Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 1136: The Problem with Advancing in Rank

Chapter 1136: Chapter 1136: The Problem with Advancing in Rank

Feng Jun bought a small courtyard cheaply from the Ning Family. Inside, it not only contains a Spirit Gathering Array and a defensive formation but also a Spirit Restoration Array that rapidly replenishes spiritual energy.

This ensures the courtyard could still have abundant spiritual energy, even in the extremely barren end-of-law plane.

However, activating the Spirit Restoration Array consumes Spirit Stones quite heavily. Given Feng Jun’s cultivation level, in places with spiritual energy akin to Qiuchen Market, the Spirit Gathering Array alone suffices.

Feng Jun couldn’t help but explain smugly, "This setup eats Spirit Stones like crazy. Normally, I wouldn’t use it unless I absolutely have to. That storehouse is too inconvenient, and the lounge for the guards is just too filthy."

Zhang Caixin’s eyes shifted slyly before she tested with a question, "How come I’ve never heard my sister mention this?"

Feng Jun was momentarily stunned but then smiled as he replied, "I haven’t told her yet. It’s not like I enjoy showing off."

Actually, when he hosted Master Sumiao, he had mentioned the mobile lodging before. Sister Hong was present at the time, but Master Sumiao had straightforwardly declined his offer and chose her own shabby straw hut instead.

So, Sister Hong might know he has mobile lodging, but no one has seen what the courtyard truly looks like.

Amused, Zhang Caixin’s lips curled into a smile. She lifted her leg and stepped into the small building. "Oh... Luminous Pearls?"

The decor of the small building wasn’t extravagant—understated and elegant. As for the Luminous Pearls, they were fairly low-grade for a place like this. After all, even in the Mortal Realm of the mobile phone plane, some princes’ and dukes’ residences would have a few of these.

Yet Zhang Caixin seemed delighted. She glanced around the space and sat at the main hall, pulling out an electric heater and bottled water to boil some tea. Setting up the power supply wasn’t hard—simply using a set of lithium batteries along with an inverter.

Feng Jun brought out a few bottles of beer and placed them on the table. While drinking, he casually said, "Better rest early. At daybreak, this setup will be packed away. Or... you could spend time cultivating."

Given Zhang Caixin’s current cultivation level, she still needed sleep—at least five to six hours daily. Of course, if she were in a cultivation state, she could go days and nights without resting as well. After all, deep cultivation closely resembled a form of hibernation.

That said, prolonged periods of deep cultivation could harm the body. It would be akin to pulling up seedlings to force their growth prematurely.

But Zhang Caixin ignored him. Once the water boiled, she made herself two cups of tea. Then, reaching out, she grabbed a bottle of beer from him, popped the cap with a "pop," and started drinking.

Feng Jun glanced at her helplessly and warned, "Finish this one and then go to sleep. If you don’t rest and keep drinking, do you think you’re made of steel?"

She remained silent, sipping her beer slowly and methodically.

For some reason, in this quiet moment, Feng Jun couldn’t shake the feeling that a sense of ambiguity was starting to brew in the air.

After finishing one bottle, Zhang Caixin grabbed another and gulped down a couple of mouthfuls before speaking slowly, "My sister and Mei Jin have already reached the sixth layer of Mortal Transformation. They’re closing the gap between me."

Feng Jun was silent. What could he say? Should he tell her that her aptitude far surpassed theirs? Oh, please. She already knew that in her heart.

She paid no attention to his reaction, took another swig of her beer, and continued, "Fine, I can handle that. But what I can’t stomach is that even that little brat, Gu Jiahui, has reached the sixth layer of Mortal Transformation. Do you know how that makes me feel?"

Feng Jun could only grimace inwardly. When considering her perspective, the recent advancements of those three must have deeply affected her.

Slamming her beer onto the table, Zhang Caixin stared directly at him and declared, word by word, "Tonight, I’m pushing open the Immortal Sects!"

Feng Jun’s scalp tingled. To push open the Immortal Sects meant to break through Mortal Transformation and advance to the Qi Refinement Realm.

He completely understood the weight of her words. Given that it was midsummer, Xiao Caixin wore a short-sleeved shirt and a short skirt. Today, for a business negotiation, she had chosen a pencil skirt for appearances, but around the manor, she typically dressed even more casually.

"Caixin, calm down. Let’s talk this through. Qi Refinement Realm is just the beginning. You’ll still face challenges at the Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul stages. This isn’t a major problem now."

"I’ll accompany you on this path, and as for the necessary resources... I’ll find a way to help. But for now, think about Sister Hong’s feelings."

"I don’t care about all that now," Zhang Caixin interrupted, grabbing his shoulder and staring straight into his eyes. She enunciated clearly and firmly, "I want to enter the Qi Refinement Realm right now. I know—you can help me."

Faced with her fervent gaze, Feng Jun cleared his throat uneasily. "Caixin, breaking through to the Immortal Sects is a milestone best achieved through your own strength. A solid foundation, built patiently, is beneficial for you."

Zhang Caixin acted as though she hadn’t heard a word he said. Her eyes glittered almost frighteningly as she continued her own thoughts, "I’ll remember today vividly.

Four hours later, Zhang Caixin lay lazily on a fabric couch, wearing only a camisole nightgown. She spoke feebly, "Brother Jun, I feel... I can hardly suppress my spiritual energy. I’m about to break through."

"Then go ahead and break through," Feng Jun replied, pulling out a lounge chair and sprawling out on it casually. "I’ll set up two Illusion Arrays here. No one will see, and I’ll handle the rest."

However, the Earth Realm isn’t the ideal place for breaking through cultivation stages.

Honestly, if he wanted to advance here, even the two Spirit Gathering Arrays at Luohua Manor wouldn’t suffice.

Even with the Devouring Primordial Heaven Formation deployed, the environment would still fall short of the necessary conditions.

At best, using the mobile lodging and pouring in a massive amount of Spirit Stones might barely allow progression through the Spirit Restoration Array—which was capable of fully replenishing energy even for High-Rank Foundation Establishment cultivators.

But the consumption? That wasn’t a small amount. Feng Jun could intuitively estimate thousands of Spirit Stones would be needed. In comparison, renting a cave dwelling or using the Black Colt Tower would only cost a few hundred Spirit Stones.

So, would he be utterly foolish to break through in this mobile lodging?

Upon hearing his plan to set up formations for her breakthrough, Zhang Caixin’s eyes brimmed with joy, yet she deliberately snorted, "If I can’t cultivate, I’d rather skip the breakthrough. I’m not inspired."

Still, since she had expressed her desire, he chose to respect it. Turning away, he stepped out of the courtyard.

To be honest, the spiritual energy in the courtyard was indeed abundant. He worried that staying there too long might tempt him to attempt a breakthrough himself.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Caixin’s bathing time was quicker than he anticipated—only half an hour, compared to Sister Hong and Teacher Mei, who couldn’t leave the bathroom in under an hour—factoring in post-shower makeup and grooming.

But for Xiao Caixin, at her prime age, even with a bare face, she was still a strikingly vibrant beauty bursting with youthful energy.

Wrapped in a bath towel, she stepped out, glancing around until her gaze landed on Feng Jun outside the courtyard.

Raising her snowy arm, she motioned for him to return inside while she herself sat back on the couch, reaching for the brewed tea.

The tea had long gone cold. She took a small sip, then poured away half of it and refilled the cup with hot water. Eyeing Feng Jun suspiciously, she asked, "Why aren’t you coming in?"

Feng Jun smiled, pointing upward with his finger. "Sorry, but dawn is breaking. I have matters to attend to."

The storage room wasn’t far, only a bit over a kilometer away, but he needed to stand guard there.

With that, he turned and left. Zhang Caixin brushed a strand of her hair aside, frowned slightly, and thought for a moment before smiling.

When she emerged from the building again, she was dressed in casual attire—actually, the same outfit as yesterday. Though it remained alluring, at least it was more formal than just a bath towel, right?

She then sat on a stone stool in the courtyard’s center and began meditating...