Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

When Li Yuan returned to Yunyang Market, it was already completely dark.

The guard at the city gate glanced at him a couple more times, scanned the spirit stone fragments, found nothing unusual, and let him pass.

Back in the courtyard, after closing the door, Li Yuan took out and counted the spoils from his storage bag one by one.

The two cultivators' storage bags together contained: over two hundred spirit stones, several bottles of pills—two bottles of Shattering Pills, one bottle of Rejuvenating Pills, and one bottle of an unfamiliar dark-colored pill.

The muscular cultivator's short sword was well-made, but it had no inscription, so keeping it was of little use.

The tall, thin man had three dark-colored spheres as spares. These were disposable attack artifacts, quite powerful, but they were gone once used.

Li Yuan didn't take much from the Li family cultivators; he only accepted spirit stones and pills.

After the inventory was completed, the spirit stones were put into storage bags, and the pills were sorted by type and placed on the corner of the table.

If you sell that short sword and the dark sphere, you can probably get thirty or forty spirit stones.

After teaching Han Qing the next morning, Li Yuan went out for a run.

First, I went to the area where independent cultivators gathered and sold the short sword and the sphere, exchanging them for several dozen spirit stones. Then I went to several herbal medicine shops on the main street to inquire about the price of Nine-Turn Spirit Mushroom.

Neither of the two major herbal medicine shops had any Nine-Turn Ganoderma lucidum in stock. The shopkeepers said that this stuff only comes from a few places, and the amount that enters the market each year is extremely small; sometimes, you can't see a single plant for several months in a row.

After leaving the herbal medicine shop, Li Yuan walked back along the main street.

When I reached the entrance of the side alley, I remembered the bronze token that Master He Dan had given me.

Underground trade fair.

The first show is tonight. In the basement of the teahouse at the end of East Street.

The night in Yunyang Market was much quieter than during the day, but not deserted. The spirit lanterns on the main street were lit, and occasionally a wandering cultivator would walk by. The footsteps of the patrolmen could be heard from afar and then fade away.

When evening came, Li Yuan walked east along the main street and turned into East Street.

The teahouse at the end of East Street was still lit. Two or three wandering monks were drinking tea in the tea seats on the first floor, while the owner was dozing behind the counter.

Li Yuan walked into a narrow alleyway on the side of the teahouse. At the end of the alley was an inconspicuous wooden door, the door panel was old, and most of the paint had peeled off.

A person was standing in front of the door.

He was in his forties, burly, wearing a black short-sleeved shirt, his hands clasped in front of his chest, his face expressionless. His cultivation level was at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Li Yuan flashed the bronze token.

The gatekeeper glanced at the runes on the token, and his expression became more respectful.

He nodded and took something from the shelf behind him and handed it to him.

A mask.

A dark gray mask covered the entire face, revealing only the eyes. The inside of the mask was engraved with fine spiritual patterns and felt slightly cool to the touch.

"Wearing it will conceal your scent," the gatekeeper said in a deep voice.

Li Yuan put the mask on his face.

The moment the mask touched the face, the spiritual runes on the inside activated. An extremely fine spiritual energy barrier expanded from the edge of the mask, covering the entire head and neck.

The breath was greatly reduced.

His face was completely covered. The dark gray mask had no distinguishing features.

The gatekeeper pushed open the wooden door and stepped aside to make way.

Li Yuan went inside.

Behind the wooden door was a stone staircase leading downwards. The staircase was short, with a dozen or so steps leading to a secret underground chamber.

The secret chamber was more spacious than expected. It was about five or six zhang in circumference, surrounded by stone walls, and the ceiling was inlaid with several spirit stones to provide lighting. The light was dim but sufficient.

In the center of the secret room stood a long table covered with a black velvet cloth. Around the table stood about a dozen people, all wearing the same dark gray masks.

Only a slight aura could be sensed, the face was not visible, and the voice was slightly altered by the spiritual patterns inside the mask.

There were already quite a few things on the table: several bottles of pills, several pieces of ore, two or three scrolls of bamboo slips, several spiritual herbs, and some scattered magical artifact parts.

Each item had a small wooden tag next to it, with its name, brief description, and price written on it.

Li Yuan walked slowly along the edge of the table, his gaze sweeping over the items on it.

Most of them are standard cultivation supplies, ranging in grade from low-grade to mid-grade of the first tier. The prices are slightly lower than the market price, but not by much.

When Li Yuan reached the middle of the table, his gaze stopped.

A Ganoderma lucidum.

It was placed in a sealed jade box, the lid of which was half open, revealing the Ganoderma lucidum inside.

The cap is dark golden, with nine distinct rings on its surface, each ring representing a ten-year growth period. Nine rings, ninety years.

Nine-Turned Lingzhi.

The mushroom is in excellent condition. The cap is intact, without any insect damage or insect infestation, and the dark golden luster on the surface is calm and understated. The spiritual energy fluctuations are pure, and its medicinal effect should be at the top-grade level.

The wooden sign next to it reads: Nine-Turned Lingzhi, 90-year supply, 1,300 spirit stones.

One thousand three hundred.

It's almost 20% lower than the market price.

Li Yuan glanced at it twice and immediately made a purchase.

The Nine-Turn Spirit Mushroom fell into his hand, and all the materials for the Breaking Yuan Pill were now gathered.

There were only about a hundred spirit stones left in the storage bag.

Keep going.

There were only about a hundred spirit stones left in the storage bag.

Keep going.

At the end of the table were a few miscellaneous items: a dark-colored ore, a slightly worn throwing knife, and a palm-sized jade pendant.

When Li Yuan's fingers touched the jade pendant, a panel popped up.

[Equipable item detected]

[Item Attribute Level: White]

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

White entries.

The jade pendant wasn't particularly finely crafted; it was made of dark blue-green jade with a few simple spiritual patterns carved on its surface.

The wooden sign next to it reads: Qi and Blood Jade Pendant, to assist in the circulation of Qi and Blood, 80 spirit stones.

Li Yuan thought for a moment, counted out the spirit stones and placed them on the table, then put the jade pendant into his storage bag.

After spending some more time in the secret room, I didn't find anything else worth buying.

Li Yuan walked up the stone steps, took off the mask at the door and returned it to the gatekeeper, then left the narrow alley.

The night breeze brushed against my face, and the aura concealed by the mask returned to normal.

Back in the courtyard, I closed the door.

Li Yuan took out the Qi and Blood Jade Pendant from his storage bag and placed it on the table.

Fingertips touched the surface of the jade pendant.

[Equipable item detected: Vitality Jade Pendant (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Qi and Blood Control (White) - Increases the accuracy of Qi and Blood control by 30%, and reduces the loss during Qi and Blood circulation by 20%]

[Preview of conditions for permanentization: Qi and blood must circulate throughout the body, and a body-refining technique must reach the entry level (0/2)]

[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace current equipment?]

White entry. Qi, Blood, and Essence Control.

The precision of Qi and blood control is improved by 30%, and the operational losses are reduced by 20%.

There are two conditions for permanence. First, the circulation of Qi and blood must be completed throughout the body – this means that the circulation of Qi and blood has been confirmed to be complete, and the conditions are met.

One has reached the entry level in a body-refining technique—the Iron Wall Body Refining Technique has been mastered, far exceeding the entry level, and the conditions are met.

Both conditions are met.

With a thought, Li Yuan released the Hundred Meridians Returning to Origin Technique.

Equip the Qi and Blood Jade Pendant.

The panel then popped up.

The conditions for permanent Qi and Blood Essence Control (White) have been met.

Is it permanent?

Yes.

[Permanentization successful]

[Qi, Blood, Essence, and Control (White)] has become a permanent entry.

[Equipment consumed]

The Qi and Blood Jade Pendant transformed into a dark cyan light between his fingers and entered his body.

The changes are subtle yet clear. As Qi and blood circulate in the meridians, the loss at each bend and at each node is reduced. The total flow of Qi and blood remains the same, but the effective flow increases.

Previously, 20% of the body's vital energy and blood were wasted during circulation due to various minor losses; now, this waste has been significantly reduced.

It directly aids in the practice of body-refining techniques. When the Iron Wall Body-Refining Technique is circulated, the efficiency of qi and blood participating in tempering is even higher.

Li Yuan continued to practice his internal energy.

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

The Spirit Gathering Pill increases cultivation speed by 50% due to the condensation of spiritual energy. The Breakthrough Pill increases spiritual power by 20%.

The Blood Coagulation Pill's dual cultivation of spirit and blood allows Qi and blood to circulate in sync. The permanent attribute of Qi and Blood Control further enhances the efficiency of Qi and blood circulation.

With multiple enhancements, the increase in spiritual power brought about by each cycle is extremely considerable.

One cycle, two cycles, three cycles.

The spiritual energy in the dantian accumulates day by day, through one cycle after another.

The dantian of a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining has an extremely large capacity. The permanent attributes of Spiritual Essence Expansion and Spiritual Power Condensation have raised its capacity and density to a level far exceeding that of other cultivators at the same level.

But even the largest capacity has its limits.

When the twelfth cycle was completed, Li Yuan sensed a change.

The spiritual energy in his dantian stopped sinking inward.

It's full.

The spiritual energy filled every corner of his dantian, reaching its maximum density. Any more would overflow.

The Great Perfection of Qi Refining.

The limit of the Qi Refining stage.

The spiritual energy in the dantian has reached the highest density that this level can accommodate. Going beyond that is not an increase in quantity, but a qualitative change.

From gaseous state to liquid state.

From Qi Refining to Foundation Building.

The panel jumped.

[Cultivation Level: Great Perfection of Qi Refining]

Li Yuan opened his eyes.

Raise your hand, clench it into a fist, then relax it.

The texture of the spiritual energy within my body was completely different from before. Every strand of spiritual energy had been condensed to its extreme.

The next step is foundation building.