Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

The next morning, the atmosphere in the Talisman Hall was a little off.

On the usually quiet stone path, several figures were now rushing back and forth. Two Pill Hall cultivators hurried across the courtyard, clutching documents.

Li Yuan heard the commotion but didn’t go out to ask about it. He simply returned to his stone house to continue cultivating.

After achieving Minor Achievement in the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill, the speed of his microcosmic orbit’s circulation was nearly thirty percent faster than before. The number of cycles he could complete in the same amount of time far exceeded his expectations.

By the evening of the next day, he completed the one hundredth cycle.

The panel appeared.

[Condition for making Spiritual Essence Expansion (White) permanent has been met.]

[Make permanent?]

’Yes.’

[Permanence successful.]

[Spiritual Essence Expansion (White) has become a permanent entry.]

[Equipment consumed.]

His Spiritual Power limit was now ten percent higher than before it became permanent, and the extra space in his Dantian would no longer disappear.

An equipment slot had opened up.

Li Yuan took the Cyan Spirit Talisman Brush from his storage bag and equipped it.

The "Adept Calligraphy" trait was active again, restoring the margin for error and the proficiency growth bonus for talisman crafting.

The condition for making the Replenishing Talisman permanent was to maintain a full state of Spiritual Power for forty-eight hours.

He had been cultivating constantly these past few days without crafting any talismans, so the Spiritual Power in his Dantian had remained full.

If he continued to refrain from crafting talismans, casting spells, or doing anything else that consumed Spiritual Power, he would meet the condition after a bit more time.

Since he couldn’t craft talismans, it was the perfect time to practice the Iron Bull Skill.

Li Yuan sat down cross-legged, took out two Evil Essence Pills from his storage bag, and consumed them.

As the Evil Qi entered his body, his "Evil Qi Affinity" trait minimized the negative effects, while "Evil Qi Body Tempering" guided the Evil Qi to permeate his fascia and bones.

He began circulating the Iron Bull Skill.

Qi Blood was drawn from his Dantian, flowing along the pathways of the Iron Bull Skill and into his organs. Simultaneously, the Evil Qi pressed in from the outside, creating a dual-cleansing effect.

He had become completely numb to the scouring of ordinary-strength Evil Qi. However, with the Evil Essence Pills combined with the storing effect of his Evil Qi Affinity, the accumulated concentration of Evil Qi in his body was more than double what it used to be, so the tempering effect was still substantial.

One cycle, two cycles, three cycles.

The progress of his Iron Bull Skill crept forward slowly.

Over the next few days, Li Yuan maintained a steady rhythm.

He cultivated the Iron Bull Skill and the Spirit-Introducing Skill during the day, and tempered his body with Evil Essence Pills at night. The Spiritual Power in his Dantian remained constantly full, and the permanence progress for the Replenishing Talisman ticked up hour by hour.

In between, he ate Demon Beast Flesh to replenish his Qi Blood, and the residual Demonic Power was converted into Evil Qi. He would occasionally stand up to stretch his muscles and walk a couple of laps around the residential area before returning to his cultivation.

Late that night, the panel appeared.

[Condition for making Spiritual Power Tide (White) permanent has been met.]

[Make permanent?]

’Yes.’

[Permanence successful.]

[Spiritual Power Tide (White) has become a permanent entry.]

[Equipment consumed.]

The Replenishing Talisman dissolved into a warm white light inside his body, merging deep into his meridians.

From now on, the increase in his Spiritual Power recovery speed no longer required an external item to maintain.

The rate of Spiritual Power reflow during cultivation, the recovery speed after crafting talismans, and his Spiritual Power endurance in battle—all were permanently increased by twenty percent.

An equipment slot opened up.

Li Yuan took the Jade Cloud Talisman Brush from his storage bag and equipped it.

[Entry acquired: Spiritual Ink Enhancement (White)]

[Entry Effect: Increases the Spiritual Power conduction efficiency of Spiritual Ink by thirty percent after infusion, and increases the stability of Spirit Patterns on talisman paper by twenty percent.]

The Jade Cloud Talisman Brush transformed into a faint white light and sank into his body.

The change manifested almost immediately.

Li Yuan picked up an ordinary talisman brush from the table and dipped it in Spiritual Ink. The moment he infused Spiritual Power into the liquid, the Spiritual Ink flowed far more smoothly than before.

Previously, when he infused Spiritual Power into the Spiritual Ink, there was always a slight delay in the power’s conduction within the ink, like water passing through a narrow pipe.

Now, that delay was gone. The Spiritual Ink responded almost instantly to the infusion of Spiritual Power, its conduction efficiency boosted by thirty percent.

The difference was even more obvious when he put brush to paper.

After a Spirit Pattern was drawn on the talisman paper, the edges of the lines no longer had the occasional, extremely faint waver. Instead, they settled firmly on the paper, as if nailed in place.

A twenty percent increase in the stability of the Spirit Patterns meant that when drawing complex ones, the first few lines were less likely to be displaced by the impact of subsequent Spiritual Power.

This didn’t have a huge impact on Tier One Low Grade Talismans, but for a Tier One Top Grade Talisman like the Divine Talisman, this twenty percent increase in stability was enough to significantly boost the success rate for the fourth and fifth circles of the Concentration Pattern.

The problem was, his brush was now an ordinary one again, so his overall success rate was about the same as before.

Just as he finished crafting a talisman, two knocks sounded at the door of his stone house.

The sound came as evening fell.

"Li Yuan, it’s me."

Old Sun pushed the door open and came in, a strange expression on his face.

"The Pill Hall just sent down an assignment. I’ve been transferred to Yunyang Market."

Li Yuan looked at him.

"It’s mainly to investigate that Alchemy Master."

Old Sun pulled out a chair and sat down, tapping his fingers on the table twice.

"The higher-ups want me to go to Yunyang Market and keep an eye out. See if anyone has been looking for Pill Refiner He to concoct a Foundation Establishment Pill, or if there’s any related news."

He tilted his head, his expression growing even stranger.

"They’re sending me just because I learned a thing or two from him before and have a slight acquaintance with him. It’s not like the Wang family has no one else, but they just had to pick me."

He sighed.

"Then again, it makes sense. There really aren’t many people in the Pill Hall who can get a word in with Pill Refiner He. At least I’ve met and spoken with him before, which is better than sending some completely new face."

Li Yuan grunted in acknowledgement but didn’t reply.

Just as Old Sun was about to say more, footsteps sounded outside the stone house again.

There was no knock this time; the person stopped directly at the entrance.

A voice came from outside.

"Is Li Yuan here?"

Li Yuan and Old Sun both looked toward the door.

Standing outside was a cultivator from the Wang family, about thirty years old, wearing the standard robes of the Talisman Hall with a manager’s Token hanging from his waist. He radiated the aura of the Qi Refining Sixth Level.

He glanced inside the house, saw Old Sun was also there, and gave a nod.

He walked in but didn’t sit, stopping beside the table.

"Li Yuan, you might have to go to Yunyang Market."

Li Yuan looked up, a puzzled expression on his face.

The manager clasped his hands behind his back.

"Two reasons."

He held up one finger.

"First, you demonstrated investigative skills when you were looking into the Zhao Wu case in the market. Discovering Zhao Wu’s anomaly, tracking Qian Si, and identifying the use of the breath-concealing Jade Pendant—all of this is in the records. This trip to Yunyang Market requires cooperation from someone with investigative experience."

A second finger went up.

"Second, Pill Refiner He requires items that can strengthen the Divine Soul, and you happened to have redeemed the Divine Talisman from the Scripture Pavilion. There aren’t many people in the Talisman Hall who can craft Tier One Top Grade Talismans."

"We just don’t know if you can actually make one. Can you craft one on the spot for me to see?"

"If you can make it, you’re going."

Without another word, Li Yuan walked to the table.

He dipped his brush in ink and began to draw.

Crafting the talisman took a long time, but the manager seemed very patient.

He succeeded on the third attempt.

Li Yuan placed the Divine Talisman on the table.

The manager took two steps closer, looked down at the arrangement of Spirit Patterns on the talisman’s surface, and then reached out to press lightly on its Talisman Core.

"Acceptable."

He straightened up, picked up the Divine Talisman, and tucked it into his sleeve.

Then, he pulled a document from his sleeve.

Li Yuan took the document and glanced at it.

The mission details were written concisely. He was to cooperate with Wang family personnel on an investigative mission to Yunyang Market, assist with intelligence gathering, and provide talisman support for their collaborators.

"I’m taking this one as a sample for Pill Refiner He. You can make more once you get to Yunyang Market."

He took something else out of his other sleeve and set it on the table.

It was a grayish-white stone, about the size of a fist, with a smooth, rounded surface.

The Spirit-Revealing Stone.

Li Yuan recognized it. It was the same one he had discovered in the valley, which the Wang family had confiscated.

"We’re done studying it. There’s nothing special about it."

The manager pushed the stone toward Li Yuan. "It’s just an ordinary Tier One Middle Grade Array Hub. The craftsmanship is crude, and the Spirit Patterns are hastily carved. You can have it back."

Li Yuan reached out and took the Spirit-Revealing Stone.

"You’ll leave the morning after tomorrow. You, Old Sun, and one other cultivator from the Wang family—three of you in total. The Wang family will cover travel expenses. Arrangements for after you arrive in Yunyang Market will be decided then."

With that, he turned and left the stone house.

Li Yuan and Old Sun were left alone in the room.

Old Sun leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers on the edge of the table twice.

"Well, look at that. We’re going together."

He stood up and brushed off his pant legs.

"I’ll head back and pack. See you the day after tomorrow."

Old Sun pushed the door open and left.

Li Yuan closed the door, returned to his desk, and prepared to craft talismans.

’Before I leave the day after tomorrow, I should make as many talismans as I can.’