Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Fu Tang's residence area was more spacious than Li Yuan had expected.

Rows of stone houses lined both sides of the courtyard wall, numbering at least thirty or forty. Most of the doors were tightly closed, and there was no sign of life in most of the rooms.

Li Yuan walked from the east end to the west end and encountered two people on the way. One was carrying a bottle of spirit ink and walking out, while the other was squatting at the door drying talisman paper.

There weren't many people in the talisman hall.

Li Yuan chose a stone house located further inside. The house was much more spacious than the low huts in the mine. There was enough space on a stone table to spread out four or five talismans. The window faced east, so the lighting was decent.

After putting the items away, the door latch was inserted.

Li Yuan first sat cross-legged on the bed and began to circulate the Spirit Guiding Technique.

The concentration of spiritual energy in this area is higher than that in the mine, but not as high as that in the He Family Herb Garden.

The pure spiritual energy is displayed in the equipment slot. When the spiritual energy enters the body, impurities are removed first, and the spiritual energy that settles in the dantian is clean and solid.

After completing several cycles, Li Yuan stood up and took out the second round of body-refining elixir from his storage bag.

Iron Bone Liquid.

The wax seal on the jar was broken, and a pungent medicinal smell wafted out. Li Yuan poured the liquid into a pre-prepared wooden basin, added water, and then took off his clothes and sat inside.

The medicine penetrated the skin, and that dull, aching sensation returned.

It was milder than the first round—the body had adapted to some of it, and the muscle fibers were less resistant to the drug. The drug refining process continued as usual, the active ingredients were absorbed efficiently, and grayish-black impurities were extracted from the skin's surface.

Two hours later, the medicine was exhausted.

Li Yuan got up, used a cleaning spell to sweep himself clean, and changed into clean clothes.

They continued their cultivation, interspersed with a second round of Xuanjia Soup medicinal bath.

When it emerged from the basin, its entire body flushed red, the sky outside the window was already turning white.

The next morning, there were two knocks on the stone house door.

Li Yuan pushed open the door, and standing outside was a cultivator in his forties with a square face and an aura at the sixth level of Qi Refining. He was wearing a gray robe in the style of the Talisman Hall, and a badge slightly larger than an ordinary patrol badge hung at his waist, with the character "符" (talisman) engraved on the front.

"Li Yuan?"

"Yes."

"Come with me."

The two walked west along the stone-paved road in the residential area for a while and entered a slightly larger stone house.

Inside the room, bookshelves against the wall were piled with documents and wooden boxes, and several notebooks were spread out on the table. Behind the table sat another cultivator, in his early fifties, exuding the aura of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, who was flipping through a notebook.

"Li Yuan, Qi Refining Level 6."

The monk who was leading the way said something to the person behind the table, and then stepped aside.

The cultivator behind the table looked up, his gaze lingering on Li Yuan for a moment before he took out a new waist token and a thin document from under the table and placed them on the table.

The waist badge was made of bronze and was wider than that of the patrol officer. The front was engraved with talisman characters, and the back was engraved with Li Yuan's name and a line of small characters—"Class C Talisman Maker".

"Your status has been transferred from the patrol team to the Talisman Hall, and your original patrol officer badge has been taken back."

Li Yuan took off the old waist tag, placed it on the table, and replaced it with a new one.

"Class C Talisman Maker, the lowest level."

The steward turned a page of the book, speaking in a calm and unhurried tone.

"Fu Tang does not receive a monthly salary."

He glanced up at Li Yuan.

"Unlike patrol teams and guard teams, which receive spirit stones monthly, the Talisman Hall operates on a contribution basis. Receiving supplies, exchanging talisman-making techniques, and trading cultivation resources all require contributions."

"How are contributions made?"

"Complete the talisman-making task. The Talisman Hall will issue tasks regularly, and you will be paid out based on the quantity and quality of the talismans you produce."

The steward closed the book.

"Your previous contributions to the patrol team will also be transferred, but the process will take time, about seven or eight days."

"Moreover, the prices contributed by both sides are not equal and will be calculated accordingly."

He took a cloth bundle from a wooden box under the table and pushed it in front of Li Yuan.

"Basic talisman-making supplies are provided for newcomers to the talisman hall. One hundred sheets of blue-patterned paper, four bottles of general-purpose spirit ink, and one box of cinnabar. That should be enough for you for a while."

Li Yuan took the cloth bag and weighed it in his hand.

"However, you cannot accept talisman-making quests for the time being."

The manager added, "Newcomers need an adjustment period; use this time to familiarize yourself with the environment."

He leaned back in his chair and looked at Li Yuan.

What do you need for now?

"Materials for crafting the Concealing Breath Talisman."

The manager nodded.

"Okay, I'll arrange a batch for you later."

"There's one more," Li Yuan said. "I want to go to the Talisman Hall's Scripture Pavilion to exchange for a cultivation technique."

The person in charge paused for a moment.

He flipped through the book beside him for a few moments, then closed it again.

"Do you have a spot in the library?"

"have."

Li Yuan took out the document he had obtained when he was stationed at the He family's residence and handed it over.

The steward took the document, glanced at it, confirmed the seal on it, and nodded.

"Okay, you can go to the library anytime. Turn left after you go out, walk along the stone path to the end, and the two-story stone building at the very back is it."

He returned the documents to Li Yuan.

"Is there anything else?"

"That's all."

The steward grunted in acknowledgment and continued flipping through his notebook. The cultivator who had led the way saw Li Yuan to the door, pointed in the direction of the Scripture Pavilion, and then left.

Li Yuan did not go to the Sutra Repository immediately, but returned to his residence first.

The materials for making talismans in the cloth bag were sorted and arranged. The blue-patterned paper was folded to the corner of the table, the spirit ink was placed next to it, and the cinnabar was placed separately.

Then spread out the talisman paper, dip it in ink, and continue making talismans.

I drew several fireball talismans, and the success rate remained consistently above 70%. Then I practiced with the Rejuvenation Talisman and drew two more Vajra Talismans.

In the afternoon, the door of the stone house next door creaked, and footsteps passed by the door.

Li Yuan put down the talisman brush, pushed open the door, and went out.

The door to the stone house across the passage was open, and a cultivator in his early thirties was squatting on the stone slab at the door, spreading out talisman paper. He was wearing the same gray-blue robe as Li Yuan, with spiritual ink on his fingers, a yellowish complexion, and his hair was not tied up very neatly.

Five layers of Qi Refining.

The cultivator raised his head upon hearing the commotion and glanced at Li Yuan.

"New here?"

"It just arrived yesterday."

"Oh." The cultivator nodded and folded the talisman in his hand. "My surname is Wei."

"Li Yuan".

Wei Fushi stood up and patted the dust off his trousers.

"There aren't many people living here. The Talisman Hall only has a limited number of talisman masters, and most of them have been sent out, leaving only a few here."

He glanced at the closed doors on both sides of the residential area.

What can you draw?

"Fireball Talisman, Rejuvenation Talisman, Vajra Talisman, etc."

Wei Fushi hummed in agreement, offering no further comment.

Li Yuan continued the conversation with a follow-up sentence.

"What kind of talisman-making tasks does the Talisman Hall offer now?"

Master Wei put the talisman paper in his hand into the house, then walked back and leaned against the door frame.

"Battle talismans, all of them are battle talismans. Attack talismans, healing talismans, they do whatever you ask for."

He counted a number with his fingers.

"In the past, missions were divided into levels, and you could accumulate contribution points by simply completing basic tasks. Now it's different; the earlier missions are more intense, but the higher-ups only accept combat runes."

"Is it easy to accumulate contributions?"

Wei Fushi's lips twitched.

"It depends on how you put it."

He lowered his voice.

"The requirements for talisman-making tasks are not low. The quality of the talismans submitted must meet the standards; those that do not will not be accepted. The higher the quality, the more contribution points you will receive, but the material consumption will also be greater. You can do the math to see—exchanging for talisman-making materials costs contribution points, submitting the finished product earns contribution points, and you also have to deduct the loss of defective products in between. All things considered, the cost-effectiveness is actually not high."

He counted on his fingers.

"For example, you can exchange for 100 sheets of blue-patterned paper, which costs 50 contribution points. If you draw a fireball talisman, and the success rate is 60-70%, you can get 60-70 finished products. After submitting them, you'll probably get 70-80 contribution points back. After deducting the cost of spirit ink and cinnabar, you'll actually only earn 20-30 points."

"It's better to take odd jobs outside."

"There's nothing we can do about that," Wei Fushi shrugged. "People from the Talisman Hall can only do Talisman Hall tasks. Taking on private jobs outside is another matter, but contributions are only earned through tasks."

Li Yuan didn't respond to that question, but asked another one.

"I heard you can overdraft your contribution points?"

Wei Fushi nodded.

"Overdraft is possible, and the credit limit is quite large."

He pulled his hands off the door frame and crossed his arms over his chest.

This is also one of the benefits of the Talisman Hall, helping talisman masters to level up quickly.

"The contributions made beyond our means can be exchanged for supplies."

He paused, then pointed upwards with one finger.

"However, there is one condition: the overdrawn contribution can only be repaid through talisman-making tasks. Moreover, if you want to change to other talisman-making methods, you must complete talisman-making tasks to obtain contribution. Overdrawn contribution cannot be counted."

The rules are clear.

Li Yuan didn't say much, but nodded to Wei Fushi.

Thank you.

Wei Fushi waved his hand, turned around, and went into his room.

Li Yuan returned to the stone house, closed the door, cleaned the table, and sat cross-legged on the bed.

He first circulated the Spirit Guiding Technique for two cycles, and his spiritual power sank into his dantian.

Then, the last jar of red marrow syrup was taken out, poured into a wooden basin, diluted with water, and used for the final medicinal bath of the second round.

Two hours later, the medicine wore off, and Li Yuan got up from the basin.

The second round of all three body-refining elixirs has been completed.

Li Yuan felt it and found that his physical fitness had improved slightly.

The author "Code Genius" recommends reading "Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes" using the "Renren Bookstore" APP. Download and install it.