Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

As dawn broke, Li Yuan pushed open the wooden door.

After taking the Sha Yuan Pill last night, I cultivated until the latter half of the night. The remaining Sha Qi had almost completely dissipated, and the spiritual power in my dantian had increased considerably.

He Shou was already outside, his long sword slung across his waist. Xu Mao and Lin Xiaowu also came out from the next room.

"Let's go to the base to replenish some supplies first."

Besides their main post, the guard had several other posts, the nearest of which was less than two miles north of this location and much larger than their patrol post. About twenty wooden huts were arranged in a loose square formation, with a solid, level open space in the middle. A shed was built on the west side, under which several wooden crates were stacked.

There were about ten guards coming and going in and out of the camp.

The guard team's organization is much more complex than the patrol team's, but there is no difference between the different organizations. The guard team does all kinds of work related to the safety of the market.

However, most of the time, the patrol locations are different. For example, Li Yuan and his team patrol the southern line, which is closer to the market and less dangerous.

He Shou led the three of them straight to the supply shed, greeted the guards, and received two bottles of medicine and some basic supplies to distribute to everyone.

"Some large patrol teams are also equipped with storage bags, but the captains of those patrol teams usually have the money to buy their own storage bags, just not as big as the ones they are given."

He Shou casually explained this while receiving his equipment.

Li Yuan glanced at the other side of the camp.

Fang He was squatting in front of a wooden house, sharpening a knife. He had broad shoulders, a faded old scar on his cheekbone, and wore a half-new guard uniform.

Upon seeing Li Yuan, Fang He raised his hand as a greeting.

Li Yuan nodded but did not go over to chat.

After collecting all the supplies, the four left their post and headed south along the southern patrol route.

He Shou walked at the front, his steps unhurried, his eyes constantly scanning the bushes and ground on both sides of the road.

After walking for a while, He Shou stopped in front of a bush by the roadside and waved to those behind him.

"Look at this."

The three of them went closer. There was a small, whitish patch of soil at the base of the bush, dry and peeling, quite different from the surrounding dark, damp soil.

"Excremental traces." He Shou squatted down and pointed to the whitish area with his scabbard. "It turns white when it dries, and the surrounding soil is still wet, which means it was left at least two or three days ago."

He Shou then pointed to the white debris remaining on a few short grasses nearby.

"If it splashes onto the grass, it will dry and form crumbs. This is how you distinguish between demonic beasts and ordinary beasts—the excrement of demonic beasts contains residual spiritual energy, which you can smell when you get close. The excrement of ordinary beasts is just a pure, foul odor."

Lin Xiaowu leaned closer to smell it, frowned, and took a half step back.

"Shame on you. You mortal beast." He Shou stood up and patted the dirt off his knees.

"The shape of feces can also indicate the species: lizard feces are dry and hard in fragments, mammal feces are long and thin, and snake feces are runny. Combined with claw marks and stride spacing, one can roughly deduce what passed by."

After walking a while longer, He Shou spoke again.

"The aura of demonic beasts is much more noticeable than that of cultivators. Cultivators can conceal their spiritual energy, but demonic beasts cannot; their spiritual energy dissipates from their bodies, and the higher the level, the more it dissipates. A low-grade first-level demonic beast can be sensed within thirty feet, and a mid-grade first-level demonic beast has an even wider range. When encountering a demonic beast in the wild, most of the time you sense it first, rather than seeing it first."

Li Yuan memorized all these details.

The patrol route wasn't long, but it took the four of them almost an hour to walk.

They encountered several groups of cultivators along the way.

The first group consisted of two independent cultivators, who were quite far apart. They carried large bags and bundles on their backs and walked hurriedly from outside the market.

The second wave was a three-person team, with bloodstains that hadn't been properly cleaned off, and their auras were between the second and third levels of Qi Refining. They also headed out of the market.

The third wave was a lone cultivator who concealed his aura and was undetectable. He carried a long sword and walked at a pace that was almost like jogging.

All three groups of people were heading out.

Lin Xiaowu watched the rogue cultivator jog away and asked, "Captain He, are there any raiders around here?"

He Shou shook his head.

"It's too close to the market town. The guards patrol there every day, so the bandits won't make a move in this area. Generally speaking, the bandits' activity range is at least fifteen miles away from the market town. There are fewer people and the roads are more complicated there, so it's difficult for the guards to cover them completely."

"But we can't just ignore it. If a market town is frequently frequented by rogue cultivators, no independent cultivators will come."

He Shou raised his hand and pointed to the distance to the south.

"It's basically safe within five li, there's some risk between five and ten li but it's not high, and you have to be careful beyond ten li. Our patrol area doesn't exceed five li."

The four continued south along the route, where the terrain gradually became undulating. The flat dirt road disappeared, and the bushes on both sides grew denser, with some low bushes reaching waist height and blocking most of the view.

He Shou slowed his pace noticeably, stopping every few steps to listen to the sounds around him.

The afternoon sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves, scattering into patches of light on the ground.

Li Yuan touched the spirit-detecting disc in his sleeve with his fingers, and then saw He Shou also take out a disc.

Li Yuan slowly poured in his spiritual power, and his senses began to expand.

The presence of the three people beside him was clearly discernible, and there were faint movements of a few insects scattered in the bushes. Further away, all was quiet.

until--

Slightly to the left, about thirty feet away, a murky fluctuation of spiritual energy appeared at the edge of my perception.

It wasn't particularly strong, but its characteristics were obvious. Unlike the spiritual energy that cultivators concealed and guarded within, this aura spread outwards, rough and scattered, like a pile of unsealed broken spirit stones.

"Thirty feet to the left ahead, there's a demonic beast," Li Yuan said in a low voice.

He Shou paused, turning his head to glance at Li Yuan.

"You three go ahead, I'll watch from the sidelines. It's a good opportunity to practice your skills at the lowest level of the first rank."

"Don't underestimate low-grade first-tier demonic beasts. Many of them are cunning and unpredictable, and you can easily fall into their traps if you're not careful."

He Shou stepped aside from the middle of the road, moved behind a clump of bushes, and spoke.

Lin Xiaowu's hand reached for the magical artifact at his waist, his fingertips tightening slightly. Xu Mao's expression remained unchanged as he took the short sword from his back and held it in his hand.

Li Yuan walked at the front, his left hand forming the hand seal for the Fireball Technique, spiritual energy gathering in his palm.

The three of them kept their bodies low and moved forward along the gaps in the bushes.

After walking a dozen or so steps, the bushes in front of me shook violently.

A dark gray reptile peeked out from behind a low bush. It had a flat, triangular head, dark yellow vertical pupils, and a short, thumb-length horn on the top of its head, its surface rough. Its four legs were short and powerful, and its entire body was covered with tightly packed dark gray scales.

Horned lizard. Head and tail three to four feet long, low-grade first rank.

The horned lizard spotted the human, its vertical pupils suddenly contracted, its flat body lowered, its forelimbs braced against the ground, and it hissed.

"Don't let it go into the bushes," He Shou's voice came from the side.

Li Yuan let go.

The fireball left his hand, the crimson orb trailing a short tail of flame, heading straight for the horned lizard's face. The lizard swerved to the left, the fireball grazing past him, striking a bush behind him and exploding into a shower of sparks.

It was slightly off course, which conveniently blocked the horned lizard's path as it ventured deeper into the bushes.

Xu Mao circled around to the right, his short sword slashing vertically towards the horned lizard's neck. The blade embedded itself in a gap in the scales, stuck for a moment, and dark blood seeped out.

The horned lizard, in pain, lashed out with its long tail, striking Xu Mao's wrist and pushing him back half a step.

Lin Xiaowu formed a hand seal behind him, and an ice spike shot out, embedding itself in the horned lizard's back and piercing through two scales.

Enraged, the horned lizard charged towards Lin Xiaowu, its four legs pushing off the ground.

Li Yuan stepped forward with his right foot, cutting into the horned lizard's charging path, and the second fireball was already forming in his palm.

The horned lizard couldn't avoid it and could only watch helplessly as the fireball hurtled towards it.

With a muffled thud, the horned lizard's head snapped back, its four legs twitched twice, and it tumbled onto the gravelly ground. It flapped its long tail twice and then lay still.

It took only a dozen or so breaths.

He Shou emerged from behind the bushes, kicked the horned lizard in the abdomen to confirm it was dead, and then glanced at the three of them.

"Xu Mao, the strike was in the right spot, but the force wasn't enough. The fact that the sword didn't sever the neck means the spiritual energy infusion was a bit lacking. He's clearly a bit scared and seems to be holding back. Next time, be more decisive."

Xu Mao rubbed his wrist, which had been lashed by the tail, and nodded.

"Lin Xiaowu, your ice spikes were accurate, but your attack was a beat too slow. You were still forming hand seals when the horned lizard charged at you. You need to practice your starting speed more in the future."

Lin Xiaowu shrank his neck and nodded repeatedly.

He Shou looked at Li Yuan and nodded.

"The horned lizard is agile, and the fireball spell is a bit slow. You can use it when the horned lizard stands up. However, your fireball also effectively blocks its retreat."

After giving the instructions, the four of them squatted down and disassembled the horned lizard.

There aren't many valuable items from a low-grade first-tier horned lizard. The animal hide isn't large but it's relatively intact, except the area where Li Yuan hit it is charred black. The horn on its head is a low-grade refining material, which is usable, but the bones are too broken and small; only a few pieces of the spine are barely usable.

"There are better ways to preserve your spoils, but given your current lack of combat experience, I won't teach you those for now."

He Shou added.

After dismantling, He Shou spread the materials out on the ground.

Based on their contribution, Li Yuan took the animal hide and most of the animal bones, while Xu Mao and Lin Xiaowu each received some broken bones. The horned lizard's horn belonged to He Shou.

Just as Li Yuan was about to roll up the animal hide and put it away, He Shou spoke up.

"You can take these materials back to the market and sell them yourselves, but it will take too much time to make the trip back and forth." He Shou put the lizard horn into the cloth bag at his waist and glanced at the remaining animal hides and bones on the ground.

"The guard team has its own purchasing channels, and the prices are fairer than those of independent cultivators outside. I will handle all the materials, and you will be paid in spirit stones according to your share."

The materials from a low-grade first-tier horned lizard aren't worth much to begin with. The hides are of average quality, and the bone fragments are small. All together, they'd be lucky to get five or six spirit stones. Taking them back to the market to find buyers among independent cultivators might not fetch a higher price than through the guard team, and it would also take more time.

"Okay." Li Yuan handed over the animal hide.

Xu Mao and Lin Xiaowu had no objections and each handed over their copy.

He Shou gathered the materials together and estimated the amount: "We'll settle it all when we get back to the base."

The four people retraced their steps.