Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

After news of the conflict between the Wang and Li families spread, the atmosphere in the market remained tense.

Li Yuan continued making talismans and cultivating as usual, with little change in his rhythm.

What has changed are the people around us.

Of course, he couldn't stay in his residence all day without patrolling, so he would come out to patrol from time to time.

That morning, after Li Yuan finished patrolling half of East Street, he turned into the patrol team's residence and found Zhao Hu and Sun Liang squatting in the yard talking.

Neither of them looked too good.

When Zhao Hu saw Li Yuan enter, he stood up and said something.

"Deputy Captain, have you heard? A group of people have been transferred from the mining area."

Li Yuan sat down on the wooden stool next to him.

"Where were you transferred to?"

"I don't know, I only know that they distributed the supplies and left." Zhao Hu rubbed his hands together.

Sun Liang leaned against the wall, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and his voice was much lower than Zhao Hu's.

"Go and attack the Li family."

Zhao Hu glanced at him.

Sun Liang lowered his voice even further.

"I know someone in the mining area who told me this before they left. They've been given two months' worth of supplies and their magical artifacts have been replenished. They're being told to head to the area where the two families' houses meet."

"It's called 'co-defense,' but everyone knows what 'co-defense' really means."

Zhao Hu's expression changed.

"Then our patrol team..."

"The patrol team hasn't moved yet." Sun Liang tightened his sleeves a little. "But the guard team has also been given some men."

Li Yuan didn't respond, waiting for them to finish speaking.

Sun Liang muttered something else.

"Moreover, they're not only transferring people, but also recruiting independent cultivators from outside. A notice was posted at the intersection of East Street a couple of days ago, recruiting independent cultivators willing to sign short-term contracts, and the pay is quite good."

"Recruit rogue cultivators to fight?" Zhao Hu clicked his tongue.

"We're not sending rogue cultivators to the front lines, we're sending them to fill the gaps in patrols and guard duties," Sun Liang shook his head. "The real fighting will be done by the Wang family members and the old guards. The rogue cultivators are just filling the gaps in the rear."

Zhao Hu was about to say something when Sun Liang suddenly glanced to the left and right and changed the subject.

"There's no escaping this. Once you sign the contract, the family tells you to go, so you have to go. You've already given your lifeblood; how can you run away now?"

Zhao Hu grunted in response and remained silent.

Li Yuan stood up.

Did they say to what extent the fight would go?

Sun Liang thought for a moment.

"I heard that the Yuan Yang Sect is keeping both sides in check, preventing them from making too much noise. So neither side dared to really fight. They were just testing each other at the border, and small groups would fight when they encountered each other, and then each would withdraw after the fight."

"But people died."

"Quite a few died." Sun Liang's voice was muffled. "But most of the deaths were among those on the periphery. Our family members are precious and didn't go to the front much."

Li Yuan nodded, asked no more questions, and turned to leave the camp.

As Li Yuan passed an alleyway on the southern section of East Street, he slowed his pace.

A new shop has appeared next to the alley entrance.

It wasn't a makeshift shed set up by a repairman, but a proper shop. The door panels were painted, and a brand-new wooden plaque hung above the door, with three characters engraved on it—Yuanyang Hall.

The handwriting is neat and the paint is shiny; it looks like it was just hung up.

Two cultivators dressed in light yellow robes stood at the entrance of the shop. Both were at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, and their expressions were calm, unlike those of rogue cultivators.

Li Yuan took another look.

The door was half open, and you could vaguely see several rows of shelves inside, displaying some porcelain bottles and talismans, which were of much better quality than most of the items on the market stalls.

After walking less than a hundred steps further, another similar shop appeared across the road, with the same plaque of Yuanyang Hall hanging above the door, but this shop sold mineral materials and accessories for ritual implements.

The shops of Yuanyang Sect.

After Li Yuan bought the materials from Wu Ji Talisman Shop, he ran into a freelance cultivator packing up his stall on the roadside.

Li Yuan asked casually.

"When did those two Yuanyangtang pharmacies on East Street open?"

The rogue cultivator gestured towards the alley entrance with his lip.

"The day before yesterday. Not just two stores, but another one opened in the North Alley, specializing in selling pills."

"Did the Yuan Yang Sect people open it themselves?"

"That's right." The rogue cultivator gathered the last few pieces of ore on the stall into his cloth bag, muttering to himself.

"I saw the shop owner accept the storage bag from the Wang family cultivator. I heard from others that the Wang family paid him to come here. They don't charge rent; on the contrary, they have to pay him spirit stones to open a shop here."

He slung the cloth bag over his shoulder.

Li Yuan hummed in agreement and didn't ask any further questions.

The Wang family invited the Yuanyang Sect to open a shop, not to do business, but to use the Yuanyang Sect's name to stabilize the market.

The Yuan Yang Sect suppressed the Wang and Li families to prevent the matter from escalating, so the Wang family brought the Yuan Yang Sect into the market as a brand. Even if it was just a few shops, the sight of the three characters "Yuan Yang Sect" made the rogue cultivators feel a bit more at ease.

Li Yuan carried the materials back to his residence.

The table was covered with talisman paper, the spirit ink was ground, and the talisman brush was placed aside.

Li Yuan did not start writing immediately, but first sat down cross-legged and began to circulate his vital energy cultivation technique.

Making talismans these past few days has taken a lot of energy, but my cultivation has never stopped. I alternate between using the Spirit Guiding Technique and the Hundred Meridians Returning to Origin Technique, and I've been taking the Meridian Soothing Pill continuously. The spiritual energy in my dantian is now a layer thicker than it was half a month ago.

As for the common martial arts, the Iron Ox Skill hasn't been used much since it was mastered, but the Nourishing Yuan Skill has been continuously practiced.

The Qi and blood circulate along the pathways of the Nourishing Vital Energy Exercise, round and round.

The enhanced perception brought about by the strengthening of the spirit these past few days has been a great help—the key points of the Nourishing Vital Energy Technique, which I used to rely entirely on my physical memory to know, whether to adjust the Qi and blood at each point, and how much to adjust, all depended on experience. Now, with a clearer perception, I can see the state of Qi and blood at each point more clearly, and I can grasp the timing of when to gather and release more accurately.

Once, twice, three times.

By the second half of the fourth reading, Li Yuan sensed a change.

When the Qi and blood complete the final cycle of the Returning to Origin posture, the several streams of Qi and blood that originally needed to be actively guided suddenly converge on their own.

It's not about tightening, it's about integration.

Several streams of qi and blood scattered in the limbs and chest and abdomen seemed to find the same rhythm. They no longer needed the techniques to guide them one by one, but instead converged on their own and slid into the sea of ​​qi and blood near the dantian along the meridians.

After completing the Returning to Origin Form, Li Yuan did not immediately stop practicing, but instead completed the entire five-form cycle again.

This cycle is different from all the previous ones.

The transitions between each movement are almost seamless. Qi and blood flow from the Na Yuan movement to the Gui Yuan movement, with the five stages forming a continuous, unbroken river. Previously, at the transition between movements, there was always a pause to allow the qi and blood to adjust their direction. Now, this is unnecessary; the qi and blood know where to go on their own.

Li Yuan slowly finished his practice and opened his eyes.

【Technique: Nourishing Vital Energy Technique - Great Success (0/3200)】

It's a great success.

Li Yuan clenched his fist, then relaxed it.

When you clench your fist, the muscles from your fingers to your forearm contract crisply, without any unnecessary trembling. When you release it, each finger unfolds in turn, at a uniform speed, as if precisely controlled.

It's a level more refined than when I was proficient.

It's not that my strength has increased, it's that my control has become more refined.

Before, when I picked up something, I only needed enough force with my fingers; it didn't matter if I used too much or too little. Now, I can feel more clearly how much force I'm applying with my fingers, which finger is applying more force, and which is applying less.

Li Yuan reached out and picked up the talisman brush on the table.

Holding the pen in my hand, with my fingertips against the body, the tactile sensation is more distinct than before.

He dipped his brush in ink and made the first stroke on the talisman paper.

The difference is immediately apparent.

My wrist rotation is more stable when I put pen to paper. In the past, when I drew overlapping fire patterns, there was always a little bit of wobbling in my wrist when making slight adjustments. This wobbling was very small, so small that it didn't affect the finished product most of the time, but occasionally it would make the edges of the spirit patterns a little uneven.

Now that margin has almost disappeared.

Stop where your wrist turns, no more, no less.

After drawing a fireball talisman, the spiritual patterns on the talisman's surface became more even than before.

It's not entirely due to the Nourishing Vitality Technique. The strengthening of the spirit and soul came first, followed by the mastery of the Nourishing Vitality Technique; the combined effect of the two is stronger than either one alone.

The enhancement of the spirit improves perception—the state of spiritual energy at the tip of the pen can be seen more clearly.

The greatest improvement in the cultivation of vital energy is control—once you can see clearly, you can act more accurately.

Li Yuan neatly stacked the finished fireball talismans and placed them on the corner of the table.

He spread out new talisman paper and continued drawing.

After drawing all night, the finished products piled up thickly on the corner of the table.

Li Yuan put down the talisman brush, stretched his wrists, and glanced at the panel.

Fireball Rune: Proficient (349/400)

The Fireball Talisman's proficiency level increased the fastest, and it's not far from mastery.