Chapter 497 - 469: Return Journey’s Opportunity

Chapter 497: Chapter 469: Return Journey’s Opportunity

After leaving the Spirit Ruins, Li Yuan found a sheltered cave in a hidden valley a hundred li away.

After setting up a simple Concealment Array, he sat down cross-legged and looked down at his arms.

Countless wounds, covering his arms from fingertips to forearms, were still oozing blood. These were no ordinary cuts; they had been sliced by spatial power, their edges perfectly smooth, causing them to heal much slower than normal injuries.

Li Yuan circulated his Spiritual Power.

The white trait for Spiritual Power-based wound healing activated first. Pure Spiritual Power seeped into the edges of the wounds, very slowly mending the damaged skin and meridians. The River of Qi Blood followed, and vigorous Qi Blood surged to his extremities like a rising tide, providing a continuous supply of nourishment for the repairs.

Vitality Surge, Meridian Mending—several permanent recovery-related traits activated simultaneously.

The wounds began to close at a visible rate.

An hour later, the wounds on his arms had closed completely, leaving only a few faint white lines. Li Yuan flexed his fingers. The Spiritual Power flowed through his meridians without any obstruction.

He stood up, collected the Array, and transformed into an Escape Light, departing.

’First, back to Mist Forest Marketplace.’

He followed the same trade route as before. When passing through Yunyang Marketplace, Li Yuan took the opportunity to sell off some of the array materials and ore fragments he had gathered in the Spirit Ruins. These items fetched the highest prices in the local marketplaces of Liangzhou; it wouldn’t be profitable to take them elsewhere.

Li Yuan didn’t find any items with traits in the shops of Yunyang Marketplace, so he didn’t stay long.

He arrived at Mist Forest Marketplace by evening.

Ji Wenchuan met Li Yuan at the marketplace entrance and followed him all the way to the main hall.

"Pavilion Master, there are two matters that require your attention." Ji Wenchuan produced a stack of documents. "First, the first batch of rental agreements for the expanded marketplace has been signed. The occupancy rate for the outer shops has exceeded seventy percent."

Li Yuan flipped through a few pages and nodded.

"Second," Ji Wenchuan lowered his voice, "some news has come in from the outside these past few days. There seems to be new activity over at Skeleton Ridge. The Foundation Establishment disciples from several factions are being mobilized frequently. The situation is more tense than before."

Li Yuan put down the documents without asking for more details.

After spending a day at the marketplace and handling some backlogged affairs, Li Yuan set out for Celestial Peak Marketplace again.

The streets of Celestial Peak Marketplace were even more crowded than when he had last visited.

A large number of foreign Cultivators had flooded in. Business in the shops was booming, and even the number of temporary street stalls had doubled. News that someone from the Celestial Peak Sect was on the verge of Divinity Transformation had spread completely. Various factions and Loose Cultivators had all rushed here in advance, hoping to get a piece of the pie from this upcoming shift in power.

Li Yuan sold the remaining High-tier Spirit Stones and other unneeded materials from the Spirit Ruins to several large shops, exchanging them for a large quantity of Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

He then took a stroll through the Loose Cultivator stall area.

He stopped before a small stall selling miscellaneous goods as his perception was triggered within a three-foot radius.

A white light.

Li Yuan’s gaze fell on a fist-sized piece of white jade in the corner of the stall. The surface of the jade had clear carving marks, but only a rough outline had been completed. It looked like an unfinished blank for Artifact Refining.

"How much for this jade blank?"

The stall owner was an old woman at Late-stage Qi Refining. Seeing someone ask about this piece of stock that had been sitting around for a long time, she quickly smiled. "Senior, you have a keen eye. This was found among the belongings of a deceased Artifact Refiner. Twenty Low Grade Spirit Stones."

Li Yuan tossed out the Spirit Stones and took the jade blank in his hand.

[Equippable Item Detected: Jade Blank (Complete)]

[Equip Trait Preview: Craftsmanship (White)]

[Effect: Increases comprehension speed of Artifact Refining techniques by 30%.]

[Permanence Condition: Conditions met.]

’Equip. Make permanent.’

[Craftsmanship (White) has become a permanent trait.]

As the white point of light merged into his sea of consciousness, a scene surfaced in his mind.

This was the hidden information obtained from making the trait permanent.

The scene was a cramped artifact refining room. A middle-aged Cultivator sat before a furnace, a fine carving knife in his hand, meticulously carving something onto a piece of white jade.

His technique was exceptionally steady; the depth and angle of every cut were controlled with perfect precision. The sound of the knife gliding across the jade’s surface was crisp and pleasant, like some ancient rhythm.

The scene showed the Cultivator’s entire process of crafting the jade blank. From selecting the material and polishing it, to the initial carving, every step was laid bare.

Then, the scene dissipated.

Li Yuan opened his eyes, his understanding of Artifact Refining techniques having indeed deepened.

Although the Artifact Refiner’s skill was inferior to his own, the immersive experience still gave Li Yuan a considerable boost.

After looking around some more, Li Yuan used a Teleportation Array to return to the outer islands of the Kunpeng Alliance.

The moment he returned to the inn area of the Spirit Platform Palace, he sensed that the island’s atmosphere was completely different from when he had left.

The streets were bustling with people, and unfamiliar Cultivators appeared in every corner. In the distance, several temporary Spiritual Power floating bridges had been erected between the affiliated floating islands, connecting the once-separate islands into a single whole.

Li Yuan ran into Zhou He in the inn’s lobby.

"You’re back?" Zhou He gestured for Li Yuan to sit. "Perfect timing. The final date for the auction has been set. It will officially begin in five days."

"Has the venue been confirmed?"

"Confirmed." Zhou He pointed out the window. "See those floating bridges? The Kunpeng Alliance linked up several of the floating islands, and along with the main island’s core area, nearly half the island cluster has been designated as a trading venue. Loose Cultivators and minor factions can trade freely on the affiliated floating islands, while the middle circle is for the official stalls of the various merchant guilds and medium-sized factions."

"The core auction area at the very center is deep within the main island. Only Golden Core Cultivators and a small number of Foundation Establishment Cultivators with special invitation tokens can enter."

Li Yuan nodded.

After returning to his room, Li Yuan didn’t rush into seclusion. Instead, he bought another detailed Spirit Vein Sea Map and spread it out on his desk.

The map marked the known locations of Spirit Veins in the outer seas of the Kunpeng region. Among the dense cluster of markings, a considerable number had been crossed out in red, indicating that those Spirit Veins had already been mined by others.

Li Yuan extended the perception of his Compass, cross-referencing its findings with the markings on the sea map.

After eliminating the locations that had already been mined, were within the territory of High-tier Demon Beasts, or were at depths beyond the safety limit, Li Yuan locked onto two miniature Spirit Veins near a reef.

After nightfall, Li Yuan left the island alone and submerged himself into the outer sea.

With the dual blessings of Swift Water Escape and Will of Water Control, the seawater automatically parted around him, allowing him to descend at an extremely high speed.

The first Reef Group was located about forty li southwest of the island. The seabed terrain was complex, with overlapping reefs forming a natural underwater maze.

At the bottom of the Reef Group, Li Yuan found the miniature Water Element Spirit Vein. It snaked through the crevices of the rock formations, emitting an extremely faint blue light.

He cleared a path with a Void-Splitting Slash and uprooted the vein with the Vein-Stripping Spirit Shuttle. The process was now extremely refined; the entire Spirit Vein was extracted completely within a few breaths.

But Li Yuan did not absorb it into his body.

Without pausing, Li Yuan followed the ocean currents toward the location of the second Spirit Vein.

When he arrived, Li Yuan saw no trace of a Spirit Vein, only a long, shallow pit where it should have been.

Li Yuan checked a few more spots. The second miniature Water Element Spirit Vein was hidden in the wall of an undersea cliff, in an even more concealed location. Li Yuan spent the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before finally locating it deep within the rock formation. He then repeated the same technique, extracting it completely.

Afterward, Li Yuan left. He took the two Water Element Spirit Veins, added some Spirit Stones, and exchanged them for two miniature Spirit Veins of the Wood and Gold Attributes.

Fortunately, the Celestial Peak Sect’s Teleportation Array was open, allowing many miniature Spirit Veins of different attributes to flood the market; otherwise, the price would have been even higher.

[Vein Extraction Spirit-Refinement (Blue) Progress: 3/5 → 5/5]

[Permanence Condition for Vein Extraction Spirit-Refinement (Blue) met.]

[Vein Extraction Spirit-Refinement (Blue) has become a permanent trait.]

As a blue light exploded within his body, another scene flooded his sea of consciousness.

The hidden information from making the trait permanent.

The scene was a dim, underground workshop. An elderly, gray-robed Cultivator sat at a workbench. He held a shuttle-shaped Magical Artifact nearly identical to the Vein-Stripping Spirit Shuttle and was using an extremely fine technique to inscribe Spirit Patterns onto its body.

Another Cultivator sat across from him, and the two were conversing in low voices.

"The grade of this batch of Spirit Shuttles is still too low." The Cultivator across from him shook his head. "They’re barely adequate for miniature Spirit Veins. They’re useless against anything mid-sized or larger."

The gray-robed elder didn’t look up, his carving knife never stopping. "I know. That’s why I plan to make a High Tier one. I already have leads on the materials. All I’m missing is a Spirit Vein of a high enough grade to serve as the core resonance source."

"Where will you find one?"

The gray-robed elder’s hand paused. He lowered his voice and said, "Deep in the sea, about three hundred li southeast of the Kunpeng outer region. There’s a large, extremely well-hidden Spirit Vein buried beneath the seabed strata there. I spent half my life confirming its existence. I’ll go for it after I sell this batch of Spirit Shuttles."

The scene dissipated.

Li Yuan opened his eyes.

’Deep in the sea, three hundred li to the southeast, a large, hidden Spirit Vein.’

After firmly committing the location to memory, Li Yuan composed himself and focused on the changes brought by the permanent trait.

The ability of Vein Extraction Spirit-Refinement was now completely solidified within him. From now on, he would no longer need to rely on a Magical Artifact to strip Spirit Veins; his Spiritual Power alone could accomplish the same task. At the same time, the ability to nurture Spirit Veins and raise their grade also became part of the permanent trait.

Just then, the system panel popped up again.

[Trait Resonance Fusion Detected]

[Vein Extraction Spirit-Refinement (Blue)] + [Spirit Vein Refinement (Blue)] + [Tidal Essence Return (Blue · Fusion)] + [Spirit Gathering Array Talisman · Spiritual Qi Attraction (White)]

Fusion initiated.

[New Trait Acquired: Myriad Spirits Return to Vein (Purple)]

[Effect: All miniature Spirit Veins integrated into the body will passively complement each other. The Spirit Veins will automatically absorb external Spiritual Qi, slowly raising their grade. Cultivation breathing efficiency is greatly increased.]

The instant the purple light exploded, the thirteen personal Spirit Veins within Li Yuan’s body trembled in unison.

The originally independent Spirit Veins, driven by the purple trait, Myriad Spirits Return to Vein, began an unprecedentedly deep interconnection.

The increase in his cultivation breathing efficiency was almost instantaneous. Li Yuan took a deep breath, and the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi surged into his body as if a floodgate had been opened. The speed at which Spiritual Power circulated through his meridians nearly doubled.

Li Yuan slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and opened his eyes in the dark depths of the sea.

’My sixth purple trait.’