Big Data Cultivation

Due to the matters of the Artifact Refining Path, Feng Jun seriously analyzed his current situation.

Then he was surprised to discover that he needed to redefine White Pebble Beach. Although it is not yet strong, fundamentally...it can be considered established, even if Yi Jue is not counted, there are already a few Golden Cores supporting it.

Thus, the related style of conduct should also change; one cannot always be tough just because of being weak.

This style might help the power grow quickly in its early stages, but if it continues without change, there’s a ninety percent chance it will go through rapid rise and sudden fall.

To validate his thoughts, he even specially consulted the Yin Spirit Bigwig: Senior, am I being a bit overconfident with this line of thinking?

The Bigwig was speechless about this question, and after a long silence, he stated: If I had those two backing me, I wouldn’t worry about confidence; anyone making a move would be directly eliminated.

Of course, the premise is that those two’s strength is still intact—he vaguely guessed that the original strength of the two behind Feng Jun might be compromised.

Actually, this wasn’t a difficult guess to make; if not for some damage to their original power, why would Feng Jun frantically gather extreme spirits?

Feng Jun was a bit helpless at the Bigwig’s response: To think someone could be so cautious, truly a master of survival!

This issue wasn’t one he could bring to others; the only one he could consult was Yi Jue, but she originally didn’t like bothering with such matters—he guessed the reason as she was busy negotiating before, so how could he let her continue to worry?

Next, he planned to probe from other angles, so he told the Ji family members: Although the bounty no longer exists, I acknowledge your help and will prioritize making you an artifact at half price.

The Ji family wanted two Magical Treasures—since the Xuanyuan Family had two, the Ji Family certainly wouldn’t want to fall behind, whether they needed them or not.

The True Immortal of the Ji Family expressed whether both could be made—another one at full price without requesting a discount.

Feng Jun, of course, had to refuse; he didn’t plan to break the rules and wanted to use this as a probe.

However, this time, he refused with a very amiable and tactful tone: Sorry, a rule has been established, and it’s inconvenient to break it.

The True Immortal responsible for the Ji Family appreciated this stance; upon probing and finding Feng Jun steadfast, he quickly expressed understanding and even offered: The Ji Family is willing to help maintain the rules of White Pebble Beach.

This should be a good thing; the Ji Family also queued up, first having a set of Magical Treasures for themselves, and once positioned, they could have another set. So now, they also didn’t want any disturbances from those ahead in line.

With a mentality from the Earth Realm, Feng Jun politely declined this offer; he believed that simultaneously refining Magical Treasures for both clans and sects was not a good idea and wanted to take an independent stance between the two major powers.

He made it clear, leaving the Ji Family’s True Immortal without options. In fact, among the cultivator forces in Tianqin, besides sects and clan powers, there are many Loose Cultivators who also refuse to join sides, and both major powers can’t force them.

And now, Feng Jun’s behavior resembles a Loose Cultivator power. Although everyone knows he surely has powerful seniors backing him, his conduct resembles that of a Loose Cultivator.

After rejecting the Ji Family’s request, surprisingly, the Ji Family didn’t show any hostility. Feng Jun was puzzled—was it because of his previously tough stance, or did his amiable demeanor work?

No matter the reason, he has been focusing on force simulation lately, so the speed of refining Magical Treasures was fast—one every three to five days, quickly refining six pieces, placing the Ji Family seventh in line.

The Yin Spirit Bigwig couldn’t help but provoke Feng Jun again, suggesting that since reconciliation was achieved with the Artifact Refining Path, the risk of going out had greatly reduced—why not finish the Ji Family’s order and then explore other lower realms?

Feng Jun was rational; he said my enemies are not only the Artifact Refining Path but also the Wanhuan Sect and Lingmu Sect. Just having reconciled, it’s unwise to wander recklessly and risk an attack—with someone possibly blaming the Artifact Refining Path.

Actually, Feng Jun wasn’t entirely sure if the Artifact Refining Path wouldn’t renege, so going out now wasn’t a good option.

The Bigwig conceded his point but couldn’t resist snarking, "With courage like yours, you dare say you’re overconfident?"

Yet following events caught Feng Jun by surprise; just after he finished refining the Ji Family’s discounted artifact set, someone from the Artifact Refining Path came with a formation path acquaintance—a Golden Core Female Cultivator who mined together on the big planet.

This cultivator was a genius in the Formation Path, having modified two formations on the big planet driven by energy stones. Feng Jun casually suggested, why not fundamentally resolve the issue and transform energy stones into Spiritual Energy?

Feng Jun only mentioned it in passing, then let it go, but this formation path female cultivator took it seriously and began continual experimentation.

Interestingly, it’s unclear what kind of era we’re in, as talented individuals and prodigies from various clans continue to emerge. This female cultivator resides on a big planet, not lacking energy stones to practice with, and in the end, she truly managed to succeed.

Of course, despite her success, it’s still far from perfect. The efficiency in converting energy stones into spiritual energy is extremely poor, with over 90% of the energy lost during the process. But regardless, didn’t she ultimately succeed?

It’s important to realize that this female cultivator on the formation path is merely at the Golden Core cultivation level, and to accomplish such a design, she certainly deserves to be called a genius.

Not long ago, she was transported back to the gateway of the Insect World, where she reported her achievement to the formation path. The higher-ups of the formation path, upon hearing this, were quite interested and helped her improve the design further, although the energy loss still remains around 90%.

However, from the perspective of cultivators on Tianqin, the energy loss isn’t a major issue. First off, energy stones are obtained from the Insect World, and using them there doesn’t distress anyone—the key is that it saves spirit stones.

The more crucial point is that energy stones brought back to Tianqin cannot be stored for long. Once the two worlds disengage, even if the cultivators bring back a large number of energy stones, they’re destined to dissipate within a short period.

Therefore, having such a method of utilization is already quite good. Of course, the formation path’s Array Masters will continue to make improvements to enhance the utilization rate of energy stones, which is of significant importance to cultivators expanding their strategy in the Insect World.

Once the design of this Golden Core female cultivator was perfected, the formation path faced a problem: it must be solidified, because the cultivators in the Insect World mostly engage in mobile combat and cannot set up one large formation after another. It definitely needs to be miniaturized into array plates for use.

The formation path is, of course, skilled at making array plates, but to create a type of array plate that has never existed before in a short time, they must seek help from the Artifact Refining Path to discuss how best to produce the most suitable array plate.

Certainly, the Artifact Refining Path won’t learn the formation path’s formation patterns, so the Artifact Refining Path is merely assisting, gaining some benefits in the process.

However, when the formation path approached the Artifact Refining Path, they heard that the idea originated from Feng Jun at White Pebble Beach. They directly stated that the formation path should first go to White Pebble Beach to see what Mountain Master Feng has in mind. If he says it can be done, that would be best; if not, they’ll have to think of another way.

The female cultivator of the formation path was a bit puzzled, saying that Mountain Master Feng merely mentioned it in passing, and it’ll be enough to send him two sets once I’m finished. Why do I need his permission for something I’ve figured out on my own?

However, accompanying her was a True Immortal from the formation path who knew there had been some friction between White Pebble Beach and the Artifact Refining Path recently, so he stopped her from questioning further, suggesting that they should go together and see.

Feng Jun was initially a bit confused, but after understanding the situation, he couldn’t help but find it amusing, thinking the Artifact Refining Path is scared after a once-bitten, twice-shy experience?

Still, he wasn’t that domineering and clearly stated that since it was the formation path’s design, there’s no need to ask him. He only offhandedly suggested it, and all the effort was put in by the disciples of the formation path.

He felt he was being quite reasonable, but the expression on the face of the person from the Artifact Refining Path wasn’t very pleasant: So, an Array Master’s can be borrowed just because it’s your idea, but an Artifact Refiner can’t borrow it?

Feng Jun had to explain again: My design ideas not only included a solution but also a specific framework and components—how can that compare to a casual suggestion?

The person from the Artifact Refining Path didn’t seem to understand or pretended not to, but after listening to what he said, they nodded as if enlightened: Oh, that’s how it is, we finally understand.

Feng Jun didn’t mind whether the other person was feigning ignorance, but he did realize one thing: the Artifact Refining Path was taking the opportunity to express goodwill.

He wasn’t very interested in the formation for converting energy stones into spiritual energy, as he didn’t plan to frequently visit the Insect World in the near future—even transporting a few people occasionally wouldn’t leave him short of spirit stones.

As for the Earth Realm, it wouldn’t require this formation either. He has already developed an Electric Power Gathering Array on Earth, and although he’s not expanding it on a large scale yet, it’s only because the timing is not right and he’s controlling the pace of promotion... Hold on, the electric power version is merely a Spirit Gathering Array?

He finally realized what was wrong; Earth isn’t just difficult to gather spiritual energy—the crucial issue is the scarcity of spiritual energy.

He furrowed his brow and asked in a deep voice, "Can energy stones be directly converted into cultivatable spiritual energy?"

"Yes," the formation path female cultivator nodded. She found Feng Jun’s reaction a bit strange. What’s the point if it can’t convert spiritual energy?

What she was more concerned about was, "The unfortunate part is that the energy stone’s conversion capability is too low. One ton of energy stones only converts to about two spirit stones; using it is indeed quite troublesome."

Feng Jun furrowed his brow and asked in a deep voice, "What about using purified energy blocks?"

"We’ve tried that too; it’s not very effective," the female cultivator replied with frustration, shaking her head. "It only improves the effect slightly."

As she spoke, she took out a solidified large array—an initial template designed by the formation path, with a very high cost. She brought the template to the Artifact Refining Path, also hoping to convert the characteristics of this item into an array plate.

"Mountain Master Feng, would you like to take a look?"