Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

After mastering the Iron Ox Kung Fu, the feeling of the five movements flowing smoothly together is completely different from before.

The circulation of Qi and blood in the body no longer requires deliberate guidance; the body has formed an instinctive memory, and the transitions and connections of each movement are much smoother.

After finishing his Iron Ox Kung Fu practice, Li Yuan went out and patrolled the market along East Street, maintaining order while keeping an eye on the roadside stalls.

When we reached the fork in the road between East Street and North Alley, there were several people gathered in front of a roadside stall.

Li Yuan walked closer and took a look. There were several miscellaneous items on the stall: two old magic tools, a rusty throwing knife, several pieces of mediocre ore, and a thumb-sized blue jade bead, placed in the middle of a mat.

Li Yuan placed his finger on the blue jade bead.

The panel is not responding.

It landed on the rusty throwing knife.

still none.

Finally, the finger touched the copper ring.

[Equipable item detected: Spirit Gathering Ring (Complete)]

[Item Attribute Level: White]

[Note: Items not belonging to the user cannot be equipped, and detailed information cannot be viewed.]

Li Yuan turned the copper ring over and looked at it. Under the rust on the surface, there were several fine lines faintly engraved, which were traces of spirit patterns.

This thing was originally supposed to be a magical artifact used to assist in cultivation. It's not of high grade, but it's not some cheap, low-quality item either.

"How much is this?" Li Yuanchao asked the stall owner, waving the brass ring in his hand.

The stall owner, a lean, middle-aged wandering monk, immediately brightened up.

"Fifteen spirit stones. This is a genuine spirit gathering ring. It used to sell for around twenty on the market, but it's cheap now because it's being cleared out."

Li Yuan put the copper ring back without haggling over the price.

I don't have enough spirit stones on hand.

These days, Li Yuan occasionally comes into contact with some items, and sometimes system prompts pop up, but he can't afford most of them, and the few he can afford aren't very useful.

Judging from my current equipment, the attributes are closely related to the function of the items.

Moreover, even if you can afford it, you don't have an equipment slot; you still need to cultivate your Yuan Gong and white corn.

Li Yuan continued walking along the North Alley, his mind racing with ideas on how to earn spirit stones.

The monthly salary is fixed, so it's unrealistic to expect to save money through normal means.

The most direct way to quickly earn spirit stones is to join the guard team.

The guards' monthly salary is ten spirit stones, almost double that of the patrol officers, and since I'm currently the deputy captain, I'd definitely earn more if I joined the guards.

Moreover, the guard team's mission is no longer limited to patrolling around the market. In order to deal with the situation of the monsters migrating out, the guard team has expanded its business - taking the initiative to go out and kill monsters around the Yuanheng Mountains. The materials of the monsters hunted are divided up according to the number of people. If you are lucky, you can get dozens of spirit stones in one trip.

In addition, the market also has a number of bounty missions posted all year round, ranging from clearing out a monster's den to tracking down a cultivator who has been robbed. The bounty ranges from a few to dozens of spirit stones, and whoever completes the mission keeps it.

These are all ways to make money quickly.

But Li Yuan rejected it without much thought.

The prerequisite for making money quickly is coming back alive.

The casualty rate among the guard teams that took the initiative to attack was consistently high.

With my own equipment panel and a promising future, there's no need to risk my life for a few spirit stones.

Save it slowly, that's fine.

As the patrol drew to a close, Li Yuan returned to the patrol team's base to report back.

The door to the main room was open. Wang De sat behind a desk with a long list of names spread out in front of him. A clerk from the management office stood next to him, and the two were talking about something.

Li Yuan stood at the door for a while.

The clerk left first, and Wang Decai beckoned Li Yuan to come in.

"Perfect timing, I have something to tell you."

Wang De pushed the roster on the table aside and pulled out a new document from underneath.

"The Wang family is recruiting a group of independent cultivators."

Li Yuan took the document and glanced at it.

The document was short, but its gist was that, given the recent severe shortage of manpower in the guard team, the royal family had decided to openly recruit independent cultivators from both inside and outside the city. Those selected would become peripheral members of the royal family, signing short-term contracts with the family, and their main responsibility would be to assist the guard team in maintaining order around the city.

In terms of treatment, they are similar to regular guards. Their monthly salary is based on their cultivation level and strength, and they are given basic pills. Their share of the profits from hunting demons is calculated proportionally.

However, screening is required.

The contract period is a minimum of three months and a maximum of one year.

"Are you that short-handed?" Li Yuan asked.

Wang De leaned back in his chair, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

"Right now, about half of the guards are patrolling outside, and the other half are on duty around the market. In addition, with more and more missions requiring proactive action, and the Wang family not wanting to transfer more people from the main family, they can only recruit from independent cultivators."

Wang De put down his teacup and glanced at Li Yuan.

"The matter of the independent cultivators is the guard team's business, you don't need to worry about it. But there's something that concerns you."

"After the guards were transferred out, the patrols around the market area couldn't be maintained. The management office's idea is to temporarily transfer the outer patrols to the patrol team."

Li Yuan's brow twitched slightly.

The outer perimeter of the market area—that used to be the area of ​​responsibility for the guards.

From the city wall to the surrounding area for several miles, including the settlements of independent monks and the main roads leading in and out of the city, these areas were originally patrolled by guards.

If we include Lingtian Ward, the area is even wider.

The patrol team only takes care of matters within the walls of the market area; the responsibilities of both sides are clearly defined.

"I've arranged the patrol routes and times for you," Wang De said, handing over another document. "You don't need to go every day, just patrol every three days."

Li Yuan took the document and looked at it. It marked the patrol route, the places to pass through, and precautions.

The route isn't far, but the problem lies in safety.

The settlement of independent cultivators was attacked a few days ago, resulting in the deaths of two people.

"Any extra subsidies?" Li Yuan asked.

"Each patrol on the outer perimeter will award an extra half a spirit stone, about ten times a month."

Five spirit stones a month, plus the original six spirit stones, for a total of eleven.

Compared to the risks of joining the guard team, this income is already quite good, and there's no way to refuse it.

Li Yuan put the document away and nodded in agreement.

By the time we left the camp, the sun was already setting.

Li Yuan walked along the North Alley towards his residence.

When Li Yuan arrived at the residential area, he saw someone in the distance in front of the row of wooden houses where he lived.

A tall, thin young cultivator stood at the door of the room next to Fanghe River, hanging an old cloth curtain on the door frame.

Upon noticing Li Yuan's footsteps, the young cultivator straightened up and turned to look.

He was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a fair complexion, not short but rather thin, wearing a faded bluish-gray robe, and breathing steadily.

Their eyes met.

The young cultivator cupped his hands in a polite gesture.

"To clarify, we just moved here."

"Li Yuan".

Chen Shu nodded, said nothing more, and turned to continue hanging his curtain.

Unlike Fang He, who had come over and chatted with me when he moved in, this person simply gave his name and that was it.

Li Yuan didn't ask any further questions, nodded, and pushed open his wooden door to go inside.

The sound of curtains swaying in the wind came from next door, but it soon quieted down.

Li Yuan bolted the door and sat down on the edge of the bed.

I first practiced the five forms of Iron Ox Kung Fu, allowing my Qi and blood to flow through my body along a fixed route, cleansing my internal organs and limbs. After reaching a proficient level, the flow of each form became significantly smoother than in the beginner stage, and my body's instinctive memory grew stronger and stronger.

After practicing the Iron Ox Kung Fu, I practiced the first three forms of the Nourishing Vital Energy Kung Fu twice.

The progress of the Nourishing Vitality Technique was still slow. Without the support of equipment, each Qi and blood node had to be found by feel. It took longer to complete the third form, Blood Nourishment, than all five forms of the Iron Ox Technique combined.

[Nourishing Vital Energy Exercise: Beginner's Guide (78/200)]

After practicing the two techniques, Li Yuan sat cross-legged and began to circulate the Spirit Guiding Technique.

The spiritual energy enters the body, pure and without impurities, and circulates rapidly throughout the body.