Chapter 332 - 321: Fire Fiend’s Edge

Chapter 332: Chapter 321: Fire Fiend’s Edge

The Primordial Yang Sect had suppressed the news of the missing Core Formation Platform, but the turmoil was still spreading in the shadows.

The atmosphere in the marketplace had grown a bit stranger than it had been in the past few days.

Two more patrol teams were added to the streets, and the intensity of the entry and exit inspections doubled. The Cultivators who had been stationed at the ruins were questioned repeatedly by the Sect.

Li Yuan sat in the management office, flipping through the marketplace’s entry register. He split off a Divine Sense Line, letting it hang distantly over the inner-ring patrol team’s duty post.

The mole who had carried a faint trace of Demonic Qi had been a little more active these past few days.

However, he still hadn’t made any out-of-line moves. He didn’t go near the ruins, nor did he proactively inquire about the investigation’s progress.

Li Yuan retracted the Divine Sense Line and didn’t send anyone to apprehend him. ’Moving against him now would only cause the Dark Abyss Association to sever this connection immediately. Keeping him around is like having a pair of eyes that can watch the movements of the Demon Cultivators.’

He flipped a few more pages of the register; the names on them were densely packed.

The war in Yunzhou was clearly collapsing even more severely. In just a few short days, the number of Loose Cultivators and cultivators from small families pouring into Mist Forest Marketplace had doubled again.

Vast, interconnected tent cities had even sprung up on the outskirts of the marketplace, as the guest rooms and storefronts in the inner area were long since full.

Li Yuan closed the register, left the management office, and walked toward the trading street in the newly expanded area.

The street was crowded with weary-faced Cultivators from Yunzhou.

The stalls lining both sides of the road were packed one against the other, their wares a chaotic jumble. Bloody Demon Beast pelts, chipped fragments of Magical Artifacts, a few dirt-caked Spirit Grasses, and entire crates of unrefined ore. During their flight, these Cultivators had sold off the bulky items they couldn’t carry, keeping only the most essential supplies or those they were desperate to exchange for Spirit Stones to survive.

Li Yuan walked straight to a slightly more spacious stall.

The stall owners were two Early-stage Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivators from Yunzhou. The Spiritual Light emanating from their robes indicated they were slowly absorbing Spiritual Qi.

However, their robes were torn in many places, and their auras were somewhat faint. On their stall were a dozen pieces of high-quality Xuanfeng Iron and a pile of Tier Two Low Grade Demon Beast materials.

"Pavilion Master Li."

One of them stood up and cupped his hands in respect. Zhou Yuan had already made the introductions for them yesterday.

Li Yuan’s gaze paused for a moment on a wooden box at the edge of their stall.

The box was half-open, revealing a crimson pill inside that gave off a pungent, medicinal aroma.

"That’s a Tier Two Low Grade Red Flame Pill," the Loose Cultivator explained hurriedly when he saw Li Yuan looking.

Li Yuan didn’t ask any further questions. He simply took out a Sword Box from his storage bag, placed it on the stall, and opened it.

Two longswords, dark red with a hint of purple, lay quietly inside. Their blades were covered in fine Spirit Patterns.

The two Loose Cultivators’ eyes were instantly drawn to them. One of them reached out, picked up the Tier Two Middle Grade Fire Evil Sword, and lightly flicked the blade with a fingertip. Amidst the sword’s dull hum, a scorching Spiritual Wave mixed with Evil Qi spread out.

"A fine sword," the Loose Cultivator said, a hint of delight in his eyes. "The Fire Evil power is fused very stably. It would be perfect for breaking through the tough armor of Demon Beasts."

"What’s the trade?" the other Loose Cultivator asked, looking at Li Yuan.

"I want the Xuanfeng Iron you have, those few pieces of Sinking Crystal, and that Red Flame Pill," Li Yuan said, pointing to a corner of the stall.

The two conferred in low voices for a moment, then nodded quickly.

Li Yuan put the materials and the pill into his storage bag.

’I don’t need to worry about the sale to the Ji family. I still have plenty of materials stored away, and I can always make up the difference with Spirit Stones if needed.’

For the better part of the day, Li Yuan ambled through the trading street, stopping here and there.

Taking advantage of the population boom and the resulting devaluation of goods, he bought up all sorts of materials that the Loose Cultivators were desperate to sell, all at rock-bottom prices.

Refined copper for reinforcing Arrays, scrap materials for Artifact Refining, broken bases of Array Discs.

As long as it was a material that could be used for the Spirit Fields, for Arrays, or given to Zhou Yuan to be remelted, he took it all. He spent a great many Spirit Stones, but the resources he acquired in return were rapidly enriching his foundation.

「At dusk」 Li Yuan returned to his stone house and sealed the door and windows.

He walked to the desk and took out the Tier Two Middle Grade Fire Evil Sword that Ji Huaiyuan had given him.

[Detectable Equippable Item: Fire Evil Sword (Complete)]

[Equipment Trait Preview: Fire Evil Edge (Green)]

[Effect: When using Fire Evil Attribute Magic, power is increased by 30%. Proficiency gain when learning Fire and Evil Element Magic is increased by 30%.]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Consume one Tier Two Fire Element pill or one Tier Two Evil Element pill.]

With a thought, Li Yuan brought up his equipment panel.

Currently, the five items in his equipment slots were: Three Elements Unity (Purple), Pill Platform’s Creation (Purple), Medicinal Refined Strong Body (Green), Hidden Veins & Breath (Green), and Vein-Spirit Fusion (Green).

After unequipping an item, it takes twenty-four hours before the same item can be equipped again.

Li Yuan thought for a moment and chose to unequip [Hidden Veins & Breath]. ’I’ll be cultivating in the stone house tonight, protected by multiple Arrays. I don’t need extreme vein Concealment for now.’

Hidden Veins & Breath unequipped, Fire Evil Sword equipped.

[Equipped: Fire Evil Sword (Complete)]

[Fire Evil Edge (Green) is now active.]

Li Yuan immediately opened the wooden box he had bought from the Yunzhou Loose Cultivators, picked up the Red Flame Pill, and swallowed it.

The moment the pill went down his throat, it transformed into a raging Fire Spiritual Power that exploded in his stomach, surging through his meridians to every corner of his body. Li Yuan’s internal [Scorching Sun Art] and [Three Elements Body Protection] activated simultaneously, easily taming the fiery medicinal power and guiding it into his Dantian.

The panel popped up at the same time.

[Permanence Condition for Fire Evil Edge (Green) has been met.]

[Make permanent?]

"Yes."

[Fire Evil Edge (Green) has become a permanent trait.]

In the equipment panel, the spectral image of the Fire Evil Sword faded, freeing up a slot. Li Yuan glanced at it; [Hidden Veins & Breath] was still on cooldown, so the slot remained empty for now.

Pushing aside his stray thoughts, Li Yuan left the stone house and headed for the Spirit Fields on the outskirts of the marketplace under the cover of night.

The core area of the three thousand acres of Spirit Fields had already been cleared. The water in the Spirit-Introducing Canals flowed steadily, and the soil was neatly tilled.

Li Yuan walked slowly along the ridges between the fields, pressing his palm downward. The Spiritual Power of the [Soil Cultivation Skill] flowed down his arm and into the earth.

At the Expert Level, the Soil Cultivation Skill’s Spiritual Power penetrated extremely deep.

It didn’t just affect the top foot of soil; even the compacted layer three feet underground was gently broken apart by the Spiritual Power. The dead qi in the soil was slowly pushed out, replaced by a more uniform and gentle spirituality.

He walked through the Spirit Fields for two hours, completely revitalizing the several hundred acres of land that had been newly reclaimed that day.

By the time he returned to the stone house, it was late at night.

Li Yuan sat cross-legged on his meditation cushion.

He once again split off four Divine Sense Lines. One was hung over the outskirts of the marketplace as a sentry, another sank into the Spirit Vein underground, and a third monitored the operation of the surrounding Arrays.

His main consciousness, however, was completely withdrawn, guiding the Spiritual Power in his body to sink into the deepest part of his Dantian.

He began to cultivate the Demon Essence Skill once more.

Ever since the Spirit Vein Affinity Art and various Body Refining Techniques had taken up most of his energy, the Demon Essence Skill had been set aside for some time. Now that he was on the front lines and the Dark Abyss Association was becoming more and more active, he had to raise his proficiency in the Demon Essence Skill to prepare for any eventuality, even though he hadn’t equipped the [Demon-Gathering Siphon] trait.

Spiritual Power reversed its flow in his meridians, transforming into Demonic Qi.

Li Yuan’s expression was blank as he continuously activated the Cultivation Technique. The Demonic Qi in his Dantian gathered more and more, its color gradually deepening from a light black to an inky, pitch-black.

This continued until the eastern sky began to show a hint of white.

The panel vibrated slightly.

[Demon Essence Skill: Expert (0/800)]

Li Yuan opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of turbid, grayish qi.

At the Expert Level, the Demon Essence Skill’s conversion speed for Demonic Qi was more than twice as fast as before, and the aura it produced was much more restrained. If he were to encounter a Demon Cultivator from the Dark Abyss Association again, he could easily pass himself off as one of their core disciples with this pure Demonic Qi alone, without being detected.

The sky brightened, and a new wave of clamor rose from outside the marketplace.