Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Ji Wenchuan knocked on the door early in the morning.

"Master, the sect's notice has arrived. All stewards are to be evacuated from the market. Not a single one will be left."

Li Yuan took the document and scanned it. The wording was simple: "Given the tense situation at the front, the sect is conscripting all its staff members from Ghost Mist Market to the outposts to assist in defense, effective immediately." The document was stamped with the private seal of an inner sect elder—not Chen Yi's, but another name Li Yuan had never seen before.

"When are you leaving?"

"They've already left. The transfer order was received last night, and they assembled and set off before dawn this morning. The two stewards from the warehouse, the three clerks from the tax office, and even the old man at the East District Registration Station were all taken along."

Ji Wenchuan replied.

Li Yuan folded the document and placed it on the table.

Previously, most of them were transferred; now, not a single one is left.

Ji Wenchuan stood at the door, hesitant to speak.

"explain."

"We don't have enough manpower." Ji Wenchuan simply spread his hands.

Just as Li Yuan was about to speak, footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate.

Xu Zhang walked around the screen wall and came in, holding a series of wax-sealed letters in his hand.

"The news travels fast." Xu Zhang handed the letter to Li Yuan.

"The Chamber of Commerce headquarters received word last night that the Yuan Yang Sect was withdrawing its personnel, and issued instructions overnight."

Li Yuan opened the letter.

The content is concise: Mingyuan Chamber of Commerce can send a group of experienced managers to Guiwu Market to assist in the market's daily operations. The expenses will be borne by the Chamber of Commerce, and the specific personnel will be arranged by Xu Zhang, the manager stationed in Liangzhou.

Li Yuan looked up after reading it.

Xu Zhang's expression was calm, making no attempt to conceal the Chamber of Commerce's intention to infiltrate through this means. But his attitude was clear—what the Chamber of Commerce wanted was a stable trading environment and long-term interests, not control.

How many people?

"Six. Two are in charge of accounting, two run the warehouse, and two mediate disputes between shops. They are all veterans who have worked in Baijing Market, and they know the rules better than anyone else."

Li Yuan looked at Ji Wenchuan.

Ji Wenchuan thought for a moment and nodded: "It's better to have someone help than nothing."

"Let them come," Li Yuan decided, then added, "but I'll set the rules."

That afternoon, Li Yuan summoned Ji Wenchuan, the Wang family representative, several reliable people selected from the independent cultivators, and Xu Zhang to the side hall of the management office.

The new rules were finalized in just half an hour.

A joint signature system is implemented for warehouse entry and exit. All goods of Tier 2 and above entering and leaving the warehouse must be confirmed by two people's signatures, one of whom must be the Chamber of Commerce manager, and the other must be a representative of the Ji family or a rogue cultivator. Unilateral signatures are invalid.

The patrol teams operate on a rotation system. Routes change every three days, and the route maps are drawn up by Li Yuan himself and distributed half a day in advance. Wang family patrol members and independent cultivator patrol members are alternately grouped; members of the same faction are not allowed to be assigned to the same group.

A system of mutual review of ledgers was implemented. The tax accounts of the market were reviewed by the Chamber of Commerce manager and the Ji family representative every ten days, and the review results were submitted to Li Yuan for signature and filing.

The three lines of control are interwoven and balanced. The patrol team is in charge of security, the warehouse is in charge of supplies, and the tax bureau is in charge of finance. Each line operates independently, with personnel interspersed. Any one line that wants to monopolize the situation will have to face the checks and balances of the other two.

Ji Wenchuan copied all the rules into three copies, and representatives from all parties pressed their fingerprints on them.

After the meeting, Li Yuan stood at the entrance of the management office, watching the departing figures of the representatives from all sides.

They have completely seized control of the market. Not through the name of the sect, nor through the cultivation level of the Golden Core cultivator, but through the distribution of benefits and the design of the system.

This situation came much faster than he had anticipated.

After returning to the stone house, Li Yuan took out the alchemy furnace.

There is only one batch of herbs left for the Heavenly Origin Pill. The experience from the first two batches is sufficient. The first batch failed due to the slow speed of the nucleation field weaving, while the second batch was successful, but there is still room for improvement in the precision control of the nucleation field.

The third batch.

The medicinal herbs are added, the heat is brought to a boil, and the first three processes proceed smoothly and effortlessly.

The fourth step is the condensation of spiritual energy.

This time, Li Yuan adjusted his weaving strategy. Instead of pursuing a safe route of laying each line one by one, he divided the framework of the condensation field into three sectors, each woven simultaneously by independent divine consciousness lines, which finally converged at the central node.

Three lines running in parallel.

The strength of divine sense at the Golden Core stage and the permanent attribute of multitasking made this operation possible. The spiritual energy lines in the three sectors were laid almost simultaneously, with the weaving speed nearly 40% faster than the previous batch.

When the drug solution is concentrated to the critical point, the nucleation field has been firmly locked.

The resonance between the spiritual energy lines and the medicinal essence grew increasingly intense, emitting a continuous low-frequency hum within the furnace. Li Yuan's divine sense remained firmly fixed on every node of the condensation field, his spiritual energy output remaining consistently stable.

The buzzing sound gradually subsided.

Completed.

The furnace lid was lifted, revealing a Heavenly Origin Pill lying quietly at the bottom. The pill was slightly smaller than the one from the previous batch, but its surface luster was more even and delicate, and the density of its medicinal properties had clearly increased.

Tier 3, lower grade. More stable than the second batch.

[Alchemy Proficiency: Level 3, Beginner (0/200 → 30/200)]

Li Yuan put the elixir into a jade bottle and put down the alchemy furnace.

The skills for third-order alchemy are rapidly developing. The weaving of the core-condensing field has gone from clumsy to fluent, requiring only three furnaces of practice. The precision of the divine sense and the quality of spiritual power at the Golden Core stage are the greatest aids; if it were a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the same three furnaces would probably not even be enough to touch the threshold of the core-condensing field.

After cleaning and storing the alchemy furnace, Li Yuan took out the weapon-refining manual from his storage bag and turned to the first page.

Flame Blade.

First-tier low-grade magic weapon. Forging process: Select fire-attribute iron ore as the base material, smelt it with spiritual power to remove impurities, repeatedly forge it into shape, then infuse it with fire-attribute spiritual power to fix the shape, and finally use the fire control technique to stabilize the spirit patterns on the weapon body.

The materials weren't hard to find. The market warehouse had readily available fire-attribute iron ore and auxiliary materials, all of which were regular supplies previously acquired from demon-hunting teams and independent cultivators.

Li Yuan retrieved a batch of materials from the warehouse and began his first weapon forging session in the open space behind the stone house.

Golden Core cultivators don't need a dedicated forging room to refine first-tier magic weapons. The melting temperature and spiritual power infusion precision of first-tier magic weapons are child's play for Golden Core cultivators. The fiery flames they generate in their palms can serve as a furnace, and their divine sense can directly envelop the entire piece of ore to control the forging process.

The first piece of fire-attribute iron ore softened rapidly in the high temperature of the palm.

Following the steps in the manual, Li Yuan used his spiritual power to remove impurities from the ore. The precision of his spiritual power at the Golden Core stage made the process incredibly fast; the impurities were removed bit by bit, while the core fire-attribute essence was completely preserved.

Forging and shaping.

Spiritual energy acts like an invisible hammer and anvil, repeatedly folding and compacting the softened ore. Each fold increases the density and affinity of the ore with spiritual energy, and the Golden Core level control of force makes the folding layers so precise that they are invisible to the naked eye.

After it is formed, spiritual power is infused into it, and the fire control technique is used to stabilize the spiritual patterns on the body of the artifact.

The whole process took less than half an hour.

A two-foot-long flame-shaped blade took shape, its body gleaming with a dark red metallic sheen, and faint fire-attribute spirit patterns flowing along the edge. While not of the highest quality, it was already far superior to the typical beginner's work of a weapon refiner, especially considering it was the first attempt at crafting.

The first magical artifact, unfortunately it was forged incorrectly.

Li Yuan examined the Flame Blade and found it to be somewhat rough in texture. The spiritual patterns on the hilt were not evenly distributed, and there were a few slight leaks when he infused spiritual power into it.

He put down the knife, took out the second piece of ore, and continued refining.

The second round, the third round, the fourth round, the fifth round, the sixth round...

The spiritual sense and reserves of the Golden Core stage completely overwhelm the difficulty threshold of first-order weapon forging. Each weapon forged accumulates practical experience, and the speed of accumulation is drastically accelerated by the high starting point of Golden Core cultivation.

By the time the eighth Flame Blade was finished, Li Yuan's control over the entire forging process had progressed from unfamiliarity to mastery. From material selection, smelting, forging, pouring, to shaping, the feel for each step had become internalized, almost instinctive, like muscle memory.

[Weapon Forging Skill: First Tier, Beginner → First Tier, Proficient (0/800)]

Li Yuan put down the eighth knife and stretched his wrists.

It only took half a day to go from novice to expert. For an ordinary cultivator, this process would require at least several months or even years of repeated practice. The absolute advantage of the Golden Core stage lies not in talent, but in the overwhelming precision of operation and the margin for error—the technical requirements of a first-tier magic weapon are simply not enough to pose any challenge to a Golden Core cultivator.

Li Yuan lined up the eight flaming knives on the table.

Pick one up and a panel pops up.

[Equipable item detected: Flame Blade (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Fire Speed ​​Increase (White)]

[Effect: Increases the power of fire spells by 10% and increases casting speed by 10%]

[Preview of Permanentization Requirements: Cultivate a fire-based cultivation technique and fire-based spells (Already met)]

White entry. Crimson Fire Technique perfected, Fireball Technique perfected; the conditions were met long ago.

"equipment."

[Equipped: Flame Blade (Complete)]

[Fire Speed ​​Increase (White) has become a permanent entry]

The phantom of the flaming blade flashed in the equipment slot and then disappeared, turning into a white dot of light and clearing the slot.

The power and casting speed of fire spells are each increased by 10%, which, when combined with fire-related attributes such as the Spell of Blazing Sun, results in a small but significant increase.

Li Yuan put the first seven flame knives without any inscriptions into his storage bag, intending to sell them at the market later.

He then took out a new piece of fire-attribute iron ore and began forging a flame sword.

The craftsmanship of the Flame Sword is similar to that of the Flame Blade, the difference being that the blade is longer and thinner, and the distribution of the spirit patterns needs to extend longitudinally along the spine of the sword, requiring slightly higher control over the direction when infusing the spirit power.

With his expert crafting skills, he produced the finished product in less than 15 minutes.

Li Yuan gripped the hilt of the sword.

A panel pops up.

[Equipable item detected: Flame Sword (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Fire Speed ​​Increase (White)]

[Effect: Increases the power of fire spells by 10% and increases casting speed by 10%]

[Preview of Permanentization Requirements: Cultivate a fire-based cultivation technique and fire-based spells (Already met)]

The entries are exactly the same. The name, grade, effect, and permanentization conditions are completely identical to those of the Flame Blade, seemingly because the two magical artifacts are too similar.

Permanent attributes cannot be re-equipped. The attributes on this Flame Sword are meaningless to him now.

Li Yuan put the Flame Sword aside and opened the last chapter of the weapon crafting manual.

Water Spirit Sword.

A first-tier low-grade magic artifact, made from water-attribute spiritual ore and shaped by infusing water-attribute spiritual power.

The storage bag contained a lot of materials, and Li Yuan spent 10% more time forging it than he did for the Flame Blade.

The Water Spirit Sword was forged. The blade had a pale blue metallic sheen, and the spirit patterns on its spine meandered like flowing water.

Fingers touched the hilt of the sword.

[Equipable item detected: Water Spirit Sword (Complete)]

[Equipment Attribute Preview: Water Speed ​​Increase (White)]

[Effect: Increases the power of water-based spells by 10% and increases casting speed by 10%]

[Preview of Permanentization Requirements: Cultivate a water-based cultivation technique and water-based spells (Not yet met)]

The white attribute has an effect symmetrical to the fire element's speed boost, only the attribute has been changed to water.

The condition for permanentization is to practice a water-based cultivation technique and water-based spells.

I currently lack any water-based cultivation techniques. Ice Spike Technique can be considered a water-based spell, but my cultivation techniques are truly nonexistent.

However, the conditions are not demanding. Finding a beginner-level water-based cultivation technique and practicing it to the basics is enough.

Li Yuan closed the weapon-forging manual; he had already practiced all three methods of forging magical artifacts.

The manual only contains these three weapon-forging techniques, and continuing to repeatedly forge similar magical artifacts will have less and less impact on improving one's skill. To further refine one's weapon-forging abilities, one needs higher-level weapon-forging techniques and more complex forging skills.

He put the manual into his storage bag, got up, and walked to the window.

It was already dark. The sparse lights on the main street of the market were reflected on the window paper, flickering intermittently.

The issue of water-based cultivation techniques needs to be resolved as soon as possible, not only for the sake of permanently increasing the speed of water-based cultivation, but also because if more conditions for permanentizing water-based attributes are encountered in the future, we will be stuck without a cultivation technique as a foundation.