Chapter 167 - 163: Permanent Aura Memorization
The refinement of Qi Replenishing Pills was gradually getting on track, and the quality of the finished products had stabilized.
The dark cyan, round pellets had smooth surfaces and a pure medicinal fragrance. After inspecting them, Old Sun said their effects could reach over ninety percent of a normal Qi Replenishing Pill.
Li Yuan placed the three Qi Replenishing Pills he had refined in his palm, his finger touching the surface of one.
The panel popped up.
[Equippable Item Detected: Qi Replenishing Pill (Complete)]
[Equipment Affix Preview: Qi Blood Nourishment (Gray)]
[Effect: Increases Qi Blood recovery speed by twenty percent. When Qi Blood is full, Spiritual Power recovery speed increases by ten percent.]
[Permanence Condition Preview: One immortal Cultivation Technique at Perfection (0/1)]
A gray affix. The effect wasn’t strong, but its advantage was the simple condition. Moreover, both Spiritual Power and Qi Blood recovery were continuous buffs, adding another layer on top of his existing affixes.
The condition for permanence was to have one immortal Cultivation Technique at Perfection, and his Spirit-Introducing Skill was already at Perfection.
Li Yuan unequipped the Soul Nourishing Pill and equipped the Qi Replenishing Pill, and the panel immediately displayed the next message.
[Permanence Condition Met for Qi Blood Nourishment (Gray)]
[Make Permanent?]
Yes.
[Permanence Successful]
[Qi Blood Nourishment (Gray) is now a permanent affix]
[Item Consumed]
After making the Qi Replenishing Pill’s effect permanent, Li Yuan felt the change was extremely subtle, almost imperceptible. However, the speed at which his Qi Blood circulated was indeed a sliver faster than before.
Li Yuan stored the remaining Qi Replenishing Pills in a porcelain vial and continued refining the next batch.
Crafting talismans by day, refining pills at dusk, and cultivating at night. The three tasks rotated in a tight but orderly rhythm.
The shop’s business was better than expected.
The Loose Cultivators entering the Secret Realm had a huge demand for consumables. Fireball Talismans and Vajra Talismans sold out almost as soon as a new batch was made, and people had started asking about Qi Replenishing Pills.
The Replenishing Essence Pills and Antitoxic Pills that Old Sun refined also sold quickly. The output of the two of them could barely keep up with demand.
Li Yuan also received a cut of the Spirit Stones from the talismans and pills they made, as well as contribution points for the Talisman Hall. It was quite a lucrative post.
In the intervals between talisman crafting, he didn’t neglect his cultivation of the Micro-Control Spiritual Skill.
The upper limit of this magic was far higher than he had realized at the entry level.
After becoming proficient, the precision with which he could split Spiritual Power at his fingertips was no longer limited to ten fine streams. He could split it into even more, finer Spirit Silks, each with its own independently controllable direction and density.
The increase in his talisman crafting efficiency was the most direct result. He could draw Spirit Patterns faster, and the connection between multiple patterns was almost seamless, flowing in one go. During alchemy, the temperature gradient inside the furnace was also more stable, and his control over the state of the medicinal liquid was more precise.
The panel flickered.
[Magic: Micro-Control Spiritual Skill - Proficient (0/800)]
’Proficient.’
Li Yuan put away his talisman brush and flexed his fingers.
Spiritual Power dispersed from his fingertips, and extremely fine Spirit Silks spread silently through the air. He retracted the Spirit Silks back into his body, then attempted a new maneuver.
’Not releasing it outward, but retracting it inward.’
He used the Spirit Silks to wrap the Spiritual Qi fluctuations emanating from his body, layer by layer, pressing them back inside.
His two permanent affixes, Aura Obfuscation and Aura Concealment, were constantly active, capable of suppressing his external aura by a great deal.
But suppression wasn’t elimination. Even if the Spiritual Power fluctuations of a Qi Refining Eighth Level cultivator were suppressed to the level of the Fifth or Sixth Level, it was still the aura of a Cultivator, completely different from a mortal.
Now that his Micro-Control Spiritual Skill had reached the Proficient level, his precision in controlling Spiritual Power had reached a new height.
Li Yuan wove the Spirit Silks into an extremely fine mesh just inside the surface of his body, intercepting all leaking Spiritual Qi fluctuations within the net. The Spiritual Power fluctuations were absorbed by the Spirit Silk mesh, dispersed, and reintegrated into his meridians, no longer radiating outward.
The Spiritual Qi fluctuations on the surface of his body dropped sharply.
From the level of Qi Refining Fifth or Sixth Level, it fell to the Fourth Level, then the Third, then the Second.
’Keep suppressing it.’
The density of the Spirit Silk mesh tightened again. The Spiritual Power fluctuations dropped to a level below Qi Refining First Level, becoming almost imperceptible.
’But there’s still a little.’
Li Yuan left the shop and walked along the dirt road toward the outer stall area.
The stall area wasn’t large, with a dozen or so stalls crowded on both sides of the dirt road. They mainly sold consumables for entering the Secret Realm—pills, talismans, dry rations, and bandages. There were also a few stalls selling miscellaneous goods like ores, Spirit Grass, and old Magical Artifacts.
Li Yuan stopped in front of a pill stall.
"Do you have any Concealing Breath Pills?"
The stall owner, a Loose Cultivator in his forties, rummaged through a wooden box behind him and took out a small porcelain vial.
"Yes, only three left. Seven Spirit Stones each."
’A bit more expensive than in Yunyang Market.’ Li Yuan didn’t haggle, counting out fourteen Spirit Stones to buy two.
Returning to the shop, Li Yuan entered the back room and closed the door.
From his storage pouch, he took out the Concealing Breath Pills and the Concealing Breath Spirit Liquid he had previously prepared.
First, he consumed a Concealing Breath Pill.
The medicinal effect spread from his abdomen, a cool energy traveling along his meridians throughout his body, suppressing his surface aura by another layer.
Stacked with the effects of Aura Obfuscation and Aura Concealment, his Spiritual Power fluctuations were already suppressed to an extremely low level.
Li Yuan consumed another Concealing Breath Pill, the effects of both pills working simultaneously.
The second Concealing Breath Pill provided little additional effect.
Li Yuan once again activated the Micro-Control Spiritual Skill, weaving the Spirit Silk mesh just inside the surface of his body.
Spiritual Power fluctuations: almost zero.
Li Yuan tightened the density of the Spirit Silk mesh another notch. The Spirit Silks extended outward from just beneath his skin, forming a second, even finer mesh on the surface of his skin.
’Now I’m completely indistinguishable from a mortal.’
Maintaining this state, Li Yuan reached into his storage pouch, touched the Qi Sensing Disc, and equipped it.
The panel popped up.
[Permanence Condition Met. Make Permanent?]
Yes.
[Permanence Successful]
[Aura Imprint (White) is now a permanent affix]
[Item Consumed]
The Qi Sensing Disc in his palm transformed into a white light and entered his body.
’Aura Imprint. Its effect is to enhance the range and precision of my aura perception.’
’It can also remember the characteristics of auras I’ve come into contact with, allowing me to sense those recorded auras within a certain range.’
Li Yuan withdrew the Spirit Silk mesh and returned to his normal state. The Spiritual Qi fluctuations on his body’s surface reappeared, and the vibrant feeling of his Qi Blood returned.
Just as he stood up, the Aura Imprint affix suddenly reacted.
A foreign aura came from the north side of the outer settlement. It wasn’t close, about a hundred zhang away.
’Qi Refining Ninth Level.’
Li Yuan pushed open the door and walked out under the awning.
His gaze traveled over the dirt road and several rows of stone houses, looking to the north.
On the dirt road a hundred zhang away, a middle-aged Cultivator in a gray-brown short shirt was walking west. He had an average build, his shoulders were slightly hunched, and his pace was neither fast nor slow. His face was ordinary; he wouldn’t draw any attention in a crowd.
’But I’ve seen that face before.’
Uncle Qu had previously given him a few pieces of paper with drawings of the bandit cultivator leader’s various common disguises. The middle-aged cultivator’s face matched one of the portraits.
Li Yuan didn’t move.
The man walked to the west end of the dirt road, turned into a narrow alley, and his figure disappeared between the stone houses. His aura weakened accordingly but didn’t vanish completely. Li Yuan had already firmly committed the characteristics of this aura to memory.
Li Yuan turned and went back into the shop. As he came out from the back room, he happened to run into Uncle Qu returning from outside.
"Something the matter?"
Uncle Qu glanced at him.
"Someone just passed by to the north. Qi Refining Ninth Level. His face matches one of the portraits."
Uncle Qu’s gaze sharpened slightly.
"Which one?"
"The third one. Middle-aged, shoulders hunched, wearing a gray-brown short shirt. He went west and turned into a narrow alley."
Uncle Qu didn’t ask any more questions and turned to head west. His steps were unhurried, but the distance he covered with each stride was nearly double a normal person’s.
Li Yuan didn’t follow.
’This was something Uncle Qu could handle himself. If I followed, I’d just get in the way.’
He returned to the shop and continued crafting talismans.
In the following days, Li Yuan maintained his rhythm of crafting and selling talismans by day, refining pills at dusk, and cultivating at night.
He grew more and more proficient at refining Qi Replenishing Pills, and the efficacy of the finished product had stabilized at a normal level. Occasionally, he would manage to refine a batch of exceptionally high quality. After inspecting it, Old Sun would mutter, "Nice touch," which counted as a sign of his approval.
In terms of talisman crafting, his success rate with Spirit Gathering Array Talismans was also steadily improving. Handling the closing point was no longer an issue, and he had honed the spiral precision of the second auxiliary Spirit Pattern. He could now succeed with six or seven out of every ten attempts.
He also unfailingly crafted two Soul Refining Talismans every day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Under the dual tempering of the Soul Refining Talismans and the Soul Mirror, his Divine Soul grew continuously stronger, and the clarity and range of his perception slowly expanded.
The cultivation of the Microelement Meridian Introduction Skill was interspersed throughout his daily cultivation time. The fine meridians throughout his body were gradually opened by the repeated scouring of the Spirit Silks. More and more meridians were unblocked, and the coverage of Spiritual Power as it circulated through his body grew ever wider.
Late one night, Li Yuan sat cross-legged on his bed board, circulating the Microelement Meridian Introduction Skill.
Spirit Silks split off from his Dantian, followed his meridians, and delved into the terminal micro-meridians. An extremely fine micro-meridian was finally cleared after repeated scouring by the Spirit Silks. Spiritual Power flowed back to his Dantian from the end of this micro-meridian, completing the final dead-end path.
The panel flickered.
[Cultivation Technique: Microelement Meridian Introduction Skill - Great Success (0/3200)]
’Great Success.’
The network of meridians throughout his body had become extremely clear under the polishing of the Microelement Meridian Introduction Skill. Spiritual Power could now travel from his Dantian through every single meridian in his body, including the finest and deepest terminal micro-meridians, without any blockage.
Li Yuan circulated his energy for one full cycle. The Spiritual Power made a loop through all the meridians in his body. It was a notch faster than before and flowed unimpeded everywhere it went.