Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

After returning to his residence, Li Yuan bolted the door and sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed.

The spiritual energy entered his body, became pure after being filtered, and then circulated rapidly under the accelerated circulation of the body. After one cycle was completed, Li Yuan did not stop, but instead switched to the Hundred Meridians Returning to Origin Technique to reorganize the spiritual energy that had just entered his body.

The two techniques are practiced alternately.

Li Yuan continued his cultivation until late into the night before slowly concluding his practice.

The spiritual energy in his dantian thickened again.

During this period, Li Yuan's cultivation continued uninterrupted. In addition, with several key points stacked together and no minor bottlenecks hindering him, his progress was much faster than that of a typical Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator.

We're not far from reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining.

The next morning, as soon as Li Yuan stepped out, he was met by an inspector hurrying by.

"Deputy Captain Li, Steward Wang wants you to go to the barracks."

"Isn't it Captain Wang?"

Li Yuan noticed the change in address and asked what it was.

"I don't know either. It seems that Captain Wang has temporarily left the market."

Li Yuan nodded without delving into the details and turned to walk towards the patrol team's camp.

The courtyard was quieter than usual. The main room door was open, and inside sat an unfamiliar middle-aged cultivator, dressed in a dark blue robe, with a square face and a short beard. On the table were a register and a cloth bag, and two porcelain bottles were placed beside him.

"Li Yuan?" The middle-aged cultivator looked up and glanced at him. "Come in."

Li Yuan entered the house.

"Wang De is not here, so I will be in charge of the patrol team for the next few days." The middle-aged cultivator pushed the things in his hand forward. "My surname is Wang, and I am in charge of the East Street of the market."

Li Yuan's eyes flickered slightly.

Manager Wang speaks quickly and doesn't beat around the bush.

"This is your monthly salary. Because you served a few days in the guard team this month, your salary will be higher, plus the reward for your last trip into the mountains."

"The spirit stones are all inside, and the contribution points total forty. Please accept them."

Li Yuan took the cloth bag and the porcelain bottle.

The cloth bag was heavy, filled with spirit stones. The two porcelain bottles contained meridian-opening pills.

"Where's Captain Wang?" Li Yuan asked.

Manager Wang turned a page of the roster, his tone indifferent.

"He's been temporarily transferred and has been gone for a few days. I don't know where he went, and it's not my place to ask."

That concludes my discussion.

Li Yuan didn't ask any further questions. He simply nodded, put the items into his sleeve, and left the main room.

Several deputy captains of the patrol team were standing in the courtyard, talking in hushed tones. When Li Yuan came out, one of them gestured with his chin towards him.

"Did you receive your monthly salary?"

"Hmm." Li Yuan walked over. "Where did Captain Wang go?"

The group exchanged glances, and one of them lowered his voice.

"Captain Wang left in a hurry. He was fine yesterday, but he was gone the next day."

The other person took over the conversation.

"Whether you can speak properly or not, I think it's mostly related to that spy line from before."

Li Yuan glanced at him: "Which one?"

"What else could it be? It's the stuff you've been keeping an eye on." The man paused, lowering his voice even further.

"I heard they found something else along the way, and with other things going on, I guess they've gone to report to the Wang family."

After listening, Li Yuan had a better understanding of the situation.

Wang De's transfer was not a routine job change; it seemed more like he was being reassigned to assist with something that was going on later.

However, this is not my concern for the time being.

That's enough.

After leaving the patrol team's residence, Li Yuan walked along East Street to North Alley, all the way to the end of North Alley.

Old Sun's stall was still there, but he didn't have many pills on display today. Old Sun was squatting behind the stall, rummaging through his medicine box. When he saw Li Yuan coming over, he immediately took out a thin booklet and a small porcelain bottle from the box.

"You've come at the perfect time."

Old Sun handed the items over.

"I copied the Fire Control Technique for you last night. And there's also a Fiend Essence Pill, as promised."

Li Yuan took the booklet and glanced through it.

The Fire Control Technique is short and much simpler than spells like Fireball. Its key is to precisely control the size and temperature of the fire, and it can be used in alchemy and talisman making.

Li Yuan carefully put it away and then looked at the small porcelain bottle.

"Is it still the same kind of Fiend Essence Pill?"

"No, I've made a slight modification." Old Sun patted his medicine box. "It's a bit more stable than the old prescription. There's still some malevolent energy, but it's less. Go back and try it. If you feel something's wrong, let me know."

Li Yuan nodded: "Okay."

After chatting for a few more minutes, Li Yuan didn't linger and turned to leave North Alley.

Lu Fushi still lives in that rented house in the southeast.

When Li Yuan arrived at the door, it was half-closed. There was little sound of talking inside, only the slight rustling of a pen tip tracing across a talisman.

Li Yuan raised his hand and knocked on the door frame.

The person inside didn't look up, but only said two words.

"Please come in."

Li Yuan pushed open the door and went in. He saw Master Lu drawing talismans and did not make a sound to disturb him.

The room was small, with a long table taking up most of the space. On the table were talisman paper, cinnabar, and spirit ink. Lu, the talisman master, was sitting behind the table, holding a jet-black talisman brush in his hand. The brush body was thicker than an ordinary fine-bristled brush, and the tip was long and thin, clearly a spirit brush used for making talismans.

The spiritual patterns on the talisman were nearing completion.

Master Lu's movements were steady; his strokes were swift yet precise. As the last stroke was made, the surface of the talisman paper glowed slightly before quickly settling down.

It became.

Master Lu picked up the talisman, glanced at it, put it aside, and then looked up at Li Yuan.

What kind of talisman should I buy?

"I don't want to buy talismans. I want to learn fire magic, something simple."

Li Yuan stepped forward and said directly, "Easy to learn, and don't set the price too high."

Master Lu nodded and got up to rummage through the wooden shelves at the back.

He casually placed the talisman pen on the table.

Li Yuan's gaze swept over, and his fingertips touched the edge of the table, just in time to touch the talisman brush.

Familiar, semi-transparent text appeared before my eyes.

[Equipable item detected]

[Item Attribute Level: White]

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

White entries.

Li Yuan paused for a moment, then withdrew his finger without making a sound.

Master Lu quickly returned with several booklets and placed them on the table.

"None of these subjects are difficult."

"Fire Needle Technique, Fire Thread Technique, Fire Cover Technique."

"Fire Needle Technique is the easiest to learn and consumes the least amount of spiritual energy. Fire Thread Technique is more suited for close combat. Fire Shield Technique can protect the body, but it consumes more spiritual energy."

Li Yuan glanced at it and didn't hesitate.

"Fire Needle Technique"

Master Lu nodded and put the other two books away, keeping only the Fire Needle Technique.

Li Yuan didn't immediately grab it, but instead looked at the old talisman pen on the table.

"Is this pen for sale?"

Lu Fushi looked up and glanced at Li Yuan.

"Selling is fine."

"But this is an old pen I used myself. What, you want this?"

"Just asking casually," Li Yuan said in a normal tone.

Without saying much, Master Lu turned around and took out an almost identical talisman pen from the wooden box behind him, placing it on the table.

"I also have a new spare pen here, just like the one I used."

Li Yuan reached out and touched the new pen.

The system panel is unresponsive.

The same pen, the old one had white markings, but this new one has nothing.

Li Yuan wasn't clear on the specific logic; he estimated that he would be able to figure it out when he reached a higher level of understanding.

Li Yuan withdrew his hand and looked at Lu Fushi.

"I want the old one, can you give me a discount of three spirit stones?"

Master Lu pondered for a few moments.

"Alright."

"However, I didn't use this for too long, so I'll give you a discount of two spirit stones at most."

Li Yuan nodded.

"OK."