Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 1156: Not Playing with Fire (Third Update, Requesting Votes for Support)

Chapter 1156: Chapter 1156: Not Playing with Fire (Third Update, Requesting Votes for Support)

Elder Yu’s secretary quickly gathered intel: the two women’s partner worked at Luohua Manor.

But he felt the reasoning wasn’t compelling enough. There were plenty of people working at Luohua—how many of them had the privilege of bringing outsiders in?

He dug a little deeper and finally learned that the man called Chen Shengwang wasn’t actually an employee of Luohua Manor but a Guest Elder.

Guest Elder? What kind of nonsense is that? He was utterly baffled. Luckily, he knew some people familiar with Daoist sects, and after a brief inquiry, he learned that it was a title reserved for individuals with considerable prowess.

Now it all made sense. No wonder this man’s woman was able to live in Luohua Manor.

Although her residence wasn’t a villa but merely a cottage beside Pump No. 1, the world inside and outside the sect gate were entirely different.

The secretary shared his findings with Elder Yu.

Elder Yu was someone who could say anything without inhibition. That morning, on his way to the valley, he ran into Chen Shengwang hurriedly walking out of the bamboo forest. He greeted him directly, "Xiao Chen, let me ask you something—what level are you at in the Qi Refinement Realm?"

Chen Shengwang froze for a moment upon hearing this—this old man really didn’t hold back!

If anyone else had asked him that question, he certainly wouldn’t have answered. But this was Elder Yu—renowned across Huaxia and a close acquaintance of Mountain Master Feng.

To what extent they were close, he didn’t know and didn’t intend to find out.

The fact that Elder Yu could even ask about "Qi Refinement levels" indicated some familiarity with cultivation. So, after hesitating for a moment, he replied, "Fifth layer."

Elder Yu nodded and delivered a statement that nearly made Chen Keqing spit blood, "So you really are just in the Qi Refinement stage."

Chen Shengwang rolled his eyes and wanted to leave quickly.

Unexpectedly, Elder Yu spoke again, "Does your cultivation require any resources for support?"

Chen Shengwang knew he shouldn’t engage with this man, but the question piqued his interest.

After a pause, he looked to the side and said, "Elder Yu, what resources do you have right now?"

"I don’t understand cultivation," Elder Yu replied matter-of-factly, "I don’t know what you might need, can you tell me a bit about it?"

Chen Shengwang pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He wasn’t much younger than Elder Yu and had seen just as much of the world. He could instantly sense that Elder Yu was fishing for information—never mind resources, how could he possibly not know about Daoist scriptures?

He took a drag from his cigarette and replied with considerable interest, "Why don’t you tell me first—what are you hoping to get out of this?"

Elder Yu answered with an utterly straight face, "I want to cultivate, but Master Feng refuses to teach me. Would you be willing to teach me?"

Chen Shengwang was nearly choked to death... Cultivate at this age? Does your old heart really have any sense of reality?

Thus, he shrugged and replied with a mix of laughter and tears, "If Mountain Master Feng won’t take you in, do you think I could teach you?"

Elder Yu continued speaking unabashedly, "If I can’t learn, then surely my descendants can, right?"

Chen Shengwang didn’t know how to respond to this. After some thought, he asked, "The Yu family has quite a few people in the government system. Isn’t learning these things considered taboo?"

This was a question he often faced. People occasionally approached him for apprenticeship, but those in official positions clearly needed to consider more complexities—such as avoiding foreign cults and the echoes of Huaxia’s "Qi Gong craze" that once swept across the Divine Land.

"Each person has their own aspirations; how can you force them?" Elder Yu replied dismissively, "Take Director Yang for instance. He’s a state enterprise leader—and yet, isn’t he also cultivating?"

That was precisely why Elder Yu’s attitude had shifted. After adhering to a lifetime of materialism, the old man came around in his later years—not wanting to contradict himself. Beyond being health-conscious and exploring cultivation, the outright rejection of his attempts led him to arrange for his descendants to learn instead. However...

...he planned to make it clear that it was entirely their choice and had nothing to do with him—similar to Yang Yuxin’s circumstances with the Gu Family.

Chen Shengwang glanced at him oddly and casually said, "I’ve got some business. Let’s chat later..."

To be honest, he was somewhat tempted to mentor Yu family descendants. For the Fanghu Lineage to rise again, the fastest approach would be enlisting agents within the government—one only needed to examine how Dragon Phoenix Mountain gained prominence to grasp the significance of secularization.

However, maneuvering through such matters would inevitably involve Feng Jun. He couldn’t figure out why Elder Yu hadn’t made this request directly to Feng Jun.

That evening, while in the villa courtyard, he bumped into Feng Jun and conveyed the situation.

Feng Jun laughed upon hearing this, "That old man, always stirring up trouble... It’s exactly because of his constant scheming that I refuse to mentor his family. What’s the matter—are you tempted?"

"Not necessarily tempted," Chen Shengwang replied candidly. "It’s more that this could be a shortcut... I’m just worried it might backfire on me."

"Do what you think is best for you," Feng Jun said expressionlessly, "As of now, I have no plans to mentor his family either. Besides... if you take on Yu family descendants as apprentices, I won’t be able to continue employing you as a Guest Elder."

That was still the mild version. If Chen Keqing truly mentored Yu family members, Feng Jun was prepared to abandon Luohua Manor entirely—he didn’t want the Yu family prying into too many secrets and parading around in front of him.

Chen Shengwang froze at Feng Jun’s words, then gave a bitter smile, "With you saying that, how could I dare take disciples? Besides, if I were to take on disciples, I’d be relying on you to help assess their aptitude."

Feng Jun fell into thought, "Assess their aptitude... That, well... might be considered. But for now, it’s inconvenient."

He actually possessed an Ascension Mirror from the Mobile Phone Plane—a better version than the ones from Kunlun—but he wasn’t planning to put it to use just yet. At least, he’d wait until Luohua Manor saw its second Out of Dust stage cultivator before unveiling the Ascension Mirror.

The second one at Luohua would likely be Zhang Caixin. While the Ascension Mirror wouldn’t necessarily need her to oversee it, by then the manor would have additional Qi Refinement stage cultivators, and another Out of Dust cultivator would deter unwarranted attention.

A few days ago, he transferred eight houses to Earth. Today, refrigerators and air conditioners arrived, which he promptly moved into the Mobile Phone Plane. Finally, the energy points in his phone dropped to a level he considered safely manageable.

Then he produced a ton of gold and placed it in the front building of the villa. "The gold is here. Fifty thousand tons of wheat can now be supplied. As for the exact amount of gold needed, discuss amongst yourselves... I need to make a trip to Chaoyang."

Upon hearing his plans to leave, Gazi immediately expressed a desire to return to Chaoyang as well. "After all... I’ve hit a bottleneck lately."

Feng Jun wanted to kick him hard—barely three years in, already a High-Rank Martial Master, and now claiming a bottleneck... Do you guys seriously think cultivation is that easy to advance?

Still, Gazi’s current state did seem suitable for some external training.

Zhang Caixin also wanted to accompany Feng Jun. Her reasoning: she had just reached Qi Refining First Layer and stabilized her realm; short-term progression was unlikely. Going to Chaoyang might even let her lend a hand.

Feng Jun thought it might actually be better if she stayed back to hold down the fort at Luohua Manor. Although there were currently three Qi Refinement stage cultivators in the manor—Hua Hua, Shen Qingyi, and Chen Shengwang—not one of them was fully trustworthy.

But when he saw her eager gaze, he could tell her intentions weren’t just about sightseeing. She wanted to rekindle intimacy with him—since advancing to the Qi Refinement stage, she had returned to Luohua Manor but found little opportunity within its confines.

In truth, Feng Jun himself was feeling rather constrained lately. He could only occasionally squeeze in time to practice yoga with Director Yang, while being bogged down with various matters or eyed by numerous beauties most of the time.

Isn’t the old saying, "Three monks have no water to drink," pretty fitting here? Feng Jun mused regretfully.

Ultimately, he brought Xiao Caixin along with him after some deliberation. To ensure safety, he also took "Hao Fengjing" along.

Sister Hong nearly lost her temper upon learning Hao Fengjing was tagging along. Clearly, her reaction wasn’t solely about Teacher Mei possibly practicing yoga with Feng Jun. She couldn’t tolerate someone secretly receiving special treatment—if there were going to be perks, they had to be equitable.

Feng Jun spent considerable time convincing her, promising there’d be no private favors, finally putting her mind at ease.

Currently, Luohua Manor had quite a few talents, but most of them managed their own responsibilities. Adding Shen Qingyi and Chen Shengwang did enhance response capacity for emergencies, yet neither could be entirely trusted—having Sister Hong in charge was still crucial.

The four traveled back to Chaoyang in two cars.

They arrived in town late at night. Wasting no time, they drove straight to the mountainous area contracted by the Feng Family.

The road was finished and light poles had been erected. Oddly enough, the streetlights were off, while occasional worker rest spots glowed under xenon lamps.

Feng Jun called his father and learned the lamps had been stolen repeatedly. Lao Feng, not wanting to dwell on such petty matters—especially since Dou Jiahui dealt in lighting fixtures—decided to withhold lamp installation out of resentment.

Feng Wenhui explained that once everything was settled and personnel hired, he’d consider installing and powering the lamps. For now, maintaining lighting within the worksite sufficed—besides, the large material transport trucks had their own headlights and mostly operated during the day.

The road led all the way to the villa under construction.

The villa was spacious, spanning around ten acres. The main structure was complete, and the interior and exterior were being decorated.

At the height of summer, even in the forested mountains, daytime heat was oppressive. Workers preferred nighttime shifts, and the construction site bustled as Feng Jun arrived nearby.

When he saw his parents, he stopped short—both had advanced? Qi Transformation Second Layer?

He had long worried about their cultivation pace. But pushing them could backfire—after all, as their junior, how could he dictate to his elders?

So, he simply stayed away, leaving cultivation techniques, pills, and a Spirit Gathering Array behind. Yet now, it looked like... things were progressing well?

His return delighted Zhang Junyi the most. "Have you eaten? ...Oh, you have. Good. How long are you staying this time?"

(Third update delivered, double rewards period ongoing. Seeking your guaranteed monthly votes for May!)