Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 71: Chapter 70: Cyan Spirit Talisman Brush

After returning to his lodgings, Li Yuan slid the bolt on his door and sat cross-legged by the bed.

Spiritual Qi entered his body, where it was filtered until pure. Then, urged on by an accelerated cycle, it began to circulate rapidly. After one full cycle, Li Yuan didn’t stop. He switched to the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill, refining the Spiritual Power he had just absorbed.

He alternated between the two Cultivation Techniques.

Li Yuan cultivated late into the night before slowly concluding his session.

The Spiritual Power in his Dantian had grown a layer thicker.

Li Yuan hadn’t stopped cultivating recently. With several stacked attributes and no minor bottlenecks to hinder him, his progress was far faster than that of an ordinary cultivator at the Qi Refining Fifth Level.

He was no longer far from the Qi Refining Sixth Level.

The next morning, just as Li Yuan was stepping out, an Inspector General hurried over.

"Deputy Li, Steward Wang wants to see you at the garrison."

"Not Captain Wang?"

Li Yuan had noticed the different name and decided to ask.

"I’m not sure either. It seems Captain Wang had to leave the market on urgent business."

Li Yuan didn’t press the issue. He just nodded and turned toward the patrol team’s garrison.

The courtyard was quieter than usual. The door to the main building was open, and inside sat an unfamiliar middle-aged Cultivator. He wore a deep cyan robe, had a square-jawed face, and a short beard. On the table before him lay a roster, a cloth bag, and two porcelain vials.

"Li Yuan?" The middle-aged Cultivator glanced up. "Come in."

Li Yuan walked into the room.

"Wang De isn’t here. I’ll be in charge of the patrol team for the next few days." The middle-aged Cultivator pushed the items on the table toward Li Yuan. "My surname is Wang, and I’m the steward for the market’s East Street."

Li Yuan’s eyes flickered.

Steward Wang spoke quickly and didn’t beat around the bush.

"This is this month’s stipend. It’s a bit higher because you spent a few days with the guard team. It also includes your reward from the last mountain expedition."

"The Spirit Stones are inside. In total, you’ve earned forty contribution points. Take it all."

Li Yuan accepted the cloth bag and the porcelain vials.

The cloth bag was heavy with Spirit Stones. The two porcelain vials contained Meridian Opening Pills.

"What about Captain Wang?" Li Yuan asked.

Steward Wang flipped a page in the roster, his tone bland.

"He was temporarily reassigned on business. He’s been gone for several days. I don’t know his specific destination, nor is it my place to inquire."

The conversation on that topic was clearly over.

Li Yuan didn’t ask any more questions. He simply nodded, stowed the items in his sleeve, and left the main building.

A few of the patrol team’s deputy captains were standing in the courtyard, speaking in low voices. When they saw Li Yuan emerge, one of them gave him a nod with his chin.

"Got your monthly stipend?"

"Mhm." Li Yuan walked over. "Where did Captain Wang go?"

The men exchanged a look, and one of them lowered his voice.

"Captain Wang left in a hurry. He was fine yesterday, but gone the next."

Another man picked up the conversation.

"What a way to put things. I think it’s most likely related to that spy case from before."

Li Yuan glanced at him. "Which one?"

"Which one do you think? The one you exposed." The man paused, his voice sinking even lower.

"I heard they followed the trail and dug up something new. That, combined with a few other things... my guess is he was summoned by the Wang family."

After listening, Li Yuan had a good idea of what was going on.

’Wang De’s transfer doesn’t seem like a routine rotation. It’s more like he was pulled away to assist with whatever comes next.’

’But for now, that has nothing to do with me.’

’It’s enough just to know.’

After leaving the patrol team’s garrison, Li Yuan followed East Street toward North Alley, walking all the way to its end.

Old Sun’s stall was still there. He didn’t have many pills out for sale today; he was squatting behind the stall, rummaging through a medicine box. Seeing Li Yuan approach, he immediately pulled out a thin booklet and a small porcelain vial.

"Perfect timing."

Old Sun handed the items over.

"The Fire Control Skill. I copied it for you last night. And one Evil Essence Pill, as we agreed."

Li Yuan took the booklet and glanced through it.

The instructions for the Fire Control Skill weren’t long, much simpler than a Magic technique like the Fireball Technique. The key was precise control over the fire’s size and temperature, making it useful for both Alchemy and talisman crafting.

Li Yuan put it away safely and looked at the small porcelain vial.

"Is this the same type of Evil Essence Pill as before?"

"Nope, I tweaked the formula a bit." Old Sun patted his medicine box. "It’s a little more stable than the old recipe. There’s still some Evil Qi, but it’s milder. Go try it out. If it feels wrong, just let me know."

Li Yuan nodded. "Alright."

After a bit more small talk, Li Yuan didn’t stay long and left North Alley.

Talisman Master Lu still lived in the rented houses in the southeast.

When Li Yuan arrived, the door to the room was ajar. There were no voices, only the faint scratching of a brush tip on talisman paper.

Li Yuan raised his hand and knocked on the doorframe.

The person inside didn’t look up, only saying two words.

"Come in."

Li Yuan pushed the door open and went inside. He saw Talisman Master Lu drawing a talisman and remained quiet so as not to disturb him.

The room wasn’t large, with a long table taking up most of the space. Talisman paper, cinnabar, and Spiritual Ink were laid out on it. Talisman Master Lu sat behind the table, holding a jet-black talisman brush. Its shaft was thicker than a normal fine-tipped brush, but its point was long and slender—clearly a proper Spirit Pen used for crafting talismans.

The Spirit Pattern on the talisman paper was nearing completion.

Talisman Master Lu’s movements were steady. His strokes were swift, yet orderly. As he drew the final stroke, the surface of the talisman paper glowed faintly before the light quickly receded.

Success.

Talisman Master Lu picked up the talisman, glanced at it, and set it aside before finally looking up at Li Yuan.

"What kind of talisman are you buying?"

"I’m not buying a talisman. I want to learn a fire technique, a simple one."

Li Yuan stepped forward and said directly, "Something easy to pick up, and not too expensive."

Talisman Master Lu nodded, got up, and began rummaging through a wooden rack behind him.

He had casually placed the talisman brush on the edge of the table.

Li Yuan’s gaze swept over it. He rested his fingertips on the table’s edge, just happening to touch the brush.

Familiar, translucent text floated before his eyes.

[Detectable Equippable Item]

[Item Attribute Grade: White]

[Note: Item does not belong to you. Cannot be equipped. Cannot view detailed information.]

’A white-grade attribute.’

Li Yuan’s fingers paused for a moment, then he calmly drew them back.

Talisman Master Lu quickly returned with several small booklets and placed them on the table.

"None of these are difficult."

"Fire Needle Skill, Fire Silk Skill, and Fire Shield Skill."

"The Fire Needle Skill is the easiest to start with and consumes the least energy. The Fire Silk Skill is better for entangling opponents. The Fire Shield Skill is defensive, but it uses up more Spiritual Power."

Li Yuan glanced at them without hesitation.

"The Fire Needle Skill."

Talisman Master Lu grunted in acknowledgment, taking back the other two booklets and leaving only the one for the Fire Needle Skill.

Li Yuan didn’t immediately reach for it. Instead, his gaze fell upon the old talisman brush on the edge of the table.

"Is this brush for sale?"

Talisman Master Lu looked up and gave Li Yuan a glance.

"It is, I suppose."

"But it’s an old brush I’ve used myself. Why, you want this one?"

"Just asking," Li Yuan said, his tone casual.

Talisman Master Lu didn’t say more. He turned around and pulled an almost identical talisman brush from a wooden box behind him, placing it on the table.

"Same model. I have a new, spare one here."

Li Yuan reached out and touched the new brush.

The system panel showed no reaction.

’The same kind of brush, yet the old one has a white-grade attribute, while this new one has nothing.’

’I don’t understand the specific logic behind it. I’ll probably have to wait until my cultivation level is higher to figure it out.’

Li Yuan pulled his hand back and looked at Talisman Master Lu.

"I’ll take the old one. Can you knock three Spirit Stones off the price?"

Talisman Master Lu pondered for a few breaths.

"That works."

"But I haven’t used this brush for very long. The most I can take off is two Spirit Stones."

Li Yuan nodded.

"Done."