Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

That morning, Li Yuan sorted through the Talismans he had accumulated over the past few days.

There were thirty-one Fireball Talismans, eight Heart-lock Talismans, five Qi Gathering Talismans, six Rejuvenation Talismans, and a stack each of Cleaning Talismans and Exorcism Talismans.

He didn’t take all of them. He took out half and went to the same procurement shop where he had sold Talismans before, earning forty-three Spirit Stones.

After leaving the shop, Li Yuan walked north along the main street.

As he reached the northern half of the main street, he saw several Spirit Grass Shops lined up next to each other. Li Yuan slowed his pace, his eyes scanning the price boards at the entrances.

The price of Cyan Spirit Grass had dropped again. Last month, a bundle was three Spirit Stones; now, you could get one for two and a half.

Just as Li Yuan was about to turn into a Spirit Grass Shop to restock on materials, he caught sight of a shop entrance diagonally across the street.

A Cultivator was walking out of the shop.

He looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, with a medium, slender build and a fair complexion, dressed in an inconspicuous grayish-brown short robe. He was carrying a cloth bag tied tightly at the mouth, its contents bulging within.

Qi Refining Fourth Level.

His aura wasn’t strong. In Yunyang Market, this level of Cultivation was common, so there was normally no reason to pay any attention.

But Li Yuan took a second look.

The shop’s sign read "Ten Thousand Treasures Spiritual Materials," one of the few shops on the main street specializing in high-grade Spirit Grass and auxiliary materials for Alchemy. Its prices were more than double that of an ordinary Spirit Grass Shop, and most of its customers were either Late-stage Qi Refining Cultivators or buyers from the Pill Hall.

A Qi Refining Fourth Level Cultivator, carrying something, was coming out of a place like this.

’Not impossible, but certainly uncommon.’

Li Yuan didn’t follow him. Instead, he first walked into the Ten Thousand Treasures Spiritual Materials Shop.

The clerk behind the counter was arranging porcelain vials on a shelf. He glanced up when he saw someone enter.

"What can I help you with, fellow Daoist?"

"What did the man who just left buy?"

The clerk paused for a moment, then smiled and waved his hand dismissively.

"I’m afraid I can’t disclose that."

Li Yuan nodded, not pressing the matter.

He stood at the counter for a while, his gaze sweeping over the various Spirit Grasses and auxiliary materials displayed on the shelves.

He could see the labels behind the barrier, which listed names and prices.

Red Glow Grass, twenty Spirit Stones per stalk. Profound Spirit Sand, fifteen Spirit Stones per portion. Soul Condensing Dew, thirty Spirit Stones a vial.

All of them were auxiliary materials for the Foundation Establishment Pill.

And they were the same three items Wang Lu had mentioned before.

There were other medicinal herbs, but this was already enough to raise suspicion.

Li Yuan walked out of the shop and glanced in the direction the cultivator in the grayish-brown robe had gone.

The main street was bustling with people. The figure in the grayish-brown robe was already over twenty zhang away, heading south along the main street.

Li Yuan followed.

He didn’t tail him closely, but maintained a distance of about fifteen zhang, blending into the crowd on the main street and matching his direction and speed.

He suppressed his aura to the level of about the Qi Refining Fifth Level, which wouldn’t stand out in the crowd.

The man ahead walked at a leisurely pace, but his direction was clear. He didn’t glance around or stop at any of the street-side stalls or shops. He kept a tight grip on the cloth bag in his hand.

After walking south along the main street for about three hundred zhang, the man turned at an intersection and entered a side street.

Li Yuan followed him to the intersection, slowed down, and glanced down the side street.

The side street wasn’t long, lined with only a few shops and two or three residential courtyards. There were far fewer people than on the main street; walking down it would be too conspicuous.

Instead of entering the side street, Li Yuan leaned against a stone pillar at the corner, watching from the side.

The man walked to the end of the side street and stopped in front of a private, single-courtyard residence.

The courtyard wall wasn’t high, and a bronze plaque was nailed to the lintel above the gate.

Li Yuan recognized the residence.

It was Pill Refiner He’s courtyard.

The cultivator in the grayish-brown robe stood at the gate for two breaths before pushing it open and going inside.

The gate closed.

Li Yuan waited at the intersection for a while longer.

About a quarter of an hour later, the man emerged from Pill Refiner He’s courtyard. The cloth bag was gone—his hands were empty, and his pace was quicker than before.

He didn’t return the way he came. Instead, he turned a corner at the other end of the side street and disappeared from view.

Li Yuan withdrew his gaze from the side street and turned back, walking along the main street.

When he returned to the inn, Wang Lu happened to be in the hallway.

The two of them entered Wang Lu’s room and closed the door.

"Two things,"

Li Yuan began, first recounting what he had heard about the Li family possibly hiring Pill Refiner He to create a Foundation Establishment Pill. The reply was that Wang Lu already knew.

Then, Li Yuan relayed what he had just seen from beginning to end.

A Qi Refining Fourth Level Cultivator, coming out of the Ten Thousand Treasures Spiritual Materials Shop carrying something, walked along the main street to Pill Refiner He’s courtyard, went inside, and came out empty-handed a quarter of an hour later.

Wang Lu leaned against the wall, silent for a few breaths after hearing the report.

"What did he look like?"

Li Yuan described the man’s features: twenty-five or twenty-six, medium-slender build, fair complexion, grayish-brown short robe.

Wang Lu took a small notebook from his sleeve, flipped through it, and paused on a certain page.

"That matches the description of the person who bought the auxiliary materials before."

He closed the notebook and tucked it back into his sleeve.

"I’ll step up the investigation over the next few days."

He looked at Li Yuan, then took a small Token from his sleeve and placed it on the table.

It was made of bronze, a size smaller than his palm. The front was engraved with the character for ’He’, and the back was smooth.

"From now on, deliver the Talismans yourself. Take this. Pill Refiner He’s people won’t stop you."

Li Yuan picked up the Token, examined it, and put it into his storage pouch.

"One more thing," Wang Lu said, tucking his hands back into his sleeves, his tone unhurried.

"The higher-ups have offered an extra incentive for this mission. Continue your investigation. If you can help take down that Qi Refining Ninth Level rogue cultivator leader, a Realm-Breaking Pill might not be out of the question for you in the future."

"You might even have a chance to break through to the Qi Refining Seventh Level."

Li Yuan looked up at him.

A Realm-Breaking Pill. A pill that helps one break through to the next realm. For a Cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage, the value of such an item was self-evident.

"Why put so much importance on a single rogue cultivator?"

Wang Lu’s gaze rested on Li Yuan for a breath.

"The family can’t swallow this insult."

His tone was flat, as if he were stating the most normal thing in the world.

"Someone broke into our medicinal garden and cleaned it out. Several rare herbs were uprooted and stolen, two of which are main ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill. This isn’t just about the loss of a few Spirit Stones; it’s a matter of face."

He drew a hand from his sleeve and tapped the tabletop twice.

"Besides, if those herbs are successfully refined into a Foundation Establishment Pill, creating another Foundation Establishment Cultivator... that would not be a small matter for the Wang family."

Li Yuan grunted in acknowledgment, not asking any more questions.

’The Wang family can’t swallow the insult—that’s one reason. The lost herbs could potentially create a Foundation Establishment-level power for their rivals—that’s another.’

’There are probably other reasons, but Wang Lu won’t say, and I don’t need to know.’

’The promise of a Realm-Breaking Pill is incentive enough.’

With his business concluded, Wang Lu left.

Li Yuan left the inn and walked through the alleyways back to his own courtyard.

He closed the courtyard gate and entered the main house.

A few sheets of golden talisman paper were still spread out on the table, left over from drawing Spirit-Refining Talismans that morning. Li Yuan set them aside and spread out a fresh sheet of Cyan Pattern Paper.

He picked up his talisman brush and dipped it in Spiritual Ink.

Golden Blade Talisman.

He began with the Golden Blade Pattern, and the Spiritual Power surged forth in a straight line. Compared to his first attempt at drawing the Golden Blade Talisman a few days ago, the deviation in the straight-line conduction had almost vanished. The Spiritual Power traveled from start to finish in a perfect line, without any wavering.

The Gathering Sharp Pattern followed. The cross-section of the Spiritual Power Line was precisely flattened into a blade shape at its end, the degree and speed of the transformation controlled perfectly.

A cold, silvery-white glow bloomed on the talisman’s surface.

’Success.’

He continued, drawing a second, then a third.

Three successful Talismans in a row, not a single failure.

Li Yuan set aside the Golden Blade Talismans and switched to Rejuvenation Talismans. He spread out the herbal talisman paper, and Wood Element Spirit Patterns unfolded one after another under his brush.

Then came Qi Gathering Talismans, Heart-lock Talismans, Detoxification Talismans, and Concealing Breath Talismans.

He rotated through the six types of Talismans, drawing three to five of each before switching to the next.

Switching between different types increased his overall proficiency in Tier One Talisman Making Skill much more than specializing in one. The progress he’d accumulated from intensive talisman making in Yunyang Market these past few days, coupled with the addition of a new type like the Golden Blade Talisman, had been steadily pushing his overall proficiency upward.

Late into the night, Li Yuan spread out his last sheet of Cyan Pattern Paper.

He was drawing a Fireball Talisman.

The instant the six Spirit Patterns converged to completion, Li Yuan’s hand froze.

It wasn’t that something had gone wrong.

Rather, during the entire process from the first stroke to the last, he felt something different from before.

Previously when drawing talismans, even a Fireball Talisman at the Minor Achievement level, there was always a miniscule transition between each Spirit Pattern. After completing one pattern, his wrist would make a tiny adjustment, and the flow of Spiritual Power would have to be realigned to the starting point of the next.

This transition was extremely brief, so short that he usually barely noticed it.

But it was definitely there.

Now, that transition was gone.

It hadn’t just gotten shorter—it had disappeared completely.

The connection between the six Spirit Patterns had become different stages of a single, fluid motion. His wrist began to move at the start of the first pattern and didn’t stop until the very last one was drawn into the Talisman Core, with no pauses, adjustments, or realignments in between.

It was like going from writing six separate words to writing a single one.

A panel popped up.

[Tier One Talisman Making Skill: Minor Achievement (0/1600)]

Li Yuan set down his talisman brush.

’Minor Achievement.’

He picked up the newly completed Fireball Talisman and examined it. The arrangement of the Spirit Patterns showed no obvious visual difference from his previous Minor Achievement-level creations, but the feel of it in his hand was different. The Spiritual Power sediment on the talisman’s surface was more uniform, with no areas that were thicker or thinner than others.

Li Yuan stacked the finished products on the corner of the table, then took some Demon Beast Flesh from his storage pouch, roasted it, and ate.

After eating, he sat cross-legged on his bed, consumed two Evil Essence Pills, and began circulating the Iron Bull Skill.

Qi Blood and Evil Qi washed over his internal organs in alternating waves.

The progress toward the Great Success stage continued to advance.

Outside the window, night had fallen over Yunyang Market. The courtyard walls blocked out most of the noise from the alleys, leaving the main house so quiet that the only sounds were Li Yuan’s even breathing and the faint, occasional hum of Qi Blood circulating within his body.