Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 318: Chapter 307: Fire Evil Stone Trade

Li Yuan cultivated the Concentrating Soul-Invoking Skill until the latter half of the night. He then stopped, rose from his cushion, and stretched his muscles.

On the desk lay the Tier Two beast-hide scroll for the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill. He had read it through once after buying it from a Li family Loose Cultivator’s stall, but he hadn’t officially started cultivating it yet.

Li Yuan sat back down at the desk, unrolled the scroll, and began to guide his Spiritual Power according to the Cultivation Technique’s circulation route.

The Tier Two Iron Wall Body Refining Skill followed the same principles as the Tier One version. However, Tier Two was far more refined. The Spiritual Power was split into dozens of fine streams, which were injected into the layers of skin and the gaps between bones, permeating and reinforcing them layer by layer.

He had already mastered the Tier One Iron Wall Body Refining Skill, so his physical body was extremely familiar with this method of Spiritual Power circulation. The moment Spiritual Power entered his meridians, his body spontaneously coordinated with it. The Spiritual Power channels in his bones and skin were completely unobstructed, requiring almost no additional guidance.

The transition was exceptionally smooth.

After completing the first circulation cycle, Li Yuan felt the difference between Tier Two and Tier One.

The Spiritual Power penetrated deeper into his skin. It no longer just stayed on the surface but burrowed down along the texture of the muscles, seeping into the extremely thin gap between the skin and muscle. The same was true for his bones; the Spiritual Power permeated from the bone surface into the marrow, about twenty percent deeper than with Tier One.

[Iron Wall Body Refining Skill (Tier Two): Introductory (0/200)]

’I’ve reached the introductory level.’

Li Yuan stopped circulating the Cultivation Technique and put away the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill scroll. Then, he took out a Tier Two Iron Wall Pill from his storage pouch.

The dark gray pill felt extremely heavy between his fingers. Its surface was coarse, and he could feel the compressed force within it even through its solid form.

After he swallowed it, the medicinal pill didn’t dissolve immediately. Instead, it sank to the bottom of his stomach for two breaths before suddenly erupting.

A heavy medicinal power surged from his abdomen. Unlike ordinary pills, it didn’t follow his meridians but poured directly into his physical body.

A dense, aching sensation spread through all of Li Yuan’s bones simultaneously, and the surface of his skin grew tight and hot.

His Qi Blood was being consumed at a ferocious rate.

Li Yuan continued to cultivate as the medicinal power washed over his body. At this moment, his body needed a large amount of Qi Blood to coordinate the repair and reconstruction. Every inch of skin and bone permeated by the medicinal power was rapidly consuming Qi Blood to complete the strengthening process.

Had it been an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator, they wouldn’t have been able to withstand this level of Qi Blood consumption for long. They would have had to stop and recover after about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

But within Li Yuan’s body, multiple permanent entries related to Qi Blood were operating simultaneously.

The medicinal power rampaged through his body for nearly an hour, yet Li Yuan’s Qi Blood remained above eighty percent, never dropping to a level where he needed to stop and recover.

Two hours later, the medicinal power of the first Iron Wall Pill was finally absorbed completely by his body.

Li Yuan wiggled his fingers.

The sensation in his fingertips was different. When he pressed on the desk, he could clearly feel that his skin was thicker and denser, and his knuckles were a bit harder than before.

The "Strengthen Body with Medicine" entry was also taking effect. The Body Refining pill left no impurities; its medicinal power was absorbed cleanly by his body, leaving no residue to be expelled.

More importantly, Li Yuan discovered that while the Iron Wall Pill’s medicinal power strengthened his skin and bones, it also had a minor supportive effect on other parts of his body. His meridian walls, organs, and muscles—parts not targeted by the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill—were also lightly washed over by the aftershocks of the medicinal power.

This portion of the medicinal power didn’t follow the path of the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill but seeped in along the circulation channels of the nameless Body Refining Technique.

The nameless Body Refining Technique followed a path of uniform, full-body strengthening, not focusing on any specific area, and its Spiritual Power channels were spread throughout the body. After the majority of the Iron Wall Pill’s power was consumed along the main path, the small remaining portion flowed through the channels already opened by the nameless Body Refining Technique and dispersed throughout his body, producing a thin layer of overall enhancement.

The effect wasn’t significant, but it was better than nothing.

Li Yuan took the second Iron Wall Pill and continued to guide the medicinal power with the Tier Two Iron Wall Body Refining Skill.

For the next few days, Li Yuan’s schedule was packed.

During the day, he managed the marketplace’s affairs, reviewed transaction records and entry-exit logs at the administration office, and then performed Alchemy.

The price of wartime medicinal pills was still climbing. The Vessel Continuation Pill was up thirty percent from half a month ago, and the Gathering Essence Pill was up twenty percent. Li Yuan refined two furnaces of Vessel Continuation Pills and one of Gathering Essence Pills, selling them all for a considerable return of Spirit Stones.

After making his multi-tasking Divine Split permanent, Li Yuan could perform Alchemy while simultaneously using another Divine Sense Line to cultivate the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill or the Concentrating Soul-Invoking Skill. A third line was dedicated to the Spirit Vein monitoring.

He could do all three things at once without any interference.

Performing Alchemy while cultivating, and cultivating while monitoring the Spirit Vein—his daily efficiency had more than doubled.

However, another concern began to emerge regarding the marketplace’s business conditions.

There were fewer traveling merchants.

After the Qi Shui Sect’s stronghold fell, the Dark Abyss Association had retreated into the shadows, but their activities in Liangzhou had intensified.

Although there weren’t many large-scale conflicts, frequent news of Demon Cultivators appearing outside the marketplace made the trade-running Loose Cultivators increasingly cautious. On the trade route between Yunyang Marketplace and Mist Forest Marketplace, a group of traveling merchants used to appear every two or three days. Now, it took seven or eight days for a group to arrive.

The flow of goods had slowed down noticeably.

Most of the Loose Cultivators inside the marketplace didn’t dare to go out, instead gathering within its walls and consuming their existing supplies. The inventory of several material shops was shrinking at a visible rate, and a few supplementary materials for Alchemy had been out of stock for several days.

Li Yuan noticed this trend and began to consciously stockpile more of the hard-to-replenish materials that were within his purchasing power.

One morning, while Li Yuan was performing Alchemy in his stone house, his Spirit Vein Monitoring Line detected a familiar aura approaching the marketplace entrance.

Ji Huaiyuan.

Li Yuan released his fire control over the Pill Furnace and got up, heading toward the marketplace entrance.

Before he even reached the administration office, Ji Huaiyuan had already entered the marketplace and was walking along the main street toward the stone house.

The two met halfway.

Ji Huaiyuan was not in good shape.

His face was sallow, and his aura was weaker than when they last met. Li Yuan could faintly sense that the flow of energy in his left shoulder’s meridians was obstructed, as if he hadn’t fully recovered from an injury.

"Li Dao You, my apologies for the wait." Ji Huaiyuan cupped his hands, his tone apologetic.

"What happened?"

Ji Huaiyuan gave a bitter smile.

"I set out from home half a month ago and ran into a Demon Cultivator on the way. A Mid-stage Foundation Establishment one."

"You fought?"

"I had no choice. He blocked the road and attacked directly," Ji Huaiyuan said. "I managed to drive off their leader, but I took a hit myself. Two meridians in my left shoulder were severed. I didn’t dare continue traveling, fearing I’d run into someone else, so I had to retreat home to recuperate."

Li Yuan glanced at his left shoulder.

"Have you recovered now?"

"About seventy or eighty percent. Still a little way to go." Ji Huaiyuan moved his left arm, the motion somewhat stiff.

"I couldn’t delay any longer. Postponing the matter of the Fire Evil Stones doesn’t benefit anyone, so I came over before I was fully healed."

"My family has taken on a number of orders now, and we’d face significant losses if I didn’t make it."

"There’s no rush," Li Yuan said. "I’ve been saving the items for you."

The two returned to the stone house, where Li Yuan took out both batches of Fire Evil Stones from his storage pouch and arranged them on the table by quality.

When Ji Huaiyuan’s gaze fell upon the Fire Evil Stones, some color returned to his sallow face.

He reached out, picked up a high-grade Fire Evil Stone, turned it over and over to examine it, and then probed its interior with his Divine Sense.

"Better than I expected." Ji Huaiyuan put down the Fire Evil Stone and picked up a second one to inspect.

"The ratio of fire to evil energy is very even, and the penetration depth is sufficient. With Fire Evil Stones of this quality, there’s almost no need for extra adjustments to compatibility when using them for Artifact Refining of Fire Element Magical Artifacts."

"Four high-grade, six Middle Grade, and three low-grade," Li Yuan stated the count. "The low-grade ones have a bit too much Fire Spiritual Power, so they aren’t very suitable for Artifact Refining. I plan to sell them through normal channels."

Ji Huaiyuan nodded, raising no objections about the low-grade stones. He took all the high-grade and Middle Grade ones, settling the payment in Spirit Stones on the spot. The price was thirty percent higher than the previously agreed-upon standard for Purple Evil Stones, making the total for the ten Fire Evil Stones a considerable sum.

"Will the subsequent output be stable?" Ji Huaiyuan asked.

"The seepage channel has stabilized. There will be a new batch every seven to ten days, with a quantity similar to this one."

"Good." Ji Huaiyuan stored the Fire Evil Stones and added, "I plan to stay in the marketplace for a few more days this time and take the next batch with me when it’s ready. The road home isn’t safe; the fewer trips, the better."

"Of course. There are empty guest rooms in the marketplace."

Not long after Ji Huaiyuan left, Wang Ting’an arrived.

"Li Dao You, I heard someone from the Ji family came to pick up the goods?" Wang Ting’an asked as soon as he entered.

"He just left. Took all ten Fire Evil Stones."

Wang Ting’an’s expression changed slightly, as he was clearly calculating the sum in his head.

According to their profit-sharing agreement, the Wang family would get thirty percent of the earnings from the ten Fire Evil Stones. The equivalent amount of Spirit Stones was higher than the total value of the pure Fire Element Spirit Ore that the Fire Ore mine originally produced in a month.

"Li Dao You, I have an idea."

Wang Ting’an sat down at the table, his tone much more proactive than before.

"My family has another small mining spot southwest of the marketplace. It’s also Fire Attribute, but its quality is a bit lower than the current one, and the output has never been good. If you could also connect it..."

"What are the terms?"

"You get the usage rights to the mining spot, same as the last one. I provide the mine, you connect it and set up the formation." Wang Ting’an paused for a moment. "However, for the profit split, with three Spirit Veins involved, the split for the Fire Evil Stone output will change from three-seven to four-six."

Wang gets four, Li gets six.

An additional ten percent for them.

Li Yuan thought for a moment.

Adding another Fire Ore mine meant a more abundant supply of Fire Spiritual Power. After connecting it to the Evil Ore mine, the contact surface would be larger, and the total output of Fire Evil Stones would increase further. Giving up an extra ten percent of the profit in exchange for a larger scale of production would only lead to higher overall earnings.

"Deal."

After Wang Ting’an left, Li Yuan went out of the marketplace that same afternoon to check the new mining spot.

It was located southwest of the Wang family’s previous Fire Ore mine. The two mines were separated by a stretch of low, rocky hills, and the direct distance wasn’t far.

The mine shaft was shallow, and the cavity was small. The quality of the vein body was indeed worse than the previous one; the concentration of Fire Spiritual Power was low, and its path was irregular.

But for the Meridian Guiding Skill, poor quality wasn’t an issue. The key was the location.

Li Yuan swept his senses deep underground to confirm the relative positions of the three Spirit Veins.

The Evil Ore mine was to the far east, the Wang family’s previous Fire Ore mine was west of center, and the new mining spot was to the far west. Deep underground, the three mines were arranged in a diagonal line, with the distance between any two adjacent mines being less than twenty zhang.

Li Yuan decided to first connect the new mining spot to the first Fire Ore mine, and then link the entire pathway to the Evil Ore mine system.

He performed the Meridian Guiding Skill.

Spiritual Power flowed from his fingertips into the end of the new mining spot’s vein body, slowly seeping along its surface and guiding its path to shift, bit by bit.

He didn’t finish that day, so he returned the next.

On the evening of the second day, the end of the new mining spot’s vein body passed through the rock layer and connected with the end of the first Fire Ore mine’s vein body deep underground.

Once the two Fire Ore mines were connected, the flow of Fire Spiritual Power changed immediately. Although the new mining spot was of low quality, once its Spiritual Power flowed into the first Fire Ore mine, the overall concentration of Fire Spiritual Power at the junction increased slightly, and the speed at which it seeped toward the Evil Ore mine also quickened.

Li Yuan then connected the second Fire Ore mine to the Evil Vein.

The three Spirit Veins, connected pairwise, formed a triangular network underground.

Li Yuan remained in the convergence zone for a moment to confirm that the Spiritual Power flow between the three connected veins was stable, with no signs of repulsion or turbulence, before withdrawing from the mine shaft.

It was already dark by the time he returned to the stone house.

Li Yuan sat down at his desk and mentally reviewed the day’s business flow and the changes to the Spirit Veins. Then, he sat cross-legged on his cushion and resumed his cultivation.

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