Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 322: Chapter 311: Fortuitous Encounter and Transaction

On the third day after the maintenance and reconstruction of the Core Formation District’s arrays were completed, the Primordial Yang Sect arranged a full re-inspection.

The official notice was very clear. All Array Masters and related personnel who had participated in the maintenance and reconstruction were required to be present. They were to inspect the arrays in their respective areas one by one, and once they confirmed normal operation, they were to sign off and report it.

Li Yuan was invited to participate and was still in charge of the outer arrays.

That morning, more than ten Cultivators arrived at the Core Formation District one after another. There were five Array Masters, four garrison Cultivators, and three Inner Sect Disciples from the Primordial Yang Sect responsible for recording and supervision.

Li Yuan began his inspection at the first auxiliary array on the outer ring. He followed the channeling patterns inward, checking the node status, circuit integrity, and Spiritual Power flow of each array one by one.

Four Divine Sense Lines operated simultaneously. The main line was for the re-inspection, the second was monitoring the Spirit Vein, the third was handling routine sensory perception within the Core Formation District, and the fourth was watching the aura fluctuations of the people nearby.

When the re-inspection reached the junction between the inner ring and the core area, Li Yuan met two other Array Masters and a garrison Cultivator in the same corridor.

They were all busy with their own inspection tasks, only occasionally exchanging a few words.

Just then, Li Yuan’s fourth Divine Sense Line caught something unusual.

Mixed within the garrison Cultivator’s aura was an extremely faint trace of something.

’It’s so faint, it’s almost completely masked by the fluctuations of the Cultivator’s own Spiritual Power. If not for my Demon Essence Incarnation trait, I would never have been able to sense it.’

Demonic Qi.

The concentration was extremely low, even fainter than the Demonic Qi he had previously sensed clinging to Demon Beasts. It wasn’t the kind of deep contamination from long-term cultivation of demonic techniques, but rather a trace left on the body’s surface after brief contact with Demonic Qi.

Li Yuan didn’t spare the man a second glance.

His re-inspection work continued without any change. His fourth Divine Sense Line recorded the intensity, location, and characteristics of the aura before quietly retracting, no longer lingering on the man.

A Foundation Establishment Cultivator, a garrison member of the Primordial Yang Sect, carrying a faint trace of Demonic Qi.

’He might have come into contact with an item tainted with Demonic Qi, or perhaps he picked it up while patrolling the perimeter. Or it could be for some other reason.’

Li Yuan drew no conclusions, merely committing the man’s face, aura characteristics, and garrison post to memory.

The re-inspection lasted until evening. Once all the arrays were confirmed to be operating normally, everyone signed off and left.

After leaving the Core Formation District, Li Yuan didn’t go straight back to his stone house. He went to the administration office first.

He pulled out the patrol records and the entry-exit register from the past few days and compared them as usual.

When he got to the patrol schedule, Li Yuan’s movements paused for a moment.

The mole’s schedule had changed.

’He used to take advantage of the gaps in his night patrols to make his moves. Now that he’s been moved to the day shift, he’s still leaving the marketplace at night.’

Li Yuan closed the entry-exit register, sat for a moment, then stood up and left the administration office.

The marketplace was quieter in the evening than during the day.

Li Yuan walked slowly along the main street with no clear destination, using his four Divine Sense Lines to perceive the changes in auras within the marketplace.

As he reached the Loose Cultivator trading area in the eastern extension, a stall caught his attention.

The stall was small, just a gray cloth spread out with three jade slips and a few miscellaneous items of indeterminate use on it. The stall owner was a gaunt-faced man whose aura was at the Early-stage Foundation Establishment, and he had the travel-worn weariness characteristic of Cultivators from Yunzhou.

Li Yuan’s gaze fell upon one of the jade slips.

Three small words were carved on the surface of the jade slip: Artifact Manipulation Skill.

Li Yuan crouched down and picked up the jade slip.

"May I take a look?"

The stall owner looked up at him and nodded.

Li Yuan extended his Divine Sense into the jade slip.

The contents of the technique unfolded in his mind.

Divine Soul Manipulation Skill.

This wasn’t an ordinary Artifact Manipulation Skill. A normal Artifact Manipulation Skill used Spiritual Power to control Magical Artifacts for flight or long-range attacks, essentially following the path of Spiritual Power manipulation. This Divine Soul Manipulation Skill was completely different; it used the power of the Divine Soul.

It condensed Divine Soul power to the point where it could manipulate physical objects outside the body.

Li Yuan continued to read.

The core of the technique wasn’t just about manipulating objects. The condensed Divine Soul power could replace one’s hands for fine-motor tasks, including controlling the fire and stirring the Pill Liquid during Alchemy, wielding the brush and carving Spirit Patterns for talisman making, and embedding nodes and calibrating circuits for array-setting.

It was like gaining a pair of invisible hands, and the precision of these hands depended on the strength of one’s Divine Soul and their proficiency with the technique.

’Combined with my Divine Split multitasking and four parallel lines...’

Li Yuan placed the jade slip back on the stall and looked at the owner.

"How much for this skill?"

The stall owner didn’t rush to name a price, instead sizing Li Yuan up.

"I heard the Pavilion Master is an Array Master?"

"I also dabble in Alchemy and talisman making."

The stall owner’s eyes lit up slightly. He then took out another jade slip from under the gray cloth and placed it on the stall.

"I also have a pill formula, a recipe for a Tier Two Divine Soul Pill. I’ll part with both at the same time."

"What are your terms?"

"I don’t want Spirit Stones," the stall owner said.

"I’m an Artifact Refining Cultivator. Ever since I came from Yunzhou, I haven’t been able to find a stable supply of materials. I need three things."

He held up three fingers.

"First, I want to live in this marketplace long-term. Not a guest room, a permanent residence."

"Second, I need a stable supply of Artifact Refining materials. Long-term, not a one-time deal. I’ll pay for the materials with Spirit Stones, but you have to provide the supply channel."

"Third, of the Divine Soul Pills you refine with this formula, I want a share. Fifteen pills will be enough. Once I have them, you can stop. I won’t ask for any more pills after that, but the supply of Artifact Refining materials must continue."

Li Yuan looked at him.

’The terms aren’t harsh.’

’Arranging a residence in the marketplace isn’t difficult; there are still plenty of empty rooms after the expansion. The supply of Artifact Refining materials is also within my capabilities. Both the Wang family’s Fire Ore mine and my own Evil Ore mine can produce ores for Artifact Refining. Combined with materials from other channels in the marketplace, it won’t be a problem to gather them. He also said he would pay with Spirit Stones, so he’s not asking for a handout.’

’The share of fifteen Divine Soul Pills is the only real cost. But I need to improve my Divine Soul anyway. Once I have the formula, I’ll be refining pills for myself. Refining a few extra to give to him won’t be much of an additional burden.’

"Deal." Li Yuan nodded. "I’ll arrange your residence today. We’ll start coordinating on the materials tomorrow."

The stall owner pushed both jade slips over.

Li Yuan put away the jade slips and they exchanged names. The other man was Zhou Yuan, an Early-stage Foundation Establishment Artifact Refining Cultivator. He had previously worked for a small family in Yunzhou, but after the family was broken up by the Evil Slaying Sect, he fled to Liangzhou alone.

After returning to his stone house that night, Li Yuan first examined the pill formula.

It was for a Tier Two Divine Soul Pill called the Soul Condensing Pill.

The main ingredient was a Spirit Medicine called Soul Condensing Grass, supplemented with Calm Ore Powder and two other Spirit Medicines that stabilize the Divine Soul. In terms of difficulty, it was upper-middle among Tier Two pills. The crucial step, after the main ingredient had dissolved, was to use extremely precise fire control to integrate the Calm Ore Powder into the Pill Liquid layer by layer. Integrating it too quickly would cause the Pill Liquid to collapse; too slowly and the medicinal properties would be lost.

Li Yuan didn’t have any Soul Condensing Grass on hand, but a medicine shop in the marketplace still had a small amount in stock. The Calm Ore Powder was even simpler; similar minerals could be harvested from the rock formations near the Evil Ore mine.

The next morning, after gathering the materials, Li Yuan lit his furnace.

He dedicated all four Divine Sense Lines to the task. The main line controlled the Pill Fire, the second monitored the temperature gradient inside the Pill Liquid, the third watched the speed and depth of the Calm Ore Powder’s integration, and the fourth handled external perception.

Two hours later, a muffled sound came from the furnace. The pills were formed.

Three pale blue pills fell onto a jade plate. Their surfaces were smooth and their color was uniform. Holding one between his fingers, he could feel a very gentle force contained within, like compressed morning dew.

Li Yuan took one of the pills in his hand.

A panel popped up.

[Equippable Item Detected: Soul Condensing Pill (Complete)]

[Trait Preview: Soul Condensation Boost (Green)]

[Effect: Increases Divine Soul condensation by 20%, increases natural Divine Soul recovery speed by 30%]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Consume a cumulative total of thirty Tier Two or higher Divine Soul Pills, or achieve Great Success in a Tier Two Divine Soul Skill.]

A green trait.

’An increase of 20% to Divine Soul condensation and 30% to natural recovery speed. Both effects are very practical and perfectly match the cultivation direction of the Concentrating Soul-Invoking Skill.’

There were two conditions for permanence. Consume a total of thirty pills, or achieve Great Success in a Tier Two Divine Soul Skill.

’My Concentrating Soul-Invoking Skill is currently at the proficient level, and it will take time to reach Great Success. The cumulative consumption of thirty pills is more direct. As long as I have enough materials, I can just refine them myself.’

Li Yuan put away the three Soul Condensing Pills, setting one aside for Zhou Yuan.

He then took out the jade slip for the Divine Soul Manipulation Skill and extended his Divine Sense into it.

The experience of the skill flooded his mind.

The way the Divine Soul Manipulation Skill operated was different from any Magic he had learned before. It didn’t use the meridians or the Dantian; it directly extracted a wisp of power from the Divine Soul, condensed it, and pushed it outside the body.

Li Yuan tried to follow the skill’s guidance, separating a trace of power from his Divine Soul and sending it toward his palm.

An extremely faint, transparent ripple emerged from his palm, lasting for two breaths in the air before dissipating.

’The condensation isn’t solid enough. I can’t control physical objects.’

Li Yuan tried a few more times. On the third attempt, the ripple finally stabilized, holding for five or six breaths before dissipating.

[Divine Soul Manipulation Skill: Initiate (0/200)]

’Initiate.’

Li Yuan slid a pill bottle on the table in front of him and tried to control it with the Divine Soul Manipulation Skill.

When the condensed wisp of Divine Soul power touched the bottle, it wobbled slightly before being slowly lifted about an inch into the air.

It was shaking.

The bottle trembled violently in the air, as if held by a shaking hand. Li Yuan’s Divine Soul precision was far from sufficient to support fine control; he could barely even hold a small bottle steady.

’If I tried to control the fire for Alchemy with this level of precision, the Pill Liquid would probably just explode in the furnace.’

Li Yuan set the bottle down and withdrew his Divine Soul power.

’The precision is far from good enough, but the direction is right.’

’Once my proficiency with the Divine Soul Manipulation Skill increases, and with the Concentrating Soul-Invoking Skill continuously improving my Divine Soul’s condensation, the precision of this art will gradually improve. At that point, combined with my Divine Split multitasking’s four parallel lines, I could control the fire with Spiritual Power, stir the Pill Liquid with Divine Soul power, monitor the Spirit Vein, and maintain external perception all at the same time.’

’Four tasks, completely separate and without interfering with each other.’

’The potential is huge, but it will take time.’

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