Chapter 111 - 108: Multiple Breakthroughs
Chapter 111: Chapter 108: Multiple Breakthroughs
The day after returning to the mine, Li Yuan delved deep into the tunnels.
The Gathering Evil Bowl was gone after its effect was made permanent, but the Evil Qi still seeped from the cracks in the rock formations deep within the tunnels.
The concentration wasn’t high, not comparable to an Evil Essence Pill, but its advantage was that it was constant.
Li Yuan sat cross-legged at the end of a quiet side tunnel and consumed two Evil Essence Pills.
As the Evil Qi entered his body, the permanent trait for Evil Qi Body Tempering activated on its own, drawing the cold, corrosive sensation between his fascia and bones, repeatedly scouring them.
Once the medicinal effects were mostly absorbed, Li Yuan smoothly switched to the Nourishing Essence Skill.
Qi Blood surged from his Sea of Qi and Blood, circulating along the paths of the Cultivation Technique.
After completing the first form, Li Yuan noticed something different.
Right after the Evil Qi Body Tempering finished, his muscles entered a special state. Having been repeatedly scoured by the Evil Qi, his fascia and muscle fibers would briefly become soft and pliable, like kneaded dough, and more elastic than usual.
This state usually faded in less than half an hour, and his muscles would tense up again.
But circulating the Nourishing Essence Skill during this window of opportunity produced a different effect than usual.
When the Qi Blood reached the freshly tempered muscles, the speed of permeation was significantly faster. Normally, the Qi Blood had to be slowly forced into the muscles. Now, the soft muscle fibers seemed to have opened up channels in advance; the Qi Blood seeped in as soon as it arrived, requiring no extra effort.
After completing all five forms, the efficiency of his Qi Blood covering his entire body was nearly thirty percent higher than usual.
Li Yuan opened his eyes, then closed them again.
He didn’t waste this window of opportunity and immediately began a second cycle.
The second cycle was even faster than the first.
The soft state of his muscles after the Evil Qi tempering was slowly fading, but the infusion of Qi Blood from the Nourishing Essence Skill, in turn, delayed this process. The nurturing effect of the Qi Blood maintained a certain degree of flexibility in the muscle fibers, and the two processes complemented each other.
Only after the third cycle did the window of opportunity truly close, and his muscles tensed up again.
But the effect of these three cycles was equivalent to five normal ones.
In the following days, Li Yuan established a routine.
Every day, he would enter the mines, first consuming Evil Essence Pills for Body Tempering. Then, he would take advantage of the window of opportunity when his muscles were soft to intensively circulate his Nourishing Essence Skill. Once the window closed, he would switch back to his normal cultivation.
The progress of his Nourishing Essence Skill began to skyrocket.
The bottleneck he had been stuck at for a long time in the Great Success stage was gradually worn down under this dual boost.
On the night of the fourth day, Li Yuan sat cross-legged deep in a side tunnel of the mine, circulating his Nourishing Essence Skill for the seventh time.
His Qi Blood followed the path of the five forms to the final Guiyuan Form. He had performed this step countless times: Qi Blood would flow back from his limbs and converge in the Sea of Qi and Blood, repeating the cycle.
But this time, after completing the Guiyuan Form, the Qi Blood didn’t stop.
It continued to circulate within his body.
It wasn’t Li Yuan guiding it; the Qi Blood was moving on its own.
Absorbing Origin, Storing Origin, Transforming Origin, Circulating Origin, Returning Origin—the path of the five forms was traced once more from beginning to end. It didn’t need the Cultivation Technique to drive it; the Qi Blood itself had memorized the way.
It was like a river that had broken through all its dams and now flowed freely on its own.
Li Yuan didn’t interfere, allowing the Qi Blood to circulate on its own.
After the second cycle, a third immediately began. The Qi Blood’s speed wasn’t fast, but it was exceptionally steady, evenly nourishing every inch of muscle, every bone, and every meridian.
A warmth spread through his body from the inside out. It wasn’t the burning sensation of cultivation, but a deep warmth that penetrated to his very marrow.
It felt as if his entire body was soaking in warm water, and all the tense spots were slowly relaxing.
Li Yuan slowly withdrew his skill and opened his eyes.
[Cultivation Technique: Nourishing Essence Skill - Perfected (3200/3200)]
Perfected.
Li Yuan raised his hand, clenched it into a fist, relaxed it, then clenched it again.
The feeling was different from when he was at the Great Success stage.
At the Great Success stage, the change was ’more precise control’—his strength was applied more accurately, and the force distributed more evenly among his fingers.
Perfection was ’no control needed’.
With his Qi Blood circulating on its own, his body inherently knew how to distribute power. When making a fist, his brain didn’t need to calculate how much force each finger should use; his muscles instinctively provided the optimal solution.
Li Yuan stood up and took a few steps in the mine tunnel.
His steps were steadier than before. The distribution of his center of gravity was so even as his feet landed that he made almost no sound walking over the gravel.
The Nourishing Essence Skill was perfected.
And the condition for making the Nourishing Essence Skill permanent was: perfecting the Cultivation Technique and accumulating twenty-four hours of cultivation while in a state of abundant Qi Blood.
He had just perfected the Cultivation Technique.
Li Yuan wasn’t in a rush. He unequipped the Soul Mirror, equipped the Nourishing Essence Skill, and continued to cultivate deep in the mines.
For the next two days, he hardly left the mine tunnels.
He ate the Demon Beast Flesh from his storage bag, roasting it in the tunnel with his Fire Control Skill. During breaks in his cultivation, he would occasionally step out, show his face to Steward Liu to confirm nothing was wrong at the mine, and then head back inside.
The Nourishing Essence Skill operated in its perfected state, his Qi Blood circulating ceaselessly and maintaining its abundance.
In the latter half of the second night, the panel appeared.
[Conditions met for making Qi Blood Self-Generation (White) permanent]
[Make permanent?]
Yes.
[Permanence successful]
[Qi Blood Self-Generation (White) has become a permanent trait]
[Equipped item consumed]
The book for the Nourishing Essence Skill in his storage bag transformed into a gentle white light and merged into Li Yuan’s body.
Li Yuan closed his eyes and felt the change for a moment.
Previously, when his Qi Blood was depleted, he needed to eat or rest to recover it.
Now, even if he did nothing, his Qi Blood would regenerate on its own, albeit very slowly.
The speed wasn’t fast, but it would never stop.
An equipment slot had opened up.
Li Yuan re-equipped the Soul Mirror.
Three equipment slots: Soul Mirror, Origin Condensation Skill, Mid-grade Spirit Stone.
The Nourishing Essence Skill was consumed, but Qi Blood Self-Generation had become permanent, so its effect was not lost.
A few days later, Steward Liu brought news of a trade meet.
"The day after tomorrow, usual place."
That day, Li Yuan made a list of things he needed to buy.
Demon Beast blood, still needed five more types.
Body Refining liquids, needed three sets of different formulas.
Talisman-making materials, routine restock.
Early on the morning of the day after tomorrow, Li Yuan left the mine and headed for the stone hollow where the trade meet was held.
After crossing the gravel slope, he could see from a distance that the scale of this meet was different from the previous two.
There were nearly twice as many people in the stone hollow as last time.
The Loose Cultivators were the same as always, but there were now itinerant merchants as well. At least five or six groups of merchants were scattered around the site, each with their goods displayed on coarse cloth. Short-legged beasts were tied to the edge of the hollow, laden with large and small bundles, some still being unloaded.
Li Yuan entered the area and made a circuit along the edge.
The variety of goods was indeed much richer than before. There were more types of pills, the grade of the ores was higher, and a few stalls were displaying things he hadn’t seen before—the very Body Refining liquids he needed.
Li Yuan stopped in front of an itinerant merchant’s stall.
Three different types of ceramic jars were displayed on the stall, three of each type. The mouths of the jars were sealed with wax, and next to each set of jars was a wooden plaque with the formula’s name and price.
"Iron Bone Liquid, Profound Armor Brew, Red Marrow Juice." Li Yuan read the words on the wooden plaques.
The stall owner was a portly man in his forties with a beaming smile.
"All three are common Body Refining liquid formulas on the market. One soak takes about two hours, after which both muscles and bones will be strengthened to a certain degree."
"How much for a set?"
"The Iron Bone Liquid is four stones, the Profound Armor Brew is three, and the Red Marrow Juice is five. If you take all three sets, I can give you a discount. Twenty-eight stones in total."
Li Yuan didn’t haggle.
"I’ll take them all."
After paying the Spirit Stones, he stored all nine ceramic jars in his storage bag.
Next was the Demon Beast blood.
Li Yuan went from stall to stall asking about it. Most stalls didn’t carry such a thing; Demon Beast blood had little use for Loose Cultivators, so few bothered to preserve it.
But with more itinerant merchants around, things were different.
A merchant selling miscellaneous goods managed to dig up two bottles: the blood of a Marsh Toad Beast and a Stone Armor Turtle. Another merchant selling talisman materials had three types—the blood of a Red-Tailed Fire Marten, a Cyan-Maned Wind Wolf, and a Thorny-tailed Lizard. All were supplementary materials occasionally used in talisman-making, and the quantities were small, just one small bottle of each.
Five types, plus the four he already had, made exactly nine.
Li Yuan put away all the blood vials, then restocked on Cyan Pattern Paper and Spiritual Ink.
Leaving the stone hollow, Li Yuan walked along the gravel slope back toward the mine.
Back in his humble house, Li Yuan closed the door and took everything out of his storage bag.
Nine small porcelain vials were lined up on the table.
Gray Iguana, Iron-Spine Hyena, Horned Lizard, and Unihorned Snake Badger—these four he had collected while stationed with the He family.
Marsh Toad Beast, Stone Armor Turtle, Red-Tailed Fire Marten, Cyan-Maned Wind Wolf, and Thorny-tailed Lizard—these five he had bought at the trade meet today.
The blood of nine different Tier One Low Grade or higher Demon Beasts.
Li Yuan took a Vajra Talisman from his storage bag and placed it on the table.
With a thought, he unequipped the Soul Mirror and equipped the Vajra Talisman.
[Equip successful]
[Trait acquired: Iron Membrane Protection (White)]
[Permanence Condition: Consume the blood of nine different Tier One Low Grade or higher Demon Beasts (0/9)]
Li Yuan uncorked the first porcelain vial.
The Gray Iguana’s blood was cool and had an earthy, pungent smell.
He tilted his head back and took a swig.
The moment the blood entered his throat, a cold liquid slid down his esophagus into his stomach. It wasn’t an ordinary cold, but the sensation of residual Demonic Power from the Demon Beast’s blood spreading across his stomach lining, carrying a faint stinging pain.
[Permanence progress: 1/9]
The second vial. The Iron-Spine Hyena’s blood was thick and dark, and warmer than that of the lizards. It had a coarse, granular texture in his mouth, like swallowing a mouthful of hot sand.
[Permanence progress: 2/9]
The third vial, the fourth, the fifth.
The blood of each Demon Beast tasted different. The Horned Lizard’s blood had a metallic taste, the Unihorned Snake Badger’s tasted of sulfur, and the Marsh Toad Beast’s was bitter and astringent.
Li Yuan drank them down one by one, his expression unchanging.
Li Yuan picked up the last vial, the blood of the Thorny-tailed Lizard. It was dark green, viscous, and smelled somewhere between bitter and sour.
Li Yuan tilted his head back and finished it, placing the empty vial on the table.
The blood of all nine Demon Beasts was now in his stomach.
The panel appeared.
[Conditions met for making Iron Membrane Protection (White) permanent]
[Make permanent?]
Yes.
[Permanence successful]
[Iron Membrane Protection (White) has become a permanent trait]
[Equipped item consumed]
At that same instant, a heavy power permeated inward from the surface of his skin.
It wasn’t a localized change; the skin all over his body tightened simultaneously.
It was as if an extremely thin membrane had formed between his skin and muscles. He couldn’t touch or see it, but he could clearly feel its presence. Li Yuan raised a hand and pressed his forearm. The sensation at his fingertip was different—the skin was more elastic, and it bounced back faster after being pressed.
His meridians had changed as well.
When Spiritual Power circulated through his meridians, the walls could withstand much more pressure than before. Previously, when he pushed his Cultivation Technique to its limits, his meridians would occasionally feel a slight distension—a reaction to the Spiritual Power hitting the limits of the meridian walls. Now, that feeling was gone. The resilience of his meridians had increased, making it easier to handle the same amount of Spiritual Power impact.
Li Yuan stood up, clenched his fists, and then relaxed them.
Increased skin defense and meridian toughness—a dual enhancement.
Twenty-one permanent traits.
Li Yuan gathered the empty vials on the table and glanced at the nine ceramic jars of Body Refining liquid in his storage bag.
Iron Bone Liquid, Profound Armor Brew, and Red Marrow Juice.
To make the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill permanent, he needed to complete one full tempering cycle with each of three different formulas.
’No rush.’
Li Yuan set the ceramic jars aside and walked out of the humble house.
Outside the mine, the sky had mostly darkened, casting long shadows across the gravel ground. From the distant mountain hollows, the intermittent roars of Demon Beasts could be heard, just like any other night.