Big Data Cultivation

Sofia saw Feng Jun getting into the car and proactively handed over her mobile phone and iPad, asking in English, "How should we handle this?"

"Help me search for a place first," Feng Jun mentioned a name. "Navigate there."

Using electronic devices for navigation meant the two couldn't discuss any confidential matters—what if there was eavesdropping?

Fortunately, the place they were going to was easy to find. After Sofia searched for a while, she said, "I've been there before. We don't need a navigation system; why don't you help me put away my phone?"

Three hundred kilometers of road took Sofia a little over three hours to travel.

Feng Jun swiped his mobile phone twice, confirming the location. It was a small courtyard by the roadside, not very big and somewhat old, but the lawn and flowers were well-kept and neatly arranged. You could tell the owner was someone who appreciated life.

However, those who thought this way were completely mistaken; the owner of the place was Keane, the Apostate, and this was his hideout.

In addition to Keane, there was also a Mohican woman living in the house, hired as a servant.

But the neighbors all assumed old Keane was lonely and had hired someone for help, occasionally resolving some personal needs. As for why he chose a Mohican, it was clearly because she was affordable.

Of course, those who knew Keane's true identity couldn't help but suspect whether this woman was Keane's accomplice.

However, Feng Jun, having some of Keane's memories, knew that this woman was genuinely just a servant, so he didn't have many concerns and decisively used tranquilizers upon entering the courtyard.

He had other means to make the woman pass out, but if he wanted to avoid attention, it was best to use a conservative approach—let such a peaceful place remain peaceful.

Once the woman was sound asleep, Feng Jun quietly entered the room, turned off the surveillance system, then came to the study, moved a storage box aside, revealing the flooring underneath—below the floor was Keane's secret stash.

The stash didn't contain much: a few gold bars, rolls of twenty-dollar bills, a pistol, a pitch-black cross, a packet of assorted items, and a few books.

Raising his hand, Feng Jun took everything away and carefully restored the items before swiftly leaving.

Before leaving, he remembered to turn the surveillance back on.

Sofia's car was slowly driving over ten kilometers ahead, and he caught up, tapped the window, and Sofia confirmed it was him, stopped, and opened the car door, "Get in."

"No need, come down," Feng Jun shook his head. "This car is too slow; I'll take you by plane."

"A plane," Sofia smiled subtly and got out of the car, but reminded him, "Be careful; we have strict air control."

"Isn't it raining?" Feng Jun casually retrieved the car and released a flying boat, "It's been raining along the way, satellites can't observe... As for radar, just detour a bit."

His words seemed to have a certain power; the flying boat was indeed caught by radar, but the other side had no clue what signal they had captured. "This speed... Could it be a fighter jet?"

Feng Jun took only twenty minutes to bring Sofia back to the hideaway they used last night—this was after twisting and turning along the way and finally flying under the radar for about thirty kilometers.

The two descended slowly in the courtyard, Feng Jun raised his hand and released the car, while Sofia spoke up, "Hey, give me a cigarette."

"You can't even really smoke," Feng Jun glanced at her, pulled one out, handed it to her, lit another for himself, and sat heavily on the wooden steps. "Alright, the matter with Keane is fully settled."

Sofia asked, "You traveled so far today, what did you get?"

"Probably just... a cross?" Feng Jun pulled out the pitch-black cross, palm-sized, with a flat disc in the center about four centimeters in diameter.

Sofia furrowed her brows, "What is this thing? It looks so unremarkable."

With a thought, Feng Jun conjured a Spiritual Qi Shield out of thin air, encompassing them both.

Then he rotated the disc slightly, and it slowly opened to reveal a dazzling yellow flower inside.

Sofia gasped and squinted her eyes slightly, "Is this... a Golden Sunflower?"

"That's right," Feng Jun nodded and shot her a sideways glance, smiling as he spoke, "Seems you know the value of this object."

How could I not? Sofia rolled her eyes, "It's a Sacred Object, on par with the Golden Beetle, but it disappeared in the early 20th century... Did Keane really have this thing?"

"Strictly speaking, it was after he obtained the Golden Sunflower that he chose to become an apostate," Feng Jun answered leisurely. "When he acquired it, he lacked experience, and the aura of the Golden Sunflower became known to others. He killed to silence them and consequently went down a dark path."

"It is indeed like this," Sofia nodded, answering very confidently, "a holy aura, the church has detection methods."

As she said this, she suddenly paused, "Oh no, quickly put things away, or else it will be over."

Feng Jun raised his hand and pointed to the sky, "Look for yourself."

Because it was nighttime, Sofia had not noticed that there was actually a transparent shield overhead. Now, upon closer inspection, she found something different, "Even rainwater is blocked... What is this thing?"

"You don't need to worry about what it is, anyway I guarantee that the aura won't leak," Feng Jun replied leisurely, then covered the disc and handed over the cross, "Are you satisfied with this gift?"

"This..." Sofia frowned, not taking the cross, "I won't find it useful, and I don't believe in religion, you know."

"This has nothing to do with faith," Feng Jun lit another cigarette and retracted the Spiritual Qi Shield, "Keane could use it to make holy water, do you think this has anything to do with faith?"

Sofia was stunned for a moment, just about to speak, when she noticed the transparent shield had disappeared, "Oh, be careful of the holy aura..."

My cat deity at home calls this an evil god's aura, Feng Jun chuckled, "That metal piece can block it; as long as it's covered properly, the church won't detect it, and you can use it too..."

"I won't make holy water," Sofia rudely interrupted him, "I hate holy water and don't care about the money, I just want to cultivate with you."

"Can you let me finish?" Feng Jun frowned slightly, his tone authoritative without anger, scaring Sofia into silence.

After pausing for a while, he continued, "I'm not asking you to make holy water, I mean with this Golden Sunflower, you can totally cultivate by yourself, take the path of faith cultivation... I asked you to look into the situation of church nuns, right?"

"No one in the church cultivates anymore," Sofia replied disinterestedly, "Even in The Sanctuary, there are barely any strong ones left. Back when Keane was rampant, he killed several people in The Sanctuary, and only when experts from Europe were brought in, was he severely injured."

Feng Jun frowned, "The Sanctuary?"

"It's the infamous Inquisition," Sofia replied with a look of disdain, clearly showing her lack of belief, "It has such a bad reputation, so it changed its name."

Feng Jun raised an eyebrow, asking in confusion, "This is a judgment institution, not a combat one, right?"

"I don't know about that, executions should be their domain too," Sofia pondered for a moment before answering, "Anyway, Keane escaped by force, and I really have no regard for what the church has."

"What I taught you is not from the church," Feng Jun spoke calmly, "The only similarity is... it's faith-based cultivation, and it's only suitable for you alone, what do you think?"

He indeed gained some benefits from Sofia, mainly acquiring some knowledge about the conversion of faith and incense fire while finally shaking off the pressure from Lin Heihu.

Of course, it's still a bit early to discuss this topic since the related cultivation technique hasn't been deduced yet, but for Feng Jun, that's just a matter of time; there is no possibility of failing to deduce it—unlike Lin Heihu, who might manage to deduce the cultivation technique himself.

Sofia's faith cultivation technique requires Feng Jun's help to deduce. As mentioned, he can't disclose the Daoist Sects' cultivation techniques, so he's helping the young girl improve her faith cultivation technique—changing it into a kind that only she can cultivate.

The faith cultivation techniques of Mai Nation have long existed, especially the Apostates' research into the soul, which is quite formidable. Feng Jun doesn't understand why they would decline to such an extent, even unable to kill Keane, but on the whole, it still seems to be due to a lack of faith.

Indeed, the information explosion led to the decline of religious systems, much like the decline of Huaxia's Incense Fire Ascension, coupled with the influence of the Dharma-ending Age, even the Daoist Sects that only cultivate themselves couldn't withstand it, the impact on other cultivators can only be greater.

Feng Jun can help Sofia deduce the cultivation technique, mainly considering that she currently possesses the "Sacred Object" Golden Sunflower—how many people can cultivate with a technique that can only be paired with the Golden Sunflower?

Not to mention, he's planning to customize the cultivation technique for her.

So he doesn't feel any guilt for "helping foreigners cultivate," nor does he worry about it spreading; he just wants to settle the karma.

Sofia hesitated for a moment, then looked at the cross in his hand again, "This kind of sacred object, the Golden Sunflower... Aren't you keeping it?"

In our realm, it's called an evil object! Feng Jun took a puff of his cigarette and smiled slightly, "Heh, it's just a sacred object in your eyes."

"I don't think it's a sacred object," Sofia spoke softly, "I hate the church, I just want to cultivate with you."

"This... there's really no way," Feng Jun spread his hands, expressing with some regret, "I can't teach you my cultivation techniques, this is not racial discrimination, it's that our genes are different, you can't practice it, you might call it genetic discrimination."

Sofia remained silent for a long time before she finally said, "Zhang Caixin seems to... also have Caucasian heritage."

(First update, congratulations to the leader Xiao Niu Niu Mo, calling for monthly votes.)