Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Before dawn, Li Yuan had already stood in the room, assuming the starting stance for the fifth form of the Iron Ox Kung Fu.

Iron oxen stand across the river.

Qi and blood surge from the dantian, splitting into two streams that propel upwards and downwards simultaneously. One stream rushes to the top of the head, while the other flows through the soles of the feet, creating a vertical pathway within the body.

He had practiced this move many times, and his body had long since developed an instinctive memory for it.

Once, twice, three times.

When the third cycle was completed, Li Yuan sensed something different.

The flow of Qi and blood in the body was smoother and more fluid than a few days ago. Several joints that previously required minor adjustments were now gliding through on their own without any stagnation.

Li Yuan finished his practice and stood still, letting out a long breath.

The panel appears.

[Iron Ox Skill: Mastery (0/800)]

I've mastered it.

Changes in the body are more direct than numbers.

Li Yuan clenched his fist.

The moment the fist tightens, muscles and tendons from the base of the fingers to the wrist bones become one.

I reached out and pinched my forearm.

The resilience of the skin and flesh has changed. When you first start out, pinching the back of your hand with your fingernail only feels a little thicker than an ordinary person's. When you become skilled, it feels even firmer. When you become an expert, pinching with your fingernail feels like pinching a layer of thick cowhide. It takes a lot of force to press out a shallow white mark, and it bounces back instantly when you let go.

Li Yuan stretched his shoulders and back a few times, and his entire skeleton seemed to have been re-twisted, becoming firm and stable, with a sense of solid ground beneath his feet.

Li Yuan put away the panel and pondered for a moment.

Once you've mastered the Iron Ox Kung Fu, there's not much benefit in practicing it further in the short term.

In comparison, the progress of the Nourishing Vital Energy Technique is lagging behind.

[Nourishing Vital Energy Technique: Proficient (108/400)]

The condition for permanentizing the Iron Ox Skill is to cultivate both mortal skills to perfection, while the condition for permanentizing the Nourishing Vitality Skill is simply to reach perfection in that skill and then practice it for twenty-four hours when one's Qi and blood are at their peak.

Li Yuan made a decision—he would focus his remaining time on cultivating mortal techniques on the Nourishing Vital Energy Technique.

I practice the Iron Ox Kung Fu once a day to maintain my form, and dedicate the rest of my time to nourishing my vital energy.

Thinking of this, Li Yuan stood still in the room and circulated the Nourishing Vitality Technique twice.

With the permanent entry for "Nourishing Qi with Five Grains" displayed, Qi and blood remain abundant, and each movement of the Nourishing Yuan Gong is much smoother than before.

After practicing twice, Li Yuan sat back on the edge of the bed and began to consider the spirit stones he had.

He took all the spirit stones out of his sleeve and placed them one by one on the table.

My monthly salary is three spirit stones, plus the patrol allowance, and the spirit stones I've saved up before, totaling fifteen spirit stones on the table.

The permanent effect of the Meridian Opening Pill is still far from being achieved. Apart from those two Meridian Opening Pills, we still need eight more low-grade first-tier pills.

For peripheral members like Li Yuan, who are still within the scope of the contract, the monthly salary is already not much. In a sense, a considerable portion of the monthly salary is withheld by the Wang family as compensation for their upbringing in their childhood.

In addition, Li Yuan didn't have time to accumulate spirit stones. Even if he only had three spirit stones a month, he would have three hundred and sixty spirit stones in ten years. That would be enough to buy a decent set of magic weapons, or he could spend the resources to learn a craft and earn more spirit stones.

Leaving aside distant issues, the current problem is that the price of elixirs keeps rising.

Hoping for prices to fall is unrealistic, as the situation in the Yuanheng Mountains shows no signs of improvement and the supply of herbs continues to tighten.

At three yuan each, you need eight more to reach twenty-four yuan. You have fifteen yuan on hand, so you're nine yuan short.

If we can find a cheaper, lower-grade first-tier pill to replace it, we can further reduce the cost.

The number of people on Fangshi East Street in the afternoon was significantly less than during the peak period a while ago.

The independent cultivators are leaving, not quickly, but the trend has already taken shape.

If the monsters are not eliminated in time, the situation will continue to deteriorate, and the trust of independent cultivators in the market will continue to decrease, leading to more and more people leaving.

Li Yuan continued walking along East Street, keeping an eye on the stalls on both sides while on patrol.

The common first-grade low-level pills include Tongmai Dan, Huazhuo Dan, Yangqi Dan, and Ningyuan San. I inquired about their prices during my inspection a few days ago, and they were all basically over two yuan.

I walked around most of the street again today, and the situation was pretty much the same. There were a few fewer stalls selling pills than last month, and the prices were either the same as before or had increased slightly.

When Li Yuan reached a fork in the road on the south side of East Street, he saw a small stall he had never seen before.

The stall was small, with four or five porcelain bottles on a clean white cloth, each with a handwritten label.

Li Yuan squatted down, his gaze sweeping over the labels.

Three pieces of the Turbidity-Clearing Pill. Three and a half pieces of the Essence-Gathering Powder. Two pieces of the Essence-Slaying Pill.

Two pieces of Sha Yuan Dan. Li Yuan tried to think about it, but he had no memory of this pill. He only knew that there was a similarly named Sha Ling Dan, which was used to help cultivators break through, but it would draw in evil energy into the body.

"What kind of pill is this Sha Yuan Dan? Is it a low-grade first-level pill? What is it used for?"

With fifteen spirit stones on him, if this Sha Yuan Pill is effective, and considering the Meridian Opening Pills he receives as a monthly stipend, he only needs eight Sha Yuan Pills to make the Meridian Opening Pill permanent.

All you need is one more spirit stone.

The stall owner was an elderly woman in her fifties, with a thin face and a strong breath.

He looked up at Li Yuan, then at the waist tag on Li Yuan's body, and explained.

"This Sha Yuan Pill can even approach the mid-grade of the first rank. It was made by my old man as a replica of the Sha Ling Pill. It cannot help break through realms, but it can accelerate cultivation. However, it will generate Sha Qi in the body and damage the internal organs."

"Two spirit stones aren't even enough to cover the cost price, but this stuff has too many side effects, so nobody buys it."

"They spend all their time researching those elixirs... instead of making money properly."

The old woman's words were full of complaints, but Li Yuan ignored them. He picked up the porcelain bottle containing the Sha Yuan Dan, uncorked it, and took a look.

Inside the bottle were three dark red pills with a strong medicinal aroma.

Li Yuan's primary goal now is to permanently obtain the attribute, and he also has the benefit of strengthening his internal organs, which he considers an acceptable side effect.

Touching the spirit stones in his sleeve, Li Yuan took out two.

"I'll buy one to try first. If it works well, I'll buy more next time."

Just to be on the safe side, since this is a pill I've never seen before, I'll confirm it first. If this Sha Yuan Pill really can advance the permanentization of attributes, then it's not too late to buy it.

If we can move things forward, we'll buy up all the remaining shortfall to make up for it.

"How much Sha Yuan Pill do you have left?" Li Yuan picked up the Sha Yuan Pill, but the equipment panel didn't respond, so he asked.

The old woman looked at Li Yuan with surprise, and stretched out her hand with her five fingers spread: "So you only have these five in your hand, but my old man may continue to study them, and I guess he can get a few more."

Returning to his residence in the evening, Li Yuan sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the dark red Fiend Yuan Pill to examine it.

The aroma of the medicine was strong, much milder than that of the Meridian Opening Pill, with a subtle spicy and dry scent.

Without hesitation, Li Yuan put the Sha Yuan Dan into his mouth.

The elixir dissolves immediately upon entering the stomach.

A surge of intense medicinal power exploded from my stomach, completely different from the gentle strength of the Meridian Opening Pill. It was like taking a swig of strong liquor, with the heat rushing out of my abdomen in all directions.

The spiritual energy in the meridians was accelerated by the medicinal power, much faster than during daily cultivation, and the efficiency of spiritual energy flowing into the dantian was extremely high.

But immediately afterward, a chilling aura mixed with the medicinal properties seeped out from his stomach.

A malevolent aura.

The chilling sensation spread along the path of the medicine, invading the meridians and sending a stinging pain through the internal organs.

Li Yuan's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he wasn't too nervous.

With the blessing of the entry, when the evil energy swept through his internal organs, Li Yuan only felt a slight coolness; the evil energy did not actually penetrate the inner walls of his internal organs.

At the same time, the effects of the spiritual energy filtering are also taking effect.

The evil energy flowing through the meridians was partially blocked by that invisible barrier, similar to the feeling of filtering impurities from spiritual energy, but the efficiency was significantly lower.

Impurities in the spiritual energy were completely removed, leaving it pristine. Only 30-40% of the malevolent energy was filtered out; the remaining 60-70% remained mixed with the medicinal power, swirling within the body.

The entry says it filters spiritual energy, so its effectiveness against this malevolent energy is a pleasant surprise and cannot be forced.

Fortunately, the internal organs were strengthened to protect the body, and the remaining evil energy gradually dissipated after circulating in the body a few times, leaving no aftereffects.

The medicinal effects of the entire pill were fully absorbed in about half an hour.

With a thought, Li Yuan's consciousness appeared on the panel.

The spiritual energy in my dantian did increase somewhat, although not by much, but it was still more than the increase I would get from practicing the Spirit Guiding Technique for two or three nights.

[Progress of making the Meridian Opening Pill permanent: 2/10]

The price had gone up, and a hint of joy appeared on Li Yuan's face as he looked at the panel.

If the woman's husband could continue refining the Evil Essence Pill, then the only shortfall would be a spirit stone.