Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

The next morning, Li Yuan opened the door and found people already busy at the mine.

Three miners carried their mining tools toward the cave entrance, while the monk Lao Zhou squatted under the wooden shed, starting a fire to boil water.

Manager Liu was leaning against a shed pillar, gnawing on half a piece of dry rations. When he saw Li Yuan come out, he nodded to him.

Li Yuan walked over and sat down on a wooden stool next to him.

"What were those noises last night?"

Manager Liu chewed twice and swallowed.

"The monsters in the mountains are probably gray-spine lizards or iron-maned wolves. There are quite a few in these mountains."

"Will they come?"

"Generally not." Manager Liu patted the crumbs of dry rations off his hands. "Demonic beasts aren't stupid. There are cultivators active here all year round, and they can smell the aura of spiritual energy. They may eat cultivators, but demonic beasts are also afraid of death. If a mid-grade first-level beast charges at you, it's not worth it to be surrounded and killed by several people."

He gestured towards the mountain hollow to the northeast.

"Unless it's gone mad or driven here by something, it'll just yell a couple of times from miles away. You get used to it and don't take it seriously anymore."

Li Yuan hummed in agreement.

As they were talking, a low hum came from the direction of the array.

The monk surnamed Lü, who was on duty, poked his head out of the low house and shouted towards the wooden shed.

"Someone is approaching, three monks."

Manager Liu wasn't nervous. He stood up, took a few steps toward the gap in the earthen wall, and glanced outside.

"They're here to buy ore."

On the gravel slope in the distance, three people were walking towards the mine. The one in the lead was a lean man in his thirties, carrying a bulging storage bag on his back, and walking at a brisk pace. Behind him were two younger men, one with his left arm in a sling, and the other with a torn robe on his right shoulder, the fabric around the wound soaked in dark red blood.

After the three entered the mine, the lean man in the lead bowed to Manager Liu.

"Manager Liu, it's time to collect this month's payments."

Manager Liu glanced at the injuries of the two people behind him and frowned.

"What happened?"

The lean man put down the storage bag on his back and let out a breath.

"We ran into the Li family on the road. Three of them, around the fourth or fifth level of Qi Refining."

He pointed to the two people behind him.

"We fought a battle, one of them escaped, and we drove back the other two. Xiao Chen broke a bone in his arm, and Lao Zhao took a gust of wind to his shoulder."

Manager Liu scoffed, "The Li family has infiltrated this area?"

The lean man gestured again.

"There was a Qi Refining Level 4 guy. I hit him in the chest with a wind blade, but it only broke the skin and didn't hurt the inside. It was like there was a layer of iron under his skin."

"Body-refining techniques?" Manager Liu's eyes flickered.

"Most likely." The lean man nodded. "I'd heard before that there were people practicing body-refining techniques on the outskirts of the Li family, but I'd never seen it with my own eyes. This time, we've run into them, and they're certainly troublesome."

Li Yuan listened from the side without interrupting.

Manager Liu and the lean man gave each other a few more instructions about the road conditions around the mine. Then, Old Zhou brought out several boxes of ore that had been mined this month, and put the sorted green wood stone, black iron fragments and a small amount of red clay sand into storage bags.

After the lean man finished taking inventory, he slung the storage bag over his shoulder and left the mine with the two wounded men.

After the three figures disappeared at the end of the gravel slope, Li Yuan turned and walked towards the mine.

The air deep inside the mine was just as rich in spiritual energy as it had been yesterday, with a faint aura of malevolence continuously seeping out from the cracks in the rock strata.

The evil-gathering bowl is still in the same corner where it was placed yesterday.

Li Yuan squatted down and picked up the bowl.

The spiritual patterns on the bowl were darker than yesterday, and a very thin layer of gray-black mist had settled at the bottom of the bowl, condensed and not dissipating, like half a bowl of ink that had not yet dissolved.

The amount collected in one night wasn't much, but it was enough.

Li Yuan put the bowl into his storage bag and retreated to a secluded side passage deep inside the mine.

The side passage ended at a dead wall, with no other exits and no signs of mining nearby. The light from the fluorite couldn't reach this place; it was pitch black all around, with only the spiritual and malevolent energy seeping from the rock strata slowly flowing in the air.

Li Yuan sat down cross-legged and took out the Gathering Evil Bowl again, placing it in front of him.

With a thought, he released the Hundred Meridians Returning to Origin Technique.

Equip a bowl to gather evil spirits.

[Body Tempering with Killing Aura (White) - Already Equipped]

The bowl turned into a gray light and disappeared into his body.

Immediately afterwards, the malevolent energy accumulated in the bowl spread throughout the body along the meridians.

It was a dull, oppressive feeling, originating from the dantian and spreading along the main meridians to the limbs. Wherever the malevolent energy reached, the muscles there would tighten slightly, as if being pinched from the outside in by an invisible hand.

It doesn't hurt, but you can clearly feel the evil energy seeping into your muscles and fascia.

Li Yuan did not resist, allowing the evil energy to circulate within his body.

The amount of malevolent energy collected in the bowl was not much, and the first round of tempering only lasted for about fifteen minutes before it was completely exhausted.

Li Yuan stretched his arms.

The changes in my body weren't obvious, but I could feel that the muscles under my skin were a little firmer than before.

effective.

Li Yuan slowly finished his practice, removed the Gathering Evil Bowl, and put on the Nourishing Vitality Technique.

Li Yuan slowly finished his practice, removed the Gathering Evil Bowl, and put on the Nourishing Vitality Technique.

The evil-gathering bowl was placed back in the corner of the mine tunnel to continue collecting evil energy.

When we came out of the mine, it was already past noon.

Li Yuan returned to the low house, cleaned the table, and spread out the talisman paper.

The fireball rune's inscription was already etched into his mind. He began, laid out the runes, overlapped them, and finished the rune in one smooth motion.

Once you've mastered it, your success rate stabilizes at over 60%, and occasionally reaches 70%.

I drew twelve pictures in one afternoon, and eight of them turned out to be finished.

Li Yuan neatly stacked the finished products and placed them on the corner of the table. Looking at the small stack of talismans, he calculated the stock he had on hand.

We've accumulated quite a few fireball talismans, and also some cleansing and exorcising talismans. We have enough materials to draw another batch, but the output is increasing so much that the few people at the mine simply can't handle it all.

We need to find a place to sell.

In the evening, Li Yuan found Steward Liu under the wooden shed.

Manager Liu was squatting on the ground fiddling with a piece of quarried green stone when he heard Li Yuan's footsteps and looked up.

"Are there any trading channels around here?" Li Yuan asked.

Manager Liu flipped the green stone over and thought for a moment.

"Yes, there are."

He stood up and clapped the mineral powder off his hands.

"The independent cultivators in this area organized a trade fair. It's not a big one; it's just a gathering of independent cultivators from a few nearby mines and villages. It's held every now and then."

"When?"

"The day after tomorrow." Manager Liu held up two fingers. "If you want to go, I can talk to the people over there and recommend you for a place."

He paused, then added.

"However, I must warn you that the place may not be reliable. It's full of independent cultivators, and no one can vouch for you. Sometimes you'll find counterfeit goods, like adulterated pills or dyed ores. You'll have to rely on your own eyesight."

Li Yuan nodded.

"Okay, please tell them for me."

Manager Liu grunted in agreement and said nothing more.

Back in the low house, Li Yuan continued making talismans.

The talisman paper was spread out, the ink was dipped in it, and the tip of the brush fell.

Fireball talismans, cleansing talismans, and evil-repelling talismans were drawn alternately, and the finished products were stacked one by one on the corner of the table.

He interspersed his practice with moments of rest. He alternated between using the Spirit Guiding Technique and the Hundred Meridians Returning to Origin Technique, pushing the spiritual energy in his dantian forward little by little.

After nightfall, several low growls of demonic beasts echoed from the distant mountain valleys, just like the previous night, intermittent and several miles away.

Li Yuan ignored him, finished drawing the last talisman, and put down his brush.

There's another stack of finished products on the corner of the table.