Novel Full Chapter 73 - 72: Vein Relaxing Pill
Chapter 73: Chapter 72: Vein Relaxing Pill
At the crack of dawn, Li Yuan poured the Spirit Stones in his hand onto the table and counted them.
A little over thirty. Not a small amount.
Li Yuan gathered the Spirit Stones back into his bag, got up, and went out.
There were quite a few stalls selling pills in the North Alley. Old Sun’s was one, and there were also two Loose Cultivator stalls on East Street that regularly sold cultivation pills.
Li Yuan first went to Old Sun’s place to ask a few questions, then took a stroll through East Street, and finally returned with four types of pills.
One Qi Nourishing Pill, one Origin Condensing Powder, one Spirit Cultivation Pill, and one Vein Relaxing Pill.
The prices ranged from two to three and a half Spirit Stones.
After returning to his residence, Li Yuan didn’t rush to take them all. Instead, he tried them one by one.
Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Li Yuan began to circulate his Cultivation Technique, then popped a Qi Nourishing Pill into his mouth.
The first Qi Nourishing Pill went down smoothly. Its medicinal effects were stable, and the increase in Spiritual Power was steady. There was nothing wrong with it, but that was all. For someone at the Qi Refining Fifth Level, the improvement wasn’t significant.
Once the effects of the Qi Nourishing Pill were fully absorbed, Li Yuan took the second pill.
The Origin Condensing Powder’s effects were stronger. The moment it dissolved, the Spiritual Power in his meridians surged, accelerating noticeably. It was certainly effective, but the impact was too aggressive. After a few cycles, his meridians felt slightly swollen, making it unsuitable for long-term use.
The third pill, the Spirit Cultivation Pill, was gentler and nourishing. Its effects were long-lasting, suitable for slowly grinding away at one’s Cultivation. The effect wasn’t bad, just too slow.
After the final Vein Relaxing Pill entered his stomach, it seemed unremarkable at first. Its medicinal effects dispersed throughout his body, were absorbed by his Spiritual Power, and provided a gradual boost.
Not long after the effects spread, Li Yuan noticed a difference.
His meridians had been gently expanded a little, and the difference immediately became clear.
The Spiritual Qi drawn in by Spiritual Qi Convergence was easier to channel into his body. Under the buff of Accelerated Circulation, the Spiritual Power within him circulated rapidly, yet his meridians didn’t swell. Instead, the flow became much smoother.
After completing a few cycles, Li Yuan slowly ended his cultivation session.
The effects of the Vein Relaxing Pill had not yet completely dissipated, and the extra space created in his meridians remained.
The pill’s own benefits might not have been stronger than the Origin Condensing Powder’s, but for him, it was the most suitable.
Spiritual Qi Convergence was responsible for pulling in Qi, Accelerated Circulation was responsible for moving it, and the Vein Relaxing Pill temporarily widened the path.
The three things clicked together perfectly.
Besides, this pill was cheap, only two Spirit Stones each.
Li Yuan didn’t delay, getting up and heading out the door again.
Old Sun was behind his stall sorting pills. He looked up.
"Finished trying them?"
"Yeah. How many Vein Relaxing Pills do you have left?"
Old Sun rummaged through his medicine box, pulled out six small porcelain vials, and placed them on the stall.
"These six are all I have ready."
Li Yuan glanced at them and took out his Spirit Stones directly.
"I’ll take them all."
Old Sun didn’t waste words. He took the Spirit Stones and pushed all six vials of Vein Relaxing Pills over to him.
"If I get any more, I’ll save them for you."
"Deal."
Li Yuan put the pills into his sleeve and returned to his residence.
After entering his room, he stored the six vials of Vein Relaxing Pills and his remaining Spirit Stones separately, then retrieved the old talisman brush from his bedside.
It had a jet-black shaft, thicker than a normal fine-tipped brush, and felt heavy in his hand.
Li Yuan placed his finger on it, and the familiar translucent text appeared.
[Detected Equipable Item: Cyan Spirit Talisman Brush (Intact)]
[Entry Preview: Effortless Strokes (White) — Increases talisman-crafting success rate by 20% and slightly increases proficiency gained on successful crafting.]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Reach Grandmastery in any one talisman-crafting art and its corresponding magic technique.]
Li Yuan’s gaze lingered on the last line for a moment.
’Right now, my most viable path is the Fireball Talisman and the Fireball Technique.’
’I can draw basic Talismans like the Cleaning Talisman, Exorcism Talisman, and Warning Talisman, but for the corresponding magic technique requirement, I only know the Cleaning Skill.’
’Although the proficiency for it would definitely increase faster than for the Fireball Technique, the Cleaning Skill is useless, and Cleaning Talismans don’t sell for much.’
’The Fireball Talisman is different. I already have the magic technique for it, and it’s close to the Grandmastery realm.’
Li Yuan thought no more of it. With a flicker of his will, the empty equipment slot was filled with the Cyan Spirit Talisman Brush.
The brush’s shaft transformed into a faint light and entered his body.
In the next moment, Li Yuan wiggled his fingers.
It wasn’t that he had gained a new skill out of thin air; rather, his wrist movements were smoother when he put the brush to paper, and the flow of Spiritual Power from his fingertip to the brush tip was more stable.
Li Yuan laid out the Cyan Pattern Paper and Spiritual Ink on his desk.
By evening, a small stack of scrap paper had accumulated on the corner of his desk, with three finished products set aside.
[Fireball Talisman: Uninitiated (64/100)]
Under the buff of the Effortless Strokes entry, not only did his success rate increase, but the rate at which his proficiency grew also rose.
Li Yuan put away the few Fireball Talismans and didn’t continue.
Turning around, he sat on his bed, took a Vein Relaxing Pill, and began to cultivate.
...
The next afternoon, Li Yuan got ready and returned to the guard post.
The courtyard was much more crowded than before.
The previously empty row of wooden houses was now fully occupied. Under the eaves were piled bundles of Demon Beast Bones and several crates of unsorted materials. A few new faces were standing in the courtyard, talking.
A middle-aged man in worn armor had a pickaxe slung over his back, clearly having just been transferred from the mining area.
Next to him, a thin man in blue robes with mud on his cuffs was saying that he used to be a guard at the Spirit Medicine Garden.
Further back, a young man in his early twenties ran towards the back courtyard carrying several bundles of beast hides. A wooden token from the Artifact Refining Hall hung from his waist, indicating he was an apprentice transferred from there to help process materials and handle logistics.
For special reasons, the Wang family’s Artifact Refining Hall needed a lot of manpower for pre-processing materials, so they also recruited a batch of peripheral members.
There were also a few others with more stable auras and neater clothes. They were clearly not peripheral members, but rather Cultivators from the main Wang family.
Wang Yuan was standing in the center of the courtyard, holding a roster and assigning tasks.
"Those from the mining area, go over there to get your supplies first. Someone will show you the routes tonight."
"Those from the Artifact Refining Hall, don’t wander off. The materials in the back courtyard need to be cleared out tonight."
His voice wasn’t loud, but it was crisp and efficient.
Li Yuan took a look and walked in.
Wang Yuan saw him too and nodded, but didn’t stop what he was doing.
He Shou, however, emerged from the back courtyard, carrying a cloth bag and a wrapped roll of beast hide.
"I was just looking for you."
He handed the items to Li Yuan.
"We sold part of that Tier One Top Grade Split-horned Lizard from last time. This is your share of the Spirit Stones, plus the materials that didn’t sell."
Li Yuan took them and glanced over.
The beast hide was a roll of Split-horned Lizard belly skin.
He Shou said.
"This roll of belly skin isn’t worth much, maybe about ten Spirit Stones. I was going to keep it listed for you, but it’s not selling well right now. So I wanted to ask: should I keep trying to sell it, or give it to you and let you decide what to do?"
Li Yuan thought for a few seconds and spoke a few words.
"I’ll keep it for now."
After they finished talking, He Shou left.
Today was just for reporting back to the team; the real work outing wouldn’t be until tomorrow.
Li Yuan had just stepped into the courtyard when someone called him from behind.
"Li Dao You."
Li Yuan turned and saw Zhao Heng walking over from the other side.
Zhao Heng looked much better than the last time they met. As he approached, he first clasped his hands in a salute.
"Thanks for your help last time."
"Don’t mention it," Li Yuan said. "Any news about that Talisman Master you mentioned?"
"Yes," Zhao Heng nodded, not beating around the bush.
"It’s not an outside Loose Cultivator Talisman Master, but one from the Wang family’s Talisman Hall."
Li Yuan raised an eyebrow.
’Someone from the Wang family’s Talisman Hall is far more reliable than an outside Loose Cultivator Talisman Master.’
"How did you get in touch?"
"That Talisman Master owed me a favor from way back."
Zhao Heng said.
"He agreed to privately teach you how to make Talismans."
At this point, Zhao Heng paused and added something.
"But you’d best bring a small gift. A connection is a connection, but showing up empty-handed never looks good."
"Of course, nothing too extravagant. Just a token of your appreciation will do."
Li Yuan nodded. That made sense.
"Can peripheral members like us learn things from the Wang family’s Talisman Hall?" Li Yuan asked.
"Normally, no." Zhao Heng shook his head. "The Talisman Hall is ultimately the Wang family’s territory. Most of the people inside are from the family itself, and the few who aren’t were recruited for their exceptional skills."
Zhao Heng glanced at Li Yuan.
"But that’s for official recruitment. This is a private lesson."
"Understood."
Zhao Heng took a folded piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it over.
"This is the Talisman Master’s address and name. When you go, remember to tell him I sent you."
Li Yuan took the slip of paper and tucked it into his sleeve.
"Thank you."
Zhao Heng waved his hand dismissively.
"Nothing to thank me for. If it weren’t for you last time, I might not even be alive right now."
After saying his piece, Zhao Heng didn’t linger and left.