Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

He Qing arrived early the next morning.

When the footsteps came from outside the herb garden, Li Yuan was sitting in the stone house practicing his internal energy.

He opened his eyes, got up and went outside.

He Qing looked even more haggard than two days ago. His eyes were dark and bluish, his lips were chapped, and the cuffs of his short robe were stained with mud and bits of grass, as if he hadn't rested at all. Behind him were two cultivators from the He family, one carrying a beast-catching cage and the other carrying a storage bag.

Upon entering the herb garden, He Qing's gaze swept over the herb patch and the array formation.

After confirming that everything was still intact, he breathed a sigh of relief before turning to look at Li Yuan.

"Did you come again last night?"

"Four heads, three were killed, and one was captured alive."

He Qing's lips twitched slightly as he walked towards the stone railing.

The badger demon that had been captured alive was still tied to the stone railing, the ropes tightening, and several scrapes on its body had already scabbed over. It lay on the ground, occasionally struggling, but with little strength.

He Qing squatted down, placed his fingers on the badger demon's neck, and infused it with a trace of spiritual energy to investigate.

After a while, he withdrew his hand and stood up.

"Nothing can be found."

He patted the dirt off his hands, his voice hoarse.

"It's not just the herb garden. The spirit fields to the north, the sentry post to the west, and all around our house are being attacked by monsters. The night before last, six low-grade first-tier monsters came from the north and were driven off by the guards, but two-tenths of the spirit fields were ruined."

He Qing rubbed his face, as if trying to wash away his fatigue.

"The strangest thing is that the monsters come in waves, but each time they are not particularly numerous or particularly strong. It doesn't seem like someone is driving them away—if they were really being driven away, the number should be much larger. But if it's normal monster activity, why would they come every night?"

Li Yuan didn't respond.

He Qing turned his head and gestured with his chin toward the two He family cultivators behind him.

"Take this monster back and have someone study it carefully to see if we can find anything out."

The two men stepped forward, stuffed the badger demon into the animal trap, and carried it away.

He Qing took out a small pile of spirit stones from his storage bag and placed them on the stone platform.

Li Yuan accepted it.

"Is there anything else?" Li Yuan asked directly. "Do you have any wood-type pills on hand?"

He Qing shook his head.

"No. We don't have any pills stored at home. The few we had were all used for defense."

"Where's the body-refining elixir?"

"No, not at all."

"Material materials?"

He Qing thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"These things are not kept at home. If someone else has them, it's their own. I can't get them for you."

He paused, then added.

"But if you're not in a hurry, you can wait a couple of days. There have been traveling merchants running around this area recently."

"A traveling merchant?"

"Hmm." He Qing leaned against the stone railing and took a breath. "Since the fighting broke out between several markets, the proper trade routes have actually been cut off. Itinerant merchants, on the other hand, have become more and more active, specializing in running between the various powers, going wherever there is demand."

He pointed eastward with his finger.

"A traveling caravan passed by our neighborhood a couple of days ago. They said they came from the north and were carrying a lot of miscellaneous goods. I told them to come back in two days, and you can trade with them then."

Li Yuan nodded.

He Qing did not stay any longer.

He had to rush back to keep an eye on the defenses of the spirit fields to the north, so he left in a hurry.

Once the people left, the herb garden fell silent again.

Li Yuan returned to the stone house, sat on the bed, and began to practice his internal energy cross-legged.

He first went through the Spirit Guiding Technique once, circulating the spiritual energy along his meridians for one cycle before sinking into his dantian. The pure spiritual energy was displayed in his equipment slot, and the clean and smooth feeling when the spiritual energy entered his body was still obvious—most of the impurities were removed before entering the meridians, and the spiritual energy that sank into his dantian was more condensed than before.

Then switch to Nourishing Vital Energy.

Qi and blood surge out from the sea of ​​qi and blood beside the dantian and begin to circulate along the route of the nourishing qi exercise.

The moment his qi and blood flowed out, Li Yuan sensed the difference.

After the Micro-Element Meridian Guiding Technique opens up all the meridians in the body, the channels for Qi and blood increase, and there are fewer detours and obstacles during circulation. It's like the road has become wider.

Li Yuan stretched his shoulders and took out the bottle of Qi and Blood Pills from his storage bag.

The dark red pills rolled slightly in the bottle, and a faint smell of blood mixed with the bitter taste of medicine could be smelled when you got close.

Seven pieces.

Keep one for future equipment use, and consume the remaining six.

Li Yuan poured out one and put it in his mouth.

The moment the pill entered the stomach, a surge of heat exploded from the bottom of the stomach, flowing outwards along the abdomen. It wasn't spiritual energy, but a pure surge of qi and blood, like pouring a large basin of water into a dried-up riverbed, causing the sea of ​​qi and blood to swell dramatically.

As the heat spread to my limbs, a tingling numbness rose in my fingertips and toes, and the sensation of my muscles being stretched open from the inside was extremely noticeable. The muscles in my forearms bulged slightly, and a fine blush appeared on the surface of my skin.

Li Yuan used the Nourishing Vitality Technique to channel this heat into the cultivation path.

The qi and blood, carrying the medicinal power, circulated along the meridians for a full cycle. The heat gradually subsided, seeping into the muscles and bones, and no longer dissipated outwards.

The effect of one lasted for about half an hour.

After the heat subsided, Li Yuan clenched his fist.

The pressure on my hands was slightly greater than before I took the medication, not by much, but I could definitely feel it.

Without hesitation, Li Yuan took out another one.

The second one was slightly less effective than the first—the body had already adapted to some of the drug's potency, so the absorption rate was slower. But it was still useful.

The third and fourth pills were taken alternately, with the Nourishing Vitality Technique circulating in between. The permanent effect of the refined medicinal power was working in secret, allowing for the absorption of 20% more active ingredients from each pill than normal, while expelling dregs and impurities more quickly.

By the fifth pill, the body's absorption had slowed significantly, and the Qi and blood sea was nearly saturated. Li Yuan swallowed the last pill and used the Nourishing Yuan Technique to slowly grind down the medicinal power. His Qi and blood were thicker than they had been half a day ago.

There was one last one left in the bottle, so Li Yuan put it back in the bottle and stored it deep inside his storage bag.

This one will be kept for equipment use.

For the next few days, Li Yuan's days revolved around cultivation and talisman making.

During the day, he made talismans and practiced the Nourishing Vitality Technique in between. At night, he guarded the perimeter of the herb garden, and if there was no disturbance, he would sit cross-legged and cultivate.

The focus of talisman making shifted from fireball talismans to other types of talismans.

The Rejuvenation Talisman requires continued practice to improve proficiency. While the Cleansing and Exorcism Talismans have reached a proficient level, further practice will still yield improvement. The Warning Talisman is also nearing the proficiency threshold.

Li Yuan consciously drew several different talismans in rotation.

After drawing a batch of fireball talismans, they are replaced with spring-rejuvenating talismans. After drawing a few spring-rejuvenating talismans, they are replaced with warning talismans or talismans for warding off evil.

Switching between different talismans has a much greater impact on overall talisman-making proficiency than specializing in one.

During this period, the warning talisman also reached a high level of proficiency.

[Warning symbol: Proficient (0/400)]

During this period, the herb garden did not suffer any more large-scale attacks from monsters.

They came sporadically twice, each time with one or two low-grade first-order cultivators. The He family cultivators on duty drove them away on their own, without Li Yuan having to lift a finger.

But the news from outside isn't good.

Every two or three days, the He family would send people to the herb garden to take turns guarding it. The cultivators on duty would always mention some of the commotion outside.

That evening, the two He family cultivators on duty squatted by the stone railing, eating dry rations, while Li Yuan sat cross-legged beside them, practicing his internal energy, his ears wide open.

"The Chen family in the east was also attacked by a monster a couple of days ago," the younger one whispered.

"The Chen family? They have a large territory, and their elder is at the seventh level of Qi Refining. How could they be affected?"

"There were a lot of demonic beasts. It's said that one high-grade first-rank beast led seven or eight low-grade first-rank beasts and charged directly at their outer spirit fields. Elder Chen had to personally intervene to repel them."

The older one hissed.

"First-tier high-grade items have already appeared?"

"It's not just demonic beasts." The young cultivator lowered his voice. "I heard that something happened in those scattered cultivator settlements to the south too. People were attacked, not by demonic beasts, but by cultivators. Small teams of three to five people, they fought and ran away, and we don't even know which side they were on."

The older monk took a bite of dry rations, chewing for a long time before swallowing.

"It's getting more and more chaotic."

The two mumbled a few more words, their voices gradually fading away.

Li Yuan listened to these words.

The number of demonic beasts is increasing, and attacks by cultivators are also beginning to occur. The area around the He family is not peaceful, and neither is the area around the Chen family.

He cleared his mind of distractions and continued practicing his internal energy.

The night was deep outside the herb garden. The azure light of the array flowed slowly, reflecting the branches and leaves of the spiritual herbs scattered throughout the garden.

From the direction of the distant mountain valley, one or two faint, intermittent roars of demonic beasts could be heard.