Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 319: Chapter 308: Reinforcing the Array Defenses

The influx of Cultivators from Yunzhou showed no signs of slowing.

After the Qi Shui Sect’s defensive line in eastern Yunzhou was breached, the retreating Cultivators flooded into Liangzhou like a tidal wave. Mist Forest Marketplace, being one of the largest hubs in southeastern Liangzhou, absorbed a significant portion of this flow.

The marketplace was running out of space.

The inns on both sides of the main street were completely full. The temporary stalls in the Loose Cultivator trading area were packed so tightly you could barely move, and even the backyards of several shops had been converted into temporary housing. The administration office was registering three times as many new faces each day compared to the previous month, yet the number of people leaving was dropping. Most who entered didn’t dare to leave again.

Li Yuan met with Chen Yi at the administration office.

"The marketplace needs to be expanded." Li Yuan pushed the entry and exit data from the past half-month in front of Chen Yi.

Chen Yi glanced at the data and didn’t argue.

"The Sect is pushing for it, too," Chen Yi said. "Word came from the outpost. They want the marketplace to figure out how to expand its capacity. We can apply for personnel and technical support, but the Sect will fund the materials."

Chen Yi looked up at him and spoke slowly.

"The intelligence on Array Materials, Demon Cultivator kills, and auxiliary array deployments you’ve submitted... the contribution points for those have never been paid out."

"You won’t have to pay for the expansion materials, and the new storefronts will be yours. Consider it your reward. Of course, you’ll have to do the work. What do you say?"

Li Yuan nodded. He had no objections.

The expansion moved quickly.

Li Yuan took three days to open up new areas on the east and south sides of the marketplace. The eastern expansion added twelve storefronts and a row of houses, while the southern one added eight storefronts and a small storage district.

Many medicinal herbs couldn’t be kept in storage bags and required special Arrays to preserve them.

Protective Arrays were laid down in tandem, seamlessly integrating with the marketplace’s existing Demon-Exploring Array and Investigation Array. The walls and Restriction structures in the new sections were sturdier than those in the old district. His level of Minor Achievement in the Tier Two Array Dao was more than sufficient for a project of this scale.

Once the storefronts were built, Li Yuan kept four for himself and put the rest up for sale.

Buyers weren’t hard to find. The marketplace was crammed with displaced Yunzhou Cultivators, many of whom had Spirit Stones but lacked a permanent place to do business. Of the sixteen storefronts listed, twelve sold on the first day, and the remaining four were gone by the second.

The selling price was higher than Li Yuan had anticipated. A wartime premium combined with overwhelming demand pushed the final price for each storefront to nearly double the normal rate.

Spirit Stones poured in.

In between selling the storefronts, Li Yuan set aside a portion of the Spirit Stones he earned and began systematically stockpiling scarce materials.

As the number of traveling merchants dwindled, the flow of goods between marketplaces had nearly ground to a halt. There was no shortage of locally produced goods near Mist Forest Marketplace—pills, Talismans, Evil Stones, and Fire Evil Stones were all in stable supply. However, some materials couldn’t be produced locally and had to be brought in from the outside.

Li Yuan made a trip to Yunyang Marketplace and bought up everything he could find.

He spent a considerable amount of Spirit Stones, but ’these items would only become more expensive later on.’

On the third day after he finished stockpiling, a new mission directive from the Primordial Yang Sect arrived at the administration office.

Li Yuan opened the document and scanned it.

It was divided into two parts.

The first part was a request to lay a new ring of Breath-Sensing Arrays and linked Defense Arrays around the marketplace’s perimeter, reinforcing its early-warning and protective capabilities.

The Breath-Sensing Array’s function was to detect abnormal energy fluctuations around the marketplace. If a Cultivator or Demon Beast approached, the array would automatically send a warning signal into the marketplace. The linked Defense Array, in turn, would automatically activate the outer defenses upon receiving the alert, buying the marketplace time to react.

The second part detailed the Primordial Yang Sect’s desire to link the marketplace’s Arrays, the outpost’s Arrays, and the ruin’s Arrays. If any of the three locations triggered an alarm, the signal would be simultaneously transmitted to the other two.

A three-point defense network.

After reading the document, Li Yuan accepted the mission without a second thought.

As both the marketplace’s manager and an Array Master, it was only natural for him to take the lead on this.

The work of laying the arrays began the next day.

The structure of the Breath-Sensing Array wasn’t complicated. Its core was a series of sensing nodes distributed around the marketplace’s perimeter, connected by Spirit-Guiding Lines that converged on the Array Hub at the center of the marketplace. When the Array Hub received an abnormal signal, it would issue a warning to all Defensive Arrays within the marketplace via a Spiritual Power pulse.

The linked Defense Array was even simpler. It was essentially a set of defensive Restrictions that could be remotely activated. Placed on the marketplace walls and at its entrances, they would automatically rise upon receiving a warning signal.

During the construction process, Li Yuan’s ability to multitask proved invaluable. His main focus controlled the path of the Array Patterns and the embedding of the nodes, a secondary focus monitored the array’s overall Spiritual Power balance, and another was dedicated to the Spirit Vein, ensuring the construction didn’t disrupt its normal operation.

The Breath-Sensing Array on the marketplace’s periphery was the last to be completed.

Li Yuan crouched beside the Array Hub and connected the final Spirit-Guiding Line to the Sensing Stone. With a surge of Spiritual Power, the array lit up.

The moment the Sensing Stone came within a three-foot radius, a panel appeared.

[Equippable Item Detected: Breath-Sensing Stone (Complete)]

[Affix Preview: Array Hub Sense (White)]

[Effect: Allows user to perceive abnormal fluctuations within the range of their Divine Sense. Perception accuracy increases with Divine Soul level.]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Cultivate one Investigation Magic to the Great Accomplishment stage.]

’A white-grade affix.’

Li Yuan put it away, rose from the Array Hub, and slotted a new stone into the empty spot where the Sensing Stone had been. The array continued to hum with activity.

He then performed a final series of coordinated tests, linking the new Breath-Sensing Array with the original Demon-Exploring Array and Investigation Array.

The three arrays each had their own domain.

The Demon-Exploring Array was dedicated to detecting Demonic Qi, covering the marketplace interior and its entrances. The Investigation Array monitored Spiritual Power fluctuations within the marketplace; it had the highest precision but the smallest range. The Breath-Sensing Array covered the marketplace’s periphery; with the largest range, it served as the outermost warning network.

Three layers, moving from the outside in, each one building upon the last.

After finishing the tests, Li Yuan circled the marketplace’s perimeter one last time to confirm all nodes were functioning correctly before returning to his stone house.

That evening, Li Yuan sat at his desk and went over his accounts.

This month’s business revenue was in.

Pill Business: The Vessel Continuation Pill and Gathering Essence Pill were selling consistently, with extremely high profits due to the wartime premium.

Purple Evil Stone Business: The Cultivating Evil Array was operating stably, producing Purple Evil Stones on a regular cycle. Sales went through both the Wang family and Loose Cultivator channels.

Fire Evil Stone Business: Production had accelerated since connecting the three mines. Ji Huaiyuan was buying the entire supply at a price thirty percent higher than the standard for Purple Evil Stones.

Adding to that the one-time income from the storefront sales and the marketplace management fees.

The three business lines combined, this month’s total income had reached a new record.

Li Yuan took stock of his Spirit Stone reserves.

It had broken into five digits.

For a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, this was a considerable sum.

He had the Spirit Stones; the next question was how to spend them.

Having more Spirit Stones simply allowed for more comfortable choices; it didn’t mean he could be wasteful.

Li Yuan put away the account books and dedicated a thread of his consciousness to scan the Spirit Vein.

Everything was normal along the Spirit Vein. The Spiritual Qi of the main vein was still being drawn toward the Core Formation platform, at a rate of about forty to fifty percent—unchanged from the past few days. The number of Demon Beasts in the northern section of the branch vein had increased by two; both were Tier One and posed no immediate threat.

Within the marketplace itself, the Demon-Exploring Array and Investigation Array were functioning normally.

The mole’s aura was still at the patrol team’s guard post. He was changing shifts on schedule, as usual, and the frequency of his small transactions hadn’t changed.

No unusual activity.

Ever since news of the failed Core Formation attempt had spread, the mole’s activities had become even more restrained than before.

Li Yuan had no intention of provoking him.

’As long as the mole lays low, I’ll just keep watching. When and how to act... I’ll decide when the time is right.’

Li Yuan withdrew his senses, closed his eyes, and began to cultivate.

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