Cultivator near the branch vein, to noticing he carried Demonic Qi, to fighting and killing him, Li Yuan’s account was direct, with no embellishments.

After listening, Chen Yi’s expression clearly darkened.

"They’ve made their way to the branch vein again."

"Yes," Li Yuan said.

"And it wasn’t by accident. They were specifically scouting."

Chen Yi tapped his fingers on the edge of the table, not speaking immediately.

After a moment, Chen Yi finally spoke. "I will report this. If you run into them again, don’t hold back."

Chen Yi asked a few more questions about the Demon Cultivator’s appearance, magical artifacts, and movements. After noting everything down, he waved a hand, telling Li Yuan to go back and wait for news.

Li Yuan returned to the marketplace. Just two days later, a message arrived from the outpost.

The Primordial Yang Sect had given him an additional reward.

The reason was straightforward: Li Yuan had contributed a great deal to the marketplace, the ruins, and the ore vein. He had also recently encountered and eliminated a Demon Cultivator who was scouting a branch of the Spirit Vein. The Sect had taken note of this contribution.

The reward consisted of two items.

The first was a text related to the Golden Core.

The second was a more detailed inheritance of the Alchemy Dao.

After the items were delivered to him, Li Yuan first examined the Golden Core text.

The text wasn’t thick, but its contents were a level deeper than the Core Formation preparation records he had read before. The first few pages described the general classifications of the Golden Core, and the following pages explained the differences between the various grades.

Golden Cores were divided into four grades.

Low Grade.

Middle Grade.

Top Grade.

Top-grade.

This part wasn’t too surprising. What truly made Li Yuan pause were the next few pages.

It was written very clearly inside.

The Top-grade Golden Cores formed by different Cultivators could vary greatly. Some barely crossed the threshold into the Top-grade, while others, with unparalleled talent and excellent resources, formed Top-grade Golden Cores that far surpassed their peers.

Of course, overall, a Top-grade Golden Core was extremely rare. To say it was one in a thousand would be an exaggeration.

The main difference was that after a Top-grade Golden Core was formed, it could continue to change and progress upward.

A Top Grade Golden Core, however, was different.

Top Grade was just Top Grade.

Once formed, it was essentially fixed. While there might be minor differences in strength, its overall potential was capped, making it very difficult to transform into something greater.

Li Yuan’s gaze paused for a moment as he read this.

’I already set a goal for myself not to form an ordinary Golden Core. Now, after reading the explanation in this text, the path has become even clearer.’

’Top Grade is strong, but its path is fixed.’

’Top-grade, however, is different.’

’It’s a path that can continue to be pushed upward.’

Li Yuan committed this section to memory and flipped through a few more pages until he had skimmed the entire text, then set it aside.

Then, Li Yuan picked up the second reward.

As Li Yuan’s finger touched it, a panel popped up.

[Detected equippable item: Alchemy Dao Inheritance (Complete)]

[Attribute Preview: Refined Pill Formation (Blue)]

[Effect: Increases pill success rate by 30% and finished pill quality by 30% based on user’s current ability.]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Master the basics of Tier Two Alchemy and successfully refine three types of Tier Two pills (0/1)]

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

’A blue attribute.’

Li Yuan’s eyes flickered.

It didn’t just make alchemy success easier; it also raised the quality of the finished pills. In the Alchemy Dao, an effect like this was practically a fundamental boost to one’s foundation. Especially since he would have to tackle Tier Two pills sooner or later, the value of a blue attribute like this was higher than many rewards that simply gave him pills directly.

Without hesitation, Li Yuan swapped out an old piece of equipment that was currently providing the least benefit.

The moment the Alchemy Dao Inheritance entered the slot, the many scattered pieces of alchemy experience in his sea of consciousness felt as if they had been completely reorganized.

When he looked at the medicinal ingredients on the table again, he had a much clearer understanding of which step was most likely to cause the cauldron to explode, which was most likely to cause the liquid to dissipate, when he should suppress the flame, and when he should perform the Pill Collection.

This change wasn’t about gaining any new alchemy knowledge out of thin air, but rather about forcibly refining his existing foundation to a higher level.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!