Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

The spiritual energy concentration in the herb garden remains abundant.

Although the formation was mostly destroyed, the spiritual vein itself was unaffected, and the spiritual energy seeping up from the ground was still as thick as ever.

The spiritual energy originates from the dantian and travels throughout the body along the meridians. The main meridians, branch meridians, and micro meridians operate in sync, and the spiritual energy flows through each meridian with almost no obstruction.

When it reached the final stage of the Return to Origin Flow, the spiritual energy gathered from the extremities back to the dantian, and instead of pausing at the entrance as before, it slid directly in.

The spiritual energy spun around on its own inside the dantian.

The spiritual energy in the three meridians accelerated almost simultaneously, and the circulation efficiency jumped a level in that instant.

[Technique: Hundred Meridians Returning to Origin Technique - Minor Success (0/1600)]

Xiao Cheng.

The speed of the circulation of spiritual energy was nearly 30% faster than when it was fully mastered. There was almost no difference in the speed at which spiritual energy flowed through the main meridians and the minor meridians.

It was Li Yuan's turn to be on duty in the latter half of the night.

He stepped out of the stone house and circled the perimeter of the herb garden. The night was pitch black, and the tattered array of light flickered faintly in the distance. The direction of the forest was quiet, without any sign of anything amiss.

As dawn approached, footsteps could be heard coming from the direction of the pass.

A figure staggered in.

A monk surnamed Feng.

His left arm was slinged to his side, the cuff torn into strips, and a patch of his robe on his right shoulder was charred. His face was ashen, his lips were cracked, and his steps were unsteady, as if he were walking on cotton.

But people are alive.

Old Zhao was the first to step forward and put his right arm on his shoulder.

The cultivator surnamed Feng leaned against Old Zhao, catching his breath for a while, and managed to say a few words intermittently. He ran away, heading towards the eastern hillside. The two late-stage Qi Refining cultivators chased him for a while but couldn't catch him, so they went back to fetch medicinal herbs. He hid in the mountains for most of the night before daring to return.

Manager Wang handed him a bottle of pills and had someone help him to rest.

The next day at noon, people came from the direction of Aokou again.

Four cultivators. The leader, a seventh-level Qi Refining cultivator, had a square face and wore the token of the Wang family steward at his waist. Behind him were three fifth-level Qi Refining cultivators, one of whom carried a storage bag.

Manager Wang went up to greet them and exchanged a few words.

The Wang family steward's gaze swept over the damaged area of ​​the herb garden, asked a few questions about the situation, and then looked at Li Yuan.

"The key to the formation is in your hands?"

Li Yuan took the grayish-white stone out of his storage bag and handed it over.

The Wang family steward flipped through it, looked at the remaining spirit patterns on the bottom, and put it into his storage bag.

"Take it back for research."

He then lowered his voice and said a few words to those present.

"We've found the group that attacked the medicine garden. It's a gang of six who roam around the outskirts of Yunyang Market, led by two late-stage Qi Refining cultivators."

He paused.

"To my shame, this group of cultivators was hired by one of the elders in our family."

He said he was ashamed, but there was a hint of schadenfreude on the face of this Wang family cultivator.

"Originally, I was handling external affairs for my family, but the leader of the treacherous cultivators suddenly had ulterior motives."

The cultivator surnamed Zhou's expression changed slightly.

The steward of the Wang family continued.

"But the leader of this group has a problem. His cultivation has reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, almost reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. People who are close to Foundation Establishment have different ideas. They feel that working for the Wang family is not enough to accumulate enough resources for Foundation Establishment, so they plan to take a gamble on their own. Several of the rare medicinal herbs in the herb garden are materials for Foundation Establishment Pills, and he has his eye on them."

Manager Wang stood to the side listening, his face expressionless.

After explaining the situation, the Wang family steward arranged for a few people to stay temporarily in the herb garden to assist in the defense, and then left with the array's core.

That afternoon, Li Yuan packed his things, said goodbye to Steward Wang, and left the herb garden to return to the Talisman Hall.

After walking along the mountain path for most of the day, the courtyard of Futang appeared in front of us.

I returned to the stone house where I lived and closed the door.

Li Yuan did not spread out the talisman paper, nor did he take out the talisman brush.

He sat cross-legged on the bed and began to practice the Spirit Guiding Technique.

The Qi Gathering Talisman hangs in the equipment slot, and its permanent status requires cultivating one hundred cycles of Qi within thirty-six hours. After achieving minor success in the Hundred Meridians Returning to Origin Technique, the speed of Qi circulation increased by nearly 30%, and there was much more time available than before.

The spiritual energy surged into the body, and the pure spiritual power removed impurities, condensing and sinking into the dantian.

One cycle, two cycles, three cycles.

As evening approached, there were two knocks on the stone house door.

"Li Yuan, it's me."

Old Sun's voice.

Li Yuan opened his eyes, got up, and opened the door.

Old Sun stood at the door, not wearing an apron, dressed in a slightly worn brown outfit, as if he had come all this way on purpose.

He peeked into the room, confirmed that Li Yuan was the only one there, and then walked in and sat down on the stool at the table.

"I heard you had an accident at the herb garden?"

"Um."

Li Yuan sat down on the bed and briefly recounted what had happened.

Six cultivators at the Tribulation stage, two at the late stage of Qi Refining, the formation was broken, rare medicinal herbs were uprooted, and the cultivator surnamed Feng almost didn't make it back.

As Old Sun listened, he tapped his fingers on the table.

After Li Yuan finished speaking, Lao Sun did not immediately respond, but tilted his head and thought for a while.

"No wonder."

"No wonder."

"No wonder the higher-ups are investigating alchemists." Old Sun withdrew his hand from the table and leaned back in his chair.

He rubbed his chin.

"The alchemy hall is inquiring about someone. His surname is He, and he's a master alchemist who works in Yunyang Market."

Li Yuan looked at him.

Old Sun rested his elbows on the edge of the table and leaned closer.

"This person can refine Foundation Establishment Pills."

He held up one finger.

"And it's the kind of thing where they'll refine anything for you if you pay. They don't pick and choose customers, they don't ask where you come from. You just bring the materials and spirit stones to their door, and as long as you have everything and the price is right, they'll refine it for you. Whether you're a rogue cultivator, a family disciple, or whatever, they treat everyone the same."

Old Sun put his fingers down.

"There are several alchemists in Yunyang Market who can refine Foundation Establishment Pills, but most of them are selective. Some only accept regular customers, some verify identity and background, and some simply only work for sects and large families. Alchemist He is the only one who doesn't care about anything."

He patted his thigh.

"I have some connection with him. When I was in Yunyang Market, I was fortunate enough to find a herb that could strengthen the soul, and the effect was pretty good. I took that herb to him and exchanged it for a couple of alchemy techniques. So I learned a few tricks."

"And then?"

"Later, I couldn't make a living in Yunyang Market anymore," Old Sun said, shrugging. "There were too many alchemists there, the competition was too fierce. Business got worse and worse."

He rubbed his fingers together.

"So I went to the market for rogue cultivators. The market for rogue cultivators is small and there aren't many decent alchemists. I did quite well there for a while. But then I felt that these rogue cultivators were unreliable. So I left again and came to our Qinghe Market."

Old Sun paused here.

"Where is Alchemist He?" Li Yuan asked.

"How would I know? But I guess he's been staying in Yunyang Market the whole time, hasn't moved." Old Sun shook his head. "A master alchemist of that level has a fixed shop and customers in Yunyang Market, so he wouldn't be running around like I am. Besides, Yunyang Market is Yuanyang Sect territory, which is much safer than outside, so there's no reason for him to leave."

Li Yuan hummed in agreement.

Old Sun withdrew his hand from the edge of the table and stood up.

"The information they're looking into regarding Alchemist He is probably trying to figure out who those bandits will hire to refine pills after they stole the medicinal herbs."

He took two steps toward the door, then turned back to look at Li Yuan.

"That leader of the traitorous cultivators is about to establish his foundation. He stole the materials for the Foundation Establishment Pill, and his next step will definitely be to find someone to refine the pill. The only alchemist around here who can refine Foundation Establishment Pills and isn't picky about clients is Alchemist He."

He patted the dust off his clothes.

"This doesn't really concern us; I was just mentioning it to you casually."

"By the way, do you still need the Killing Essence Pills? I've recently accumulated a new batch."

"Yes. Send it to me next time."

Old Sun grunted in agreement, then pushed open the door and went out.

Li Yuan closed the door and sat back down on the bed.

Close your eyes and circulate the Spirit Guiding Technique.

The spiritual energy surged into the body and settled in the dantian.

The process of making the Qi Gathering Talisman permanent is underway.

One cycle, two cycles.

The sky outside the window gradually darkened. The Fu Tang residential area was so quiet that only the occasional sound of footsteps could be heard.

Li Yuan closed his eyes, his breathing even, and his spiritual energy circulated continuously within his body.