Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

The next morning, Li Yuan went out with the team.

The route we took this time was longer than the previous days, but it was actually safer.

Once outside the south gate of the market, the dirt road was much quieter than it had been a while ago.

The nearby low slopes and bushes had been swept up and down by the guards several times in the past few days, and the common first-tier low-grade monsters had become much less common.

He Shou walked ahead, explaining the current situation to Li Yuan and the other four team members as they went.

"A lot of the monsters have been cleared out; at least the area around the market is much quieter than it was a few days ago."

"However, quite a few people were also lost."

He Shou spoke calmly, without stopping his footing.

"Two teams were scattered by high-grade demonic beasts, and another team encountered a demonic beast that could damage the soul. Among those who returned, two are still delirious."

Li Yuan glanced at He Shou, and Liu Cheng leaned closer and asked.

"What kind of monster?"

"It's still unclear what kind of demonic beast did it. First-tier demonic beasts rarely know magic, and even fewer can attack the soul," He Shou shook his head.

They didn't encounter any monsters along the way, only a guard team that was seen heading towards the other side of the hillside in the distance.

"There have been fewer raiders lately."

"The reason there are fewer people isn't because they don't want to take action, but because there are so many people in the market area right now, with guards coming and going. Ordinary cultivators wouldn't dare to get close if they saw this."

"But there are still one or two teams that dare to cause trouble."

"That's problematic."

Li Yuan did not respond.

Generally, those who rob and plunder tend to pick on the weak, and given the current state of the market, no normal person would dare to confront them head-on.

Those who still dare to show their faces are either brainless or have someone backing them.

……

On the way back, we didn't encounter any major trouble, only two lone, low-grade first-tier demonic beasts.

They were all detected by the spirit detection disk and easily dealt with.

As the group turned back, He Shou spoke as he walked.

"The Wang family sent another team up the mountain today, as you just saw."

"Um."

"This time we brought even more people than last time. In addition to the guards, we also drew a batch of people from other places to form an outer perimeter." He Shou hung the spirit-detecting disc back on his waist. "I heard that we're going to continue investigating the formation and also take the opportunity to check out those dangerous sections in the mountains."

Li Yuan didn't respond to that.

By the time I returned to the market, the sun was already setting.

There's no rush to learn the talisman master's skill; I'm currently in the guard team and don't have time to learn it.

Li Yuan had already made his decision regarding the gift; he would give the first-grade, high-quality demon beast skin.

Upon arriving at the trading area, Li Yuan found it much more lively than in the past few days.

In the past, there weren't many people, and most of the demand came from purchasing or consignment.

The makeshift wooden sheds were packed with people, buying materials, selling monster meat, and dealing in talismans and minerals, their voices overlapping each other.

Li Yuan walked along the outermost passageway, glanced at several stalls selling pills, and then slowly slowed down.

The extra people in this place are quite different from the scattered cultivators in the East Street and North Alley.

A middle-aged monk wearing old armor was squatting in front of the stall buying meat, talking to the person next to him.

"Your market town is far from the mountains, so it's not usually this dangerous. Guarding the gate is much easier there than here."

A tall, thin man next to him snorted.

"It may be easy, but the pay isn't as good as here."

"That's true." The middle-aged cultivator grinned. "But it's peaceful."

Besides Qinghe Market, the Wang family also had another market, which was safer in comparison.

Li Yuan walked up to a temporary stall selling pills and stopped.

The stall owner was a traveling merchant in his forties. There were more than a dozen small porcelain bottles on his stall, and the smell of medicine was mixed together, making it quite a mixed bag.

Do you have Shumai Dan?

"Yes, two for each, three left."

Li Yuan took them all.

Then they went to the next shop to ask.

The Shumai Pill isn't a popular type of pill. Compared to pills for breaking through realms, nourishing qi, or healing injuries, fewer people buy it, so it's not readily available on the market. But precisely because of this, the price hasn't been driven up too much, remaining around two spirit stones.

Li Yuan circled around a bit and collected eight more coins.

After returning to his residence, Li Yuan bolted the door and took out a Soothing Pulse Pill.

The medicinal effects spread quickly.

The meridians were gently stretched open once again.

Li Yuan immediately sat cross-legged and began to circulate the Spirit Guiding Technique.

The spiritual energy gathered was more intense than usual, and with the acceleration of the circulation, the spiritual power flowed through the meridians like flowing water. Normally, this speed would have caused the meridians to swell, but the Meridian-Soothing Pill widened the pathways, allowing the spiritual power to flow smoothly.

After several cycles, Li Yuan then entered the Hundred Meridians Returning to Origin Technique.

The Spirit-Guiding Technique is responsible for absorbing energy, while the Hundred Meridians Returning to Origin Technique is responsible for regulating it.

The two techniques, coordinated by the principle of "all rivers flowing into the sea," flowed seamlessly together with almost no pauses.

When the medicinal power of the one Shumai Pill was completely exhausted, the spiritual energy in Li Yuan's dantian became much thicker.

That night, Li Yuan did not make any more talismans, but focused on cultivation.

The same thing happened the next day.

During the day, he would go out to help fill vacancies in the guard and patrol teams, and upon returning, he would take pills, meditate, and circulate his internal energy.

During this time, Li Yuan bought another batch of Shumai Pills. These Heavenly Spirit Stones cost a lot, but at least there was a subsidy from selling monster materials, though it wasn't much, as there were fewer monsters recently.

By the evening of the third day, Li Yuan swallowed the last Shumai Pill.

The medicinal effects dissipated, and the meridians were stretched open once again.

This time, Li Yuan didn't rush to cultivate, but instead directly activated the Spirit Guiding Technique at full power.

Spiritual energy surged in from all directions, gathered and drawn into the body, then filtered and purified. With the accelerated circulation of energy, the spiritual power circulated extremely fast.

The spiritual energy in my dantian was already quite thick, and in the past few days, the Shumai Pill has pushed it forward by a large margin.

When it's running again now, the feeling is different.

The spiritual energy repeatedly washed over the boundaries of the dantian, and the feeling of being so full that it felt heavy gradually became tense.

Li Yuan closed his eyes, his breathing steady, and continued pushing forward.

One cycle, two cycles, three cycles.

The effects of the Soothing Meridian Pill were still present, and the slight expansion of the meridians allowed the spiritual energy to continue its upward surge.

At one moment, it felt as if the boundary of the dantian was suddenly stretched open by a line.

It wasn't very loud.

However, the spiritual power within his body, which had been suppressed so tightly, suddenly found a place to go.

The next instant, the spiritual energy from the outside world poured in frantically.

The flow of spiritual energy in the meridians suddenly accelerated, and the dantian expanded accordingly. The spiritual energy that was originally overflowing to the edge dispersed and was then filled with even more spiritual energy.

The whole process was not long.

The residual medicinal power of the Shumai Pill was completely exhausted at this moment, and the gap that had been stretched in the meridians quickly shrank back, but the realm had already been crossed.

Li Yuan slowly opened his eyes, wiped them with his hand, and looked down at his palm.

The flow of spiritual energy is now more stable.

It's thicker than when it was at level five of Qi Refining, and it's also lighter and faster.

[Current Realm: Qi Refining Level 6]

Sixth level of Qi Refining.

Li Yuan sat on the bed, quietly adjusted his breathing for a moment, and then slowly stood up.

The night outside the window was still, but Li Yuan felt that the room was a bit brighter than before.

It's not a psychological effect; it's a real feeling.

I'm one step closer to the late stage of Qi Refining.