Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 117: Chapter 114: Evil Qi Cultivation

After walking for the better part of a day, the silhouette of the mine appeared ahead.

The earthen wall was the same earthen wall, the wooden shed was the same wooden shed, and the entrances to the three mine shafts were pitch-black.

But a few new things had been added to the mine’s perimeter.

The gaps in the earthen wall had been patched up. Although they were still made of crushed stone and yellow mud, they were much sturdier than before.

Outside the western earthen wall, several new stone pillars had been erected, faintly engraved with Spirit Patterns.

The Investigation Array had been expanded.

As Li Yuan approached, someone at the guard post had already stood up.

It wasn’t Sun Liang, nor was it Steward Liu.

It was a young Cultivator in his early twenties, with a fair complexion and a modest height. He wore a worn, gray-blue short robe. The aura of the Qi Refining Fourth Level.

Li Yuan gave him a second glance. The man looked somewhat familiar.

Someone from the He family.

He’d seen him once or twice before, back when he was stationed at the He family headquarters.

’One of He Qing’s men, I think, in charge of patrols,’ Li Yuan thought. ’I don’t remember his name.’

The young Cultivator also recognized Li Yuan and was the first to cup his fists in greeting.

"Li Dao You."

Li Yuan nodded. Without asking any questions, he headed straight into the mine complex.

Under the wooden shed, Steward Liu was squatting on the ground, whittling a wooden stick with a short sword. He looked up at the sound of footsteps.

"You’re back?"

"Yeah." Li Yuan sat on a stone block across from him.

He jerked his chin toward the guard post.

"What’s someone from the He family doing here?"

Steward Liu finished shaving the splinters off the wooden stick and set it aside.

"Happened after you left."

He clapped the wood shavings from his hands.

"A few days after you left, the higher-ups sent two people to fill the spots. One was at the Qi Refining Fourth Level, the other at the Qi Refining Third Level. With me, Old Zhou, and Sun Liang, that made five of us at the mine."

He held up a hand, showing the number.

"But the peace didn’t last more than a few days before something else happened."

"What happened?"

"A Cultivator attack." Steward Liu’s tone grew heavy. "Seven or eight of them. They crept up at night and charged straight for the mine shafts. The Investigation Array went off, but they were too fast. By the time we reacted, they’d already breached the earthen wall."

"We fought. The new Qi Refining Third Level recruit couldn’t block an attack—took a Wind Blade to the chest and died on the spot."

Steward Liu drew a line in the dirt with his finger.

"The rest of us were injured, but at least we’re alive. The other side didn’t get off easy, though. They fled."

Li Yuan didn’t respond, waiting for him to continue.

"Afterward, the higher-ups sent people to handle the aftermath, and they also assigned people from the He family to come here."

Steward Liu jerked his chin toward the new stone pillars outside.

"That kid’s name is He Ming, from the He family. He knows some rudimentary array techniques. The higher-ups sent him to reinforce the mine’s Investigation Array, and he doubles as an extra guard."

"Didn’t the He family move away?"

"They did. The entire clan moved over to the Wang family’s territory."

Steward Liu stood up, sheathing the short sword at his waist.

"So now, the He family is part of the Wang family. The Wang family absorbed them, and the He family’s Cultivators were all reassigned. Some went to the front-line posts, others stayed in the rear to handle affairs. He Ming’s assignment here is part of that."

Leaning against a shed post, Steward Liu added another sentence.

"And it’s not just the He family. The Wang family has absorbed several smaller families recently, mostly ones that were pushed to the brink by Demon Beasts and the Li family and couldn’t survive on their own. The Wang family gives them land, resources, and protection, on the condition that their people are under the Wang family’s command."

He rubbed his chin.

"To put it bluntly, they’re using this chance to get all those smaller families firmly in their grip. Before, we had a vassal relationship—you work for me, I protect you, but we all lived separately. Now it’s different. They’re directly integrating their people, making them no different from their own."

Li Yuan grunted in acknowledgment.

’The situation is getting tighter,’ he thought. ’The Wang family is fighting the Li family while also consolidating the surrounding smaller powers, turning loose vassal relationships into direct control.’

"How many people are at the mine now?"

"Counting you, five." Steward Liu counted on his fingers. "Me, Old Zhou, Sun Liang, He Ming, and you."

’Still not many people,’ Li Yuan mused, ’but with the array He Ming reinforced, at least the warning range is a bit larger.’

Li Yuan nodded, then carried his storage bag back to the low-roofed house where he had stayed before.

He put his things away and bolted the door.

Li Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed board and took out the two Vein-Expanding Talismans he had previously prepared from his storage bag.

The Vein-Expansion trait was already permanent, but the Vein-Expanding Talisman itself had another use: it could temporarily widen his meridians, allowing him to increase his Spiritual Power intake over a short period when paired with a Cultivation Technique.

Li Yuan placed a Vein-Expanding Talisman on his chest and channeled his Spiritual Power into it to activate it.

The Spirit Patterns on the talisman paper flashed, and a gentle energy seeped from it into his body, spreading through his meridians to his limbs. Under the Talisman’s effect, his meridians expanded slightly, widening the channels for his Spiritual Power to flow through.

Li Yuan immediately began to circulate the Spirit-Introducing Skill.

Spiritual Qi surged into his body from all directions, twenty to thirty percent more than usual. The Pure Spiritual Power trait activated in sync, purging impurities as clean Spiritual Power flooded into his Dantian.

After completing a single cycle, the amount of Spiritual Power that settled into his Dantian was significantly greater than usual.

The Vein-Expanding Talisman’s effect lasted for about an hour before fading, and his meridians returned to their original state.

But the progress made in that hour was worth much more than an hour of his usual cultivation.

Li Yuan put away the used talisman paper, applied the second one, and continued cultivating.

After using up both Vein-Expanding Talismans, Li Yuan concluded his session and stood up.

He walked to his desk, spreading out the transcribed manual for crafting the Spirit-Refining Talisman.

From his storage bag, he took out the specialized materials for the Spirit-Refining Talisman.

He laid the golden talisman paper on the table. Its texture was completely different from Cyan Pattern Paper. The paper felt heavy, its faint glow muted and contained. Pressing a finger to it, he could feel an extremely subtle Spiritual Wave from beneath its surface.