Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

On the third day, Li Yuan received a notification from Steward Liu.

Before setting off, Li Yuan changed out of his patrol uniform and pulled a plain gray-brown short-sleeved shirt from his storage bag. He also removed the patrol badge from his waist and put it in his bag.

It wouldn't be appropriate to go to the independent cultivators' trade fair outside the mine if it still had the Wang family's sign hanging on it.

Manager Liu gave us a direction: the trade fair was located there.

"Just give me your name when you get there, they'll recognize it."

That's what Manager Liu said.

Li Yuan put the finished talisman into his storage bag and left the mine, heading northeast.

The road is easy to walk on; the gravel slope makes a rustling sound when you step on it, and the bushes on both sides are short and sparse, offering a wide view.

Half an hour later, a depression surrounded by mountain walls appeared before them. The depression was not large, about thirty or forty feet in size. The surrounding rock walls blocked most of the wind, and the ground was flattened by footsteps. In the middle, a rough area was separated by several large stones.

There are already people in the venue.

Twenty or thirty independent cultivators were scattered in twos and threes throughout the rocky hollow. Some were squatting on the ground spreading out cloths to set up stalls, some were standing against the stone walls, and some were huddled together talking in hushed tones.

Their cultivation levels were generally low. Li Yuan glanced around and found that most were at the early stage of Qi Refining, with the majority at the second, third, or fourth level, and the highest being only the fifth or sixth level. Their clothing also varied greatly; some wore coarse cloth short shirts, some wore worn-out long robes, and a few had several patches on their clothes.

A person was sitting on a high rock at the very back of the stone valley.

He looked to be in his forties, but his hair and beard were all white, his face was thin, and he had a short stubble on his chin.

He was at the late stage of Qi Refining, and looked similar to Wang De.

He was the one with the highest cultivation level in the entire trade fair.

He leaned against a high rock, his eyes half-closed, as if he were dozing off, but he would occasionally glance up at the situation in the field.

When Li Yuan reached the entrance of the stone cave, a rogue cultivator who looked like a guard stopped him.

"Where did it come from?"

"It was Manager Liu who introduced us to the mine."

The guard glanced at Li Yuan, nodded, and stepped aside.

"Just go in and find a seat, don't cause trouble."

Li Yuan walked into the area, circled halfway along the edge, and found an empty spot against the stone wall to squat down.

He took out talismans from his sleeve and lined them up in a row on the stone in front of him.

Eight fireball talismans, twelve cleansing talismans, and six evil-repelling talismans.

At the stall next to them, one rogue cultivator had a few pieces of mediocre ore and two bottles of medicinal liquid on display, while another rogue cultivator had spread out a cloth with a few rusty magic weapon parts on it.

In the open space in the middle of the area, several rogue cultivators were bartering. One traded three low-grade Qi Gathering Pills for two pieces of red iron ore, while another held a bundle of herbs and asked the price, but the stall owner shook his head, disliking their poor quality.

Some people buy directly with spirit stones, but the proportion of spirit stone transactions is not high. Most independent cultivators don't have many spirit stones, so bartering is more common.

In a corner of the stone valley stood a stone slab about half a person's height, with several lines of crooked words written on its surface in mineral powder, resembling a commission notice.

Li Yuan didn't shout out; he simply squatted in his spot with talismans in front of him.

A short while later, someone came over.

A young rogue cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining squatted down, looked at the talismans in front of Li Yuan, and picked up a cleansing talisman to examine it.

"Did you draw this yourself?"

"Um."

"How much?"

"Ten Cleansing Talismans and half a spirit stone."

The young rogue cultivator smacked his lips.

"It's a bit expensive."

"The condition is right here, see for yourself."

The young rogue cultivator flipped through the cleansing talisman again, hesitated for a moment, and then left.

After a while, a person walked up to Li Yuan.

The pace was neither too fast nor too slow, but the landing was very steady.

Li Yuan looked up and saw that it was the host of the trade fair, who had a cultivation level of the seventh level of Qi Refining.

The man squatted down, his gaze not on Li Yuan, but on the fireball talismans.

He reached out and picked up a card, flipped it over, and glanced at the arrangement of the spirit patterns.

He flipped it over to the back and gently pressed his finger on the center of the talisman.

There was a few moments of silence.

"Fireball talisman, well drawn."

His tone was flat, not like he was just being polite.

He put the talisman back, then picked up the second and third talismans and examined them one by one.

"The color is uniform, and the talisman core is neatly sealed." He glanced at Li Yuan. "You've mastered it?"

"I've only recently mastered it."

The old man nodded, offered no further comment, and spoke directly.

"I'll take all the fireball talismans, how much?"

"Eight sheets, three spirit stones per sheet, twenty-four sheets in total."

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"Twenty-two."

"OK."

The old man counted out twenty-two spirit stones from his storage pouch at his waist and stacked them on the stone. Li Yuan counted them and put them into his sleeve.

The old man carefully folded the eight fireball talismans and took them away.

"Do you want some cleaning talismans and exorcism talismans?" Li Yuan asked.

The old man glanced at the remaining basic talismans and shook his head.

"No."

The gazes of several independent cultivators around them swept over to some extent.

A transaction of twenty-two spirit stones is not a small sum in this small trade fair. Most of the items at the stalls are only worth a few spirit stones in total, so it's no wonder that a deal of twenty-two spirit stones would attract attention.

Two rogue cultivators came over to look at the remaining talismans of Li Yuan. After hesitating for a while, they each bought some talismans.

Li Yuan put away the remaining talismans, got up and walked to the other side of the venue.

He visited all the material stalls.

The quality of talisman paper varied greatly, with few good ones. Li Yuan selected a batch of usable blue-patterned paper and ordinary yellow paper, bought two bottles of spirit ink, and also collected some loose mineral powder and plant fibers—these are auxiliary materials for making talismans. They are not hard to buy in the market, but they are hard to find near the mines, so he collected as much as he could.

After going around once, it cost eleven spirit stones.

After purchasing the materials, Li Yuan was about to return to his seat when a slightly hurried voice came from the corner of Shi'ao.

"Everyone, please help me."

A rogue cultivator in his thirties stood next to the entrusted stone slab and bowed to the people in the area.

He was short, had a dark complexion, and his hands were covered in calluses; it was clear he worked in the fields year-round.

"My home is at the foot of the mountain, three miles to the east, and I have two acres of spirit fields. A few days ago, a demonic beast came. It was a mid-grade first-level beast, I don't know what kind it was, but it was quite big and ruined all the Qingyuan grass in my spirit fields that was about to be harvested."

He rubbed his hands together, his voice a little hoarse.

"My dad and I are both at the third level of Qi Refining, and we're no match for that thing. It just stays by the field and won't leave. It sleeps during the day and comes out to dig at night. If this continues, this season's harvest will be completely lost."

He looked around.

"If anyone can help drive that thing away or kill it, I won't give you many spirit stones, but I'll give you half of the Qingyuan Grass from the field."

The venue was quiet for a while.

The group of independent cultivators exchanged glances, but no one responded. A mid-grade first-tier demonic beast was a difficult opponent for most of the early-stage Qi Refining cultivators present; they might even lose their lives.

The rogue cultivator waited for a while, his eagerness slowly turning into helplessness. He then cupped his hands in greeting and stepped aside.

Someone nearby muttered, "A mid-grade first-order herb requires at least four or five levels to be reliable. Who would be willing to take that risk for a few Qingyuan Grasses?"

This topic didn't last long.

The independent cultivators in the area gradually shifted from trading to chatting, gathering in small groups to exchange information.

Li Yuan leaned against the stone wall, not deliberately moving closer, but the distance was not far, and his voice could be heard clearly.

A middle-aged hermit was squatting in the middle of the area, with an empty cloth bag in front of him. He had sold out long ago and was chatting with the people next to him.

"...My son is nine years old this year, and tests have shown that he has the talent to cultivate immortality."

A short, rogue cultivator nearby hissed, "That's a good thing."

"It's a good thing, it's a good thing." The middle-aged rogue cultivator scratched his head, looking conflicted.

"But I'm in a dilemma: should I send him to the Wang family to sign a contract, or keep him by my side and teach him myself?"

"Send it to the Wang family, why even think about it?" The short, rogue cultivator slapped his thigh. "What can you teach them yourself? You're only at the second level of Qi Refining, how far can you go? Sending them to the Wang family, they have the cultivation techniques and resources, a hundred times better than you blindly fumbling around at home."

Another, slightly older, rogue cultivator shook his head and continued the conversation.

"Signing a contract isn't a simple matter. Once you sign, you're someone else's person, a contract for decades, where you have no say in what you do or don't do. What if there's danger again? That's not sending a child to cultivate immortality, it's sending them to sell their life."

"Then what do you suggest? Raise it yourself?" the short, rogue cultivator retorted. "Can you even afford to raise it yourself? Where will you get the cultivation techniques? Where will you get the pills? Where will you get the spirit stones? You're relying on just two acres of spirit fields? Those spirit fields belong to the Wang family too."

The middle-aged rogue cultivator sighed and remained silent.

The group chatted amongst themselves, but no conclusion was reached.

The middle-aged rogue cultivator listened for a long time, then gave a bitter laugh and stood up.

"Let me think about it some more."

The people around gradually dispersed, each going about their own business.

Li Yuan straightened up from the stone wall, tidied up the materials he had purchased in his sleeve, and walked towards the exit of the stone cave.

As they passed the tall rock, the host, who was at the late stage of Qi Refining, slightly opened his eyes, glanced at Li Yuan, and then closed them again.

Li Yuan did not linger. He climbed over the low hill and walked back towards the mine along the gravel slope.