Chapter 149 - 145: Aura Imprint
That morning, Li Yuan finished drawing and stacking a batch of Fireball Talismans and Heart-lock Talismans, put down his talisman brush, and left his courtyard.
The main street of Yunyang Marketplace was bustling with people, just like the past few days. The bluestone pavement was worn smooth and shiny from the constant foot traffic, and the shop signs on both sides were lined up one after another under the sunlight.
Li Yuan didn’t head straight for the loose cultivator stall area. Instead, he strolled slowly along the main street, empty-handed and unhurried, looking like he was just wandering around.
The variety of items in Yunyang Marketplace was much greater than in Qinghe Marketplace, and their quality was a notch higher. Although most items in the proper shops were untouchable behind Spiritual Power barriers, one could occasionally stumble upon unexpected things at the loose cultivator stalls and street vendors.
As he reached the northern part of the main street’s central section, he saw five or six people gathered around a tea stall by the roadside.
Li Yuan didn’t deliberately approach them, merely slowing his pace as he walked past the outer edge of the tea stall.
A few Loose Cultivators were talking, their voices not exactly quiet.
"...Yunyang Marketplace has been getting stricter lately, have you noticed?"
A burly, middle-aged Loose Cultivator with a full beard held his tea bowl and tried to lower his voice to the people next to him, but the sound still carried.
"How could it not be?" a tall, thin Loose Cultivator beside him chimed in.
"Last month, the Primordial Yang Sect wiped out a group of Demon Sect remnants in the south. They killed seven and three escaped. Those three haven’t been caught yet; word is they fled north."
The bearded Loose Cultivator hissed. "Demon Sect remnants? Weren’t they wiped out a hundred years ago?"
"The Sect was destroyed, but the people weren’t completely eliminated." The tall, thin Loose Cultivator placed his tea bowl on the table.
"Back in that war, several great sects joined forces to destroy the Demon Sect’s headquarters. The Sect Master and several elders were killed on the spot. But many of the disciples below them escaped, scattering everywhere and hiding their identities. Every now and then over the years, a few of them pop up. If they’re discovered, they’re exterminated. If not, they remain in hiding."
Another, slightly older Loose Cultivator chimed in.
"It’s not just the Demon Sect remnants. Haven’t you noticed all the sects tightening their grip on their territories lately? The Primordial Yang Sect has strengthened patrols in the marketplace, and I heard they even sent reinforcements to several of their outer strongholds. The Cyan Cloud Sect to the south is also making moves, directly absorbing the territories of several vassal families."
The bearded Loose Cultivator smacked his lips. "So, will the Primordial Yang Sect annex the Wang, Li, and Ji families?"
"Hard to say, but those three families have been sending people to the Primordial Yang Sect for years, especially the Li family."
"I heard the Li family has also been gathering materials for a Foundation Establishment Pill recently, looking for Pill Refiner He to concoct it. It seems they have a genius in the family who joined the Primordial Yang Sect. Maybe it’s for him."
"Once you join the Primordial Yang Sect, you don’t have that much to do with your family anymore. They’re definitely using it for one of their own."
The Loose Cultivators chatted animatedly, their conversation soon drifting to other topics.
Li Yuan’s footsteps faltered for a moment. He didn’t look back, simply committing the information to memory.
He continued walking and turned into the loose cultivator stall area.
In the open space enclosed by stone railings, thirty or forty stalls were crammed together, the layout much the same as the previous days.
Li Yuan walked slowly through the stall area, his fingers occasionally brushing against items on the makeshift tables. After scanning about ten stalls, he hadn’t found anything that triggered his panel.
Reaching the eastern part of the central area, he saw a stall selling miscellaneous goods, displaying an assortment of odds and ends. A few chunks of ore, two bottles of medicinal liquid, a cloth pouch, some crudely made Magical Artifact components, and, tucked in a corner, a palm-sized bronze disc.
The bronze disc’s design bore some resemblance to a Spirit Detecting Disc, but it was much thinner. A ring of fine Spirit Patterns was carved along its edge, and a small, dark-green bead was embedded in the center of its face.
Li Yuan reached out and picked up the bronze disc.
The moment his fingertip touched the disc’s surface, the panel popped up.
[Detectable Equipable Item]
[Item Trait Grade: White]
[Note: Item does not belong to self. Cannot be equipped. Detailed information unavailable.]
Li Yuan’s finger lingered on the disc’s surface for an extra moment.
He turned the bronze disc over to examine the back. The craftsmanship was cruder than the front, the Spirit Pattern engravings varying in depth, but the overall structure was intact.
"What is this?" Li Yuan asked, holding up the bronze disc for the stall owner to see.
The owner was a scrawny man in his forties, currently craning his neck to gnaw on a flatbread. Hearing the question, he glanced up.
"A Qi Sensing Disc. Infuse it with Spiritual Power and it can sense the qi fluctuations in the surroundings. Its range is smaller than the standard Spirit Detecting Discs you see on the market, but its precision is a bit higher."
He put down the flatbread and brushed the crumbs from his hands.
Li Yuan inquired, "How much?"
"Twelve Spirit Stones."
"Ten."
The owner’s mouth twisted, and he hesitated for a breath.
"Fine."
Li Yuan counted out ten Spirit Stones and placed them on the cloth, then put the Qi Sensing Disc into his storage pouch.
He continued on his way.
As he reached the southern edge of the stall area, a stand selling jewelry and miscellaneous items caught Li Yuan’s attention.
The owner was a young Loose Cultivator in his early twenties. Seven or eight items were laid out on the cloth before him, mostly pendants, bracelets, and Jade Pendants of various designs. It looked more like a mortal market stall selling ornaments, quite different from the typical style of a Cultivator’s Magical Artifact stall.
Li Yuan crouched down and touched each item in sequence, from left to right.
When he touched a bracelet, the panel popped up.
[Detectable Equipable Item]
[Item Trait Grade: Gray]
[Note: Item does not belong to self. Cannot be equipped. Detailed information unavailable.]
’Gray.’
Li Yuan turned the bracelet over in his hand. It was made of a dark-green metal, its design simple.
"How much for this one?"
The young owner looked up and glanced at the bracelet in Li Yuan’s hand.
"That one? Three Spirit Stones. A Loose Cultivator used to wear it, said it could refresh the mind and help you stay alert during cultivation. After I got it, I wore it for a few days. It does have some effect, just not very obvious."
Li Yuan didn’t haggle. He put down the Spirit Stones and stored the bracelet in his pouch.
Li Yuan made another round of the stall area but didn’t come across any other items that triggered a reaction.
Back in his courtyard, he closed the door.
The talisman papers he had drawn on that morning were still spread across the main room’s table, with the Spirit Ink Bottle set in a corner. Li Yuan gathered the papers to one side, clearing the tabletop.
First, he took out the Qi Sensing Disc.
The small, dark-green bead in the center of the disc glowed faintly, and the Spirit Patterns along the edge were dimly visible in the light.
He placed his fingertip on the disc’s surface.
[Detectable Equipable Item: Qi Sensing Disc (Intact)]
[Trait Preview: Qi Engraving (White) — Enhances the range and precision of qi perception. Can actively memorize the characteristics of a qi signature it has come into contact with, automatically identifying it upon subsequent encounters.]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Reduce own qi signature to be indistinguishable from a mortal’s (0/1).]
[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace a currently equipped item?]
’A white trait. Qi Engraving.’
’Two effects. First, it enhances the range and precision of qi perception. Second, it can memorize qi signatures it has encountered and automatically identify them next time.’
’The permanence condition is to reduce my own qi signature until it’s indistinguishable from a mortal’s.’
Li Yuan placed the Qi Sensing Disc on the table.
The permanent trait for Qi Obscuration could already suppress his aura by thirty percent, reducing it from the Qi Refining Seventh Level to the level of the fifth or sixth.
’But being indistinguishable from a mortal means my qi signature has to be completely concealed, without a single trace of Spiritual Qi fluctuation.’
’A thirty percent suppression is far from enough.’
Li Yuan didn’t dwell on it and returned the Qi Sensing Disc to his storage pouch.
’The condition is what it is. If I can’t meet it now, I’ll just set it aside for later.’
Then, he took out the bracelet.
The dark-green metal surface of the bracelet felt slightly cool in his palm.
He placed his fingertip on it.
[Detectable Equipable Item: Awakening Bracelet (Intact)]
[Trait Preview: Insight Acceleration (Gray) — Increases the speed of learning introductory Magic by fifty percent.]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Cultivation reaches Mid-stage Qi Refining (0/1).]
[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace a currently equipped item?]
’A gray trait. Insight Acceleration.’
’Increases the speed of learning introductory Magic by fifty percent.’
’The permanence condition is for my Cultivation to reach Mid-stage Qi Refining.’
Li Yuan was currently at the Qi Refining Seventh Level, long past Mid-stage Qi Refining.
’If I equip it, I can make it permanent immediately.’
Li Yuan twirled the bracelet in his hand.
’An increase of fifty percent to the speed of learning introductory Magic.’
’At my current level, I can grasp most Tier One Magic after looking them over twice. For ordinary entry-level Magic, I can figure out the Spiritual Power pathways within half a day.’
’After mastering the Talisman Making Skill, the precision of my Spiritual Power control has already reached a very high standard. Plus, with my Divine Soul continuously being strengthened by the Soul Mirror and the Spirit Refining Talismans, my speed at understanding and learning new Magic is already fast.’
’Another fifty percent faster won’t make a huge difference.’
’All five equipment slots are full.’
’To equip the Awakening Bracelet, I’d have to unequip something else.’
’The speed of learning introductory Magic isn’t a pressing need for me right now. I don’t lack the ability to learn introductory Magic; what I lack is finding suitable Magic and enough time to cultivate.’
’It’s not worth unequipping any of my current items for a gray trait that’s useless to me at the moment.’
Li Yuan stored the Awakening Bracelet deep inside his storage pouch.
’I’ll make it permanent later, when an equipment slot frees up.’
He cleared the tabletop again and picked up his talisman brush.
’I still have to keep practicing the Spirit Refining Talisman. My accumulation at the proficient stage is far from over, and I still have a long way to go before mastery.’