"Are you done Yan!?"
Yan stepped out of a black sphere and tapped the will she left on its shoulder. The will looked like a silhouette and once tapped, it was sucked back into Yan's body.
"I'm done now, unless there's a powerful cultivator or artifact they shouldn't be able to detect my power."
Hamar nodded and looked out to the town, using his aura he strengthened his vision and zoomed in, "Shall we head off then...."
Yan nodded and made a gesture with her hand, causing all the evidence of their being there to disappear. Hamar turned and started walking towards the town, and as they did they blended in with others. They found a road to town and came to follow along a caravan.
"So, what are you two here for? Looking for work?"
Hamar looked towards Yan and seeing she had no answer smiled and said, "Ah, yeah. We're just travelling around for now, we'll stay in the coming town for a while."
"Travelling huh? We'll make sure ya have enough to pay for admission, ya don't wanna be put to work."
"H-how much is the admission?"
The carriage rider hooked his reigns onto the carriage and swivelled to turn to Hamar and Yan who were walking beside the cart. It was being carried by a large lizard with pink gel like tendrils coming of it's back. And in the cart, there were sacks of product which meant there was no room for Hamar or Yan to sit.
"Sorry for not having' room for ya again"
Hamar rubbed the back of his head, "It's no issue really,"
"Well as you asked, the admission is ten handfuls of crystal powder or eqivelent in full crystals." As he explained, the man pulled out a pouch, opening it and tilting it towards Hamar.
Inside, Hamar could see a pink powder, seemingly grounded by the man himself since it was uneven. There were larger shards, which Hamar could use to identify what the powder was. Those massive pink crystals, the very same he had used as material for his Sword Soul, 'So that's what the currency is...' Hamar realised the situation and as he did he gently touched the sword hanging on his waist.
'luckily this is covered by its sheathe.' Hamar breathed a sigh of relief as he had unknowingly turned his sword into the very crystal that seemed to be used as currency.
"I see, we should be good. Thank you, again we appreciate the help with directions."
The man slapped his knee, "there's no need to thank, any respectable man should help a young couple as yourselves. I remember when I was young...oh how me and Wan'er had travelled around."
"Your wife?"
"Yes...she passed away not long back. We used to love taking ol' lass here around and hunting for Crystal bugs..."
"My apologies, I didn't know she had passed, may she rest."
"May she rest indeed...But! No need to get all sappy, we should only need to travel another half-day now. How about camping with me?"
"We would love to wouldn't we...Yan?"
Yan smiled and leaned forward, "We would really appreciate it, thank you!"
Later than day, as the sun began to set and night approached...The man whipped the lizard and stopped to the side of the road. He popped out a tent from his carriage and set it up. Yan quickly pretended to take off a bag she had and take out a tent. While in actuality, as a cultivator she did not carry anything with her.
Instead as she fumbled in the bag she actually pulled out different laws and weaved them into material. From abstract laws into real fabric, real metal pieces made from seemingly nothing. Simply forming the materials and placing them together. Then she pulled it out and set it up normally, just creating one large one for herself and Hamar. As they were setting it up, the man with them walked around a perimeter and sprinkled something.
Outside the newly-created tent, "Reflection oh! May you protect us and reflect this who wish for harm!"
"Deflection oh! Return to sender and keep us from harm!"
...
Hamar and Yan looked each other into he eyes as they observed the ritual from inside the tent, looking out of slits in the fabric. The man chanted those words as he sprinkled more of that pink crystal powder. Then once he was finished he stuck a totem pole into the centre of the camp and then after that he continued normally.
"Is that...something normal?" Hamar carefully whispered into Yan's ears.
"No...surely not. He's just a mortal but whatever he had just done wasn't normal. It seems there might be something afoot."
"Yi Sect?"
"Not necessarily...it may be a rogue cultivator whose inheritance allowed even mortals to tap into his power...but it could be any number of things. This crystals..."
"The crystals?" Hamar again touched his sword which he had absorb the crystal.
"Everything seems to revolve around them. Currency, protection, even that pink gel on the lizard creature seemed related...pull it out, let me examine it briefly."
Hamar nodded and unsheathed his Sword Soul, pulling out the crystalline sword. He handed over to Yan carefully and just as he let go he thought for a moment and took it back.
"What's the matter?"
Hamar paused, "It's not an issue per se but allow me to try to break off a piece."
Yan furrowed her brows but ultimately allowed him to do as he wanted. Hamar snapped a piece of ass he thought about the issue he deduced, 'If there is some special property, my aura and Soul might interrupt that.'
Then he held the piece of crystal and squeezed for a moment before throwing it into the ground, "Let it regrow some"
"...okay..." Yan looked down credulously at the crystal as she thought about how Hamar had been acting.
Hamar saw her look and explained, "I just think the way I took the crystal might affect it, better to have a...raw sample, no?"
"No, no, that makes sense it's just...it's nothing, don't mind me. So, how long until I can take it?"
Hamar close his eyes and held his Sword Soul, using it as a conduit he felt the fragment of crystal in the ground. He could sense the aura was becoming weaker, while the crystal was growing. 'Its being replaced by new laws as it grows' The crystal's laws which were replaced perfectly with Hamar's aura laws had some special blueprint which replicated itself and grew. It absorbed ambient laws and replaced his own without continuous aura injection as before.
Hamar opened this eyes, "A few hours should be enough, let's head out now. We shouldn't be too suspicious even if the man seems nice..."
Yan nodded, "I'll set up a basic formation to protect the tent, you go ahead"