Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 1184: For the Sake of Sentimentality

Chapter 1184: Chapter 1184: For the Sake of Sentimentality

After Feng Jun left the Wu Family, he did not remain in the town but chose a plot of land on the edge of the town. He and Kong Ziyi each summoned their mobile abodes.

The Sun and Wu Clans’ reckoning with the Pan Family was still ongoing, but Clan Leader Sun Daqi came to the courtyard where Feng Jun was staying to request an audience.

Sun Daqi naturally knew about mobile magical abodes, but he never imagined his backer’s strength was this formidable—not only did his backer have such an abode, but even his backer’s friend possessed one.

The reason he came to see Feng Jun was to deliver the penalty payment. Simultaneously, however, he hoped that Mountain Master Feng would allow them to continue guarding White Pebble Beach.

Feng Jun accepted the penalty payment, which wasn’t much—double the guardianship fee came to one hundred Spirit Stones, and double the debt from wagering amounted to eight thousand Spirit Stones.

However, as for allowing the Sun Family to continue their guardianship, Feng Jun did not make a statement and directly used the walkie-talkie to call Huang Fu Wuxia—after all, Chairman Huang Fu was residing in the same mobile abode as Kong Ziyi.

As a result, both of them came over, and even Manager Tang, who had been chatting nearby, also tagged along.

Strictly speaking, Manager Tang was only at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refinement, and as a male cultivator, he wasn’t qualified to enter the mobile abode of a Taiqing Zixia Peak disciple. However, Kong Ziyi considered the fact that Feng Jun had purchased land here, and no matter how one looked at it, Manager Tang could be considered half-aligned with their group, so she gave him a bit of consideration.

Feng Jun made no effort to avoid the Sun Family and directly voiced his doubts, concluding with the question, "Who nearby has reliable people that could help guard White Pebble Beach?"

Manager Tang spoke first, "I have a friend who is also a cultivator at the Initial Stage of Cultivation Exceeding Dust. Their clan’s residence is only about a thousand miles from here. However, I wonder, to what extent does this guardianship need to be handled?"

"There’s not much that needs guarding," Feng Jun replied with a smile. "I plan to excavate fossilized insect corpses here. The cost for guardianship isn’t high—fifty Spirit Stones per year, just to ensure no one steals the resources."

Manager Tang vaguely knew that the Sun Family had been guarding a fossilized insect corpse mine, but he had previously thought it was just an excuse. He hadn’t expected it to be true.

Although he couldn’t quite comprehend what was so valuable about this mine, he still nodded, "This mine doesn’t seem to attract much attention, but White Pebble Beach is rather expansive. Guarding it could be tricky... When it comes to business, can they collect other items to supplement their income?"

As expected of someone from the Tiantong Commercial Alliance, he brought up profits as soon as he spoke.

Feng Jun glanced at him with a look of amused exasperation. "You can just do it discreetly. Are you expecting me to openly approve?"

This mindset stemmed from the Earth Realm, where a core principle held: "As a boss, never reveal your tolerance threshold to employees."

If a boss says, "Employees should only rely on ability to complete tasks and avoid unsavory methods," most employees, in pursuit of results, won’t hesitate to resort to questionable tactics—the boss merely said they "should avoid" it.

If a boss says, "I allow for mild corruption, but you must deliver great results," well, employees will think, "Since mild corruption is allowed, then a bit more won’t hurt."

Thus, Feng Jun expressed that if they wanted to seek some extra income at White Pebble Beach, they shouldn’t consult him openly because he wouldn’t publicly approve.

Manager Tang immediately understood, nodding with a grin. "Of course, some things can be done but not spoken of."

Hearing this, Feng Jun couldn’t help but roll his eyes: these friends from the ’mobile phone realm’ were still a bit too naive when handling things.

At this moment, Huang Fu Wuxia intervened. "I can also gather some friends to help, and we can even handle the excavation for you for a small fee."

Manager Tang glanced at her, paused for a moment, and thoughtfully nodded. "Indeed, having the Huang Fu Family get involved would be even better."

Sun Daqi, unable to hold himself back any longer, spoke up, "Mountain Master Feng, are these fossilized insect corpses really valuable?"

Feng Jun looked at him and shook his head slightly, "They aren’t valuable, but... due to the sheer volume, they become valuable."

Feng Jun knew very well that developing this project would only lead to Spirit Stone expenditures with no immediate returns. At best, it might generate some Huaxia currency in the Earth Realm—but at present, he wasn’t lacking in Huaxia currency.

However, when a person reaches a certain level and gains capabilities, their sentiments come into play. Feng Jun felt that pursuing this venture out of sentiment was worth spending some Spirit Stones—though if the expense became too great, it would dampen his enthusiasm.

Sun Daqi, upon hearing this, looked a bit lost. "So, it really is about the fossilized insect corpses..."

Compared to Wang Botai’s explanations, he was more inclined to believe Feng Jun’s words. Yet, precisely because of this, he became more apprehensive and uneasy. "Mountain Master Feng, the Sun Family realizes its mistakes. Can you give us a chance to atone?"

Before Feng Jun could respond, Manager Tang cut in, "Daoist Daqi, there’s a limit to everything. Don’t push your luck... Your clan’s disciples haven’t exactly come out empty-handed at White Pebble Beach. I know full well how much your Sun Family has sold to Tiantong this past year. And besides, are you telling me the Sun Family only sold to Tiantong?"

"Oh?" Feng Jun became curious. "The Sun Family harvested a lot at White Pebble Beach?"

Sun Daqi’s face turned pale at these words—the Sun Family’s gains from White Pebble Beach had indeed been significant.

To be fair, as a group of Qi-Refining cultivators, such efforts would always yield results, regardless of the undertaking, provided they worked hard for a year.

However, scavenging for natural treasures and leftover items at White Pebble Beach involved less risk and higher rewards compared to other ventures.

This was entirely natural. If anyone found fault with it, they could also purchase such an expansive plot of land and try their luck scavenging—or prevent others from stealing their spoils.

Thus, the reality was that people with resources made money far more easily than those without.

This explained why the Sun Family felt so unwilling to accept losing White Pebble Beach to the Pan and Wu Families.

Faced with Feng Jun’s question, Sun Daqi hesitated only briefly before candidly nodding. "Manager Tang is correct; my clan has indeed harvested quite a few items, but... none of them were treasures valued at more than ten Spirit Stones."

Ten Spirit Stones might sound insignificant, but it was enough to motivate two Innate Experts to take action.

As the group continued their conversation, someone knocked on the door—it was Cultivator Wu requesting an audience.

Feng Jun was quite puzzled. "Daoist Wu, weren’t you out capturing the Pan Family’s remaining stragglers? What brings you here?"

Cultivator Wu looked around and saw many onlookers. However, he couldn’t avoid speaking, so he braced himself and asked, "Mountain Master Feng, do you have any plans to deal with the Lu Family’s three brothers?"

Feng Jun furrowed his brow. "The three brothers—what’s their background?"

"Nothing special," Cultivator Wu replied with a smile. "They’re just some loose cultivators who managed to connect with the Ten Directions Terrace and now think they’re untouchable. Even the Mingsha Fang Market can’t stand them."

"The Mingsha Fang Market dislikes them? And yet they’re still hanging on?" Feng Jun found this perplexing. "Could it be they’re under the protection of a Realized Sage from the Ten Directions Terrace?"

"No, they haven’t connected with a Realized Sage," Cultivator Wu said, demonstrating a clear understanding of the Lu Brothers. "They managed to acquire a female cultivator with Innate Pure Water physique and offered her to a High-Rank Dust-Exceeding Cultivator at the Ten Directions Terrace. The Mingsha Fang Market simply chooses to ignore them."

Feng Jun instantly grasped the implications and followed up with a question. "So, the Ten Directions Terrace doesn’t necessarily recognize them, right?"

"Exactly," Cultivator Wu gave a thumbs-up, finding it incredibly easy to communicate with Feng Jun. Many things didn’t need to be explicitly stated for him to understand. "But the Lu Family’s three brothers don’t care–recognition isn’t important to them. The key is that no one dares provoke them."

Feng Jun nodded knowingly and asked with a smile, "So, it’s just one High-Rank Dust-Exceeding Cultivator backing them?"

Cultivator Wu had long been dissatisfied with the Lu Brothers and was eager to use Feng Jun’s influence to take them down. He quickly clarified, "It’s only three Initial Dust-Exceeding Cultivators. If things escalate, the Ten Directions Terrace might not even intervene..."

As he spoke, he glanced purposefully at Kong Ziyi and Huang Fu Wuxia. "We won’t lose."

Kong Ziyi was a disciple of Taiqing Zixia Peak, and Huang Fu Wuxia hailed from a Golden Core Clan. With these cards in hand, there was nothing to fear.

Feng Jun understood the implication. Regardless, such ash-gray assemblies were universally reviled. To attack them felt dirty, but to leave them alone brought endless irritation.

Indeed, the existence of these gray organizations thrived precisely because such ambiguous areas allowed them to operate freely.

So Feng Jun asked directly, "Can you ensure they’ll receive notice?"

Ensuring notification was all that mattered. If they dared not come, so be it. However, if they feigned ignorance, unnecessary disputes could arise.

Ultimately, Feng Jun wasn’t afraid of clashing with them head-on. While strong dragons might not crush local serpents, this wasn’t his territory, yet he had local connections. The Sun and Wu Families went without saying, and both Huang Fu Wuxia and Tiantong wielded influence here.

Although Kong Ziyi hailed from Taiqing, Taiqing and the Ten Directions Terrace were neighbors, not far from here.

Hence, Feng Jun saw no reason to fear a trio of petty bullies—not just because he had capable allies by his side, but, more importantly, because this was his land!

He understood the value of fossilized insect corpses—or, more precisely, petroleum—better than anyone. He’d decided he wouldn’t abandon this place, whether for sentiment or any other reason.

Under such circumstances, any provocation was intolerable to him, even if the target wasn’t him.

For the dignity of a Dust-Exceeding Cultivator, and for the stability of his domain, he had to respond.

Cultivator Wu nodded but hesitated before adding, "That said, if the wording of the message is too forceful, it may alert them prematurely."

"No need to be overly strong," Feng Jun waved his hand dismissively and said calmly, "Just tell them I’ll be waiting in Lantern Town for the next half-month. If they don’t show up, they needn’t come at all in the future... By the way, do you have connections with the Combat Cultivators in the Fang Market?"

Currently, those guarding White Pebble Beach, aside from the Sun Family, included people introduced by Manager Tang and some recommended by Huang Fu Wuxia. Nevertheless, Feng Jun felt more at ease using Combat Cultivators—even though he didn’t personally know any in the area.

Before Cultivator Wu could speak, Manager Tang interjected, "I’ll handle contacting the Combat Cultivators in the Fang Market."

After assigning the tasks, Kong Ziyi suddenly asked, "Daoist Feng, about You Longzi from the Yinsha Sect... what’s the story there?"

Such questions were better asked privately, yet she brought it up openly in front of everyone, clearly to support his position.