Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Early in the morning, Li Yuan sat cross-legged in the wooden hut where he was stationed and put the second Meridian Opening Pill into his mouth.

The pill melts instantly upon entering the stomach, its warm medicinal power slowly spreading along the meridians. It is much gentler than the Sha Yuan Dan, without that burning sensation, but rather gently and densely permeates the inner walls of the meridians.

The spiritual energy filtering effect operates simultaneously, automatically removing trace impurities mixed in with the medicinal power, leaving only the pure medicinal effect circulating in the body.

Li Yuan closed his eyes and circulated the Spirit Guiding Technique, using the medicinal power to unblock his meridians.

About half an hour later, the medicinal effects were almost completely absorbed, and the meridians were widened slightly for a certain period of time.

[Progress of making the Meridian Opening Pill permanent: 9/10]

Only one more is needed.

Li Yuan put away the panel, got up and pushed open the wooden door.

It was already bright outside. He Shou leaned against the door frame of the next room and, seeing Li Yuan come out, gestured with his chin toward the main camp.

"Let's go check out the base. I heard quite a few people came last night."

The two walked north along the dirt road for less than two miles before the outline of the main camp came into view.

You could tell something was wrong from a distance.

Two unfamiliar faces stood at the entrance of the camp. They were calm and composed, dressed in matching gray-blue robes with swords at their waists, and their eyes were scanning the people coming and going with vigilance.

There were almost twice as many people in the camp as yesterday. In addition to the guards who were originally stationed there, there were about a dozen cultivators wearing gray robes scattered around. Some were checking equipment, some were looking at maps around a table, and some were chatting in small groups.

He Shou slowed his pace slightly and whispered, "The Wang family."

Li Yuan saw it too.

Their auras were generally around the mid-stage of Qi Refining, with a few being significantly stronger, at least at the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining.

He Shou led Li Yuan into the camp and asked the person in charge of the southern route a few questions.

The person in charge was extremely busy and only said a few words briefly: The Wang family transferred a group of people from the main family last night. Including those who arrived earlier, there are now more than 20 members of the Wang family around Qinghefang City. They have all been incorporated into the guard team and are under the unified command of a member of the Wang family who has reached the ninth level of Qi Refining.

"More than twenty?" He Shou raised an eyebrow. "It seems the Wang family values ​​this quite a bit."

After the two left the person in charge, He Shou went to the supply shed and collected some more items.

As Li Yuan passed by the open space in the center of the camp, he noticed several members of the Wang family gathered around a table, discussing something. On the table was a large map covered with dense markings in cinnabar.

Someone looked up at Li Yuan, then looked away and continued talking.

After returning to the patrol post, He Shoujiang distributed the supplies he had received.

"Your team has been reinforced with two more people." He Shoujiang handed a transfer order to Li Yuan.

Li Yuan took it and glanced at it. Strictly speaking, Li Yuan was the captain of this team.

One of them was named Liu Ping, from the patrol team, at the third level of Qi Refining. He was the one I'd met in the market before, responsible for patrolling the South Gate and West Street. He was a man of few words but diligent.

The other one is named Chen Qi, a rogue cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining. He is a short-term contract worker recently recruited by the Wang family.

"Liu Ping will arrive this afternoon. Chen Qi has already reported for duty at the main base and will be coming over shortly."

Commander He carefully put away the transfer order and glanced at Li Yuan.

"Lin Xiaowu's injuries haven't healed yet, so these two will fill in for now. Five people per group, that's more flexible than before."

In the afternoon, the two newlyweds arrived one after the other.

Liu Ping, carrying a small cloth bag, greeted Li Yuan with a bow, said nothing, found an empty room to put his things down, and then came out.

Chen Qi arrived a quarter of an hour later than Liu Ping.

He was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, not very tall, with a thin face and quick-moving eyes. He wore a clean gray linen short coat, the kind of thing common among wandering monks, and had a short knife and a cloth bag hanging at his waist.

"Chen Qi greets Deputy Captain Li and Captain He." Chen Qi bowed respectfully, his attitude neither humble nor arrogant.

He Shou looked him up and down and asked a few questions.

Chen Qi answered fluently.

He spent two or three years running around the outer perimeter of the Yuanheng Mountains, mainly gathering herbs, but he also hunted monsters. He mostly worked alone, occasionally teaming up with groups of independent cultivators.

He Shou nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

After a brief meeting, the five men set off with He Shou in charge.

The afternoon patrol route was similar to the previous days, turning west along the southern line and then back again.

He Shou taught as he walked, just like the previous days, explaining whatever came to mind.

"Look at this. Five toes, narrow spacing between toes, short stride, and no deep spikes on the claws—a small mammal, most likely a gray hyena, a common animal, ignore it."

"This kind of break indicates that something crawled under the bushes. It's short, flat, like a lizard or snake." He Shou measured the height of the break with his scabbard. "Less than a foot, not very big, below the first-tier low-grade."

Liu Ping silently took notes, while Chen Qi listened and nodded, occasionally interjecting with questions about practical matters—such as how to determine the age of a trace or how to distinguish the footprints of different individuals of the same type of monster.

He Shou answered every question, explaining things concisely and clearly.

Halfway through the patrol, Li Yuan's spirit detection disc detected a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy about twenty feet to the right ahead.

"There's something there, about twenty feet to the right front," Li Yuan said in a low voice.

The five of them slowed down at the same time.

He Shou listened intently for a few moments, then shook his head.

"I'm gone."

Li Yuan channeled his spiritual energy into his senses again, and the fluctuation was indeed moving away, heading southwest at a slow speed.

"If they don't catch up, we don't bother with them." He Shouzhi stood up and continued walking forward. "Our mission is patrolling, not hunting demons. If we encounter them, we deal with them; if we don't, we don't chase them."

Several more traces of monsters were discovered along the way.

One was a scratch mark at the edge of a bush, and the other was a small patch of dried blood on the side of a dirt road, dark brown in color, with a few gray scales scattered around it.

They left many traces along the way, but never encountered any monsters head-on.

He Shou's brows furrowed even more deeply.

"The marks are too dense."

He Shou stopped on a high ground, his gaze sweeping over the undulating bushes and wasteland around him.

"When I walked this route last month, I was lucky to find two or three traces a day. Today, I found seven or eight in half a day, and they were all fresh."

Li Yuan noticed it too.

The direction of these marks is inconsistent; some face northeast, some face due north, and some have no clear direction, but the density is indeed much higher than before.

The monster's activity range is still expanding.

As evening fell, the five returned to their post.

He Shou went to the main post to hand in the patrol log, and when he returned, he didn't look too good.

"Don't go to bed too early if you have a meeting tonight."

After nightfall, a message was sent from the main base.

After reading the notice, He Shoujiang folded it up and stuffed it into his pocket, then leaned against the door frame in silence for a while.

"The above means expanding the search scope."

He Shou's voice was not loud, and his tone was flat.

"Starting tomorrow, each patrol team will extend their routes outwards, staying as far away from the market as possible, and searching deeper into the outer areas for traces of monsters. If any monster gathering points or unusual migration routes are discovered, mark their locations and report them. Also keep an eye out for clues about raiding cultivators, but monsters will be the priority."

Li Yuan leaned against the wall without saying a word.

Xu Mao and Liu Ping exchanged a glance but remained silent. Chen Qi, on the other hand, showed no unusual expression; as a rogue cultivator, he was used to such things.

He Shou leaned his long sword against the corner of the wall, sat on the edge of the bed, and muttered a curse under his breath.

"The Wang family sent so many people, and what was the result? They sent us to search the outskirts."

He Shou's voice was very low, but the room was quiet, and every word could be heard clearly.

"Even the Wang family's Foundation Establishment stage is staying at home..."

He Shou immediately shut his mouth after saying this.

No one responded.

He Shou only vented his anger verbally, and after he finished cursing, he didn't mention it again. He waved his hand and told everyone to rest.

The crowd dispersed and returned to their respective rooms.

Li Yuan returned to his room and closed the door.

Xu Mao had already lain down, his eyes closed, and it was unclear whether he was asleep or not.

Li Yuan sat down on the edge of the bed and took out the last Meridian Opening Pill from his sleeve.

The dark red pill gleamed faintly in my palm, emitting a light medicinal fragrance.

Put it in your mouth.

The pill melts instantly upon entering the stomach, its warm medicinal power rising from the digestive tract and slowly spreading along the meridians. Like the previous pills, it feels gentle and soothing, clearing away any minor blockages in the inner walls of the meridians.

Li Yuan closed his eyes and circulated the Spirit Guiding Technique, coordinating it with the medicinal power to circulate within his body.

About half an hour later, the effects of the medicine were completely neutralized.

A prompt appears on the panel.

The conditions for making the Meridian Opening Pill permanent have been met.

Is it permanent?

Li Yuan had a sudden thought.

Yes.

[Permanentization successful]

[Zhou Tian Acceleration (White) has become a permanent entry]

[Equipment consumed]

The panel then updates.

Current equipment slots: 1/2

[Equipped Item: Iron Ox Skill]

[Equipment Attribute: Internal Organ Enhancement (White)]

[Permanent entries: Cleansing Body (gray), Spiritual Energy Filtering (white), Five Grains Nourishing Qi (white), Accelerated Qi Circulation (white)]

Four permanent entries, three white entries.

You only need two more white attributes to unlock the third equipment slot.