Big Data Cultivation-Chapter 2109 - 2111: Comparison Brings Pain

Elder Qinghuang’s words were all true. He seemed to trust Feng Jun quite a bit, but things are certainly not that simple.

He would choose a remote location to project the Heaven Shielding Array, check the spatial anchor point thoroughly, both before and after, and even set up some alert devices. None of this is difficult to manage, nor does it cost much.

To be honest, he actually hoped Feng Jun wasn’t too much of a gentleman and stealthily snuck in, so Jinwu could just capture him—such a skilled deduction talent wandering outside is truly a pity.

Feng Jun couldn’t have imagined that Elder Qinghuang had such plans, yet he never liked to intrude on others’ private spaces. The tracking feature, to him, mainly saves time on travel.

Since Elder Qinghuang was willing to provide better deduction conditions, Feng Jun didn’t mind staying for two days. Qu Jianlei had already been nagging about wanting to buy this and that in Blazing Flame, and Ji Buseng shared the same sentiment.

Wan Qing and the other two willingly served as guides. Often, Feng Jun simply asked about prices, and the three True Immortals would wave off their hands, saying, "Take it, put it on my account."

Not everyone could make True Immortals pay such bills. Feng Jun was undoubtedly a deduction expert, but so was Wen Jie, right? Look at Wu Nan’s attitude toward him?

Frankly, it was Feng Jun’s actions that impressed the other party. He found Wu Nan’s True Immortal quite pleasant and was willing to take risks to see if he could further assist in removing the curse—his compulsive need to help people always drove him to see things through.

Yet, his behavior in the eyes of Wan Qing and the others looked quite different. Reality had proven that the Qingping Realm’s consciousness is rather rigid and stubborn. Wu Nan had essentially given up on treatment, but Feng Jun, knowledgeable about the karma curse, still dared to think about removing it.

He hadn’t even asked for a deduction fee, clearly indicating that his aim wasn’t to make money, but to genuinely help others.

Especially when Feng Jun reluctantly produced the Substitute Soul Puppet, which everyone witnessed, feeling both amused and compassionate—if only you’d mentioned wanting this thing sooner, we could have found a way.

Overall, everyone found him agreeable, gladly spending a little money for him, feeling cheerful about it.

Qu Jianlei and Ji Buseng benefited as well. A little leak from the True Immortal upstairs and the Masters below would become exuberant.

Halfway through their stroll, a Jinwu disciple quietly handed Wan Qing a waist token.

This waist token was precisely the Blazing Flame VIP Card Wan Qing had promised. Before handing it to Feng Jun, she casually gathered some information and completed the encapsulation, explaining that this was the highest-grade purple VIP card, giving access to all the open venues within the Blazing Flame Plate.

The only places where even Jinwu disciples needed contribution points—instead of status or waist tokens—to enter would stop Feng Jun. But as long as he presented the purple VIP card, after the guarding disciples reported up the ranks, he’d likely be allowed in.

As Wan Qing casually remarked, "Elder Qinghuang greatly appreciates you. Besides restricted areas, you can virtually enter anywhere... though he might seize the opportunity to demand a few deductions."

"Hmph," a cold snort exploded in his head, as Elder Qinghuang sensed his name being mentioned, probing with his Divine Sense, catching Wan Qing’s "junior" talking ill about him.

This snort reminded Wan Qing that there was also an elder behind her.

Thus, that night, she contacted Elder Qing Ji, explained the situation, and expressed her eagerness to establish good relations with Feng Jun. The fire embryo must be gifted away, and she hoped to acquire two Substitute Soul Puppets as well.

The fire embryo was the deduction fee for ten Core Formation slots—a complete set—and no one had yet made a breakthrough, so Wan Qing was holding onto it. She felt it would be more legitimate to break through at least one or two before handing it over.

Given the current situation, there’s really no need to wait any longer, just hand it over.

Immortal Qing Ji, while familiar with deduction—most True Immortals have to master this skill to some extent—the difference lies in how proficient they are. Those like Elder Qinghuang, who barely dabble in deduction, are rather rare.

She remarked that Substitute Soul Puppets were indeed rare, as most deducers don’t need them. If one needs self-deduction, why not find a deduction expert within the same circle to help? It’s common to aid each other.

Only top-level deduction masters whose skills are notably superior to others will perform self-deduction, but mostly with Mirror Talismans. The chief purpose of Substitute Soul Puppets is actually to surrogate lives, collected by many who don’t know how to deduce.

So she conceded, "I can only try to see if I can find one or two."

The next day continued with shopping, but Feng Jun and the four of them didn’t want Wan Qing to accompany them anymore. Early in the morning, they left, confident that the VIP card in hand would ensure they faced no obstacles.

Of course, once they left their residence, Wan Qing immediately noticed. Nevertheless, it was clear they didn’t wish to trouble her anymore, so she refrained from joining them, silently sighing, "Such tactful people indeed."

On the third day, the Heaven Shielding Array was activated, projected into a valley. In the morning, Jinwu Sect disciples used it. By afternoon, it should have been closed, but Elder Qinghuang extended it for half a day, inviting Feng Jun and others to enter.

The valley wasn’t large, the part where the Heaven Shielding Array was projected only covered about three or four miles. When Feng Jun entered, the air was still filled with various subtle fluctuations.

Immortal Yi Jue seemed unimpressed by this, casually asking, "What are you experimenting with?"

"Immortal Yi Jue has eyes as sharp as torches!" Elder Qinghuang raised a thumb with a smile and said, "But it’s not anything important, otherwise I would have interfered with the aura."

In short, one of the main functions of the Heaven Shielding Array is to test certain things. The Blazing Flame Plate is the core area of the Jinwu Sect, and the defense is very strong. However, if someone really wanted to deduce something, it’s possible to do so, hence it’s necessary to shield it.

Arriving at a pavilion, there was already someone there, a tall and thin Nascent Soul Middle Phase individual.

After meeting, he cupped his hands, "Greetings Senior Brother Wan Qing, Wu Nan, and Junior Brother Jiu Wei. This must be Mountain Master Feng, indeed a man of talent. Immortal Yi Jue, you are my idol... Finally, I get to see the true person."

This person is very attentive in handling matters, and the order of greetings is also well-done. He greeted his fellow sect members first, then honored guest Feng Jun, and finally Yi Jue, but in a complimenting manner, such that it’s hard to dislike him.

Wan Qing and the others returned the greetings, and as expected, this person is Elder Qinghuang’s proud disciple’s disciple, True Immortal Wu Fan.

Immortal Yi Jue maintained her high and cold demeanor, just nodded in acknowledgment, and Wu Fan did not mind. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Elder Qinghuang raised his chin, "Take it out... Fellow Daoist Feng, a small token, don’t refuse."

"Ah?" True Immortal Wu Fan was momentarily stunned, twitching his mouth, "Master, about that..."

"What are you mumbling about?" Elder Qinghuang gave him a cold glance, "Didn’t you get two? Don’t embarrass me!"

"But..." True Immortal Wu Fan wore a mournful expression, took out two puppets and placed them on the table, "But you didn’t say Mountain Master Feng is a Golden Core Master, I got Substitute Soul Puppets for Nascent Soul, this is..."

"Hmm?" Elder Qinghuang was immediately dumbfounded. He had crammed on Substitute Soul Puppets knowledge in the past two days, knowing their greatest function is to substitute life, something truly priceless.

So, here’s the problem: does the life of a Nascent Soul have the same value as that of a Golden Core?

Not only are they different, but they also differ tremendously, probably not even stopping at tenfold, "You mean... I didn’t tell you?"

"Absolutely not!" True Immortal Wu Fan was in despair, so he had to clarify, "You just said to get Substitute Soul Puppets. I figured, considering the people you deal with, they must all be True Immortals of Nascent Soul, right? The Golden Core... it didn’t even cross my mind."

Dammit... Elder Qinghuang was so exasperated that he rolled his eyes, but he was ultimately decisive, waving a hand, "Then Nascent Soul it is. Fellow Daoist Feng’s advancement to Nascent Soul, I suppose, is only a matter of a hundred years, it will come in handy soon."

He felt he was already praising Feng Jun greatly; within a hundred years, advancing to Nascent Soul from the First Layer of Golden Core is a level rivaling Immortal Yi Jue. Anyway... Yi Jue is with him on this journey, she shouldn’t be upset, right?

Feng Jun only felt like rolling his eyes at this, advancing to Nascent Soul in a hundred years? I might as well buy two pounds of tofu and knock myself out.

He forced a smile, palms together, "This... is not appropriate, it’s too valuable. Elder Qinghuang, I appreciate your kindness, but I really can’t accept it. Actually, you should know, I’m not short of Spirit Stones, it’s just that Substitute Soul Puppets are hard to come by."

Elder Qinghuang blinked and smiled, "Then I’ll sell it to you, want to buy it?"

"Buy," Feng Jun nodded, answering straightforwardly, "How many upper-level Spirit Stones?"

He assumed there’s no way it could be bought with intermediate Spirit Stones, so he directly quoted upper-level Spirit Stones. Although it might not be easy to buy with upper-level Spirit Stones either, quoting with them shouldn’t be too embarrassing, right?

Elder Qinghuang replied with a grin, "Whatever the cost is for you to dispel Wu Nan’s curse, this Substitute Soul Puppet is half of that... regardless of success, I will settle up with you."

Ultimately, he still intends to give it as a gift, as for the cost of dispelling the curse, he can settle that internally with Wu Nan, it’s unrelated to Feng Jun.

Then he glanced at Immortal Yi Jue, "Immortal Yi Jue can also accept on your behalf."

Feng Jun asked, half crying, half laughing, "Do you think I’m definitely going to die?"

Elder Qinghuang appeared confused, "What do you mean by ’definitely going to die’... die what?"

Feng Jun raised his hand and slapped his forehead, "I mean fall."

"Fallen... how could that be?" Elder Qinghuang thought exactly that, but he definitely couldn’t admit it, could he? "However, don’t underestimate cause-and-effect curses, Immortal Yi Jue will certainly be there to protect you, right?"

Immortal Yi Jue silently gave him a glance, then lowered her head to continue working on her divination sticks, she was ready for the deduction.

Elder Qinghuang felt a bit awkward when True Immortal Wan Qing came over, also took out two puppets, placed them on the table, and spoke with a smile, "Golden Core Stage... only used once."