Big Data Cultivation

Luo Shiqi saw Luo Yuanwu so nervous that he couldn’t help letting out a soft sigh. "What do you think we should do?"

"I think..." Luo Yuanwu pondered for a while before answering, "Anyway, they won’t necessarily believe any explanation we give. Where in this world do such coincidences happen? The key point is, would our Luo Family members really be unaware of a Formation left behind by our ancestor?"

"It really is hard to explain." Luo Shiqi’s face remained as calm as a light breeze and drifting clouds; no one could tell that what he was discussing via Divine Sense was so perilous. "What I’m asking is... how do you think we should handle it?"

The Great Elder’s attitude clearly affected Luo Yuanwu; the face of this Nascent Soul Middle Phase cultivator also became much calmer. "No matter what, we can’t fall out with them. The Luo Family cannot bear the pressure of so many great powers..."

He paused for a moment. Seeing that the Great Elder showed no reaction, he continued, "Since we can’t fall out, and informing them will easily lead to something we can’t explain clearly, then... why don’t we just conceal this information?"

"They don’t have the Luo bloodline; even that one from the Xuanshui Sect, as strong as he is, didn’t sense it. I think concealment is feasible."

Luo Shiqi still showed no response, just gazing blandly at the Nascent Soul Middle Phase cultivator, but... there was no focus in his eyes.

Obviously, this fact also felt somewhat tricky even to a True Sage at the Emergence Stage.

After roughly ten minutes of silence, Luo Shiqi finally sent out his Divine Sense again. "Sigh, Yuanwu, do you think Mountain Master Feng and the others will ultimately be able to find the mastermind?"

Luo Yuanwu pondered for a while before answering, "That’s really hard to say. That one from the Xuanshui Sect counts as one of the notable Great Sages, and even he didn’t discover anything. By rights, the problem shouldn’t be that serious... so I feel that covering it up is more advantageous to the Clan."

"I think so as well," Luo Shiqi said faintly. "But tell me, in the cultivation world, are there such things as eternal secrets?"

"Of course there are eternal secrets," Luo Yuanwu answered without hesitation. "You know too, there are plenty of unsolved cases."

Hearing this, Luo Shiqi asked another question. "Then, with Mountain Master Feng’s network, do you think this case will become an eternal secret?"

Mountain Master Feng’s network... Luo Yuanwu thought for a moment. He didn’t know Feng Jun all that well, but from today’s contact alone, he could already infer the other party’s influence—this was someone who could casually summon two True Sages.

Moreover, True Immortal Qing Que had also expressed his stance. If Ren Tu True Sage were not currently among the Insect Race, he would certainly have come to support Mountain Master Feng.

Even without counting such backing, just analyzing the methods used by the one who targeted Feng Jun was enough to make the situation clear.

A suspected lost Space Annihilation Technique, and what’s more, one launched across domains; and the method used to conceal their tracks was also the already lost Six Pillar Sky Deceiving Formation—with an added Curse backlash.

Just these two methods alone were enough to make one’s heart tremble in fear: what level of opponent had they run into, that they would act with such caution?

The one who understands you best is your enemy!

Luo Yuanwu thought for a long time before finally saying, "Mountain Master Feng’s influence is too great; I really don’t dare assert that he won’t be able to find the truth."

He knew very well that so‑called eternal secrets are actually exceedingly rare. Most mysteries become eternal simply because uncovering them requires too great a price, and most people do not possess the corresponding strength.

"Yes, he might well find the truth," Luo Shiqi very much agreed with his view. "I think so too. Which brings us to the current problem... when he does find the truth, will the Luo Family still have time to explain?"

After a long silence, Luo Yuanwu answered, "It might not be too late. We still have the Ancestors and the Supreme Elders... if a Great Supreme steps out, they should at least give us a chance to speak."

"Is a Great Supreme... supposed to be alarmed over something this trivial?" Luo Shiqi asked softly. "And are you so certain that the Clan’s Great Supreme is not currently away from home?"

Luo Yuanwu was startled. "Great Elder, you mean... there is currently no Great Supreme sitting in town for the Clan?"

"Whether we have a Divine Spirit True Lord or not, that’s something I can’t tell you." Luo Shiqi gave a vague answer. With his status, he certainly knew whether the Clan had a Divine Spirit True Lord, but this information was not something a Nascent Soul True Immortal was qualified to know.

But Luo Shiqi’s mind wasn’t on this point; what he cared about was, "Even if a True Lord is present, we don’t know when the other side will find the answer. Are we supposed to have the True Lord wait around the whole time?"

Hearing this, Luo Yuanwu shuddered. To have a True Lord sacrifice his time for traveling and seeking opportunities, and squat in the Clan’s small world for several hundred or even a thousand years, was basically a pipe dream.

Leaving aside a True Lord’s pursuit of the Dao, just speaking of the Spiritual Energy alone, the small world simply cannot meet the daily needs of a Divine Spirit True Lord—this is already fortunate for a small world, which can basically support several Emergence Stage cultivators. If it were a secret realm, being able to support one or two True Sages would already be cause for joy.

Luo Yuanwu fell silent. He was not a True Lord and naturally could not know how a True Lord felt, but he at least understood basic human nature.

Luo Shiqi continued muttering, not knowing whether he was addressing Luo Yuanwu or talking to himself. "It’s not even out of the question that someone might take the opportunity to seize our Clan’s small world. Although the small world they obtain would be doomed to be riddled with scars, the Luo Family... might very well be no more."

The Luo Family has already remodeled the small realm; anyone who wants to snatch it is doomed to be disappointed. But in times like these, who doesn’t harbor a bit of wishful thinking?

Luo Yuanwu understood all this, but he still couldn’t help arguing, "If they start a war with the Luo Family, can they really afford the consequences?"

The Luo Family is currently ranked second among the secret-realm clans; their combat strength really isn’t low. Sure, they’re definitely not even twenty percent of any force among the Seven Sects and Eighteen Daoist Sects, but once it turns into an extermination war, the combat strength they explode with would at least double.

Back then, sects replaced clans as the mainstream because each major clan had its own agenda and wasn’t all that united to begin with. If the sect cultivators back then had tried to completely wipe out all the clans, the sect cultivators would absolutely have suffered a crushing defeat—it simply wasn’t possible for them to win.

Luo Yuanwu, for one, believes the sects won’t necessarily be willing to go all-out against the Luo Family; it’s just too cost-ineffective.

Take the Xuanyuan Family, for example: they fell from first place to third, but what dealt them the huge damage was the Otherworld campaign, not suppression from the sects. There hasn’t been a major clash between sect cultivators and clan practitioners for a very long time now.

Nowadays, there’s also a subtle balance between sect cultivators and clan practitioners. Even if conflicts do arise, they’re just minor ones. In any case, sects as the main force and clans as the auxiliary—that’s the consensus among cultivators of the Tianqin World.

"Heh," Luo Shiqi let out a cold laugh at those words, "You think it’s impossible for a war to break out between sects and clans, is that it?"

"That’s basically how it is. We’ve had peace for over three thousand years," Luo Yuanwu felt this was easy to answer. "Everyone gets along quite well now. With so many Otherworlds and alien worlds waiting to be developed, why waste energy on internal strife?"

"Heh, in the end, you’re someone who grew up in an era of peace." Luo Shiqi smiled dismissively, then his expression turned solemn. "Yuanwu, listen to me: you must always remember, peace only describes today. As for tomorrow—no one can say for sure!"

"There’s an old saying: ’In times of peace, be wary of danger.’ Security is, of course, a good thing. But if you don’t know how to stay on guard, that security won’t last many days!"

Seeing that Luo Yuanwu still looked like his soul was wandering outside his body, Luo Shiqi flared up in anger. "How many days have you even lived? I participated in the last great war... Don’t assume the world will always remain like this. Once it starts to change, you won’t even be able to imagine it!"

If Feng Jun had heard that, he would absolutely have given Luo Shiqi a thumbs-up. That was exactly on point. Far too many people treat song and dance, peace and prosperity as the norm, as if the world should simply be like this. But... that’s really not how it works.

On Earth Realm, World War I and World War II were cases where tensions had built to a certain level before erupting, but there are plenty of examples of sudden explosions too—like the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Pearl Harbor incident, the 9/11 incident, and the spread of plagues...

Every single unexpected event will, over quite a long stretch of time, affect the lives of every person involved in the event’s sphere.

Luo Yuanwu admitted that the Great Elder had a point, but deep down he still felt the Great Elder was overthinking it. Even so, he ultimately didn’t dare continue arguing and only asked, "Then what should we do?"

"Hm?" Luo Shiqi let out a faint sound of surprise. "You still need to ask me what to do?"

"Should we just openly admit that this Six Pillar Formation belongs to the Luo Family, that it was merely lost?" Luo Yuanwu really couldn’t accept that. "Great Elder, do you think they’ll believe our explanation?"

Luo Shiqi replied weakly, "Explaining it now has to be easier than explaining after they discover it themselves, don’t you think?"

Luo Yuanwu was still a bit unwilling. "How about we wait a bit and see what information Luo Zhuanhe can gather?"

"Cultivators talk about charging straight ahead. If you’re going to gamble, you go all in. What kind of nonsense is this half-hidden, half-covered approach?" Luo Shiqi’s attitude became much more resolute; obviously, he had found his answer in the course of the conversation. "Don’t assume our Divine Sense exchange is guaranteed to be secret."

Luo Yuanwu had no way to refute that. "Then... I’ll go tell them?"

The Great Elder didn’t respond; his gaze drifted off into the distance. The meaning was obvious: if you don’t go say it, am I supposed to?

As it happened, just as the two of them finished their discussion, Han Hai True Sage over there ended his comprehension session and cupped his hands. "San Cai Daoist Friend’s attainments in the rules of space truly are extraordinary. I’m enlightened!"

What can you say—experts are experts. Once he gained insight, he directly admitted it: I’ve learned something, even if the other party is a clan practitioner.

As soon as he stopped, Wei Sancai also stopped. Hearing that, he laughed heartily. "It’s just a Dao debate. I’ve gained something myself!"

The two exchanged polite compliments. Feng Jun was stunned for a moment, then turned his head to glance at Luo Yuanwu and smiled, giving him a slight nod.

Luo Yuanwu felt his scalp tingle. What’s that supposed to mean?

He felt a bit guilty, but Luo Shiqi, as a True Sage, truly felt no guilt at all. He gave Feng Jun a slight smile. "Mountain Master Feng is indeed a great talent. To gain something from a Dao debate between two Great Sages—when I was your age, I really couldn’t have done that."

When you were my age? Feng Jun blinked once, then answered with a smile, "My age... isn’t that high. I’m not even fifty yet."