Chu Lan opened the martial arts manual.
He only glanced through it roughly, but the contents inside shocked him immensely.
"Is the power of this Heaven and Earth Single Sword Slash really this terrifying?"
"Cultivating it to the realm of perfection can actually split the heavens apart?"
Splitting the heavens was something Chu Lan would never have dared to imagine before.
Yet now, Chu Lan firmly believed that such a feat was something that powerful martial artists could definitely accomplish with ease.
"What a pity, this Heaven and Earth Single Sword Slash is only an incomplete volume."
A look of disappointment appeared on Chu Lan's face.
At the same time, he secretly rejoiced in his heart; thankfully it was an incomplete volume, for had it been complete, even though Ma Yuan had not cultivated it to minor success, it would still have been more than enough to kill Chu Lan.
"The power of the Heaven and Earth Single Sword Slash is formidable, but unfortunately it is not suitable for cultivation right now."
Although Chu Lan desperately wanted to cultivate this sword technique, he had not forgotten the backlash Ma Yuan suffered after executing it.
Even as an incomplete volume, the Heaven and Earth Single Sword Slash was simply not something Chu Lan could practice at his current stage.
At the very least, it would not be too late to cultivate it after he stepped into the Vein Spirit Realm.
After putting the martial arts manual into the Divine Desolation Pagoda, Chu Lan inspected the flawed spirit sword in his hand.
"Though this spirit sword is flawed, it can at least be used for now."
Having tidied up his spoils of war, Chu Lan stored Ma Yuan's corpse inside the Divine Desolation Pagoda, using his flesh and blood as fertilizer to cultivate spiritual herbs.
As a Vein Spirit Realm martial artist, Ma Yuan's flesh and blood quickly took effect.
Many spiritual herbs received a massive boost, nourished by Ma Yuan's flesh and blood.
Afterward, Chu Lan emerged from the Divine Desolation Pagoda and headed in the direction of Luoyang City.
Along the way, Chu Lan did not encounter any other members of the Chu Family.
One could only say that running into Ma Yuan had been purely coincidental.
Before long, Chu Lan arrived at the Qingyun Market.
He had only one purpose in coming to the Qingyun Market: to sell spiritual herbs, and to purchase martial arts manuals and medicinal pills.
The moment Chu Lan stepped into the Qingyun Market, a shop assistant caught sight of him, and his eyes instantly lit up.
"Sir, we've finally been waiting for you!"
The assistant stepped forward, his attitude exceptionally enthusiastic.
Chu Lan was momentarily stunned, only to hear the assistant continue speaking, "Miss Bai has been waiting for you for many days."
"She instructed me that if I saw you return, I should have you go up to the second-floor private room to find her."
Chu Lan understood; it was Bai Lingyi, who had purchased his few acres of Yunxiang Grass last time.
He wondered what business she had with him.
Without asking too many questions, Chu Lan simply had the assistant lead him up to the second-floor private room.
The assistant knocked on the door of the private room and said respectfully, "Miss Bai, that gentleman has arrived!"
Soon, Bai Lingyi's joyful voice came from inside the room, "Quickly invite him in!"
The assistant pushed the door open and made a gesture welcoming Chu Lan to enter.
Bai Lingyi stepped forward and asked, "Fellow Daoist, I wonder if you still have any of the Yunxiang Grass you sold last time?"
"If you do, please sell all of it to me!"
"Name your price!"
A few days ago, Bai Lingyi had returned to the Bai Family carrying the Yunxiang Grass she had purchased from Chu Lan.
To her surprise, these stalks of Yunxiang Grass had effectively suppressed her grandfather's illness.
Their effects were even greater than those of ordinary Yunxiang Grass.
This gave everyone in the Bai Family a glimmer of hope.
Consequently, Bai Lingyi was determined to acquire more of this high-quality Yunxiang Grass at any cost.
"I don't have any Yunxiang Grass on hand right now."
Chu Lan shook his head and said.
A look of disappointment flashed in Bai Lingyi's eyes, but then she heard Chu Lan say, "However, if you give me a day, high-quality Yunxiang Grass will be available very soon!"
"Really?"
Bai Lingyi was overjoyed and said quite generously, "If Fellow Daoist can provide it, the Bai Family is willing to acquire it at a price of four taels per stalk!"
Four taels per stalk!
Chu Lan was very surprised.
Clearly, Yunxiang Grass was not some rare, peerless spiritual herb, yet the Bai Family was willing to pay such a high price to acquire it.
Could there be something special about this Yunxiang Grass?
Should he decline this transaction for now and study the Yunxiang Grass first?
Seeing the contemplative look on Chu Lan's face, Bai Lingyi raised an eyebrow and explained, "Fellow Daoist, this Yunxiang Grass is extremely important to my Bai Family."
"My grandfather has contracted a very special illness, and we can only rely on Yunxiang Grass to temporarily suppress his condition."
Bai Lingyi's explanation made things clear to Chu Lan, though he still intended to keep a stalk of Yunxiang Grass for his own research when the time came.
What people said could be believed, but one should always maintain a degree of skepticism.
"Alright, I will bring the Yunxiang Grass tomorrow evening."
With that said, Chu Lan looked at the assistant and asked, "Additionally, I have other spiritual herbs here. I wonder if your Qingyun Market wants to buy them?"
Upon hearing this, the assistant nodded repeatedly, "We do, we do."
Even if the Qingyun Market didn't buy them, just based on the connection Chu Lan had established with Bai Lingyi, the assistant would still claim they bought them.
Chu Lan casually retrieved several kinds of spiritual herbs from the Divine Desolation Pagoda and handed them to the assistant, saying, "Have a look at these spiritual herbs first and see what price your market offers."
Upon seeing the spiritual herbs Chu Lan produced, the assistant was instantly dumbfounded.
"This is Heavenly Fragrance Smoke... and Heavenly Cold Root, Hundred-Fragrance Grass..."
The sheer variety of dazzling spiritual herbs left the assistant completely stunned.
Although these spiritual herbs could not be considered peerless, their quality was exceptionally high.
The Qingyun Market currently stocked these very herbs, but compared to the ones in Chu Lan's hands, their quality fell far too short.
It was simply a difference as vast as heaven and earth.
If they acquired these, when Grandmaster Qingyun returned from Biyao City and saw them, he would definitely shower him with immense praise.
"Fellow Daoist, how many such spiritual herbs do you have in your possession?"
Bai Lingyi was also captivated by the quality of these spiritual herbs.
If their Bai Family could obtain such high-quality spiritual herbs and find an alchemist to refine them into medicinal pills, it would provide the Bai Family with a substantial amount of resources.
Hearing that Bai Lingyi wanted them, the assistant instantly wore a look of utter dejection.
Sigh, it seemed he could only hand them over to others.
Even if Grandmaster Qingyun were here, he would definitely tell him not to compete with Bai Lingyi.
After all, the relationship between the Bai Family and Grandmaster Qingyun was extraordinary.
Otherwise, Grandmaster Qingyun would not have left the Qingyun Market unattended just to help sustain the life of the elder of the Bai Family.
Later on, Chu Lan sold half of the spiritual herbs from the Divine Desolation Pagoda.
He intended to temporarily keep the remaining half to supply the Spirit-Gathering Array so it could recover its spiritual energy.
Among the half he sold, some were quite expensive while others were lower in price, accumulating a total of seventy thousand taels.
Seventy thousand taels, coupled with the nine thousand one hundred taels Chu Lan already possessed, should be more than enough to buy a martial arts manual.
After that, he would use the rest to hire an alchemist from the Qingyun Market to help him refine the Crimson Scorching Fruit into Pulse-Opening Pills.
Hearing Chu Lan's request, Bai Lingyi, who stood nearby, asked, "Fellow Daoist, do you have any specific requirements for the martial arts manual?"
"Fist techniques and palm techniques are both fine, though a sword technique would naturally be best."
A sword technique?
Bai Lingyi nodded, and immediately produced a book from her storage ring.
"Fellow Daoist, I happen to have a Mysterious Grade sword technique manual here. Have a look and see how you like it."