Chapter 204 - 198: Disguise
Li Yuan rested for a moment, then began setting up the array again in the same clearing.
With the experience he’d gained, setting up the array the second time was much faster than the first. Positioning the eight nodes, laying out the conduction lines, and the sequence of infusing Spiritual Power—it all went off without a hitch.
The array lit up.
The eight Array Foundation Stones pulsed with a deep red halo. Bands of light flowed slowly along the conduction lines, and the Gathering Evil Stone at the center radiated a dark red glow. The Evil Qi within a hundred-zhang radius was drawn in by the array, continuously converging toward the Array Hub.
With the permanent "Evil Qi Attraction" trait stacked on top, the concentration of Evil Qi around him was even higher than the day before.
Li Yuan sat down cross-legged next to the Array Hub and began circulating the Spirit-Introducing Skill.
There was no need to deliberately absorb the Evil Qi. The Gathering Evil Array pulled in Evil Qi from afar, the "Evil Qi Attraction" trait further concentrated the Evil Qi around his body, the "Evil Qi Affinity" trait eliminated its negative effects, and the "Evil Qi Body Tempering" trait automatically converted the Evil Qi into nourishment that tempered his physical body.
The entire process was fully automated. Li Yuan only needed to cultivate normally; the collection and utilization of Evil Qi ran on their own in the background.
Spiritual Power circulated through his meridians in a complete cycle, and his Qi Blood flowed in sync. Evil Qi continuously seeped into his fascia and bones from the outside, imperceptibly enhancing the tempering effect of the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill.
An hour passed.
Two hours passed.
His cultivation efficiency was more than double what it had been in his courtyard in Yunyang Market.
The Spiritual Qi concentration here was already higher than in the market, and with the continuous tempering from the Evil Qi, his Spiritual Power cultivation and physical strength advanced in tandem.
Just past the halfway point of the third hour, his "Concealed Presence, Keen Perception" trait suddenly reacted.
It wasn’t malice. It was a restless, aggressive biological aura, rapidly approaching from the northwest.
A Demon Beast.
Li Yuan opened his eyes.
The aura’s intensity was around the upper end of Tier One Middle Grade. It was moving fast, charging straight for the array.
The Gathering Evil Array converged all the Evil Qi within a hundred-zhang radius to its center, making the concentration near the Array Hub extremely high. Some Demon Beasts are naturally drawn to Evil Qi, even feeding on it. To them, this level of concentration smelled like a grand feast.
’It was drawn by the Gathering Evil Array.’
Li Yuan stood up and faced northwest.
Through the dense mist, a grayish-black figure emerged from a patch of low shrubs.
It was a size larger than a Gray Badger, with stout limbs and a layer of dark purple carapace covering its back like natural armor. Its head was flat and broad, its two eyes glowed with a faint purple light, and its snout protruded, with tusks curving up from its lower jaw, dripping dark saliva from their tips.
Demon Armor Boar.
A Demon Beast at the upper end of Tier One Middle Grade that fed on Evil Qi. It had tough skin, thick flesh, and extremely high defense.
The Demon Armor Boar didn’t hesitate upon seeing Li Yuan. It let out a low roar from its throat, the dark purple carapace on its back flared out, and it lunged forward on all fours.
Li Yuan did not dodge.
He took a Golden Armor Talisman from his storage pouch and equipped it.
[Equip successful]
[Trait acquired: Golden Armor Body (White)]
The Golden Armor Talisman’s trait took effect, further increasing the defensive boost from his Body Refining Technique. Li Yuan’s defense shot up.
The Demon Armor Boar’s foreclaws slammed heavily onto Li Yuan’s left shoulder.
The impact was immense.
The membrane of light from Golden Armor Body dented at the point of impact, absorbing most of the force. Scale Armor Body fortified the surface of his skin, Iron Membrane Protection formed a second defensive layer beneath it, and his Spiritual Membrane provided one more layer of defense on the very outside.
Four layers of defense stacked together.
Li Yuan was knocked back half a step. A dull pressure emanated from his left shoulder, but there was no pain.
Its claws hadn’t broken through his defense.
A panel popped up.
[Conditions to make Golden Armor Body (White) permanent have been met.]
[Make permanent?]
The condition to make the Golden Armor Talisman’s trait permanent was to withstand a full-power attack from a Tier One Middle Grade or higher opponent. The Demon Armor Boar was at the upper end of Tier One Middle Grade, and that had been a full-power strike. The condition was met.
’Yes.’
[Permanence successful.]
[Golden Armor Body (White) has become a permanent trait.]
[Equipment consumed.]
The Demon Armor Boar paused for a moment, stunned that its claw attack had no effect, then opened its mouth to bite.
Li Yuan raised his right palm. Fireball Technique.
A distance of three zhang. The "Precision" trait locked on.
The Fireball slammed head-on into the Demon Armor Boar’s head.
BOOM.
The Demon Armor Boar was sent flying by the Fireball’s shockwave, but it was still struggling on the ground.
Li Yuan finished it off with a fire arrow, collected the materials from its body, and resumed his cultivation.
After cultivating for a few more hours, Li Yuan ceased his practice and stood up.
He rummaged deep within his storage pouch and pulled out the dark red Bloodthirsty Stone, placing it in his palm.
Bloodthirsty Realm-Tempering. A green-rarity trait. Killing Cultivators can increase one’s own breakthrough probability. The stronger the slain Cultivator, the greater the effect, with a maximum boost of fifty percent.
The trait’s effect was extremely powerful. If he could stack this effect to its maximum before reaching Foundation Establishment, his chances of a successful breakthrough would increase dramatically.
Conditions for permanence: Kill five or more Cultivators of the same tier, or kill one Cultivator at Foundation Establishment or above.
’The same tier means Qi Refining Ninth Level.’
’Five of them.’
Li Yuan turned the Bloodthirsty Stone over in his palm and fell silent for a moment.
He had previously killed three Loose Cultivators who ambushed him in the Ghost Mist Forest. They had attacked first; he had only counterattacked.
Now, he needed to accumulate a kill count of five Cultivators of the same tier.
Li Yuan was not the kind of person to actively hunt down and murder innocent Cultivators. He couldn’t do it, and he wouldn’t.
’But fishing is an option.’
There was no shortage of malicious people in the Ghost Mist Forest. This forest was outside the jurisdiction of the Primordial Yang Sect, with no rules against fighting. Robbery and murder were commonplace. He himself had been ambushed by three Loose Cultivators before.
’If I deliberately expose myself to those robber-cultivators and backstabbers, suppress my cultivation, and act like I’m an easy target to make them attack first—’
’They make the first move, and I kill them in retaliation.’
’Self-defense.’
Li Yuan put the Bloodthirsty Stone back into his storage pouch and stood up.
After walking for about half an hour, he reached the intersection where the main road met the fork leading to the Ghost Mist Forest.
Li Yuan slowed his pace, increasing the degree to which he concealed his aura.
His Qi Refining Ninth Level cultivation was suppressed to the level of Qi Refining Fifth Level. The Aura Concealment was applied to obscure it further, making his outward appearance that of someone around the Qi Refining Fourth Level. He adjusted his "Presence" to a lower setting.
From the outside, he looked like a low-level Loose Cultivator, all alone, with a bulging storage pouch.
The very image of a "fat sheep."
Li Yuan walked slowly along the main road, occasionally stopping to look around, pretending to be unfamiliar with the area.
The malice-sensing aspect of his "Concealed Presence, Keen Perception" trait was operating at full capacity, scanning all auras within a radius of several hundred zhang.
There were quite a few Loose Cultivators coming and going on the main road. Most of their auras were neutral, showing no malice. Occasionally, he would sense one or two auras tinged with caution or vigilance, but they weren’t directed at him—just an instinctive wariness of the surroundings.
After about a quarter of an hour, he still hadn’t encountered a suitable target.
Li Yuan wasn’t in a hurry.
The area near the Ghost Mist Forest was a high-frequency zone for robber-cultivators, but they weren’t just standing around everywhere. Most of them hid at secluded forks in the road or at the edges of the dense woods, waiting for prey to walk into their laps.
Li Yuan adjusted his route, turning off the main road and onto a smaller path that led to the outskirts of the Ghost Mist Forest.
The path was flanked by shrubs and weeds, offering much poorer visibility than the main road and a lot more cover. It was easier to run into robber-cultivators in a place like this.
Li Yuan walked slowly along the path, his steps unhurried. He dangled his storage pouch by its drawstring, looking completely absent-minded.
His "Concealed Presence, Keen Perception" continued to scan his surroundings.