Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

That evening, Li Yuan had just come out of the mine when the exploration array suddenly lit up.

The cultivator surnamed Lü reacted quickly and immediately activated the array plate.

"A demonic beast, three-headed, facing north."

Li Yuan looked up at the outside of the earthen wall.

At the end of the gravel slope, three figures were rushing towards the mine.

Leading the pack was a black-backed boar, its tusks flaring outwards, its hooves pawing at the ground, sending stones flying. Behind it followed two iron-maned wolves, short and stocky, their gray fur rising and falling in the twilight.

All of them are mid-grade first-tier items.

All three came together.

Li Yuan paused in his steps.

Last time, Qu Bo's family encountered the Li family using beast-driving magic artifacts to drive away demonic beasts that attacked their camp. Three mid-grade first-tier beasts charged towards the mine simultaneously, heading in the same direction, at dusk—it didn't seem like they just randomly stumbled upon it.

Without hesitation, Li Yuan went straight out to greet them.

Flames gathered in his palm, and the first fireball was hurled at the boar.

boom!

The flames exploded on the boar's head, shattering the aura on its tusks. Its head slammed down, and its four hooves dug two deep furrows in the gravel, abruptly halting its charge.

Two iron-maned wolves pounced from either side.

Li Yuan used Fire Release Technique to flash his feet, shifting his body to the side to avoid the attack from the left, and released the fire arrow from his right hand.

laugh.

The bullet pierced the neck of the wolf on the left and emerged from the other side. The wolf stumbled forward two steps and fell to the ground with a thud.

As the wolf lunged forward from the right, Steward Liu had already slashed from the side, his short sword striking the wolf's ribs. Sun Liang arrived just in time, his magical weapon thrusting towards the wolf's hind leg.

Ignoring the wolf, Li Yuan turned around and fired a fireball, which struck the boar's struggling, raised head.

boom.

Half of the boar's head shattered, and its massive body crashed into the pile of rubble.

The remaining Ironmane Wolf was attacked from both sides by Steward Liu and Sun Liang, and after struggling for a few moments, it also collapsed.

It took less than twenty breaths in total.

Li Yuan did not stop immediately.

He walked a distance along the slope in the direction the three-headed monster had charged from, carefully scanning the bushes and gravel on both sides.

There were no footprints, no residual spiritual energy, and no smell of medicinal powder.

They probed forward for several dozen feet, but still found nothing.

If the Li family had used their beast-driving artifacts to bring them here, there should have been traces of human activity nearby, such as residue from the poisoned powder or locations where the controller had lurked. But there was nothing.

Li Yuan turned around and walked back.

"No one was found."

Manager Liu nodded, squatted down next to the boar carcass, and used his short sword to cut off the tusks.

"These beasts probably came here on their own. Recently, the activity of monsters in the mountains has indeed been more frequent than before. They were howling so fiercely the other night, so some fools might rush over at any time of day."

Li Yuan hummed in agreement.

The possibility of the Li family controlling beasts is temporarily ruled out, but that doesn't mean it won't happen in the future.

The monster's corpse was dragged back to the mine and dismantled; the materials were kept, and some of the meat was also stored.

The next morning, Manager Liu found Li Yuan.

"I have something to tell you."

The two walked to the wooden shed and sat down.

Manager Liu took out a letter from his pocket and shook it in his hand.

"The He family has asked the Wang family for help, and they need you to go and provide assistance."

"The He family?"

"The Wang family's subordinate clan is located in a valley about forty miles southeast of the mine," Manager Liu handed over the letter. "The clan doesn't have many cultivators; their only late-stage Qi Refining cultivator just left recently, but some of them have some knowledge of formations."

Li Yuan took the letter, glanced at it, and looked up at Steward Liu.

"The Wang family can't even defend itself, yet they're going to support their subordinate families?"

Manager Liu shook his head.

"We need support."

He lowered his voice.

"Think about it, the Wang family has several subordinate families under its umbrella. If you don't go when the He family asks for help, what will the other families think? The situation is already unstable. If the subordinate families think that the Wang family can't be trusted, the loss of morale will be more troublesome than losing a few strongholds."

Manager Liu paused for a moment, then added another sentence.

"Moreover, the He family is not just an ordinary subordinate. The array master that the Wang family invited last time was connected through the He family. The He family has connections in the field of array formations."

He pointed to the letter with his finger.

"You'll stay there for a while, and someone will come to fill in at the mine later."

Li Yuan put the letter away.

"When are you leaving?"

"The sooner the better."

Li Yuan returned to the low house and tidied up his things.

He stuffed all the talismans, pills, spirit stones, cultivation techniques, and animal hides into his storage bag. After saying goodbye to Sun Liang, he left the mine.

Walking southeast along the mountain path, the terrain became more undulating than near the mine, with steeper slopes and denser vegetation on both sides. Occasionally, one could see the He family's mark carved into the mountainside, the crooked characters of "He" painted with mineral powder.

Half a day later, the valley ahead was revealed.

The He family's residence was much more orderly than the mine. A stone wall encircled half of the ground, and inside, the houses were connected, arranged in a staggered pattern according to the terrain of the mountain valley. Several flat spiritual fields were left in the middle.

There are people waiting at the valley entrance.

A dark-skinned, thin man in his forties, at the fifth level of Qi Refining, cupped his hands in greeting as Li Yuan approached.

"Fellow Daoist Li? He An. Thank you for sending someone from the Wang family. We'll be troubling you these next few days."

He was polite, but the anxiety in his eyes was hard to hide.

Li Yuan followed him inside.

A table of food was set out in the main hall, including monster meat and spirit wine, as a welcome feast.

Li Yuan ate a few bites and didn't linger for long.

After the meal, He An led him directly to the herb garden on the back mountain.

"Have I been guarding the medicinal herb garden these past few days?" Li Yuan asked.

"Yes." He An walked quickly, answering as he went.

"It's alright if other places lose their medicine, but if the medicinal herb garden continues to deteriorate, our family's livelihood will truly be cut off this year."

After walking for about half an hour, the medicinal herb garden on the back mountain came into view.

A gentle slope enclosed by a stone railing is divided into about ten herb gardens, planted with various medicinal herbs. A light blue light curtain surrounds the outer edge of the slope, flowing slowly along the stone railing, serving as a protective barrier for the garden.

Li Yuan glanced at the condition of the herb garden.

The three medicinal herb gardens on the west side have been ruined. The soil is a mess, the plants are scattered everywhere, some uprooted, some chewed up. Deep claw marks remain on the ground, and bits of leaves are mixed in with the dried mud. This isn't a joke, it's a recommendation for the treasure book "Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes":

He An's face was grim, but he didn't say much. He led Li Yuan to a low stone platform in the center of the herb garden.

"The key to the formation is here."

A sacred stone is embedded in the center of the stone platform.

It was a size larger than a regular low-grade spirit stone, and its spiritual energy fluctuations were also significantly stronger.

However, its surface luster is rather dull, suggesting that its spiritual energy reserves are not very sufficient.

Mid-grade spirit stone.

He An then pointed around the medicinal herb garden.

"The west and north sides are closest to the mountains and forests, and most of the monsters come from those areas. The formation can hold them off for a while, but it can't hold them off indefinitely."

Li Yuan nodded.

He An summoned two cultivators from the He family, one at the fourth level of Qi Refining and the other at the third level of Qi Refining, both of whom were on duty guarding the garden.

"The three of us will keep watch at night, and call out if anything happens."

After nightfall, the back mountain was pitch black.

The cyan light screen of the herb garden formation glowed faintly in the night. The mountains and forests outside the stone railing were dark and gloomy, with the occasional night breeze blowing and the leaves rustling.

Li Yuan stood guard on the west side of the herb garden, his back against the stone railing, his spiritual sense spreading out and covering the surrounding area.

The two He family cultivators stood guard on the north and east sides, each holding a magical artifact and squatting there silently.

Late at night.

Suddenly, a series of muffled footsteps came from the woods on the west side.

Not just one.

Immediately afterwards, a rapid ripple appeared around the edge of the formation.

Li Yuan suddenly stood up.

The three demonic beasts rushed out of the forest almost simultaneously.

The largest of the three, a gray-backed lizard with a high-arched back, charged straight at the array's light barrier with a powerful kick. Two smaller but faster horned lizards followed, circling to the left and right towards the weakest point in the barrier.

All of them are mid-grade first-tier items.

The gray-spined lizard's head slammed heavily into the light barrier, causing the entire cyan barrier to shake violently, and the mid-grade spirit stone on the stone platform to dim for a moment.

Li Yuan has already made his move.

The fireball spell was formed in his palm and released, heading straight for the side of the gray-spined lizard's neck.

boom!

Flames exploded on the scales, sending several thick gray scales flying and revealing charred flesh. The lizard roared and stumbled into the light barrier.

"They're here! West side!" shouted the He family cultivator from the north, and the two of them rushed over.

The horned lizard on the left had already pounced to the edge of the light screen, its claws gripping the barrier, causing the spiritual light to fluctuate violently.

Li Yuan used Fire Release Technique to close the distance, releasing the fire arrow from his hand.

laugh.

The fire pierced the horned lizard's foreleg joint, the crisp sound of breaking bones clearly audible. The horned lizard's forebody collapsed downwards, sliding down the light screen.

Li Yuan did not stop; a second fire arrow followed immediately, piercing its neck.

The horned lizard on the right had already circled to the thinnest section of the light barrier on the north side. The Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator from the He family went to meet it, making a series of hand seals, and an ice spike shot out, hitting the horned lizard's back and drilling a small hole.

After being hurt, the horned lizard quickly approached, turned around and swung its tail. The He family cultivator was a beat too slow to react and was sent flying two zhang away, landing on the ground and taking several steps back.

Li Yuan had already arrived. He used Fire Release technique, conjuring a fireball in his hand, and quickly appeared next to the horned lizard.

The horned lizard hissed in alarm, but before it could even take a step, a fireball slammed into its head at close range.

boom!

Half of the horned lizard's head was blown off, its massive body twitched twice, and then collapsed to the ground.

The remaining gray-spined lizard was still struggling, slowly crawling outwards.

Upon seeing this, the one at the third level of Qi Refining rushed forward, took out a short knife, and stabbed the Gray-Spine Dragon Lizard.

The blade gleamed with a spiritual light, but it only went in halfway. The gray-spined lizard twisted its body, throwing him and the blade aside, and his back slammed heavily against the stone railing.

Li Yuan turned around, and the flames in his palms gathered again.

Instead of throwing, he charged straight up, using Fire Release Technique to close the distance to within five zhang, pressing the fireball into his palm and slapping it against the lizard's raised jaw.

boom!

A burst of fire erupted from the lizard's mouth, shattering its jawbone. The lizard's body fell backward, its four claws thrashing wildly a few times before it lay still.

The herb garden fell silent again.

All three were of mid-grade, first-tier quality.

Neither of the two cultivators from the He family had much combat experience, and both of them were injured.

Neither of the two cultivators from the He family had much combat experience, and both of them were injured.

The fourth-level Qi Refiner was whipped on the right shoulder by a tail, and half of his body went numb. The third-level Qi Refiner slammed his back against the stone railing, grimacing as he stood up, but his bones weren't broken.

Li Yuan stopped and turned to walk towards the stone platform.

The light barrier of the herb garden formation was still there, but it was much dimmer than before the battle.

The luster on the surface of the mid-grade spirit stone in the middle of the stone platform was already very weak, and most of its spiritual energy reserves had been consumed, barely maintaining the light barrier.

He An caught up from behind and thanked Li Yuan repeatedly.

Then he glanced at the corpses of the three demonic beasts, and then at the spirit stones on the stone platform, his face turning ashen.

"We have to change it again."

He crouched down and took out a new spirit stone from his storage bag.

Both are mid-grade spirit stones, but the surface glows much brighter than the old ones.

He took the old spirit stone out of the stone platform and set it aside, then took the new spirit stone and prepared to embed it into the array eye.

Li Yuan's gaze fell on the mid-grade spirit stone in He An's hand.

"Is this a mid-grade spirit stone?"

"Yes." He An nodded, his hands still moving. "Low-grade ones can't support this formation, so we've always used mid-grade ones. We have a few at home, but not many left. We'll run out after a few more replacements."

As the spirit stone was being handed from He An to the array's core, it passed in front of Li Yuan. Li Yuan reached out and took it.

The moment the fingertip touched the surface of the spirit stone, the panel popped up.

[Equipable item detected: Mid-grade spirit stone]

[Existing entry can be upgraded: Aura Filter (White)]

[Note: Items not belonging to the user cannot be equipped, and detailed information cannot be viewed.]

Li Yuan paused slightly.

You can upgrade entries.

He An waited a moment, and when he saw Li Yuan stop, he looked over in confusion.

"Fellow Daoist Li?"

Li Yuan handed the spirit stone back.

"fine."

He An didn't pay any attention, took the spirit stone, and embedded it into the array's core. After the new spirit stone fell into the stone platform, the pale blue light curtain surrounding the herb garden quickly stabilized again, and its brightness slowly returned.

Li Yuan stood beside the stone platform, turning his gaze away from the array's core.