Chapter 302 - Residing at the Dongran Residence

"Who is he?" Lu Tianzi asked someone who was watching from afar just like him.

"What do you mean who is he? How can you not know Master Dongran, Head of the Dongran Family?" the man shot him a look of disdain. "Are you living under a rock or something?"

"My apologies, but I just arrived in Bog Town, so I don't know anyone here," Lu Tianzi calmly replied despite the other party's condescending tone. "I will be thankful if this knowledgeable brother can enlighten me a little."

"Since you are asking so nicely, I shall be nice and teach you a few things," the man crossed his arms proudly after getting his ego stroked. "Under Master Dongran's leadership, the Dongran Family is the only noble family that has been frequently performing good deeds, feeding the poor and taking care of the homeless. This difference between them and the noble families becomes much more obvious whenever a plague breaks out in Bog Town. The Dongran Family has always helped to dispose of the toxic bodies at their own risk."

"I see," Lu Tianzi nodded in realisation.

So that was why such a rowdy crowd had been silenced so easily.

Initially it appeared as though they were listening out of fear, but it was actually their guilt towards the kind Master Dongran that brought about such an outcome.

Wait a minute, something doesn't sound quite right there.

"You say whenever a plague breaks out in Bog Town?" Lu Tianzi repeated after the man. "Does that mean plagues happen often in Bog Town?"

"Probably once every decade or so," the man shrugged. "It can't be helped though, considering how close we are to the terrifying Wondertrap Mountain. Once in a while, one or two of the poisonous entities from there will find their way to Bog Town, and it is usually the homeless who suffers the most."

"So that's why," Lu TIanzi turned his gaze back to Master Dongran, now with a newfound sense of admiration.

Lu Tianzi might not be a saint himself, but he still respected those who had the heart to help others. Even if Master Dongran did so just to boost his own reputation, the returns were still not worth its efforts.

At this moment, the townsmen were actually silently accepting the lecture from Master Dongran.

"…I shall not pursue the matter further," Master Dongran said. "Instead of trying to pressure innocent people into doing your bidding, why don't the lot of you go do something that actually helps the town?"

"But Master Dongran-" someone tried to argue.

"No buts!" Master Dongran cut him short. "That is, unless you are intending to go against my Dongran Family!"

"This…"

The townsmen in the crowd shot hesitant glances at each other before finally deciding to leave.

"Thank you for your help, Master Dongran," Dongci Ze clasped his fists towards Master Dongran in gratitude. "If not for you, I shudder to think of how things might have ended today."

"What are you doing out here, Dongluo Xi?" Master Dongran was apparently still in lecture mode. "Don't you know how sensitive your identity is right now?"

"I'm sorry, Master Dongran," Dongluo Xi hung her head low in shame. "I won't do this again."

"Why don't you cut her some slack, Master Dongran?" Jue interjected. "She probably just wanted to see Dongci Ze after such a long time. After all, who knew that the townsmen would react in such a way?"

Master Dongran let out a tired sigh. "All right, why don't you come back with me for now? If something happens to you after I leave, I really don't know how I am going to face your father. As for you, Dongci Ze, do you want to stay at my residence for the time being? It will make things easier for the two of you in the future as well."

"Is that really all right?" Dongci Ze asked hesitantly before stealing a glance at Jue.

Master Dongran naturally caught this subtle interaction. "If you are worried about the Iron Claw Brigade, then they can come along as well. It is not as though there are not enough rooms in my Dongran Residence."

Since Jue had stood up for Dongluo Xi earlier, there was a chance that they might be ostracised by the other townsmen, so it was only natural for Dongci Ze to be worried about them.

"Thank you so much for your generosity then, Master Dongran!" Dongci Ze accepted the offer immediately.

"Hold on," Jue timidly raised his hand. "Actually if it is not too much trouble, is it fine for another two friends to join us?"

"Hmm?" Master Dongran frowned. "You lot sure have a lot of demands. Who are you referring to?"

"Young Brother Tianzi, Young Sister Qianxue!" Jue immediately waved over towards the two. "Come over!"

Lu Tianzi was genuinely surprised by the sudden call from Jue.

He had not thought much about the relationship between them, but it seemed like this Captain Jue was really treating the two of them as his buddies.

Nevertheless, since they had already been called, Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue obediently headed over.

"Quickly greet Master Dongran," Jue urged.

"Greetings to Master Dongran," Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue did as they were told.

"Greetings to you as well," Master Dongran politely returned the greeting. "May I know who you are?"

"They are a couple that happened to be present as well when I picked up Dongci Ze last month," Jue explained on their behalf. "Now that the two youngsters have arrived in Bog Town, I am hoping that Master Dongran can help provide them with a safe place to stay as well."

"Provide them with a safe place to stay?" Master Dongran raised an eyebrow in confusion. "It is not really a problem, but do they really need my protection?"

Just like how Lu Tianzi was able to identify that Master Dongran was at the Fourth Cycle Origin Core realm, Master Dongran was similarly able to see that Lu Tianzi was an Origin Core realm martial artist.

Even though he was only at the First Cycle Origin Core realm, it should still be more than enough to deter others from acting against him without a compelling reason.

On top of that, what was with Jue speaking as though he was superior to Lu Tianzi?

"The two of us have just reached Bog Town and don't know much, I would be thankful if Master Dongran can accept the two of us while we slowly figure out what to do next," Lu Tianzi smiled.

Master Dongran narrowed his eyes at Lu Tianzi, as though trying to see through him.

After a few moments, he finally gave his nod.

"All of you, follow me," Master Dongran turned to leave.

"Thank you, Master Dongran!" Lu Tianzi grinned.

He would have been fine either way, but it was better for them now that Master Dongran had allowed them to follow along.

The situation in the town was too dreary. By staying in the house of a noble family, he could at least feel more at ease about Nanlan Qianxue's safety.

On top of that, he still had more questions about the current state of Bog Town, and the Iron Claw Brigade seemed like a good source of information.

By the time the group arrived at the Dongran Residence, night had already fallen.

From Master Dongran's outfit alone, one would have a fairly good idea of how wealthy the Dongran Family was, and the Dongran Residence certainly did not disappoint.

It was grand and luxurious, encompassing plenty of small houses within its boundaries.

Upon arrival, Master Dongran took his leave after instructing the servants to bring the group to the guest houses.

Dongluo Xi went with Dongci Ze temporarily, though Master Dongran made it clear that he would be sending her back by the end of the day.

The interior of the Dongran Residence was beautifully designed, with an exquisite garden connecting the individual small houses.

When Lu Tianzi and rest of the group were being led through the garden by the servants, he found his attention being subconsciously drawn in by a bright green boulder that was sitting right in the middle of the garden.

It was the same type of rock that had been used as a directional sign on their way to Bog Town, one that had a small energy source within.

In the the darkness of the night, it was especially eye catching because of the dim glow that it was emitting.

"May I know what rock is that?" Lu Tianzi asked the servant.

"It is a Sky Crystal, sir," the servant answered matter-of-factly.

"Sky Crystal?" Lu Tianzi blinked blankly.

"Has Young Brother Tianzi never seen a Sky Crystal?" Jue asked from behind.

"This is only the second time I have seen one," Lu Tianzi admitted. "But it truly is a fascinating item."

"Yeah," Jue agreed. "They are commonly used as a means of night illumination, though it is usually made into a smaller size for ease of carrying. However, the Dongran Family seems to really favour using these larger versions as decoration."

"Is that so?" Lu Tianzi nodded. "There really are all sorts of things in this world."

"Haha, there are still many other things out there that even I do not know about," Jue patted Lu Tianzi on the back. "Don't worry, you still have a long life ahead of you to slowly discover the many wonders of this world!"

"Captain Jue has a point," Lu Tianzi smiled.

The servants of the Dongran Family quickly led them to their respective guest houses.

The Iron Claw Brigade was assigned a house while Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue shared another with Dongci Ze, though each person had a room of their own.

It was already late, so everyone simply retired to their rooms to rest for the night. Even Dongluo Xi did not stay much longer before being escorted back home by the Dongran Family servants.

Lu Tianzi set up a simple concealing formation before settling down on his bed.

With a wave of his hand, two jade slips appeared in his hands.

The Body of Thousand Immunities, and the Palm of Thousand Venoms.

They had been travelling through the wilderness all along after leaving Lord Er's tomb, and this was the first time since then that he was spending the night behind four walls. Lu Tianzi certainly was not intending to let go of this chance to take a look at these two manuals.

First, the Body of Thousand Immunities.

Lu Tianzi was especially excited to take a look at this.

Up till now, Lu Tianzi had relied on the second level of the Undulated Currents Breathing Technique for his Spiritual Essence cultivation, but there was a glaring shortcoming that he had not been able to address as of yet.

Even with the second level of the Undulated Currents Breathing Technique, it would only allow one to reach the Origin Core realm. As for how to go further, the cultivation technique had zero information whatsoever.

This was a problem that had not really impacted Lu Tianzi yet since he was only at the Peak Essence Condensation realm, but he was already starting to plan ahead.

That was why Lu Tianzi had raided the Ivory Rock Martial Academy in order to obtain other cultivation techniques, all in a bid to discover a way forward.

But the cultivation techniques in the Ivory Rock Martial Academy were all either at the Essence Building or Essence Condensation realm, so Lu Tianzi had failed to come up with anything concrete even after studying them.

However, Lu Tianzi had no doubt that the Body of Thousand Immunities would be an Origin Core realm cultivation technique.

In fact, considering Lord Er's strength, it was not entirely impossible for it to be an Overlord realm technique, or perhaps even a higher level than that!

Lu Tianzi eagerly sank his perception within, perusing the contents to his heart's content.

Soon, information began flooding into his mind.

Even though they were both cultivation techniques of the Spiritual Essence system, there was a fundamental difference between the two techniques.

The Undulated Currents Breathing Technique was based on adjusting one's breath to the frequency of the world currents, aligning oneself to the world's frequency to smoothen the flow of Spiritual Essence within one's inner world.

On the other hand, the Body of Thousand Immunities was based on exposing one's body to a baptism of poison, borrowing the pure toxicity of the poisons to refine the Spiritual Essence within one's inner world.

Just as he had expected, this was a cultivation technique that far surpassed the Origin Core realm.

As for what level it was at, Lu Tianzi was still unable to truly comprehend.

What he managed to understand, however, was that the Body of Thousand Immunities was too different from the Undulated Currents Breathing Technique. It was simply impossible for Lu Tianzi to switch over just like that.

If he really wanted to force the switch, he might have to restart his Spiritual Essence cultivation from scratch!

Lu Tianzi let out a deep sigh.

Restarting his Spiritual Essence cultivation was far too drastic a measure.

As far as possible, he would like to avoid such a course of action.

For now, he would just study it as a reference in his attempt to figure out a way to refine the Undulated Currents Breathing Technique.

If things really turn out badly and he was unable to figure out a way forward, that would be the time to revisit this extreme option.

Next, Lu Tianzi sank his perception into the jade slip for the Palm of Thousand Venoms.

This was Lord Er's signature combat technique, and Lu Tianzi had even experienced it for himself that one time, executed by Lord Er himself. In his battle against Shafeng, Lord Er had used it to break through the spatial powers of the Limitless Mirror Eye, shocking Shafeng himself.

Now, Lu Tianzi was looking forward to mastering this technique and reviving the full glory of the Palm of Thousand Venoms!