Affix Permanentization

By the time Li Yuan left Old Zhang's stall, the sky had completely darkened.

Lanterns throughout the market gradually lit up, their dim yellow glow falling across the Blue Stone pavement and casting long shadows.

Li Yuan headed from North Alley toward East Street. When his gaze casually swept over the notice board by the roadside, his steps paused slightly.

Several new wanted posters had appeared on the board. The paper was still fresh, the ink not yet dry; they had clearly been put up today.

The posters bore portraits of several cultivators, with their names, cultivation levels, and crimes written beside them.

Li Yuan glanced over them and found they were all wanted criminals such as cultivator bandits. Several were even at Qi Refining Late Stage, and the highest bounty amounted to several hundred Spirit Stones.

"The Yuanheng Mountains really have been unsettled lately."

Li Yuan thought to himself, but did not dwell on it. He turned and continued toward his residence.

Those cultivator bandits had nothing to do with him. The matter of the guards' rotation was far more troublesome.

After returning to the Wooden Cabin, Li Yuan did not waste any time. He sat down cross-legged and began cultivating.

As the night deepened, the Wooden Cabin was utterly silent.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Yuan opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. With a thought, the panel appeared:

[Spirit Qi Filtration (White)]

[Permanentization Progress: 19/100]

The progress had risen by another six circulation cycles. At this rate, Permanentization would likely be completed in about seven more days.

Li Yuan put away the panel, then took out the booklet on the Cleaning Spell. He brought out paper and brush and copied the Cleaning Spell once.

"Why can't a copied Cleaning Spell be equipped? What principle is this?"

Li Yuan tried to equip it, but the System Panel did not react in the slightest.

There were too few examples to work from, so Li Yuan simply did not investigate further and turned to practicing the Cleaning Spell.

The incantation for the Cleaning Spell was not complicated. Old Zhang had already explained all the essential points, so all Li Yuan needed to do was practice repeatedly until he reached Entry Level.

It was not until the latter half of the night that Li Yuan closed the booklet and rested with his eyes shut.

Cultivators in the Qi Refining Stage did not go without sleep, but they required very little of it.

Early the next morning, Li Yuan went to patrol the market as usual.

Today was the day monthly pay was distributed. After patrolling East Street, Li Yuan headed toward the Management Office.

Quite a few people were already lined up on the first floor of the Management Office, all Patrol Inspectors here to collect their monthly pay.

Li Yuan joined the back of the line and waited for about half an incense stick before it was his turn.

The clerk checked his waist token, took a small cloth pouch from beneath the counter, and handed it over. "Three Spirit Stones and one Vein-Clearing Pill."

Li Yuan accepted the pouch, left the Management Office, found a secluded corner, and opened it.

Inside lay three Spirit Stones the size of eggs, along with a dark-red medicinal pill.

The pill gave off a faint medicinal fragrance. Its body was translucent, and one could vaguely see threads of red patterns flowing within it.

This was a Vein-Clearing Pill, a medicinal pill that assisted Qi Refining Stage cultivators in clearing their meridians and accelerating cultivation.

The Wang Family issued one to every Patrol Inspector each month, counting it as an additional benefit.

Li Yuan picked up the Vein-Clearing Pill, and familiar translucent words immediately appeared before him:

[Detected equippable item: Vein-Clearing Pill (Intact)]

[Affix Preview: Circulation Acceleration (White)—During cultivation, circulation cycle speed increases by fifty percent]

[Permanentization Condition Preview: Consume 10 medicinal pills of the same grade or higher]

[Equipment Slot full (1/1). Replace currently equipped item?]

A fifty-percent increase in circulation cycle speed was even stronger than the thirty-percent cultivation speed increase from Spirit Qi Filtration.

But it lacked the function of Spirit Qi Filtration.

If the two affixes stacked together, his cultivation speed could increase by at least eighty percent.

More importantly, faster circulation cycles meant that the Permanentization progress of Spirit Qi Filtration would also accelerate.

Li Yuan suppressed the joy in his heart and quickly calculated his options.

There were now two paths before him.

The first path: continue equipping the Spirit Stone, complete the Permanentization of Spirit Qi Filtration, then free up the Equipment Slot to equip the Vein-Clearing Pill.

The second path: equip the Cleaning Talisman first, complete his practice of the Cleaning Spell, permanently turn Clean Physique into a Permanent Affix, unlock a second Equipment Slot, and then equip both the Spirit Stone and the Vein-Clearing Pill at once.

The only problem was that after removing the Spirit Stone, he would have to wait until the next day before equipping it again.

Li Yuan pondered for a moment, then made his decision.

Over the next three days, Li Yuan devoted every spare moment to cultivation and practicing the Cleaning Spell.

During the day, he patrolled the market, handled miscellaneous tasks, and studied the Cleaning Spell's incantation whenever he could steal a moment.

At night, after returning to the Wooden Cabin, he cultivated for several circulation cycles before continuing to practice the Cleaning Spell.

The tips Old Zhang had taught him for avoiding pitfalls proved immensely useful. Li Yuan took far fewer detours, and his progress was much faster than expected.

On the evening of the third day, Li Yuan sat cross-legged on his wooden bed, his hands forming seals as spiritual power slowly circulated across the surface of his body.

A thin film of light formed over his skin, keeping dust and grime away from his body while giving off a faint fragrance.

The film of light lasted for about ten breaths before slowly dissipating.

Li Yuan opened his eyes. With a thought, the panel appeared:

[Cleaning Spell: Entry Level (0/200)]

It worked.

Li Yuan let out a long breath. With another thought, translucent words appeared again:

[Detected equippable item: Cleaning Talisman (Intact)]

[Affix Preview: Clean Physique (Gray)—The body does not easily gather dust and can repel mosquitoes and insects]

[Permanentization Condition Preview: Learn spell—Cleaning Spell]

Li Yuan first chose to remove his currently equipped item.

[Equipment removed: Low-Grade Spirit Stone]

[Spirit Qi Filtration (White) affix temporarily inactive]

[Permanentization Progress retained: 40/100]

[Note: After equipment of the same type is removed, it may only be equipped again after twelve hours]

A Spirit Stone appeared out of thin air in Li Yuan's palm, identical to when it had been equipped before.

Li Yuan put away the Spirit Stone, then chose to equip the Cleaning Talisman.

The Cleaning Talisman in his hand transformed into a faint streak of light, merging into Li Yuan's body before vanishing.

[Equipped: Cleaning Talisman]

[Affix obtained: Clean Physique (Gray)]

[Permanentization condition met]

[Proceed with Permanentization?]

Li Yuan chose yes.

[Permanentization successful]

[Clean Physique (Gray) has become a Permanent Affix]

[Equipment consumed]

[Congratulations, second Equipment Slot unlocked]

[Current Equipment Slots: 0/2 (Reach Qi Refining Late Stage / Permanently turn five affixes of White grade or above into Permanent Affixes; complete either one to unlock the third Equipment Slot)]

Li Yuan felt as though an indistinct barrier had formed over the surface of his body. The dust that had clung to his clothes slid off on its own, and even the few mosquitoes flying through the air instinctively kept away from him.

With a thought from Li Yuan, the System Panel appeared before him.

[Name: Li Yuan]

[Cultivation Method: Spirit Guiding Art]

[Spells: ...]

[Equipment Slots: (0/2)]

[Equipped Items: None]

[Affixes Obtained: Clean Physique (Gray) (Permanentized)]

Li Yuan took out a Spirit Stone. It was the remaining one of the two Old Zhang had given him.

[Cannot equip for now. After equipment of the same type is removed, 12 hours must pass before it can be equipped again]

Li Yuan inwardly thought that it was just as expected, then took out the Vein-Clearing Pill.

[Detected equippable item: Vein-Clearing Pill (Intact)]

[Affix Preview: Circulation Acceleration (White)—During cultivation, circulation cycle speed increases by fifty percent]

[Equip?]

Equip.

[Current Equipment Slots: 1/2]

[Equipped Items: Vein-Clearing Pill]

[Affixes Obtained: Circulation Acceleration (White), Clean Physique (Gray) (Permanentized)]

Li Yuan could not wait to sit down cross-legged and circulate the Spirit Guiding Art.

Spirit Qi gathered from all directions, and the speed of his circulation cycles clearly increased as well.

Yet as the Spirit Qi flowed, Li Yuan's brows furrowed slightly.

The circulation cycles had sped up, but there seemed to be additional tiny impurities in his meridians.

Li Yuan understood that this was likely because, after the Spirit Qi Filtration affix disappeared, impurities had once more appeared within the Spirit Qi.

Fortunately, his meridians had largely recovered by now, so he did not need to worry about them affecting his meridian injuries.

Li Yuan did not pay much attention to it and closed his eyes, continuing his cultivation.