Chapter 126 - 122: Mid-grade Spirit Stone Permanization
Chapter 126: Chapter 122: Mid-grade Spirit Stone Permanization
For the next few days, Talisman production remained high.
After reaching the Qi Refining Seventh Level, his total Spiritual Power was nearly fifty percent greater than at the sixth level, and its quality had also seen a significant boost.
Reflected in his Talisman making, this meant that the Spiritual Power consumed for each Talisman was a smaller proportion of his total reserves. He could now draw more Talismans in the same amount of time and needed to take fewer breaks to recover.
Before, he’d have to stop and circulate his skills for nearly an hour after drawing a dozen or so Fireball Talismans in a morning. Now, he could draw fifteen or sixteen in one go and still have energy to spare.
The success rate for Heart-lock Talismans was also on the rise. With ample Spiritual Power, he had a much easier time controlling the rhythm of the Sealing Pattern as it tightened.
Li Yuan started drawing first thing every morning, handing a batch over to He Shou in the evening, and interspersed his work with cultivation and Body Refining.
On the morning of the third day, just as Li Yuan had finished stacking a new batch of Talismans on the side of his desk, two knocks sounded on the door of his stone house.
’That’s not He Shou’s knock.’
Li Yuan got up and opened the door to find Captain Wang standing there.
The oppressive aura of a Qi Refining Ninth Level cultivator weighed heavily in the air. He wore the same travel-worn, blue-gray robes as always. He held a thin booklet in his hand, his gaze first sweeping over the stacks of finished products on the corner of the desk before landing on Li Yuan.
"Your output these past few days has been good."
Captain Wang walked straight in, opened the booklet, and placed it on the desk.
The booklet recorded the guard’s Talisman consumption and inventory over the last few days. The numbers in the consumption column were jumping up daily, but the inventory column wasn’t dropping. The two lines were barely maintaining a balance.
"He Shou told me your production rate these last few days is almost fifty percent higher than before."
Captain Wang closed the booklet and looked at Li Yuan. "The guard’s Talisman shortage is no longer widening. At this rate, we might even build up a small surplus in the next two weeks."
Li Yuan didn’t reply. The increase in Spiritual Power from reaching the Qi Refining Seventh Level was the real reason.
Captain Wang tucked the booklet back into his sleeve.
"Is there anything you need? We’ll do our best to provide it."
Li Yuan didn’t hesitate.
"Are there any Pill Refiners around here?"
Captain Wang’s gaze flickered.
"Pill Refiners?"
Captain Wang thought for a moment.
"The Pill Hall is out. All the Pill Refiners from the Pill Hall are refining pills inside, and they can’t be easily called away. Pill Refiners are even more valuable than Talisman Makers. With the fighting going on, the consumption of medicinal pills is even greater than that of Talismans."
He tapped the desk twice with his finger.
"However, there is one in the marketplace."
"His surname is He. He’s in the dead-end alley at the end of North Lane. He used to be a Loose Cultivator, and his skills are decent. He recently signed a short-term contract."
"He’s not an official member of the Pill Hall, but he has refined a lot of things. His skill is better than most of the self-taught ones out there."
Captain Wang then gave Li Yuan the address before turning and leaving.
Li Yuan didn’t rush to leave. Instead, he continued making Talismans.
The day’s Talisman-making task was completed as usual: twelve Fireball Talismans, three Heart-lock Talismans, and two Rejuvenation Talismans.
At dusk, Li Yuan finished drawing the last Talisman, put down his brush, stacked the finished products on the side of his desk, and left the encampment with his storage pouch.
The sky had mostly darkened, and the Spirit Lamps of the marketplace were beginning to light up.
Most of the stalls on either side of East Street had closed, but there were more people on the street than before. Walking along, one could see Loose Cultivators in twos and threes strolling slowly by the roadside. Some carried cloth bags, others had storage pouches slung over their backs, and a few were squatting at the entrance to an alley, talking in low voices.
There were significantly more people than when Li Yuan had last patrolled the marketplace.
Ever since the people from the loose cultivator marketplace were brought back and several small surrounding families were absorbed by the Wang family, the population of Qinghe Marketplace had been steadily increasing.
It was less noticeable on the streets during the day, but at night, the change was obvious.
In the past, you could barely see anyone on the streets after nightfall. Now, there were always some Cultivators milling about.
Li Yuan walked along East Street toward North Lane.
North Lane was much narrower than East Street. Most of the shops on either side were closed, with only a few still lit.
At the very end of the lane, a dim yellow Spirit Lamp hung at the entrance to a dead-end alley on the right.
The alley wasn’t deep. At its end was a small, somewhat worn courtyard. The walls were low, and one half of the gate was open, a faint medicinal scent wafting out.
Li Yuan stopped at the entrance and knocked twice on the doorframe.
"Who is it?"
A rough, hoarse voice came from within.
"Captain Wang sent me."
After two breaths of silence, a person walked out.
He was in his early forties, short and stout, with a round face and a clean-shaven chin. His hands were coated in a layer of medicinal powder, and he wore a heavily stained apron. The aura of the Qi Refining Fourth Level.
The Pill Refiner He sized Li Yuan up, his eyes landing on the talisman-engraved waist token at Li Yuan’s hip.
"From the Talisman Hall? What do you want with me?"
Li Yuan didn’t beat around the bush. He took the two herbs, wrapped in Oil Paper, from his storage pouch and placed them on the stone ledge next to the doorframe.
"These two herbs have conflicting medicinal properties. When refined together, they produce Evil Qi. I need to extract that Evil Qi."
The Pill Refiner He reached out, unwrapped the Oil Paper, picked up the first herb to examine it, then brought it closer to smell it.
He put it down and picked up the second one.
He turned it over a couple of times and sniffed it again.
Then he placed both herbs side-by-side on the stone ledge and stared down at them for a long moment.
"Tier One Top Grade," he said.
"Correct."
The Pill Refiner He rubbed the medicinal powder on his fingers and shook his head.
"Can’t do it."
Li Yuan watched him.
The Pill Refiner He rewrapped the two herbs in the Oil Paper and pushed them back toward Li Yuan.
"I’ve never done this kind of work before. I know the principle—conflicting medicinal properties creating Evil Qi. I might be able to give it a shot with Tier One Low Grade herbs. But these are both Tier One Top Grade. Their medicinal potency is several times stronger, and the reaction when they clash will be far more violent than with Low Grade ones."
He gestured with his hands to indicate a size.
"If the medicinal power in the cauldron gets out of control, it’ll either explode the cauldron or burn to a crisp. My net worth can’t afford that kind of risk, and neither can your two herbs."
He looked at Li Yuan.
"It’ll most likely fail."
Li Yuan put the herbs back into his storage pouch.
"Alright."
Without another word, he turned and walked back out of the alley.
He walked back along North Lane to East Street, where the Spirit Lamps brightly illuminated the road.
’Old Sun is experienced and said he could probably do it, which means he most likely can. But I’m stuck making Talismans at the encampment every day and can’t find a solid block of time to run over to the Pill Hall.’
’No rush.’
The condition to make the Evil Stone permanent was to absorb a strand of Tier One Top Grade Evil Qi. It had to be done sooner or later, but other matters were pushing forward right now.
Li Yuan returned to the encampment, closed the door, and sat cross-legged on his bed plank.
He began circulating the Spirit-Introducing Skill.
Spiritual Qi surged into his body. The Pure Spiritual Power trait filtered out impurities, and the Spiritual Power automatically condensed and sank into his Dantian.
One cycle, two cycles, three cycles.
...
Spiritual Qi entered his body, completed a cycle through his meridians, and the Spiritual Power sank into his Dantian.
[Pure Spiritual Power (Green) Permanence Progress: 498/500]
’Two more to go.’
Li Yuan didn’t stop, continuing to circulate his technique.
The four hundred and ninety-ninth cycle completed, and the Spiritual Power sank into his Dantian.
The five hundredth.
Spiritual Qi surged into his body from all directions. The Pure Spiritual Power trait activated automatically, filtering out impurities. The clean Spiritual Power flowed through his meridians, coursing through his entire body before finally condensing and sinking into his Dantian.
The panel materialized.
[Pure Spiritual Power (Green) Permanence Condition Met]
[Make Permanent?]
Li Yuan willed it with a thought.
’Yes.’
[Permanence Successful]
[Pure Spiritual Power (Green) Has Become a Permanent Trait]
[Equipment Consumed]
The Mid-grade Spirit Stone in his palm dissolved into a clear green light and flowed into his body.
The filtration of incoming Spiritual Qi no longer required the trait to be activated; Li Yuan himself now possessed this function. The moment Spiritual Qi surged in from the outside world, impurities were automatically stripped away by his body, and the clean Spiritual Power fell directly into his Dantian.
Immediately after, a second notification popped up.
[Congratulations, Fifth Equipment Slot Unlocked]
[Current Equipment Slots: 3/5 (Trait Fusion Function Unlock Condition: Make two Blue-quality or higher traits permanent / Reach the Foundation Establishment Stage)]
A fifth equipment slot.
He had achieved three permanent Green traits—Flame Marrow Body, Spiritual Power Condensation, and Pure Spiritual Power.
The number of equipment slots had increased from 4 to 5. He currently had 3 slots occupied: the Soul Mirror, the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill, and the Evil Stone. Two slots were now free.
Li Yuan scanned the information on the panel from top to bottom, his gaze lingering for a few breaths on the line about "Trait Fusion."
Trait Fusion: make two Blue-quality or higher traits permanent, or reach Foundation Establishment.
The panel only showed the name and the unlock conditions, with no explanation of its function.
But Li Yuan could guess a thing or two about its function on his own.
He currently had zero permanent Blue traits. Hundred Rivers to the Sea was Blue, but its permanence condition was extremely harsh: master two conflicting cultivation techniques, or consume two conflicting Tier Two medicinal pills simultaneously. Neither was realistic in the short term.
The Soul Mirror’s Soul Light Tempering was also Blue, and its permanence condition was just as distant—a Tier Two Divine Soul Class Demon Beast Core or a hundred years of experience.
Li Yuan dismissed the panel.
The stone house fell silent, the only sound being the distant footsteps of the Cultivator on night watch outside his window.