Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 313: Chapter 302: Making Enduring Qi Blood Permanent

In the morning, while cultivating, Li Yuan sensed the aura of a Tier Two Demon Beast near the Spirit Vein.

Li Yuan immediately equipped the Strengthening Essence and Longevity Breathing Skill. Experience with the Skill flooded his mind, and he then sped out of the marketplace.

[Equipped: Strengthening Essence and Longevity Breathing Skill (Complete)]

[Endless Qi Blood (Green) is active.]

The change was gentle. It wasn’t a feeling of his Qi Blood surging, but rather a permanent optimization of its circulation. The loss of Qi Blood as it flowed through his meridians and blood vessels was reduced, as if once-rough pipes had been polished smooth.

Arriving in the middle layer of the Ghost Mist Forest, Li Yuan followed the traces of the aura his Spiritual Sense had captured along the Spirit Vein, heading deeper into the woods.

An hour ago, the target had appeared in a dense forest east of a branch of the Spirit Vein. Its aura was heavy and chilling, with a fluctuation intensity around Tier Two Middle Grade.

Li Yuan lightened his steps, his body sticking to the shadows of the trees as he moved forward. With both "Traceless Breath" and "Hidden Vein Breath" active, his own aura was suppressed to an extremely low level.

When he was less than twenty zhang away from the target, the atmosphere in the forest suddenly changed.

A foul, acrid smell filled the air, like a mix of rotting leaves and the unique stench of a snake. The layer of dead leaves on the ground was slightly raised in several places. The raised outlines were long and thin, like a thick rope buried beneath the leaves.

Poisonous Scale Serpent.

Li Yuan didn’t act immediately. Instead, he first used his "Illuminated Spiritual Sense" to carefully scan the Poisonous Scale Serpent’s surroundings.

Halfway through his scan, he perceived something else.

Demonic Qi.

It was very faint, clinging to the outer layer of the Poisonous Scale Serpent’s aura like a thin film. It wasn’t generated by the Demon Beast itself, but came from an external source.

Li Yuan’s gaze sharpened slightly. He then retracted his perception, not dwelling on the matter.

’It won’t affect the hunt.’

But the purpose of this hunt wasn’t just the kill itself.

The condition to make "Endless Qi Blood" permanent: fight continuously against an opponent of the same tier for over an hour without letting Qi Blood drop below eighty percent.

The Poisonous Scale Serpent was Tier Two Middle Grade, the same tier as him. With his current strength, he could end a direct, swift fight quickly. But to meet the permanence condition, he had to drag the battle out for more than an hour.

Li Yuan adjusted his strategy.

’Don’t use my full strength. Control my output and wear it down.’

He raised a hand and launched a Fire Arrow Skill, not aiming for a vital point but smashing it into the ground in front of the Poisonous Scale Serpent’s ambush position.

With a muffled BOOM, a patch of dead leaves and dirt was blasted into the air.

The Poisonous Scale Serpent didn’t pounce immediately. Instead, it coiled itself up, its head swaying slightly from side to side as if judging the strength of the prey before it.

Li Yuan stood twenty zhang away and didn’t press the attack.

The Poisonous Scale Serpent waited for a few breaths. Seeing Li Yuan remain still, it struck first.

The snake’s body shot out with extreme speed. Its body, over three zhang long, stretched into a dark green line in mid-air. Its head opened wide, two fangs flipping down from its upper jaw as it lunged straight for Li Yuan’s face.

Li Yuan dodged to the side. The snake’s head grazed past his shoulder, stirring up a foul wind.

He didn’t counterattack, but took two steps back to increase the distance.

After missing, the Poisonous Scale Serpent twisted its body and swept its tail at him. Li Yuan raised a hand to block. The Spiritual Membrane of his Three Elements Body Protection automatically appeared, deflecting most of the impact.

Li Yuan silently marked the time and began to skirmish with the Poisonous Scale Serpent.

In the following battle, Li Yuan fought with extreme restraint.

Every time the Poisonous Scale Serpent lunged, he would only dodge or block it with the Spiritual Membrane. He occasionally cast a Fire Arrow Skill or Golden Blade Skill, but never at its vitals. He just aimed for its body, leaving wounds that were neither too deep nor too shallow to keep the snake’s desire to attack alive.

’If the injuries are too light, the Poisonous Scale Serpent will run.’

’If they’re too severe, the battle will end prematurely.’

The Poisonous Scale Serpent’s attack patterns were simple: either a lunging bite or a sweeping, constricting tail attack. Occasionally, it would spew a cloud of poison mist from the gaps between its scales. The mist was a pale green, with a small area of effect but high concentration.

The first time Li Yuan encountered the poison mist, the Spiritual Membrane of his Three Elements Body Protection blocked most of it. With his physical body being strong enough, his "Evil Essence Conversion" treated the small amount of toxin that seeped into his body as an impurity and directly converted it into Evil Qi.

After fighting for nearly an hour, Li Yuan’s Illuminated Spiritual Sense suddenly caught a strange aura.

It was to the northeast, about a hundred zhang away.

The aura of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, carrying Demonic Qi.

A Demon Cultivator.

Li Yuan’s movements didn’t change; he continued to skirmish with the Poisonous Scale Serpent at the same pace.

The aura stopped a hundred zhang away, neither approaching nor leaving. It just lingered in the distance, as if observing.

Li Yuan used his Illuminated Spiritual Sense to lock onto the other party’s position.

They were hidden in the canopy of an old tree, their body kept low and their aura deliberately concealed. If not for the wide passive perception range of his Illuminated Spiritual Sense, coupled with the extra sensitivity to Demonic Qi from his "Demonic Sense Amplification," they would have been very difficult to spot.

’Looks like a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator. The aura isn’t particularly strong.’

Li Yuan didn’t alert them.

A few breaths later, the Demon Cultivator’s aura to the northeast suddenly moved.

It didn’t approach but retreated into the distance. It was fast, moving beyond the range of his Illuminated Spiritual Sense within a few breaths.

’They’re gone.’

Li Yuan mentally noted the direction they left in but didn’t give chase.

’It’s about time.’

A little over an hour had passed since the battle began.

Li Yuan stopped holding back.

A Fire Python Skill coalesced in his palm, its crimson light far more intense than before. Once formed, the Fire Python shot straight for the Poisonous Scale Serpent’s head. The snake tried to dodge, but after losing more than half its stamina, its speed was nowhere near what it had been at the start.

The Fire Python slammed into the side of the serpent’s head. The Poisonous Scale Serpent let out a wretched hiss as half of its head was burned black by the intense heat.

A panel popped up.

[Permanence condition for Endless Qi Blood (Green) has been met.]

[Fought continuously against a same-tier opponent for over one hour without Qi Blood dropping below eighty percent (Met).]

[Make permanent?]

Li Yuan confirmed.

[Endless Qi Blood (Green) has become a permanent entry.]

Li Yuan moved his body a bit, confirmed his condition was normal, and then went forward to deal with the Poisonous Scale Serpent’s corpse.

The Poisonous Scale Serpent’s scales, Poison Sac, and bones were all useful. The Poison Sac, in particular, stored venom that could be used in Alchemy to create poison pills or be applied to Magical Artifacts to add a corrosive effect. It could be sold for a good number of Spirit Stones in the marketplace.

He took out the Inner Core and swallowed it directly. A cold, sinister power pressed from his stomach walls into his bones. His Evil Essence Conversion stripped away the Evil Qi as usual, and the remaining Demonic Power was caught by the "River of Qi and Blood" and slowly digested according to the Skill.

After gathering the materials, Li Yuan returned to the marketplace along the same path he came.

When he got back to the marketplace, the atmosphere was off.

The main street was packed with people, livelier than ever, but it was a chaotic liveliness. Cultivators were running around everywhere, dragging storage bags. Long lines formed at the entrances of several shops, and many people were squatting by the roadside, their faces ashen, looking like they had just fled a disaster.

As Li Yuan reached the entrance of the administration office, a guard Cultivator came up to him.

"Pavilion Master, something terrible has happened."

"What is it?"

"Over in Yunzhou, an important stronghold of the Qi Shui Sect has fallen. A large number of Cultivators have retreated into Liangzhou. They started pouring into the marketplace this morning and haven’t stopped."

Li Yuan walked into the administration office. A stack of temporary entry and exit registers was already piled on the desk.

He opened a register and saw that the number of new Cultivators registered in the marketplace today was more than five times the usual amount. The vast majority came from the direction of Yunzhou, ranging from the Qi Refining Stage to the Foundation Establishment Stage. Most were Loose Cultivators, but there were also a few noted as disciples of the Qi Shui Sect.

News of the fallen stronghold spread quickly through the marketplace.

By afternoon, almost everyone knew. A core stronghold of the Qi Shui Sect in eastern Yunzhou had been breached by the Evil Slaying Sect. The defending Cultivators suffered heavy casualties, and the survivors, along with nearby Loose Cultivators, had retreated, with most of them pouring into Liangzhou.

Panic spread along with the influx of people.

Prices in the marketplace began to fluctuate wildly that same afternoon.

Pills were the first to be affected. Healing Pills, Replenishing Essence Pills, and Antitoxic Pills—the pills most consumed during wartime—doubled in price within two hours. The stock of several Pill Shops was bought out completely, forcing the Shopkeepers to post notices limiting purchases.

Material prices rose right after. Spiritual Sand, Spirit Ore, auxiliary materials for Alchemy, and talisman-making materials—nearly every category was rising in price, with increases ranging from thirty percent to double.

Li Yuan looked at the real-time price summary sent from the administration office and didn’t hesitate, starting to sell off his stock that very day.

The prices of the wartime consumables he had previously stockpiled—Rejuvenating Grass, Purple Profound Stone Powder, and Gathering Essence Sand—had already risen to more than double his purchase cost. Li Yuan sold off most of them, keeping only a small amount for his own use.

He also sold a batch of life-extending auxiliary materials. The prices of Life-extending Grass and Vein-Nourishing Spiritual Sand were twenty percent higher than their previous peak. Li Yuan took advantage of this wave of panic buying to sell off half of his remaining stock.

After a few transactions, the number of Spirit Stones he recouped was extremely substantial.

His net profit was higher than any of his previous transactions.

That evening, Li Yuan made another trip to the Core Formation District.

The work of setting up the auxiliary arrays was still ongoing, but the progress had clearly slowed down.

The reason was simple: they were short on materials.

When Li Yuan arrived, two Cultivators from the materials team were taking inventory of the remaining stock, their expressions grim.

"We only have two portions of Stabilizing Spirit Sand left, and the Spirit-Guiding Powder is almost gone," one of them said to the other. "At this rate, we’ll have to stop work after setting up three more arrays at most."

Li Yuan didn’t ask further questions and went straight to find Chen Yi.

"Why are we so short on Array Materials?"

Chen Yi sighed.

"The Sect’s regular reserves are actually sufficient. We’re not short on pills, Magical Artifacts, or common Spiritual Sand. But the materials used for the auxiliary arrays of the Core Formation platforms are of a special type. We don’t normally stockpile large quantities of several of these items, and we originally planned to purchase the rest from the market. But recently, it’s become harder and harder to buy these materials on the market."

"Can’t buy them?"

"It’s not just that we can’t buy them." Chen Yi lowered his voice. "An unknown force is secretly acquiring the same type of materials, and they’re buying them up aggressively. When the Sect’s procurement channels went to get the goods, they found that the stock of several suppliers had already been cleared out in advance."

Li Yuan didn’t respond.

’An unknown force is secretly acquiring materials for the Core Formation platform arrays.’

’This lines up with the two contradictory phenomena I observed in the marketplace earlier. Someone is collecting them, someone is selling them at a low price, and that Primordial Yang Sect disciple is acting as the middleman.’

After leaving the Core Formation District, Li Yuan returned to his stone house and continued to cultivate.

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