Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 725 - Chapter 725 Chapter 725 Diversionary Maneuver

Chapter 725: Chapter 725 Diversionary Maneuver Chapter 725: Chapter 725 Diversionary Maneuver The male disciple from the Crimson Phoenix Sect did not have a Fire Talisman, but he possessed a set of Fire Yang Armor.

Hearing of Feng Jun’s interest, he quoted a “sky-high” price of three thousand Spirit Stones right off the bat and indicated that he had been planning for five or six years to acquire this Yang Armor, only recently succeeding. Were it not for the face he was giving to Bai Luan, he claimed, he would not have considered selling it at all, hence he wanted to make some profit from it.

It must be said that defensive gear, especially those with attribute defense, is indeed quite valuable.

However, the moment Feng Jun heard that the Yang Armor was only effective against High Tier of Qi Refinement, he lost interest. His intention in acquiring this item was to deal with the otherworldly beings from the Qi Refinement Realm in the Danxia Heaven Secret Land.

So after much hesitation, he still declined–the Yang Armor could be used by his disciples, but since none could use it in the short term, he did not want to spend his limited Spirit Stones on stockpiling goods.

Twenty thousand Spirit Stones might sound like a lot, but is it really? It would only suffice for a hundred days of cultivation in Black Colt Tower.

And the last time Feng Jun used the Black Colt Tower to “slink around at the bottom,” he spent nearly a month, over twenty days.

So, the more Spirit Stones he earned, the poorer he felt, especially considering the long line of dependent bottles behind him, he felt even poorer.

Bai Luan noticed his hesitation and asked him, “Why do you want Fire Attribute Yang Armor?”

Feng Jun did not hide anything, as the news of his intention to battle Yin beings at Mount Zhige was already not a secret, having been widely circulated.

Bai Luan had little interest in where he was going to fight the Yin beings. That was the good thing about the Crimson Phoenix Sect–if it were You Longzi, he’d surely probe incessantly since those places were too tempting for the Yinsha Sect.

So Bai Luan stated, “I have here a shield made of Crimson Copper Essence Gold, capable of withstanding attacks from beings in the Intermediate Level of the Nether Realm. If it’s an attack from Yin beings, it also gets an attribute bonus; it could roughly fend off High-Rank Yin beings. Are you interested?”

Feng Jun blinked, seemingly pondering something, before he finally nodded, “Yes, how many Spirit Stones?”

Bai Luan’s eyes narrowed into a smile as she held up two fingers, “Twenty thousand Spirit.”

Before Feng Jun could say anything, she had already guessed his thoughts and spoke again, “There’s no set price for such attribute shields–even inquiring with the Huang Fu Family’s little girl would be futile–there’s only the current price.”

Feng Jun’s expression turned odd, “You’re setting the price based on the Nether Bead, aren’t you?”

“Not at all,” Bai Luan shook her head vigorously, her red eyes shimmering, firmly refuting, “It’s worth this price, their values are equivalent… It’s just a coincidence, uh, right. If you want the shield, you also have to buy Xiao Hai’s Yang Armor.”

Xiao Hai was the slender male cultivator. Men didn’t hold high status within the Crimson Phoenix Sect, so her willingness to help a male cultivator sell his wares showed she was willing to look after those below her.

Feng Jun’s expression grew even more unusual, “You can’t be serious, this comes with a bundled sale?”

“Of course,” Bai Luan’s smile persisted as she pronounced, “I can see you want to buy it, just can’t make up your mind, so I’ll help you out.”

Feng Jun’s face turned stern as he contemplated for a moment before asking, “Can you… reduce the price a bit?”

“That won’t do,” Bai Luan shook her head repeatedly, “We in business must uphold integrity, no false pricing… Did I haggle with you? No!”

You haven’t moved on the price, Feng Jun thought, his face darkening as he shook his head, “If you won’t haggle… then it’s not possible, I can’t afford it!”

“Hm,” Bai Luan subconsciously nodded, then paused, “What did you say… Can’t afford it?”

“That’s right,” Feng Jun replied solemnly, “I hardly have any Spirit Stones on me, and since you won’t drop the price, there’s nothing I can do.”

“How can you not have any Spirit Stones?” Bai Luan was a bit frantic, “That doesn’t make sense.”

In her opinion, Feng Jun had been in collaboration with the Tiantong Commercial Alliance for a while, so how could he not have some Spirit Stones saved up?

“I really don’t have Spirit Stones,” Feng Jun looked at her sideways, testing the waters, “Really no haggling?”

Bai Luan hesitated for a moment but still shook her head decisively, “When I say no, it’s no, that’s not up for negotiation… You sly boy, are you trying to play tricks on me?”

“What tricks am I playing on you?” Feng Jun shook his head, “Honestly, I really don’t have Spirit Stones.”

With a falsified smile not reaching her eyes, Bai Luan asserted, “A total of twenty-three thousand, one Nether Bead alone is worth twenty thousand, you don’t even have three thousand Spirit Stones?”

Feng Jun looked at her helplessly, too lazy even to speak.

However, Bai Luan was convinced that the kid was fooling her in cahoots with the Tiantong Commerce Alliance, and she spoke irritably, “If you don’t have them, then forget it, the shield is no longer for sale… Miss this village, and there won’t be another store.”

She was clearly threatening him. Although she had priced the shield a bit high, sell to those who know versus those who need–about to confront Yin beings, possessing such a shield would be akin to having several more lives. The price should not have been an issue at all.

Feng Jun let out a deep sigh, exuding an air of regret, “Well then, never mind.”

“What?” Bai Luan was still somewhat incredulous, “You’re really not buying it?”

To give up one’s life rather than one’s wealth, how stingy can you be?

“Really not buying,” Feng Jun shook his head, “I still owe the Huang Fu Family a great deal of Spirit Stones, waiting to sell the Nether Bead to settle the debt.”

The latter statement was surely false, but the former was absolutely true.

In fact, from the start, Feng Jun had no intention of purchasing that shield.

The shield is indeed good, but it doesn’t match his combat style. This isn’t a handheld shield but one that is summoned.

Engaging with at least two Intermediate Level beings from the Yinsha in battle, he would certainly need to travel back and forth between dimensions. Once he exits the Mobile Phone dimension, the shield, without his spiritual energy to sustain it, would lose control.

Although it’s only an instant disconnection from spiritual energy, which almost makes no difference, disconnection is still disconnection.

Of course, one can’t say the shield isn’t good–it truly is quite excellent. However, with his current strength, he simply can’t bring out the advantages of the shield. Bai Luan might think using the shield for protection is good and that it could save his life against Qi Refinement Realm Yinsha beings.

But he didn’t care for just saving his life; he intended to annihilate his opponents. Their expectations of the shield were different.

Feng Jun believed that after he advanced to the Qi Refinement Realm, purchasing such a shield would make sense and could be properly utilized.

But now, there was really no need to buy one, especially since his Spirit Stones were indeed in short supply–just yesterday he lamented about having too few Spirit Stones, and sure enough, twenty thousand Spirit Stones could only buy a relatively decent shield.

Moreover, he assessed that Bai Luan’s price had a bit of taking advantage of someone’s crisis.

Feng Jun was not exactly a stingy person–if he really had Spirit Stones, you taking advantage during my crisis wouldn’t matter; I could even “only buy the expensive, not the right ones,” but… there’s just no money, right?

Bai Luan’s eyes flickered, “How much do you owe Tiantong Commerce Alliance?”

She planned to tailor her offer based on his needs and capacity–seeing how much he owed Tiantong, she would decide how much worth of goods to sell him in Spirit Stones.

Feng Jun had realized that something was a bit off with Revered Bai Luan’s thought process.

Of course, this wasn’t to say she lacked brains; her mind was quite sharp–she saw through You Longzi not bringing many Spirit Stones.

But her temperament was staunch, and she had become accustomed to solving problems with brute force. Once such habits form, they are hard to change.

She wasn’t brainless; she usually just couldn’t be bothered to think things through.

With that judgment in mind, Feng Jun answered her very directly, “I don’t owe the Tiantong Commerce Alliance; I only owe Huang Fu Flawless.”

Hearing this response made Bai Luan a bit dejected as she had been thinking of selling the Nether Bead and then using the I.O.U from Tiantong Commerce Alliance to clear debts first. She could have sold goods worth twenty thousand Spirit Stones, and as for Feng Jun’s debt, he could deal with Tiantong Commerce Alliance to pay it off slowly.

So now, she was unsure of how much worth of goods to sell.

However, a promise of treasure must be fulfilled, so she didn’t intend to owe too many Spirit Stones to the Tiantong Commerce Alliance either.

She indeed still possessed numerous treasures, just not many Spirit Stones–when visiting the Mortal Realm, who would overeat and bring a pile of Spirit Stones?

She pondered briefly then asked, “What else are you interested in?”

Feng Jun had already agreed with her on a batch of Talismans suitable for the Qi Refinement Realm as a plan for the future. After some thought, he spoke up, “I’m still quite fond of armors and such.”

Of course, he would prefer armor; it was not like a shield as armor is a personal item that can be activated at any time.

After considering for a moment, Bai Luan gritted her teeth, “I just had a Flame Armor forged for me, intending to give it as a gift. It can defend against the encirclement of Intermediate Level cultivators of the Qi Refinement Realm and can withstand a few strikes even from High-Rank Yinsha beings… However, it requires a Cultivation Level of the Qi Refinement Realm to use.”

“That’s great,” Feng Jun’s eyes lit up upon hearing this; this armor actually seemed better than the shield mentioned before.

The only difference was that it could only be used in the Qi Refinement Realm, unlike the shield, which could be used by Qi-Refining Practitioners–just for a shorter duration.

Of course, since the shield was compatible with lower levels, it had a low threshold for use and, as a result, a higher price, while this one’s price should be somewhat lower.

As for him not yet being in the Qi Refinement Realm, it didn’t matter much; it wouldn’t be long now, “How many Spirit Stones for this one?”

Bai Luan hesitated before responding, “Fifteen thousand Spirit Stones.”

“Fifteen… thousand Spirit Stones?” Feng Jun frowned slightly, hesitating before speaking, “Can this be a bit cheaper?”

Just now, his attempt to haggle over the shield was a strategy, as he knew he was unlikely to spend that kind of money frivolously.

But haggling just for the sake of it wasn’t merely for amusement; now that he genuinely wanted to purchase, it could bring convenience.

“I’ve said already…” Bai Luan started to get impatient, thinking why are you dragging this out so much?

Yet, in the next moment, she remembered the consequences of her refusal to haggle just moments ago and momentarily paused.

Hesitating, she gritted her teeth and replied, “Twelve thousand Spirit Stones, that’s the lowest I can go.”

Feng Jun thought for a moment before shaking his head, “Never mind, as cultivators, we should cultivate ourselves, not rely on external objects…”

With a flick of her wrist, Bai Luan placed a yellow armor on the table, smiling as she addressed him, “You can take a look at the goods first.”

She wasn’t particularly skilled at selling, but she knew how to showcase her merchandise.

All the talk meant little compared to letting the merchandise speak for itself. The armor she was offering was indeed impressive, and she didn’t believe he could resist its appeal.