Li Yuan

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Li Yuan (李源)
Alias(es)	Market Master Li
Species/Race	Human; transmigrator
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Former Wang Family peripheral cultivator and Guard Squad patrol officer; Yuanyang Sect Dharma Protector and later Honored Guest; Wulin Marketplace owner/Market Master; Tianyue Sect collaborator; Mingyuan Sect mission contractor
Occupation/Role	Cultivator, talisman crafter, array master, artifact refiner, alchemist, marketplace administrator, spirit-field cultivator
Status	Alive
First Appearance	1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Qi Refining, Third Layer	1	Begins after transmigrating into a body injured by a failed breakthrough. Unlocks the Equipment Panel by equipping an intact low-grade spirit stone.
Qi Refining, Fifth Layer	39	Breaks through before a Wang Family clearing mission, increasing the density and power of his spirit power.
Qi Refining, Seventh Layer	173	Uses a Jade Breakthrough Pill to enter the late Qi Refining stage; this permits him to seek early release from his Wang Family contract.
Qi Refining, Eighth Layer	158	Breaks through after perfecting the Spirit Guiding Art and practicing the Iron Wall Body Refining Art.
Qi Refining, Ninth Layer	185	Gains the ability to satisfy the Soul Nourishing Pill's permanence condition and further conceals his aura.
Qi Refining Great Perfection	202	Reaches the peak of Qi Refining after making the Blood-Qi Jade Pendant's affix permanent.
Foundation Establishment	207	Successfully establishes his foundation; his liquid spiritual power elevates Tier 1 Talisman Crafting Art directly to Perfect.
Foundation Establishment Middle Stage	251	Breaks through following seclusion after perfecting the Red Fire Art.
Foundation Establishment Late Stage	295	Breaks through in the Sha Ore Mine after making Sha-Spirit Resonance permanent.
Foundation Establishment Perfection	343	Stabilizes at Foundation Establishment Perfection while preparing for Golden Core formation.
Golden Core Stage	388	Forms a Golden Core, causing a qualitative rise in his spirit power and strengthening his body-refining arts.
Late Golden Core Stage	444	Stabilizes at the late stage before shattering and reforming his core; he also strengthens his body-refining techniques.
Supreme Grade Golden Core	478	Shatters and reforms his core into a Supreme Grade Spirit Core; gains permanent Dantai Creation, Three-Origin Unification, and Boundary-Breaking Essence Condensation.
Late Golden Core Stage	526	Breaks through to the Late Golden Core Stage again after post-reformation closed-door cultivation, meeting a condition for his Life-Bound Dharma Artifact’s Source Assimilation.
Golden Core Perfection	573	Reaches the extreme of the Golden Core Realm while preparing for Nascent Soul formation and studying Nascent Soul foundation classics.

Background / History

When the original body was five, a Wang Family cultivator discovered its spiritual roots. In return for cultivation resources and training, it entered a twenty-year service contract with the Wang Family. Li Yuan transmigrated into this body at age twenty-five, immediately after its former owner failed a Qi Refining breakthrough and suffered cultivation deviation. At the time, he was a poor Wang Family patrol officer with thirteen years of service remaining. 1

While collecting stall rent from Old Man Zhang in Qinghe Market, Li Yuan received two extra low-grade spirit stones. One intact stone activated his Equipment Panel, allowing him to equip items for temporary traits and make those traits permanent by fulfilling their conditions. The discovery transforms his outlook from homesickness and dissatisfaction into focused ambition. 1

Li Yuan initially serves the Wang Family as a patrol officer, then joins the Guard Squad for better pay despite the increased danger. He develops through patrols, mountain-clearing operations, monster hunts, and investigations, including the Zhao Wu incident. 17 39 140

After reaching late Qi Refining, he becomes eligible to reduce his contractual term. He ultimately dissolves his Wang Family contract, completes a talisman-crafting arrangement with Alchemist He, and moves to Yunyang Marketplace to cultivate independently. 173 178 179

Following Foundation Establishment, Li Yuan accepts Chen Yi’s invitation to become a Yuanyang Sect Dharma Protector. His growing role in Wulin Marketplace expands from talisman supplier and array master to administrator, intelligence operative, and defender against demonic cultivators. 207 231 306

Li Yuan develops Wulin Marketplace into a regional hub by reclaiming spirit fields, organizing defensive arrays, receiving refugees from Yun Province, establishing auctions, and coordinating the Three-Province Trade Route. He uses the marketplace’s commercial activities to acquire cultivation resources, intelligence, and trait-bearing objects. 320 333 440 444

After forming and later publicly revealing his Golden Core cultivation, Li Yuan receives complete ownership of Wulin Marketplace and becomes an Honored Guest of the Yuanyang Sect. He chooses to celebrate through a trading fair and auction rather than a traditional Golden Core ceremony. 480 489

Li Yuan subsequently shatters and reconstructs his Golden Core into a Supreme Grade Spirit Core. The process increases his lifespan to more than 1,200 years, improves his physical foundation, and begins a new period of advancement toward Nascent Soul formation. 478 552

As his influence expands, Li Yuan cooperates with the Tianyue Sect, Mingyuan Sect, Mingyuan Chamber of Commerce, and regional cultivation families. He establishes mine arrays in Baihe Province, helps construct large-scale arrays and spatial passages, and develops his Portable Small Realm into a source of spirit herbs and cultivation resources. 554 562 594 640

Personality

Li Yuan is cautious, analytical, and resource-conscious. He tests cultivation pills before purchasing them in quantity, evaluates the conditions attached to equipment traits, and treats trading, cultivation, crafting, and intelligence work as connected sources of long-term advancement. 72 102 202

He is notably self-reliant. After ending his Wang Family and Alchemist He contracts, he deliberately relocates for better resources and cultivates without mandatory obligations. 178 179

As Market Master, Li Yuan values fairness and practical trust. He clears Sun Shiyi of direct involvement with the Sha Demon Sect after investigating the evidence, then offers him a partnership with Yuanming Studio rather than punishing him unfairly. 436

Li Yuan is highly deliberate about concealing his true strength. He routinely uses disguises, aura suppression, and false cultivation signals to avoid provoking stronger forces or exposing his advantages until a decisive moment. 200 345 447 528

He approaches long-term partnerships pragmatically, seeking arrangements that provide stable materials, commercial channels, or technical opportunities while ensuring reciprocal benefit for his collaborators. 447 554 562

Abilities & Skills

Equipment Panel

Li Yuan’s unique “golden finger” allows him to equip qualifying items for trait bonuses. Traits become permanent once their specific conditions are completed; the equipped item is then consumed and its slot freed. 1

• Trait grades range from Gray, White, Green, Blue, Purple, Red, to Gold. Higher grades provide stronger effects. 1
• Identical trait effects cannot be stacked. 1
• Items must meet their equipment requirements; for example, a spirit stone must be intact. 1
• Unequipping an item temporarily disables its trait and imposes a twelve-hour re-equipment cooldown for that item type. 1 5
• Regular equipment slots expand as he permanentizes traits and advances in cultivation. 1 5 43
• A special equipment slot unlocks after he permanently activates his fifth blue trait; it can equip a fully explored Sha Vein. 240
• He later equips a large Spirit Vein in the special slot, gaining improved spirit-power quality, automatic recovery, and supplemental automatic cultivation. 382

Cultivation and Spirit Power

Li Yuan cultivates several arts and exploits permanent traits to accelerate cultivation, purify spirit power, expand his reserves, and improve recovery.

• Spirit Purification / Spirit Qi Filtration — initially increases cultivation speed by 30% and filters impurities from absorbed spirit qi. 1 9
• Pure Spirit Power — upgraded from a mid-grade spirit stone; increases cultivation speed by 50% and automatically purifies spirit power. 102
• Flawless Spirit Power — blue trait that doubles cultivation speed and further purifies his spirit power. 293
• Spirit Essence Expansion and Spirit Qi Backflow — increase his spirit power capacity and recovery speed. 140
• Spirit Convergence — increases the range and influx speed of spirit qi gathered during cultivation. 214
• Sha-Spirit Resonance — permits the conversion and coordination of Sha Qi and spiritual power after his Foundation Establishment Late Stage breakthrough. 291 295
• Demon-Spirit Homology — allows spiritual power and demonic qi to be converted into one another, fused to a moderate degree, and stored at increased capacity. 444
• Spirit-Demon Spatial Containment — a purple trait completed by clashing his spiritual and demonic energies within a spatial rift. 472
• Myriad Spirits Returning to Veins — purple trait obtained after completing his Spirit Vein extraction trait through the acquisition and exchange of micro-Spirit Veins. 471
• Dantai Creation, Three-Origin Unification, and Boundary-Breaking Essence Condensation — permanent traits obtained from the Golden Core Formation Platform after reforming his core. 478
• Withered Wood Spirit Core — improves wood-element cultivation efficiency by 20% and reduces wood-element spiritual-power consumption by 10%. 552
• Maintains a third-order Spirit Gathering Array within his body, greatly improving his spiritual-energy absorption and purification efficiency. 587

Talisman Crafting

Li Yuan is a highly accomplished talisman crafter whose skill becomes a major source of income, influence, and combat support.

• Reaches Proficient in Fireball Talisman crafting through dedicated practice. 87
• Attains Great Success in Tier 1 Talisman Crafting Art and gains a higher success rate and efficiency. 178
• Foundation Establishment elevates his Tier 1 Talisman Crafting Art directly to Perfect. 207
• Successfully crafts a Tier 2 Spirit Water Talisman after repeated attempts. 212
• Reaches Proficient in Second-Tier Talisman Crafting Art and Spirit Water Talisman crafting. 231 266
• Achieves Major Achievement in Tier 2 Talisman Crafting while creating a Cold Binding Talisman. 436
• Reaches perfection in second-tier talisman crafting after refining the third Spirit Vein into a Triangular Spirit Vein Cycle. 438
• Can infer and learn spell methods from talisman structures, using his Divine Sense threads to reverse-engineer techniques such as the Wayfinding Art. 465
• Masters more than one hundred spells and talismans, making Ten Thousand Arts Mastery permanent. 528

Array Dao

Li Yuan develops from learning basic array inheritances into a capable array master trusted with major infrastructure and defensive work.

• Sets up and dismantles a Sha-Gathering Array, gaining insight into array eyes and barrier penetration. 199
• Trades Spirit Water Talismans to obtain array inheritances from the Wang Family. 231
• Builds Early Warning, Spirit Gathering, and Golden Light Arrays around his Ghost Mist Forest base, gaining Spirit Mechanism Sensing, Spirit Gathering Pulse, and Array Pattern Defense traits. 226
• Advances Second-Order Array Dao to Minor Accomplishment while building the Golden Core Formation Platform’s auxiliary arrays. 306
• Repairs an ancient teleportation array in Mo Province while fighting two Foundation Establishment Late Stage demonic cultivators. 350
• Gains third-order array knowledge while exploring Mo Province and develops advanced Spirit Vein and underground-structure perception. 381
• Builds advanced alchemy arrays for Meng Yangzi and improves the latter’s Origin Recovery Pill success rate. 517
• Establishes a high-grade, tier-two, three-layer defensive array at Lingxi Ferry. 534
• Creates a production-increasing ore array for the Hundred-River Mine. 554
• Reaches complete mastery of third-tier Array Dao and subsequently lays out a Spirit-Guiding Grand Array spanning roughly ten miles. 584 598
• Accepts responsibility for maintaining a Spatial Passage leading to the Heavenly Origin Realm. 640

Body Refinement

Li Yuan reinforces his body through cultivation arts, medicinal pills, Sha Qi, demonic qi, and permanent traits.

• Iron Ox Technique — grants Viscera Strengthening, reinforcing his internal organs against spiritual-power impacts. 9
• Nurturing Origin Technique — grants Qi-Blood Self-Generation for improved qi and blood recovery. 15 29
• Sha Qi Body Tempering — permanently activated through the Sha-Gathering Bowl, allowing him to temper his body with baleful qi. 100
• Iron Wall Body Refining Art — reaches Great Success, strengthening his physical body. 158 341
• Bones Tough as Iron — permanent trait acquired by consuming multiple second-order demonic beast cores. 292
• Iron Bone Golden Body — used to defeat two Foundation Establishment Late Stage demonic cultivators in Mo Province. 350
• Indestructible Golden Body — green trait obtained by upgrading Golden Body Armor after defeating two late-stage enemies. 410
• Flood Dragon Blood Body-Tempering Art — reaches Proficient, significantly increasing physical strength and recovery speed. 503
• Black Iron Body-Tempering Art — acquired through Tianyue Sect contribution exchange and developed into a complementary dual-track body-refining system. 534 540
• Spirit Body Essence-Tempering Art — reaches mastery, comprehensively renewing his bones and improving spirit-power conduction. 598
• Thunder Gang Bone-Refining Art and Thunder Tempering Essence Formula — cultivated simultaneously; the former reaches Mastery. 640

Spatial Techniques

Li Yuan develops powerful spatial perception, transport, storage, and offensive abilities.

• Void-Bound Carry — gained from permanently activating the Void Nether Stone; provides a Portable Space and enhanced Spatial Perception. 441
• Void-Splitting Slash — progresses to Great Success and later Perfection, creating precise spatial cuts suitable for combat and spirit-pattern engraving. 441 448
• Can travel through spatial rifts, though long-distance movement consumes substantial spiritual energy. 479
• Spatial Seeking Technique — detects faint spatial fluctuations, including those on an abandoned ancient road. 528
• Creates and operates spatial rifts with the aid of his Red Core and uses them to cultivate Spirit-Demon Spatial Containment. 472
• Possesses a Portable Small Realm containing developing Spirit Veins, water zones, spirit fields, and a growing collection of spirit herbs. 587 633 640

Divination and Perception

Li Yuan uses soul cultivation, Divine Sense, and divination to gather intelligence and detect threats.

• Divination Technique — expends lifespan to perceive broad trends of fortune and misfortune. 446
• Uses twelve Divine Sense threads and Spirit Sense Clarity to interpret divinatory signs. 446
• Heavenly Derivation Divination Technique — reaches Minor Mastery, allowing him to derive and compare more detailed causal signs. 552
• Life Flame Tracking Technique and Life Flame Retro-Mirroring Technique — advanced as part of his Nascent Soul preparation. 552
• Trace Tracking — permanently enables passive perception of residual spirit qi trails and their attributes. 424
• Truth-Breaking Spirit Pupil — passively penetrates some disguises and concealment; its effectiveness scales with soul strength. 489
• Spirit Pivot Insight — blue trait that improves perception of Spirit Vein grades and energy gradients, while raising absorption efficiency within a Spirit Vein’s range by 50%. 537
• Spirit Vein Breath Identification — enables him to identify abnormalities in spirit-vein and bodily spiritual-energy signatures. 636

Artifact Refining and Alchemy

Li Yuan expands into artifact refining and alchemy to support his own advancement and commercial network.

• Equips the Old Iron Alchemy Furnace, revealed to contain extensive alchemy insights. 159
• Refines Origin Consolidation Pills and gains a trait improving meridian repair and toughness. 348
• Reaches First-Order Perfection in Dharma Artifact forging. 397
• Makes Forged Pattern Refinement permanent through daily artifact refinement. 440
• Makes his Second-Order Artifact Refining Technique permanent at Great Success. 441
• Successfully refines a third-grade medicinal pill, triggering a blue trait. 516
• Crafts a Mineral Guiding Spirit Tool for the Lu Family’s Hundred-River Mine Array. 554
• Reaches Proficient in third-order artifact refining after studying the Canglan Sect’s spatial artifact-refining inheritance and related classics. 494
• Designs his Life-Bound Dharma Artifact around the Universal Transformation Array Pattern, seeking a versatile artifact capable of adapting to multiple combat functions. 494 511
• Uses multiple Divine Sense threads to refine several standardized magical artifacts simultaneously. 562
• Makes Pill Essence Condensation permanent, reducing spiritual-power loss during medicinal-pill refinement and improving his intuition for conflicting medicinal properties. 549

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Low-grade Spirit Stone — first equipped item; grants Spirit Purification and leads to the discovery of the Equipment Panel. 1
• Mid-grade Spirit Stone — upgrades Spirit Qi Filtration into Pure Spirit Power. 102
• Iron Ox Technique — technique manual granting Viscera Strengthening. 9
• Nurturing Origin Technique — technique manual granting Qi-Blood Self-Generation. 15
• Green Spirit Talisman Brush — improves his talisman-making ability. 72
• Blood-Qi Jade Pendant — its affix becomes permanent immediately before his Qi Refining Great Perfection breakthrough. 202
• Three-Origin Unity Bead — increases essence, energy, and spirit by 20% each. 251
• Golden Body Armor — upgraded into the permanent Indestructible Golden Body trait. 410
• Void Nether Stone — grants Void-Bound Carry, Portable Space, and enhanced Spatial Perception. 441
• Mysterious Nether Pearl — allows him to experience the capabilities of the next realm without directly increasing actual strength. 444
• Myriad Image Mirror — enhances Divine Sense and soul strength. 478
• Water Spirit Sword — grants Water Element Speed Boost, increasing the power and casting speed of water-type spells by 10% each. 407
• Vein-Stripping Spirit Shuttle — blue-trait Dharma Artifact obtained from a Golden Core rogue cultivator and used in his Spirit Vein extraction efforts. 457 471
• Clear Abyss Pupil Technique — pupil-art manual that grants Clear Abyss Line and leads to the permanent Truth-Breaking Spirit Pupil. 489
• Life-Bound Dharma Artifact — a personally forged, developing Dharma Artifact based on the Universal Transformation Array Pattern concept. 494 511
• Portable Small Realm — his expanded internal spatial domain, used to cultivate spirit herbs and develop Spirit Vein resources. 587 633 640

Relationships

• Old Man Zhang — Qinghe Market talisman seller whose extra spirit stones allow Li Yuan to discover the Equipment Panel; later provides a talisman-making manual filled with personal experience. 1 48
• He Shou — Guard Squad captain and professional superior during Li Yuan’s Wang Family service. 39 72
• Old Sun — merchant and colleague with whom Li Yuan regularly trades pills and materials; supports Li Yuan’s decision to dissolve his Wang Family contract. 39 72 178
• Zhao Heng — grateful acquaintance who arranges private talisman-crafting lessons with a Wang Family Talisman Hall master. 72
• Wang Lu — Wang Family cultivator who discusses Li Yuan’s contract status and later cooperates with him on investigations. 158 173
• Alchemist He — contracts Li Yuan to produce Spirit-Refining Talismans and provides cultivation resources in advance. 173 178
• Chen Yi — Yuanyang Sect representative, recurring contact, intelligence partner, and recruiter who makes Li Yuan a Dharma Protector. 207 231 446
• Qin Ruoshuang — head of Ziyuan Trading Firm’s main branch; establishes a long-term Spirit Water Talisman supply agreement with Li Yuan. 212
• Ji Wenchuan / Ji Wenyuan — trusted marketplace manager who reports on Wulin Marketplace affairs, manages refugees and routine operations, and carries out Li Yuan’s decisions. 333 444 480 542
• Xu Zhang — Mingyuan Chamber of Commerce steward who provides commercial and political intelligence. 407 480
• Zhou Mingyuan — Yuanyang Sect Master who grants Li Yuan Wulin Marketplace ownership and promotes him to Honored Guest. 480
• Zhou He — Nanyuan Marketplace manager and business associate who offers Li Yuan practical support and travel advice. 440 448
• True Person Xuanpu — Tianyue Sect Golden Core cultivator who repeatedly commissions Li Yuan for major array work and offers access to Tianyue Sect resources. 534 549
• Zhou Heng — Nascent Soul cultivator who coordinates with Li Yuan on the Spatial Passage and Spirit-Guiding Grand Array work. 594 598
• Lu Yang — Lu Family head who enters a long-term artifact-refining and mineral-vein array partnership with Li Yuan. 554 562
• Lu Qing — Lu Family Second Elder who represents the family alongside Lu Yang during their second mineral-vein cooperation. 562

Story Role / Major Arcs

Wang Family Service

Li Yuan begins as a poor patrol officer in Qinghe Market, discovers the Equipment Panel, and accelerates his cultivation by permanentizing traits. He joins the Guard Squad, participates in clearing operations, and gains experience fighting demonic beasts and investigating suspicious cultivators. 1 17 39 140

Independent Talisman Crafter

After qualifying for contract reduction, Li Yuan dissolves his Wang Family agreement and completes his work for Alchemist He. He relocates to Yunyang Marketplace, where he builds an independent talisman business through high-quality Fireball, Spirit-Refining, Spirit Water, Ice Spike, and Wind-Walking Talismans. 173 178 179 181 187

Foundation Establishment and Yuanyang Sect Service

Li Yuan reaches Foundation Establishment, becomes a Yuanyang Sect Dharma Protector, and develops as an array master and second-tier talisman crafter. He aids the sect against demonic cultivators, manages Sha Ore resources, and becomes increasingly important to Wulin Marketplace. 207 231 251 306

Market Master and Golden Core Cultivator

As Wulin Marketplace’s Market Master, Li Yuan expands defenses, trade routes, auctions, intelligence networks, and Spirit Vein projects. After forming his Golden Core, he gains full ownership of the marketplace and the Yuanyang Sect’s Honored Guest status. 334 440 480

Supreme Grade Core Reconstruction

Li Yuan shatters his existing Golden Core and reconstructs it as a Supreme Grade Spirit Core through the Golden Core Formation Platform. The reconstruction grants him major permanent traits, increases his lifespan and physical foundation, and establishes the basis for his pursuit of the Nascent Soul Realm. 478 552

Inter-Provincial Expansion

Li Yuan’s work expands beyond Liang Province through teleportation-array construction, artifact refining, trade, intelligence gathering, and cooperation with the Tianyue Sect, Mingyuan Chamber of Commerce, and regional cultivation families. 517 534 554

Nascent Soul Preparation and Spatial Passage Missions

After reaching Golden Core Perfection, Li Yuan studies Nascent Soul foundation classics, improves his Portable Small Realm, and undertakes increasingly consequential array missions. These include a ten-mile Spirit-Guiding Grand Array, the maintenance of a Spatial Passage to the Heavenly Origin Realm, and resource-gathering assignments in Spirit Pattern Ravine. 552 598 640

Trivia

• Li Yuan initially misses Earth’s smartphones, computers, and iced cola, though discovering the Equipment Panel makes him more willing to accept his new life. 1
• His first Equipment Panel trait is called Spirit Purification in the initial prompt, while later summaries refer to its permanent version as Spirit Qi Filtration. 1 9
• He deliberately treats recurring marketplace auctions as opportunities to collect trait-bearing items, not merely to earn profits. 444
• Li Yuan’s ability to split his Divine Sense into multiple threads lets him cultivate, refine pills, manage arrays, and later forge multiple artifacts in parallel. 333 465 562