Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

The next day, after learning from Steward Liu that the trade fair was about to begin, Li Yuan left the mine with a batch of talismans.

There were more people in the stone hollow than last time. The number of traveling merchants hadn't changed much, but there was a noticeable increase in the number of independent cultivators, some of whom were unfamiliar faces, as if they had come from even more distant places.

Li Yuan squatted down in his usual spot and laid out the talismans.

Twenty fireball talismans, eight rejuvenation talismans, four vajra talismans, and one stack each of cleansing talismans and evil-repelling talismans.

Not long after, Elder Chen came down from the high rock.

The old man with white hair and beard walked up to Li Yuan, his gaze first falling on the Vajra Talisman, then picking it up and flipping through it, before looking at the Rejuvenation Talisman.

"We also have the Vajra Talisman."

"I'm a beginner, so the quality is just average."

Elder Chen didn't pay attention, stacked the Vajra Talisman and the Rejuvenation Talisman together, and then gathered the Fireball Talisman over.

"I want them all."

He took out spirit stones from his storage bag and stacked them on the ground.

After counting the spirit stones, Elder Chen took out a roll of animal hide from his pocket and placed it next to the spirit stones.

"I'll give you a new recipe, just like I mentioned last time."

Li Yuan picked up the animal hide and unfolded it.

Detoxification Talisman. A low-grade, first-tier talisman that slowly expels toxins from the body after use. Effective against erysipelas, medicinal residue, and some negative energy erosion.

Li Yuan reviewed the entire process from beginning to end, then rolled it up and put it away.

"There's one more thing," Elder Chen said in a lower voice.

"You don't need to do the talisman-making quest anymore."

Li Yuan glanced at him.

Elder Chen took out several spirit stones from his sleeve and handed them over.

"I signed an agreement with the Wang family. The Chen family will provide manpower and resources to assist the Wang family in defending their strongholds and mines in this area, and the Wang family will provide the Chen family with shelter and supplies."

"There's no need to buy talismans anymore."

He pushed the spirit stone in front of Li Yuan.

"These spirit stones are an extra gift for you."

Li Yuan put the spirit stone away.

"If you need any more talismans in the future, please come to me."

Elder Chen nodded.

"That's natural."

After the transaction was completed, Li Yuan did not leave immediately. He took a walk around the site and bought some talisman-making materials and daily necessities.

When we reached the middle of the area, several untrained monks gathered around a large rock and started talking, their voices quite loud.

A skinny, dark-skinned rogue cultivator in his forties squatted on the ground, his hands tucked into his sleeves, his face full of gloom.

"...Life is unbearable. The day before yesterday, I went out to collect herbs and ran into two gray iguanas less than five miles away. I almost lost my life there."

A short, stout rogue cultivator nearby chimed in.

"You're lucky. Those scattered settlements of cultivators at the foot of the southern mountain were raided last month. Not by demonic beasts, but by people. Seven or eight cultivators sneaked in at night, took all the valuables, and killed anyone who resisted."

"Where did this thief come from?"

"Who knows?" The short, stout rogue cultivator shrugged. "These days, monsters come, thieves come, and you can't even outrun them on two legs."

The thin, dark-skinned rogue cultivator sighed.

"I heard that Old Chen has already signed a contract with the Wang family and brought his whole family over there."

"It's not just Old Chen." Another slightly older rogue cultivator leaned over and lowered his voice. "That rogue cultivator surnamed Zhou in the woods to the east also surrendered, as did the whole bunch from Zhao Family Village. They all signed short-term contracts. They're contributing manpower and labor in exchange for a place to settle down."

The dark-skinned, thin, rogue cultivator curled his lip.

"Signing the contract is like selling yourself. From now on, you'll have to do whatever they say and do whatever they say."

"What if we don't sign?" the short, stout rogue cultivator retorted. "If you don't sign, will you bear the consequences yourself? Can you handle it?"

No one responded.

After a moment of silence, the older rogue cultivator spoke again.

"It's not just independent cultivators who are investing; small families are investing too. The He family, the Liu family, the Sun family—one after another, they're all siding with the Wang family. I heard that the Wang family has already taken in seven or eight small families, and they've scattered and reorganized their members."

The short, stout rogue cultivator hissed.

"After this uproar, the Wang family will probably be much bigger than before."

As they were talking, Elder Chen's voice came from the high stone.

The old man stood on the stone and bowed to the people in the area.

"Everyone, the Chen family is buying up all kinds of medicinal herbs in large quantities. We don't discriminate based on variety or grade; as long as it's a medicinal herb, we'll buy as much as you can. The price is 20% higher than the market price."

The scattered cultivators in the area all looked over.

Someone muttered, "What is the Chen family up to, hoarding so many medicinal herbs?"

Elder Chen did not explain, but went on to talk about the second thing.

"In addition, I would like to ask you all to let me know if there is any news about breakthrough pills."

His gaze swept across the area.

"We have a junior in our family who is at the sixth level of Qi Refining. He has exceptional talent and is currently at the critical juncture of breaking through to the seventh level. If any fellow Daoist has any pills that can aid in this breakthrough, regardless of type, the Chen family is willing to purchase them at a high price."

A rogue monk shouted something in the crowd.

"You need pills to break through from the sixth level of Qi Refining to the seventh? Can't you just cultivate on your own? If you're really talented, you can just cultivate slowly and reach that level, right?"

Someone immediately chimed in.

"You make it sound so easy. Reaching the sixth or seventh level of Qi Refining is a hurdle; it would take countless years of cultivation alone. With the help of elixirs, you can break through as soon as possible."

The rogue cultivator was not convinced.

"So what if you break through early? It'll still be just as difficult to establish a foundation later."

"It's different." The older rogue cultivator shook his head, his tone much more serious this time.

"There's a big difference between breaking through early and breaking through late."

He held out one hand and counted on his fingers as he spoke.

"A cultivator's vital energy begins to decline around the age of forty, and the higher the cultivation level, the later the decline begins. By the age of sixty, a cultivator's vital energy is only seventy or eighty percent of its peak, and by the age of one hundred, less than half remains."

"When establishing your foundation, your Qi and blood are the foundation. The more abundant your Qi and blood, the greater the spiritual energy impact you can withstand during foundation establishment, and the higher your success rate will be."

The dark-skinned, thin, rogue cultivator was stunned.

"So, the earlier one breaks through to the later stages, the greater the chance of establishing a foundation later?"

"It's not just an opportunity." The older rogue cultivator withdrew his hand.

"There's also lifespan. Lifespan increases after Foundation Establishment, but the increase is based on the lifespan you had left at the moment of Foundation Establishment. The difference in remaining lifespan between Foundation Establishment at twenty and Foundation Establishment at one hundred years old is eighty years. The difference in total lifespan increase after Foundation Establishment is even greater."

The venue was quiet for a while.

The short, stout rogue cultivator smacked his lips.

"In the end, it all comes down to resources. Without resources, even the best talent is useless. The young master of the Chen clan can afford to take breakthrough pills because his family can afford them. We rogue cultivators can't even save up enough spirit stones to buy one pill in a year."

The conversation gradually faded away, and the independent cultivators sighed as they returned to their respective stalls.

Li Yuan listened to the entire conversation without interrupting, leaning against the stone wall, before getting up and leaving the stone hollow.

On his way back to the mine along the gravel slope, Li Yuan took out the animal hide from which the antidote talisman was made and examined it again.

The arrangement of the spirit patterns is not complicated; it uses a combination of purification and channeling patterns, belonging to the water-based but wood-based style.

He rolled up the animal hide and put it away, then quickened his pace.

It was already afternoon when we returned to the mine.

Li Yuan went straight back to the low house and closed the door.

He took out the last three jars of body-refining medicine from his storage bag.

The third round. Iron Bone Liquid, Black Armor Decoction, and Red Marrow Elixir.

First, open the Iron Bone Liquid.

The wax seal on the jar was broken, and a pungent, pungent smell of medicine wafted out. He poured it into a wooden basin, diluted it with water, and then took off his clothes and sat inside.

The feeling of the third round was different from the first two rounds.

The medicine penetrated the skin much faster than in the previous two rounds—after two rounds of medicinal baths, the skin and muscles' resistance to the medicine was greatly reduced, and the pores were almost actively absorbing it.

It's not that the medicine has become weaker; it's that the body has been properly prepared by the first two rounds, so it can accept more of the medicine and rejects less of it.

Two hours later, the medicine was exhausted.

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

Then they started preparing Xuanjia Tang (a traditional Chinese medicine soup).

The heat flowed directly from the skin to the bones, causing a tingling sensation in the joints. The third round of bone absorption was also more efficient than the first two, with spiritual energy penetrating even deeper into the bone crevices.

Finally, there is the red marrow syrup.

It's the gentlest yet most penetrating type. The medicine seeps into the bone marrow along the bone joints, and the warming sensation that penetrates deep into the bone marrow lasts for a long time before slowly fading away.

The third round of treatment with all three types of medicine has been completed.

Three different formulas, each with three complete quenching cycles.

Li Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed and took out the animal skin book of Iron Wall Body Refining Technique from the depths of his storage bag.

With a thought, he removed the Soul-Revealing Mirror.

Equip yourself with the Iron Wall Body Refinement Technique.

The panel appears.

The conditions for permanent refinement of medicinal power (white) have been met.

Is it permanent?

Li Yuan had a sudden thought.

Yes.

[Permanentization successful]

[Medicinal Refinement (White) has become a permanent entry]

[Equipment consumed]

The animal hide transformed into a pale white light between his fingers and disappeared into his body.

Change is not as immediate as other terms; it is something more intrinsic.

Li Yuan took out a Sha Yuan Pill from his storage bag and put it in his mouth.

The difference became apparent the moment the pill entered the stomach.

Previously, after the medicinal power of the Sha Yuan Dan was dispersed in the stomach, about 20% to 30% would be wasted—the body would not have time to fully absorb it, and the dregs and excess Sha Qi would remain in the internal organs, requiring extra time to cleanse them.

Now, that 20-30% waste has almost disappeared.

After the medicinal effects are released, the active ingredients are absorbed more quickly and thoroughly, and the residue is pushed to the surface of the body as it forms, without lingering in the internal organs.

The side effects are also less. The biggest problem with the Killing Essence Pill is that the killing energy damages the internal organs. Although this killing energy doesn't have a big impact on me now, the impact has been reduced considerably after this entry was added.

It was completely dark outside the window.

Li Yuan closed his eyes and began to circulate the Spirit Guiding Technique.

As spiritual energy surges into the body, the pure spiritual power removes impurities first, and the clean spiritual power sinks into the dantian.