Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Several days later, the first-tier high-grade demon beast in the east was surrounded and killed by three late-stage Qi Refining cultivators in the market.

After the news reached the market, the tense atmosphere that had lasted for several days finally eased.

However, it was only a slight relief. The fact that a first-grade high-quality beast could appear five or six miles east of the market was itself suspicious.

Li Yuan maintained his daily routine as usual. He practiced the five forms of the Iron Ox Kung Fu once a day, squeezed in the Nourishing Vitality Kung Fu whenever he had a spare moment, and cultivated the Spirit Guiding Technique at night. The outer patrols were suspended, and the patrol area was shrunk back to the interior of the market.

The workload hasn't decreased at all.

Today is the day for monthly pay. After becoming a deputy captain, I am now considered a minor official, so I no longer need to queue up to collect my monthly pay. However, the time for collecting it is the same as that of other deputy captains and captains, which is a bit later than for ordinary patrols.

Three spirit stones, two meridian-opening pills, and fifteen contribution points—that's my monthly salary.

Back at his residence, Li Yuan bolted the door and sat on the edge of the bed, emptying the contents of the cloth bag.

Three spirit stones rolled on the table, next to which were two dark red pills emitting a faint medicinal fragrance. The pills were translucent, with red patterns faintly flowing on their surface.

Li Yuan picked up one of the two Meridian Opening Pills and put it in his mouth.

The pill melts upon entering the stomach, and a warm medicinal power rises from the stomach and spreads slowly along the meridians.

Unlike the feeling of spiritual energy entering the body during cultivation, the medicinal power is gentler, like a warm current seeping into the inner walls of the meridians, slowly clearing away any minor blockages.

The spiritual energy in his dantian fluctuated slightly before returning to normal.

The Meridian Opening Pill can enhance spiritual power and accelerate cultivation speed for a certain period of time.

However, the effect of increasing spiritual power is not significant for Li Yuan, who is currently in the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

Its usefulness lies in its ability to accelerate cultivation.

A prompt appeared on the panel:

[Progress of making the Meridian Opening Pill permanent: 1/10]

It takes ten pills to achieve permanent results, and relying solely on the monthly distribution of Meridian Opening Pills, it would take at least five months. However, there's no better way than to slowly accumulate them.

Li Yuan carefully put away the remaining Meridian Opening Pill, gathered the spirit stones into his sleeve, and then sat cross-legged to begin cultivating.

The cultivation speed didn't increase much, but it was still 30% faster than before, and it would be even faster with the accumulation of affixes.

When Li Yuan finished his cultivation and pushed open the door to go out, Fang He next door was sitting on the threshold, wiping his short sword.

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

"I have something to tell you. I've joined the guard team."

"When?"

The day before yesterday.

Fang He sheathed the dagger and patted his clothes.

"I have to thank you for the information you found out for me before, so I went straight to the guard team to sign up."

"It just so happened that they were desperately short-staffed, and when they saw I had experience in demon-hunting teams and my cultivation level was sufficient, they approved it immediately."

The guard team is indeed short-staffed, and the personnel lost in the previous incidents have not yet been replaced.

The guards had no reason not to accept Fang He, a rogue cultivator with practical combat experience.

"Reporting for duty officially tomorrow." Fang He stretched his neck, his tone calm.

Li Yuan nodded.

Fang He grinned. "I've been in the demon-hunting team before. At least in the guard team, there's someone to provide backup, so I don't have to worry about being stabbed in the back by my own people."

He stopped talking there, then turned and went back into the house.

Li Yuan didn't ask any further questions and went out to patrol.

-

There were fewer people on East Street than a few days ago.

It's not that there are far fewer stalls, but you can feel it—several temporary sheds that used to clog the alley entrance have been dismantled, and the marks left from when they were set up are still on the ground. Two or three stalls are also empty in the middle section of the north alley, making the passageway a bit wider.

After the news of the first-tier superior quality spread, a group of independent cultivators did indeed choose to leave.

But not many people left, for a simple reason: it was even less safe outside the market area.

From Qinghefang Market to the nearest Lijiafang Market, the distance is nearly 100 li (approximately 50 kilometers), and most of the route is in the wilderness.

This road used to be relatively safe, but now the monsters in the Yuanheng Mountains are spreading outwards, and you could encounter anything on the road.

Rather than risk traveling, it's better to stay in the market.

This is the principle that most independent cultivators think about.

What really caught Li Yuan's attention was something else.

When they reached the end of East Street, they found that a talisman shop that usually did good business was closed.

The wooden door was bolted from the inside, and several packed boxes were piled up at the entrance. Through the crack in the window, you could see that most of the shelves inside were empty.

They're not closing down; they're just packing up to leave.

Along Li Yuan's journey, at least three shops were packing up their goods, and one had already posted a "For Sale" notice.

It doesn't matter if a few independent cultivators leave; the stalls will be filled quickly once they become vacant. It's different with shops.

The annual rent paid by a successful shop is equivalent to that of dozens of unlicensed repair stalls.

Once the shops leave, the market's revenue will decrease significantly.

The Wang family certainly doesn't want to see this situation.

……

When Wang De went to the post to report in the afternoon, he sat behind his desk, which was piled with a new batch of documents, and his brows were furrowed.

Li Yuan knocked on the door and went in, briefly explaining the situation of the patrol.

After listening, Wang De did not immediately respond. He put a document aside and tapped the table twice with his index finger.

"The matter of the monster in Lingtian District has been investigated."

Li Yuan stood in front of the table without saying a word.

"During the period when the southern patrol had problems, Zhou Dazhuang and two other guards were in charge of that area. The three of them were negligent during their shifts and one day they left early, leaving a gap in the south. The monster sneaked in through that gap."

Wang De's tone was very flat.

"Each of the three men will be fined two months' salary, and their service time in the guard will be extended by three months each."

He was fined two months' salary, which meant he lost twenty spirit stones.

Extending it by three months is even more problematic—the guard rotation, which was originally only one month, is now four months.

Zhou Dazhuang's wife is pregnant. He said last time that he had severe morning sickness and lost a lot of weight. His salary was fined, and he has to work outside for three more months. It's really tough.

But the punishment is nothing to write home about. Negligence during patrols allowed the monsters to enter the spirit fields. If they were to injure the spirit farmers or destroy the spirit fields, the consequences would be far greater than a salary fine.

"There's one more thing."

Wang De pulled out several records from the pile of papers and spread them out on the table.

"Recently, monsters have been appearing more and more frequently around the market. From last month to now, the guard team has reported seventeen sightings, six of which were within a five-mile radius of the market."

"It used to be only two or three times a month," Li Yuan said.

"It can be said that monsters are frequently active."

Wang De picked up the teacup, but didn't drink it, and put it down again.

"But a few times something didn't seem right."

"When the guard team was patrolling the north, they encountered different monsters in the same location for three consecutive days. The first day it was an Iron-spine Hyena, the second day it was a Two-horned Lizard, and the third day it was a One-horned Badger. The three monsters have completely different habits and would not normally appear in the same place."

Li Yuan frowned: "What drove it here from elsewhere?"

Wang De glanced at him.

"It's hard to say. But the fact that they happened to be in almost the same place for three days doesn't seem like a natural migration."

The matter of Zhao Wu spying on the defenses in the market has not yet been investigated to find out who was behind it. If someone is secretly driving monsters to harass the area around the market, then Zhao Wu's intelligence gathering has a new explanation.

Wang De didn't say anything more, just waved his hand.

"The guard team and the Wang family are investigating this matter. You just need to focus on your patrol duties and be prepared for any new missions. Contact me if anything comes up."

Li Yuan agreed and withdrew.

It was already evening when I got back to my accommodation.

Li Yuan bolted the door, stood in the empty space inside the room, and practiced the Iron Ox Kung Fu once.

With the support of strengthened internal organs, the five movements flowed smoothly and continuously. When the Qi and blood flushed the internal organs, the force was solid. The fifth movement, Iron Ox Across the River, had a very stable upward and downward pull.

[Iron Ox Skill: Proficient (382/400)]

We are not far from achieving our goal.

After finishing his practice, Li Yuan practiced the Nourishing Vitality Technique twice more. After completing both techniques, Li Yuan sat cross-legged and began circulating the Spirit Guiding Technique.

The spiritual energy surged into the meridians, pure and rapid.

The spiritual energy in my dantian is much more abundant than it was last month.

The emptiness I felt when I first broke through to the fourth level was long gone, replaced by a heavy, solid feeling. With each circulation of energy, I could feel the spiritual power settling steadily in my dantian.

The Spirit Guiding Technique is running more and more smoothly. The breathing rhythm that required conscious control a few months ago is now almost instinctive, and the proficiency level on the panel is approaching the Great Perfection.

With the help of the entry, Li Yuan's cultivation speed far exceeded that of others at the same level.

Not only did he accumulate spiritual energy quickly, but because his spiritual energy was pure and flowed rapidly, Li Yuan didn't encounter any bottlenecks along the way.

Bottlenecks don't only occur when breaking through realms; normal cultivation can also encounter minor bottlenecks that can be overcome with time, but it takes a lot of time.

Li Yuan closed his eyes and circulated his qigong, his breathing becoming long and even.