The demonic Traveling Merchant stayed in Fangshi for three days.
Li Yuan didn't alert the snake, but just used Spirit Sense Clarity's passive perception to stare at him from afar.
Traveling Merchant's behavior is no different from that of ordinary merchants. During the day, he sets up a stall in the square to sell Spirit Herb and ore scraps at reasonable prices. He bargains with Rogue Cultivator who comes and goes, and occasionally chats with acquaintances. At night, he lives in a guest room on the east side of Fang City, closes the door to practice, and does not go out.
In the early morning of the fourth day, Traveling Merchant closed the stall, put the goods into storage bags, and walked towards South Gate, Fang City.
Li Yuan followed.
The effect of Breath Concealment and Trace Elimination suppressed the aura to an extremely low level, and Spirit Sense Clarity locked onto the position of Traveling Merchant. There was a distance of more than a hundred feet between the two, with thick fog and dead trees in between, completely blocking their sight.
After Traveling Merchant left the city limits, he did not go in the direction of Yunyang Marketplace. Instead, he turned southwest and walked toward the depths of Ghost Mist Forest.
The speed is not fast, as if confirming the direction.
Li Yuan followed behind, his consciousness always locked on the breath in front.
When in danger, retreat.
Traveling Merchant walked among Ghost Mist Forest for about two quarters of an hour and stopped in front of a piece of Rocky Beach.
Li Yuan stopped one hundred and fifty feet away and hid his body behind a dead tree.
The consciousness is concentrated in the direction of Traveling Merchant.
Traveling Merchant looked around and after confirming that no one was around, he took out an object from his arms.
One Token.
It is about the size of a palm, dark black, with dense lines engraved on its surface.
Li Yuan's perception captured a strange fluctuation at this moment.
It's not a fluctuation in spiritual power, nor is it a fluctuation in Fiend Qi.
spatial fluctuations.
It's extremely weak, but it does exist. The fluctuations come from under a big rock in the center of Rocky Beach, as if there is some kind of obscured space structure there.
After Spatial Perception became permanent, coupled with divine consciousness, Li Yuan could feel the fluctuations from a hundred feet away.
Traveling Merchant held Token in front of him and injected the demonic energy into it with his right hand.
The surface of the dark black Token shines with a dark luster, and a dark purple light flows in the texture.
The next moment, Traveling Merchant's figure disappeared.
Transmit.
Some kind of hidden Teleportation Array, or space entrance. It requires specific Token and magic energy to activate.
Li Yuan stood on the spot, and his spiritual consciousness scanned Rocky Beach.
The spatial fluctuations have dissipated, and Rocky Beach has returned to calm. Nothing can be sensed under the big stone, as if the entrance to the space automatically closed after Traveling Merchant entered.
Li Yuan did not hesitate, turned around and left, returning to Fangshi along the original road.
After returning to the stone house, Li Yuan went over the tracking process in his mind.
Traveling Merchant's destination is a hidden space that requires demonic energy Token to enter. This kind of thing is not something that ordinary Rogue Cultivator can create, and there must be an organization behind it.
It is currently impossible to confirm whether it is the same organization as Devil Cultivator, who was killed before. However, both of them appeared near New Marketplace, so it is unlikely to be a coincidence.
Don't rush now. Wait until Traveling Merchant appears again before making plans.
In the following days, Li Yuan divided his energy between spiritual practice and city affairs.
The improvement of the Array system is the current focus. The framework of the Composite Array linkage system has been set up, but there is still room for optimization in the details. The signal transmission speed of the linkage nodes, the energy distribution ratio between Array, and the replacement cycle of Fiend Gathering Array all need to be continuously adjusted in actual operation.
Li Yuan spends two or three hours every day on the maintenance and optimization of Array, and the remaining time is spent practicing Cultivation Method and Law Technique.
One afternoon, Li Yuan was patrolling the main street of Fangshi.
Entry Perception continues to operate within a three-foot range, sweeping the shops and stalls on both sides.
When I walked to the door of a grocery store, my perception fluctuated.
Green.
Li Yuan walked into the shop and walked slowly along the shelves.
The fluctuation comes from a wooden box in the corner of the bottom shelf.
Li Yuan squatted down and opened the wooden box.
There is a milky white stone the size of an egg placed inside. The surface is smooth and moist, and you can vaguely see the fine Spirit Pattern flowing inside.
"What's the price of this?"
The shopkeeper took a look.
"It was consigned by a Traveling Merchant a few days ago. He said he picked it up in a Ruins somewhere. He couldn't tell what it was specifically. The material looked good, and the price was eighty Spirit Stone."
"Take it."
Li Yuan put Spirit Stone down and put the milky white stone into the storage bag.
Returning to the stone house, I put my fingers on the surface of the stone.
[Equipable item detected: Spirit Essence Bead (complete)]
[Equipment Affix preview: Spirit Essence Expansion (green)--The upper limit of spiritual power is increased by up to 30%; the more Cultivation Method you practice, the more you improve, the upper limit is 30%]
[Preview of permanent conditions: Cultivation reaches Foundation Establishment, or cultivation breaks through three minor realms within five years (already met)]
[Current Equipment Slot position: 5/5, do you want to replace it?]
Green Trait. Powerful Amway <Cultivation of Immortality: I can solidify equipment attributes>! Go straight to the wonderful. Spirit Essence Expansion.
The upper limit of spiritual power is increased by up to 30%, which is linked to the number of immortals Cultivation Method practiced.
The immortal ways Cultivation Method I currently practice include Spirit Guiding Art, Hundred Meridians Origin Return Art, Azure Wood Longevity Technique, Red Fire Art, Iron Wall Body Refining Art, plus Micro-Origin Meridian Guiding Art and Nurturing Origin Technique. There are quite a few, and the increase in spiritual power limit should be close to the upper limit.
The permanent condition is that the cultivation level reaches Foundation Establishment. I am already Foundation Establishment Early Stage, and the condition is met on the spot.
The Equipment Slot that was left vacant after Fiend Spirit Conversion was made permanent is just in use.
Equipment.
[Spirit Essence Expansion (green) permanent conditions have been met]
[Is it permanent?]
Yes.
[Permanent success]
[Spirit Essence Expansion (green) has become Permanent Affix]
[Equipment has been consumed]
The milky white stone turned into green light in the palm of my hand and sank into my body.
The Liquid Spirit Qi in Dantian changed the moment the permanent transformation was completed. The capacity of Dantian seemed to be invisibly expanded, and the upper limit of spiritual power was significantly increased.
The upper limit of spiritual power has been increased by approximately 20%, which means that more spiritual power can be stored with the same cultivation level. Law Technique's continuous output capability and combat endurance will be significantly improved.
Li Yuan organized Equipment Slot and continued practicing.
Ten days later.
When Li Yuan was patrolling Fangshi Square, Demonic Origin Avatar's perception responded again.
The same person.
The man in dark gray robe Traveling Merchant appeared in the market again, squatting in front of a stall picking ore scraps, and his behavior was exactly the same as last time.
The remaining demonic energy deep in the body is exactly the same as last time.
In the early morning of the third day, Traveling Merchant closed the stall again and left, heading towards South Gate in Fang City.
Li Yuan followed.
The same route as last time, after leaving Fang City, turn southwest and go deep into Ghost Mist Forest.
Li Yuan maintained a distance of more than a hundred feet, Breath Concealment and Trace Elimination lowered his breath, and Spirit Sense Clarity locked the target.
Traveling Merchant walked for about a quarter of an hour, and we still haven't reached the Rocky Beach last time.
Li Yuan speed up.
Wind Escape Technique activated, and the figure swept out from behind the dead trees, closing the distance to thirty feet in a few breaths.
Traveling Merchant's footsteps suddenly stopped and he looked back.
Foundation Establishment The monk's Spiritual Pressure pressed past him at a distance of thirty feet.
Traveling Merchant's face turned pale instantly.
He did not choose to escape or fight, and black Spirit Pattern suddenly appeared on his body.
Li Yuan's pupils shrank.
Gold Blade Technique.
Silver-white blade light shot out from the fingertips and went straight to Traveling Merchant's right hand.
But half a breath too late.
A dark purple Spirit Pattern lit up on his chest, lasted for a moment and then went out.
Traveling Merchant's body froze in place, and the light in his eyes quickly dimmed.
A line of black blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, and his body fell forward and fell heavily to the ground.
The breath completely dissipates within two breaths.
dead.
The dark purple Spirit Pattern on the chest is probably some kind of preset self-destruction Law Technique. Once triggered, it will directly destroy the heart and dantian, and die cleanly.
Li Yuan walked to the corpse and squatted down.
Traveling Merchant's face was gray and gray, and black blood flowed from the corners of his mouth and nostrils. A hole as big as a fist was burned out of the clothes on his chest, revealing the charred skin underneath, and the traces of dark purple Spirit Pattern were still vaguely visible.
Li Yuan turned the body over, took off the storage bag, and looked through it one by one.
Spirit Herb, ore scraps, dozens of pieces of Spirit Stone, and some daily necessities. They are all ordinary Traveling Merchant goods.
There is a Token in the interlayer of the storage bag.
It was the same as the one I saw from a distance last time, palm-sized, dark black, with dense lines engraved on the surface.
Li Yuan picked up Token and poured spiritual power into it.
No response.
The texture on the surface of Token has no change, like a dead object.
Li Yuan took back his spiritual power and changed his method.
A ray of evil energy is drawn from the body Deep Layer and injected into Token.
The texture on the surface of Token lit up instantly.
Dark purple light circulated in the lines, and Token vibrated slightly. A flow of information poured out from Token, directly pouring into Li Yuan's consciousness.
Not much information, just a few short lines.
A location coordinate corresponding to the Rocky Beach where Traveling Merchant disappeared last time.
A codename, three words, no other explanation.
Li Yuan Write down the information and take back the evil energy.
The light on the surface of Token quickly dimmed as the demonic energy retreated, returning to the state of a dead object.
Spiritual power cannot be activated, only demonic energy can be activated.
This Token is the same as that hidden space, only open to Devil Cultivator.
Li Yuan put Token into a storage bag, disposed of Traveling Merchant's body, and returned to Fangshi.