Big Data Cultivation

Zhao, the Prefectural Governor's performance, truly exemplifies typical official chit-chat. As the Governor of Fushan County, he's actually unclear about the distribution of the fourteen prefectures within the county.

It's not that he's completely clueless; he has a general understanding of the situation, just not a firm grasp on the details.

The Magistrate sighed, "Governor, it's Xiangyun Prefecture under Fei Yu."

Upon hearing this, Zhao suddenly realized, as the magistrate of Xiangyun Prefecture trained under the same master as him, their personal relationship was quite good. "Since it's Xiangyun, I'll make the decision to allocate a hundred miles of land, shouldn't be an issue."

"Hold on," the Qingning Prefecture Governor was startled, "Prefectural Governor Zhao, a hundred miles there includes a river, and there's constant fighting over water rights on both banks."

Dealing with a chief who doesn't understand the people's sentiments is truly painful. Allocating land just based on your relationship with the magistrate? Have you considered the local terrain? The people's sentiments? We shouldn't make decisions on a whim like this.

The Prefectural Governor Zhao was quite open to suggestions, not insisting stubbornly. He nodded, "Thanks for the reminder, Zi Yi. Hmm… How much land can be allocated without affecting the people?"

So you do know not to disturb the people? That's rare indeed. The Qingning Prefecture Governor glanced at him, "Maybe only a dozen or so miles. I haven't calculated it precisely, and it's not my Qingning Prefecture."

"Tsk, a bit too little," Prefectural Governor Zhao clicked his tongue; land in Donghua Country is indeed not of much value due to the sparse population.

Then he looked at Feng Jun, "Mountain Master Feng, I guarantee at least twenty miles of land can be allocated to you. Would that be agreeable?"

Feng Jun smiled, "There's no need for it to be exactly twenty miles. Anything over ten miles is fine. Arrange it as you see fit, but the key is not to disturb the people."

The Magistrate gave a thumbs-up, "Truly worthy of the demeanor of the Immortal Family, much respect!"

Zhao, the Prefectural Governor, smiled and nodded, "What Zi Yi said is most accurate, and I too greatly admire Mountain Master Feng's benevolence. By the way, Mountain Master, could I… stop kneeling?"

He was always worried about his dignity, frightened by the County Magistrate Ruan's outcome earlier, but now he had found a way to curry favor with the Immortal Master.

"Reduce it by half, just kneel for five days," Feng Jun was not unreasonable, "If you can ensure not to disturb the people, three days will suffice."

Zhao, the Prefectural Governor, smacked his lips in distress, "Must I kneel?"

Feng Jun originally didn't want to acknowledge him, but considering the land allocation of several square kilometers, he responded, "The dignity of Mount Zhige's Immortal Family cannot be desecrated by mortals. A mistake must come with a cost, and it must be declared to the world."

Zhao, the Prefectural Governor, pondered for a long while before responding, "Then forget it, make it ten days. Could I reduce my compensation by half?"

Feng Jun, amused and exasperated, nodded, "Of course… You're not concerned about face now?"

"What difference does it make between five days and ten days of kneeling?" Zhao, the Prefectural Governor, responded naturally, "Since it's already disgraceful, I might as well consider reducing some financial losses… If I ensure not to disturb the people, could it be reduced by 30%?"

"Of course," Feng Jun confirmed again, "Although there is a difference between mortals and the cultivators, it is only a difference in groups. For the common folk, life is difficult, and when they haven't done anything wrong… the cultivators won't easily infringe on their interests."

Deng Yifu, playing the role of a guest, couldn't help but scoff, "In this matter, the official government is far inferior to the cultivators."

Zhao, the Prefectural Governor, shot him a cold glance, originally unwilling to acknowledge this old geezer, but considering this person could talk to Mountain Master Feng, he ended up giving a forced smile, "Would you compete with pigs and dogs for food? What the Immortal Family contends for is not the same thing that concerns the likes of us."

Deng Yifu also snorted coldly. Both his sons were injured, showing no respect to the dignified Prefectural Governor, "At least I wouldn't idly go and abuse pigs and dogs."

Prefectural Governor Zhao was momentarily speechless, and after a long while, he sighed.

With the handling of the three chiefs, the clearing operation of Mount Zhige was basically set. However, even the ordinary people of Mount Zhige were not easy to deal with. Now that they had the upper hand, they'd certainly take revenge extensively.

The clearing operation lasted for more than a month. It wasn't that it would be completely without further incidents afterward; for instance, those who counterfeit Boiler Camel Motorcycles were indeed hard to eradicate, as the benefits were there.

Some Qi Refining disciples from Taiqing and Crimson Phoenix had already arrived to guard the Destiny Stone here.

The high cost of such protection made it hard to say whether it was a profit or a loss, yet the value of the Destiny Stone itself wasn't easy to assess.

These matters didn't need Feng Jun's participation. In fact, at his level, participation or not, only an attitude was necessary, and others would handle the associated operations.

Feng Jun stayed at Mount Zhige for over two months, and the popularity here was visibly recovering. The eradication of offending outsiders was also gradually progressing, and currently, the number of those executed had already exceeded ten thousand.

Brutal? It's not even considered such. The former "Hundred Flowers Tower Disaster" was merely one Mid-Stage Golden Core cultivator's wrath, yet it resulted in a massacre, collapsing the massive Hundred Flowers Tower directly.

If Feng Jun didn't exercise restraint, this incident could have been even more severe than that.

Feng Jun was actually not idle either; he was studying the gains from this venture with the Big Boss.

The gains were related to cultivation level, but it's not all about that. Last time, he slew Master Ma, a dignified Mid-Stage Golden Core, but it was no big deal. Other than the fifty thousand Spirit Stones deposit, there wasn't much of value.

In comparison, the harvest from this trip to the Mortal Realm was quite good; just the "Flood Dragon's Cyan Carp Egg" was an unexpected delight. Such aquatic beast eggs were quite rare, not to mention it's a growth type.

Old Man Su from Qiuchen Market bought his granddaughter a Purple Gold Eagle Egg, which is a rare flying pet. It's not only convenient but also has strong combat strength, yet even so, it may not surpass an aquatic Spirit Beast egg.

The application range of aquatic Spirit Beasts is narrower compared to flying Spirit Beasts, but for those who truly need it, its value is incomparable—Cultivators can fly at the early Qi Refinement stage, but can they move freely in the ocean? Not even Golden Cores can.

Moreover, this is a wild beast egg, not a Spirit Beast egg.

However, the Big Boss wasn't in a hurry to hatch the egg; he was more interested in the Magical Treasure Feng Jun confiscated—a damaged Treasure Seeking Plate.

The Treasure Seeking Plate is somewhat similar to an electronic map; when activated, it can scan nearby surroundings and analyze the amount of Spiritual Energy, determining the direction for treasure hunting.

When the Treasure Seeking Plate was acquired, there was only one month left in its four-month cooldown period. Yet, Feng Jun hadn't tried to activate this thing, as he felt it was unnecessary—what could there be around that he was unaware of?

But the Big Boss' insight and deduction abilities could basically unlock the incomplete functions of the Treasure Seeking Plate.

This isn't the point; the point is the Big Boss believes this is a Qi Seeking Plate, not a Treasure Seeking Plate.

A Qi Seeking Plate seeks Spiritual Energy, while a Treasure Seeking Plate uses Spiritual Energy to seek treasures. They are supposedly complementary without major problems—though it's broken.

But those who think this way do have issues. In the Big Boss' view, this Qi Seeking Plate is not for seeking Spiritual Energy but Earth Energy, meaning—it's for seeking Earth Veins.

The Big Boss is well aware of Feng Jun's extraordinary obsession with enhancing Earth Veins, but unfortunately, this world places too much emphasis on Earth Vein Techniques; the real inheritance only lies with Taiqing.

Taiqing is unlikely to spread their Earth Vein Techniques. Such a major issue can't be decided by the governance; it requires the Elders Council's approval.

The Big Boss has noticed Feng Jun constantly pondering Earth Vein Techniques, never getting the method right, and even he was anxious.

The key is he himself cares deeply about this research—he wants to restore his cultivation level!

The Soul Nourishing Array is everything? Not at all; it's just a very small means to mend the soul, needing plenty of Spiritual Energy for nourishment.

Frankly speaking, draining any of the Four Great Sects' Spiritual Energy couldn't restore him to peak form—not possible.

Even all Four Great Sects combined wouldn't.

And now, he can't even manage to drain the Spiritual Energy of the Four Great Sects, let alone other things.

So he's also hoping Feng Jun can secure a feng shui treasure land, or excellent Earth Vein, so the two can happily cultivate together.

The most annoying part is, although the Big Boss is almost omniscient, he truly doesn't understand Earth Vein Techniques and genuinely can't help Feng Jun.

So after discovering the condition of the Treasure Seeking Plate, the two abandoned their previous disputes and started to contemplate how to better utilize the Qi Seeking Plate.

"You start deducing," the Big Boss proposed, "If feasible, repair this Qi Seeking Plate. If it can be upgraded to an Earth Vein Seeking Plate, that would be even better… you and I both need high-level Earth Veins."

"Hold on a sec, slow down, the nutrition isn't catching up," Feng Jun said innocently, "I need high-level Earth Veins, but why do you think… I can upgrade this broken thing to an Earth Vein Seeking Plate?"

"I believe you can do it," the Big Boss said without any explanation, still in his headstrong thinking mode, "I'll help you analyze; you're capable of deducing. How can't you do it? If all else fails… use medium-quality Spirit Stones to buy materials."

He obtained five hundred medium-quality Spirit Stones from the Bewildering Soul Forest's secret cache, had two hundred for personal use, gave Feng Jun a hundred to distribute, leaving two hundred as a flexible resource.

Feng Jun was aware of his hoard—he retrieved the treasures himself. He wouldn't covet what's not his, but it's normal to have some thoughts about them.

So he knew well that the Yin Spirits had two hundred medium-quality Spirit Stones, yet after some thought, he still frowned and shook his head, "Enhancing Earth Veins, this Qi Seeking Plate is a small matter; the key is to have an effective theory."

Taiqing has been a bit complacent recently; it's time to push them a bit.

"Well, perfect your theory quickly then," the Big Boss' enthusiasm cooled immediately, and he drily advised, "You better figure out the oddities at Mount Zhige… especially concerning the Destiny Stone, Taiqing surely won't ignore it."

(Three updates in a row, calling for monthly votes.)