Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 791 - Chapter 791 Chapter 791 The Fake that Isnt Fake

Chapter 791: Chapter 791: The Fake that Isn’t Fake Chapter 791: Chapter 791: The Fake that Isn’t Fake The short and plump stall owner had made thorough preparations, initiating his swindling venture at the Qiuchen Market.

At the same time, he had also bribed several patrolling cultivators, ensuring that as long as he didn’t make any major mistakes, he needn’t fear disturbances from outsiders.

As mentioned before, there were indeed people who had come back to settle scores with him, but he had held his ground firmly.

Today, if Feng Junruo hadn’t invited Huang Fu Flawless to join her, the stall owner likely wouldn’t have been afraid of the fine of 150,000 Spirit Stones–after all, the flowerpot had not even entered a state of trade.

Therefore, it was indeed a masterful move for Divine Doctor Feng to have invited Chairman Huang Fu to come.

But even now, the stall owner was reluctant to hand over the fake item–he had paid more than a thousand Spirit Stones for it when he bought it, not to mention the Nine Splendors Qiong Zhi that came with it.

However, this time, Huang Fu Flawless was unlikely to speak in his favor any longer. Her face darkened as she asked, “So you are not willing to handle it this way?”

There’s truth to the saying that people die for wealth; the stall owner was ready to risk his life rather than his fortune, “A thousand Spirits is too much of a loss.”

Huang Fu Flawless nodded expressionlessly, a cold gleam shooting from her eyes, “I have already been very helpful to you. This is what you brought upon yourself… Let’s notify the management office then.”

After she spoke, her gaze remained cold and unwavering as she looked at him.

Clearly, if the management office didn’t handle things to her satisfaction, she was very likely to seek retribution privately.

The heart of the stall owner chilled slightly; if it was Feng Jun looking at him like this, he might not care that much. What of a prominent guest from Tiantong? He had swindled the progeny of powerful forces before and had yet to see anyone who could do anything about it.

Having chosen the cultivation path, one must possess a heart that is brave and keen on progress. As the saying goes, “Fortune favors the bold.” How can one speak of cultivation if they’re afraid to take risks?

Nevertheless, the gaze of Huang Fu Flawless did leave him somewhat alarmed. The Huang Fu Clan and the Tiantong Commerce Alliance were the most significant forces he had provoked to date. More critically–Chairman Huang Fu had initially been speaking on his behalf.

Now, if he didn’t comply with her, he would in a sense be committing treachery–betraying the carefully fostered protection she had offered him.

So the question arose, what kind of terrible resentment might a woman unleash if she experiences betrayal?

Just then, two cultivators riding on magic artifacts flew over from afar.

The Qiuchen Immortal Pavilion strictly forbids flying, but how should one put it? It’s like how the Earth Realm strictly prohibits running red lights–except for police cars.

The two cultivators landed, looked around, and one of them, a black-faced cultivator at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, asked aloud, “What’s the matter?”

His cultivation level wasn’t high, but anyone who dared to disregard his authority would naturally be dealt with by higher-level cultivators who would come to handle the situation.

The short and plump stall owner quickly stood up and said, “Nothing, nothing. It’s just a misunderstanding. You can go about your business, white patrol.”

The black-faced cultivator looked at him coldly, “Really nothing?”

“Indeed, nothing,” the stall owner replied with a forced smile. His relationship with the white patrol wasn’t bad; the two shared a similar cultivation level and had drunk together a few times. However, he did not believe that such an acquaintance would be able to withstand the pressure from Huang Fu Flawless.

With a fawning smile, he continued, “It’s just a business deal. They wanted to buy my Spirit Plant…then there was a discussion about the flowerpot.”

The white patrol gave a glance. He didn’t recognize Huang Fu Flawless, but he did recognize the aloof intermediate-level cultivator from the Tiantong Commerce Alliance.

However, since it was his work hours, it wasn’t appropriate to greet them openly; he just gave a slight nod, “So Reverend Xu is also here… Has the misunderstanding been resolved?”

The stall owner felt even colder now–he knew that the white patrol was aware of his schemes and had even supported his “counter-picking” antics before, but the fact that he didn’t openly take a stance already indicated the severity of the issue.

He smiled obsequiously and responded, “It’s been resolved, resolved. I’ve decided to give the flowerpot away as well.”

As expected, the white patrol acted as if he hadn’t understood his words, just nodding slightly, “Uh-huh, resolved then, that’s good. Harmony brings wealth.”

Huang Fu Flawless gave the stall owner a sidelong glance, huffed lightly, “You know what’s good for you.”

With that, the group of five people picked up the pot of Nine Splendors Qiong Zhi and swaggered off.

The crowd of onlookers dispersed with a roar upon this.

The white patrol watched Feng Jun and her group thoughtfully until they were out of sight, then approached the stall and asked in a deep voice, “That Qi Refinement period female cultivator, was that Huang Fu Flawless?”

Although he didn’t recognize Chairman Huang Fu personally, he had been informed by others and had rushed over. He was well aware of the situation at hand.

The group of people included two female cultivators, one at Mortal Shedding Realm and the other at Qi Refinement Realm–the Qi Refinement Realm one being naturally Huang Fu Flawless.

The short and plump stall owner looked at him, nodded, and sighed, “Yes, she’s from the Huang Fu family, said to be the chairman of Tiantong.”

“Just the chairman of the Mortal Realm,” Inspector Bai said with a casual air, “But this little girl really is something. I’ve heard about her… Her Treasure-Appraising Eye has picked up quite a few bargains.”

At this point, he looked at the stall owner with suspicion, “Old Liang, that flower pot of yours, it’s not actually a treasure, is it?”

“If it were a treasure, I would have kept it for myself. It’s been appraised many times,” the stall owner, Old Liang, replied with a wry smile, “She wasn’t the one who wanted to buy it, it was Luo Hua who insisted on buying it… The key issue is the price is too low, I spent over a thousand buying a fake, I’ve taken a big loss this time.”

What he couldn’t get out of his mind was the loss he had suffered on this deal, without considering the fact that he had sold over thirty Spirit Plants using that flower pot and how much he had made from those transactions.

He asked, baffled, “What’s with the rich these days, why are they all so stubborn?”

Inspector Bai sighed deeply and answered pensively, “There’s a saying going around the Secular World lately, ‘The rich act capriciously, the poor resign themselves to fate.’ If someone has money, of course, they can be capricious… Say, is that flower pot of yours really not a Magic Artifact?”

On the way back, Huang Fu Flawless remained silent. However, once she entered the small area occupied by Feng Jun, she immediately spoke up, “This flower pot is a copy of the Cloud-Twine Cauldron, and a very unsuccessful one at that…”

“Anyone with a bit of skill could see it, are you sure you’ve found a bargain and haven’t been fooled instead?”

She had wanted to say this during the journey, but Divine Doctor seemed to be warily looking around, obviously not feeling very secure. It was different now that they had arrived at Feng Jun’s location; although it was just a camp, there were quite a few Formations laid out, and Divine Doctor relaxed significantly.

As for the Cloud-Twine Cauldron, it was a Magic Artifact that Huang Fu Flawless remembered distinctly, so it must be something extraordinary.

This cauldron could absorb the essence of plants and trees and in turn nourish multiple cultivators–it was essentially an exceptionally powerful ‘nurse’.

In fact, the Cloud-Twine Cauldron could also cultivate Spirit Plants, and the effects were particularly good; on this point, the stall owner had spoken the truth.

However, the method for making the Cloud-Twine Cauldron had been lost a thousand years ago.

Feng Jun looked at Huang Fu Flawless with an amused expression, “Couldn’t this be a damaged Cloud-Twine Cauldron?”

“No,” Chairman Huang Fu quickly shook her head, giving a definitively certain answer, “As long as it’s a Cloud-Twine Cauldron, even if it’s damaged, it can only be beneficial to Spirit Plants and not harmful. But the vitality of that Nine Splendors Qiong Zhi was somewhat diminished.”

Her Treasure-Appraising Eye was not for nothing; with just a glance, she identified the counterfeit and also noticed the condition of the Nine Splendors Qiong Zhi.

Compared to Feng Jun’s methods, however, she was still lacking. Feng Jun smiled, “Well… bring a flower pot first, let’s transplant this Nine Splendors Qiong Zhi out before we talk.”

For Tiantong Commerce Alliance, this was no problem at all. The rarity of the Nine Splendors Qiong Zhi lay in the difficulty of finding seedlings, the time-consuming cultivation process, and the massive amount of Spiritual Energy and wood energy consumed during cultivation. But with money, none of this is a big problem.

Within ten minutes, Tiantong Commerce Alliance delivered a bramblewood flower pot. Bramblewood contained extremely robust wood Spiritual Energy; combined with soil rich in Spiritual Energy, this pot could ensure the normal growth of Nine Splendors Qiong Zhi with no issues in the short term.

After transplanting the Qiong Zhi out, everyone began to ponder over this flower pot.

Shangguan Yunjin trusted Feng Jun quite a bit and was also well-acquainted with various materials. After careful consideration, she remarked thoughtfully, “Based on the material analysis, this flower pot seems… a tad light?”

Huang Fu Flawless was indeed not as good as her in this regard. She picked up the flower pot to weigh it but couldn’t discern the subtle difference, so she tentatively asked, “Is there a hidden compartment?”

Feng Jun shook his head with a smile, “No, it’s not a hidden compartment, but inside there is a pot made from Yu Jin Stone. The outer layer of Golden Essence, Meteoric Iron, and Tianchen Sand are meant to conceal the pot inside.”

“Really?” Huang Fu Flawless’s eyes brightened, “Then this must be a good thing.”

The treasure that Feng Jun had been interested in the day before didn’t take this item into account because he was unaware of the market rate for Nine Splendors Qiong Zhi as well as the price of the rare Yu Jin Stone, so he was unable to calculate how great a bargain this deal was.

However, he had witnessed someone planning to buy the Nine Splendors Qiong Zhi, with the stall owner quoting a price of a thousand Spirit Stones.

What was more important was that he had noticed, from a direction invisible to the customer’s eyes, two stall owners not too far apart, watching the scene with teasing eyes and faint, mysterious smiles on their faces.

Feng Jun, hailing from a dimension of information overload, enjoyed studying various business cases and was quite familiar with these kinds of ploys.

Although he couldn’t be sure how the stall owner intended to swindle people, the possible methods were limited–nothing new under the sun.

After returning, once he checked the relevant prices, he not only confirmed the stall owner’s setup but also discovered that Yu Jin Stone, a rare stone material, was extraordinarily expensive.

However, he did not share these conjectures with Huang Fu Flawless, because he had little faith in her character.

Indeed, merchants are supposed to be honest, but if someone acts first, it doesn’t mean they have broken the rules; ‘first come, first served’ is a fundamental business principle–later on, as long as they give him a finder’s fee, it can be completely justified.

That’s why when he invited Huang Fu Flawless to the market today, he only notified her of the general situation at the last minute.

Chairman Huang Fu could sense his guard, but that’s how it should be in the world of business. If you are taken advantage of for not being cautious, you can only blame your naivety. Moreover, she knew she was not considered a ‘good kid’ in his book.

So she didn’t mind these things; instead, she swiftly called in two craftsmen from the Tiantong Commerce Alliance. She was determined to find out what kind of treasure was made from the Yu Jin Stone inside.