At dawn, Li Yuan sat cross-legged in the Wooden Cabin at the outpost and placed the second Vein-Clearing Pill into his mouth.
The Medicinal Pill melted the moment 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 merely soaked into the inner walls of his meridians in a soft, dense current.
The effects 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 operated the Spirit Guiding Art, using the medicinal power to clear his meridians.
Around half an hour later, the medicinal power had been fully digested, and his meridians had widened slightly for a period of time.
[Vein-Clearing Pill permanentization progress: 9/10]
Only the last 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 jerked 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 walked north along the dirt road for less than two miles before the outline of the main outpost appeared in sight.
Something was clearly off even from a distance.
Two unfamiliar faces stood at the outpost entrance. Their auras were steady and restrained, and they wore matching blue-gray robes with swords at their waists, their vigilant gazes sweeping over the people coming and going.
There were nearly twice as many people in the outpost as yesterday. Besides the guards originally stationed there, over a dozen cultivators in blue-gray robes were scattered throughout the area. Some inspected their equipment, some gathered around a table studying a map, while others spoke in low voices in groups of two or three.
He Shou slowed by half a beat and said quietly, "The Wang Family's people."
Li Yuan had seen them as well.
Most of their auras were 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 person in charge was so busy his feet barely touched the ground. He gave them a brief explanation—the Wang Family had transferred a group of people from their main household last night. Together with those who had arrived in batches before, there were now more than twenty Wang Family members around Qinghe Market, all incorporated into the Guard Squad and under the unified command of a Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement Wang Family member.
"More than twenty?" He Shou raised a brow. "Looks like the Wang Family is taking this seriously."
After leaving the person in charge, He Shou went to the supplies shed to collect a few things.
As they passed the open space in the center of the outpost, Li Yuan noticed several Wang Family members gathered around that table, discussing something. A large map lay spread across it, densely marked with cinnabar symbols.
Someone looked up at Li Yuan, then immediately lowered his head and continued speaking.
After returning to the patrol outpost, He Shou sorted through the supplies he had collected.
"Your team has been assigned two more people." He Shou handed Li Yuan an assignment order.
Li Yuan accepted it and gave it a glance. 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 Li Yuan had encountered 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 named Chen Qi, a Rogue Cultivator at the Qi Refining Third Level. He was a recently recruited short-term contract worker for the Wang Family.
"Liu Ping will arrive this afternoon. Chen Qi has already checked in at the main outpost and will be here shortly."
He Shou put away the assignment order and looked at Li Yuan.
"Lin Xiaowu's injuries haven't healed yet, so these two will fill in for now. A group of five gives us more breathing room than before."
In the 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. He found an empty room, put down his belongings, and came back out.
Chen Qi arrived a quarter of an hour later than Liu Ping.
He was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, short in stature and lean-faced, with quick-moving eyes. His cleanly washed gray hemp short coat was the common attire of Rogue Cultivators, and a Short Saber and 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 or overbearing.
He Shou sized him up from head to toe and asked several questions.
Chen Qi answered crisply.
He had spent two or three years roaming the outer reaches of the Yuanheng Mountains, mainly gathering herbs, though he had also hunted Demonic Beasts. He mostly traveled alone, occasionally joining up with teams of Rogue Cultivators.
He Shou nodded and asked no further questions.
After the five briefly met one another, He Shou led the team out.
That afternoon's patrol route was much like the previous days: following the South Line westward in an arc, then circling back.
As they walked, He Shou taught them as he had in the past few days, explaining whatever they came across.
"Look at this. Five toes, narrow gaps between them, short strides, and the claw tips haven't pierced deeply—small beast. Most likely a Grey Hyena Rat. A Mortal Beast. Ignore it."
"This kind of break means something passed beneath the bushes. Low height, flattened body, probably a lizard or snake." He Shou measured the height of the broken branches with his scabbard. "Less than a foot. Not large, below Low-grade First-Order."
Liu Ping silently committed it all to memory, while Chen Qi nodded as he listened, occasionally interjecting with questions. They were all practical matters—how to judge whether tracks were fresh or old, how to distinguish the footprints of different individuals of the same Demonic Beast species.
He Shou answered every question, explaining things simply and clearly.
Halfway through the patrol, Li Yuan's Spirit Detection Disk caught a faint pulse of spirit qi roughly twenty zhang ahead and to the right.
"Something's there. Right ahead, twenty zhang." Li Yuan lowered his voice.
All five of them slowed at once.
He Shou listened intently for several breaths, then shook his head.
"It left."
Li Yuan sent in spirit power again to sense it. That pulse was indeed moving away, southwestward, not particularly fast.
"If it doesn't come after us, leave it alone." He Shou straightened and continued forward. "Our task is patrol, not hunting Demonic Beasts. If we run into one, we deal with it. If we don't, we don't chase."
Over the following stretch, they found several more traces of Demonic Beasts.
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 head-on.
However, He Shou's brow grew tighter and tighter.
"There are too many tracks."
He Shou stopped atop a rise, his gaze sweeping over the undulating thickets and wild grassland around them.
"When I walked this route last month, finding two or three sets of tracks in a day counted as a lot. Today, in half a day, we've found seven or eight—and they're all fresh."
Li Yuan had noticed it too.
The tracks pointed in no single direction. Some headed northeast, some due north, and some had no clear direction at all. But their density was indeed more than one level higher than before.
The Demonic Beasts' range of activity was still expanding.
At dusk, the five returned to the outpost.
He Shou went to the main outpost to submit the patrol record. His expression was not pleasant when he returned.
"There's a meeting tonight. Don't go to sleep too early."
After night fell, someone from the main outpost delivered a notice.
After reading it, He Shou folded it and tucked it into his robes, then leaned against the doorframe in silence for a while.
"The higher-ups want to expand the search range."
He Shou's voice was quiet, his tone flat.
"Starting tomorrow, every patrol group will push their routes outward, staying as far from the market as possible and going deeper into the outer region to search for Demonic Beast traces. If you discover a Demonic Beast gathering point or an abnormal migration route, mark the location and report it. Keep an eye out for Cultivator Bandit leads too, but Demonic Beasts take priority."
Li Yuan leaned against the wall without speaking.
Xu Mao and Liu Ping exchanged a glance, neither of them opening his mouth. Chen Qi, on the other hand, looked as usual. Those born Rogue Cultivators were used to such things.
He Shou rested his long saber against the wall and sat on the edge of the bed, muttering a curse under his breath.
"So many Wang Family people came, and what happens? They send us out to search the outer region."
He Shou's voice was extremely low, but the room was quiet enough that every word could be heard clearly.
"The Wang Family's Foundation Establishment cultivator is staying at home too..."
He Shou immediately shut his mouth.
No one responded.
He Shou was only venting with his words. After cursing, he did not mention it again. He waved a hand, telling everyone to rest.
The group dispersed, each returning to his own room.
Li Yuan returned to his room and pulled the door shut.
Xu Mao was already lying down, his eyes closed. It was impossible to tell whether he was asleep.
Li Yuan sat on the edge of his bed and drew out the last Vein-Clearing Pill from his sleeve.
The dark-red pill glimmered faintly in his palm, its medicinal fragrance light.
He placed it in his mouth.
The Medicinal Pill melted as soon as it entered his stomach. Warm medicinal power rose from his viscera and slowly spread along his meridians. It felt the same as the previous pills—gentle and dense, clearing every minute obstruction within the walls of his meridians one by one.
Li Yuan closed his eyes and operated the Spirit Guiding Art, guiding the medicinal power through his body.
Around half an hour later, the medicinal power had been fully digested.
The Panel issued a prompt.
[Conditions for Vein-Clearing Pill permanentization fulfilled] [Permanentize?]
Li Yuan willed it.
Yes.
[Permanentization 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 was only two White Traits away from meeting the requirement of five White Traits needed to unlock the third Equipment Slot.
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