Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Back at his residence, Li Yuan bolted the door and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Li Yuan took out the two bottles of Sha Yuan Dan given to him by Lao Sun from his sleeve and put one into his mouth.

The pill melts instantly upon entering the stomach, its scorching medicinal power exploding violently from the stomach and intestines, carrying spiritual energy that surges and spreads along the meridians.

Li Yuan closed his eyes and circulated the Spirit Guiding Technique, causing spiritual energy to surge into his dantian.

Unlike the previous times I took the Killing Essence Pill, this time the feeling was different.

The medicinal power of the Sha Yuan Dan, mixed with malevolent energy, invaded the meridians. After the spiritual energy was refined, the filtering effect of the spiritual energy became even stronger, and most of the malevolent energy was filtered out.

The remaining malevolent energy swept through his internal organs, leaving only a slight chill.

The effects of the medicine were absorbed more quickly.

The medicinal power of a single Sha Yuan Pill was completely absorbed in less than two hours, much faster than before.

Li Yuan opened his eyes, and with a thought, the panel appeared.

The spiritual energy in his dantian was much more abundant than before he took the pill, and the increase was more obvious than any previous time he had taken the Sha Yuan Pill.

It's not that the medicine has become stronger, but that the body's efficiency in absorbing and utilizing the medicine has improved.

The condensation and compression of spiritual energy makes it more solid, and the proportion of malevolent energy trapped also increases. This also enhances the absorption of medicinal power.

Li Yuan took a second Fiend Essence Pill and continued to circulate the Spirit Guiding Technique.

The medicinal power exploded once more, and the familiar burning sensation surged along the meridians.

After the medicinal effects of the two Sha Yuan Pills were fully absorbed, Li Yuan let out a long breath.

After these days of cultivation, I am not far from the threshold of the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Li Yuan put away the panel, stopped cultivating, and got up to stretch his muscles.

Although there were no obvious discomforts after taking two Sha Yuan Pills in a row, the body still needed to rest, especially since there was a slight feeling of fatigue in the meridians after the spiritual energy was circulating at high speed.

After pouring himself a bowl of cold water and taking a sip, Li Yuan began cultivating the Nourishing Yuan Technique and practicing the Condensing Yuan Technique.

---

The next morning, Li Yuan went to inspect the market as usual.

The number of people on East Street is not significantly less than before. Those who were going to leave have already left, and most of those who remain are people who don't plan to move anytime soon.

After walking half a block along East Street, Li Yuan suddenly paused.

On a roadside stall, the whole, rolled-up pelt was still there.

The last time Li Yuan saw this whole shed skin of the Ironscale Serpent, the stall owner asked for twelve spirit stones, but Li Yuan didn't have the money to buy it.

There were fewer items on the stall today than last time. Several pieces of animal bones and blood vials were gone, leaving only the shed skin and a few horned lizard skins of average quality.

Li Yuan walked over and squatted down in front of the stall.

The stall owner was the same lean, middle-aged hermit he had last time. Seeing someone squat down, he perked up and came over.

"Fellow Daoist, look at this Ironscale Serpent's complete molt; its quality is top-notch."

Li Yuan didn't speak, his fingers resting on the peeling skin.

Semi-transparent text appeared before my eyes.

[Equipable item detected: Ironscale Serpent Shed Skin (Complete)]

[Item Attribute Level: White]

[Note: Items not belonging to the user cannot be equipped, and detailed information cannot be viewed.]

The entry is still there.

Li Yuan turned the molted skin over. The snake skin wasn't very large, only about an arm's length when unfolded. It was a thin layer, with a soft and flexible texture, and the dark green scales were tightly arranged without any damage.

"How much?"

The stall owner held up his finger, hesitated for a moment, and then indicated a number.

Nine pieces.

There are three fewer pieces than last time.

Li Yuan glanced at the stall owner but said nothing.

The stall owner, probably worried that Li Yuan would find it too expensive, immediately explained, "There's been an abundance of monster materials lately, so the price of animal hides has been falling. This molted hide is in good condition; it used to cost at least twelve yuan, but now nine yuan is already a loss-making price."

Li Yuan knew he was telling the truth.

Monster activity is frequent in the Yuanheng Mountains, and the harvests of monster hunting teams and guard teams are increasing. A large amount of monster materials are flooding into the market, and the supply exceeds the demand, so the price is naturally driven down.

"Eight yuan," Li Yuan said, tentatively trying to negotiate the price.

The stall owner opened his mouth and gritted his teeth.

"Okay, eight dollars. Consider it making friends."

Li Yuan took out eight spirit stones from his sleeve and neatly arranged them on the cloth.

The stall owner accepted the spirit stones, rolled up the molted skin in a clean piece of coarse cloth, and handed it over.

"Fellow Daoist, please take care."

Li Yuan took the shed skin, put it in his sleeve, and got up to leave.

Li Yuan got up and left the stall, continuing to walk along East Street.

As I passed by Old Sun's stall, the old man was squatting behind it, fiddling with a small medicine stove, with a wisp of smoke rising from the stove.

Seeing Li Yuan approach, the old man looked up, his bright eyes lighting up.

"How's the Killing Essence Pill?"

Li Yuan stopped in front of the stall. "It's working well."

Old Sun grinned, not putting down the medicine furnace in his hand.

"Are you really not going to consider letting me test the medicine? I've accumulated some wealth from years of alchemy."

Li Yuan immediately refused, then changed his mind and said...

"I'll keep an eye out for the herbs here if I come across them during my patrol. But I'll be resting in the market for the next few days and won't be returning to the outskirts until tomorrow."

Old Sun nodded and tapped his fingers on the edge of the medicine furnace.

"No rush. It's best if we can collect them, but it's okay if we can't."

Old Sun moved even closer.

"By the way, if you encounter any demonic beasts while you're patrolling outside, keep an eye on the area around their lairs. Some herbs like to grow in places where demonic beasts frequently appear, where the concentration of spiritual energy is high, and their medicinal effects are much better than elsewhere."

"understood."

Li Yuan chatted with Lao Sun for a few more minutes before turning and leaving.

Back at his residence, Li Yuan bolted the door and sat down on the edge of the bed.

He took out the shed skin of the iron-scaled snake from his sleeve, unfolded it, and placed it on his knee.

The snakeskin feels slightly cool to the touch and is thinner than it looks, but it is extremely resilient. When I pinched it hard with my fingers, the skin dented and immediately bounced back to its original shape.

The moment the finger touched it, semi-transparent text appeared, and this time the content was complete.

[Equipable item detected: Ironscale Serpent Shed Skin (Complete)]

[Entry Preview: Scaled Armor (White) - Increases skin defense, resisting some toxins and negative effects]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Wearing this molted skin requires accumulating a certain number of external attack damages (0/50)]

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

Scales protect the body.

It enhances the skin's defense capabilities and helps it resist toxins and negative effects.

Defensive attributes differ from those for strengthening internal organs—strengthening internal organs protects the internal organs, while armor protection protects the outer skin. One prevents internal injuries, the other blocks external injuries.

The conditions for permanentization are interesting: the wearer must accumulate fifty external attacks while wearing the molted skin.

It's not cultivation, it's not taking medicine, it's being beaten.

The condition is that you are attacked from the outside. Attacking yourself doesn't count, but I don't know if it counts if your employer attacks you.

Li Yuan picked up the molted skin and compared it.

It's not very big; when unfolded, it roughly covers the chest and abdomen area. A thin layer like this won't get in the way when you stick it on your body.

The molted skin itself is soft and flexible; it can be folded up and stuffed inside clothing, making it completely invisible from the outside.

My equipment slots are full, so I can't equip anything, but molting doesn't require equipment.

In critical moments, you can remove other equipment and quickly equip the molted skin to defend against danger.

Compared to the cost of having to wait twelve hours to re-equip, safety is more important.

Li Yuan folded the molted skin neatly and laid it flat against his underwear on his chest and abdomen, then weighed it down with his belt.

The peeling patch feels slightly cool when applied to the skin, but after a moment, body heat carries it over, and the coolness dissipates, making it almost imperceptible.

After moving my arms and waist a few times, bending over, twisting my body, and lifting my legs, the peeling skin clung tightly to the inside of my clothes without slipping or hindering my movements.

Li Yuan looked down at his chest; there was nothing unusual about his patrol uniform.

After tidying his clothes, Li Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed and began to circulate the Spirit Guiding Technique.