Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 1163: Another Protagonist

Chapter 1163: Chapter 1163: Another Protagonist

Kong Ziyi and her grandmother could actually communicate intuitively, so this "let’s talk" suggestion didn’t really hold much meaning.

The next day, Feng Jun set out on his journey, accompanied by Huang Fu Wuxia, Mi Yunshan, Yang Shangren, Liang Zhongyu, and Kong Ziyi, among others.

Honestly, even if Master Sumiao wasn’t mentioned, just having Huang Fu Wuxia along was already giving Feng Jun a headache—she possessed the Treasure-Appraising Eye, after all.

Traveling during the daytime, two off-road vehicles were sufficient. Despite the scorching weather, the cars had air conditioning, ensuring a decent level of comfort.

Feng Jun shared a vehicle with Mi Yunshan and Chen Junwei—Chen Junwei, as the sole Innate Expert, had made significant contributions to maintaining Mount Zhige’s safety. This time, his desire to visit the Cultivation World to see his elder brother was perfectly understandable.

Kong Ziyi was also in the same vehicle, as it was filled with Mount Zhige’s own group. She even casually shared a little secret.

Her grandmother had indeed agreed to let her explore the martial world independently but provided her with sufficient protection—so long as she didn’t encounter a Golden Core Master, she should be fully capable of defending herself. If things got truly dire, she could still summon her grandmother for help.

Feng Jun comforted her, saying, "Don’t worry. Anyone capable of standing against your grandmother wouldn’t waste their time causing trouble for you!"

Golden Core versus Qi Refinement might be absolute domination, but how shameless would a Golden Core have to be to bypass dealing with adults and pick on kids?

This kind of thing happened more often in the Secular World, where adults vented their grievances by terrorizing children. However, such "adults" were the lowest of the low, only capable of bullying children to feel powerful.

In the Cultivation World, the scenario was different. Even the weakest Golden Core Master was still a "Master" and naturally carried the dignity of one. Bullying a practitioner in the Qi Refinement realm—what would that accomplish?

Since the discussion touched upon Golden Core matters, Feng Jun and Kong Ziyi kept it vague. Meanwhile, Mi Yunshan and Chen Junwei wore headphones, listening to storytelling podcasts—there were plenty of things they didn’t need to know, so why bother with unnecessary drama?

By midday, the group stopped for a short break. The blistering sun was almost unbearable, making people feel roasted alive. Even under the shade of the trees, one could feel waves of scorching heat. Even Kong Ziyi, a practitioner at the Nascent Soul stage, couldn’t help but guzzle down a bottle of ice-cold green tea.

The group rested for less than twenty minutes before retreating to the air-conditioned vehicles. Kong Ziyi used the intercom to remark, "Air conditioning is a wonderful invention. If I brought this back to the sect, I bet many people would be envious."

When they stopped driving again, the sun had already set. It was around eight o’clock in the evening.

This time, they rested for over an hour before truly continuing their journey—it was nighttime now, and they could use their Flying Artifacts.

There were four Flying Artifacts in total. Feng Jun brought out one, while Huang Fu Wuxia, Kong Ziyi, and Yang Shangren each produced their own.

Yang Shangren’s Flying Artifact was exclusively for him; no one else was riding along.

Of course, that made sense. Everyone else had people they were close to, but Yang Shangren didn’t.

When dawn broke, the group selected a secluded spot to land their Flying Artifacts and rest.

This was the basic etiquette expected of cultivators—no matter how different immortals were from mortals, one shouldn’t cause unnecessary disturbances in the Mortal Realm.

During the daytime, the group refrained from traveling. Kong Ziyi directly took out a temporary palace, which was quite similar to Feng Jun’s courtyard, and invited everyone to rest inside.

Huang Fu Wuxia watched with a pang of envy. Despite being a beloved grandchild of Ancestor Huang Fu and often handling many Spirit Stones, she didn’t have such luxurious belongings.

She did own a portable residence, a reward for advancing to the Nascent Soul realm. However, it paled in comparison to Kong Ziyi’s palace.

It made sense—Kong Ziyi was a disciple of a major sect, had a Golden Core grandmother, and was already at the intermediate stage of Nascent Soul, while Huang Fu Wuxia had just advanced to Nascent Soul. The Huang Fu Family was full of outstanding talents, and she was only one among many. Why should she compare herself to Kong Ziyi?

Still, Huang Fu Wuxia knew this was perfectly normal, yet she was unwilling to graciously accept it. No one likes to admit they are inferior to others. So, she decided to ignore her own residence’s existence—"I’ll just watch you flaunt it. Anyway, my stuff isn’t worth showing off."

During the day, with nothing much to do in the palace, Feng Jun took out a mahjong machine and taught everyone how to play mahjong.

That mahjong game stirred a frenzy within the Cultivation World, but that’s a story for another time.

As night fell, Kong Ziyi clung to the mahjong table, reluctant to leave, even suggesting to Feng Jun, "Why not take a day off to rest?"

Ultimately, Feng Jun’s determination prevailed, prompting the group to resume their journey.

Two days later, at dawn, they finally arrived at the entrance to Qiuchen Market.

The entrance was still crowded with people hoping for opportunities. However, among Feng Jun’s companions, aside from him, there were three other Nascent Soul cultivators. None of them were inclined to recruit anyone from the gathered crowd—they were clearly accustomed to this scene. Naturally, Feng Jun didn’t bother stirring up any trouble either.

Feng Jun entered through the Nascent Soul cultivators’ passageway, equivalent to a VIP entrance. Since this was the case, his entourage passed through without being questioned. However, they still had to handle the necessary process of acquiring identity tokens for the Cultivation World.

Feng Jun’s identity token had been issued less than two years ago, during which he’d only been at the high tier of Qi Refinement. Now, he was already at the second layer of Nascent Soul. The cultivator guarding the gate gave him a surprised glance but tactfully refrained from asking any questions.

After entering the market, Feng Jun went directly back to the small courtyard he had purchased earlier.

Kong Ziyi and Yang Shangren followed him without waiting for an invitation, whereas Huang Fu Wuxia stated that she wanted to make a trip to the Tiantong Commerce Alliance.

At the courtyard gate, they knocked, and the person who opened the door turned out to be Jing Qingyang.

However, Jing Qingyang was no longer the Innate Expert he used to be; he had advanced to Qi Refining First Layer.

Upon seeing Feng Jun, Jing Qingyang froze for a moment before loudly shouting, "Patron, Master Feng is back!"

The "patron" was Chen Junsheng, as the courtyard had been purchased under his name.

Chen Junsheng quickly arrived, immediately spotting his brother. But at this moment, he couldn’t afford to exchange pleasantries with his sibling. He simply nodded slightly and then respectfully saluted Feng Jun. "Greetings, Mountain Master."

Feng Jun glanced at him and noticed that he had also reached the sixth layer of Mortal Shedding. He nodded slightly, saying, "Not bad. You haven’t let yourself go."

For someone as talented and young as Mi Yunshan, whose cultivation was currently at the peak of the sixth layer of Mortal Shedding, it was evident that Chen Junsheng had put in serious effort and wasn’t too far behind.

Seeing Feng Jun accompanied by a group of people, including several Nascent Soul cultivators, Chen Junsheng promptly began arranging accommodations for everyone.

The courtyard Feng Jun had purchased was already spacious, with over twenty rooms—enough to house fifty or sixty people comfortably.

Chen Junsheng had maintained the courtyard very well; the garden was tidy, the trees and flowers were pruned, and the rooms were spotless. Considering Feng Jun’s sudden return, it was reasonable to assume the place was regularly kept in such pristine condition.

While Kong Ziyi and the others went to settle in, Chen Junsheng reported the events of the past two years to Feng Jun.

Since Feng Jun’s departure, nothing overly dramatic had occurred here. Chen Junsheng diligently cultivated, paid necessary fees on time, and rarely stepped out.

At first, clueless cultivators tried to take advantage of the situation, but Huang Fu Wuxia stood her ground, with Tiantong Commerce Alliance lending its support. No one dared to act recklessly after that.

Later, when Ji PingAn and Liang Zhongyu’s business ventures took off, Mount Zhige gained a reputation for sympathizing with loose cultivators. Those aware of Chen Junsheng’s connections dared not create trouble here; some even occasionally helped him resolve issues.

Even during periods where the Xue Family stirred trouble and loose cultivators found themselves at a disadvantage, nobody targeted Chen Junsheng.

And then there was the matter of Jing Qingyang’s advancement. Chen Junsheng appreciated his skills and extended his work contract by three months, allowing Jing Qingyang to successfully prolong his visa.

Normally, that would be the extent of what Chen Junsheng could do for him. However, during one of Jing Qingyang’s escort missions, he killed a Qi Refinement cultivator carrying a Storage Talisman that contained the Pillar Piercing the Sky Technique, a cultivation method perfectly suited for him.

The Pillar Piercing the Sky Technique was considered excellent among Earth-attribute cultivation techniques, typically unobtainable by an Innate Expert.

Even though the Qi Refinement cultivator was killed by Jing Qingyang, the technique itself didn’t belong to him. If he could get a few Spirit Stones from it, that would already be considered fortunate.

Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—the Storage Talisman also contained over 3,000 Spirit Stones. By standard rules, Jing Qingyang was entitled to 40% of the loot.

Furthermore, in exchange for relinquishing rights to the cultivation technique, he received additional Spirit Stone compensation.

Ultimately, Jing Qingyang negotiated with the master family involved, saying, "I don’t need all these Spirit Stones. Just give me 100 Spirit Stones; I want the cultivation technique."

For reasons unknown, the master family agreed. As soon as the task was completed, Jing Qingyang instantly ascended into the air and fled, abandoning the remainder of his task rewards.

After some deliberation, Jing Qingyang decided that Chen Junsheng was reliable and headed to Qiuchen Market, saying, "I’d like to borrow your Spirit Gathering Array to enter the Dao. Paying the required fees is no problem."

Chen Junsheng, of course, didn’t reject him. Feng Jun had built the Spirit Gathering Array in this courtyard, and having someone pay to use it for cultivation was more efficient than letting it sit idle.

Indeed, over these two years, Chen Junsheng had diligently cultivated but spent almost none of the Spirit Stones Feng Jun had left behind. In fact, he had even earned some—it’s no surprise that having a Spirit Gathering Array generates a steady income.

People often say that life costs in the Cultivation World are high, but the truth is, basic expenses like food, lodging, and transportation aren’t exorbitant. It’s the cost of cultivation that’s truly steep.

Families with Spirit Gathering Arrays need to fund their maintenance. Smaller clans without arrays must rent cultivation space from others.

And that’s just the arrays—pill concoctions and cultivation techniques add even more to the expenses.

With Chen Junsheng managing the Spirit Gathering Array solo and without family disciples to support, there was more availability than could realistically be used. But because he didn’t frequently rent it out indiscriminately, people were especially keen on utilizing it when given the chance.

Take Shangguan Yunjin, for example, who would always stop by to replenish her spiritual energy and lodge in the guest rooms whenever she passed through Qiuchen Market. Having earned significant wealth alongside Feng Jun, she wasn’t stingy with her payments.

This was all the more remarkable, considering that Shangguan Yunjin used to be a cultivator who fretted over every penny spent on inns.

Her influence extended further—her fellow disciples also preferred to stay at the courtyard due to its tranquility.

Which brings us back to the point—making money as a poor cultivator is exceedingly difficult, but for the wealthy, growing their wealth is much simpler.

Chen Junsheng accommodated Jing Qingyang, who spent twenty-one days cultivating before breaking through to Martial Enlightenment.

(This update concludes here—don’t forget to double up and summon monthly votes loudly!)