Chapter 200 - 194: Great Success in the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill
The number of people in Yunyang Marketplace was growing.
After news of the Primordial Yang Sect’s disciple recruitment spread, Loose Cultivators from all over flocked to the marketplace in waves, like fish drawn to the scent of bait.
Foot traffic on the main street had nearly doubled from half a month ago. Stalls in the Loose Cultivator gathering area spilled out from behind the stone railings, and even the empty spaces in the side alleys were now filled with makeshift stalls.
The inns were all full. In the side alley where Li Yuan lived, the three or four courtyards that had once been empty were now all rented out. A new Qi Refining Fourth Level Loose Cultivator had moved in next door. He began circulating his energy before dawn each day, and the fluctuations of his aura would seep through the cracks in the courtyard wall.
The inspections at the city gate had also grown stricter.
When Li Yuan went out to buy Spirit Grass, he noticed the line to enter the city was nearly twice as long as before.
The number of guards on either side of the gate had increased from six to eight. The two new additions had a noticeably higher Cultivation, appearing to be at the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining, and they stood at the entrance scanning everyone who came and went.
There were many new faces in the stall area. The old stall owners were still there, but they were surrounded by a large number of newcomers.
Some were setting up stalls to sell their wares, while others gathered in groups of three or five to discuss the Primordial Yang Sect’s disciple recruitment.
Their Cultivation levels varied greatly, ranging from the second or third level of Qi Refining all the way to the seventh or eighth.
As Li Yuan crouched down at a Spirit Grass stall to pick out some Cyan Spirit Grass, two Loose Cultivators standing nearby were chatting.
"...Did you see those people over on East Street? The ones in the dark blue robes."
"I saw them. They’re not from the Wang family or the Li family, right? The patterns on their robes are different."
"They’re from the Ji family."
Li Yuan’s fingers paused over a bundle of Cyan Spirit Grass.
The Loose Cultivator who had spoken was a middle-aged man in his forties. His face was dark and weathered, the mark of someone who spent most of their time outdoors.
"The Ji family?" The other Loose Cultivator paused. "Which Ji family?"
"One of the three Foundation Establishment families under the Primordial Yang Sect."
The weathered Loose Cultivator lowered his voice slightly, though he didn’t make a deliberate effort to hide it. "Besides the Wang and Li families, there’s the Ji family. They specialize in Artifact Refining, and their territory is in the southeastern part of the Yuanheng Mountain Range, quite far from both the Wangs and the Lis."
"How come I’ve never heard of them?"
"They don’t usually show their faces," the weathered Loose Cultivator said, rubbing his chin. "The Ji family’s territory is remote, and they don’t have much contact with the Wang or Li families. They usually just keep to themselves and make their fortune quietly, staying out of the conflicts over here. Besides, their family situation isn’t great."
"What’s not great about it?"
"They only have one ancestor left." The weathered Loose Cultivator jutted his chin toward East Street. "A Foundation Establishment Cultivator, but I hear he’s on his last legs—his lifespan is nearly at its end. There’s no one in the Ji family’s younger generation who can take his place. If the ancestor passes away, the family will be left with only Qi Refining Stage Cultivators to hold down the fort."
The other Loose Cultivator clicked his tongue. "Then wouldn’t they be no different from an ordinary Loose Cultivator family?"
"More or less," the weathered Loose Cultivator agreed with a nod.
The two Loose Cultivators muttered a few more words to each other before going their separate ways.
Li Yuan paid the Spirit Stones for the Cyan Spirit Grass he had selected, placed it in his storage bag, and stood up to head back.
’The Ji family. The third Foundation Establishment family under the Primordial Yang Sect. They specialize in Artifact Refining, and their only remaining ancestor is near the end of his lifespan.’
’They don’t have strong ties with the Wang or Li families, but they’re still one of the Foundation Establishment families.’
Li Yuan committed this information to memory.
After returning to his courtyard, Li Yuan resumed making talismans.
In the following days, Li Yuan focused on making progress with the Spiritual Essence Jade Plate’s talisman-making objective.
He spent every afternoon and evening making talismans. He would press his left hand against the back of the jade plate, continuously infusing it with Spiritual Power, while his right hand held the brush to draw the talisman.
The supportive effect of the Spiritual Essence Jade Plate made the quality of the finished products consistently a cut above his usual work. The Spiritual Power infused into the base of the plate created a backing that sealed the bottom of the talisman paper, greatly increasing the stability of the Spirit Patterns and ensuring the Spiritual Power was distributed extremely evenly throughout the lines.
On the evening of the fifth day, Li Yuan peeled the last Qi Gathering Talisman of the day off the jade plate.
The panel popped up.
[Condition to make Spiritual Essence Refinement (Green) permanent has been met]
[Make permanent?]
Yes.
[Permanence successful]
[Spiritual Essence Refinement (Green) has become a permanent trait]
[Equipment consumed]
The Spiritual Essence Jade Plate on the desk dissolved into a dark cyan glow that flowed into Li Yuan’s hands.
He could feel the change immediately.
The precision of his control over Spiritual Power at his fingertips had risen to a new level. It wasn’t the kind of improvement he had to consciously search for to feel; it was an instinctive change. The Spiritual Power flowed from the brush tip into the talisman paper with greater accuracy, and the diffusion of energy along the edges of the Spirit Patterns was suppressed to an unprecedented degree.
Li Yuan spread out a sheet of herbal talisman paper and began to draw directly on it, without the jade plate.
The crimson glow that rose from the talisman’s surface was deep and restrained, its quality even a sliver better than when he had used the jade plate’s assistance before making the trait permanent.
His talisman-making quality had been permanently boosted by twenty percent.
Stacked on top of his Great Success in Talisman Making Skill, every Talisman he drew from now on would be better than before. The finished products would have a higher density of Spiritual Power, more refined Spirit Patterns, and a stronger practical effect.
In terms of income, this improvement in quality meant he could sell them at a higher price and they would be in greater demand.
Li Yuan set the Fireball Talisman on the corner of the desk, cleared the surface, and headed out to the Li’s shop.
The storefront on the southern section of the main street was still there, its bronze plaque glinting on the lintel.
The attendant was the same man in the short, dark gray robe.
"Iron Wall Pills."
"One bottle of five, fifty Spirit Stones."
"I’ll take two bottles."
He put down one hundred Spirit Stones and placed the two bottles of Iron Wall Pills into his storage bag.
Back in his courtyard with the door shut, Li Yuan tipped an Iron Wall Pill into his mouth.
A scorching heat exploded from the pit of his stomach, surging up his spine and into the bones of his limbs. The Bone Marrow Forging trait amplified the pill’s effects by thirty percent, and Spirit Liquid Assimilation stacked another thirty percent on top of that.
He began to circulate the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill.
Spiritual Power flowed along the Cultivation Technique’s pathways and into the depths of his muscles.
The absorption channels at the Minor Achievement stage were already much wider than they had been at the proficiency stage, allowing Spiritual Power to seep in with greater speed and depth, reaching a new level.
The Spirit-Blood Dual Cultivation from the Blood Coagulation Pill made his Qi Blood circulate in sync with his spiritual power, and the three forces washed over his muscle fibers in alternating waves.
One cycle, two cycles, three cycles, four cycles.
With the enhancement from Bone Marrow Forging, the effects of the Iron Wall Pill were fully amplified. With every completed cycle, he could feel the density in the depths of his muscles increasing.
For the next few days, Li Yuan took one Iron Wall Pill daily and cultivated with all his might using the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill.
After teaching Han Qing during the day, he spent most of the afternoons focused on Body Refining, and at night, he cultivated the Spirit-Introducing Skill and the Soul Condensation Skill.
Under the dual enhancement of Bone Marrow Forging and Spirit Liquid Assimilation, the effects of the Iron Wall Pills were extremely significant.
The medicinal effects of each pill were amplified by nearly sixty percent. In the same amount of time, his progress in the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill was more than twice as fast as it would have been without the pills.
On the evening of the sixth day, Li Yuan completed the final cycle of the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill, ceased his cultivation, and stood up.
The change didn’t come suddenly.
Over the past few days, his muscles’ ability to accept Spiritual Power in their deeper layers had been steadily improving, gradually shifting from active acceptance to autonomous attraction.
Once the Spiritual Power was infused, it no longer needed to be constantly driven by the Cultivation Technique. The muscle fibers, as if they had grown countless tiny suction cups, locked onto the Spiritual Power and pulled it deeper, layer by layer.
During his last cycle on the sixth day, as the Spiritual Power reached the deepest layer near the bone membrane, the bone membrane itself began to absorb it.
It wasn’t just the muscles anymore; the bones had also joined the tempering cycle.
The panel flickered.
[Cultivation Technique: Iron Wall Body Refining Skill - Great Success (0/3200)]
Great Success.
Li Yuan clenched his fists.
His sense of strength was more than a level higher than it had been at Minor Achievement. The muscle definition beneath his skin was tight and clear, and the density and hardness of his bones had also increased significantly.
After reaching Great Success, the circulation of the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill began to involve his internal organs and bone marrow. At Minor Achievement and below, it had only tempered the muscles and the surface of the bones, but at Great Success, the scope of the tempering expanded to deeper levels.
At the same time, another panel notification popped up.
[Condition to make Spirit-Blood Dual Cultivation (Green) permanent has been met]
[Make permanent?]
’The condition to make Spirit-Blood Dual Cultivation permanent is for both an immortal Body Refining Technique and a cultivation technique to reach Great Success. It’s finally been met.’
With a thought, Li Yuan made it permanent.
Li Yuan closed his eyes and sensed the state of the Qi Blood circulating within him.
He had possessed the Spirit-Blood Dual Cultivation effect from the Blood Coagulation Pill for so long that the pattern of Qi Blood circulating in sync with Spiritual Power through his meridians had run countless times.
As the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill progressed from proficiency to Minor Achievement and then to Great Success, the efficiency and coverage of his Qi Blood circulation had improved in lockstep.
The depth to which the Cultivation Technique mobilized his Qi Blood had advanced another level. His Qi Blood was drawn to seep into the most remote micro-meridians.
The extremely fine and deep terminal micro-meridians that had been opened by the Microelement Meridian Introduction Skill were now finally being coursed through by Qi Blood along with Spiritual Power.
His Qi Blood now formed a complete, great circulatory cycle throughout all the meridians in his body.
From the major meridians to the main branches, the fine branches, and the micro-meridians—not a single one was missed.
Li Yuan retrieved the Strengthening Grass from the depths of his storage bag.
This herb had been sitting in his storage bag for a long time; he had carried it with him ever since his time in Qinghe Marketplace.
With a thought, he equipped the Strengthening Grass.
The panel immediately popped up.
[Condition to make Qi Blood Fixation (Green) permanent has been met]
[Make permanent?]
Yes.
[Permanence successful]
[Qi Blood Fixation (Green) has become a permanent trait]
[Equipment consumed]
The change wasn’t drastic, but the circulation of his Qi Blood throughout his meridians suddenly became a layer more stable.