Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 311: Chapter 300: The Li Family Auction

The Li family’s auction was held in a stone building on the east side of Yunyang Marketplace.

The Li family had specially rented the stone building. It was three stories high, with each floor having private rooms and public seating. The Li family had rented the rights to the entire building, a place in Yunyang Marketplace that specialized in auctions. From the venue to the auctioneer, everything was ready; they just needed to bring the items.

By the time Li Yuan arrived, a considerable crowd had already gathered outside the stone building.

Most were drawn by the Li family’s deep-seated resources. It wasn’t often you saw a cultivator family, after operating in Liangzhou for decades, liquidate their assets and prepare for a hasty departure, auctioning off their foundational items in a single package.

Li Yuan took a seat in a private room on the west side of the second floor.

The room wasn’t large, containing just a table and a chair, with a window directly facing the auction stage. From his seat, he had a full view of the stage without being too conspicuous.

The auction had not yet officially begun; the auctioneer on stage was making preparations.

Li Yuan glanced over the item list.

It was divided into four major categories: Cultivation Techniques, alchemy formulas, magical artifacts, and materials, with over a dozen items listed under each. The Cultivation Techniques category included several Tier Two techniques, the magical artifacts included two high-quality Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifacts, and the materials list was even longer.

’The Li family’s foundation is indeed substantial.’

Just as Li Yuan was looking through the list, the door to the adjacent private room made a sound, followed by a familiar voice.

"Li Dao You, we meet again."

Li Yuan turned to look.

The window of the neighboring room was open, and Ji Huaiyuan stood there, nodding at him.

His aura seemed a bit better than the last time they met, and his complexion was less sallow.

"Ji Dao You," Li Yuan returned the greeting.

Instead of staying in his own room, Ji Huaiyuan came right over, pushing open the door to Li Yuan’s room.

"There was something I wanted to ask you, Li Dao You," Ji Huaiyuan said, sitting down on an empty chair nearby without beating around the bush. "Do you happen to have a large amount of Evil Qi for sale?"

"Evil Qi?"

"That’s right. Not Evil Stone, but Evil Qi itself," Ji Huaiyuan said. "I recently acquired an Evil Qi Refining Method that allows me to inject Evil Qi during the Artifact Refining process to improve the quality of the magical artifact. But this method requires a huge amount of Evil Qi, and my own reserves are nowhere near enough."

Li Yuan glanced at him.

"When did you start researching Evil Qi, Ji Dao You?"

Ji Huaiyuan smiled.

"It was a matter of circumstance. After the fighting broke out over in Yunzhou, large groups of Cultivators fled to Liangzhou, and many of them first arrived near my home. My estate is located in the part of Liangzhou closest to Yunzhou, so when the Yunzhou Cultivators flooded in, our area was their first stop."

"I happened to buy the Evil Qi Refining Method from a Yunzhou Loose Cultivator," Ji Huaiyuan explained.

"The man had studied Artifact Refining in a small sect in Yunzhou. After his sect was scattered by the Demon Sect, he fled to Liangzhou, bringing many unorthodox techniques with him. This Evil Qi Refining Method was one of them."

Li Yuan nodded but didn’t answer immediately.

He had no shortage of Evil Qi. The Evil Essence Guiyi gathered Evil Qi day and night, and the Cultivating Evil Array in the Evil Ore mine was also in continuous operation. The amount of Evil Qi stored in his body had reached a very considerable level.

"I have plenty of pure Evil Qi on hand," Li Yuan said. "But since you’re in Artifact Refining, Ji Dao You, why not use Evil Stone directly?"

Ji Huaiyuan shook his head.

"Evil Stone won’t work. The quality of Evil Stone is too uniform. It contains only pure Evil Qi, with no other attributes. If used directly in Artifact Refining, the injected Evil Qi would be incompatible with the magical artifact’s own attributes. In the best-case scenario, the effect would be diminished; in the worst, it would ruin the magical artifact completely."

"What if it was an ore with both Evil Qi and the Fire Attribute mixed together?" Li Yuan asked.

Ji Huaiyuan paused for a moment.

"Fire Evil Stone?"

"Yes."

"That would be even better, of course." A clear note of interest entered Ji Huaiyuan’s voice. "The Evil Qi in Fire Evil Stone is already fused with Fire Attribute Spiritual Power. If used to refine a Fire Element magical artifact, the compatibility would be far higher than with pure Evil Stone. But such a thing is extremely hard to find. I’ve only ever seen it recorded in ancient texts; I’ve never seen a single piece in person."

Li Yuan didn’t reply, merely nodding.

’Fire Evil Stone.’

The Wang family’s Fire Attribute mine and his own Evil Ore mine were only separated by a fissure in a layer of rock deep underground. If he used the Meridian Guiding Skill to break through the fissure and connect the two mines, the Fire Spiritual Power and Evil Qi would permeate each other at the intersection, producing exactly what they were talking about: Fire Evil Stone.

He had mentioned this to Wang Ting’an before, who said he needed to consider it.

Now, with Ji Huaiyuan as a buyer, he had a ready market for the Fire Evil Stones.

Li Yuan filed the thought away, not mentioning it to Ji Huaiyuan on the spot.

The auction officially began.

The auctioneer stepped onto the stage, and the first item was brought out.

It was a Tier One Water Element Cultivation Technique of medium quality, with a low starting price. Li Yuan had no interest and sat watching quietly.

The first dozen or so lots were all Tier One items—a mix of cultivation techniques, alchemy formulas, and magical artifacts. The final prices were mostly ten to twenty percent lower than the market rate. The Li family was anxious to sell, so they set the reserve prices low, which the buyers were naturally happy about.

Ji Huaiyuan, however, did bid on and win two magical artifacts, both of the Fire Element and not too expensive.

When it was time for the Tier Two items, the atmosphere in the venue noticeably heated up.

The first Tier Two item was a Swordsmanship manual. Li Yuan glanced at the description on the list and didn’t raise his paddle.

The second was a Skill for raising Demon Beasts. Li Yuan had no interest, and besides, all the bidders were Cultivators from various factions.

When the third item came out, Li Yuan’s gaze locked onto it.

A Tier Two Divine Soul Skill.

The auctioneer held up the jade slip for all to see and briefly introduced the technique’s approach and effects.

"The Concentrating Soul-Invoking Skill, a Tier Two Divine Soul Skill, focuses on Divine Soul Condensation and Divine Sense manipulation. Cultivating it can significantly enhance the strength of one’s Divine Soul and the precision of one’s Divine Sense, providing an auxiliary effect to skills that require Mental Power, such as Alchemy, array formation, and talisman crafting. The starting price is three hundred Spirit Stones."

Li Yuan looked at the jade slip on the stage, his mind quickly making a decision.

The ancient Divine Sense Secret Technique he had previously obtained focused on Divine Split and multi-threaded control, solving the problem of the breadth and division of labor of his Divine Sense. However, the ancient technique didn’t address the fundamental strength and condensation of the Divine Soul itself.

This Concentrating Soul-Invoking Skill was the exact opposite, focusing primarily on Divine Soul Condensation.

’The two are complementary.’

The ancient Divine Sense Secret Technique allowed his Divine Sense to split into multiple threads operating simultaneously, while the Concentrating Soul-Invoking Skill would increase the underlying strength of each of those threads. Used together, the effect would be better than practicing either one alone.

"One thousand two hundred Spirit Stones," Li Yuan said, raising his paddle.

A few others in the room followed suit, but their bidding wasn’t aggressive. The audience for Divine Soul skills was much smaller than for combat or Body Refining Techniques, and not many were willing to spend a fortune on one.

"Two thousand."

"Two thousand two hundred."

"Three thousand." Li Yuan raised his paddle again, but someone else followed. "Three thousand five hundred."

The Li family had set all their starting bids very low to prevent items from going unsold.

"Four thousand five hundred Spirit Stones, sold."

In the end, Li Yuan bought it for the price of 4,500.

After paying the Spirit Stones, he received the jade slip.

He extended his Divine Sense into it, and the contents of the skill spread through his mind. The cultivation method of the Concentrating Soul-Invoking Skill had a degree of continuity with the Soul Condensation Skill, both following the path of Divine Soul Condensation, but this one was of a higher level and its mechanics were more refined. He had already cultivated the Soul Condensation Skill to completion; building on that foundation to switch to the Concentrating Soul-Invoking Skill, getting started shouldn’t be too difficult.

[Detected equippable item: Concentrating Soul-Invoking Skill (Complete)]

[Equipment Trait Preview: Divine Soul Guard (Green)]

[Effect: Reduces Divine Soul consumption by twenty percent when casting spells and cultivating.]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Reach Great Success proficiency in one Tier Two Divine Soul Skill.]

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

’A green trait. It reduces Divine Soul consumption by twenty percent when casting spells and cultivating.’

’This effect is very useful for me.’ Alchemy, array formation, and the three-way parallel processing of Divine Split—every one of these consumed his Divine Soul. A twenty percent reduction in consumption meant the same amount of energy could support high-intensity operations for much longer.

Li Yuan put the jade slip into his storage bag, and the auction continued.

Several more Tier Two items came up, but Li Yuan did not raise his paddle again.

After the auction ended, the crowd began to disperse.

Li Yuan and Ji Huaiyuan walked out of the stone building together.

As they reached the marketplace street, Li Yuan spoke.

"Ji Dao You, about the Fire Evil Stone matter, I might have a solution."

Ji Huaiyuan stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him.

"Are you talking about real Fire Evil Stone?"

"I previously helped the Wang family assess a Fire Attribute mine," Li Yuan said. "That mine and my own Evil Ore mine are only separated by a fissure in a layer of rock deep underground. If I use the Meridian Guiding Skill to connect the two mines, the Fire Spiritual Power and Evil Qi will permeate each other at the intersection. It might produce Fire Evil Stone."

Ji Huaiyuan’s eyes lit up instantly.

"Where is the mine? Can I go see it?"

"You can," Li Yuan nodded. "But the mine belongs to the Wang family. Connecting them will require their consent."

"I’ll talk to the Wang family," Ji Huaiyuan said, then thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, it’s better if you act as the go-between. The Wang family doesn’t know me well."

Li Yuan didn’t refuse and subsequently took Ji Huaiyuan to the Wang family’s Fire Attribute mine.

Ji Huaiyuan had studied mines himself. Upon entering the tunnel, he crouched down to carefully examine the vein. He pressed his palm against the surface of the ore, extended his Divine Sense deep underground for a stretch, then stood up and walked a full circuit of the mine, inspecting the rock formations on all four walls of the cavern.

The whole process took about an hour.

When he came out, Ji Huaiyuan’s expression was certain.

"It’s feasible," he said. "The Fire Spiritual Power concentration in this Fire Vein isn’t high, but its strength lies in its stability. After connecting it to the Evil Ore mine, the rate of permeation between the two types of spiritual power at the intersection won’t be too fast, so it won’t get out of control. The quality of the produced Fire Evil Stone will depend on the ratio of spiritual energies from both sides. It might be uneven at first, but once it stabilizes, it should remain within a usable range."

"You’re willing to buy the Fire Evil Stone that’s produced?" Li Yuan asked.

"I’ll buy all of it," Ji Huaiyuan said without hesitation. "However much there is, I’ll take it. The price will be based on the market standard for Purple Evil Stone, plus thirty percent. Fire Evil Stone is worth much more than pure Evil Stone."

That afternoon, Li Yuan also arranged to meet with Wang Ting’an.

The three of them met at the management office of the Mist Forest Marketplace.

Li Yuan explained the situation. The Wang family would provide the usage rights for the Fire Attribute mine, Li Yuan would be responsible for connecting the two mines with the Meridian Guiding Skill and providing the Evil Ore resources, and Ji Huaiyuan would purchase the resulting Fire Evil Stone and offer cooperation in Artifact Refining.

The three parties each stood to gain what they needed.

After listening, Wang Ting’an didn’t agree immediately. He first asked a few questions.

"Will connecting them have any negative impact on my family’s mine?"

"The output of the Fire Element spirit ore might be affected somewhat."

Li Yuan answered truthfully. "After the Evil Qi seeps in, the formation rate of pure Fire Element spirit ore will decrease, and a portion of the output will become Fire Evil Stone. However, the value of Fire Evil Stone is much higher than pure Fire Element spirit ore, so the total revenue will only be greater."

Wang Ting’an then looked at Ji Huaiyuan.

"Is the market for Fire Evil Stone stable?"

"I’ll take it all," Ji Huaiyuan said. "As long as the quality is acceptable, I’ll buy as much as you can produce. The war in Yunzhou is still raging, and the demand for magical artifacts will only increase. Magical artifacts refined with Fire Evil Stone are a tier above ordinary ones; there will be no trouble selling them."

Wang Ting’an pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright."

The three-way agreement was settled on the spot.

Li Yuan would be responsible for using the Meridian Guiding Skill to connect the two mines and provide the Evil Ore resources. The Wang family would provide the usage rights to the Fire Attribute mine and receive a proportional share of the Fire Evil Stone output. Ji Huaiyuan would purchase all the Fire Evil Stone at a price thirty percent above the standard for Purple Evil Stone, with any future collaborations on refined products to be negotiated separately.

The agreement wasn’t put to paper; it was a verbal accord among the three men.

Most collaborations between Cultivators were like this. Reputation was more effective than any contract.

Ji Huaiyuan left Mist Forest Marketplace that same day, saying he was going back to prepare Artifact Refining materials and would return to pick up the Fire Evil Stone as soon as it was produced.

Wang Ting’an also left to arrange for his personnel at the mine to cooperate.

Li Yuan returned to his stone house and sat at his desk, organizing his thoughts.

’Once this three-way agreement is finalized, I’ll have another line in my resource network.’

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