Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

The monster materials sold for fourteen spirit stones, and with what he had saved up, Li Yuan had a total of about twenty spirit stones in his pocket.

This is the most comfortable time we've had since we traveled through time.

After inspecting East Street and returning to his residence, Li Yuan sat on the edge of the bed and counted the spirit stones he had poured onto the table.

Twenty-two pieces are enough to permanently add the entry for Baiyudao (白玉稻).

One pound of white jade rice costs one spirit stone, so ten pounds would cost ten spirit stones. The condition for permanent status is consuming ten pounds of the same type of spirit grain, meaning you have to buy and finish ten pounds before you can achieve this.

After spending it all, I still had twelve yuan left, which wasn't a small amount.

Without hesitation, Li Yuan patrolled East Street and North Alley the next day and found three stalls selling spirit grains.

The price of white jade rice was about the same as before, around one spirit stone per jin. One vendor offered one yuan and twenty cents, but Li Yuan ignored him and bought a few jin from each of the other two vendors, totaling ten jin.

Back at his residence, Li Yuan spread all ten catties of white jade rice on the table, adding to the one catty he had bought earlier, for a total of eleven catties.

Once the oil paper package was opened, the jade-white spirit grains were plump and exuded a faint spiritual energy fluctuation, clearly of a higher quality than the green jade rice.

Li Yuan picked up one jin (500g) of the liquid, and the panel appeared:

[Equipable item detected: White Jade Rice (requires 1 jin)]

[Entry Preview: Five Grains Nourish Qi (White) - Increases stamina recovery speed by 50% and improves Qi and Blood to a certain extent]

[Permanentization Requirements: Consume at least 10 jin of the same type of spiritual grain]

[Current equipment slot is full (2/2). Replace current equipment?]

With his equipment inventory full, Li Yuan unequipped the Iron Ox Kung Fu and equipped the White Jade Rice Kung Fu.

A pound of white jade rice transformed into a faint light and merged into the body.

The next moment, a gentle warmth rose from the abdomen. Unlike the feeling of strengthening the internal organs, which was concentrated in the five internal organs, this warmth was more even and spread slowly from the dantian to the limbs, like warm water soaking the whole body.

The warmth stimulated the flow of Qi and blood, making them more active. It wasn't that the amount increased, but rather that the flow rate accelerated. The fingertips and soles of the feet, which used to occasionally feel cold, could now feel a steady flow of Qi and blood.

My physical strength is also recovering—the fatigue accumulated from the afternoon's patrol is visibly fading away.

[Equipped: White Jade Rice]

[Acquired entry: Five Grains Nourish Qi (White) - Increases stamina recovery speed by 50% and increases Qi and Blood to a certain extent]

[Permanentization Progress: 0/10]

However, ten catties of spiritual grain cannot be eaten in one meal.

Although cultivators in the Qi Refining stage can eat more than ordinary people, spiritual grains are different from ordinary grains, and their bodies cannot digest too much of them.

According to normal consumption, eating about one pound a day is a suitable upper limit.

Ten pounds, that's enough to last at least ten days.

However, since I possess ordinary martial arts techniques, my qi and blood are even more vigorous, so eating two kilograms a day should be no problem.

Li Yuan rewrapped the excess white jade rice in oil paper and put it away, leaving one jin (500g) for himself. He knew he couldn't finish two jin (400g) a day at once.

Cultivators don't need any complicated methods to cook spiritual grains; they can simply boil them in water, and the spiritual energy won't be lost due to heating.

There was a simple stove in the corner of the wooden house, which was rarely used. Although cultivators in the Qi Refining stage could not abstain from grains, they only needed to eat one meal of ordinary food a day and relied on spiritual energy to sustain themselves most of the time.

Li Yuan used his fireball technique to start a fire, then washed the white jade rice thoroughly, put it in a pot, added water, and covered it with a lid.

While waiting for the spirit grain to cook, Li Yuan practiced the five forms of the Iron Ox Kung Fu in an empty space in the room.

Qi and blood flow smoothly through the internal organs and limbs, and the circulation of Qi and blood in the advanced stage becomes increasingly smooth, with the body cooperating on its own almost without conscious guidance.

When the cooking was finished, a faint aroma of rice wafted from the pot.

The aroma of Linggu rice is different from that of ordinary rice; it is light and not greasy, with a subtle sweetness that makes it clear that it is not an ordinary product.

Li Yuan lifted the pot lid, revealing jade-white rice grains that had absorbed plenty of water, each grain distinct, with a subtle sheen on their surface.

I ladled out a bowl, and the first bite was soft, sticky, and smooth—it was unlike any rice I'd ever eaten on Earth.

The moment the rice grains were crushed on the tongue, a warm sensation slid down the throat and spread along the esophagus to the chest and abdomen.

It's not spiritual power, it's qi and blood.

It felt like drinking a bowl of hot soup, warming me from the inside out.

Li Yuan ate one bite after another, and soon finished the whole pound of white jade rice.

As the last bite was swallowed, a prompt popped up on the panel.

【Nourishing Qi with Five Grains (White)】

[Permanentization Progress: 1/10]

The effects after taking it were more obvious than Li Yuan had expected.

The feeling of abundant qi and blood spread from the abdominal cavity to the limbs, and even the fingertips felt warm.

It wasn't the feeling of being stuffed after eating, but rather a feeling of being filled with energy from the inside out, with inexhaustible energy emanating from my entire body.

It is similar to the abundance of Qi and blood after practicing the Yangyuan Gong, but it comes more directly and faster.

Li Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed, guiding the flow of Qi and blood according to the techniques of Yangyuan Gong.

The effect is immediate.

When Qi and blood are abundant, each movement of the Nourishing Vital Energy Exercise flows much more smoothly than usual. Qi and blood no longer diminish when they reach the extremities, and a stable flow of Qi and blood can be felt in the fingertips and soles of the feet.

More importantly, the efficiency of practicing Iron Ox Kung Fu also increased.

Li Yuan stood up and performed all five forms of the Iron Ox Kung Fu in one go. The force of his blood and qi purging his internal organs was much stronger than usual, and the upward and downward pulling of the fifth form, Iron Ox Across the River, was also more stable than before.

[Iron Ox Skill: Proficient (196/400)]

After one round, the progress increased by nearly ten points, which is much faster than the usual six or seven points.

The principle is simple—ordinary cultivation methods train qi and blood; the more abundant the qi and blood, the higher the cultivation efficiency.

The effect of white jade rice is to improve qi and blood, which is equivalent to adding a layer of base fertilizer to the cultivation of ordinary martial arts.

The decision to permanently cultivate white jade rice has yielded greater returns than anticipated.

It's not just about having one more permanent entry.

After the Five Grains Nourish Qi is made permanent, the effects of physical recovery and improved blood circulation last a long time, which is equivalent to increasing the efficiency of Iron Ox Kung Fu and Nourishing Yuan Kung Fu.

The faster one learns the two mundane martial arts techniques, the sooner the strengthening of the internal organs will become permanent.

One link leads to another.

Li Yuan practiced the first three forms of the Nourishing Vitality Exercise twice more. After finishing the exercise, he sat cross-legged and began to circulate the Spirit Guiding Technique.

The spiritual energy entering the body is pure and unadulterated, circulating rapidly throughout the body. The three white entries each perform their respective functions, resulting in a cultivation efficiency far exceeding that of cultivators of the same level.

The spiritual energy in my dantian is steadily increasing, though it's still far from saturation, and there's a substantial increase with each cycle.

For the rest of the time, Li Yuan maintained a fixed rhythm.

Eat two catties of white jade rice every day, then practice the Iron Ox Kung Fu and the Nourishing Yuan Kung Fu, and finally cultivate the Spirit Guiding Technique.

The numbers on the panel steadily climbed.

[Five Grains Nourishing Qi (White) Permanentization Progress: 4/10]

[Iron Ox Skill: Proficient (254/400)]

[Nourishing Vital Energy Exercise: Beginner's Guide (158/200)]

After finishing the white jade rice, Li Yuan went out to patrol as usual.

The East Street was crowded with people in the afternoon. Li Yuan walked along the North Alley towards the south side of the market.

As I passed a general store, I saw several complete monster hides laid out on the stall. They were grayish-brown with coarse, stiff fur, and looked like low-grade first-tier horned hyena hides.

Li Yuan didn't stop walking, glancing at it out of the corner of his eye.

After taking two steps, he turned back.

The stall not only had animal hides, but also a few pieces of animal bones, a small bottle of animal blood, and in the corner, a rolled-up, complete pelt, its color much darker than the others, with neat cuts on the edges, and it was very clean.

Li Yuan bent down, his fingers resting on the rolled-up fur.

A panel pops up:

[Equipable item detected]

[Entry Level: White]

[Items not belonging to you cannot be equipped, and detailed information cannot be viewed.]

Li Yuan's fingers paused for a moment.

Monster hides can also be used as equipment.

I've handled countless animal hides and bones in the market and while hunting monsters, but they never showed up on the character panel. This one, however, does.

What's the difference?

Li Yuan turned the fur over, and the stall owner immediately came over to introduce it.

"This is the complete molted skin of the Ironscale Serpent, a mid-grade first-level skin, in excellent condition, without a single tear."

It's a complete molt. It wasn't skinned after being hunted; it's the whole skin that the monster sheds naturally.

No wonder the scraps from the previous hunting and processing didn't react—they weren't complete enough.

Of course, even if it's completely complete, it might not be able to be equipped.

Li Yuan put the shed skin back in its original place, his complexion returning to normal.

"How much?"

"Twelve spirit stones."

It's not cheap, but it's not unaffordable either.

I have enough spirit stones, but my equipment inventory is full. I can't equip the items I buy, and I can't even see the detailed descriptions.

If the entry's effect is mediocre, then the twelve spirit stones will have been wasted.

Li Yuan noted down the location and price of the stall, but did not make a purchase on the spot.

Let's wait until the equipment slots are empty before we talk about it.

"I'll think about it." Li Yuan nodded and turned to continue his patrol.

When I returned to my residence in the evening, the wooden door of Fanghe next door was open, and a person was sitting on the threshold sharpening a knife.

The short knife rested on his knee, and the whetstone was pushed back and forth, making a rustling sound.

Fang He saw Li Yuan, stood up and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Deputy Captain Li, there's something I'd like to ask you."

Li Yuan stopped in his tracks.

Fang He didn't put down the millstone in his hand and went straight to the point.

"I'm basically idle right now, with no source of income, and all I know is how to make monster hide talismans. I'd like to join the market's guard team; could you put in a good word for me?"

Li Yuan glanced at him.

"It's no use asking me about this. I'm part of the patrol team; the guard team has no jurisdiction over this."

Fang He nodded and took a step back.

"Then help me find out some information. Is the guard team still recruiting? What are the requirements and procedures?"

Li Yuan leaned against the door frame, not answering immediately.

Fang He came from a demon-hunting team, had combat experience, and his cultivation was not bad either.

Logically, since his team was scattered, the most reasonable choice would be to wait for the captain to reorganize the team before going into the mountains, rather than coming to the market to join the guard team.

"Didn't your captain say you'd regroup once things calmed down?" Li Yuan asked. "You have experience with the demon-hunting team; wouldn't it be more reliable to go back and form a new team?"

Fang He put the grindstone into his pocket and remained silent for a moment.

"The captain can't be relied on."

Li Yuan did not press the matter further.

"I'll inquire about the guard team for you, and I'll let you know if I find out."

Fang He nodded, cupped his hands in greeting, and turned to go back into the house.

Li Yuan pushed open his door and bolted it shut.

Fang He was unwilling to return to the demon-hunting team. He didn't go into the specific reasons, but it was clear that it wasn't a decision made on a whim.

However, this is Fang He's own business and has little to do with me.

It would be helpful to inquire about it; the guard team is indeed short-staffed right now.

Li Yuan put the matter aside and sat down by the bed.

There were still six packages of white jade rice wrapped in oil paper on the table, each package weighing one jin (500 grams), neatly arranged.

I opened a package and started a fire to cook the grains.

While the spirit grain was cooking, Li Yuan sat cross-legged and began circulating the Spirit Guiding Technique. The spiritual energy entered his body pure and unadulterated, circulating rapidly throughout his body, and the spiritual power in his dantian steadily increased.

As the aroma of rice filled the air, Li Yuan finished his practice.

After finishing a bowl of white jade rice, my blood and energy were replenished, and warmth spread from my abdomen to my extremities.

[Five Grains Nourishing Qi (White) Permanentization Progress: 5/10]

More than halfway done.

Li Yuan cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks, stood up, and, taking advantage of his abundant qi and blood, practiced the five forms of the Iron Ox Kung Fu once, and then practiced the first three forms of the Nourishing Vital Energy Kung Fu twice.

After practicing the two techniques, my body felt slightly warm and a thin layer of sweat appeared on my forehead, which was then cleansed by my cleansing constitution.

Finish your practice and close your eyes to rest.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, and the wooden house was quiet and peaceful.