Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 283: Chapter 273: Breaking the Formation

Outside the administration office, night had already fallen.

"Li Dao You, may I have a word with you in private?"

Li Yuan glanced at him. He didn’t nod immediately, nor did he outright refuse. He simply led the man to a quiet room in the courtyard behind the administration office.

As soon as the door closed, most of the footsteps from outside were blocked out.

Li Ze’an first took out a Contract and placed it on the table.

"This matter is quite involved. Before we speak, let’s establish an agreement."

Li Yuan looked down at it.

The Contract wasn’t long. It had only one clause.

Do not speak of the following discussion to anyone.

This kind of contract wasn’t too harsh. The only restriction was confidentiality, with no other conditions involved.

After reading it, Li Yuan didn’t hesitate. He directly raised his hand and pressed it down, infusing his Spiritual Power.

Li Ze’an followed suit, establishing the pact.

Once the Spirit Contract was formed, the atmosphere in the quiet room truly grew heavy.

Li Ze’an put away the Contract, his expression even more cautious than before.

"Li Dao You, the Li family has sought you out this time because we’d like to ask for your help in breaking an Array."

Li Yuan didn’t answer right away. He first asked a question.

"Why not ask someone from the Primordial Yang Sect?"

The moment he said this, the quiet room fell silent for a moment.

Li Ze’an had clearly expected this question. He was silent for a second before saying in a low voice:

"Because this matter cannot alert the Primordial Yang Sect."

Li Yuan watched him without pressing.

’Just from the signing of the Spirit Contract, it’s clear this request to break an Array is not simple.’

’I certainly won’t help if I don’t get a clear picture.’

Li Ze’an had no choice but to continue.

"In the past, the Li family had some dealings with the Dark Abyss Association."

"Not recently, but much earlier. Back then, the Dark Abyss Association was still operating in the shadows. Many families and businesses in Liangzhou hadn’t completely cut ties with them, and the Li family was no exception."

"But things are different now."

"With the Demon Sect entering the fray and the Dark Abyss Association operating openly, the Li family’s old dealings are no longer just a thing of the past. They’ve become leverage against us."

After listening, Li Yuan’s expression remained unchanged.

Seeing his silence, Li Ze’an got straight to the point.

"The Demon Sect is using this matter to make a demand of the Li family."

"They want the Li family to help them break an Array."

Only then did Li Yuan ask again:

"If that’s the case, why doesn’t the Demon Sect break it themselves?"

"Because that Array can sense Demonic Qi."

Li Ze’an said, "If a Demon Sect Cultivator tried to break it personally, it would likely cause problems."

Li Yuan’s gaze sharpened slightly.

’An Array that senses Demonic Qi.’

’No wonder the Demon Sect took a roundabout approach and pushed this onto the Li family.’

"Can’t the Li family do it themselves?" Li Yuan asked.

"The Li family has no Cultivators who specialize in the Array Dao," Li Ze’an said.

Li Yuan glanced at him.

"Me?"

"You’ve made a name for yourself in the market, the ruins, and with Arrays." As he spoke, Li Ze’an placed the payment directly on the table.

"Ten thousand Spirit Stones and an alchemy manual. All you have to do is break a single Array."

Li Yuan looked at the payment Li Ze’an pushed toward him.

A Top-grade Spirit Stone and an alchemy manual.

The moment the Top-grade Spirit Stone landed on the table, the Spiritual Qi in the quiet room seemed to become a bit purer. The adjacent alchemy manual was wrapped in old blue cloth, clearly prepared with care.

Li Yuan’s gaze first fell on the Top-grade Spirit Stone.

The instant the item came within three feet of him, his perception immediately reacted.

[Detected equippable item]

[Item Affix Grade: Blue]

[Note: Item does not belong to you. Cannot be equipped. Cannot view detailed information.]

’A Blue affix.’

A flicker of emotion passed through Li Yuan’s eyes, but his face remained impassive.

The items the Li family produced this time showed considerable sincerity. Even breaking a major array might not be worth this price.

He didn’t reach for the alchemy manual, only saying:

"Where is it located?"

Li Ze’an immediately took out a simple map, placed it on the table, and pointed to a spot.

"Here."

Li Yuan looked down and quickly understood the situation.

This was the very same mountain branch where the Primordial Yang Sect had secretly set up an Array.

However, the Li family and the Demon Sect clearly didn’t know that the Primordial Yang Sect had laid more than just one layer of Arrays there.

’If I’m not mistaken, what the Demon Sect wants to break now is most likely just the outer Demon Testing Warning Array on the mountain branch.’

’As for the trapping array deeper inside, which is truly meant to ensnare and kill investigators, it’s still hidden within.’

At this thought, Li Yuan felt a sense of calm settle over him.

’This Array... it can be broken.’

’But only the outer layer.’

Seeing Li Yuan’s silence, Li Ze’an added in a low voice.

"Li Dao You, for this matter, you only need to make one trip and break that Array. You won’t be needed for anything else."

"Once the Array is broken, the payment is yours. What happens afterward has nothing to do with you."

"Furthermore, it is my Li family hiring you, not the Demon Sect, nor the Dark Abyss Association."

Li Yuan lifted his eyes and looked at the other man.

For a moment, no one in the quiet room spoke.

After a short while, Li Yuan finally spoke.

"When do we leave?"

Li Ze’an’s expression relaxed slightly.

"We can set out tomorrow morning. The Li family will lead the way. We will ensure you don’t meet directly with anyone from the Demon Sect."

Li Yuan nodded.

「The next morning」

Li Yuan left the market city with several members of the Li family.

The group didn’t take the main road. Instead, they circled around the outskirts of the Ghost Mist Forest and followed a few abandoned old paths deeper in. By the time they arrived, Li Yuan had confirmed his suspicions.

It was that same mountain branch.

The members of the Li family stopped at the perimeter and went no further.

The leader said in a low voice, "It’s just ahead."

Li Yuan nodded and walked forward alone.

The Array wasn’t hidden deeply, but it was by no means crude. From the outside, it looked like an ordinary layer of rock and a fractured mountain branch. But when he pressed his vein-protecting Divine Sense pattern against it, the sensory structure inside, specifically designed to target Demonic Qi, was quickly revealed.

The Array’s grade wasn’t high, but its location was the real problem.

It was situated at a bend in the mountain branch, with a complex camouflage structure set up by the Primordial Yang Sect right next to it.

Li Yuan didn’t rush to act. Instead, he first walked a full circle around the area, getting a clear picture of the Spiritual Power flow, the circuit connections, and the Array’s sensory range before starting to dismantle it.

Before he began, Li Yuan used his vein-protecting Divine Sense pattern to scan the surrounding layers of Spiritual Power circuits.

Soon, he confirmed two things.

First, what the Li family wanted broken was indeed just the outer Demon Testing Warning Array.

The Array’s grade was not low, but he had clearly sensed it when the Primordial Yang Sect members were setting it up, allowing him to target it specifically. Even so, the Array was quite complex, and it took him half a day to break it completely.

After the final main inscription dimmed, the entire Array went dark. Li Yuan didn’t probe any deeper.

The outer Demon Testing Array was broken, but the trapping array deeper inside remained untouched.

In other words, the door was open, but the net was still in place.

Now, it was just a matter of waiting to see when the people from the Demon Sect would walk into it themselves.

Li Yuan retracted his Divine Sense and turned to leave.

There was a trap Array inside, so naturally, Li Yuan wasn’t going to enter.

When the men from the Li family saw him emerge, they immediately went up to meet him.

"Is it done?"

"It’s broken," Li Yuan said.

Li Ze’an’s expression relaxed. He didn’t ask any further questions about the interior, simply handing over the Top-grade Spirit Stone and the alchemy manual.

"Li Dao You, your mastery of the Array Dao is truly brilliant."

Li Yuan accepted the Top-grade Spirit Stone first.

The panel instantly popped up in full.

[Detected equippable item: Top-grade Spirit Stone (Complete)]

[Equipment Affix Preview: Flawless Spiritual Power (Blue)]

[Effect: Significantly filters impurities from surrounding Spiritual Qi while also automatically purifying the Spiritual Power within your body and doubling your cultivation speed.]

[This affix can upgrade an existing permanent affix: Pure Spiritual Power (Green) → Flawless Spiritual Power (Blue)]

[Method 1: Equip the Top-grade Spirit Stone. This will occupy an equipment slot. The original affix will be upgraded and take effect immediately.]

[Method 2: Temporarily equip the Top-grade Spirit Stone. This will not occupy an equipment slot. The affix will not take effect, but you can accumulate progress toward making it permanent.]

[Method 3: Consume three Top-grade Spirit Stones to directly complete the upgrade of the original permanent affix, bypassing the permanency process.]

[Permanency Condition Preview: Accumulate 5,000 cultivation cycles, or condense a Top Grade Golden Core or higher (0/1).]

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

Li Yuan’s heart stirred slightly.

’And it’s even stronger than the version corresponding to the Mid-grade Spirit Stone. It doesn’t just filter Spiritual Qi, but purifies both the surrounding Spiritual Qi and his own Spiritual Power to a higher level, and it even doubles his cultivation speed.’

’Blue.’

’And a Blue one fundamentally related to cultivation.’

Li Yuan dismissed the panel, put away the Top-grade Spirit Stone, and then accepted the alchemy manual.

He hadn’t had time to examine the manual in detail yet, but the mere fact that the Li family had offered it alongside a Top-grade Spirit Stone meant it couldn’t be bad.

The group didn’t linger and soon went their separate ways.

The members of the Li family headed in another direction, while Li Yuan returned to the market city along the same path he came.

Along the way, a plan had already formed in Li Yuan’s mind.

’It wouldn’t be appropriate to have the Top-grade Spirit Stone occupy an equipment slot directly.’

’The most stable method is to equip it temporarily.’

’It won’t take up an equipment slot and I won’t get the immediate effect, but I can start accumulating progress toward making it permanent.’

After returning to his stone house, Li Yuan closed the door and took out the Top-grade Spirit Stone again.

As soon as the Spirit Stone was in his hand, the surrounding Spiritual Qi seemed to grow a little clearer. Without a second glance, Li Yuan followed the panel’s prompt and chose the second method.

[Temporarily equipped: Top-grade Spirit Stone (Complete)]

[Flawless Spiritual Power (Blue) affix is not active.]

[Permanency progress accumulation has begun.]

Li Yuan sat down cross-legged and began to circulate his Cultivation Technique.

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