Big Data Cultivation

Yue Qing carefully analyzed the cause of the master's death. He believed it was very odd.

At that time, they said there were Yalong lizard beasts in the Burning Desert. Adult Yalong lizards are considered demon beasts, so a Golden Core cultivator must lead the hunt.

Qinggang disciples also needed to undergo trials, so it was normal to have a Golden Core lead.

During the outing, it was originally Master Nanmen at the seventh level of Golden Core to take charge—unstable combat strength, but to ensure the disciples' safety, it's always better to overestimate the opponent.

Of course, if the disciples could handle the Yalong lizards, the Golden Core wouldn't need to intervene.

There were seven disciples at the dust-free stage and over a hundred in the Qi Refinement Realm. Since the Qinggang Sect officially organized the trip, they certainly wouldn't just deal with the Yalong lizards; they were also to sweep through the designated area.

As a result, Feng Yishu thought, what if there were a couple of Yalong lizard beasts? Having two Golden Core cultivators would be safer, so he went too.

The most unfortunate thing was, after the Qinggang disciples arrived, they encountered three adult Yalong lizards—didn't they just deal with one or two normally?

Master Nanmen single-handedly dealt with two, while Feng Yishu faced one and protected the disciples' retreat.

This was a relatively unsuccessful trial for the Qinggang Sect. Of the seven dust-free disciples, five returned; two were crippled. Over a hundred Qi Refinement disciples, more than ninety came back—later, around ten of them were stripped of their cultivation level for fleeing during the battle.

Most crucially, Master Nanmen fell.

The probability of a master's death is higher than a superior's, and a superior's death probability is higher than that of a Qi Refinement disciple. This is the demeanor of a major sect.

After Yue Qing heard the news of his master's death, he couldn't accept it at all. Moreover, he had reached the Golden Core stage at that time, so he investigated vigorously.

Despite his thorough investigation, he couldn't find much but always felt something was amiss—at least the team composition was wrong.

Two high-rank Golden Core cultivators taking a group of young disciples out—did all Qinggang Sect's mid-stage and initial Golden Core members die?

If a single high-rank Golden Core had led a mid-stage and an initial-stage member, the losses wouldn't have been as severe.

Then he discovered that his master's death was indeed suspicious. Both Yalong lizards were dead, but his master also died—it was a legendary mutual destruction.

But he didn't believe in this misfortune, so he sought Master Duanren, who was in charge, to appeal—he seriously suspected Feng Yishu of wrongdoing.

However, Master Duanren stated that what's done is done, and the matter is past.

Yue Qing's arrogance was internal. He wanted to stir things up, but a protector nearing Nascent Soul intervened: "We support your suspicions, but do you have evidence? Is it appropriate?"

When a Big Boss talks to you about evidence, you can't just rely on subjective judgment—logical deduction is allowed, but conjectures are not.

Ten years later, the Big Boss failed to form a Nascent Soul, but who would dare overturn what he said a decade ago?

Yue Qing worked hard to find evidence; he was internally proud yet outwardly humble. At the place where his master fell, he found something suspicious.

But at that time, he was isolated and unsupported. Although he was one of the nine recognized masters, Feng Yishu was also one of them. Master Duanren was newly in charge, and Master Feng had his family's support behind him.

So he could only endure, not daring to make the matter public—even Feng Yishu wasn't the main concern; it was… Master Duanren was in charge.

He sought someone to authenticate the item, doing so in secret from Sect members—otherwise, even Liang Chao would know, and he would have to leave quietly, right?

The first person he sought was Master Hanji—adept at deduction, and with keen insight.

However, Master Hanji stated, "I don't recognize this item; you should find someone else."

At that time, Yue Qing was already at the third layer of Golden Core. He thought, considering how well-versed he was, "It's normal if Hanji doesn't recognize what I don't; let me ask others."

Seven or eight decades passed without results.

During this time, Feng Yishu advanced from the seventh level of Golden Core to the ninth level, now at its Peak, preparing to acquire resources for forming a Nascent Soul.

For forming a Nascent Soul, the Sect has to provide part of the resources; Feng Yishu's required resources conflicted with those needed by Yue Qing. Master Duanren considered forming a Nascent Soul a major priority and hoped Yue Qing could wait—perhaps new resources would become available soon.

Yue Qing's frustration was indescribable; the likely culprit for his master's death might escape, still snatching his resources.

In fact, Yue Qing had also explored Feng Yishu's birthplace, the Star Initiation Plane, but found no information. Still, as the Star Initiation and another plane were twins with connecting passages, Yue Qing had also considered visiting the latter.

He hesitated, as Master Hanji had been there and felt a visit would be pointless.

This time, Feng Jun calculated the results and confidently stated that only two planes have Dragon Blood Thorn Wood. Yue Qing wanted to ask one thing: does Star Initiation truly not have such a thing?

If it truly doesn't, then he suspected Feng Yishu wrongly and would willingly let go of the resources — but if it does, this matter won't end here.

After he got the definitive answer, he needed to first invite Master Hanji out — start by saying, why did you deceive me?

Of course, there is also a certain probability that Feng Jun deceived him, but if that were true, Master Hanji certainly wouldn't mind teaming up with him against Feng Jun.

Because he knew Master Hanji's skill at divining secrets was formidable, he had to use some techniques to disguise any warning intention of murder he might issue.

Master Hanji's reply chilled Yue Qing to the bones. He took a deep breath and spoke slowly, "I never listen to that 'it's for your own good' nonsense. If you had told me the truth back then, how could Feng Yishu have had the chance to reach Golden Core Peak?"

Golden Core Peak and Golden Core Ninth Layer are truly different concepts. The ninth layer refers to cultivation level, whereas the peak means one can attempt to form a nascent soul — the level of attention within the sect differs significantly.

Master Hanji remained silent, gazing at him indifferently.

Yue Qing let out a bitter laugh, "It was foolish of me to consider you a friend. Now, will you voluntarily restrict your cultivation and come with me, or should I cripple your cultivation and take you with me? The air toxicity here… it's useless against me."

Master Hanji lightly chuckled, "I know you're not afraid of poison, it's just meant to distract you a bit… can you move now?"

Yue Qing tried to stand, only to find his body seemed trapped in the mire, his face changed instantly, "A restriction formation?"

"Able to restrain Golden Core Peak," Master Hanji replied leisurely, with a hint of wistfulness on his face, "I've always thought this formation was superfluous, as those who can enter my domain should all be friends… speaking truthfully, this formation was prepared for you."

"If you weren't so stubborn, I truly wouldn't want to treat you this way. You thought your intentions were well-disguised? Clearly, you've forgotten my perception level. When you arrived in this isolated place, I knew I had to use this formation."

Yue Qing spoke with a dark expression, "So you knew about it back then?"

"Naturally," Master Hanji replied slowly, "But what do you have to fight against them? The Feng Clan has a Nascent Soul True Immortal; if your master hadn't died, I could have spoken a few truths relying on him, but you simply don't qualify."

Yue Qing glared at him, "You didn't take any benefits from Feng Yishu?"

"No," Master Hanji shook his head, "It's simply that I believed we couldn't win. Of course, later when I saw him, I mentioned I'd been to the Star Initiation Plane, which has quite a few good things… then when I advanced to Golden Core Third Level, he gifted a thousand intermediate Spirit Stones as congratulation."

In interactions between masters, celebrating success in forming a core, a hundred intermediate Spirit Stones would suffice. Golden Core Third Level is still the initial stage, and in ordinary relations, a hundred intermediate Spirit Stones are a decent gift.

"Haha," Yue Qing smiled angrily, "You still used my mentor to earn money."

"I deceived you first, took the Spirit Stones later," Master Hanji spoke languidly, "Just traded useless information for some Spirit Stones, a kind of waste utilization… even if he didn't give them, I couldn't do anything. To sum it up, Yue Qing, you're still too weak."

At this point, he sighed again, "With things developing this far, I'm also deeply troubled. Brother Nanmen was my close friend; I can't avenge him, nor can I make things difficult for you, Yue Qing, you forced me to do this, you can't blame me."

"Ha, I brought this upon myself? You really have the nerve to say that," Yue Qing coldly scoffed, "What do you plan to do with me?"

"Seems like you're quite fearless?" Master Hanji felt somewhat uneasy inside, raised his hand and sealed his Niwan Palace.

Then he sighed again, "Originally, I wanted to imprison you until Feng Yishu successfully forms a nascent soul, and maintain the friendship your master-pupil duo had over two generations, but Yue Qing, you're frighteningly stubborn…"

"To prevent you from venting your anger on me, it's better to cripple your cultivation. But as a master of the Yinsha Sect, if I were to cripple Master Qinggang's cultivation, what would I say if others asked about it when word got out?"

"I see," Master Yue nodded, a hint of a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, "So I have to die, don't I? But before you take action, can you listen to me about two little matters?"

"If it's about entrusting your descendants, then forget it," Master Hanji waved his hand dismissively, "I'm worried I might get the urge to eliminate them completely… as long as you don't speak, I won't go looking for them either."

Yue Qing spoke, seemingly to himself, "One thing, I'd like to tell you that the one assisting me with the calculations is Mount Zhige's Feng Jun."

"Someone who could sever Yinsha's lineage?" Master Hanji sneered, "I don't care if what you say is true or what your intention is; once you're dead, it doesn't matter who assisted with anything… I'm not interested in knowing him either."

"You're a true villain," Yue Qing's mouth curled into a peculiar smile, "The second matter, that boy has a Paralysis Talisman of Golden Core Peak on him. Initially, I didn't like him much, just wanted to test how powerful that talisman was…"

Saying this, his smile grew increasingly strange, "Unexpectedly, it ended up being used on you."

Almost simultaneously, all major acupoints of his body exploded with thunderous resonance, continuous and unending.

Immediately after, an unmatched fierce aura emanated from his body.

(Three updates for the Mid-Autumn Festival, loudly calling for monthly votes.)