Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 288: Chapter 278: Permanent Pill Fire Condensation

The hustle and bustle of Mist Forest Marketplace continued, and the cleanup at the ruins hadn’t stopped either.

On this day, the outpost transferred another group of people to the middle layer. It was said that a newly excavated collapsed section had revealed an old area that was much more intact than the previous ones. After receiving the transfer order, Li Yuan went over directly.

When he arrived, quite a few people were already standing around the periphery.

The collapsed rock layer had been cleared to one side, revealing a workshop half-buried in the middle layer’s stone wall. The doorframe was still there, but the inside was mostly blocked by rubble, leaving only an opening just large enough for a person to bend down and pass through.

Li Yuan stood outside and took a look first.

This place was different from the previously discovered alchemy rooms and quiet rooms. Remnant carvings clearly intended for the Array Dao remained on the walls. Broken stone troughs were embedded on both sides of the entrance, which were most likely originally used to hold Array Discs and Array Materials.

"An Array workshop."

A nearby Array Cultivator murmured.

Li Yuan nodded and then followed the crowd inside.

The inside of the workshop was more intact than it looked from the outside.

On the left were stone shelves, on which were scattered many Array Materials. Some had already lost their spirituality, while others were merely dark on the surface.

In the middle were three wide stone tables, on which sat things like half-finished Array Discs, carving knives, and Spirit-Attracting Needles.

The workshop cleanup began quickly.

He first helped sort the still-identifiable half-finished Array Discs on the stone tables and shelves, then went through a few stone caskets. As he was searching the innermost stone shelf, Li Yuan’s hand suddenly paused.

On the topmost shelf lay an old, bound volume.

Its surface was covered in dust and its corners were damaged, but the Array Pattern on the cover was still visible. It wasn’t an introductory manual for ordinary disciples, but clearly a much more complete legacy scroll.

Li Yuan took the item down, and a nearby Array Cultivator immediately looked over.

"Find something?"

"Looks like a legacy," Li Yuan said.

The man walked closer for a look, and his expression changed.

The volume had to be handed over to the outpost for registration first; that was the rule.

Li Yuan didn’t try to keep it for himself just because he found it first, and simply handed the item over. However, before it was registered, the few people nearby in charge of the cleanup had already given it a quick look and roughly made out the contents.

It was a Tier Two Array legacy.

It wasn’t a complete grand tome, but it was enough to bridge the gap between the Tier One Array Dao and the Tier Two Array Dao.

Just by reading those few pages, many of Li Yuan’s understandings that had been stuck at the peak of Tier One were pushed forward. This was especially true for the sections on Array Disc structures, compound circuits, and multi-layered node resonance, which perfectly aligned with the Array Mechanism Linkage he had just equipped.

After the legacy scroll was taken away, the panel popped up.

[Skill: Tier Two Array Dao — Novice (0/200)]

Tier Two Array Dao, Novice.

He had dismantled the corners and edges of too many Tier Two Arrays in Spirit Veins, ore veins, and ruins before. He never lacked the hands-on feel, but rather a legacy that could truly string together all these scattered pieces of understanding.

Now, with just a few pages of the general outline from this old volume, many of his insights that had been teetering on the edge of Tier One perfection were suddenly all threaded together.

Li Yuan stood still, his expression unchanging, simply pressing the instantaneous change deep into his heart.

If one were to say that perfecting the Tier One Array Dao was mostly about clearly seeing single-layer Arrays and their fundamental structures...

...then after becoming a Novice in the Tier Two Array Dao, the concept of layers truly began to appear in his vision. Main arrays, auxiliary arrays, outer stabilizing patterns, inner diversion flows, concealing false patterns—these things were no longer just laid out side-by-side, but seemed to be stacked one on top of another.

This would be of great significance for future explorations of the ruins.

After the workshop cleanup was finished, Li Yuan returned to the marketplace.

For the next few days, his focus shifted slightly away from the ruins and back to his stone house and Body Refining.

The Bone-Refining Spirit Paste and Body Refining Pills he had bought earlier were still there, and he had been accumulating progress in his Nameless Body Refining Technique for some time. Now, with [Strengthen Body Through Alchemy] equipped in his gear slot, the effects were gradually starting to show.

Previously, after taking a Body Refining Pill, although the medicinal power could enter his bones, membranes, and flesh, the pill would ultimately leave some residue in his body. The amount wasn’t large, and it wasn’t noticeable after one or two uses, but if it accumulated, it would inevitably slow down future absorption.

But now, it was different.

Now, every time Li Yuan took a Body Refining Pill, after the medicinal power dissolved, the portion that truly tempered his bones and refined his membranes would be pressed into his physical body bit by bit by the Nameless Body Refining Technique. Meanwhile, the unneeded, stagnant impurities would be stripped away from his meridians and flesh under the effect of [Strengthen Body Through Alchemy].

It wasn’t expelled all at once, but slowly carried away during the Skill’s operation.

The result was obvious.

From the same Body Refining Pill, Li Yuan could now absorb more of its effective medicinal power than before.

After each cycle of the Skill, the repeatedly tempered surface layer of his bones could also absorb more medicinal properties, so he no longer had to worry about accumulated impurities slowing his progress as he did before.

When this change was combined with the Bone-Refining Spirit Paste, the effect was even more substantial.

「Several days later.」

Li Yuan was sitting cross-legged in his stone house, once again circulating the Nameless Body Refining Technique.

Spiritual Power pressed down on the outer layer of his bones, circle by circle, across his sternum, shoulder bones, and spine, then spread to his arms and legs. The medicinal power of the Bone-Refining Spirit Paste first seeped inward along the bone layer, while the medicinal power of the Body Refining Pill pushed outward from within his body. Under the guidance of the Skill, the two forces met perfectly.

As this cycle reached its latter half, a change suddenly occurred.

Originally, whenever the Skill’s circulation reached the junction of his spine and ribs, there would be a noticeable stagnation. The Spiritual Power had to grind its way through bit by bit, and the bone layer had to slowly absorb the medicine; the speed could never increase. But this time, that section, which had always been the most difficult to push through, was forcefully broken open.

It hadn’t become faster out of thin air; rather, the bone layer’s own endurance had increased.

Li Yuan could clearly feel that when the Spiritual Power pressed down, the outer layer of his bones no longer just endured a slow grind as before, but could now steadily receive it. When the Bone-Refining Spirit Paste sank into that area, it was no longer squeezed at the surface but seeped more deeply into the next layer.

When this cycle of the Skill was complete, the panel popped up.

[Nameless Body Refining Technique — Minor Achievement (0/800)]

Nameless Body Refining Technique, Minor Achievement.

Li Yuan slowly opened his eyes. He didn’t get up immediately, instead looking at his arms and torso first.

There wasn’t much change to the surface of his body, nor did his muscles bulge exaggeratedly. But when he circulated the Skill again, the Spiritual Power under his skin could be drawn out naturally, forming an extremely faint layer of Spiritual Light that clung to the outer surface of his body.

This layer of Spiritual Light wasn’t thick, like a thin film covering the surface of his body, but it was complete.

His shoulders, back, torso, and arms were all connected by it.

The density and toughness of his bones, as well as the load-bearing capacity of his skin and membranes, had all increased. Coupled with the ability to actively manifest this Protective Spirit Light when circulating the Skill, his body’s frontal durability was on a completely different level than before.

After taking in this change, Li Yuan finally got up and went out.

But not long after he arrived at the administration office, his Spirit Vein perception picked something up.

Not a Cultivator, but a Demon Beast.

The presence appeared near a subterranean fissure not far from the periphery of the main vein. The location wasn’t too close to the large Spirit Vein he controlled, but not too far either. More importantly, the creature had reached the Tier Two level.

Li Yuan set off at once. After traveling deep into the vicinity of the fissure, he quickly locked onto the target.

It was a thick, long-bodied Rock-Armored Fire Python.

Half of its body was coiled at the mouth of the fissure. Its scales were dark red, but its underbelly bore a layer of hardened, black patterns. The most conspicuous features were the two bulging bone protrusions on either side of its head, from which Spiritual Power was being rhythmically pulsed out.

Just as Li Yuan got close enough, the Rock-Armored Fire Python suddenly snapped its head up.

The next moment, two extremely compressed, crimson Fireballs shot out from its mouth, flying straight at him.

Li Yuan sidestepped, his body shifting laterally as the Fireballs scraped past the stone wall. They didn’t explode into scattered sparks, but into a wide, concussive blast of searing fragments that blew a large, scorched crater in the wall.

The power was considerable.

Li Yuan didn’t press forward. Instead, he raised his hand and struck back with a Fire Python Skill.

A patch of flesh on the demon python’s neck immediately exploded into a charred, bloody mess. Its body thrashed wildly, sending rubble flying everywhere.

At that very instant, Li Yuan’s control over the Fire Python Skill suddenly advanced another step.

At the same time, a notification popped up on the panel.

[Magic: Fire Python Skill — Great Success (0/1600)]

Fire Python Skill, Great Success.

Li Yuan didn’t spare it a second thought, his figure already pressing forward once more.

The demon python took the hit. Although its flesh was charred, its body was tough and it had a natural resistance to fire magic.

However, it now knew Li Yuan’s strength. Its entire body twisted frantically as it tried to retreat deeper into the fissure.

But Li Yuan gave it no more chances. A Golden Blade Skill slashed into the already-open wound, followed closely by a Fire Arrow that nailed it right between the neck vertebrae.

The demon python struggled a few more times before crashing heavily to the ground.

After the battle ended, Li Yuan stood in place and caught his breath. He first scanned the surroundings to confirm that no other Demon Beasts had been alerted before stepping forward to handle the corpse.

His Fire Python Skill had been pushed to Great Success in actual combat, and his Golden Blade Skill had also clearly become more proficient through the continuous close-range slashes. As Li Yuan was butchering the demon python’s corpse, another notification popped up.

[Magic: Golden Blade Skill — Proficient (0/800)]

His Golden Blade Skill had also reached Proficient.

Next was to collect the spoils.

The demon python’s scales, bones, demon blood, and baleful materials were all useful. Li Yuan collected them one by one. As he cut deep into the abdominal cavity, the tip of his knife suddenly hit something extremely hard.

Li Yuan took the thing out and found that it was an Inner Core.

It was dark in color and covered with a layer of fine, hard patterns. It felt heavy in his hand, and was far harder than an ordinary Tier Two Demon Beast’s Inner Core. The moment he touched it, the panel popped up.

[Equippable Item Detected: Rock-Armored Fire Python Inner Core (Intact)]

[Equipment Affix Preview: Bones as Tough as Iron (Green)]

[Effect: Greatly increases bone toughness and resistance to blows]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Consume the Inner Cores of three different Tier Two Demon Beasts (0/3)]

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

Li Yuan glanced at it, put the Inner Core away for now, and continued processing the corpse.

By the time he returned to his stone house in the marketplace, it was already getting late.

Inside the stone house, Li Yuan took out the old Fire Talisman again.

[Permanence condition for Pill Fire Condensation (Green) has been met]

[Make permanent?]

Li Yuan raised his hand to confirm.

[Pill Fire Condensation (Green) has become a permanent affix]

An extremely distinct heat pushed out from his Dantian, traveled up his meridians to his arms, and then spread into his fingers and palms.

This change wasn’t just that his Fire Element Spiritual Power was stronger. It was that when the same Fire Spiritual Power was drawn from his Dantian, the coarse and scattered feeling that was once inevitably mixed in had been suppressed. When the firelight condensed, it formed faster and its edges were tighter, no longer faintly dissipating at the outermost layer as before.

Li Yuan raised his hand, and a ball of firelight appeared in his palm.

The flame was still crimson, but its body was clearly more solid and its flickering more stable. Even the color of the light seemed a layer more condensed. If he were to channel this Fire Spiritual Power into his Fire Arrow Skill or Fire Python Skill, the final impact on an enemy would be completely different from before.

After the effect became permanent, the old Fire Talisman disappeared.

Li Yuan withdrew the mental focus that had been freed up. He didn’t busy himself with anything else, simply putting away today’s gains once more.

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