Elder Dolan had given Luan a storage bag.
An item built to carry load. Though the space within the storage bag wasn't big, it was filled with more than a hundred grade-1 qi stones, an item used for many things in this world.
It was also a form of currency.
Luan rode on the back of a horse, following behind an open carriage that carried wooden boxes of different sizes.
Around him were seven outer disciples of his clan, five men and two women, all of whom were already in the Foundation Building stage.
None of them recognized Luan, neither did Luan recognize them.
In fact, they even thought he was an elder of the clan that was close to the end of his lifespan after being stuck in the Qi Condensation stage all his life.
Luan still had his thick beards and long hair. He hadn't even attempted to freshen up or look good.
If anything, he felt comfortable like this.
Life in Sorja had made him stop caring about his looks. He didn't care if people saw him as a madman or a dirty pig.
What mattered was whether it was true or not.
His walking cane didn't help matters either. If it wasn't for the clean, purple and black robes he had on, one would mistake him for a beggar.
But it was clear that he was older than them.
Luan initiated small talks with these outer disciples of his clan; he didn't reveal his identity though.
There were many things he was curious about, things that transpired over the twenty years he was ill.
He would have asked Liana, but he already could tell that she wouldn't say everything, not the entire truth.
How did he know?
Well, from the short narration she gave him when he asked what had happened to their mother.
Luan was almost certain that she watered a lot of things down and even hid some information from him. But he didn't say anything.
His mother was a smart woman, easily overpowered by her emotions at times, yes.
But her intelligence was never in question.
Wouldn't it be foolish for her to step into the Void Battlefield alone in search for a mythical flower from hearsay?
If Liana had said that Romain had left with a few trusted family members and got injured in the Void Battlefield, Luan was more likely to believe that.
Just to avoid worrying his sister, he chose not to speak about it anymore.
If he wanted to get the truth, all he needed to do was search for it, after all, humans have always been prone to gossip.
This was one of the major reason why he started having small talks with these outer disciples.
Not much time elapsed before they arrived at the Donglin city. Arguably the biggest city in the southern part of the Darke Empire.
A notorious city where one is likely to find rare treasures.
Donglin city wasn't far from a forbidden region of the Darke Empire, and a lot of treasure-seeking fortune-finders frequent this area.
Though many lose their lives, those who come back alive usually return with interesting things.
Donglin is run by a council of nobles, each sharing the profits the city brings amongst themselves every year. They are also responsible for the safety of the region.
Luan asked one of the outer disciples to direct him to where the market for cultivation arts was.
This outer disciple's name was Crane.
"Elder, you want to change the art you cultivate?" Crane inquired, seemingly curious about who Luan was.
If one looked well enough, it would be easy to see that Luan's skin was clean and had no wrinkles on it.
Which old man at the end of his lifespan would still look this healthy?
Even from Luan's voice, he spoke with vitality.
"Not really… I'm searching for a body cultivation art. My body is quite weak." A slight amile tugged at Luan's lips as he answered.
Only he knew why he was smiling.
"Oh, I see. If that's all then, I can definitely guide you to a nice place." Crane said and led the way.
They passed through a few busy streets before arriving at a stall.
"Elder, don't judge this place by its looks. The owner is an adventurous person who has visited quite a number of forbidden regions in the world."
Luan's brows arched, raising his expectations alongside.
"He has a lot of unidentified treasures, some broken graded treasures. Powerful, but incomplete cultivation arts, and many other interesting things."
"If it is as you say, why is no one patronizing his stall?"
Crane chuckled, "Elder, that's because the owner is a bit weird. He won't sell to you because you want to buy, he'll only sell it to you if he thinks it matches you."
That's… weird.
Nonetheless, Luan decided to check this stall out. He had quite a bit of time in his hands. Also, he was curious about something.
Not long after he entered Donglin, quite a few powerful spirit senses enveloped him.
"Senior Zhen!" Crane called out as though he was close friend of the man.
"Hmm?" Zhen had been resting on a rocking chair with his eyes closed. He was a plump but tall man, standing inches above six foot. If one wanted to compare, from the way he looked, he wasn't that much older than Luan.
"Child, have you come to accept me as your master?" Zhen asked the moment his brain registered that it was Crane who had called out to him.
"No, not here for that, senior." Crane gestured towards Luan. "I brought an elder from my clan over. He's looking to purchase a good body cultivation art."
Zhen looked at Luan for a few seconds before saying. "You're a weird one."
"Me?" Luan replied, wondering what made the man say this.
"There's a mountain of corpses beneath your feet, and yet… you don't reek of blood." Zhen mentioned.
Upon hearing this, Luan's expression became neutral.
What sort of man is this?
Even after using his sixth sense to investigate, Luan couldn't sense anything from this man. If his eyes were closed, he wouldn't even know that the man was standing in front of him.
Which was weird.
He had never met anyone like this.
"Senior, I don't understand what you're talking about."
"The fourth book by your left, sixth row. Take it and leave 10 grade-1 qi stones behind." Zhen said and returned to his chair, closing his eyes.
Luan looked at Crane for an explanation, only to see that the young man was just as perplexed as he was.
Following Zhen's directions, Crane located the book.
The Sword Body Scripture.
Opening the book up, Crane browsed through it in a few seconds. By the time he was done, he couldn't help but frown.
"Senior Zhen, this body cultivation art can't even be considered a graded cultivation art. It just contains some weird concepts that seems like fairytales. I brought my elder here after reassuring him that you'd have the best."
Zhen opened one eye and glared at Crane. "If you cannot see the worth of the scripture then drop it. That's the only body cultivation art I can sell to him today." After saying that, he closed his eye.
Crane was about to return the scripture when Luan took it from his hands.
He too went through the Sword Body Scripture, and at the end of it, he frowned as well.
However, his frown was for a different reason. He seemed to have almost grasped something from this scripture, but it slipped through him.
That feeling where you're trying to remember something, and it's just at the tip of your tongue but unable to come out.
Luan went through it again, reading its content more seriously now.
The Unadorned Path Of Ten Thousand Repetitions. The concept of this art was to build the body while training with the sword. To attain a Sword Heart and let the body become its sheath.
There were just four concepts, not divided into volumes… just a few sentences barely explaining anything, and yet, the words on the scripture captivated Luan.
And at the same time, it left him stumped.
But one thing was for certain, the Sword Body Scripture wasn't just any ordinary ungraded art, it was far from that.
After a few minutes, Luan looked up from the scripture and said; "Senior, isn't the price for this too low?"
Crane couldn't understand why he asked this question. To him, he felt like Zhen didn't want to give Luan the good things, and rather recommended a shabby art to him.
"I said its 10 grade-1 qi stones. Normal people would try to haggle prices down, why are trying to increase it? I only want 10, if it's too cheap for you then you can return it." Zhen said, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice.
Luan was satisfied with this scripture. Even if it might not give him the results he was hoping for, it was enough.
"Let's be on our way then, Crane."
Second Grandpa said that I should get a cultivation art that has at least four volumes… I guess I'm still as hard-headed as usual.
"Oh," Luan exclaimed as he stopped in his tracks. He had almost forgotten. "Senior, is there any movement art here that's suitable for me?"
"No… If you can hold a sword properly, why would you worry about a movement art? Would a tiger ask a rabbit how to hop when it instinctively know how to run? Now piss off and stop disturbing my peace."
He shooed Luan away with his hands.
At the same time, Zhen transmitted his voice to Crane. "Hey kid, don't bring such scary people to my stall again if you're not willing to be my disciple!"
Crane blinked in confusion. He turned to look at Luan, and he couldn't help but wonder.
Is the elder scary, or did Senior Zhen have too much to drink again?