Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 1177: Thunder’s Technology

Chapter 1177: Chapter 1177: Thunder’s Technology

Meng Shangren, as the overseer of the settlement area, had handled numerous receptions and understood quite well what these non-thunder cultivators wanted to see.

There were only nineteen cultivators in the Emergence Stage in the Thunder Plains, of which twelve were settlement overseers. Not all of them held the title of Shangren; many were High Tier of Qi Refinement—since those at this level could handle the related responsibilities effectively.

Thus, Meng Shangren had some time to think about how best to receive visiting cultivators.

Indeed, the Thunder Plains was considered a famous site in the Cultivation World, attracting numerous visitors eager for novelty or expanding their horizons.

Some cultivators came to earn some extra income, but their numbers were far fewer. Non-thunder cultivators attempting reckless acts here faced exorbitant costs—it was not unusual for them to meet their end here. Thunder Plains was widely acknowledged as a "follow your guide’s instructions" destination.

Of course, with the emergence of new cultivators, there were always those who refused to heed warnings. For them, the Thunder Plains taught harsh lessons in humility.

But these were minor digressions. Simply put, Meng Shangren understood precisely what Feng Jun and his group wanted to learn.

The construction of settlements, the body-refining equipment on the outskirts of settlements, and the devices used to harness and control thunder—these were things he could provide a simple introduction to, enough to satisfy their curiosity. Naturally, what couldn’t be revealed was left unsaid.

Feng Jun listened with great interest because these details provided the most direct insight into how thunder cultivators understood and worked with lightning.

Not to mention, the settlement buildings themselves served as a kind of Faraday Cage. Moreover, this Faraday Cage wasn’t grounded, allowing for the possibility of electromagnetic oscillations. These slight oscillations were ingeniously adapted for body refinement.

Thunder cultivators likely didn’t understand Earth Realm physics terminology, and Feng Jun wasn’t an expert either, but he could clearly see that thunder cultivators had an exceptional grasp of lightning. In some aspects, their knowledge even surpassed Earth Realm’s technological capabilities.

Feng Jun silently recorded each scene he encountered in his mind. Occasionally, he would step forward to give it a try and personally feel what it was like to let lightning pass through his body—but only after Meng Shangren confirmed it was safe would he allow them to experience it.

It wasn’t just Feng Jun; the others also stepped forward one by one to experience it.

By the time their tour ended, it was already midday the next day. Meng Shangren asked them, "Would you like to see the charging process of a Yunlei Stone?"

Such treatment was not something ordinary tourists could enjoy, but because Mount Zhige was viewed as a friendly entity by Thunder Plains—and Meng Shangren had heard that one of the female Shangrens was a Taiqing disciple while the other was Tiantong’s president—he extended the invitation.

Meng Shangren had certainly encountered many female Shangrens before, but... neither of these two were from the Crimson Pheonix Sect!

Huang Fu Wuxia showed keen interest in witnessing the Yunlei Stone’s charging process and exhibited the same enthusiasm as Earth Realm tourists, snapping pictures at every opportunity. Kong Ziyi, however, was indifferent—it was fine to look, but she wouldn’t mind if they skipped it.

They watched the Yunlei Stone’s charging process. While there were gains, they were comparatively modest.

Ordinary cultivators couldn’t observe it as thunder cultivators preferred to maintain an air of mystery. But after seeing it once and understanding the underlying principles, they felt it wasn’t as extraordinary as they had imagined—many things became crystal clear with just a glimpse.

Of course, given how underdeveloped Mobile Phone Plane’s technology was, many cultivators, even after seeing it, could only speculate about the reasons behind it. But Feng Jun seemed to understand almost everything—even though he was technically a humanities student.

He quickly set the matter aside, requesting to venture closer to the core area.

Their group included three Shangrens: aside from the Golden Core Family’s Huang Fu Shangren and Taiqing’s core disciple Kong Shangren, the thunder cultivators acknowledged Feng Shangren from Mount Zhige.

Feng Jun’s request was swiftly granted by the thunder cultivators, with the two female Shangrens perhaps genuinely curious and offering no objections whatsoever.

In truth, there weren’t many profound gains when they reached a settlement near the core area. Sure, the lightning was denser and the strikes more powerful, but beyond that... what more could they expect?

The journey, however, was rather laborious. The distance wasn’t immense, but the weather was outright dreadful.

They had fair luck on the way there, taking only two hours—though they dared not fly above the Thunder Plains.

The return trip, however, was frustrating and stretched over two whole days.

It was another day and a half after they returned to the sky pit cave where Yang Shangren was cultivating. The journey was best left unspoken—a tale fraught with grievances.

Originally, they had agreed on Yang Shangren cultivating for three days in the cave, but it had now dragged to six.

Not that it mattered much, considering it only meant paying a bit more cave rent. Feng Jun volunteered to cover the cost with Spirit Stones, but Luo Lieyang interjected, "Paying this small amount yourself—isn’t that looking down on my Thunder Plains?"

Eventually, Kong Ziyi stepped in, saying, "The matter of Yang Shangren is connected to me, so let me cover this cost, alright?"

In the eyes of thunder cultivators, Taiqing wasn’t much. It wasn’t as considerate as Mount Zhige, nor as vexatious as Yinsha Sect. Since Kong Ziyi was willing to pay, they naturally accepted.

Truth be told, everyone understood that once cultivation reached this level, you interacted with different people and things. In such exchanges, this meager amount of Spirit Stones was inconsequential.

Thus, the cost of Yang Shangren’s cultivation was settled by Kong Ziyi, and Luo Lieyang didn’t obstruct her.

Kong Ziyi paid the Spirit Stones without a care and then asked Feng Jun, "Will the core area’s lightning be sufficient for a Remnant Soul at Emergence Stage?"

Thanks to Luo Shangren’s detailed explanation, everyone now understood that the lightning in the core region of Thunder Plains could, at most, destroy a Golden Core—taking out a Nascent Soul was considerably more difficult. Even the Nascent Souls of Yinsha Sect dared to intrude, and members from other factions were no exception.

The Yin Spirit inside Feng Jun’s Soul Stone, appraised by Golden Core cultivators, was confirmed to be at least above the Nascent Soul level, but they unanimously agreed that it was merely a Remnant Soul—if it weren’t, its behavior would have been entirely different!

The question remained: Could lightning capable of destroying a Nascent Soul obliterate a Remnant Soul of Emergence Stage? It was an open question, with urgency palpable.

Nevertheless, Feng Jun’s group essentially agreed that an Emergence Remnant Soul was likely easier to deal with than a complete Nascent Soul.

After all, what kind of chaos could a whole Nascent Soul stir within a Soul Stone?

This Remnant Soul, on the other hand, had been skulking in weakness, too afraid to create upheavals. The facts were evident—there was no deception here.

While Kong Ziyi showed concern about the matter, Feng Jun felt a sense of gratification, perceiving it as a mark of everyone’s worry for him.

Still, he could only respond, "The lightning in the core area is exceptionally potent, but testing it now isn’t feasible."

He deeply wished to conduct an immediate test to see if the densely packed lightning in Thunder Plains could annihilate the Remnant Soul utterly.

But tests weren’t as simple as wanting to perform them. Feng Jun felt that Thunder Plains imposed rather strict tracking on outsiders.

Even with Thunder Plains being friendly to him, there remained a detectable layer of vigilance from top to bottom.

He didn’t want to disclose the origins of the Soul Stone nor give any explanations about the Yin Spirit’s level, lest it cause unnecessary disputes.

So he merely smiled and said, "It’s time to leave; this is just a stop on our journey. Aren’t we heading to Taiqing next?"

Taiqing was quite far from Thunder Plains in terms of physical distance, though its sphere of influence was geographically close to the Crimson Pheonix Sect.

Everyone summoned Yang Shangren from his cave and proceeded together.

Yang Shangren’s situation was somewhat pitiful. He had cultivated in the cave for six days, laboriously restoring his health to seventy-five—yes, six days of cultivation had only brought his life force up by a quarter due to the severity of his injuries.

He was reluctant to leave immediately, yet this was not subject to his own will. He didn’t even have the right to object.

After ten days of travel, the group reached a town close to Taiqing Sect—Peach Blossom Town.

Peach Blossom Town had a population of over two hundred thousand and managed a surrounding district of six hundred thousand residents. A small faction called Flawless Jade Association controlled it. As a subsidiary of Taiqing Sect, it also maintained connections with external Fang Markets. Tiantong even had a small branch here.

Despite its modest size, the branch counted as a first-tier sub-association—having slightly higher status than Huang Fu Wuxia.

Kong Ziyi had already contacted a senior apprentice brother to deliver her Storage Bag in the town, preferring not to involve Feng Jun as the matter concerned her and her grandmother’s privacy.

The brother’s surname was Tong, an eighth-level Emergence cultivator, attractive and refined—but compared with Lu Wanfeng, he had a somewhat masculine edge.

Tong Shangren was taciturn, simply handing over the storage bag and asking one question, "Does Junior Sister Kong have anything else?" Upon receiving a negative response, he flew away immediately without even a farewell, showing no interest in the accompanying Shangrens, not even giving them a passing glance.

Feng Jun surmised that this man likely had no inkling of the true relationship between Master Sumiao and Kong Ziyi.

Kong Ziyi, however, held a good impression of Tong Shangren, remarking, "Senior Brother Tong is cold on the surface but warmhearted inside. Whenever I need help, I turn to him, and he never refuses."

After five additional days, they finally traversed the territory of Ten Directions Platform and reached Feng Jun’s purchased mining site.

Throughout the journey, Yang Shangren diligently cultivated, but even so, his health had only recovered to ninety-two thus far.

Wang Botai proved quite competent, hiring two small local factions to oversee the area—one with the surname Hei, the other Sun. Both small clans consisted of several hundred Qi Refinement members, but the Hei clan had members cultivating on Wuyou Platform.

He promised them some remuneration for their services.

Feng Jun and his group first arrived at Lantern Town, home to the Sun family and under the jurisdiction of Mingsha Fang Market.

Just as they were stopping outside the town, ready to enter, they encountered a challenge duel taking place.

The dueling parties were Qi Refinement cultivators, each with seven or eight participants, but the spectators numbered nearly a thousand, forming two clear factions.

Feng Jun and his group had no interest in such low-level fights. However, their sudden appearance alarmed both sides dramatically.

Relieved that they seemed to be heading into the town, the dueling factions dared to breathe again.

One side then loudly provoked, "Third match! Does the Wu family have anyone left to send? This time, the wager is the southwestern corner of White Pebble Beach!"

"Hmm?" Feng Jun turned his head back in surprise, walking toward them.

If he remembered correctly, White Pebble Beach should be the area producing oil—an asset he had purchased and assigned guardianship over.

And now... someone was wagering his territory like a betting chip? Did they ask him for permission?

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