Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

For the next few days, Li Yuan's life revolved around making talismans.

Fireball talismans are the main source of output, consistently producing about ten finished products daily. Rejuvenation talismans and Vajra talismans are drawn intermittently, and a batch of detoxification talismans has also been made. Switching back and forth between different types, the overall proficiency in talisman-making continues to rise.

Meanwhile, Li Yuan was also practicing the Heart-Locking Talisman whenever he had a spare moment.

The sealing and solidification patterns of the Heart-Locking Talisman follow a path of tightening layer by layer from the outside in. The spiritual energy must be wrapped around it like a rope, with each layer tighter than the previous one. It is similar to the Vajra Talisman, but the requirements for precision are higher—the Vajra Talisman spreads the spiritual energy into a uniform membrane, while the Heart-Locking Talisman twists the spiritual energy into a series of nested locks.

The first few were all ruined. I didn't get the timing of tightening the sealant right; it was either too loose and wouldn't hold together, or too tight and it snapped.

But Li Yuan was not in a hurry. He only drew two or three Heart-Locking Talismans each day, and devoted the rest of his time to Fireball Talismans and other mature talismans.

That afternoon, Li Yuan was sitting in the stone house drawing a talisman to bring back spring.

This is the fourth one today. The healing pattern unfolds, followed by the nourishing pattern, and the wood-elemental spiritual energy slowly permeates the talisman.

When the time came to converge, Li Yuan slightly turned his wrist, storing the last nourishing rune into the core of the talisman.

Just as the spiritual energy returned to the talisman's core, Li Yuan's hand stopped.

It's not that there's a problem; quite the opposite—everything is going too smoothly.

He sensed the state of every link in the spiritual energy transmission chain, from his fingertips to the tip of the pen and then to the paper. Not just a vague sense, but a precise and unambiguous one.

How much spiritual energy gathered at the tip of the pen, how much dispersed on the paper, how much settled at the heart of the talisman—every minute detail was as clear as a real object right before one's eyes.

In the past, when he drew talismans, he could perceive most of this information, but there were always a few steps that he had to rely on experience, as if he were looking through a thin mist.

The mist has now dissipated.

Li Yuan put down the talisman brush and raised his right hand to flip through it.

With a slight twitch of his fingers, a wisp of spiritual energy overflowed from his fingertips. He stared at that wisp of spiritual energy, and with a thought, the form of the spiritual energy changed accordingly.

Stretch, flatten, fork, and then close again—every change was precisely what he was thinking, and his spiritual power did exactly what he wanted, without any delay or deviation.

The manipulation of spiritual energy is incredibly precise.

The panel appeared.

Li Yuan ignored the changes in his proficiency in talisman-making on the panel and instead turned his attention to something else.

He took out a concealing talisman he had made earlier from the depths of his storage bag, and with a thought, removed the Soul-Illuminating Mirror and then equipped it.

The conditions for permanent aura concealment (white) have been met.

Is it permanent?

Li Yuan had a sudden thought.

Yes.

[Permanentization successful]

[The phrase "breath concealment (white)" has become a permanent entry.]

[Equipment consumed]

The Concealing Breath Talisman transformed into a faint, dark gray light between his fingers and disappeared into his body.

The changes came very quickly.

Li Yuan felt the spiritual energy emanating from his body being enveloped by an invisible layer. It wasn't disappearing, but rather being suppressed. It was as if a shell was being put over the spiritual energy, trapping the leaking parts back inside.

With a thought, he tried to adjust the intensity of the suppression.

The breath dropped a bit.

Further decrease.

It dropped another notch.

Li Yuan stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open halfway. Several guards were walking around in the courtyard, the closest one less than ten feet from the stone house.

The man glanced at Li Yuan, but his gaze didn't linger, and he walked straight past him.

With Li Yuan's cultivation at the sixth level of Qi Refining, any Qi Refining cultivator should be able to sense the intensity of his aura within ten feet. However, that person's reaction indicated that the aura he sensed was far below the level expected of a sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator.

Li Yuan looked down and sensed the extent to which his aura was currently projecting.

It's roughly at the fourth or fifth level of Qi Refining.

He tried to press down further. His breathing became even weaker. Pressing down any further became difficult; 30% seemed to be his current limit.

After reducing his Qi by 30% at the sixth level of Qi Refining, his outward aura was roughly between the fourth and fifth levels of Qi Refining.

Moreover, it does not consume spiritual energy.

After the entry is made permanent, the aura concealment becomes an instinct of the body, requiring no additional maintenance; it can be turned on or off at will.

Li Yuan closed the window and sat down at the table.

That evening, Li Yuan left the guard post and headed towards Fangshi East Street.

Old Sun had said that a first-grade superior-level evil energy requires two first-grade superior-level herbs that can counteract each other. Old Sun named a few herbs, which Li Yuan remembered clearly.

He went to ask about the stalls on East Street and the pharmacies in North Alley one by one.

But nothing.

On the way back to the camp, a commotion suddenly came from the west side of the market.

Several guards of cultivators rushed out of the alley, carrying magical artifacts, heading towards the west gate. Li Yuan slowed his pace, and a passing patrolman hurriedly called out to him.

"Someone is causing trouble from the west again. Three or four cultivators are casting spells outside the wall."

After the sound faded away, the hustle and bustle of the market gradually returned to normal.

Such incidents have been quite frequent lately. Members of the Li family or unidentified cultivators harass the outskirts of the market every few days. The scale is small, and they fight and run away, more like probing and attrition tactics.

Li Yuan did not go over there, but continued walking towards the camp.

This has little to do with him; the guards will handle it.

After returning to the stone house, Li Yuan sat down at the table and spread out a new talisman.

Heart-locking charm.

Dip the brush in ink and begin writing.

The first ring of the sealing pattern unfolded, and spiritual energy tightened from the outside in. The second ring followed, tightening by 20%. The third ring—Li Yuan controlled the tightening rhythm even more steadily than in the previous days, the spiritual energy wrapping around like a rope, layer upon layer.

Upon reaching the solidification pattern, the spiritual energy changed from tightening to condensing. This step requires locking the previous sealing patterns in their current state, neither dispersing nor loosening.

Li Yuan paused slightly, gathering spiritual energy at the tip of the brush for a moment before making a stroke.

The solidification and sealing patterns converge at the center of the talisman, and the spiritual power is collected layer by layer.

A very faint bluish-white luster floated on the surface of the talisman, restrained and calm, unlike the crimson of the Fireball Talisman, the pale green of the Rejuvenation Talisman, and the earthy yellow of the Vajra Talisman.

It became.

【Talisman: Heart-Locking Talisman - Beginner (0/200)】

Li Yuan placed the Heart-Locking Talisman on the table and touched it with his fingertips.

[Equipable item detected: Heart-Locking Charm (Complete)]

[Entry Preview: Spiritual Healing (White) - Enhances the healing effect of spiritual energy on injuries, and can also actively consume spiritual energy to recover from injuries]

[Preview of Permanentization Condition: Master a healing spell to perfection]

[Current equipment slots are full (3/3). Replace current equipment?]

White entry. Spiritual power heals.

It has two effects: passively increasing the efficiency of spiritual power in repairing injuries, and actively consuming spiritual power to recover from injuries.

The condition for permanentization is that the healing spell has been mastered to perfection.

Li Yuan currently has no healing spells.

He carefully put away the Heart-Locking Talisman, then drew a few more, succeeding in two but ruining one. The success rate in the beginner stage wasn't high, but it was enough.

The next morning, Li Yuan sorted out the talismans he had collected over the past two days, categorized them, stacked them into several piles, and moved them to the wooden shed in the courtyard.

He Shou was checking the supplies list in the shed when he saw Li Yuan carrying a stack of talismans. He stood up and took them from him.

"Thirty-two Fireball Talismans, ten Rejuvenation Talismans, six Vajra Talismans, four Poison Removal Talismans, and three Heart-Locking Talismans," Li Yuan announced.

He Shoujiang flipped through the stacks of talismans, paying particular attention to the Heart-Locking Talisman.

"Is this the Heart-Locking Talisman?"

"Yes. Applying it to the wound can suppress the injury and prevent it from worsening; it should last for about an hour."

He Shou nodded and set the Heart-Locking Talisman aside.

"These are essential for patrols. I'll issue one to each squad later."

He sorted the remaining talismans and put them into a wooden box.

At this moment, Fang He walked over from the direction of the courtyard gate, with a newly changed bandage wrapped around his arm, indicating that he had been injured again while patrolling a couple of days ago.

Seeing the stacks of talismans on the table, Fang He leaned over and glanced at them.

"Did you draw all of these?"

"Um."

Fang He picked up a fireball talisman, flipped through it, his gaze lingered on the spirit runes for a moment, and then put it back.

"Much better than what you buy outside."

He leaned against a pillar and watched as He Shou distributed the talismans to the respective squads.

"Old He, could you give my team a couple more fireball talismans? Last time we went on patrol, we ran into two mid-tier Tier 1 Ironback Hyenas. We ran out of talismans but still couldn't take them down. We finally managed to finish them off in close combat, and we almost lost another person."

He Shou didn't even look up.

"If you get more, others will get less. There's only so much, so let's distribute it evenly."

Fang He chuckled and turned to look at Li Yuan.

"Li Yuan, you're from the Talisman Hall. Who decides the distribution of these talismans, you or Old He?"

"Captain He will assign the tasks," Li Yuan said. "I'll just do it."

Fang He pursed his lips, but didn't say anything more.

He Shou put the last stack of talismans into the wooden box, stood up, and clapped his hands.

"Can the output keep up?" he asked Li Yuan.

"I can produce about ten Fireball Talismans a day. I produce fewer Rejuvenation Talismans and Vajra Talismans, about three or four a day. I'm just starting out with Heart-Locking Talismans, so the success rate is still unstable, and I'm only producing one or two a day for now."

He Shou did some mental calculations.

"not enough."

He said it directly.

"Each of the three patrol teams goes out every day, consuming an average of five to eight combat talismans, not counting healing ones. Fireball talismans alone require more than fifteen a day. Even if you contribute ten by yourself, the shortage is still significant."

He glanced at Li Yuan.

"But it's much better than before. Before, there were no talisman masters accompanying the team, and all the talismans had to be transferred from the Talisman Hall, with only one batch arriving every half month. Now that you can work here on the spot, at least the supplies will be continuous."

Fang He chimed in from the side.

"How about this, Li Yuan, you make more Fireball Talismans and Heart-Locking Talismans, and fewer Rejuvenation Talismans and Vajra Talismans. Fireball Talismans consume the most resources, and Heart-Locking Talismans are life-saving items, so prioritize these two."

He Shou thought for a moment and nodded.

"Okay, let's do it this way. Fireball and Heart-Locking Talismans take priority."

He turned to look at Li Yuan.

What do you think?

"Can."

After the three finished speaking, they went their separate ways. He Shou went to arrange matters for the patrol team, while Fang He went back to change his bandages.

Li Yuan walked back to the stone house, closed the door, and sat down at the table.

There was a half-finished talisman on the table, with a small amount of spiritual ink condensed on it.

Li Yuan picked up the discarded talisman and set it aside, laid out new paper, dipped his brush in ink, and began to write.

Fireball talisman.

One after another.