Big Data Cultivation-Chapter 542 - : The Arrival of the Master

Chapter 542: Chapter 542: The Arrival of the Master

Shangguan Yunjin’s division-level mentor arrived a bit sooner than expected, reaching Zhige three days later.

Elder Yan, of the Earth-freeing Second Layer, was a very stern-looking middle-aged man and, in fact, he truly was that stern.

That very evening, he took up residence in the courtyard of the Wuyou Platform disciples and didn’t step foot onto Feng Jun’s territory.

The following day, he had Pan Renjie inform Feng Jun that a visitor from Wuyou Platform had arrived and wanted to review the Spirit Gathering Array once more.

Feng Jun set up the Spirit Gathering Array quickly because he wasn’t arranging a complete formation but instead was transporting a part of the array from the Earth Realm.

Out of the twenty-seven Spirit Gathering Arrays that comprised the Heaven-Swallowing Formation, he chose one, brought over a part of it, and the distances between the array materials didn’t change—because he was using Divine Sense to transport them.

Indeed, this was another skill he had developed, not relying solely on the touch of his hands to transport objects across planes; using Divine Sense, he could achieve the same effect.

His Divine Sense could now simultaneously control three different items, and together with the touch of his hands, that made four. With such a manipulation in the Earth Plane, the locations of the parts of the Spirit Gathering Array didn’t shift at all.

A few tricky points that were difficult to manage could be shifted across planes, and the rest of the materials were relatively easy to set up.

Feng Jun laid out the Spirit Gathering Array on the edge of his own land and invited Elder Yan to come observe.

Master Yan had, in fact, been paying close attention to him all along, even to the process of setting up the Spirit Gathering Array within his perceptual range.

What he wanted to figure out first was Feng Jun’s cultivation level, but after sensing, it seemed that he really was at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer…

However, he had also sensed that the other party was using Divine Sense to arrange the array. He didn’t think that these were transported from another plane, but rather taken out of a Storage Bag. Still, the strong Divine Sense took him by surprise—could it really belong to someone at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer?

Before, Yu Meiren, who was also at the Earth-freeing Realm, had taken special care to verify Feng Jun’s cultivation level before confronting him. This meant that some methods of concealing one’s energy could escape detection even by Earth-freeing Realm cultivators—and even masters of the Golden Core Stage could be deceived.

In short, Master Yan didn’t quite believe Feng Jun was at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, but with several disciples from his sect getting along well with Feng Jun, discussing the Dharma, and possibly forming collaborations, even though he was an Earth-freeing Realm cultivator, he felt it improper to use means to probe the other’s cultivation level.

But the next moment, he became utterly fascinated with the formation Feng Jun had set up, “This… is actually a decomposed Spirit Gathering Array?”

Master Yan was specialized in formations, and it was precisely for this reason that Pan Renjie and the other two had invited him this time, to do an appraisal for them and to decipher the concealed materials within the formation.

He recognized the origin of the formation at first glance. He had heard of some methods that involved disassembling a Spirit Gathering Array and setting it up with ordinary materials, but even with his expertise in formations, he hadn’t yet come into contact with this level.

This technique wasn’t considered mythical, indeed there were those who mastered it, but at the very least they had to be cultivators at the Array Master level.

The simplest example would be someone using the features of mountains, rivers, and plains to create a formation with astonishing power—this utilization of geographical features in itself is a rational use of ordinary materials, greatly testing an Array Master’s foundation.

Master Yan stared at the formation, watching for an entire day, his body motionless while his ten fingers constantly performed calculations.

At first, Shangguan Yunjin thought he was deducing the two materials, but after watching him deduce for a long time without success, she couldn’t help but whisper to Pan Renjie beside her, “Isn’t he just deducing ordinary materials?”

Pan Renjie gave her an annoyed look, “The master is calculating… Deduction for such a long time could kill someone!”

Shangguan Yunjin then realized her mistake. Deduction was an extremely exhausting task; she gave an embarrassed smile, “I just don’t understand, please teach me more, Elder Brother… Do formations require calculations too?”

“How rare,” muttered Wang Botai softly, “Artifact crafting, array formation, talismans, alchemy… Which of these doesn’t require calculations? You think talismans just appear with a stroke of the brush, as if they were naturally made?”

The low murmurs of the three Qi Refining Disciples didn’t affect Master Yan’s calculations.

Feng Jun had been standing aside the whole time watching. As the sky began to darken, he couldn’t help but clear his throat, “Elder Yan… would you like something to eat?”

Master Yan continued his calculations for almost two more minutes before returning to the present, glancing at him, “No need, at most another three days will suffice.”

An Earth-freeing Realm cultivator could generally fast indefinitely; not eating for ten or eighteen days wasn’t a problem, and with a Fasting Pill, not eating for three to five years was also of no consequence.

Feng Jun’s intention wasn’t actually to offer food; what he wanted to say was—I allowed you to see the formation, but you should have a sense of time, right?

Indeed, when he had made the agreement with Shangguan Yunjin, there was no mention of how long the second viewing could last, but now it had been a full day.

He hesitated before speaking, “Or… shall I tell you what those two materials are?”

Since it could be deduced within three days, telling the other party directly wouldn’t matter… sooner or later.

“No need!” Master Yan rejected crisply and looked at him with a hint of seriousness in his voice, “This is an opportunity for me to enhance my proficiency in formations, Fellow Daoist, please do not interfere.”

“Then as you wish,” Feng Jun replied helplessly, shaking his head. Since the other party refused to know the final two materials, he no longer had any interest in continuing to watch, it wouldn’t matter much if they tampered with his Spirit Gathering Array.

So he walked to the side and fished out a walkie-talkie to make a call.

Soon, the bright headlights of a vehicle approached from a distance; it was Lang Zhen driving a farm truck with the Deng Family Brothers and Mi Yunshan in tow.

The truck was filled with cooking utensils such as pots, stoves, bowls, and chopsticks, as well as a small bag of Spirit Rice and two large chunks of Spirit Beast Meat.

The Spirit Rice and Spirit Beast Meat, which Feng Jun had obtained from “Jie Chaoqun,” were rarely consumed on ordinary days. Feng Jun had decided to serve Divine Doctor Yan a feast today, which was why he’d had them brought over.

Originally, he had planned for Lang Zhen to deliver them and Mi Yunshan to help cook; however, the Deng Family brothers, thick-faced as they were, had caught wind of the Spirit Rice and Spirit Beast Meat and followed over, hoping to freeload a meal.

Deng Lao Er, terrified of being scolded by the Divine Doctor, quickly stated as soon as he got out of the truck, “Elder Chen Junsheng is watching over the courtyard, it’s all good.”

Feng Jun couldn’t be bothered with him and let them into the courtyard of Wuyou Platform to cook.

Pan Renjie and his two fellow Qi-Refining Disciples hardly ever got the chance to eat Spirit Rice, let alone Spirit Beast Meat. They had been at Mount Zhige for a while now, almost to the point of “tasting birds on their tongues” due to the blandness of their diets.

A meal with Spirit Rice and Spirit Beast Meat was certainly very appealing, and Shangguan Yunjin, not wanting to be outdone, brought out a jar of Spirit Rice wine.

The wine wasn’t very strong, but it tasted excellent, especially with the faint Spiritual Energy contained within.

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As soon as the food and drinks were served, a figure suddenly appeared; Divine Doctor Yan had returned, and with a stern face, he said, “Starting the meal without calling me.”

All three Wuyou Platform Disciples rolled their eyes in unison: Would you be this polite if we were to dine without informing you, a Transcendent Realm senior?

In fact, Divine Doctor Yan, though conservative, had a keen appetite for good wine. The scent of the alcohol made it hard for him to stay away.

He spoke highly of the Spirit Beast Meat as well, “This Piercing Mountain Salamander from Guanquan Valley, I haven’t tasted it in a long time.”

As he spoke, he eyed Pan Renjie.

“This creature is nearly extinct in Guanquan Valley,” Pan Renjie could only smile bitterly. His father, Pan Jinxiang, wielded considerable influence in Guanquan Valley, just below two others but above tens of thousands. Yet, a Piercing Mountain Salamander was truly a rare find, “I’ve simply benefited from the association with Feng Jun.”

Feng Jun, upon hearing this, remembered the Sword Forging Peak’s Jie Chaoqun whom he had killed.

Wang Botai keenly sought to ingratiate himself with Divine Doctor Yan, “Elder Brother Pan, it’s rare to have the opportunity to curry favor with the elder. You should cherish it.”

Indeed it was so. With nearly ten thousand Qi Refining Disciples at Wuyou Platform and merely a few hundred in the Transcendent Realm, and even fewer specializing in arrays, countless disciples sought to pay tribute to Elder Yan but worried about finding suitable gifts.

Pan Renjie could only wryly twist his mouth, thinking that even if his father did have some stock, it wouldn’t be his turn with over a hundred siblings to consider.

Thus, he glanced at Feng Jun, “Feng Jun really does have extensive divine abilities, managing to get his hands on such exquisite items.”

Feng Jun’s expression turned a bit odd, “This item… is it found only in Guanquan Valley? Wouldn’t Sword Forging Peak have it?”

“The relationship between Sword Forging Peak and Guanquan Valley can hardly be considered good,” Shangguan Yunjin replied with a smile. She knew he wasn’t from the local cultivation world and wasn’t afraid to speak, “The Piercing Mountain Salamander is a specialty of Guanquan Valley, not found elsewhere.”

Feng Jun laughed, “What Shangguan Yunjin says is a bit absolute, isn’t it? Here I am with it.”

Upon hearing this, the others chuckled, increasingly certain that he came from a place none of them knew about.

But in his heart, Feng Jun also confirmed that the one he had killed was indeed from Guanquan Valley.

Divine Doctor Yan fancied his wine, yet was a moderate drinker. After two cups, he loosened up and stopped being so taciturn, turning to question Feng Jun, “Feng Jun, about your method of formation analysis, I wonder if it could be taught to others?”

“Hehe,” Feng Jun chuckled, his reply vague, “Formation analysis? I’m not quite sure what you mean, Divine Doctor Yan.”

Divine Doctor Yan really thought he didn’t understand—being no expert in formations, one might not grasp their intricacies, so he elaborated, “It’s essentially about the initial inspiration of a formation that can be used to deduce the formation…”

After a pause, he continued, “The Analysis Formation Method might mostly be less effective compared to the improved formations, but it directly targets the origin. The effect of your formation has already surpassed the corresponding Array Plate.”

“I’m aware of the Array Plate,” Feng Jun nodded, speaking candidly, “Yu Changqing has one. My formation indeed surpasses hers a little.”

Divine Doctor Yan felt slightly wounded internally. You address me as ‘friend’ and also refer to a young upstart in the Trascendence Realm as ‘friend’?

In the end, he managed to say, “Strictly speaking, having an Array Plate does make the Analysis Formation Method easier because the plate is a concentrated form of the formation… However, the calculations involved are quite extensive.”

Feng Jun didn’t dare to continue speaking, worried that he might give himself away.

But Shangguan Yunjin spoke up loudly, “Surely Feng Jun wouldn’t mind extensive calculations, right?”