Chapter 199 - 193: Spirit Iron Armor
In the days that followed, Li Yuan made his Soul Condensation Skill cultivation a regular practice.
Every evening, in between his Spirit-Introducing Skill cultivation sessions, he would set aside an hour to temper his Divine Soul with the Soul Condensation Skill.
Compressing, expanding, then compressing and expanding again, over and over in a cycle.
After he had mastered the basics, the enhancement from each cycle was minuscule. But its true advantage was stacking with his three permanent entries: Soul Mirror, Alchemy Insight, and Divine Soul Tempering. The day-by-day accumulation produced a solid effect.
The most immediate change was to his perception.
The range at which he could capture auras expanded, and his sensitivity to malicious intent grew sharper.
When crafting Talismans, his perception of the Spiritual Power flowing within the paper became more refined. When performing Alchemy, his judgment of the medicinal efficacy inside the furnace grew more accurate.
A stronger Divine Soul strengthened everything else.
After his morning lesson with Han Qing, Li Yuan headed out to the Purple Abyss Trading Company.
He carried a batch of finished Talismans, making his usual delivery.
Shopkeeper Han was behind the counter, flipping through a ledger. He looked up and closed it when Li Yuan walked in.
"You’re here."
Li Yuan placed the Talismans on the counter. Without even inspecting them, Shopkeeper Han calculated their value at the highest price tier and pushed the Spirit Stones over.
Li Yuan accepted the Spirit Stones but didn’t leave right away.
"Shopkeeper Han, there’s something I’d like to ask you."
"Go ahead."
"Do you have any way of getting a Cui Xin Lotus, a Nine-Turn Lingzhi, or some Purple Mansion Profound Liquid?"
Shopkeeper Han paused.
He looked up at Li Yuan, placed the ledger under the counter, and straightened up.
Shopkeeper Han didn’t press him for the reason. A customer always had his reasons, and it was taboo to ask too many questions.
"You can find these three items on the market, but they’re not common."
"Loose Cultivators occasionally bring Cui Xin Lotuses back from Secret Realms or deep within old-growth forests, but the quality varies, and the price is unstable."
"At best, you can get one for twelve hundred Spirit Stones. When they’re expensive, they go for fifteen hundred or more. But you can’t just buy one whenever you want; you’ll have to wait."
He held up a second finger.
"The Nine-Turn Lingzhi is even more troublesome. They’re only useful if they’re over fifty years old, with the hundred-year-old ones being the most effective. They grow slowly, and there are only a few places they can be found. The major Sects and powerful families keep a close eye on them, so very few end up in the hands of Loose Cultivators."
He held up a third finger.
"The Purple Mansion Profound Liquid is relatively easier to find. A few of the larger medicinal trading companies in the market square occasionally have it in stock. But the purity varies greatly. Low-purity versions are cheap but less effective, while high-purity ones are expensive and highly sought after."
He lowered his hand and rubbed his chin.
"For all three, you’ll need to prepare at least three thousand Spirit Stones. If you want high-quality specimens of each, you’re looking at four thousand, minimum."
Li Yuan had asked around before; what Shopkeeper Han was saying matched his own findings.
"Can the Purple Abyss Trading Company use its network to help me acquire them?"
Shopkeeper Han shook his head.
"The Purple Abyss Trading Company deals in Talismans and common Spirit Grass. These kinds of High-Tier medicinal ingredients are outside our scope of business. I can keep an eye out for you and let you know if I hear anything, but we don’t have the means to actively procure them."
He paused, looking at Li Yuan.
"It’s difficult to gather such rare items through normal channels."
"What do you mean?"
Shopkeeper Han lowered his voice.
"There are very few rare items circulating on the open market. When individuals have something valuable to sell, they usually wait for an auction."
"At an auction, things are sold to the highest bidder. Even after the house takes its cut, sellers can get a much better price."
"Trying to sell it on your own not only takes time, but you’ll likely get a lower price and be haggled down."
He propped his elbows on the counter and leaned closer to Li Yuan.
"There are underground trade meets of all sizes here in the market square. They’re held at irregular intervals, and the Primordial Yang Sect tacitly allows them."
"A lot of rare items show up there, but their origins aren’t always legitimate."
"Not legitimate?"
"Some are stolen goods, taken from marauders. Others are acquired through... less-than-reputable channels."
"And since there’s a lot of good stuff there, even people with legitimate items will sell them at these meets."
Shopkeeper Han shrugged. "Basically, no questions are asked about an item’s origin. It’s cash and carry, and both buyer and seller remain anonymous."
"Can you get me an introduction to one of these underground meets?"
Shopkeeper Han chuckled and shook his head.
"I’ve been doing business in Yunyang Market Square for over twenty years, but I’ve always stuck to legitimate channels. I don’t have much contact with that crowd."
"I can get in myself, but I don’t have the standing to introduce anyone."
Li Yuan nodded.
’Auctions and underground trade meets.’ Neither path was immediately available, but at least he now had a direction.
"Please keep an eye out for me. The Cui Xin Lotus, Nine-Turn Lingzhi, and Purple Mansion Profound Liquid. Let me know if you hear anything at all."
"No problem." Shopkeeper Han slapped the counter. "I’ll let you know the moment I hear anything."
Li Yuan left the Purple Abyss Trading Company and started walking back down the main street.
「A few days later.」
It was time for the third gathering of the artisan circle.
Zhou Tie had come by the day before to give him a heads-up. He said more people were coming this time, including a few new faces.
That evening, Li Yuan went with Zhou Tie and Shen Yue to a teahouse on East Street.
The private room on the second floor was just as it had been the last two times: a long table was covered in coarse cloth, upon which various items for trade were displayed.
A lot more people had shown up this time. With nearly thirty people present, the private room was getting crowded.
Li Yuan noticed a new face the moment he walked in.
On the east side of the table, a cultivator in his fifties had taken up a ten-foot-long stretch of the tabletop, which was crammed with goods.
Magical Artifact components, finished Magical Artifacts, ores, Spirit Grass, medicinal pills—the variety was staggering, and so was the quantity. Several wooden plaques stood beside the goods, displaying prices and descriptions.
’Qi Refining Ninth Level.’
’He has the highest Cultivation of any artisan here.’
The man was burly, with massive palms and thick knuckles.
’An Artifact Refiner.’
Four or five people were gathered in front of him, and he was haggling with one of them. His voice was booming, his words blunt and to the point.
"I forged the blank for this flying sword myself. The Spirit Iron content is no less than seventy percent—take it and have it tested if you want. Sixty Spirit Stones, and the price is firm."
The Loose Cultivator across from him examined the flying sword hesitantly before finally taking out the Spirit Stones.
Li Yuan slowly made his way along the table, his eyes scanning the man’s wares.
The craftsmanship of the Magical Artifacts was impressive. Several flying swords, two shields, a pair of bracers, and three or four other miscellaneous small artifacts—all of them were Tier One Middle Grade or higher.
In addition to the Magical Artifacts, there were also large amounts of ore and Spirit Grass. It looked like he had put his entire life’s savings on display.
At the far end of his display, a separate wooden plaque stood, listing various rare medicinal pills he was seeking to buy.
Li Yuan’s gaze lingered on the plaque for a moment.
He first circled the table, buying a few portions of Spirit Grass and a bottle of mineral powder before finally approaching the man.
"Did you make all these Magical Artifacts yourself?"
The burly Artifact Refiner glanced up at Li Yuan and nodded.
"Every last one. From selecting the ore, to forging the metal, to engraving the Spirit Patterns—I handle it all."
He patted the tabletop in front of him.
"Once this batch is sold, I’m done."
"Done?" Li Yuan looked at him.
The Artifact Refiner set a piece of ore down on the table, rubbed the metal filings from his fingers, and sighed.
"It’s time to prepare for Foundation Establishment. Even though a few of my friends have advised against it."
He said it matter-of-factly, as if he were talking about going grocery shopping tomorrow.
Others nearby overheard him and turned their heads.
"Do you have a Foundation Establishment Pill?"
Li Yuan glanced at the wooden plaque on the man’s table that listed the pills he was seeking to buy.
"Can’t afford one," the Artifact Refiner said, shaking his head with a dry laugh.
"Do you have any idea how expensive the ingredients for a Foundation Establishment Pill are? I’ve been saving for most of my life, and even if I poured everything I have into it, it wouldn’t be enough for even half the ingredients."
"And that’s assuming you can even find them for sale."
He crossed his arms over his chest.
Li Yuan looked at him.
"What’s the success rate for achieving Foundation Establishment without a pill?"
The Artifact Refiner was silent for a couple of breaths, then sighed again.
"Less than ten percent."
"The chance of failure is that high, and you’re still going to try?"
The Artifact Refiner uncrossed his arms and glanced at Li Yuan.
"If I don’t try, I’ll be stuck at the Qi Refining Ninth Level for the rest of my life."
He braced his arms on the tabletop, his body leaning slightly forward.
"I’m fifty-three. I’ll probably live another seventy or eighty years. It sounds like a long time, but my Cultivation can’t advance any further. From now on, I’ll just be slowly getting older, my Qi Blood slowly decaying, getting weaker day by day."
He raised his right hand, clenching it into a fist, and his knuckles cracked loudly.
"Reaching Foundation Establishment adds at least fifty years to your lifespan, and it doubles whatever lifespan you have remaining."
"Besides, I don’t want to just give up on the path to immortality. I have to at least try, right?"
"Plus, breaking through without a pill means greater potential in the future. Who knows, maybe my luck is heaven-defying. Maybe I’ll actually make it."
Li Yuan didn’t respond.
The Artifact Refiner smiled and placed his hand back on the table.
"So, I’m selling off everything I can to trade for Spirit Stones and pills, to make a run at Foundation Establishment."
He gestured with his chin toward the Magical Artifacts and materials on his table.
Li Yuan nodded, saying nothing more.
His gaze swept over the Magical Artifacts laid out before the Artifact Refiner, and his fingers habitually brushed against a few of the items.
Most of them elicited no reaction.
As his gaze reached the far right of the table, an inconspicuous item finally triggered a reaction from his panel.
A piece of armor.
Calling it armor was a bit of a stretch.
To be precise, it was a snug armored vest tailored from grayish-black Spirit Beast Hide. A palm-sized plate of Spirit Iron was embedded in both the front and back, each engraved with a simple defensive Spirit Pattern.
The workmanship wasn’t especially refined, but the materials were solid. The Spirit Beast Hide was thick yet supple, and the Spirit Iron plates were very dense.
The wooden plaque next to it read: Spirit Iron Armor, Tier One Low Grade defensive Magical Artifact, 30 Spirit Stones.
The instant Li Yuan’s finger touched the surface of the armor, the panel appeared.
[Equippable Item Detected]
[Item Entry Grade: White]
[Note: Item does not belong to you. Cannot be equipped. Detailed information unavailable.]
’A white entry.’
Li Yuan picked up the armor and looked it over. The back of the Spirit Beast Hide showed a few signs of wear, and the edges of the Spirit Iron plates had minor dents. It was clearly a used piece.
"How much for this?"
"Thirty. It’s on the sign." The Artifact Refiner glanced at the wooden plaque.
"Twenty-five."
"Twenty-eight."
"Deal."
He set down the Spirit Stones and put the armor into his storage bag.
Li Yuan looked over the table one more time but found no other items with entries.
After the gathering broke up, Li Yuan returned to his courtyard and shut the door.
He took the Spirit Iron armor out of his storage bag and placed it on his desk.
He rested his fingertips on the armor’s surface.
[Equippable Item Detected: Spirit Iron Armor (Intact)]
[Equipment Entry Preview: Spiritual Membrane Protection (White)—Automatically forms a protective film of Spiritual Power on the skin’s surface, reducing incoming damage by ten percent and passively resisting certain corrosive attacks.]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Master one Body Refining Technique to the point of Perfection (0/1)]
[Equipment slots are full (5/5). Would you like to replace a currently equipped item?]
’A white entry. Spiritual Membrane Protection.’
’A film of Spiritual Power that automatically forms on the skin, passively reducing damage by ten percent and resisting corrosive effects.’
’Unlike Scale Armor Body and Iron Membrane Aegis, which directly enhance the physical defense of my skin and meridians, Spiritual Membrane Protection adds another layer—a barrier of Spiritual Power—on top. Stacking all three makes my defenses that much deeper.’
’The ability to resist corrosive attacks will be especially useful in the Ghost Mist Forest. The Divine Soul erosion from wraiths and the permeating poisonous mist both fall into that category.’
’And since the resistance is passive, it won’t interfere with my cultivation using Evil Qi.’
’The condition for making it permanent is mastering a Body Refining Technique to perfection.’
’My Iron Wall Body Refining Skill is currently at the Minor Achievement stage. I still have a long way to go before I reach Perfection.’
Li Yuan put the armor back into his storage bag and sat down on his bed.
He sat cross-legged and began to circulate his energy. The tempering of the Soul Condensation Skill was woven between the cycles of his Spirit-Introducing Skill, and with each compression and expansion, his Divine Soul grew more solid, sliver by sliver.