Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

The return journey was slower than the way there.

Liu Ping's leg was broken, and he couldn't walk; he needed someone to support him. Xu Mao's shoulder injury had stopped bleeding, but he couldn't use his right arm, and after walking for less than half an hour, he started sweating profusely.

The situation was even worse on Fanghe's side. Of the seven people in the team, only three were still able to move normally, and there was a corpse on a stretcher. They still needed Li Yuan and He Shou to lend a hand.

They didn't encounter any more monsters along the way.

By the time they arrived at the main camp, it was almost dark.

He Shou went straight to report to the head of the guard team. Li Yuan helped take Liu Ping to the wounded soldiers' shed at the camp, and then helped Xu Mao onto a wooden bed so that the people at the camp could treat his wounds.

Fang He's team also settled in at their camp. The body on the stretcher was carried into an empty room, and the door was closed.

When He Shou returned, his expression was even more somber than when he left.

"I've reported the formations, including those from the valley and the ones newly discovered today."

He Shou stood at the entrance of the outpost, his tone brief.

"In addition, the Wang family has hired a master of formations from outside to investigate the origin and purpose of these formation traces. He should arrive in the next couple of days."

"Where did you get them from?" Li Yuan asked.

"He didn't say." He Shou shook his head. "But someone who was specially invited by the Wang family must be quite capable."

He Shoujiang leaned his long sword against the corner of the wall and added another sentence.

"There's another message. Captain Wang sent back the order—we're withdrawing to the market tonight."

"tonight?"

"The personnel here at the base will be redeployed. We were originally supposed to stay until nine o'clock, but there are more casualties than last time."

He Shou paused for a moment, then continued.

"All teams will return together, but the Wang family members will stay here. We also need to take a few wounded soldiers back with us."

……

Traveling at night is faster than during the day.

With no search mission and no need to stop to check for traces, Xu Mao's injuries have improved considerably with the help of the medicine.

Traveling together as a large group eliminates any safety concerns.

Chen Qi helped Liu Ping up, while Li Yuan was also responsible for another wounded member of Fang He's team.

After walking for nearly two hours, the outline of the market's walls appeared in the night.

Once inside the market, Li Yuan walked along East Street, slowing his pace.

The nights in the market are different from before.

The stalls on both sides of East Street had long since closed, but seven or eight handcarts of varying sizes were parked by the roadside, piled high with wooden crates and cloth bags, tied tightly with ropes. Several men who looked like independent monks squatted in a circle around the carts, some checking the goods, others talking in hushed tones.

Li Yuan glanced around and noticed that without exception, all of these people had storage bags hanging from their waists.

It's not just one or two people, it's everyone.

In Qinghe Market, it's rare to see a group of independent cultivators with a storage bag for each member. The cheapest storage bag costs at least fifty or sixty spirit stones, which an ordinary independent cultivator might not be able to afford even after saving for several years, let alone an entire group.

These people are not ordinary independent cultivators.

Li Yuan did not stop and continued walking forward.

When I reached the entrance of the North Alley, I saw a similar scene again.

Three handcarts were squeezed together in the open space at the entrance of the alley. Seven or eight people were gathered around, one of whom was squatting on the ground writing or drawing something on a piece of rough paper with a charcoal pencil. Several people next to him were craning their necks to watch.

"...They came from the Yuanyang Sect. It took them more than half a month to travel. They encountered two groups of Tribulation Cultivators on the way, and one of them was killed. However, those two Tribulation Cultivators were in decent condition."

A middle-aged man with a loud voice was talking to someone next to him, holding a jar of wine in his hand and drinking it as he spoke.

"No road is safe these days. If you're alone, you're basically a sitting duck. We had to huddle together like a bunch of twelve to even dare to walk, and we still almost got caught."

Li Yuan slowed his pace.

Itinerant merchants.

Merchants frequently travel between several markets and regional powers around the Yuanheng Mountains. They purchase goods from one market and transport them to another to sell, profiting from the price difference.

Many independent cultivators do this kind of work, but they usually go out in groups of two or three to deal with dangers. It's rare to see a group of more than ten people.

To form such a large group, with each member carrying a storage bag, they must either be a long-established merchant caravan or a hastily assembled group due to the recent unfavorable situation.

Li Yuan stood at the alley entrance for a while and listened to a few words.

"...It's quite lively at the Yuan Yang Sect. I heard they're researching a new kind of pill that uses the inner core of a high-level demon beast as the main ingredient to help Foundation Establishment cultivators break through to the Golden Core stage."

"Golden Core?" A young rogue cultivator nearby clicked his tongue. "What does it have to do with us? We can't even reach the Foundation Establishment stage."

"It doesn't cost any money to listen to it." The middle-aged man took a swig of wine and wiped his mouth.

"Also, the stall fees at Lijiafang Market have become cheaper, but they're still 30% more expensive than here."

"Is it safe over at the Li family's place?"

"It's much better than here. The Li family seems to have some means of driving away and dealing with monsters."

Li Yuan kept this information in mind, returned to his residence, and began his cultivation.

The spiritual energy enters the body pure and without impurities, circulating rapidly throughout the body, with each of the six permanent attributes performing its function.

……

The next morning, Li Yuan went to the management office to register the patrol record and details of the operation.

The spirit stone subsidy wasn't much, only four. But the contribution points were plentiful—a participation reward of fifteen points for the mountain expedition.

The reward for discovering the formation hasn't been issued yet.

After leaving the management office, Li Yuan received a notification and went straight to the patrol team's residence.

When Wang De saw Li Yuan enter, he put the documents in his hand aside, leaned back in his chair, and glanced at Li Yuan.

"I'm back. I've already seen the report on the situation."

Li Yuan sat down at the table without saying a word.

Wang De picked up the herbal tea, took a sip, frowned, and put it down again.

"The intelligence you provided earlier—Zhao Wu's spying on the market's defenses, the jade pendant's method of concealing its presence, and the half-pill in the monster's stomach."

Wang De's tone was calm, but his gaze was earnest.

"After investigating for a while, it seems these lines of inquiry have connected. I can't tell you the specifics, but the information you provided was indeed useful and saved the Wang family a lot of trouble."

Wang De took out a document with an official seal from under the table and pushed it in front of Li Yuan.

"A reward has been approved from above."

Li Yuan took the document and glanced at it.

The document was brief: "In view of the valuable intelligence provided by Li Yuan, the deputy captain of the patrol team, in the security affairs of the market, and with the approval of the Wang family steward, he is hereby granted permission to choose a cultivation technique or spell from the Hidden Skill Pavilion as an additional reward."

The selection range is not limited to ordinary cultivation methods, but includes immortal cultivation techniques and methods. You are limited to one method and can go to the third floor, a place that you cannot normally reach even by spending contribution points.

The second floor of the Scripture Pavilion displays cultivation techniques and spells that can be exchanged for contribution points, while the third floor cannot be exchanged for them even with contribution points.

Li Yuan's fingers tightened slightly along the edge of the document.

"Thank you, Captain Wang."

"It wasn't my approval, it was the manager's idea." Wang De moved his teacup to the side.

"Take this document with you when you go to the Library of Merit; the guards will check it. Once you've made your selection, that's it; don't take too long to choose."

Li Yuan folded the document and put it into his sleeve before getting up to take his leave.