Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

After returning to the mine, Li Yuan threw himself into cultivation.

He made talismans during the day and cultivated at night. Every now and then, he would go deep into the mine to retrieve the evil energy accumulated in the evil energy gathering bowl, equip it, and then undergo a round of body tempering. He would then take advantage of the window of opportunity when his meridians were relaxed after being tempered by the evil energy to cultivate the Micro-Element Guiding Meridian Technique.

Over the course of three days, the progress of the Micro-Element Guiding Meridian Technique has increased significantly.

The "Hundred Meridians Returning to Origin Technique" is also being promoted simultaneously.

This technique had been fraught with bottlenecks for a long time before reaching the mastery stage. With each circulation of energy, the flow of spiritual power in the main and branch meridians became smoother, but it was still just one step away from that critical point.

The following night, Li Yuan sat cross-legged and circulated his inner energy, which surged from his dantian and traveled through his meridians for a complete cycle.

When it reached the last section of the return flow, the spiritual energy did not pause at the entrance of the dantian before sinking in as it usually did, but instead slid directly in.

There was no stagnation, no obstruction.

Immediately afterwards, the spiritual energy inside the dantian began to circulate on its own.

It wasn't Li Yuan guiding it; the spiritual energy itself found its rhythm. The spiritual energy in the main meridian, branch meridians, and the opened micro-meridians began to flow almost simultaneously. The speed was not fast, but extremely even, like a net being pulled taut at the same time.

The efficiency of spiritual energy circulation in the dantian increased significantly within just a few breaths.

Li Yuan slowly finished his practice.

【Technique: Hundred Meridians Return to Origin Technique - Mastery (0/800)】

I've mastered it.

Li Yuan clenched his fist and circulated his energy for another cycle to feel the effects.

The most noticeable change is in cultivation speed. The time required for the same complete cycle is now reduced by about 20%. The entire process of absorbing, circulating, and settling spiritual energy is more efficient, with no unnecessary waste.

If you cultivate for the same amount of time every day from now on, your progress will be much faster than before.

The next morning, Li Yuan was making talismans in his room when there were two knocks on the door.

"Commander Li, do you have time?"

The voice of Steward Liu.

Li Yuan put down the talisman brush and pushed open the door.

Manager Liu stood at the door, his hands on his hips, his face showing a hint of something he wanted to say but couldn't.

"There's something I want to tell you."

He gestured with his chin toward the wooden shed, and the two of them went down and sat under it.

"Do you remember that organizer from the trade fair the day before yesterday?"

"Yes, they even bought my Fireball Talisman."

"Yes." Steward Liu nodded. "His surname is Chen, and he's an elder of a small family nearby, the Chen family. The family isn't big; there are only twenty or thirty cultivators."

Manager Liu settled himself more firmly on the stone stool and continued.

"The monsters have been causing a ruckus lately, and things aren't peaceful at the Chen family's place either. Their spirit fields and a small mine in front of their house have been targeted by monsters, and they come over every few days. It's impossible for them to defend themselves on their own."

"What does he want from me?"

"I'd like to ask you for help in making fire-type talismans." Manager Liu rubbed his hands together.

"The Chen family lacks combat talismans. For clansmen at the early stage of Qi Refining, using talismans to defend against demonic beasts is much more effective than going bare-handed. He saw your Fireball Talisman at the trade fair, thought it was of good quality, and wanted to buy it in bulk."

Manager Liu glanced at Li Yuan.

"He didn't come directly to you; he asked someone to find me first and asked me to ask what you think. After all, it's an informal trade fair, and he was afraid you might have some reservations if he just kept you here."

After listening, Li Yuan did not reply immediately.

Manager Liu added, "If you don't want to negotiate, that's fine too. It's a normal business transaction; with the family involved, they can't do anything to you."

"What price did he offer?"

"He didn't tell me that, so you'll probably have to talk to him yourself."

Li Yuan remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

"OK."

Manager Liu nodded and then said.

"The Chen family lives in a valley about five miles east of the mine, not far away. He said if you're willing to talk, you can come over this afternoon."

In the afternoon, Li Yuan left the mine in the direction pointed out by Manager Liu and headed east.

After walking for more than two miles along the gravel slope, it turned into a dirt road worn into shape by footsteps. There were a few low trees on both sides of the road, with inconspicuous markings carved on their trunks, probably markings of the Chen family's territory.

After walking for a while, the valley ahead came into view.

The valley entrance is narrow, and the mountain walls on both sides are steep, as if they had been cleaved open. After entering the valley, the terrain becomes much flatter, with rows of stone houses lined up along both sides of the valley wall, and in the middle is an open space about the size of a threshing ground.

Several children were chasing each other by the open space. When they saw Li Yuan come in, they stopped and stared at him for a while before continuing to play.

A young man at the third level of Qi Refining came out to greet Li Yuan, cupping his hands in greeting.

"So you're the talisman master from the mine? The clan elder is waiting for you. Come with me."

The young man led Li Yuan across the open space to the front of the innermost row of houses.

The house was more imposing than the low-rise buildings in the mine, with stone walls and a wooden roof, and a faded cloth curtain hanging at the entrance.

The curtain was lifted, revealing the elderly man at the seventh level of Qi Refining who had been at the trade fair.

Elder Chen sat behind a rough wooden table, on which sat a pot of tea and two rough earthenware bowls. Seeing Li Yuan enter, he nodded slightly and pointed to the opposite side.

"sit."

Li Yuan sat down across the table.

Elder Chen poured him a bowl of tea, pushed it towards him, picked up another bowl for himself, took a sip, and got straight to business without any pleasantries.

"I used those fireball talismans you had at the trade fair. They were in good condition, with very clean overlapping of the fire-gathering patterns, much better than those made by independent cultivators outside."

Li Yuan picked up his teacup but didn't reply.

Elder Chen put down his teacup.

"Our family is severely lacking in combat talismans. Monsters come to cause trouble every few days, and most of the people below are only at the second or third level of Qi Refining. They even have a hard time protecting themselves when they encounter a mid-grade first-level monster."

He looked at Li Yuan.

"Having talismans makes all the difference. Even someone at the first level of Qi Refining can at least put up a fight against a low-grade first-tier demon beast if they have a few fireball talismans in their hand, instead of having to run away."

"So I'd like to order a batch of combat talismans from you. A large quantity, for long-term supply."

Li Yuan put down his teacup.

"I only know how to use the Fireball talisman."

Elder Chen nodded, unsurprised.

"A fireball talisman will suffice. Fire-type talismans are naturally effective against demonic beasts, and most first-tier demonic beasts are afraid of fire."

He held up three fingers.

"The first batch should be thirty sheets. We'll collect more every two weeks, with each batch being no less than fifty sheets. As for the price—"

He paused, then held up two fingers.

"Two and a half yuan each."

It was half a dollar lower than the price at the trade fair.

Li Yuan did not answer immediately.

Elder Chen could tell what he was thinking, and calmly replied.

"The price is a bit low, but the quantity is large. And I don't just pay with spirit stones."

He took a thin roll of animal hide from the drawer under the table and placed it on the table.

"I have some talisman-making methods here that I can give you."

He pointed to the rolled-up animal skin with his finger.

"I'd give you ten spirit stones for this talisman-making technique, that's not unreasonable, is it?"

Li Yuan's gaze fell on the rolled-up animal skin.

Methods for making talismans.

"Let's take a look first."

Li Yuan said.

The elder of the Chen clan pushed the animal hide over.

Li Yuan unfolded.

The animal hide was densely covered with diagrams of spiritual patterns and instructions for its creation, written in neat handwriting. At the very top were three characters—"Rejuvenation Talisman."

This is a basic wood-attribute talisman, its function is to accelerate wound healing. It doesn't directly repair wounds like healing pills, but rather stimulates the body's own recovery abilities; the effect is gentle yet effective. It's not a high-grade talisman, only a low-grade first-tier talisman, but its crafting difficulty is a level higher than cleansing talismans and exorcism talismans.

The elder of the Chen clan picked up his teacup again. "After you hand over the first batch of fireball talismans, this recipe is yours. For the later batches, I have other recipes; we'll discuss that depending on your supply situation."

He took a sip of tea and added a comment.

"But right now, the most urgent thing is the Fireball Talisman. The Rejuvenation Talisman isn't urgent; you should provide the required amount of Fireball Talismans first."

Li Yuan rolled up the animal hide and put it back on the table.

"Thirty fireball talismans, when do you need them?"

"The sooner the better. Can it be submitted within seven days?"

With the current success rate and available materials, producing 30 results in seven days is not easy, but it's not impossible either.

"Can."

Elder Chen nodded, his expression relaxing slightly.

"Okay. Come over in seven days, cash on delivery."

He stood up, took two steps toward the door, and then looked back at Li Yuan.

"By the way, if you're missing any materials, just let me know. I don't have much stock of blue-patterned paper and spirit ink, but I can get some from other sources for you."

"Enough for now."

Elder Chen grunted in agreement, lifted the curtain, and went out.

Li Yuan sat at the table for a while, finished the bowl of tea, and then got up and left the Chen family.

When we walked back to the mine along the same route, it was already quite dark.

Back in the low house, Li Yuan cleaned the table, spread out the talisman paper, dipped it in ink, and began to write.

Thirty fireball talismans, seven days.

On average, four finished products are produced per day. Assuming a success rate of over 60%, at least six or seven products need to be drawn each day.

We have enough materials and enough time.