Permanent Circulation Acceleration

At dawn, Li Yuan sat cross-legged in the wooden cabin at the outpost and swallowed the second Vein-Clearing Pill.

The pill melted the instant it entered his stomach. Its warm medicinal power slowly spread along his meridians, far gentler than the Fiend Essence Pill, without that scorching dryness. It simply seeped into the inner walls of his meridians, fine and unceasing.

The effect of Spirit Qi Filtration activated in tandem, automatically removing the trace impurities mixed within the medicinal power, leaving only pure efficacy circulating through his body.

Li Yuan closed his eyes and circulated the Spirit Guiding Art, working with the medicine to clear his meridians.

About half an hour later, the medicinal power was completely absorbed, and his meridians had been broadened slightly for a time.

[Vein-Clearing Pill permanent conversion progress: 9/10]

Only the final pill remained.

Li Yuan put away the panel, rose to his feet, and pushed open the wooden door.

Outside, the sky was already bright. He Shou leaned against the doorframe of the neighboring cabin. When he saw Li Yuan emerge, he tipped his chin toward the main outpost.

"Come on. Let's take a look at the outpost. I heard quite a few people arrived last night."

The two headed north along the dirt road for less than two miles before the outline of the main outpost came into view.

Something was clearly wrong even from afar.

Two unfamiliar faces stood at the entrance. Their auras were steady and restrained, and they wore matching blue-gray robes with swords at their waists. Their alert gazes swept over the people coming and going.

There were nearly twice as many people inside the outpost as yesterday. Besides the guards already stationed there, more than a dozen cultivators in blue-gray robes were scattered about. Some checked their equipment, some gathered around a table studying a map, and some spoke softly in groups of two or three.

He Shou's steps slowed by half a beat. "People from the Wang Family," he said quietly.

Li Yuan had seen it too.

Their cultivation levels were generally around Mid Qi Refinement. A few were clearly stronger, at least at the seventh or eighth layer of Qi Refinement.

He Shou led Li Yuan into the outpost and found the person in charge of the South Line to ask a few questions.

The man in charge was so busy his feet barely touched the ground. He gave a brief explanation—the Wang Family had transferred a batch of people from its main household last night. Including those who had arrived in dribs and drabs before, there were now more than twenty Wang Family members around Qinghe Market. All had been assigned to the Guard Squad and were under the unified command of a Wang Family clansman at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement.

"More than twenty?" He Shou raised a brow. "Looks like the Wang Family is taking this pretty seriously."

After leaving the man in charge, He Shou went to the supply shed to collect a few items.

As they passed the open ground at the center of the outpost, Li Yuan noticed that several Wang Family members gathered around the table were discussing something. A large map lay spread across its surface, densely marked with cinnabar symbols.

Someone looked up and glanced at Li Yuan before lowering his head and continuing the discussion.

After returning to the patrol outpost, He Shou divided up the supplies he had collected.

"Your team has been assigned two more people." He Shou handed Li Yuan an order of reassignment.

Li Yuan accepted it and glanced over it. Strictly speaking, Li Yuan was the captain of this squad.

One was named Liu Ping, from the Patrol Squad, at the Qi Refining Third Level. He was the one they had met in the market before, responsible for patrolling the South Gate and West Street. He was a man of few words, but diligent.

The other was Chen Qi, a rogue cultivator at the Qi Refining Third Level, a short-term contract worker recently recruited by the Wang Family.

"Liu Ping will arrive this afternoon. Chen Qi has already checked in at the main outpost. He'll be here soon."

He Shou put away the reassignment order and glanced at Li Yuan.

"Lin Xiaowu's injuries haven't healed yet, so these two will fill in for now. Five to a group gives us more room to breathe than before."

That afternoon, the two newcomers arrived one after another.

Liu Ping carried a small cloth bundle on his back. Upon seeing Li Yuan, he cupped his hands in greeting without saying much, found an empty room to put down his things, and came back out.

Chen Qi arrived a quarter of an hour later than Liu Ping.

He was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, short and lean-faced, with quick-moving eyes. His gray hemp short robe, common among rogue cultivators, had been washed spotless. A short saber and a cloth pouch hung from his waist.

"Chen Qi greets Deputy Captain Li and Captain He." Chen Qi cupped his hands in salute, respectful without being servile.

He Shou sized him up and asked a few questions.

Chen Qi answered briskly.

He had spent two or three years roaming the outskirts of the Yuanheng Mountains, mainly gathering herbs, though he had also hunted demonic beasts. He usually traveled alone, occasionally joining up with groups of rogue cultivators.

He Shou nodded and asked nothing further.

After the five briefly got acquainted, He Shou led the team out.

That afternoon's patrol route was much the same as the past few days. They followed the South Line west in an arc, then looped back.

As they walked, He Shou taught them, just as he had in previous days, explaining whatever they encountered.

"Look at this. Five toes, narrow gaps between them, short strides, and no deep claw punctures—small beast, most likely a Grey Hyena Rat. An ordinary beast. Ignore it."

"This kind of break means something crawled beneath the bushes. Low height, flattened body, probably a lizard or snake." He Shou measured the height of the snapped branches with his scabbard. "Less than a foot. Not very large. Low-grade First-Order or below."

Liu Ping silently committed it all to memory. Chen Qi nodded as he listened and occasionally asked questions, all of them practical—such as how to judge whether tracks were fresh or old, and how to distinguish the footprints of different individuals of the same demonic beast.

He Shou answered every question, his explanations concise and clear.

Halfway through the patrol, Li Yuan's Spirit Detection Disk caught a faint ripple of spirit qi around twenty zhang ahead and to the right.

"Something's there. Right front, twenty zhang," Li Yuan said in a low voice.

The five immediately slowed their pace.

He Shou listened intently for several breaths, then shook his head.

"It left."

Li Yuan poured in spiritual power again to sense it. The ripple truly was moving away, heading southwest at an unhurried pace.

"If it didn't come after us, leave it alone." He Shou straightened and kept walking. "Our task is patrol, not hunting demons. If we run into one, we deal with it. If we don't, we don't chase."

They found several more signs of demonic beasts along the way.

One was a set of claw marks at the edge of a thicket. Another was a small patch of dried blood beside the dirt road, dark brown and not very large, with several gray scales scattered beside it.

There were plenty of traces along the way, yet they never encountered a demonic beast face-to-face.

However, He Shou's frown deepened and deepened.

"The traces are too dense."

He Shou stopped atop a rise, his gaze sweeping across the surrounding rolling thickets and wild grasslands.

"When I walked this route last month, finding two or three sets of traces in a whole day counted as a lot. Today, we've found seven or eight in half a day, and they're all fresh."

Li Yuan had noticed it too.

The directions of these traces were not uniform. Some pointed northeast, some due north, and some had no clear direction. Yet their density was indeed more than a whole level higher than before.

The range of demonic beast activity was still expanding.

By evening, the five returned to the outpost.

He Shou went to the main outpost to submit the patrol record. When he returned, his expression was not good.

"There's a meeting tonight. Don't go to sleep too early."

After nightfall, someone from the main outpost delivered a notice.

He Shou read it, folded it, and tucked it into his chest. He leaned against the doorframe in silence for a while.

"The higher-ups want to expand the search area."

He Shou's voice was low, his tone flat.

"Starting tomorrow, every patrol group will push its route farther out. Stay as far from the market as possible and search deeper into the outskirts for demonic beast tracks. If you find a gathering point for demonic beasts or an abnormal migration route, mark the location and report it. Keep an eye out for clues about cultivator bandits too, but demonic beasts take priority."

Li Yuan leaned against the wall without speaking.

Xu Mao and Liu Ping exchanged a look, but neither spoke. Chen Qi's expression remained unchanged. Rogue cultivators were used to this sort of thing.

He Shou rested his long saber against the corner of the wall, sat on the edge of the bed, and cursed under his breath.

"The Wang Family sent so many people, and what happens? They send us to search the outskirts."

He Shou kept his voice low, but the room was quiet enough for every word to be heard clearly.

"And the Wang Family's Foundation Establishment cultivator just stays at home..."

He Shou immediately shut his mouth.

No one responded.

He Shou was only venting verbally. After cursing, he did not mention it again. He waved a hand, telling everyone to rest.

The group dispersed and returned to their rooms.

Li Yuan went back to his own room and pulled the door shut.

Xu Mao was already lying down with his eyes closed. It was impossible to tell whether he was asleep.

Li Yuan sat on the edge of the bed and took out the final Vein-Clearing Pill from his sleeve.

The dark-red pill gave off a faint glow in his palm, its medicinal fragrance light.

He placed it in his mouth.

The pill melted the instant it entered his stomach. Warm medicinal power rose from his viscera and slowly spread through his meridians. It felt the same as the previous pills—gentle and dense, clearing each minute obstruction in the inner walls of his meridians one by one.

Li Yuan closed his eyes and circulated the Spirit Guiding Art, guiding the medicinal power through his body.

About half an hour later, the medicinal power was completely absorbed.

The panel displayed a notification.

[Conditions for permanent conversion of Vein-Clearing Pill have been met]

[Convert permanently?]

Li Yuan moved his mind.

Yes.

[Permanent conversion successful]

[Circulation Acceleration (White) has become a Permanent Affix]

[Equipped item consumed]

The panel updated accordingly.

[Current Equipment Slot: 1/2]

[Equipped item: Iron Ox Technique]

[Equipment Affix: Viscera Strengthening (White)]

[Permanent Affixes: Clean Physique (Gray), Spirit Qi Filtration (White), Five Grains Nourishing Qi (White), Circulation Acceleration (White)]

Four Permanent Affixes, three White Traits.

He only needed two more White Traits to meet the requirement of five White Traits and unlock the third Equipment Slot.