Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Back at his residence, he took out the booklet left by Old Zhang from his sleeve and opened the cover.

The handwritten words were crooked and uneven, but each step was written very clearly.

The booklet contains three sections.

The first part covers the basic principles of talisman making. From the technique of injecting spiritual power into the talisman paper, to the direction of the spiritual patterns when applying cinnabar, and then to the rhythmic control of the sealing at the end of the stroke, it is written in great detail, clearly reflecting Old Zhang's years of experience in drawing talismans.

The second part is about the tips for making cleansing and warding-off-evil talismans. Several common mistakes are listed for each type of talisman.

The third part is not about talisman making; it lists three names and addresses, all of which sell basic talisman making materials.

"Wu Ji Talisman Material, located at the third alleyway on the south section of East Street, offers talisman paper of average quality, but its advantage lies in its affordability and reliability."

"Zhao's Materials Shop, located in the middle of North Alley, has the best cinnabar, but it's quite expensive."

"Grandma Sun's grocery stall has no fixed location, it has everything, the quality varies, but you can occasionally find something good."

Old Zhang also kept the merchants he had dealt with.

Li Yuan closed the booklet, and the panel appeared:

[Equipable item detected: Talisman Crafting Manual (Complete)]

[Entry Preview: Talisman Crafting Insights (White) - Reduces the time and spiritual energy consumed during talisman crafting by 10%]

[Preview of Permanentization Conditions: Craft fifty basic talismans or five low-grade Tier 1 talismans (one low-grade talisman is equivalent to ten basic talismans) (0/50)]

[Current equipment slot is full (3/3). Replace current equipment?]

White text. Talisman creation time and spiritual energy consumption reduced by 10%.

The conditions for permanentization are also clear—make fifty basic talismans, or five first-tier low-grade talismans. One low-grade talisman is equivalent to ten basic talismans.

Cleansing talismans and exorcism talismans are considered basic talismans, while fireball talismans and ice cone talismans are considered low-grade first-tier talismans.

Li Yuan carefully put the booklet away, without rushing to equip it.

First, cultivate yourself.

He sat cross-legged on the bed and began to practice the Spirit Guiding Technique.

After completing one cycle, Li Yuan did not continue to circulate the Spirit Guiding Technique, but instead switched to the Hundred Meridians Returning to Origin Technique.

The flow of spiritual energy changed accordingly.

Performing the Spirit Guiding Technique once will increase the speed of spiritual energy absorption.

The Hundred Meridians Returning to Origin Technique was repeated once more, reorganizing the spiritual energy absorbed by the Spirit Guiding Technique. The spiritual power circulated along the branch meridians and then returned to the dantian, improving its quality.

First, use the Spirit Guiding Technique to absorb a large amount of energy, then use the Hundred Meridians Returning to Origin Technique to refine and purify it.

The effect is immediate.

After alternating between the two cultivation methods for several cycles, Li Yuan could clearly feel the changes in the spiritual energy in his dantian. The rate of increase in the total amount was slower than when using the Spirit Guiding Technique alone, but the degree of solidification of the spiritual energy was higher than when using either technique alone.

Of course, this is also due to the effect of the spiritual energy filtering attribute on his body, which makes the impurities in the spiritual energy absorbed by the Spirit Guiding Technique negligible.

Without this entry, the spiritual energy would be mixed with impurities flowing through the body, and its effects would be far inferior to what they are now.

The effect of the phrase "All Rivers Flow into the Sea" is particularly evident when switching between the two cultivation methods—when switching from the circulation frequency of the Spirit Guiding Technique to the Hundred Meridians Returning to Origin Technique, the spiritual energy experiences almost no interruption and naturally slides into the other circulation path.

Li Yuan stabilized this alternating cultivation rhythm and circulated his energy for another dozen or so cycles.

The spiritual energy in my dantian was much more abundant than before I started cultivating, and its texture was also more substantial.

By the time we finished practicing, it was already dark outside the window.

With a thought, the panel appeared:

【The Hundred Meridians Returning to the Origin Technique: Beginner (0/200)】

It took about an hour to master the basics.

A complete understanding of equipment infusion is equally effective in cultivation techniques, saving the time spent studying the manuals.

Furthermore, with the added benefit of the Spiritual Energy Condensation entry—the spiritual energy density is already significantly higher than that of other meridians of the same level—the resistance to the flow of spiritual energy in the branches is smaller when operating the Hundred Meridians Returning to Origin Technique, and the connection between nodes is smoother.

Li Yuan put away the panel and took out Lao Zhang's manual.

The booklet clearly states that the core of talisman making is to infuse spiritual power into the talisman paper according to specific patterns.

The flow of spiritual energy determines the direction of the spiritual runes; the order in which the strokes are made determines how the spiritual runes are activated; and the rhythm of the strokes at the end controls the stability of the talisman.

It sounds simple, but there are many intricacies involved.

The infusion of spiritual energy cannot be too fast or too slow. If it's too fast, the spiritual patterns won't have time to form, and the talisman paper will burn through; if it's too slow, the spiritual energy will linger on the talisman paper for too long, causing the patterns to blur and diffuse, ultimately rendering it ineffective.

The connection between each stroke is even more crucial. If the residual spiritual energy at the end of the previous stroke is not well controlled, it will interfere with the beginning of the next stroke, resulting in crooked lines at best, or ruining the entire talisman at worst.

After reading it, Li Yuan calculated the number of spirit stones he had.

A significant portion of the money found on Jie Xiu has already been spent—buying spirit-gathering rings, talismans, pills, and so on. The spirit stones remaining in his sleeve are less than before.

However, basic talisman-making materials are not expensive. The cheapest yellow paper talismans cost one spirit stone for a hundred sheets. Ordinary cinnabar costs half a spirit stone for a small bottle, enough to draw dozens of talismans. Spirit ink is slightly more expensive, costing one spirit stone for a small bottle, but the amount used is small, and one bottle can last a long time.

Buying the whole set would cost three or four spirit stones, enough for a beginner to practice for a long time.

Li Yuan left his residence and walked along East Street to the third alleyway in the southern section.

Wu Ji Fu Liao's shop is small, with a narrow storefront, sandwiched between two larger shops, and it's easy to miss if you're not paying attention.

The shop didn't have many items, but they were neatly arranged. On the left was a row of talisman paper of various grades, from the cheapest yellow paper to the slightly better spirit-patterned paper, arranged from low to high price. On the right were cinnabar, spirit ink, and several auxiliary materials, all packaged in small porcelain bottles or cloth bags.

Behind the counter sat a man in his forties with an ordinary appearance. When he saw Li Yuan come in, he glanced at the waist tag and stood up politely.

"Deputy Captain Li, what do you need?"

"Twenty sheets of yellow paper talisman, one bottle of ordinary cinnabar, one bottle of spirit ink, and one fine-tipped brush."

The shopkeeper quickly gathered the items together and wrapped them in oil paper.

"A total of four spirit stones."

After taking out the spirit stones and returning to his residence, Li Yuan had a thought, dispelled the Iron Ox Technique, and then equipped himself with Old Zhang's manual.

The booklet transformed into a faint light and merged into his body.

Just as Li Yuan had guessed, the booklet was completely integrated into his body, including even the names and addresses written by Lao Zhang.

Li Yuan had considered tearing that page out to see if it could still be equipped, but he didn't dare to try.

Unlike the previous training manuals, this time the infusion wasn't about techniques and operational routes, but rather a wealth of experience—experiences written down by Old Zhang in the manuals. Compared to reading, this infusion was far more powerful, as if Old Zhang was personally teaching him all the time.

After the infusion was completed, Li Yuan's fingers twitched slightly, and a strange feeling rose up—it was as if he had drawn countless talismans, and he knew the weight of each stroke by heart, but when he actually picked up the brush, his fingers were completely unfamiliar with it.

[Equipped: Talisman Crafting Manual]

[Acquired entry: Talisman Crafting Insights (White) - Reduces the time and spiritual energy consumed during talisman crafting by 10%]

[Permanentization Progress: 0/50]

Li Yuan picked up the fine-tipped brush, spiritual energy flowed into it from his fingertips, and with a flick of his wrist, the spiritual energy drew an arc as he began to create a cleansing talisman.

The experience instilled in his mind guided the direction and force of each movement, but the muscles in his fingers were doing it for the first time. Halfway through drawing the arc, the angle of his wrist shifted slightly, causing the spiritual energy on the talisman to deviate.

The cinnabar bleed into a blotch on the paper, turning what should have been even, fine lines into a blurry red stain.

obsolete.

Li Yuan put down his pen and set the talisman aside.

Pick up the second sheet, dip it in cinnabar again, and begin to write.

It's ruined again.

The third one... the fourth one... the fifth one...

Five cards were discarded in a row.

Li Yuan put down his pen, looked at the five discarded talismans on the table, stretched his wrists, folded the discarded talismans and put them aside, and picked up the sixth talisman.

Spiritual energy flowed from his fingertips, and cinnabar slowly spread across the talisman paper.

Li Yuan's wrist kept rotating, becoming more and more fluid.

The spiritual energy slowly receded from the tip of the pen, the lines naturally tapering at the end, with the last dot landing in the center of the talisman paper.

The cleansing talisman is complete.

Item detected: Cleansing Charm (Complete)

[Entry Preview: Clean Body (A duplicate entry already exists; cannot be equipped again)]

"Can I equip anything I craft myself?"

Li Yuan's face lit up with joy. If his guess was correct, he would have a stable channel to obtain the entries.

However, we cannot make a judgment yet; we need to try the talisman again.

A prompt appeared on the panel.

[First-Tier Rune Making: Beginner (9/100)]

[Cleansing Charm: Beginner (12/100)]

[Progress of Crafting Enlightenment (White) Permanentization: 1/50]