Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 527: 527

Feng Jun’s message wasn’t fake, it actually came from a letter sent anonymously a long time ago, which he had initially intended to burn. Little did he expect that the message was written on Fire Silkworm Silk and only revealed itself when it resisted the flames.

However, the message wasn’t entirely true either, at least the words “Evil Cultivation Techniques” were fabricated by him.

But he had no choice but to make them up, why would a disciple of the prestigious Wuyou Platform serve as his muscle?

As for whether or not the “Evil Cultivation Techniques” could be found, in reality, that wasn’t important. Did Merrick find weapons of mass destruction in Babylon? They did not, but so what?

Pan Renjie, who excelled in “freely shifting,” couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows upon hearing this. However, his brow furrowed soon after, “Wonderful Hand Pavilion… dealing with this organization might be troublesome, it’s best to have a legitimate reason for the confrontation.”

Just as expected! Feng Jun understood, if Wonderful Hand Pavilion could be so arrogant, they must indeed have some backing, and who knows what Hundred Flowers Tower relied on to be even more rampant than Wonderful Hand Pavilion.

...

The “Supreme Dragon Phoenix Technique” that he held in his hand was said to be the spoils of war that disappeared from the public eye after the annihilation of Hundred Flowers Tower.

However, Feng Jun didn’t really need to specifically find a reason to deal with Wonderful Hand Pavilion, “They have been troubling me time and again, isn’t that reason enough?”

“Of course, it’s enough,” replied Craftman Pan, shifting immediately into Elder Brother Pan’s persona. In reality, he wasn’t afraid of Wonderful Hand Pavilion––what mattered to him was whether he had an appropriate justification to make a move, “To dare lay a hand on fellow Daoist Feng, they cannot be spared.”

He didn’t even ask for Feng Jun’s opinion in detail––since you’ve said so, that’s enough.

Feng Jun wasn’t surprised by his reaction, and then he asked, “Just the two of us going?”

Elder Brother Pan blinked in puzzlement, looking at him, “Aren’t the two of us enough? What do you mean…?”

“I am not sure how Wuyou Platform distributes the spoils of war,” Feng Jun spread his hands, “All three of you came out together, so if there are spoils of war, how would they be divided?”

If there were spoils of war, they would naturally be divided between the two of us, was Elder Brother Pan’s initial thought: You sought me out precisely because of my high combat strength, right?

Whoever exerts the effort reaps the benefits––this logic was normal throughout the Cultivation World.

However, he quickly realized something: Feng Jun had previously formed a connection with Yu Changqing, and the reserve disciple who looked for someone to purchase a Storage Talisman had gone through the channels of Shangguan Yunjin.

His, Pan’s presence in Mount Zhige, was partly to escort Shangguan Yunjin, but more importantly, his master believed that he might find some fortuitous opportunities here.

So, from a certain perspective, he could be considered to have benefitted from Shangguan Yunjin’s radiance.

Recalling the sincere bond of the Deng Family Brothers, Pan Renjie decided to promptly apply what he had learned. Thus, he spoke solemnly, “The mere Wonderful Hand Pavilion, how much spoils could there be? Whatever fellow Daoist Feng envisages, just say it outright.”

“I think… Elder Brother Pan should protect Shangguan and Wang fellow Daoists,” Feng Jun said with a smile. “Their cultivation levels are somewhat lower and they really should be tempered. What do you think about this, Elder Brother Pan?”

Actually, what Feng Jun said made perfect sense, and even their master would likely agree if he heard it.

Pan Renjie nodded straightforwardly, “What fellow Daoist Feng says is very true. I believe, just asking Shangguan Yunjin to join us would suffice, as for Wang Botai… he is so engrossed in Artifact Crafting that I’m worried he wouldn’t be willing to go.”

Whether there was a hidden agenda behind his words was unclear, but Wang Botai… was indeed that kind of tech otaku.

“Then let him be,” Feng Jun was also well aware of this, and to be honest, among the three disciples of Wuyou Platform, the one he was the least opposed to was Wang Botai. This man had the potential to become the Mou Miao of the Earth Plane, and might bring tremendous assistance to Feng Jun.

Moreover… a tech otaku, as long as they have technology to research, probably would not be interested in venturing into Mount Zhige to dig around.

As soon as Shangguan Yunjin heard that they were inviting her to seek trouble with Wonderful Hand Pavilion’s Eastern Sub-rudder, she agreed without a moment’s hesitation. Although she was at Qi Refining Fifth Layer, she had never really been so brazen in creating disputes like this.

If it were to find a common person’s fault, her interest wouldn’t be too high, but Wonderful Hand Pavilion… seemed like a fine target.

Of course, the key thing was that she was currently waiting for her master’s reply letter and couldn’t do much else; joining Feng fellow Daoist on a quest would at least give her a chance to ask for more advice.

The three of them set out without delay; Feng Jun left all the matters of his clan in the hands of Lang Zhen and Mi Yunshan, and gave them a clever trick: for internal affairs, the two of you can discuss and handle it, if the external pressure is too great, just directly invite Wang Botai to take charge.

In reality, compared to Luohua Manor on the Earth Plane, Mount Zhige as a base was really of little significance to him––as Lang Zhen said, there were jade deposits in many places.

As for the concealed and forming Spirit Stones here, it was indeed a precious resource; however, Feng Jun thought that if he, as the owner, didn’t dare to openly mine it, then as an outsider, nothing should prevent him from mining it quietly.

So when he left, there was nothing to worry about, but what he cared more about was the safety of the people who followed him.

The Wonderful Hand Pavilion’s Eastern Sub-rudder was not in Fushan County but in Qingdai County to the east of Fushan; here, there was only a branch rudder and not even a resident Innate Expert.

Mount Zhige was situated almost two thousand miles from Qingdai County.

The three discussed and unanimously agreed that riding horses was the most suitable way to travel. In truth, a farm cart would be more convenient along the official road, but such a vehicle, anywhere it went, would become a focal point for others’ attention, making it difficult for them to conceal their tracks.

Riding horses in the middle of summer was indeed a tedious task, and the optimal strategy would be to rest during the day and travel at night.

However, all three were Cultivators, and if they really wanted to hurry on their way, what would this heat amount to? They could even keep the horses away from the effects of the weather while sprinting along.

With spiritual energy sustaining their horses, the three travelers covered two thousand li in just three days, arriving within Qingdai County.

The Eastern Sub-rudder of the Wonderful Hand Pavilion was located in Caozhou Prefecture, but its exact location was a mystery, hence the three of them went straight to Yunzhou, the city of the prefecture.

Inside Yunzhou City, there was a clan surnamed Hu, headed by Hu Yuandao, a High-Rank Martial Master in terms of his cultivation level. This man had once received help from Chen Junsheng, so when Feng Jun came this time, the Chen Family had introduced him as someone with considerable local influence.

The Chen Family indeed knew other people, but how should I put it? Feng Jun aimed to challenge the Wonderful Hand Pavilion, and finding too influential a family to help might not be the best course of action—who knew if they had any connections with the Pavilion?

Therefore, finding the most suitable person was the most correct choice.

In fact, if the Chen Family had not cooperated with Feng Jun to cheat a member of the Royal Family and Chen Junsheng had not piggybacked on the spiritual energy to cultivate, Feng Jun might not have bothered asking them about the Pavilion.

The Hu Residence was easy to inquire about, located right on the main street of the Yunzhou City Lord’s area, with a yard of nearly a hundred acres and very imposing architecture, closed tight with vermilion gates.

Feng Jun led his horse up to the gates and raised his hand to knock.

A side door next to the main gate opened and a man in his forties stuck his head out.

He wore an unhappy expression—was the grand gate of the Hu Residence something that just anyone could call upon?

However, upon seeing the attire of the three visitors, he quickly deduced their identities—firmly people of the martial world.

After a moment of surprise, he spoke in a muffled, gruff voice, “This is the Hu Residence, may I ask who the three of you are looking for?”

Feng Jun replied in a deep voice, “May I ask if Hu Yuandao is at home?”

“What?” The gatekeeper frowned, his eyes suddenly sharp as he sized up Feng Jun, “And who might you be?”

Feng Jun didn’t stoop to argue, “Tell him I bring news from a friend in Han Mountain.”

In fact, if he had revealed his identity as a cultivator, the man would have certainly knelt down, but they were aiming for secrecy, weren’t they?

The gatekeeper, although not understanding what a “friend from Han Mountain” meant, still responded earnestly, “The old family head has passed away… Would you like to meet someone else?”

Feng Jun paused for a moment before replying, “May I ask if the third son is present?”

According to Chen Junsheng, Hu Yuandao had seven or eight sons, and when he last saw Hu Yuandao, the third son was with him.

“The third master has also passed away,” the gatekeeper’s eyes showed a trace of sorrow, “the sixth master is now in charge of the family.”

This was it… Feng Jun’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, “What happened to the Hu Family… Why have so many passed away?”

“Who knows?” The gatekeeper said flatly, “Should I inform the sixth master for you?”

Feng Jun waved his hand, “Go ahead.”

After a short while, the gatekeeper returned in a hurry and spoke gravely, “The sixth master has not heard of any friend from Han Mountain, may I know if you have a name card?”

“Then forget about it,” Feng Jun shook his head, leading his horse away.

He had already sensed that the Hu Family must have encountered some trouble, but this was Chen Junsheng’s friend, not related to him. He neither had the inclination to forcefully intercede on behalf of others nor much curiosity.

Shangguan Yunjin pursed her lips, “It’s just because Divine Doctor is easygoing. If it were me, I would have just barged in.”

“Rash actions are inappropriate; we need to keep a low profile…” Elder Brother Pan chided her before turning to Feng Jun, “My friend Feng, it’s getting late. Shall we stay in the city or outside?”

To stay in the city would mean finding an inn, which required registering their identities.

Feng Jun thought for a moment, “Let’s stay outside the city; it’s more convenient to apply our methods that way.”

He had observed that outside Yunzhou City, there were some shanty areas, although not as extensive as Xiyin City, still inhabited by at least twenty to thirty thousand people.

The three of them walked and talked, abstaining from riding their horses within the city, for although they were cultivators, when moving through the mortal world, they needed to adhere to basic rules.

Within the Hu Family estate, someone on a small building quietly watched them leave.

However, this person’s gaze held no malice and did not alarm the perceptions of the three cultivators.

Shangguan Yunjin also wished to leave the city because once outside, she could act without any restraint.

Pan Renjie didn’t state his opinion; he found that simply following along and observing his junior sister’s reactions was quite enjoyable.

After leaving the city, it was around five o’clock in the afternoon when the trio reached the edge of a small grove, near which was a modest grass hut with a large “Tea” sign.