Chapter 358 - 347: Earth Vein Jade Array Hub

Chapter 358: Chapter 347: Earth Vein Jade Array Hub

「Several days later.」

The construction of the Teleportation Array in Yunyang Marketplace had entered the outer connection phase, and Li Yuan hurried to the site once more.

Every day, he moved between the massive Spiritual Power trenches and stone foundations. He assisted the lead Array Masters in guiding the Array Pattern circuits, all while ravenously absorbing the techniques for setting up a Tier Three Teleportation Array.

He didn’t just watch; he extended his Divine Sense Lines into the newly carved but scrapped patterns, simulating the process over and over.

His goal was extremely clear. He needed to activate and repair the dilapidated Teleportation Array in Mozhou. If he didn’t thoroughly grasp the operational logic of a Tier Three Spatial Array beforehand, he’d be completely in the dark once he got to Mozhou.

By day, he assisted with construction on-site. At night, he returned to his inn and poured his energy into deciphering the intelligence from the mole.

With the high-precision identification of faint changes in Demonic Qi from [Dark Evil Insight], combined with the brute-force trial-and-error method provided by Zhou Yuan, the deciphering work progressed extremely quickly.

Li Yuan had already grasped the meaning corresponding to most of the Demonic Qi transmission frequencies.

It wasn’t a chaotic Spiritual Wave, but a unique lexicon expressed through the strength of the Demonic Qi and the duration of the pauses. After several rounds of comparison, he determined that the Dark Abyss Association was currently in a frenzy, collecting certain specific Spiritual Materials.

At the same time, these few fragmented pieces of intelligence also vaguely pointed to a certain location. But because the mole’s communication methods were limited, the location was not fully specified, leaving only a vague direction.

「Half a month later.」

Deep within Yunyang Marketplace, inside a remote, large courtyard.

The courtyard was surrounded by a two-layer soundproofing and Breath-Sensing Array. There were no stalls inside, only a dozen or so purple-wood armchairs scattered about.

The crowd didn’t rush to display their goods for trade; instead, they were all discussing the current situation.

"News from the front lines is that the Qi Shui Sect is about to collapse," a lean, Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator said in a low voice. "They’ve abandoned their three largest Spirit Ore sites in the south and have completely holed up behind their Sect’s Great Array."

"If the Evil Slaying Sect really swallows up Yunzhou, will they come after our Primordial Yang Sect next?" another person asked, his face fraught with worry and his voice tinged with anxiety.

"I don’t know." A heavyset cultivator sitting opposite him shook his head and picked up his teacup. "But surely the Nascent Soul Sects will do something about it, right? They can’t just watch the Demon Cultivators act so arrogantly."

"Do what?" A cold sneer came from a Sword Cultivator with a broadsword strapped to his back. "The Nascent Soul powers are thousands of miles away. To them, the unification of two provinces might not even be a big deal. As long as it doesn’t shake their deeper interests, they probably won’t interfere."

"I think the Qi Shui Sect is useless," someone else interjected. "Plenty of Demon Cultivators from the Evil Slaying Sect have gone to support the Dark Abyss Association. The Primordial Yang Sect also sent people to the border to help wipe out the Dark Abyss Association and tie down the Demon Cultivators. And the Qi Shui Sect can’t even hold the front line!"

Li Yuan sat in a corner, listening quietly.

The situation was deteriorating faster than most people had expected. The Demon Cultivators were shifting their focus; it was only a matter of time before Yunzhou fell completely.

A while later, the discussions died down, and the trading officially began.

For the price of thirty Mid-grade Spirit Stones, Li Yuan bought a pill formula for the Condensing Evil Pill from a cultivator with a sickly complexion.

It was an obscure pill that helped Evil Cultivators stabilize their minds and increase the purity of their Evil Qi. Its main ingredient was extremely unusual: Soul-devouring Grass.

Next, his eyes fell upon a worn-out jade slip that the Sword Cultivator had produced.

"Golden Body Skill, a Tier Two Body Refining Technique."

The Sword Cultivator tapped the jade slip. "It doesn’t cultivate flesh or marrow, but specifically tempers the tendons where muscle and bone meet. Once mastered, your explosive power will be immense, but it’s extremely difficult to begin. Twenty Mid-grade Spirit Stones, non-negotiable."

Li Yuan glanced at the beginning with his Divine Sense and bought it without haggling, tossing over the Spirit Stones.

「That night.」

Li Yuan returned to Mist Forest Marketplace.

He first visited the Spirit Field, taking out the formula for the Condensing Evil Pill to compare it with the field’s current environment. Although Soul-devouring Grass required extremely dense yin and Evil Qi to survive, it wasn’t entirely impossible to cultivate.

There was an Evil Vein beneath Mist Forest Marketplace. He just needed to section off an area at the edge of the Spirit Field, enclose it with an Array, and draw up the subterranean Evil Qi to form an isolated yin-aspected zone. Then, there would be a high chance of a successful trial planting.

He entrusted the trial planting to the Spirit Farmers and then returned to his stone house.

After sealing the doors and windows, Li Yuan spread the jade slip for the Golden Body Skill on the table and began to study it carefully.

This technique was completely different from the three Body Refining Techniques he had previously practiced. The unnamed Body Refining Technique cultivated his flesh and blood, the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill cultivated his skin and membranes, and the Mystic Iron Bone Forging Skill cultivated his bone marrow. This Golden Body Skill, however, focused on tempering the tendons and ligaments where muscle and bone met.

These were the pivotal points for exerting strength in the human body, and they were extremely fragile. The slightest mistake could lead to permanent disability.

Li Yuan swallowed a Strengthening Pill, closed his eyes, and began to guide his Spiritual Power.

First attempt.

The moment his Spiritual Power touched the tendons in his right elbow joint, a sharp, needle-like pain flared. He forced the technique to operate, but his Spiritual Power only advanced half an inch through the complex tendon structure before the resistance became too great, causing it to dissipate abruptly.

Failure.

Expressionless, Li Yuan regulated his breathing for a moment before beginning his second attempt.

This time, his Spiritual Power flowed much more steadily, but when it reached the junction between his scapula and clavicle, the tendons spasmed violently, and a tearing sensation shot through his meridians.

He was stuck.

Li Yuan opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

’I can’t use the conventional method.’

He stood up and walked to the wooden barrel in the corner of the room. It contained the leftover liquid from a medicinal bath a few days ago. Although its potency was greatly reduced, there was still some effect left. He used his Spiritual Power to instantly vaporize the remaining liquid, inhaling the scalding mist into his body.

Then, he swallowed another Strengthening Pill.

The residual power of the medicinal bath formed a wild current of heat that protected the surface of his body, while the Strengthening Pill’s medicinal power coated the inner walls of his meridians with a tough, protective film.

Third attempt.

Li Yuan clenched his fists, the veins on his forehead bulging.

"Break!"

Spiritual Power formed a sharp spike and, drawing on the resilience of his iron-forged bones, forcefully smashed through the tendon juncture at his shoulder blade.

A series of sickening crunches echoed from deep within his bones.

The Spiritual Power surged forward like an unstoppable force, piercing through the network of tendons throughout his body before finally completing an extremely difficult loop above his Dantian.

The panel popped up.

[Golden Body Skill: Novice (0/200)]

Li Yuan heavily exhaled a turbid breath laced with blood, his entire body already drenched in sweat.

’The fourth Body Refining Technique... success.’

Once this technique reached Great Success, his body’s explosive power would reach a terrifying level.

「In the following days.」

Li Yuan spent his time cultivating and studying the Teleportation Array. As dawn broke on the seventh day, the last of the Strengthening Pill’s medicinal power was fully absorbed into his body, and the edge of the panel flashed as expected.

[Condition met to make ’Strengthened Core, Consolidated Meridians (White)’ permanent]

[’Strengthened Core, Consolidated Meridians (White)’ has become a permanent entry]

In the equipment slot, the phantom image of the Strengthening Pill vanished.

Li Yuan could clearly feel an imperceptible, resilient film now coating the inner walls of his meridians. From now on, whether he suffered a backlash from Spiritual Power during a breakthrough or sustained an internal injury, his meridians’ endurance and recovery speed would be greatly enhanced.

Li Yuan didn’t rest. He took out a jade stone with a faint yellow glow from the depths of his storage bag.

Pill Fire ignited at his fingertips, which he used like a knife to carve Array Patterns directly onto the jade’s surface. Half an hour later, the Array Patterns converged, and an exceptionally exquisite Earth Vein Array Hub was complete.

[Equippable Item Detected: Jade Earth Vein Array Hub (Complete)]

[Equipment Entry Preview: Earth Element Array (Green)]

[Effect: When setting up an Earth Vein-type Array, the Array’s power is increased by 20%, and the speed at which it draws Earth Qi is increased by 30%]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Personally craft and connect an Earth Vein-type Array Hub]

Li Yuan directly unequipped ’Concealed Meridians, Hidden Breath’.

"Equip."

[Equipped: Jade Earth Vein Array Hub (Complete)]

[Earth Element Array (Green) is active]

He walked to a corner of the stone house, took out the new Array Hub, and pressed it directly into the ground, connecting it to a node of the Mist Forest Marketplace’s Earth Vein Array.

The moment the jade lit up with a yellow halo, a series of notifications popped up on the panel.

[Condition met to make ’Earth Element Array (Green)’ permanent]

[’Earth Element Array (Green)’ has become a permanent entry]

The phantom image of the Jade Earth Vein Array Hub vanished.

Suddenly, an intensely dazzling, azure-blue light exploded at the edge of his vision.

[Permanent entries that meet the conditions for same-system fusion have been detected]

[Earth Vein Resonance (Green) + Earth Element Array (Green)]

[Fusion Direction: Enhance perception of and ability to borrow power from subterranean Earth Veins, terrestrial vibrations, and Earth Vein Arrays]

[Perform fusion?]

"Fuse." Li Yuan didn’t hesitate for a second.

The two balls of green light were swallowed by the blue light, frantically weaving and restructuring at the center of the panel.

[Earth Vein Spiritual Hub (Blue)]

[Effect: With both feet on the ground, Spiritual Power recovery speed is greatly increased. Possess absolute, master-level perception of vibrations within ten zhang underground. Can directly draw upon the Spiritual Power of nearby Earth Veins to empower one’s own Arrays. The setup speed for Earth Vein-type Arrays is increased by 50%.]

The moment the fusion was complete.

Li Yuan felt a wondrous connection form between his feet and the ground, one that was almost as intimate as flesh and blood.

The old entries, [Earth Vein Resonance] and [Earth Element Array], were completely absorbed. He didn’t even need to close his eyes to clearly perceive the trajectory of every wisp of Earth Qi flowing through the soil beneath his feet.

It was a sense of control.

When he went to Mozhou, a desolate land depleted of Spiritual Qi, the ability to draw upon the Spiritual Power of the Earth Vein would be his greatest asset.