Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

The next few days were anything but peaceful for the He family headquarters.

The monsters come almost every day.

Sometimes it was during the day, and two or three low-grade first-level gray iguanas would scale the wall from the north, only to be spotted by the He family cultivators on duty and scatter wildly with howls. Sometimes it was at night, and mid-grade first-level iron-spineed hyenas would charge at the stone wall, their claws leaving white marks on the surface.

On another occasion, three unidentified cultivators sneaked to the outer wall of the He family's eastern compound under the cover of night. After being discovered by the detection array, the two sides exchanged blows at the base of the wall, and the three cultivators abandoned a wounded cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining and fled.

Li Yuan always makes his moves very quickly.

He had already familiarized himself with the terrain of the He family headquarters. He knew which direction the most people came from and the distance from the stone house to each direction.

Fireball and Fire Arrow spells remain the mainstays. A single spell can take down a low-tier first-order monster, and two or three spells are enough for a mid-tier first-order monster.

What truly troubled the He family cultivators was not the difficulty of a single battle, but the frequency of them.

It happens almost constantly, every now and then.

The He family cultivators took turns on duty, and everyone's complexion worsened day by day. Two young clansmen at the second level of Qi Refining had already shown signs of spiritual energy depletion.

Li Yuan, on the other hand, was not affected much. His spiritual energy reserves were much thicker than those of the He family, and with the support of various amulets, his recovery speed was also fast. After several battles, he was barely out of breath.

But he was not idle either.

After each monster was killed, Li Yuan would do one more thing.

He took out several small porcelain bottles he had prepared beforehand from his storage bag, squatted down next to the monster's corpse, cut open the skin and flesh of its neck with his short knife, found the main blood vessel, and collected the gushing dark blood into the bottles.

The blood of the gray iguana is cold in nature and has a fishy, ​​earthy smell.

The blood of the iron-spined hyena is thick and black, and its temperature is much higher than that of lizards.

The blood of the horned lizard is the darkest, almost pure black, and has a pungent metallic smell when smelled up close.

There was also a one-horned badger that appeared out of nowhere, its blood carrying a faint smell of sulfur.

Take one small bottle of each type, seal it with the stopper, mark it, and put it in a storage bag.

Over five days, Li Yuan collected the blood of four different types of demonic beasts.

On the morning of the fifth day of his posting, He Qing appeared at Li Yuan's door.

Unlike the previous times, he wasn't in a hurry; instead, his pace slowed down.

The fatigue on his face was still there, but the tension and anxiety that had been building up had faded.

Li Yuan pushed open the door and saw He Qing standing on the steps outside, with two other people standing beside her.

It's not from the He family.

The two cultivators wore long, gray-blue robes and exuded a calm and restrained aura—they were at the late stage of Qi Refining.

People from the Wang family.

He Qing nodded to Li Yuan.

"We don't need to guard anymore."

His voice was no longer hoarse, but it didn't sound relaxed either.

"The family has discussed it and is preparing to move."

Li Yuan looked at him.

He Qing took a step back and gestured with his chin toward the council hall deep in the courtyard.

"People from the Wang family have arrived and are talking to the patriarch. The entire clan will move to the Wang family's protected area, and they will give up the spirit fields, herb gardens, and array formations."

He said this in a very calm tone, as if he were explaining something that had already been decided.

Li Yuan did not respond.

He Qing didn't explain further, but simply said one more thing.

"Thanks to you these past few days."

Li Yuan hummed in agreement.

One of the two Wang family cultivators took two steps toward Li Yuan and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Are you Li Yuan?"

"Yes."

"The deployment mission ends today."

The cultivator took a thin document from his sleeve and handed it over. "This is your settlement and extra rewards for this period. You can collect your spirit stones and contribution points from the administration office later. Also—"

He paused for a moment.

"The family has approved a spot; you can go to the Scripture Pavilion and choose a cultivation technique."

Li Yuan took the document and glanced at it. It was stamped with the Wang family's seal, and the content was consistent with what the man had said.

"When are you going?"

"No rush, the spots are there, you can go anytime."

Li Yuan put the documents away, nodded to He Qing, and turned to go back into the house to pack his things.

The storage bags were packed, and the stone house was cleaned thoroughly.

When I stepped out of the He family's courtyard, it was already a flurry of activity. The He family's cultivators and mortals were carrying boxes and baskets to pile up at the gate, while several young children stood in a corner, their eyes wide as they watched the commotion around them.

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The Wang family's late-stage Qi Refining cultivators were scattered throughout the courtyard; some were talking quietly with the He family head, while others were counting the relocation supplies.

Li Yuan did not turn back and walked along the mountain road towards the mine.

The gravel slope crunched underfoot, and the bushes on both sides were denser than when we arrived, with some branches extending onto the road.

After walking for most of the day, the outline of the mine came into view.

The earthen walls were still the same earthen walls, and the wooden sheds were still the same wooden sheds. The entrances to the three mine shafts were dark, with occasional clanging and knocking sounds coming from them.

But there are fewer people.

Li Yuan noticed it as soon as he entered the mine.

Under the wooden shed, only Old Zhou was sorting ore. The position guarding the detection array was empty; no one was watching it.

Manager Liu walked around from the low house, carrying a half-bowl of water in his hand. When he saw Li Yuan, he stopped.

"You're back?"

"I'm back."

Li Yuan put the storage bag in the low house, then came out and sat down on the stone stool under the wooden shed.

Where are they?

Manager Liu sat down opposite him and placed the bowl on his lap.

"Two more have been transferred away."

He pointed his finger towards the mine shaft.

"The cultivator surnamed Lü and another cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining were transferred to the front lines last week. Now, there are only four of us left at the mine: me, Lao Zhou, Sun Liang, and you."

He took a sip of water.

"By the way, those prisoners we had been holding earlier have also been taken away. People from the Wang family came to collect them, but they didn't say what they were going to do with them."

Li Yuan hummed in agreement.

"Has anything happened at the mine recently?"

"It's nothing serious." Steward Liu put the bowl on the ground. "A few demonic beasts came by once, two low-grade first-tier beasts, but Sun Liang and Old Zhou chased them away. As for people... we didn't run into any."

He glanced at Li Yuan.

"And you? How's it going with the He family?"

"They moved. The whole clan moved to the Wang family's place."

Manager Liu paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"There's nothing we can do about it."

He sighed.

"A family that size doesn't even have a single Qi Refining cultivator in the late stage. In this chaotic situation, they're completely at the mercy of others. Moving under the Wang family's protection would at least ensure their survival."

"It's strange, though. The He family knows formations and has considerable influence, yet they've never been able to expand further."

Li Yuan then brought up another matter.

"Among the rewards for guarding the He family's residence is a spot in the Scripture Pavilion, where you can choose a cultivation technique."

Manager Liu's gaze shifted slightly, and he tapped his knee twice with his fingers.

"I have something to tell you, you can take a look."

He took half a step forward and lowered his voice.

"Don't rush to use this spot."

Li Yuan looked at him.

"I know you're from Fangshi. The Scripture Pavilion there has a lot of stuff, but it's mostly common stuff. Common cultivation methods, spells, and skills are all there, but it's hard to say about the less common ones."

Manager Liu rubbed his hands together.

"But if you can be transferred to another place later, such as the Talisman Hall, then it will be different."

"Does the Talisman Hall have its own scripture repository?"

"Yes." Steward Liu nodded. "The Wang family's Talisman Hall is a specialized talisman-making department with its own independent library, which stores all the techniques and methods related to talisman making. The quality and quantity are far superior to the talisman books in the market's library."

He looked at Li Yuan.

"It's the same if you're transferred to another place. Of course, some places have better scripture pavilions than markets. It's up to you to choose. Anyway, you can save these things."

Li Yuan nodded.

"I've got it."

Manager Liu grunted in acknowledgment, stood up, and bent down to pick up the bowl from the ground.

"Alright, you just got back, rest first. There's no rush with the mine matters."

He carried the bowl to the other end of the shed, and after a few steps, he turned back and said something.

"By the way, Sun Liang is inside the mine. If you want to find him, just go in."

Li Yuan sat on the stone stool, not moving immediately.

A dull thumping sound came from the mine in the distance, probably Sun Liang mining.

The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the gravel ground.

Li Yuan took out the small porcelain bottles containing the blood of demonic beasts from his storage bag, placed them on his lap, and counted them one by one.

Four types. Five more are needed.

He carefully put away the porcelain bottle, then got up and walked towards the low house.