The next day, Ryan's house was bustling with activity as several people were hired to pack Old John's luggage.
Old John gathered his walking sticks, silk robes, and tobacco pipes that he had bought and collected from merchants and handed them over to the packers.
He then turned to Ryan, who was helping with the packing, and asked him sadly if he could change his mind and come with them to the capital immediately.
Ryan smiled wryly and said to his grandfather, "Grandfather, I'm not saying I won't come to the capital. I'm just sending you there and settling you with Uncle's family first since you haven't seen him in decades. I'll leave the village after taking care of the business here, as a lot of the village's livelihood depends on the wine I make."
"Once I find another solution to the problem, I'll leave the village and come visit you," Ryan assured his grandfather.
His grandfather, once again saddened by Ryan's refusal, stopped talking to him.
Ryan knew it was just his way of showing displeasure for not agreeing to his request, so he tried to make him happy by saying a few nice words.
As the entire entourage was packed, the guards and servants who had come with Drake gathered in front of his house.
Drake, who was on the sideline, saw the convoy arrive and went outside to check if they had brought the necessary items for their journey, as they had to travel for at least six months to reach the capital from here.
When they arrived, it only took them three months since they had simple horses to make traveling easier. They brought gold to buy spices from the towns and villages. Now, as he needed to take his grandfather slowly to the capital, he bought a large carriage that needed several horses to pull. This way, his grandfather could rest without damaging his body during the journey.
Several more guards were hired from nearby villages, eager to move to other towns and cities with their families.
Cooks and servants were also added to serve them during the journey, making the convoy consist of several carriages, 100 guards, and nearly 15 servants.
By noon, the convoy was ready to depart. Drake guided Old John into the largest carriage, flanked by his 30 personal guards.
When the village chief heard that Old John was heading to the capital to visit his son, he went to Ryan's house and saw Ryan, with a wry smile, sending the still-angry Old John into the carriage.
Upon learning that Ryan was not leaving the village immediately, the village chief sighed in relief, knowing that Ryan's departure could have permanently affected the village's growth.
After taking one last look at the village and its people, Old John boarded the carriage with tears in his eyes. He knew this might be his final farewell, as he was in the twilight of his years and might not return.
Old John then turned to Ryan, hugged him tightly, and asked him to visit while he was still alive, as he wanted to pass away with his family surrounding him.
Ryan joked that Old John would outlive the Banyan tree in the village to lighten the mood. He then helped his grandfather into the carriage with a sad expression, promising he would visit him in the capital.
Soon, the entire convoy formed a defensive barrier around the main carriage and began the journey.
Ryan watched them leave and decided to leave the village once he had settled everything. He wanted to explore the world and planned to return after gaining some experience, with the idea of creating a force that could serve as a communication medium between him and the outside world.
Soon, the convoy vanished from his view, and Ryan and the others who had come to see it off quietly returned to their homes.
Ryan quickly reached home, entered his room, and began meditating to calm his mind.
He then took out the elemental robe and elemental shield from his space bag for refinement.
Then, he began refining them with his spirit energy, which flowed through his body and into the robe. This left an imprint of his essence and enabled him to activate the various functions embedded in the garment.
It took a week for Ryan to master the usage of the items without any problems.
The Robe can adjust to the wearer's size and change forms according to the owner's wishes. It has an automatic cleaning function and can become hard enough to withstand an attack from a peak Qi refining realm when qi spirit energy is sent into it for activation during an attack. It also has various functions, such as body temperature regulation, keeping the body at a constant temperature regardless of the environment.
The elemental shield only functions to defend the user from spells and other attacks, unlike the Robe, which can protect from the attack but not the impact. The shield negates the impact while nullifying the entire attack.
After refining, the shield remains on the body and appears as a thin energy shield when activated. Both items can be maintained by spirit energy from the body, but Ryan found it inconvenient to constantly supply energy to them. So, he discovered a secret groove in the robe and shield to hold spirit stones for independent operation.
By simply triggering the switch near the spirit stone, the robe's function will activate.
Ryan then took the jade bracelet, confirmed its immortal origins, and began refining it into his item.
After refining it, he discovered that it could conceal his spirit energy levels within his body at will.
If Ryan wished, he could conceal that he was a cultivator and appear as an ordinary mortal to fellow cultivators.
The following week, the Village Chief visited Ryan's home and shared his plan to visit the nearby immortal gathering place, which is maintained by a foundation realm master who is a loose cultivator.
He mentioned that this term's testing of immortal seedlings would be conducted in the markets by the sect's staff. If any seedlings were found with spirit roots, the children would be taken back by the sect's staff after allowing them to visit their parents one last time.
Ryan thought for a moment and agreed, as he also wanted to contact the immortal towns. This time, with the chief showing the path, he could safely visit the town, gather information about such gathering places, and return to decide his travel plans.
Then, the chief informed them that they would travel to the town in a few days and asked them to get ready.
Ryan made his preparations in these few days by ordering a sharp sword from the blacksmith sword and sheath so he could protect himself.
Although Ryan didn't learn any sword techniques, it will at least give the attackers the wrong opinion that he is a swordsman, and then he will silently wait for the enemy loose down his guard and attack him with a spell when he was expecting him to attack with swords.
As Ryan prepared for his journey, the day finally arrived. He met the village chief and a few others who would guard the children during the trip at the village center, where a few carriages were waiting for them to board.
Ryan had already activated his robe and changed his robe into a leather armor, and he concealed his breath with the concealment jade on his left arm and a sword on his hips for self-defense and arrived at the scene as he decided to visit it as a mortal and get know about the cultivator's town.