Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

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The second batch of Refining Divine Talismans was completed two days before the deadline.

Forty sheets.

Li Yuan divided the finished products into two piles according to quality, put them into storage bags, left the courtyard, and walked along the side alley to the front of He Danshi's house.

The token flashed, and the spiritual energy fluctuations of the guards inside the courtyard wall paused for a moment, but did not stop them.

Push the door open and go inside.

Master He sat behind the stone table in the same posture as last time, his hands resting on the tabletop. Several animal hides with writing on them were spread out in front of him, as if he were compiling some kind of list.

Seeing Li Yuan enter, he put the animal hide aside.

Li Yuan placed two stacks of Refining Spirit Talismans on the table.

Forty sheets.

Master He Dan reached out and picked up the first stack, flipping through it from beginning to end. He pressed his finger on each talisman, paused for a moment, and then flipped to the next one.

After flipping through the first stack, I picked up the second stack.

This stack was flipped faster than the first, without any pauses.

After flipping through them all, Master He gathered the two stacks of talismans together and nodded.

"It's better than the last batch."

He put the talisman into the wooden box under the table, straightened up, and looked at Li Yuan.

"We don't need to make any more offerings for now. I'll be away for a while, and we'll talk about it when I get back."

He pulled a porcelain bottle from under the table, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Li Yuan.

"The payment for this batch."

Li Yuan took the porcelain bottle, uncorked it, and glanced inside. It contained a pale golden pill, slightly inferior in quality to the Spirit Gathering Pill given to him last time, but its spiritual energy fluctuations were still considerable.

Unfortunately, there's no entry for this.

"Gathering Essence Pill. It's used to replenish spiritual energy, and its effect is twice as strong as ordinary Gathering Qi Pill."

After finishing speaking, Master He lowered his head and continued organizing his list of animal hides, as if to see the guest out.

Li Yuan carefully put away the pills, cupped his hands in greeting, and left the courtyard.

Not long after I returned to my residence, Wang Lu arrived.

He stood at the courtyard gate without coming in, his hands tucked into his sleeves.

"Has Senior He's project been paused?"

"Um."

"Then let's change your task." Wang Lu pulled one hand out of his sleeve and pointed south towards the market. "Go to the outer perimeter."

He withdrew his hand.

"The group of bandits we investigated earlier has recently been active on the outskirts of the market. The higher-ups believe they are unlikely to live in the city, but are more likely hiding in the outlying areas where independent cultivators congregate."

He looked at Li Yuan.

"Go stay on the outskirts for a while, making talismans and keeping an eye out for any activity. If you can find any clues, great; if not, just consider it a change of scenery."

Is the surrounding area safe?

"It's worse than in the city, but not by much," Wang Lu said calmly. "Yunyang Market is Yuanyang Sect's territory. Although the outer perimeter isn't inside the city walls, Yuanyang Sect's patrol range covers an area of ​​thirty miles around. Cultivators dare not act too recklessly within this range."

He put his hands back into his sleeves.

"Moreover, the thieves here are different from those outside. Those outside kill to steal treasures, while most of them here only care about wealth and not their lives. They run away after taking what they want, afraid of attracting the attention of the Yuan Yang Sect. If they really want to fight, they'll lure people to a more distant place first."

Li Yuan hummed in agreement.

"Find your own accommodation. There are plenty of makeshift sheds and simple houses set up by unlicensed repairmen on the outskirts, and the rent is much cheaper than in the city."

Wang Lu left after he finished speaking.

That afternoon, Li Yuan packed up his belongings in the yard, canceled the lease, and left the south gate of Yunyangfang Market with his storage bag.

The scenery outside the city walls was completely different from that inside the city.

There were no flagstone paths, only solid yellow earth beneath our feet. There were no neat shopfronts; instead, on either side were scattered wooden sheds, thatched huts, and makeshift walls built of rubble. Some sheds didn't even have doors, just a tattered cloth curtain for privacy.

But there were quite a few people.

Various independent cultivators walked in twos and threes along the dirt road, most of them at the early and middle stages of Qi Refining. Their clothing was also more varied than in the city, with some wearing coarse cloth short shirts, some wearing worn-out long robes, and a few with patches upon patches on their clothes.

The air was filled with the smell of cooking fire smoke, the bitterness of herbs, and the aroma of meat broth wafting from an unknown direction.

Li Yuan walked along the dirt road for a while and stopped in a slightly tidy area by the roadside.

There are seven or eight wooden houses in this area, much sturdier than the surrounding sheds, arranged in two rows, separated by a narrow path. One of them has a wooden sign that says "For Rent" hanging on its door.

Li Yuan went over to take a look. The wooden house wasn't big, consisting of a main room and a small courtyard, with a courtyard wall made of rubble up to half a person's height. Inside the main room, there was a table and a bed, with enough space on the table to spread out three or four talismans.

"How much?"

A head popped out from the wooden house next door.

The man, in his early thirties, had a dark complexion and a slightly crooked smile. He was at the third level of Qi Refining.

"One spirit stone every fifteen days. Settlement every thirty days."

"I'll take it."

Li Yuan counted out two spirit stones.

The neighbor accepted the spirit stone and smiled even more broadly.

"My surname is Fang, and everyone calls me Fang Laosan. And you are?"

"Li Yuan".

"What do you do?"

"For making talismans."

Fang Laosan's eyes lit up.

"A talisman master?"

Li Yuan moved the things into the wooden house and arranged them properly. He spread out the table, placed the talisman brush on the brush holder, and put the spirit ink and cinnabar within easy reach.

Although the yard is small, there is enough space to set up a simple stove.

In the afternoon, Fang Laosan poked his head out again.

"Brother Li, do you sell the talismans you draw?"

"Sell."

Fang Laosan grinned.

"There's a severe shortage of talismans around here. The talisman shops in the city sell them for exorbitant prices, and most people can't afford them. They can only get a few by occasionally bumping into a traveling merchant. If you start selling them here, your business will definitely be booming."

He gestured with his hand towards the surrounding shantytown.

"The people here have low cultivation levels, and they often encounter monsters when they go out to gather herbs and hunt. Having a few fireball talismans for self-defense can save many lives."

Li Yuan thought about it.

"Just tell them for me."

Fang Laosan patted his chest.

"Leave it to me."

The next morning, Fang Laosan started running around everywhere.

No one knows how he spread the word, but three rogue cultivators came that afternoon, squatting at the entrance of Li Yuan's courtyard, timidly asking how much the talismans cost.

"Fireball talismans cost two spirit stones each, cleansing talismans cost ten and a half spirit stones each, and exorcism talismans cost three and a hundred each."

The three rogue cultivators looked at each other, pooled their spirit stones, and each bought a few.

He kept thanking me as he left, as if he had gotten a great deal.

The price of talismans in the outskirts was much lower than in the city, but the profit was still considerable for Li Yuan. Most of the materials were talisman paper he made himself from herbs, so the cost was extremely low.

After the news spread, more and more people came.

Seven or eight people came on the third day, and about ten on the fourth day. By the fifth day, there was a constant stream of people at Li Yuan's door from morning till night.

The most frequently purchased items were fireball talismans and cleansing talismans.

But the most popular item was the Breath-Concealing Talisman.

The cultivators on the outskirts have low cultivation levels and are most afraid of being targeted by demonic beasts when they go out. Wearing a concealment talisman can suppress their aura and reduce the chances of being noticed by demonic beasts.

A concealment talisman costs three spirit stones, much cheaper than in the city, and the rogue cultivators are scrambling to buy them.

Fang Laosan would happily squat at Li Yuan's door every day, helping to greet customers, and had become almost like a waiter.

"Come, come, Master Li's talismans, their quality is impeccable. They're one of a kind in the outer area, you won't find them again once you've missed them."

The name "Master Li" was first coined by Fang Laosan, and as he continued to use it, all the independent cultivators in the surrounding area started calling him that.

"Master Li, do you have any more Fireball Talismans?"

"Master Li, could you draw me a talisman to ward off evil spirits?"

"Master Li, next time you have a Concealing Breath Talisman, please save two for me first."

Li Yuan draws and sells talismans during the day and cultivates and makes talismans at night. Spirit stones come in one after another, much faster than the monthly salary he receives from the guard team.

Fang Laosan also benefited a lot; Li Yuan gave him many talismans.

Life is more comfortable here than in the city.

That afternoon, Li Yuan was sitting at a table in the courtyard drawing the Golden Blade Talisman.

Fang Laosan was squatting by the door next door, gnawing on dried meat and humming an off-key tune.

A few scattered cultivators walked along the dirt road on the outskirts, just like every day.

A person walked from the end of the dirt road.

His steps were neither fast nor slow, heading straight for Li Yuan's small courtyard.

He was in his thirties, of medium build, wearing a faded gray-brown short robe, with an ordinary face and no particularly striking features.

Five layers of Qi Refining.

Li Yuan's gaze swept over him, and just as he was about to look away, he suddenly stopped.

The man had a jade pendant hanging from his waist.

It was made of dark jade, with fine spiritual patterns engraved on its surface. Its size, shape, and the arrangement of the spiritual patterns were almost identical to the Concealing Breath Jade Pendant that Li Yuan had previously seized.

It's not similar, it's the same.

Li Yuan's gaze lingered on the jade pendant for a couple of moments longer.

Then he noticed a second detail.

On the outside of the man's left arm, between the cuff and the elbow, there was an inconspicuous dark stain on his robe. It didn't look like a stain, but rather more like some kind of pattern that had been deliberately covered by the fabric, with only a section of the edge showing.

The gray-black lines and curved arcs resemble part of some kind of claw-shaped pattern.

The man had already reached the courtyard gate, glanced inside, and spoke.

"I heard there are talisman masters here selling concealment talismans?"