Chapter 379 - 367: Lifebound Spiritual Artifact

Chapter 379: Chapter 367: Lifebound Spiritual Artifact

After he finished cultivating in the stone house, Ji Huaiyuan sent word that the Magical Artifact embryo was ready.

Li Yuan put down the jade slip he was holding and headed straight for the Artifact Refining shop in the south district.

In the backyard, Ji Huaiyuan stood beside a cooled artifact refining furnace, its opening sealed shut. On the adjacent stone table sat a wooden box about a foot and a half long.

"Open it and take a look." Ji Huaiyuan pushed the wooden box over.

Li Yuan lifted the lid of the box.

The box was lined with a thick layer of soft jade cotton, upon which rested a long, shuttle-shaped Artifact Embryo. It was a dark silver color, its surface faintly showing the fine grain formed by the fusion of Profound Iron Essence and Flowing Silver Ore. The embryo was unsharpened and unformed, with blunt, rounded ends. Its entire body was smooth, like an elongated metal egg.

It didn’t look like anything in particular, but for that very reason, it could become anything.

Li Yuan reached out and picked up the embryo.

It was warm to the touch, and an extremely faint pulse throbbed against his fingertips. It was the spiritual core, formed by the lifeblood he had dripped into it, synchronizing with his own heartbeat at an incredibly slow rate.

The panel popped up.

[Detected equippable special item: Lifebound Spiritual Artifact Embryo (Complete)]

[Equip Entry Preview: Origin Resonance (Blue)]

[Effect: Increases total Spiritual Power by 30%. Deeper resonance between the Magical Artifact and the master’s Spiritual Power provides an additional increase to total Spiritual Power (up to a maximum of 50%).]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Nurture the embryo with lifeblood for sixty days (0/60)]

’A blue entry.’

’A direct 30% increase in total Spiritual Power, which could stack up to a 50% maximum with deeper resonance. Combined with the 20% increase in Spiritual Power reserves from my solidified foundation, and the interconversion of Fire Spiritual Power and Evil Qi from my Flame-Evil Integration... once fully stacked, my effective total Spiritual Power will be several times greater than other cultivators of the same tier.’

The panel also displayed an additional prompt.

[This Lifebound Spiritual Artifact occupies a special equipment slot. The physical artifact will remain after equipping and will not vanish upon permanence.]

’A special equipment slot. It’s separate from the five normal slots and doesn’t take up an empty one.’

’My special equipment slot is currently occupied by the large Spirit Vein. The priority should be swapping it out to make the Lifebound Spiritual Artifact permanent.’

’Equip.’

[Equipped: Lifebound Spiritual Artifact Embryo (Complete) — Special Slot]

[Origin Resonance (Blue) is now in effect.]

[Permanence Condition for Origin Resonance (Blue): Nurture the embryo with lifeblood for sixty days (0/60)]

The moment the entry took effect, the Spiritual Power reserves in his Dantian swelled by thirty percent. The sensation was like a water tank, already full to the brim, suddenly expanding to create a large amount of extra capacity out of nowhere. His ability to circulate Spiritual Power felt much more fluid, and he felt a greater sense of confidence in his casting.

Li Yuan placed the embryo in his storage pouch. A Lifebound Spiritual Artifact didn’t need to be constantly held; the connection to its lifeblood core wasn’t affected by distance. He just needed to spend a quarter of an hour nurturing it with his lifeblood each day to progress toward making it permanent.

"Thank you, Senior Ji."

Ji Huaiyuan waved his hand, then picked up his teacup and took a large gulp.

"This nurturing can’t be rushed. One drop of lifeblood a day is enough. Don’t get greedy, or you’ll risk damaging your own foundation."

Li Yuan nodded, then turned and left the Artifact Refining shop.

「That night, at Midnight.」

The sensory net of Dark Evil Insight suddenly detected four rapidly moving masses of Demonic Qi on the northeastern outskirts of the market district.

’They’re moving fast.’

Four figures flew low to the ground along the treeline of the Ghost Mist Forest, their auras suppressed to an absolute minimum. They deliberately chose a path through the densest fog. If not for Dark Evil Insight’s extreme sensitivity to fluctuations in Demonic Qi, a standard Early Warning Array would have been incapable of detecting them at this range.

All four were Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. The intensity and frequency of their Demonic Qi fluctuations were nearly identical, which suggested they had all received the same training.

They flew in a tight formation, heading straight for the outskirts of the market district.

’The Dark Abyss Association’s retaliation has arrived.’

’With their contact point destroyed and three resident Demon Cultivators annihilated, there was no way the Dark Abyss Association wouldn’t respond. This retaliation had just come a few days later than I expected, probably because they were delayed rebuilding their network.’

Li Yuan stood up from his meditation cushion.

Triple Concealment activated instantly, and his aura disappeared.

Teleportation Skill.

Space tore open silently in front of him. His form vanished from the stone house, reappearing an instant later beside the Defense Array on the market district’s northeastern perimeter. The ten-zhang teleportation placed him precisely at his planned interception point.

The four Demon Cultivators were now less than two hundred zhang from the market district’s outskirts.

Li Yuan didn’t wait for them to charge up to the Defense Array.

He raised his right hand, rapidly compressing his Spiritual Power and injecting it into the space just beyond his fingertips.

Void-Rending Slash.

A five-foot-long gray fissure extended from his fingertip, shooting forward in silence. It moved with incredible speed, cutting a transient, transparent slice through the dense fog.

The Demon Cultivator charging at the very front had no time to react.

The fissure sliced horizontally through his protective demonic light, which tore like paper. It then passed across his waist, severing his body. His upper half maintained its flying posture, gliding forward for several zhang before it finally fell to the ground.

The second Demon Cultivator followed close behind, less than five zhang away. The fissure still had momentum; the tail end of the gray spatial rift grazed his left shoulder, shearing off his entire left arm at the socket.

The Demon Cultivator let out a bloodcurdling scream as his body tumbled toward the ground.

Flames erupted from Li Yuan’s palm.

Flame-Evil Integration activated fully. In mid-air, the crimson flames rapidly coalesced into a zhang-long Fire Python, which hurtled toward the armless Demon Cultivator, bringing with it a wave of scorching heat.

The instant the Fire Python hit, the slowing effect of Netherworld Retardation caused the remaining Demonic Qi in the Demon Cultivator’s body to stagnate. Even his evasive roll was half a beat too slow. The flames engulfed him completely, and his screams died quickly within the inferno.

Two of them had fallen in less than three breaths’ time.

The two Demon Cultivators at the rear came to an abrupt halt.

They had witnessed their two companions’ deaths firsthand—one to a silent spatial fissure, the other to an unstoppable Fire Python. Neither had even had a chance to fight back.

’Two dead in less than three breaths.’

The two exchanged a look, then simultaneously turned and fled at full speed, deeper into the Ghost Mist Forest.

Li Yuan didn’t pursue.

He walked over to the two corpses first. After confirming they were thoroughly dead, he collected their storage pouches.

Only then did he turn to face the direction in which the others had fled.

Teleportation Skill.

Space tore open, and his figure vanished.

When he reappeared, he had cut them off, appearing on the flank of their escape route. His aura was completely hidden by the dense fog; they had no idea he was already upon them.

Li Yuan formed an Evil Qi Cone in his right hand and flicked it forward.

Carrying a forty-percent power boost from Flame-Evil Integration and the piercing effect of Spirit-Breaking Sharp Blade, the Evil Qi Cone shot through the fog, aimed directly at the back of the Demon Cultivator on the right.

At the very last moment, the Demon Cultivator’s perception caught the killing intent behind him, and he twisted aside sharply. The Evil Qi Cone grazed his ribs, tearing away a slice of flesh and blood.

Gritting his teeth, he channeled his protective Demonic Qi, causing the demonic light around him to flare. Simultaneously, he looked back and conjured a jet-black shield of Demonic Qi.

The Evil Qi in Li Yuan’s palm instantly switched to crimson flame.

Flame-Evil Integration.

A cone of fire formed from Fire Element Spiritual Power shot out, following right behind the Evil Qi Cone. The Demon Cultivator’s shield had been configured to defend against an Evil Qi-based attack; its effectiveness against a Fire Element attack dropped sharply.

The fire cone pierced the shield and plunged into the Demon Cultivator’s chest.

The Netherworld Retardation effect activated the instant the cone of fire struck, causing the flow of Demonic Qi in the Demon Cultivator’s body to seize up. He opened his mouth, trying to use some life-saving ability, but his power was like mud in his meridians, and he couldn’t summon it.

Li Yuan’s third strike arrived.

An Evil Qi Cone pierced his throat.

The third corpse fell.

The fourth Demon Cultivator, the fastest of the group, had already created a gap of nearly a hundred zhang.

Li Yuan remained unhurried. He used the Teleportation Skill again. Under the cover of Triple Concealment, the man was completely oblivious to the pursuit from behind.

After a few more teleports, Li Yuan closed the distance to less than twenty zhang behind the fourth Demon Cultivator.

Void-Rending Slash.

The five-foot spatial fissure shot from his fingertip and sliced across the Demon Cultivator’s back.

The man’s protective demonic light was shredded, and a gash deep enough to expose bone opened on his back. He screamed, tumbling to the ground and struggling to rise.

An Evil Qi Cone pierced the crown of his head.

All four were annihilated.

Li Yuan retracted his aura, collected the storage pouches from the third and fourth corpses, and then returned the way he came to the outskirts of the market district.

Inside the stone house, four storage pouches lay on the table.

He broke the seals on each pouch one by one, dumping out their contents to be sorted.

In total, there were fewer than two hundred scattered Middle Grade Spirit Stones. There were also several bottles of assorted Demon Dao pills and a few decent-quality Evil Crystals that could be used as supplemental materials for Arrays.

There was also a large quantity of ores and Array materials, the types of which strongly matched the items the Primordial Yang Sect had posted an acquisition mission for.

’These Demon Cultivators were here to raid the market district, yet they were carrying materials the Primordial Yang Sect was actively trying to buy. Either they had just left a stronghold without time to offload their supplies, or these materials were part of the Dark Abyss Association’s own stockpiled war provisions.’

’Overall, not much of a haul.’

But at the bottom of the third Demon Cultivator’s storage pouch, Li Yuan felt a flat metal object.

A Token.

The Token’s shape and craftsmanship were quite similar to his own Dark Demon Token. It too was made of black metal and engraved with twisted Demon Patterns. But holding it in his hand to compare, the difference was immediately obvious.

The material of his Dark Demon Token was denser, the patterns more intricate, and the concentration of Demonic Qi sealed inside was at least three times higher. In contrast, this new Token’s craftsmanship was obviously crude. The engravings of the Demon Patterns were uneven, and the Demonic Qi inside was thin.

’A Low Tier version.’

’The Dark Abyss Association’s internal hierarchy has different levels. Ordinary Demon Cultivators are issued these Low Tier Tokens, while the Dark Demon Token I have is obviously of a higher grade.’

Over the next few days, Li Yuan set up three Netherworld Lock Arrays around the market district as permanent defensive installations.

The three Arrays were set up on the outskirts to the northeast, due east, and southeast, covering the most likely avenues of attack for Demon Cultivators. The Arrays normally remained dormant, consuming no Spiritual Power, but would activate automatically the moment a target with Demonic Qi fluctuations above a certain threshold entered their range.

Three days after he finished setting up the Arrays, Chen Yi came to his door.

"The Sect has a mission and would like your help."

Chen Yi sat in the stone house, his expression a little more formal than usual.

"What kind of mission?"

"The specifics haven’t been finalized yet; the higher-ups are still in the planning stages. But I can tell you the reward: an item that will increase the success rate of Core Formation."

Li Yuan glanced at him.

Chen Yi met his gaze without flinching.

"Your killing of four Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivators outside the market district has been reported. The higher-ups didn’t issue a reward, but they’ve drastically revised their assessment of your combat prowess."

He paused.

"There are an increasing number of situations that are inconvenient for Golden Core Cultivators to handle personally. Your combat power far exceeds that of your peers, making you the ideal candidate."

Li Yuan neither immediately agreed nor refused.

"We’ll talk after the specifics are released."

Chen Yi nodded and rose. Before he left, he added one more thing.

"It’ll be worth your while."

The door to the stone house closed, and Li Yuan sat back down at the table.

’An item to increase the success rate of Core Formation... that would certainly be useful.’

He took out the Lifebound Spiritual Artifact embryo, circulated his Spiritual Power to force out a drop of his lifeblood, and allowed it to slowly soak into the embryo’s surface. The lifeblood seeped in along the dark silver patterns, causing a faint resonance with the spiritual core within.

[Permanence Condition for Origin Resonance (Blue): Nurture the embryo with lifeblood for sixty days (3/60)]