Dao is Passion
The outer sect's Nation of Ti.
In comparison to the other outer sect nations, the Nation of Ti was neither large nor small, stretching out for 90,000 miles from end to end and homing an estimated 340 million inhabitants.
The Nation of Ti was average in terms of its size, but it was lacking in terms of wealth and resources. This outer sect nation was the least profitable of the 13 outer sect nations, and for this reason, it was rarely visited by the elders of the sect. Nobody powerful paid this nation much attention, meaning that Yaan was unlikely to be disturbed by the Fragment Sect's elite during his time here.
After arriving in the Nation of Ti, Yaan travelled to the closest city, which was also the largest city in the country. This city was actually located very nearby to the inner sect border, which was the reason for its relative prosperity compared to most other cities in the Nation of Ti.
Yaan landed just outside of the walls of Grand Ti City discretely. After looking around, he raised an eyebrow slightly when he saw endless sand and desert for miles around.
After returning his gaze towards the mighty sandstone walls, he understood that due to Grand Ti City being so close to the inner sect's Red Branch, it was influenced by the Red Branch's environment. Across the thousands of miles of outer sect which bordered on the Red Branch, only dry desert land like this could be found.
In some of the outer sect nations, this desert land was actually a targeted resource point where fire stone was mined, but in the Nation of Ti, it was unfortunately just an ordinary desert. There might be one or two fire stones here and there in certain areas, but it was, for the most part, a lifeless and worthless region in the eyes of the main sect.
Still, that didn't stop Grand Ti City from welcoming many travellers who passed through the uncomfortable deserts along their dangerous journeys towards the city. The reason for this was simple; the inner sect entrance examinations were held in Grand Ti City once every ten years!
There were other cities in the Nation of Ti which held the same exam, but the scale of the exam in Grand Ti City was always the largest.
That did not matter to Yaan though. He would not be disturbed by those exams any time soon, since the next exam was still six years away.
Yaan entered Grand Ti City whilst disguising his aura. To all of those around him, he appeared to be an ordinary Innate Qi Realm cultivator.
Yaan's aura was similar to that of a Qi refiner, but it had some differences owing to his unique Vital Qi Core. However, only Origin Soul Realm powerhouses might possess the ability to notice this difference.
For now, Yaan had no intention of causing a big scene in the outer sect. He wanted to blend into the crowd, which he achieved successfully and with minimal effort.
After paying the entrance fee to a trio of robed cultivators outside of the city gates, Yaan entered the city without drawing any attention to himself. In Grand Ti City, Innate Qi Realm cultivators were very common; this city was the most prosperous city in the country after all.
The streets were lined with sandstone roads, whilst the cultivators wore lighter shaded clothing which covered their skin in order to protect them from the sun's scorching rays. To Yaan, this midday sun was nothing, but a mortal would likely suffer from heatstroke in this environment within minutes. Lower realm cultivators wouldn't be affected so easily, but they would still find it uncomfortable to walk about without the adequate clothing for protection.
Walking through the streets, Yaan felt nostalgic as he recalled the time that he first arrived at North Ghu City. Grand Ti City was larger in size than North Ghu City, but there were no Origin Soul Realm cultivators here. The strongest cultivator in this place was the only individual in the city at the Spirit Core Realm. Yaan noticed this person, an old woman who was living in seclusion atop a sand dune on the Western side of the city, but he paid her no mind.
Yaan was still discovering more about his cultivation and his strength with each passing day. He was slightly dazed when he realised that now, he was able to spread out his aura discretely, covering a large portion of the city without alerting its inhabitants. By doing this, he could estimate the average strength of the people, whilst also discovering the lone Spirit Core Realm cultivator without her even realising it.
'Unknowingly, I actually reached this level…'
Rank 5 was vastly stronger than Rank 4. Just the ability to imbue dao comprehension into any casual action gave those at Rank 5 a serious advantage, not to mention their powerful strength, speed, reflexes, spells, treasures and so on. Anybody who was able to reach Rank 5 had abundant life experiences - it was actually exceedingly rare to reach this level before surpassing a hundred years of age at the very least, and even that could be considered an impressive achievement.
Yaan was not yet Rank 5 in terms of his cultivation base, but he had achieved this level of strength at just 30 years of age…
Shaking his head slightly, Yaan stopped thinking about this matter. Instead, he halted his walk and looked around, finding himself in a bustling market square, close to the centre of the city. Unknowingly, he had been walking for close to two hours now, taking in the city's sights in silence.
"Qi Recovery Pills! Selling High Grade Qi Recovery Pills at the best prices in Grand Ti City!"
"Come into my store little brother, we have a copy of the Extreme Yang Cultivation Technique that you will certainly be interested in!"
"Ah, young friend, don't go to her, she's a cheat, a fraud! Her Extreme Yang Cultivation Technique is only one quarter complete, ours is far superior at one third completion!"
"…"
When he started to pay more attention to the people and places around him, Yaan realised that the surrounding excitement and chatter was not completely directionless, many of these people were actually calling out to him specifically! He felt doubtful at first…he shouldn't be attracting so much attention, right?
That is, until he realised that the surrounding temperature in the city centre was so strong that ordinary Innate Qi Realm cultivators were sweating heavily, yet he, someone with the appearance of a child, remained completely unfazed. This caught the attention of the merchants, causing them to target him as a potential customer.
For a child to remain so at ease in this environment, he must be using a rare treasure, he could even be the young master of an affluent clan in the city! Besides, his cultivation was at the Innate Qi Realm, but his appearance was so young, he was definitely an unrivalled prodigy!
It was only natural that they would think along these lines. Nobody could possibly guess the truth, that Yaan was a core sect elder with battle power on par with an Origin Soul Realm powerhouse.
Yaan ignored those people who were calling out to him and decided to leave this bustling marketplace so that he could look elsewhere.
Eventually, he found himself walking through a calmer, less affluent street. There were many shops positioned beside the road along this street, but all of them were rather ordinary.
Choosing an average looking shop, Yaan walked inside. There wasn't a particularly important reason for him choosing this exact sandstone shop, it was merely a case of the shop name, 'Drake's Formations', attracting his interest.
Inside of the shop, Yaan was met by an old man, who casually glanced at him from across the counter. After seeing his young age, the old man raised an eyebrow, but did not bother getting up from his chair.
"Are you looking to learn the art of formations?" The old man asked doubtfully.
Generally speaking, young cultivators were too impatient to care for studying formations. Though, the old man realised quickly that this person was probably not as young as he looked.
After pondering for a moment, Yaan nodded.
The old man showed a look of surprise, but he quickly stood up and showed an intrigued smile.
"Junior…no, how should I address you, fellow cultivator?" The old man backtracked after considering the possibility that this person might be even older than himself.
That said, this old man was almost a hundred years old, he didn't think that the person before him was actually older.
"My name is Yaan." Yaan did not bother to hide his name, but nor did he answer the old man's subtle probing into his true age.
"I see, fellow cultivator Yaan. This old man is called Old Drake by those other merchants along Dune Street…"
Old Drake did not push his probing any further. After introducing himself, the old man immediately began introducing his various wares.
For the most part, he sold books and texts pertaining to the study of formations. He also sold basic materials, namely those which were typically used in the construction of basic formations as a means of training one's proficiency. It seemed that this was a store which helped formations masters to train in their art for a low price.
Yaan patiently listened as the old man explained various things with an excited smile. Old Drake ended up getting carried away, encouraged by Yaan's apparent interest, and started teaching him the basics of the art of formations. Yaan already knew most of what he said regarding formations, but he found the old man interesting to listen to, especially when he became so excited upon seeing that Yaan was truly paying attention to him.
In the end, Yaan bought a few materials. It was only loose change to him, but the old man was overjoyed to have made this large transaction.
Finally, Yaan felt that he had made a good enough impression that this old man would definitely be willing to help him out with his true goal here.
"Old Drake, I have one final question…" Yaan began, sipping from a cup of tea opposite from the old man.
"Oh?" Old Drake placed down his tea cup onto the table. This table looked ordinary, but it was actually made from a formation!
In fact, Yaan realised early on that this building and every piece of furniture within the store…were actually all formations! He could feel an aura similar to Old Drake's own emanating from these formations, showing that the old man had built them all personally.
There was really no need for him to go to so much effort, it showed that he clearly felt true passion towards the art of formations. Yaan wondered how he would answer the question of dao.
"Could you tell me…what is dao?" Yaan asked.
"What is dao?" Old Drake blinked in surprise. He became silent for a long time. Even after a few minutes passed by and the old man remained silent, Yaan did not rush him, but continued to sip his tea.
In the Ghu Province, many lower realm cultivators knew nothing about dao, if their backing was small, it was possible that they were completely oblivious to the term itself. In the Southern Continent however, information was not controlled and the masses knew about many matters above their level. For this reason, Yaan knew that Old Drake should at least understand his question.
Finally, Old Drake answered.
"I would say that dao is life, and I believe that the meaning of life is to pursue your passions. I have lived for quite some time now and this is the conclusion that I have come to. I believe that the pursuit of dao is the pursuit of your heart's greatest interest. For me, this is the art of formations…I am no master in the art, and I know that I will never become a heaven shaking expert, but isn't that fine? I enjoy my life, I enjoy studying this path, and I enjoy bringing others into the world of formations. For me, this is life, hence, this is dao."
"I see…thank you."
Old Drake smiled, but his smile suddenly froze. Before his eyes, Yaan vanished without a trace.
"Passion, huh…" Yaan muttered, staring down at Grand Ti City with a contemplative gaze.
Yaan departed from Grand Ti City swiftly, having realised something during his conversation with Old Drake.
"Weaker individuals, those living more ordinary lives, have a very different understanding of dao compared to powerhouses and elites. Their answers are more straight forwards. In a way, this is less 'enlightened', but that does not make their answers wrong. I feel like I'm beginning to understand something…I wonder…how will the most ordinary of cultivators answer my question?"
With this thought in mind, Yaan set out deeper into the outer sect, hoping to find a place far removed from any of the matters of higher realm cultivators.