Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Li Yuan spread the two Tier One Top Grade talisman-making manuals Qin Ruoshuang had given him on the desk. He spent the afternoon reading them from cover to cover.

The core Spirit Patterns of the Gathering Essence Talisman were a combination of the Spirit Gathering Pattern and the Amplification Pattern. Its function was to drastically increase the user's Spiritual Qi absorption efficiency in a short period. The flow of the Spirit Patterns was mainly convergent, sharing some similarities with a Spirit Gathering Array Talisman.

The core Spirit Patterns of the Demon-breaking Talisman were a combination of the Evil-Breaking Pattern and the Purification Pattern, specifically designed to counter sinister and evil things. The flow of the Spirit Patterns was a straight, piercing style, sharing commonalities with the Piercing Pattern of the Breaking Charm, but with an added layer of purification.

The precision required for the Spirit Patterns of a Tier One Top Grade talisman was a notch higher than a Tier One Middle Grade one, but still much lower than that of a Tier Two Low Grade Spirit Water Talisman. With his foundation of a perfected Tier One Talisman Making Skill, he picked it up quickly.

He succeeded in creating a finished Gathering Essence Talisman on his third attempt. For the Demon-breaking Talisman, it took five tries.

[Talisman: Gathering Essence Talisman — Novice (0/200)]

[Talisman: Demon-breaking Talisman — Novice (0/200)]

He had reached the Novice level for both new talismans.

Li Yuan placed the two finished talismans on the desk and touched them one by one.

The Gathering Essence Talisman.

[Equippable Item Detected: Gathering Essence Talisman (Complete)]

[Equip Trait Preview: Spiritual Qi Convergence (White) — Increases the absorption range of Spiritual Qi and enhances its influx speed during cultivation.]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Practice two Cultivation Techniques and achieve Great Success in them.]

[Current Equipment Slots are full (5/5). Replace a current piece of equipment?]

'A white trait. Spiritual Qi Convergence.'

'The permanence condition is to achieve Great Success in two Cultivation Techniques.'

'He had already met the condition long ago.'

His finger moved to the Demon-breaking Talisman.

[Equippable Item Detected: Demon-breaking Talisman (Complete)]

[Equip Trait Preview: Demon Breaker (White) — Magic gains an additional effect that damages Divine Souls and wraiths.]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Reach the Foundation Establishment Stage in Cultivation, or defeat a Cultivator one minor realm higher than oneself (0/1).]

[Current Equipment Slots are full (5/5). Replace a current piece of equipment?]

'A white trait. Demon Breaker.'

'Permanence condition: reach the Foundation Establishment Stage in Cultivation, or defeat a Cultivator one minor realm higher.'

'His Cultivation was already at the Foundation Establishment Stage, so the condition was met instantly.'

Li Yuan equipped and made permanent both talismans, one after the other.

[Permanence successful.]

[Spiritual Qi Convergence (White) has become a permanent trait.]

[Permanence successful.]

[Demon Breaker (White) has become a permanent trait.]

Two white traits were added to his collection.

Spiritual Qi Convergence increased both the absorption range and influx speed of Spiritual Qi during cultivation. Stacked with his existing cultivation-accelerating traits like Pure Spiritual Power, Spiritual Power Condensation, and Circulatory Cycle Acceleration, his cultivation efficiency rose yet again.

The Demon Breaker trait added an effect to his Magic that damaged Divine Souls. When stacked with his Divine Soul attack system from the Soul Stabbing Skill and the Soul Condensation Skill, the effect was estimated to be quite formidable.

As Li Yuan reorganized his equipment slots, he noticed a trend.

As his Cultivation continued to rise, the permanence conditions for these traits were becoming easier and easier to meet.

Conditions like reaching Late-stage Qi Refining or achieving Great Success in a Cultivation Technique were no longer obstacles for a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator.

'From now on, whenever I get a new white trait, I can probably make it permanent right away.'

After cleaning up his desk, Li Yuan left and headed for the south gate of Yunyang Market.

Ghost Mist Forest.

This time, his goal was not just to absorb Evil Qi, but also to venture deep into the mines to extract Evil Stones. The permanence condition for the Evil Spirit Transformation Skill required one hundred Evil Stones.

He left the city through the south gate and followed the main road southwest. Activating Divine Movement Step, he reached the outskirts of the Ghost Mist Forest in less than four hours.

As he stepped into the dense fog, Evil Essence Symbiosis activated automatically. The Evil Qi within a radius of several dozen feet was slowly drawn toward him, seeping into his fascia and bones.

Li Yuan didn't linger on the outskirts and headed directly for the deeper regions.

His Divine Sense spread outward, encompassing the surrounding environment. After reaching Foundation Establishment, the coverage of his Divine Sense far exceeded the enhancement of his Spiritual Sense from the Qi Refining Stage. Even with the interference of the ghost mist, he could perceive aura fluctuations over a hundred zhang away.

After walking for about an hour, the terrain ahead began to dip downward.

An opening appeared on the mountain face ahead. The entrance wasn't large, barely wide enough for two people to pass through side-by-side, and its edges showed signs of being artificially carved.

'A mine shaft.'

Li Yuan had visited the shallower sections before; this time, he was heading deeper.

The air inside the entrance was colder than outside, and the concentration of Evil Qi spiked sharply. The cave walls were embedded with Spirit Stones for illumination, but the deeper he went, the sparser the stones became, and the dimmer the light grew.

Li Yuan followed the mine shaft inward.

After about two hundred zhang, the mine split into two paths.

The path on the left was wider, its walls covered in fresh chisel marks. The ground was scattered with gravel and slag. This was the area where Loose Cultivators typically mined for Spirit Iron.

The path on the right was much narrower. Its walls showed no signs of excavation, and the ground was covered in a layer of grayish-white dust. The entrance was partially blocked by several large rocks, leaving a gap just wide enough to squeeze through sideways.

'The path to the depths.'

Li Yuan squeezed sideways through the gap and continued along the right-hand path.

The concentration of Evil Qi was rising sharply.

The Evil Qi concentration on the outskirts had been like a gentle breeze to Li Yuan, but the deeper he went, the denser it became. At a certain point, the concentration grew so high that an ordinary Qi Refining Stage Cultivator would be completely unable to withstand it.

Evil Essence Symbiosis suppressed all negative effects to a minimum. The dense Evil Qi was automatically gathered, with a portion seeping into his fascia for Body Tempering, a portion stored within him, and another portion converted into Spiritual Power.

In an environment with such a high concentration of Evil Qi, simply walking was equivalent to cultivating.

After walking another hundred zhang or so, dark red ore veins began to appear on the walls of the tunnel.

'An Evil Stone vein.'

The dark red ore was embedded in the gray-black rock walls, varying in size from as large as a fist to as small as an egg. The surfaces of the stones glowed with a dim, crimson light, and Evil Qi continuously seeped out from within them.

The quality was more than a grade higher than that in the shallower areas.

Li Yuan took a pickaxe from his storage bag—a mining tool he had found in the storage bags of those three rogue cultivators and had never thrown away.

The pickaxe chipped into the rock wall, prying loose an Evil Stone.

It was the size of a fist, heavy in his hand, and its dark red luster was much richer than the Evil Stones from the shallower areas.

Li Yuan put the Evil Stone into his storage bag and continued to dig.

The vein had large reserves, extending a long way along the walls of the tunnel.

After digging for about two hours, Li Yuan stopped to count.

One hundred and thirteen stones.

'Enough.'

Li Yuan put away the pickaxe and found a flat spot deep in the mine to sit down cross-legged.

'First, I'll absorb some Evil Qi and cultivate for a while.'

The Evil Qi concentration deep in the mine was extremely high, and the passive gathering effect of Evil Essence Symbiosis was maximized here. The Evil Qi within a radius of several dozen feet surged toward him like a tide, several times denser than it was on the surface of the Ghost Mist Forest.

The Cyan Wood Longevity Skill began to circulate, with the Evil Spirit Transformation Skill operating in sync. The Evil Qi flowed along specific pathways, part of it converting into Spiritual Power and merging into his Dantian, part of it washing over the nodes of his Divine Soul to temper it, and part of it seeping into his muscles and bones for Body Tempering.

After cultivating for four hours, Li Yuan ceased his practice and stood up.

He took the Evil Stones out of his storage bag and began to absorb them one by one.

The permanence condition for the Evil Spirit Transformation Skill: use one hundred Evil Stones and absorb all the Evil Qi from within them.

Li Yuan held the first Evil Stone in his palm.

Evil Essence Symbiosis automatically drew the Evil Qi out from within the stone, guiding it into his body through his meridians. The Evil Qi concentration in the stone was many times higher than in the environment; the amount of Evil Qi in a single stone was equivalent to half a day's absorption on the outskirts of the Ghost Mist Forest.

The Evil Qi was rapidly absorbed, diverted, and utilized. Part was converted to Spiritual Power, part was used for Body Tempering, and part was stored.

After the Evil Qi from the first Evil Stone was completely absorbed, the dark red ore turned into a grayish-white waste rock, its spiritual fluctuations completely gone.

[Evil Soul Spirit Tempering (Green) Permanence Progress: 1/100]

The second stone. The third. The fourth.

Li Yuan absorbed them one after another, his speed rapid. The processing efficiency of Evil Essence Symbiosis was extremely high, and it took no more than a dozen breaths to absorb each Evil Stone.

Fifty stones. Seventy. Ninety.

The Evil Qi from the one-hundredth Evil Stone was completely absorbed.

[Permanence condition for Evil Soul Spirit Tempering (Green) has been met.]

[Make permanent?]

'Yes.'

[Permanence successful.]

[Evil Soul Spirit Tempering (Green) has become a permanent trait.]

[Equipment consumed.]

The beast-hide manual for the Evil Spirit Transformation Skill in his storage bag dissolved into a green stream of light and flowed into his body.

The change could be felt almost immediately.

An additional pathway for Evil Qi circulation appeared in his body—the operational path of the Evil Spirit Transformation Skill was now permanently engraved into his meridians' memory. From now on, he wouldn't need to consciously circulate the technique; the Evil Qi would automatically temper his Divine Soul when passing its nodes and promote his Cultivation growth as it flowed through his meridians.

The panel immediately displayed a second notification.

[Fusable Trait Combination Detected.]

[Evil Essence Symbiosis (Blue) + Evil Soul Spirit Tempering (Green)]

[Estimated Grade after Fusion: Blue]

[Fuse?]

'It can fuse with Evil Essence Symbiosis.'

'It's still blue after fusion; the grade didn't increase.'

Li Yuan chose to fuse them.

The icons for the two traits lit up on the panel and overlapped. The light, a mix of blue and green, transformed into a deeper blue and stabilized after a few breaths.

[Fusion complete.]

[Permanent Trait Acquired: Evil Essence Unification (Blue)]

[Evil Essence Unification (Blue)]

[Effect: Complete immunity to the negative effects of Evil Qi; can convert impurities in the body into Evil Qi and store them; automatically gathers surrounding Evil Qi during cultivation; Evil Qi has a powerful Body Tempering effect; Evil Qi can be converted into Spiritual Power to promote Cultivation growth; Evil Qi can temper the Divine Soul.]

On the panel, the traits for Evil Essence Symbiosis and Evil Soul Spirit Tempering had disappeared, replaced by Evil Essence Unification.

'It also gained the effect of tempering the Divine Soul.'

Li Yuan closed his eyes to feel the changes within his body.

The presence of Evil Qi within him felt more natural now. It was no longer a contained, foreign energy but had become a part of his body, just like Spiritual Power. The Evil Qi circulated automatically through his meridians, tempering his Divine Soul as it passed, performing Body Tempering as it flowed through his muscles, and converting into Spiritual Power as it passed through his Dantian.

Fully automatic, with no loss and no negative side effects.