Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 445: Chapter 445 Carry the Weight

Generally speaking, cultivators in the process of breaking away from the mortal coil and during the QI Refinement Realm do not possess the ability to hover in mid-air.

It is only in the Detachment Stage that one can hover briefly, and for sustained flight, one needs to be in the Golden Core Stage.

This person was extremely adept at concealing his aura, under normal circumstances, Feng Jun would not have been able to detect him.

However, due to the rain today, he couldn’t help but conjure a thin Aura Shield — not because he feared the rain but because he didn’t want to get wet.

Feng Jun was quite sensitive to spiritual energy, and he was very familiar with this area. Because of the rain, he had to extend his sensory abilities a bit further, and the sound of rain hitting leaves or the ground was subtly different from when it hit an Aura Shield.

So, he sensed that something was amiss nearby. Thus, while helping Mi Yunshan remove her shoes and socks, he surreptitiously surveyed his surroundings.

“Nearby people” did not appear, so they must be beyond sixty meters, but using night vision goggles made it very clear.

Once he had determined the direction, he could pretty much ascertain that the other party was a cultivator, and so he called out to expose him.

But the figure glided over like a ghost, even hanging in mid-air. Feng Jun was startled, and a chill ran through his heart: My goodness, could it actually be…actually be the Detachment Stage?

Has the author changed or what? I’m at the initial stage of Qi Refinement, and you’re pitting me against someone in the Detachment Stage, are you trying to end this book?

He was very certain that the other party was not a Qi Refinement stage cultivator who had achieved martial enlightenment.

He forced himself to stay calm, raised his hand in greeting, and spoke in a deep voice, “Fellow Taoist, what brings you here secretly in the dead of night?”

“Hehe,” the shadow chuckled lightly, slowly descending to the ground before speaking with interest, “You call me a fellow Taoist… Didn’t your elders tell you how to properly address your superiors?”

“Fellow Taoist” is a general term. Someone at the Qi Refinement stage should be addressing someone in the Detachment stage as their senior. Yu Changqing’s relationship with Feng Jun was pretty good, but most of the time, she, too, addressed him as a senior.

Yet Feng Jun just scoffed, “Sneaking around in the dark, I’m being hospitable by even calling you a fellow Taoist.”

“Impudent youngster,” the shadow snorted coldly, suddenly unleashing an aura of pressure.

Generally, a cultivator at the initial stage of Qi Refinement would have no way to withstand the pressure of someone in the Detachment Stage.

However, Feng Jun stood his ground, enduring the pressure.

As for the reason, it was quite simple.

Endure for a while then exit, rest for a moment, then open the mobile phone and enter; repeat the endurance, exit, rest, and reenter using the phone…

In the end, he even reached out nonchalantly, fetched a cigarette, lit it with a flick, and casually asked, “Are we done?”

“Huh?” The shadow was truly surprised, suddenly producing an Array Plate, tapping it a few times, and then looking thoughtfully at Feng Jun, “Third Level of Qi Refinement… that should be correct, the information from Wuyou Platform is wrong.”

The people from Wuyou Platform had always treated Feng Jun as if he were a cultivator in the Detachment Stage, whereas the Inspector believed he was at the Third Level of Qi Refinement.

Feng Jun smiled, “Let’s not talk about whether the information is correct or not, first tell me, what is it that brings you here, fellow Taoist?”

While talking, he produced an LED light with no power source and tossed it to the side, instantly brightening up the mountainside.

But even with the illumination, it was of little use. The face of the Detachment Stage Cultivator was austere, clearly not his real visage.

He didn’t care about the light, but instead looked thoughtfully at Feng Jun, “You don’t seem to be too afraid of me?”

“Afraid? Of course, I’m afraid,” Feng Jun replied with a smile, “Who wouldn’t fear a mighty cultivator of the Detachment Stage?”

“I don’t see any fear in you,” the Detachment Stage figure spoke gravely, “I’m curious, though, who is backing you up?”

“There’s no one backing me up,” Feng Jun answered openly, “Whatever you wish to do, please feel free.”

The Detachment Stage figure wasn’t afraid of this third-level Qi Refinement Realm neophyte. What he feared was the force behind him. Hearing such a naive response, he inwardly rejoiced: I’ve given you a chance. If you don’t reveal your backing now, you can’t blame me later.

He didn’t expect that Feng Jun really didn’t have any backing; he did want to falsely claim one, but the consequences might be even worse.

The Detachment Stage said with a slight smile, “Since that’s the case, I’ll speak plainly… I’m here to acquire the technique for sound transmission.”

Feng Jun suddenly realized, “So, you are from Pine Cypress Peak.”

The last time the Inspector came, the only Qi Refinement third-level cultivator was from Pine Cypress Peak; it seemed his surname was Guo.

“Where I come from is none of your concern,” The Detachment Stage replied haughtily, “I’ve already brought the Essence Blood Talisman Technique from the Fu Family… Isn’t this what you wanted to exchange for?”

Me, a Qi Refinement cultivator… Can I even trade with you, someone of the Detachment Stage? Feng Jun’s expression darkened, “Where is Guo Daoist friend?”

The Detachment Stage sneered, “Do you think I’m not worthy to trade with you?”

As he probed more and more of the other’s limits, he became increasingly brazen.

“It’s not about being worthy or not,” Feng Jun was not intimidated and argued on principle, “I’ve already said that the Essence Blood Talisman Technique is not enough to exchange for my Dharma, and furthermore, it’s a technique from within my own family, I don’t want any of those with dubious origins.”

In the drizzling rain, the LED light bulb radiated its stubborn glow amidst the mud, just as persistent as he was.

Yet, in the vast rainy night, the light from the battery-less LED was too faint, much like his current predicament.

In front of those who had reached the Detachment Stage of cultivation, even the High Tier of the Qi Refinement Realm was unimpressive, let alone the Initial Stage.

There was a vicious laugh, “I’m afraid you don’t have a say in this, for I want to swap for the method to your Spirit Gathering Array.”

The truth was, he had come here because of that Inspector from the Guo Family.

The Guo Family, on Pine Cypress Peak, was a minor clan. Their glory days were when they had three cultivators who’d reached the Detachment Stage, and now there wasn’t a single one left in the clan, which was at risk of being expelled from the Cultivation World.

The Detachment Stage Yu Meiren from Guanquan Valley faced the same precarious situation for his clan, which would struggle to survive in Guanquan Valley if no more cultivators reached the Detachment Stage.

Pine Cypress Peak was under the influence of the Yan Family; even if a clan was insignificant, as long as it had made contributions in the past, the Yan Family wouldn’t relinquish it easily. Now the Guo Family was lacking even a Detachment Stage cultivator, yet they still managed to cling on desperately.

But it was different for Guanquan Valley. Any family without a cultivator who had reached the Detachment Stage had better leave early.

Yu Meiren and Guo Lianqi were alike, with both their families facing vital moments for their survival, and they had long formed an alliance for warmth.

Driven by intuition, Guo Lianqi knew he couldn’t overcome Feng Jun, but he didn’t want to let such a juicy piece of meat fall into others’ hands.

Thus, he informed the Yu Family that there seemed to be an opportunity here, leading Yu Family’s sole Detachment Stage cultivator, Yu Meiren, to appear in this place.

Yu Meiren was relatively cautious in his actions. Now, the Yu Family really couldn’t afford any losses. After arriving in Zhige County, he didn’t act rashly but observed the situation first.

Therefore, he noticed that in the past few days, a Spirit Gathering Array had appeared at Mount Zhige every night.

In the Mortal Realm, the appearance of a Spirit Gathering Array wasn’t a big deal. Cultivators rarely appeared in the mortal world, but that didn’t mean they never appeared. Even Yu Changqing, a cultivator in the Transcending Mortality Stage, could use a Gathering Spirit Array Plate. Once the Inspector confirmed her identity, it was all settled. @@novelbin@@

However, Yu Meiren, through observation, discovered that Feng Jun had actually set up a Spirit Gathering Formation, rather than simply using an Array Plate.

This discovery set his heart racing: A Spirit Gathering Array that could be used in the Mortal Realm!

The Yu Family did have a Spirit Gathering Array, but no one was proficient in it; they could only use it, and as time went on, someone would have to be found to repair it.

Currently, the family’s circumstances were not very good, and only three Spirit Gathering Arrays remained—two for the Qi Refinement Realm and one for the Detachment Stage.

Having some understanding of the Spirit Gathering Array, Yu Meiren was extremely surprised—the materials used by Feng Jun seemed to be obtainable within the Mortal Realm, without the need for any materials that only exist in the Cultivation World.

Of course, Spirit Stones were the exception.

This was a simplified version of a Spirit Gathering Array. He had analyzed it, but no matter how simplified, it was still a Spirit Gathering Array!

For instance, his Yu Family would have a demand for such an array. If they could acquire the method to this array, the Yu Family could also sell it to others.

There were plenty of down-and-out small clans in the Cultivation World. Regardless of how much the Yu Family had fallen, they still had him, a cultivator who had reached the Detachment Stage. Guo Family, with whom he had made connections, had a highest cultivation level of just the High Tier of Qi Refinement.

This discovery was incredibly exciting for him, which was why, at first, he didn’t approach the man and woman, lest they notice him.

After Feng Jun left, Yu Meiren moved silently to the scene and began to scrutinize the Spirit Gathering Array meticulously.

It must be pointed out that when Feng Jun set up the Spirit Gathering Array, he gave thorough consideration to the possibility of exposure. As such, he disguised some materials very well, and every time he left, he would take one or two pieces of material with him.

If someone were to steal, they wouldn’t be able to take the complete array, not to mention that if there was the slightest deviation in the array, it wouldn’t activate—exploding incidents are only a mark of near-success.

Thus, no matter how Yu Meiren inspected, he couldn’t discern the intricacies of the Spirit Gathering Array. He even discovered that he couldn’t find the array’s patterns!

He did see some formation materials, like Dark Iron and such… but could these really activate the formation?

Yu Meiren believed that Feng Jun might have taken some things with him, so he also took out a Spirit Stone to try and activate the array.

Indeed, he wasn’t worried about being discovered by the other party while activating the array, as a senior cultivator, to inadvertently find something that seemed like an unclaimed formation in the mountains and test it out a bit was not too much, right?

As expected, his test was not successful.

This only reinforced his determination to acquire the formation method. With this miraculous technique, the resurgence of the Yu Family would have a solid foundation.

Ironically, he hadn’t considered that such a formation could be learned by anyone and was not enough to support his “selling to others” assumption. He believed that Feng Jun must have taken the core technology with him.

However, something that could be carried around couldn’t be too profound.

Yu Meiren initially came only to obtain the method of long-distance communication, and he even prepared himself mentally to trade fairly if the other party turned out to be a powerful cultivator.

If the other party was weak and without any backing, a bit of strong-arming to take some advantage seemed appropriate to him.

However, upon discovering the secret of the Spirit Gathering Array, he could no longer suppress his greed.