Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 537: Chapter 537: The Treasure is Gone

Meng Zhanbo, despite being a disciple of the Four Great Sects, knew that Wutai, with its two peaks and a valley, could stand independent from the Four Great Sects for good reasons.

The status of the Four Great Sects was somewhat higher than these eight major powers, but only slightly so, not overwhelmingly so.

Meng Zhanbo’s initial arrogance followed by his subservience left Pan Renjie without anger—the Qinggang Sect was not the most troublesome of the Four Great Sects, but towards loose cultivators and smaller forces, they were the most arrogant, just as Shangguan Yunjin had described, “arrogant madmen.”

The Qinggang Sect focused on sword cultivation, emphasizing bravery and progression, “treat your enemies as fiercely and mercilessly as a Fierce Wind.”

Making such an opponent submit was enough for Pan Renjie to feel pride.

Moreover, the man had mentioned his father.

...

Pan Renjie indeed had over a hundred brothers and sisters, which to him was… a rather helpless matter. In fact, his father was quite proud of this, believing he had made a significant contribution to the continuation of the Pan Family.

Pan Renjie’s mother was a Female Attendant of his father’s legitimate wife, thus part of the main lineage, yet he ultimately decided to leave the Guanquan Valley and join the Wuyou Platform.

His talent was not as breathtaking as Zhang Caixin from the Earth Realm, but among his many siblings, he could rank within the top three, and he met Wuyou Platform’s requirements quite well. Coupled with the resources provided by his family, his advancement was astonishing.

He had mixed feelings about his father, admiring yet resenting him.

As his cultivation level improved, his mother’s status within the family also rose, but… after all, she was born a servant.

The key point was, throughout his growth, his father’s reputation had brought him quite a few conveniences.

Hearing Meng Zhanbo speak like this, he hesitated for a long time before finally snorting coldly, “Wuyou Platform will not wrongly accuse a good person.”

“But… why involve Wuyou Platform at all?” Meng Zhanbo spoke with a pained expression, “There’s a distinction between cultivators and mortals. I’ve already acknowledged Feng Jun’s actions, but there’s no insurmountable feud between Ye Tiannan and Feng Jun.”

Strictly speaking, this was indeed the case. Ye Tiannan wasn’t even aware that Feng Jun was a cultivator, and as a protector, he remained aloof, not bothering with such trivial matters.

So Pan Renjie could only turn his head towards Feng Jun, “Feng Daoist friend, Meng Daoist friend is willing to testify for you, what do you think?”

To be honest, Feng Jun had no intention of bothering Ye Tiannan that day. He had not even prepared a contingency plan. It was Pan Renjie and Shangguan Yunjin who wanted to take Ye Tiannan away for questioning.

Feng Jun could completely accept their reasoning, and he even sensed that this might involve some conflicts between the Four Great Sects and other forces—why should the Four Great Sects be the only active ones in the Cultivation World?

He could understand if the other party gave up. Pride was intrinsic to Feng Jun’s nature; he disliked relying on external forces, thinking: I originally had no intention to strive for this, nor the ability.

Although I greatly dislike this fellow, if I miss today… I will find him and talk myself, no need for your help.

Seeing that Pan Renjie seemed ready to back down, Feng Jun smiled slightly, “Previously, Ye Daoist friend accused me of murder and robbery. To tell you the truth, now I really do feel like doing just that. However, for Meng Daoist friend’s sake, let’s leave it at that for now… After today, let’s settle matters whenever we meet.”

Such words were a bit presumptuous, but if one could not speak one’s mind, then what was the point of cultivation?

Meng Zhanbo gave him a glance but remained silent, feeling indifferent: anyways, with Pan Jinxiang’s son here, say whatever you like.

Ye Tiannan also kept quiet. Although he was a cultivator, his prospects were shattered, and he had long lost that arrogance. He could still flaunt some authority over ordinary people, thinking today let you be arrogant.

Seeing that neither said anything, Feng Jun nodded slightly, “Then you may take your leave. The spoils here are what I’ve left for mortals. If you have any complaints… direct them at me.”

“That’s right,” Pan Renjie nodded, automatically switching to a “Worldly Trials” mindset, as he felt that Feng Jun had considered so much for mortals, obviously practicing the path of worldly pursuits through actions. He himself felt he had gained a lot from it.

So he wanted to follow Feng Jun’s thoughts, to learn from some of his understandings and sentiments, “Though cultivators and mortals are different, at this moment, they are working for Feng Daoist friend. Do not trouble these common folks.”

Ye Tiannan still remained silent, but he scoffed internally, using the private items of Wonderful Hand Pavilion to curry favor, and yet I’m forbidden from interfering. This is an outrageous bullying.

Meng Zhanbo nodded without hesitation, “Of course, those little things… are not worth our attention.”

After a pause, he spoke up again, “However, as Ye Daoist friend is a protector of Wonderful Hand Pavilion, we need to know the extent of the losses among our people. We’ll come back tomorrow morning.”

Pan Renjie glanced at him and nodded slightly, “Fair enough, your loyalty in this matter is indeed rare.”

With that said, he looked at Feng Jun, “Feng Daoist friend… how did I do?”

He was asking for guidance on the path of tempering the heart. Feng Jun nodded, “What Pan Daoist friend said is true.”

However, when Meng Zhanbo saw this, he was quite shocked. He exchanged a glance with Ye Tiannan, and they left.

Just then, two martial masters from the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office exchanged glances, and an intermediate-level martial master stepped forward, kneeling on one knee, “We have seen the three immortals.”

Feng Jun lifted his chin, coldly spitting out a single word, “Speak!”

“The humble one is on official business for the Sage of the Prefecture,” the master stammered, “Dare I ask if Immortal Feng has any connection with Hu Yuandao?”

This question was nearly suicidal, but there was no help for it; taking money to avert disasters for others, martial artists without courage would be looked down upon.

Meng Zhanbo and Ye Tiannan, who were about to mount their horses and leave, slowed their steps at these words.

“I have no particular connection with him; I just wanted to inquire about news from the Wonderful Hand Pavilion sub-branch,” Feng Jun did not conceal his intent as the matter was already settled, he could speak openly about it.

Then, he remembered something else that annoyed him, “It’s actually your Arrest House that is truly arrogant… I merely inquire about Hu Yuandao, and you would send people to capture me, haha.”

One martial master was so frightened that his other leg also gave out, kneeling down. Seeing this, the other martial master also knelt on both knees, “Immortal, please spare us, the Sage of the Prefecture already regrets his offense and is willing to offer compensation to the Immortal.”

“Compensation?” Feng Jun responded with a cold laugh, “Had I not been an immortal, I suppose my life would be at risk, wouldn’t it?”

It was not necessarily a death sentence, but suffering was inevitable, something the master knew all too well, and he didn’t dare to deny it, only managing to offer an excuse, “The Hu Family is oppressing the people, and the local residents have suffered long under them; The Sage of the Prefecture… had to act as he did.”

“Telling me this is pointless,” Feng Jun snorted coldly, “I’m no longer interested in seeking him out. Just a reminder, there must have been an intermediary involved when I went looking for Hu Yuandao. Your Prefectural Sage should consider… what kind of figure could this intermediary be?”

The intermediate-level martial master knew who the intermediary was; he hesitated for a moment before tremblingly asking, “Dare I inquire, Immortal… is it an old friend from Han Mountain?”

Feng Jun’s eyebrows furrowed, his impatience clear, “Are you interrogating me?”

“Not at all!” the martial master immediately began to kowtow on the ground, and the other followed suit.

“If you dare not, then withdraw,” Feng Jun waved them off and then beckoned to the One-Eyed Pixiu in the distance, “Come and divide the spoils of war!”

What he didn’t expect was that among the entourage of the One-Eyed Pixiu, there was someone skilled in lip-reading, which goes to show that there were always unique talents in the world. After the rabble walked over, without another word, they picked up the spoils and left.

Only the One-Eyed Pixiu came up to Feng Jun and bowed deeply, “Thank you for saving our lives, my brothers and I shall travel for two months… as gratitude for your protection.”

Seeing them scatter, carrying the seven prisoners with them, Feng Jun exchanged glances with his companions.

After hesitating for a moment, Pan Renjie spoke up, “We should escort them; if these seven people can leave alive, our efforts won’t have been in vain… and the Wonderful Hand Pavilion will be in an even more passive position.”

Huh? Feng Jun gave him a surprised gaze, wondering when he had become so enlightened.

In fact, such a reaction was normal for most people, but from a cultivator’s perspective, they usually wouldn’t consider this — whether the Wonderful Hand Pavilion is passive or not is none of my concern. If they dare to bare their teeth at me, I’ll annihilate them!

Then, Feng Jun nodded thoughtfully, “Fellow Daoist Pan’s worldly trials… it seems you have gained much.”

Pan Renjie curled his lips, his smile unstoppable, “Just some humble thoughts, I’m amused that fellow Daoist Feng even took notice.”

After coming to a consensus, the three mounted their horses and set off after the group. Not long after, two dark figures reappeared on the ruins of the Dong Family Estate, Meng Zhanbo and Ye Tiannan returning.

Any talk of ‘coming in the morning ‘ was a ruse; once they confirmed Feng Jun and the others had left, they immediately turned back — one shouldn’t underestimate a single night; who knows how many thieves might pay a visit.

Ye Tiannan held a large emergency lamp in his hand — another item from Mount Zhige. Although the Wonderful Hand Pavilion had coveted the mountain for a long time without success, they had managed to purchase quite a bit of its merchandise.

The two of them inspected the tragic scene of the estate while chatting casually.

“This scoundrel has gone too far,” Ye Tiannan sighed, “After killing so many, not even leaving the clothes untouched… Even if the Wonderful Hand Pavilion offended him, did he need to be so cruel and ruthless?”

Meng Zhanbo, however, had a more relaxed view, “Who asked them to offend a cultivator? Without thunderous measures, it’s impossible to deter the petty… Tell me, fellow Daoist Ye, you’re not sympathizing with them, are you?”

In his eyes, although Ye Tiannan was a protector of the Wonderful Hand Pavilion, he was ultimately a cultivator and couldn’t be compared with the mortals of the Wonderful Hand Pavilion — cultivators’ sense of superiority was all-encompassing.

After walking a bit further, Ye Tiannan suddenly roared in anger, “Damn it… they really found the treasure chamber!”

He extended his hand, and with several phantom grabs, a hollow appeared, filled with hastily placed stones, tiles, branches, and debris.

Ye Tiannan made a few more grabs, then began to dig rapidly.

When the empty treasure chamber was finally revealed to both of them, Ye Tiannan couldn’t help but jump up and scream, “To insult me is one thing, but to have the audacity to loot our sub-branch’s treasure chamber… this is far from over!”