Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

The work of collecting rent in Lingtian District is actually quite complicated.

After finishing with Uncle Wang, Li Yuan visited more than a dozen spirit farmers, checking the quantity and quality of the spirit grains from house to house.

After going around the store, Li Yuan's storage bag was full of spirit grains, and he also received a lot of benefits.

These spirit farmers offer a variety of benefits, including spirit stones, ores, and grains, but currently only one item can be equipped.

[Equipable item detected: Changqing Rice (requires 1 jin)]

[Entry Preview: Concentrating Qi (Gray) - Reduces mental energy consumption by 10% during cultivation]

[Permanentization Requirements: Consume at least 5 jin of the same type of spiritual grain]

Grayed-out entries have a mediocre effect, but they're better than nothing.

Other grains and ores are probably not allowed to be equipped because the conditions are not met.

By the time the last household's produce was collected, the sun was already setting.

Li Yuan counted the spirit grains in the bag, and the total amount was almost the same as last year.

After putting away the storage bag, Li Yuan walked along the ridge towards the market.

About a mile outside Lingtian District, two familiar figures appeared on the official road ahead.

Both men were wearing the same gray patrol uniforms as Li Yuan, with the character "王" (king) embroidered on their chests, and were talking to each other by the roadside.

Li Yuan recognized the two people.

The tall, honest-looking man walking in front is Zhou Dazhuang, a third-level Qi cultivator. He usually guards the south gate of the market. He is an honest man and doesn't talk much.

The tall, thin man following behind was Sun Liang, also at the third level of Qi Refining, responsible for patrolling West Street. He was somewhat eccentric and quick-witted.

During the patrol, there were quite a few cultivators at the third level of Qi Refining, whose early cultivation was relatively rapid due to the Spirit Guiding Technique.

However, the mid-stage of Qi Refining is a hurdle, and very few cultivators can reach the fourth level of Qi Refining.

The two stopped in their tracks when they saw Li Yuan approaching.

"Li Yuan, you went to collect rent too?"

Sun Liang spoke first, a smile on his face.

Li Yuan nodded: "Just finished collecting them, what about you guys?"

"We are too," Zhou Dazhuang replied in a deep voice. "We just came back from the area to the south."

The three of them walked together toward the market. Sun Liang was in the lead, walking very fast while humming an unknown tune. He seemed to be in a good mood.

Zhou Dazhuang, on the contrary, kept his head down, remained silent, and had a somewhat gloomy expression.

Li Yuan saw this but did not ask any questions.

After walking for a while, Sun Liang suddenly turned around and said excitedly, "Li Yuan, have you seen the notice? It's the guard rotation list for this month."

"I've seen it."

"I'm on the list too!"

Sun Liang grinned: "Ten spirit stones a month, more than three times more than an inspector, plus pills are given out. This is a good job."

Li Yuan glanced at him but didn't say anything.

The guards' monthly salary was indeed much higher than that of the patrol officers, but the danger was also much greater. The original owner had rotated through four different roles and personally witnessed two guards die on patrol, one of whom was never recovered.

Sun Liang clearly didn't think so.

"Besides, the guard team doesn't encounter monsters robbing cultivators every day. Most of the time they're near the market, so it's not actually that dangerous."

"Moreover, hunting monsters or killing evil cultivators can yield a lot of spoils."

Sun Liang became more and more excited as he spoke, "I heard that last month a guard team hunted down a rare demonic beast, and each member received a full thirty spirit stones!"

Zhou Dazhuang said in a muffled voice, "Some people also died outside."

Sun Liang's smile froze for a moment, then he waved his hand: "That was just bad luck. We won't be that unlucky."

"You may want to go, but I don't," Zhou Dazhuang said in a low voice. "My wife is pregnant. If something happens to me..."

Zhou Dazhuang stopped mid-sentence and simply sighed.

Sun Liang scratched his head, unsure how to respond, and the scene fell silent for a moment.

Li Yuan asked, "How's the situation at the Yuanheng Mountains lately?"

"Things are not peaceful." Zhou Dazhuang raised his head, his expression grave.

"Recently, there have been many more monsters in the mountains, and several more monster-hunting teams have appeared nearby. There are also several groups of rogue cultivators active. A few days ago, some rogue cultivators went missing."

"The guard team has increased patrols, but they are short-handed, so they temporarily recruited our group."

Sun Liang added, "But don't worry, we newcomers won't be sent to the most dangerous places. At most, we'll just be patrolling the outskirts."

Li Yuan didn't reply, but he was quickly making plans in his mind.

The Yuanheng Mountains are not peaceful, and the guard team faces greater danger than usual.

You have twelve days; you must find a way to break through this barrier or find another solution within those twelve days.

The three walked and talked, and soon arrived at the entrance of the market.

After entering the market, the three parted ways and went about their own business.

Li Yuan walked along West Street and stopped in front of a secluded courtyard.

The courtyard is not large. A wooden sign that reads "Patrol Team" hangs at the entrance. This is the patrol team's residence, and the team leader usually works here.

Li Yuan pushed open the door and went inside. The courtyard was empty except for the main house door, which was half-open, from which came the sound of papers being turned over.

Li Yuan walked to the door and knocked on the door frame: "Captain."

"Come in."

A deep voice came from inside the room.

Li Yuan pushed open the door and entered. Behind the table directly opposite him sat a middle-aged man with a square face, a short beard, and a blue robe. He exuded a calm and reserved aura.

This is Wang De, the captain of the patrol team. With a cultivation level of the seventh level of Qi Refining, he can be considered a master in Qinghe Market.

Wang De looked up at Li Yuan and asked, "Is the rent collection matter finished?"

"It's done."

Li Yuan took out the benefits given to him by the spirit farmer from his storage bag.

This is an unspoken rule of the patrol team.

Ninety percent of the benefits received from collecting rent had to be handed over to the team leader, and he could only keep one percent for himself.

Wang De glanced at them, put them all away, roughly calculated their value, and then took out a spirit stone.

After accepting the spirit stone, Li Yuan waved his hand, indicating that he could leave.

Li Yuan turned and left the courtyard, heading straight for the management office. After returning the storage bag and the collected spirit grains, he went back to North Alley.

By evening, the market was nearly empty, with most vendors having packed up and gone home.

The simple cloth shed at the end of the north alley is still there, but the talismans on the stall have been taken down, leaving only Old Zhang sitting under the shed, packing something into a cloth bag.

Li Yuan walked to the stall and stood still.

"Old Zhang."

Old Zhang looked up and, seeing it was Li Yuan, was somewhat surprised: "Fellow Daoist Li, what brings you here at this hour?"

Li Yuan got straight to the point: "I want to learn cleaning techniques from you."

Old Zhang paused for a moment, put down the cloth bag in his hand, and looked Li Yuan up and down.

"Cleansing techniques?"

"right."

Old Zhang didn't answer immediately, but remained silent for a moment, as if he was thinking about something.

Cleansing is one of the most basic introductory spells. Almost every cultivator who can draw talismans knows it, and there's nothing particularly remarkable about it.

But precisely because of this, very few people are willing to spend spirit stones to learn the Cleansing Spell.

Most cultivators would rather spend their spirit stones on more useful spells; minor matters like cleaning can be solved by buying a few talismans.

"Why did you suddenly want to learn this?" Old Zhang asked.

"It's somewhat useful."

Li Yuan didn't elaborate, and then continued.

"However, I only have two spirit stones on me, so I can only give them to you after I receive my monthly salary."

Old Zhang nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

"I can learn it, the Cleansing spell isn't a difficult spell."

Old Zhang paused, took out a booklet, and continued speaking.

"There are a few hidden pitfalls in this cleaning manual; it's easy to go astray if you're not careful."

Old Zhang pointed to himself and said, "Back then, I stumbled through one pitfall after another, wasting a lot of time."

"If you're willing to learn, I can tell you all the pitfalls so you can avoid making the same mistakes. I won't charge you spirit stones either."

Li Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly: "Then what do you want?"

"Help me spread the word." Old Zhang smiled, revealing a set of slightly crooked teeth.

"As you know, my business is so-so. If Fellow Daoist Li could introduce me to a few more customers, my business would be much better."

Li Yuan looked at the weathered old man in front of him and was somewhat surprised.

Not accepting spirit stones, just asking for help with promotion—this offer is far too generous.

"Deal." Li Yuan said without hesitation.

Old Zhang's smile deepened, and he took out a thin booklet from his pocket and handed it over.

"These are the secrets of the Cleansing Technique. They're written in detail in the booklet, but there are a few places where you can easily make mistakes. Let me tell you..."

Li Yuan took the booklet, and the system panel reappeared.

[Equipable item detected]

[Item Affix Level: Gray]

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

Cultivation techniques can be equipped? Li Yuan was first surprised, then delighted.

After closing the system panel, Li Yuan listened carefully to Old Man Zhang's explanation.

The principle of the cleansing technique is not complicated. The core is to guide spiritual energy to form a thin film on the body surface, which isolates dust and dirt from the outside, while releasing a special aura to repel mosquitoes.

The steps written in the booklet seem simple, but there are quite a few tricks to them in practice.

Old Zhang pointed out the places where people were likely to make mistakes, and Li Yuan carefully wrote them down, feeling even more favorably disposed towards the old man.

As Li Yuan was leaving, a thought struck him, and a new line of text appeared before his eyes:

Cleaning Skills: Beginner (0/100)