Chapter 310 - 299: The Wang Family’s Mine

Chapter 310: Chapter 299: The Wang Family’s Mine

In the morning, Li Yuan slowly concluded his cultivation, only to learn he had a visitor.

"Li Dao You, sorry to bother you again." Wang Ting’an said as he entered, sitting down across from him and getting straight to the point. "This time, I’d like to ask for your help inspecting a Spirit Ore vein."

"What kind of vein?"

"It’s a Fire Attribute one, which we acquired from the Li family’s liquidated assets."

Wang Ting’an continued, "It’s located southwest of the marketplace, on the outer edge of the Ghost Mist Forest. The Li family operated it for many years and produced some Fire Element Spirit Ores, but production later stopped for some unknown reason. After we took over, we found an old Array set up by the Li family still inside, and we’re unsure of the vein’s current condition."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Three things." Wang Ting’an held up three fingers. "Confirm the vein’s safety and production potential, dismantle the Li family’s old Array, and then set up a new Array to cultivate the vein."

"And the payment?"

"The Array setup and assessment fees will be at market rate, plus a batch of rare Array Materials." Wang Ting’an took a list from his storage bag and handed it over. "Is this enough?"

Li Yuan took the list and glanced over it.

’Several types of pattern-stabilizing Spiritual Sand and Drainage Stones, all of good quality. There are a few things on here that he hadn’t been able to find in the marketplace before.’

"Alright. When do we go?"

"First thing tomorrow morning."

「The next morning.」

Li Yuan followed Wang Ting’an out of the marketplace. They traveled southwest for over an hour.

The entrance to the vein was hidden on the shaded side of a low hill. The opening wasn’t large and was mostly obscured by weeds and rubble.

Wang Ting’an had two Wang family Cultivators stand guard outside while Li Yuan entered the mine shaft alone.

The shaft wasn’t deep; he reached the bottom after walking about a hundred zhang.

It opened into a medium-sized natural cavern, the walls of which bore the clear marks of Fire Element Spirit Ore mining. The old vein ran downward from the cavern floor, and its surface still emanated faint Fire Spiritual Power waves.

Li Yuan first swept the entire cavern with his Divine Sense.

There was no danger on the cavern walls, nor any sign of Demon Beasts having lived there. The Array the Li family had set up was located near the center of the cavern, slightly below. It was a Fire Gathering Array, not complex in structure, but it had fallen into disrepair over the years, and several nodes had loosened.

The Array itself contained no traps; it was just an ordinary Cultivation Array used to accelerate the formation of Fire Element Spirit Ores.

’No issues with safety.’

Li Yuan then turned his attention to the vein itself.

He squatted down, pressing his palm against the surface of the vein.

Fire Spiritual Power seeped from the vein into his palm. It wasn’t very hot, and its intensity was rather weak. The quality of this vein was below average, and its production potential was limited.

But for the Wang family, even a vein of below-average Fire Attribute was an asset. Fire Element Spirit Ores had a stable demand in the marketplace. As long as they set up a new Array to cultivate it, it would generate a monthly income once production resumed.

Li Yuan stood up, and just as he was about to leave, the panel popped up.

[Special Equipable Item Detected]

[Item Entry Grade: Green]

[Note: Item does not belong to self. Cannot be equipped. Cannot view detailed information.]

Li Yuan paused briefly.

’This vein itself has an entry and can be equipped in a special equipment slot.’

’Just like my Evil Ore.’

Li Yuan didn’t linger. He retracted his senses and continued walking out.

Wang Ting’an came up to him as he exited the mine shaft.

"How is it?"

"The vein is safe, no traps. The production potential is slightly below average, but it can resume production after a new Array is set up for cultivation. The Li family’s old Array won’t be hard to dismantle, and setting up a new one will be easy."

After saying this, Li Yuan paused for a moment.

"There is one other thing."

Wang Ting’an looked over.

"The location of this vein is very close to a vein of my own near the marketplace, deep underground," Li Yuan said. "The two veins are separated only by a fissure in the rock layer. I have a Meridian Guiding Skill that could connect them if we break through."

Wang Ting’an’s brows twitched.

"Connect them?"

"Yes. My vein is of the Evil Qi attribute, and this one is Fire Attribute. Once connected, the Fire Spiritual Power and Evil Qi will permeate each other at their junction, potentially producing Spirit Ore that combines fire and evil."

"Fire Evil Stone?" Wang Ting’an had clearly heard of the concept. "That kind of ore is incredibly rare. I’ve only ever read about it in ancient texts."

"It’s possible to produce it, but not guaranteed."

Li Yuan said, "When veins of two different attributes are connected, they influence each other. The best-case scenario is the production of Fire Evil Stones. The worst-case is that both veins are disrupted, and their original outputs actually decrease."

Wang Ting’an fell silent for a moment, pondering.

"I need to think about it."

"No rush," Li Yuan nodded. "We can take care of the old and new Arrays first. We can discuss connecting them after you’ve thought it through."

’Li Yuan knew that by equipping the Evil Vein, he could control it. Combined with the Meridian Guiding Skill, he could manage the fusion of the two veins himself, ensuring there would be no problems—at least, no problems for his own Evil Vein.’

’But this wasn’t something he could explain to the Wang family.’

After returning from the mine, Li Yuan didn’t go directly back to the marketplace. Instead, he took a detour to Yunyang Marketplace.

The setup of the supplementary Array in the Core Formation District was still ongoing, and some of the Array Materials he needed were no longer available in the Mist Forest Marketplace. He needed to restock at Yunyang Marketplace.

Yunyang Marketplace was even livelier than the last time he had visited.

The streets were bustling with people, and long lines formed at the storefronts. With the influx of Loose Cultivators from Yunzhou, Yunyang Marketplace, as the largest marketplace in Liangzhou, had absorbed the largest flow of people.

Li Yuan first went to several Array Material shops and bought all the materials he needed.

After finishing his purchases, he took a few more steps around the marketplace and soon noticed some unfamiliar faces.

In an alley on the east side of the marketplace, a large group of people had gathered. Their auras ranged from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment. They wore similar clothing, and the style of the storage bags hanging from their waists was also nearly identical. It was clear at a glance that they all belonged to the same family.

Li Yuan took a few steps closer and overheard two Loose Cultivators discussing in low voices.

"Those are people from the Li family. I heard they’re holding an auction."

"Auctioning what?"

"Their family’s foundational treasures. Cultivation Techniques, pill formulas, Magical Artifacts—they’re selling everything. They say they’re moving, leaving Liangzhou."

"Moving where?"

"Who knows? Anyway, they can’t stay in Liangzhou anymore. The Sect liquidated all their assets. They didn’t touch the people themselves, but who would dare to stick around?"

Li Yuan listened for a bit without getting closer. Instead, he turned and went to the stalls set up by the Li family clansmen for individual sales.

The auction hadn’t officially started, but the Li family had already set up several stalls in the marketplace.

There were quite a few items at the stalls.

Li Yuan scanned them one by one, his gaze stopping on a beast-skin scroll.

Iron Wall Body Refining Skill.

Li Yuan reached out and picked it up to flip through it.

’This wasn’t the Tier One Iron Wall Body Refining Skill he had practiced before, but its advanced version: a Tier Two Body Refining Technique. The technique’s approach was a direct continuation of the Tier One version, focusing on strengthening the skin, membranes, and bones, but it was of a higher level and its execution was more refined.’

For Li Yuan, the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill was the starting point of his Body Refining journey. He had long since perfected the Tier One version. Now that he had the Tier Two advanced version, he could continue to progress on his existing foundation.

Li Yuan rummaged through the stall a bit more and found two pill formulas.

The refining methods for the Tier One and Tier Two Iron Wall Pill.

The Iron Wall Pill was a Body Refining medicinal pill specifically designed to be used with the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill. Li Yuan had refined the Tier One version before; its effects were average. He had never seen the Tier Two version.

The stall owner quoted a price for all three items together.

’Expensive, but worth it.’

’The Li family was in a hurry to sell, so the price was twenty to thirty percent lower than normal.’

Li Yuan paid the Spirit Stones and put the items into his storage bag.

It was already evening when Li Yuan returned to Mist Forest Marketplace from Yunyang Marketplace.

Back in his stone house, Li Yuan first read through the Tier Two Iron Wall Body Refining Skill, then took out the formula for the Tier Two Iron Wall Pill.

The formula’s approach was similar to that of the Tier One Iron Wall Pill, but the main ingredients were replaced with higher-grade mineral powders and beast bone essence, and two supplementary ingredients were added.

Li Yuan had just enough materials on hand to refine one batch.

He lit the furnace.

Refining the Tier Two Iron Wall Pill was more than a step up in difficulty from Tier One. The mineral powder in the main ingredients would quickly clump together under high heat. It had to be melted from the outside in, layer by layer, with the Pill Fire; any faster and the outer layer would burn while the inside remained raw.

His Divine Split ability was a great help here. His main focus controlled the Pill Fire, one branch monitored the dissolving progress of the mineral powder, and another watched the fusion rhythm of the supplementary ingredients. With three processes running in parallel, the entire Alchemy process felt much more relaxed than before.

Once the mineral powder melted, the beast bone essence followed it into the furnace. As the two main ingredients fused inside, they created a heavy pressure, causing the Pill Liquid to become viscous and dense, offering immense resistance when stirred.

Li Yuan stabilized the Pill Fire and added the supplementary ingredients one by one in order.

In the final stage, the Pill Liquid began to contract and solidify, and the heavy pressure was compressed into the bodies of the pills.

With a muffled THUD from within the furnace, the pills were formed.

Two dark gray pills fell onto the jade plate. Their surfaces were coarse, and they felt extremely heavy between his fingers, like holding two small iron beads.

’The Tier Two Iron Wall Pill. A success.’

Li Yuan brought the pills within three feet of himself, and the panel popped up.

[Equipable Item Detected: Tier Two Iron Wall Pill (Complete)]

[Upgrade Entry Preview: Medicinal Potency Refinement → Iron Wall Strong Body (Green)]

[Effect: Increases the effectiveness of digesting Body Refining pills by forty percent. Increases the upper limit of physical enhancement from Body Refining pills by twenty percent.]

...

[Permanence Condition Preview: Reach Completion in a Tier Two Body Refining Technique.]

’A green entry.’

’The permanence condition is to reach Completion in a Tier Two Body Refining Technique.’

’The nameless Body Refining Technique he currently possessed was already at the Great Success stage, still a ways from Completion.’

’But his equipment slots were full.’

Li Yuan looked at the five items currently hanging in his equipment slots.

Li Yuan thought for a moment but decided not to replace anything for now.

’He didn’t have much need to take Body Refining pills at the moment. He would wait until his Tier Two Body Refining Technique reached Completion, then take all the Iron Wall Pills he refined in one go.’

Li Yuan put the Tier Two Iron Wall Pills into his storage bag, then sat cross-legged on the cattail mat.