Big Data Cultivation

Next, Feng Jun truly began to prepare for closed cultivation to break through to a new level, the timing was ripe.

The combined time from his last advancement to the Golden Core Fourth Layer until now across various planes has been over two years, nearing three.

Feng Jun initially wanted time on Earth to stand still, but then thought there was no point, so he simply gathered another group to go on a Void treasure hunt.

In the last two Void treasure hunts, the Jinwu and Xuanshui sects both had True Sages going to claim territory. Feng Jun couldn’t oppose it, and he gained practical benefits, but it always gave him a sense of being hard to control, so this time he didn’t notify the Seven Gates Eighteen Paths, he just announced it at White Pebble Beach.

He left two days for people to prepare, with the entry threshold being Golden Core cultivation and one thousand upper Spirit Stones. As for needing Spatial Physique practitioners, everyone already knew—at least it wasn’t a secret at White Pebble Beach.

However, Spatial Physique practitioners were really not easy to find, and if they’re in the Qi Refinement Realm, they can’t withstand any accidents. It’s more reliable at the Foundation Establishment Stage, but if they’re at the Golden Core Stage, they’ll face charges.

Of course, some have already made preparations, with the Dantai family, Gongyang Family, and Minor Realm Wei Clan all having arranged for Spatial Physique practitioners in advance.

It’s just that the Wei Family didn’t know when their practitioner would be needed and was worried about their intentions being discovered, so they didn’t place their practitioner at White Pebble Beach, instead waiting for news at the Ten Directions Platform’s domain.

Upon learning that White Pebble Beach had begun accepting clan disciples to enter the Void, the Wei Family quickly contacted their clan members and finally, after a day, brought their practitioner to White Pebble Beach.

However, compared to Spatial Physique practitioners, the one thousand upper Spirit Stone price for a ship ticket was the most frustrating. At White Pebble Beach, the clan disciples were mainly at the Golden Core Stage, with a few at the Foundation Establishment Stage, and Nascent Soul Stage were rare.

Even ordinary Golden Core practitioners being able to have a thousand intermediate Spirit Stones is considered wealthy, but now the ticket fee is actually a thousand upper Spirit Stones.

Only eight people could afford this many upper Spirit Stones in total, and others didn’t dare to complain to Feng Jun, but instead frantically sought to borrow Spirit Stones everywhere.

The Wei Family disciples felt a bit unwilling, but after inquiring with the Four Great Sects, they understood that it wasn’t because Feng Jun was too greedy, but rather because this was the same fee for the Seven Gates Eighteen Paths. What more could they say?

Nevertheless, even without daring to haggle, the lack of upper Spirit Stones was a real issue; it’s not like many people even had upper Spirit Stones, and those who did... wanted to enter the Void themselves!

Finally, someone wised up and went to borrow Spirit Stones from the people of Luohua, promising interest, and after returning, they’d offset the debt with their gains from the Void.

Feng Jun quickly got the news, and he indicated that this matter could be arranged—in fact, even for the Seven Gates Eighteen Paths, if he hadn’t notified them in advance, not many would casually be able to take out a thousand upper Spirit Stones.

Zhang Caixin, Yun Buyao, and Mi Yunsan quickly loaned over sixty thousand upper Spirit Stones, with the interest agreed at ten percent for three months. The loan rate wouldn’t normally be this low, but Feng Jun said: "This time happening so suddenly, I share some responsibility, so I’ll charge a bit less interest."

By the time the signup was about to end the next day, a mid-phase Nascent Soul cultivator descended from the Tianqin Plane, bringing with him over twenty disciples.

This mid-phase Nascent Soul from the Xuanshui Sect didn’t look happy, but spoke politely, "I’ve heard Mountain Master Feng summoned people to enter the Void, and we hurried tirelessly... and finally made it."

"It doesn’t matter if you didn’t make it," Feng Jun casually replied, "You’re welcome to join next time, your sect already has a treasure-finding spot in the Void anyway."

These words confused others a little, but the True Immortal from the Xuanshui Sect understood. Seeing Feng Jun being so casual, he suppressed his dissatisfaction, speaking solemnly, "Originally, Master Yang Jing was supposed to come, but unfortunately, the Kunhao Realm is somewhat fragile, so Master entrusted me to ask..."

"Mountain Master Feng has collaborated much with my Xuanshui, why did you not notify us this time?"

He phrased it as gently as possible but still carried some dissatisfaction—you’re even holding shares in our Spirit Stone mine, is this how you treat us?

"Last time we had more time, but this time we didn’t," Feng Jun replied offhandedly, thinking to himself that notifying them was a favor, not notifying was his duty, "You should just have someone keep an eye on White Pebble Beach, and... surely someone’s been there, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come so quickly."

"Master Yang Jing is very concerned about the safety of White Pebble Beach," the mid-phase Nascent Soul replied solemnly, explaining why he came so quickly, "The Xuanshui disciples here can directly communicate with Master, which is why we didn’t miss this opportunity."

"Indeed," Feng Jun nodded, "Did you notice that even among the disciples of Taixu, Jinwu, and the Seven Gates, there aren’t many here?"

The mid-phase Nascent Soul had already noticed this; otherwise, his resentment would have been greater. Hearing this, he forced a smile, "May I ask why Mountain Master Feng’s gathering is so sudden this time? Is there anything the Xuanshui Sect can assist with?"

Feng Jun didn’t like the other inquiring into his reasons, but since they clearly expressed their willingness to help, he couldn’t directly retort, so he gave a dry laugh, "I plan to go into closed cultivation and advance, but I don’t know how long the process will take, and I was worried people would grow impatient, so I gave them a chance."

"Closed cultivation to advance? That’s a big deal," the mid-phase Nascent Soul was slightly surprised, unaware if this was true or not, but he was very aware of Feng Jun’s fast advancement—allegedly, this one was under fifty years old.

No matter what, this reason is quite sufficient. When he returns, he can explain to Master Yang Jing, so his attitude improved slightly, "Do you need someone to help protect?"

Feng Jun shook his head, "No need, the truth is some people haven’t gathered enough for the Void entrance ticket money. You can choose some trustworthy cultivators and lend them some superior spirit stones."

"Lend superior spirit stones?" The Nascent Soul Middle Phase cultivator was stunned. The reason he brought only over twenty sect members this time was mainly due to the limited superior spirit stones. It wasn’t that Xuanshui Sect couldn’t gather them, but in haste, those available were limited.

So they only brought enough spirit stones to buy tickets; they had plenty of intermediate-level spirit stones, but that’s for daily use after entering the void.

But he couldn’t just say in front of so many people that he didn’t bring extra superior spirit stones — even if he didn’t care, Xuanshui Sect still had to save face.

Actually, Feng Jun did this intentionally to embarrass them — since they asked why he didn’t inform them, he gave them a suggestion: lend some money to others.

He believed the counterpart didn’t have the right to question or even inquire about his decision, as he had no obligation to report to them — previously, he informed them to show face, not because he owed them.

Anyway, they made him uncomfortable, so he casually found a way to disgust them a bit.

The Nascent Soul Middle Phase cultivator was indeed a bit awkward, but he was quick-witted. After a moment of surprise, he calmly replied, "I am not familiar with these people. Why don’t you, Mountain Master Feng, recommend a few?"

Feng Jun casually replied, "That’s why I said ’those you trust’; those I trust, I’ve already lent spirit stones to. Among the remaining ones, there must be trustworthy ones, but I know too few people, and the others... will be your trouble."

The Nascent Soul Middle Phase cultivator didn’t initially catch the other’s intent, but now he was certain: this guy was just trying to embarrass him!

As for why he was embarrassing him, did it even need to be asked? Clearly, the other party was displeased with his questioning attitude — although he had been quite restrained, the other party was still unhappy.

Understanding this, he knew what to do. He shook his head and replied calmly, "Sorry, I am not familiar with these people either. Xuanshui Sect isn’t short on spirit stones, but as for those friends whose backgrounds aren’t clear... I have no intention to arrange."

"Unclear, who are you referring to?" A True Immortal from the Gongyang Family wasn’t happy, "Are you implying anyone outside the ’Seven Sects Eighteen Paths’ has unclear backgrounds?"

"Why should I care about you?" Xuanshui Sect’s Nascent Soul cultivator truly wasn’t afraid of the other; he coldly stated, "I know you’re from the Gongyang Family, but as we haven’t interacted, I’m truly unfamiliar with Gongyang’s disciples."

After pausing for a moment, he proudly stated, "I’m just saying that as I’m mostly in Tianqin, the friends here are all unfamiliar. You’ve directly put me against all those outside ’Seven Sects Eighteen Paths’; I’d like to ask, what’s your motive?"

He wasn’t afraid of disputes and bluntly pointed out the other’s malicious intent.

The True Immortal of the Gongyang Family sneered, "I tried to save your face, but clearly you don’t need it. Actually, you simply ran out of spirit stones in your storage bag... is it so shameful to admit you’re out of money?"

Everyone present is sharp-eyed; Gongyang’s True Immortal couldn’t determine how much grievance Feng Jun had with Xuanshui Sect, but he could be sure: Xuanshui Sect’s True Immortal definitely didn’t have many superior spirit stones.

As for the reason... is there even a need to say it? Just look at how few from Xuanshui Sect came!

Anyway, everyone’s aware of the resentment between clan cultivators and sect practicioners. Taking this chance to retaliate and also win favor with Mountain Master Feng; why not enjoy it?

However, contrary to Gongyang’s True Immortal expectations, Xuanshui Sect’s True Immortal sneered, "How many spirit stones I have is none of your business! You may have more spirit stones, but you didn’t lend them to anyone... a frog in the well mocking others, that’s your only achievement."

Gongyang’s True Immortal was speechless that someone would admit openly to not having money.

The scarcity of spirit stones was just one aspect; there was also a shortage of cultivators with spatial physiques. Those large families were well prepared, but on White Pebble Beach, there were still many small families and loose cultivators. For instance, Ancestor Huang Fu arrived quickly after hearing the news, but he didn’t prepare spatial cultivators either.

Expecting those large families to share resources? What a joke! Everyone thinks there are too many treasure-seekers and wishes there were fewer.

However, Ancestor Huang Fu has decent connections — many know about the relation between White Pebble Beach and Huang Fu Family; after all, the installation of mundane communication systems used to be monopolized by the Huang Fu Family.

So, be it the Gongyang, Dantai, or Wei families, invited Ancestor Huang Fu to join teams, and other small family immortals also greeted Ancestor Huang Fu in hopes he could speak a few words on their behalf.

After pondering for a moment, Ancestor Huang Fu quietly called Huang Fu Wu Xia, "Go say hello to Mountain Master Feng and ask if that Liu Yiyi... can be borrowed? Certainly, she won’t be busy for nothing."