Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 320: Chapter 309: A Gathering of Demon Beasts

During his morning cultivation, a signal from the Spirit Vein Monitoring Line prompted Li Yuan to open his eyes.

The Demon Beast auras in the northern section of the branch vein had increased again since yesterday.

Li Yuan focused his perception and scanned the area carefully.

There were over thirty of them near the Spirit Vein alone.

The vast majority were still Tier One, scattered near the rock formations where the Spiritual Qi leaking from the branch vein was densest. Some were absorbing the Spiritual Qi, while others were roaming and foraging. But amidst the auras of these Tier One Demon Beasts, a distinctly heavier fluctuation was mixed in.

There was also a Tier Two.

Li Yuan expanded the range of his perception further outward.

In the area beyond the northern section of the branch vein, the scattered Demon Beast auras were also much more numerous than they had been half a month ago. In the direction of the Ghost Mist Forest’s depths, he could faintly detect several more distant auras moving toward the Spirit Vein.

Li Yuan shifted his perception toward the center of the Spirit Vein.

Near the ruins of the Core Formation Platform.

In the area surrounding the Core Formation Platform, Li Yuan sensed something else.

Demonic Qi.

There wasn’t just one source. It was spread across a wide area from the north to the east of the ruins’ perimeter. The concentration wasn’t high, but the coverage was significant.

This Demonic Qi didn’t seem to originate from a Cultivator. It was more like a trace left behind in the ground and rock strata, as if someone had been active in the area.

Li Yuan memorized the distribution of the Demonic Qi in that area and retracted his perception.

That morning, a clearing mission from the outpost was delivered to the management office.

"The number of Demon Beasts in the northern section of the branch vein has surged, affecting the patrol team’s regular routes." Chen Yi handed over the mission document. "The outpost is requesting that the marketplace organize a joint clearing operation to bring the numbers down."

"How many people?"

"The marketplace will provide two to three Foundation Establishment Cultivators," Chen Yi said. "You’ll lead the team in your capacity as Pavilion Master."

Li Yuan took the mission document, glanced at it, and nodded.

That afternoon, Li Yuan selected two Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the marketplace. They were both Loose Cultivators from Yunzhou who had recently proven themselves reliable in the marketplace and had experience hunting Demon Beasts.

After the influx of Cultivators from Yunzhou, the number of Loose Cultivators at Foundation Establishment increased significantly, as did those from families. The Primordial Yang Sect had taken them all in.

After the team assembled outside the marketplace’s north gate, Li Yuan briefly explained the situation.

The team set out, heading north along a path on the outskirts of the Ghost Mist Forest.

After entering the middle layer, traces of Demon Beasts began to grow more dense.

The ground was littered with numerous claw prints and droppings. Several beast trails had been trampled through the undergrowth, and a heavy, rank odor filled the air.

The first encounter occurred on the outskirts of the branch vein’s northern section.

They encountered five Tier One Middle Grade Demon Beasts—a pack of Gray-maned Wolves. They were a size larger than ordinary wolves, with dull gray fur and eyes that glowed with a faint green light.

Upon spotting the Cultivators, the wolf pack didn’t flee. Instead, they lowered their bodies and fanned out to encircle them.

Li Yuan didn’t make a move.

The two Foundation Establishment Cultivators were the first to engage. One cast a Fire Element Magic, while the other launched a barrage of ranged attacks with the Golden Blade Skill.

The Cultivators from Yunzhou had no holdings in the local area, so they were extremely eager to earn Spirit Stones.

The five Gray-maned Wolves were killed instantly.

Over the next hour, they encountered three more waves of Demon Beasts.

None of them required much effort.

While the team took a short break on a patch of high ground, Li Yuan glanced toward the dense forest to the north.

The aura of the Tier Two Demon Beast was still in that area, unmoved by the commotion of the battle.

"You all rest here. I’m going to scout ahead to the north," Li Yuan said to the others before heading alone toward the dense forest.

After entering the dense forest, Li Yuan suppressed his presence to the absolute minimum. He lightened his steps, moving toward the aura he had previously locked onto with his perception.

It took Li Yuan about a quarter of an hour to circle around to the downwind side of the Tier Two Demon Beast.

It was a Black-backed Leopard.

It was about a zhang and a half long, with a row of hard black spines running down its back. Its limbs were thick and powerful, and it was lying on a large boulder, feigning sleep. Its aura was steady; it hadn’t noticed Li Yuan’s approach.

Li Yuan stopped fifty zhang away and observed for a few breaths.

The outer layer of the Black-backed Leopard’s aura was wrapped in a faint layer of Demonic Qi.

’Another Demon Beast tainted with Demonic Qi.’

Without a second thought, Li Yuan attacked.

The Fire Python Skill materialized in his palm, its crimson light glaringly bright in the dim forest. Once formed, the Fire Python shot straight for the Black-backed Leopard’s head.

With a great roar, the Black-backed Leopard unleashed an invisible sonic wave. It passed right through the Fire Python, but the python’s power was completely undiminished as it exploded on the beast’s head.

The Black-backed Leopard let out a wretched howl. Half of its head was charred black. Its body went rigid for an instant, then fell heavily to the ground. Its limbs twitched a few times before it went still.

Li Yuan walked over, knelt down, and began to process the Demon Beast’s corpse.

First, the Inner Core.

He extracted a dark, thumb-sized Inner Core from the Black-backed Leopard’s abdominal cavity. Its surface shimmered faintly with Spiritual Light. Li Yuan swallowed it directly.

Upon entering his stomach, the Inner Core dissolved, and a heavy surge of Demonic Power flooded his meridians. The Evil Essence Unity technique activated first, stripping away and absorbing the mixed-in Evil Qi and the foreign Demonic Qi. The remaining pure Demonic Power was caught by the River of Qi Blood and distributed throughout his body along the skill’s channels, slowly converting into Qi Blood and a small amount of Spiritual Power.

His Cultivation and Qi Blood both rose slightly.

The increase wasn’t large, but every little bit counted.

Next, Li Yuan began harvesting the Demon Beast’s materials.

The Black-backed Leopard’s pelt, hard spines, and bones were all useful. Li Yuan stripped them away one by one with practiced movements.

When he got to the spine, he paused.

The quality of the Black-backed Leopard’s spine was exceptionally good.

The entire spine was intact and free of cracks. The bone was dense and hard, with residual traces of nourishment from the beast’s lifeblood. Holding it, he could feel a condensed power contained within the bone itself, like an iron rod that had been repeatedly tempered.

Li Yuan carefully removed the entire spine and held it in his hand.

A panel popped up.

[Detected Equippable Item: Tier Two Beast Spine Bone (Intact)]

[Equipment Trait Preview: Bone Firmness (Green)]

[Effect: Increases physical toughness by 30%.]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Cultivate two Tier Two Body Refining Techniques and achieve Proficiency in both.]

’A green trait. A thirty percent increase in physical toughness.’

The effect was direct and practical. No extra conditions, no scaling mechanics—just a pure boost to his physical hardness.

’The condition for permanence is to cultivate two Tier Two Body Refining Techniques to the Proficiency level.’

’I have two Tier Two Body Refining Techniques. The Nameless Body Refining Technique is already at Great Success, which is past Proficiency. The Iron Wall Body Refining Skill is only at the beginner level for Tier Two, still a ways from Proficiency.’

’Once the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill reaches Proficiency for Tier Two, the condition will be met.’

Li Yuan put the Beast Spine Bone into his storage bag without equipping it on the spot. ’The equipment slots need to be managed carefully. I’ll figure it out when I get back.’

After finishing up with the materials, Li Yuan patrolled the area where the Black-backed Leopard had fallen.

The ground was scattered with the droppings and claw marks of various Demon Beasts, and the nearby bushes were trampled into a mess. Mixed in with these traces were faint, almost imperceptible wisps of residual Demonic Qi.

It wasn’t just the Black-backed Leopard.

Many of the Demon Beasts that had passed through the area had faint Demonic Qi clinging to them to varying degrees. On some it was stronger, on others it was nearly undetectable, but it was definitely there.

’The Dark Abyss Association’s infiltration of the Demon Beasts in this region is intensifying.’

Li Yuan committed the distribution of Demonic Qi in the area to memory and turned back toward where the team was resting.

The team then cleared out a batch of Tier One Demon Beasts to the west before returning to the marketplace before sunset.

That evening, Li Yuan returned to his stone house and sat cross-legged on his prayer mat.

Three Divine Sense Lines activated simultaneously. The main line ran the second tier of the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill, splitting his Spiritual Power into fine streams that flowed along his meridians into his bones and skin, permeating them layer by layer. The second line monitored the Spirit Vein, and the third maintained his general awareness.

The medicinal power from the Inner Core he had swallowed after killing the Black-backed Leopard hadn’t been fully digested yet. The River of Qi Blood was still slowly working, converting the remaining Demonic Power into Qi Blood. Li Yuan took advantage of this lingering power circulating in his body, using the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill to guide his Spiritual Power for a deeper cleansing of his bones and skin.

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