Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 551: Chapter 551 Too Few Spirit Stones

As Shangguan Yunjin made his way to the small courtyard, he encountered the Mi Family’s convoy, which was pulling five Boiler Camel Motorcycles out of the area.

Recognizing the Immortal, the Mi Family took the initiative to stop and make way, and conveniently, someone in the team had a walkie-talkie and notified Lang Zhen.

When Shangguan Yunjin arrived at Feng Jun’s small courtyard, his first thought was: there are fewer people chiseling stone.

During this period, the Jade chiseled out was enough to construct a small Jade building for Feng Jun, so he reduced the processing of Jade. After all, if one wished to sell Jade, it was still better to have individual moldings.

If it were all neat jade bricks, Feng Jun believed not only would it lower the quality of the Jade, but it would also likely lead to speculation in many people’s minds: Could Jade also be produced industrially?

Fortunately, during this time, because he could not provide new Array Plates, Elder Yan rarely entered his territory, so he had plenty of time to excavate Spirit Stones in the mountains.

While excavating Spirit Stones, he also carved out several stone platforms, planning to use them for advancing in rank directly on Mount Zhige should it become inconvenient to do so elsewhere.

He had long understood the saying about the wise rabbit having three burrows and didn’t need anyone to remind him.

The month’s efforts were not wasted; he unearthed nearly three hundred mid-condensation Spirit Stones.

However, if he used an intermediate-level Spirit Gathering Array from the Dustless series, he still had too few Spirit Stones.

If he could analyze this Spirit Gathering Array, he would not mention the cost of Formation Materials; just the driving Spirit Stones alone would require nine.

If he wanted to use this Spirit Gathering Array to form the Heaven-Swallowing Formation, that would be twenty-seven multiplied by nine, a total of two hundred and forty-three stones.

And Feng Jun only had a total of three hundred forty-eight mid-condensation Spirit Stones, which was just enough for one extravagant use.

The pressure was indeed considerable, his sense of crisis was very strong.

As for lending the Gathering Spirit Array Plate to Elder Yan while also exposing the dangers of analyzing the Spirit Gathering Array, that was just a ploy to keep Elder Yan busy and buy himself some time to dig for Spirit Stones.

In fact, he had a rather tough time this month, tirelessly mining Spirit Stones day and night and simultaneously analyzing two Array Plates—the intermediate-level Spirit Gathering Array and the Spirit Restoration Array from the Dustless series.

It should be said that analyzing Array Plates seemed simple, but in reality, it was not; the intermediate-level Spirit Gathering Array from the Dustless series was particularly difficult to analyze, draining battery life rapidly and intensely taxing to observe; it was truly very complex.

If the difficulty of analyzing the previous Array Plate was a ten, then the current one he was working on was probably around a hundred twenty or thirty. He had to charge his mobile phone five times to successfully analyze it and memorize the pattern.

The analysis was difficult, the observation was demanding, and the construction was complex; the variety of materials required did not increase much, but the quantities needed significantly did—for example, the required dark iron had increased eightfold.

The most challenging part was that this time there were materials that could not be purchased in the Mortal Realm—Essence of Ink Gold and Profound Bird Tail Feathers.

Ink Gold could still be occasionally found in the Mortal Realm, though much rarer than dark iron. Essence of Ink Gold was a strictly controlled item.

Fortunately, in the Formation, the quantity needed was not too large—roughly one or two taels, in the form of a thin gold leaf.

Ink Gold was also not cheap in the Cultivation World; buying in small amounts, one tael would cost about one Spirit Stone.

The Profound Bird was only a Spirit Beast, but its tail feathers were commonly recognized in the Cultivation World as materials for Artifact Refining and Formations. A Profound Bird had nine tail feathers, and the Cultivation World offered rewards valued at five or six Spirit Stones for these feathers from the Mortal Realm.

Feng Jun roughly estimated that if he wanted to set up this Formation, it would probably not be possible without a month’s time.

The Hidden Formation, on the other hand, was fairly simple; the materials used were many, thirty-one types, but each in small quantities and quite orderly when laid out.

He had already entrusted the Yu Family and Mi Family to purchase the required materials for him; in the past few days, he had already gathered materials for about ten Hidden Formations, and acquired a significant part of the materials needed for the intermediate-level Spirit Gathering Array from the Dustless series.

As for the Essence of Ink Gold and Profound Bird Tail Feathers, he planned to ask the Wuyou Platform to purchase them on his behalf.

He was practicing the Falling Thunder Technique in the mountains when he heard that Shangguan Yunjin and Pan Renjie would come, so he headed straight for the small courtyard at Wuyou Platform.

If he didn’t deliberately conceal his identity as an Innate Expert, he could travel quite quickly.

After arriving at the courtyard, he first received the Formation Materials sent by Shangguan Yunjin, and then he had to face a new Array Plate.

Elder Yan took out five Array Plates for him to observe—the remaining three, he was in no hurry to reveal.

Feng Jun was delighted at a glance; three of the five Array Plates were ones he wanted.

One Array Plate was a Spirit Plant Formation, and the other two were Illusion Arrays. He didn’t get the defensive formation he wanted most, but… the Illusion Array was not bad either.

He was pondering how to deceive the Formation back to analyze when he heard someone outside shouting loudly, “May I ask if this is the residence of Fellow Daoist Feng? Could I speak with him in person?”

Feng Jun emerged upon hearing the call, but before he could speak, Pan Renjie behind him furrowed his brows, speaking impatiently, “Fellow Daoist, shouting loudly at someone else’s doorstep, what kind of behavior is this?”

The one who had spoken was one of the two cultivators from the Tiantong Commerce Alliance they had encountered earlier, a young man at the Third Level of Qi Refinement.

The young man smiled and clasped his fists in greeting, “I hope Brother will forgive me, I’ve been waiting for many days and seeing Feng Daoist rarely coming out, I couldn’t help but greet him.”

Upon hearing this, a strange expression crossed Feng Jun’s face, but Wang Botai cleared his throat and spoke softly, “Feng Daoist has been in seclusion, and we have been discouraging you from disturbing him… Didn’t you see Elder Yan is also within the residence?”

So it was that when the people from the Tiantong Commerce Alliance came looking for Feng Jun and encountered the cultivators from Wuyou Platform, they directly inquired, and upon learning they were from Tiantong, Elder Yan promptly told them that Feng Daoist was in seclusion and not receiving guests.

Indeed, the reason people from Tiantong were building houses outside was purely because they had been blocked by Wuyou Platform, and these two disciples didn’t dare to contend with their superiors. Hearing that Feng Daoist didn’t appreciate others building on his cultivation land, they had no choice but to go with the flow and relocate their construction to the side.

Most cultivators possess a strong sense of territoriality, which is not surprising, but these two disciples harbored resentment toward Wuyou Platform’s interference, deliberately building their houses a bit larger—doubting that Wuyou Platform would make a fuss over it.

This demonstrated that while the prestige of a superior is certainly important, those who had the backing of the Tiantong Commerce Alliance also felt somewhat fearless and self-reliant.

Feng Jun then realized why Elder Yan seemed uninterested in that large courtyard; it turned out he had stopped the other party from the beginning—with major matters already in hand, of course, the minor ones could be overlooked.

This was truly the confidence of a High-Rank Practitioner—what did it matter if the courtyard was small? With an Innate Expert present, even living in a thatched cottage, one could still look on indifferently at your grand mansions.

Feng Jun was grateful to Elder Yan for preventing outsiders from disturbing him; it was for this reason that he managed to spend plenty of time excavating Spirit Stones without worry of harassment, but he was also acutely aware that Elder Yan had his own motives.

Therefore, he would not dance to Elder Yan’s tune, stirring trouble with these two—Elder Yan, do as you wish, I won’t be confused and dragged into your scheme.

He nodded slightly, “Hmm, I am Feng Jun, what do you need from me?”

“We’ve come to see Feng Daoist,” both Qi Refining Disciples clasped their fists in greeting and spoke earnestly, “We are the protectors of the Tiantong Commerce Alliance, and have been ordered by our Shopkeeper to pay our respects to the superior.”

“Oh, the Tiantong Commerce Alliance,” Feng Jun nodded, he had heard a brief mention of it from Shangguan Yunjin, a not inconsiderable trading firm.

It surprised him that the protectors of the other party were Qi Refining Disciples, but that was merely a mild surprise, and so he responded casually, “Just paying respects? Is there nothing else?”

“Our Shopkeeper will be visiting soon,” the cultivator at the Third Level of Qi Refinement replied seriously, “We would like to discuss with you if you could come out to receive him when the time comes?”

This was utterly baffling. Feng Jun eyed him strangely, “Shouldn’t it be up to your Shopkeeper to visit? As the host, I’m not acquainted with him; why should I have to come out?”

The Qi Refining cultivator pointed at a boundary stone in the distance, saying emotionlessly, “Your cultivation site does not welcome the unwarranted entry of other cultivators.”

Feng Jun glanced at Elder Yan, somewhat deliberately, before shaking his head, “It’s not some cultivation site; it’s just a humble abode I found… I was in seclusion before, but now you can follow the rules and visit if you like.”

While he had some influence here, he wasn’t much stronger than a solitary individual. When he mentioned following rules and paying a visit, he was actually referring to the local customs as mainly established by the Tian Family members, with input from the Yu Family, Mi Family, and the like.

Being a Divine Doctor, everyone knew he was a cultivator. The hierarchy of this realm was not incredibly stringent, but the difference between immortals and mortals was as vast as that between heaven and earth—some form of order was necessary.

Feng Jun was clearly indicating that he refused to be led by the nose—I am not stopping the visits of other cultivators.

However, luckily, he covered for Elder Yan just a bit: I indeed have been in seclusion prior.

Elder Yan’s expression remained unchanged, but inside he was growing even more convinced of his judgment—how could someone so young with such strong opinions and stable actions possibly be from an insignificant family?

The next moment, Feng Jun remembered another factor, “Right, what is your Shopkeeper’s Cultivation Level?”

The Qi Refining cultivator paused noticeably, “That… how important is it, what Cultivation Level he has?”

“Innate Experts, uninvited, do not enter,” Feng Jun said with a smile, “This is my turf. If a high-profile figure arrives, I cannot receive them.”

These words were plainly nonsensical; anyone could infer that the phrase “uninvited, do not enter” should not be followed by “cannot receive high-profile figures.”

It was a tone of caution—if he really feared an Innate Expert, would he dare to speak like this?

The Qi Refining cultivator’s eyes darted, “Then, may we enter now?”

Feng Jun nodded, “You may enter, but… since it’s not you who wishes to visit, why don’t you wait and enter with your Shopkeeper?”

“I just wish to take in the local scenery,” said the Qi Refining cultivator with a smile and gesture of hands, “Today we have to supervise the construction; tomorrow, we definitely want to take a good look at Feng Daoist’s cultivation site.”

Feng Jun shot a sideways glance at Shangguan Yunjin, “You two can ask the brothers and sisters from Wuyou Platform to show you around.”

Elder Yan, I don’t want to be led by your rhythm, but I’ll still give you the chance to make contact with both houses.

Source: Webn𝘰vel.com, updated on Novg𝘰.co