Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 820 - Chapter 820 Chapter 820 Stealthily Approaching

Chapter 820: Chapter 820 Stealthily Approaching Chapter 820: Chapter 820 Stealthily Approaching “`

Entering the black archway required Spirit Stones, and through the huge square beyond it lay the city walls besieged by Spirit Beasts not long ago.

This was also the passage for Cultivators to travel to the Desolate Beast World. Now that the beasts had retreated, the beast hunting squads could make retaliatory kills.

About a dozen teams were clustered on the square, standing in groups. Some people spotted Feng Jun and his companion from afar and called out, “Scouts needed. Accepting Innate Experts and Sword Cultivators.”

In that moment, Feng Jun felt as though he had entered a game interface from the Earth Realm.

However, someone quickly pulled the shouting person aside, “Stop shouting. They are High Tier Qi Refiners.”

Feng Jun and Liang Zhongyu leaped down from the city wall, stepping directly onto the land outside the city.

A month ago, countless Spirit Beasts had gathered here to launch a fierce attack on the city walls. Now that the two of them were standing here, Feng Jun couldn’t help but feel a strange sensation.

Yet, the place he was tasked with defending was the yellowish desert, whereas this was a verdant mountain range–could that be the Qingling Mountain Range up ahead?

“Let’s go,” said Liang Zhongyu, quickly summoning a white paper crane and leaping onto it.

Feng Jun felt somewhat grateful to Kunlun at this moment. Although they behaved arrogantly, the equipment they provided was truly useful.

He released his Time Shuttle and followed closely.

Aside from during the Spirit Beast siege, there were hardly any Spirit Beasts beyond the city–this place was too dangerous for them. Only beyond a hundred li might there be the chance of encountering scattered Spirit Beasts.

The Red River Valley was about four hundred li from the city walls. Feng Jun and his companion flew over two hundred li before they saw the first beast hunting squad and then two more after.

These three squads were not in combat, so they merely glanced at the two who flew past overhead.

The Red River Valley was a valley about four to five li wide and more than forty li long, with complicated terrain and many Spirit Beasts hiding within.

There were certainly Golden Vipers here; the key question lay in where exactly these vipers would hide and how many there were in their group.

Liang Zhongyu knew that if they found a Golden Viper, it wasn’t worth getting excited about. Those two Qi Refining Initial Stages must have discovered a nest of them. He just wasn’t sure how many vipers were in the nest.

In any case, having already convinced Feng Jun to come, there was no turning back for him. He could only point in a direction and say, “The information I got is that there are more than ten Golden Vipers in the middle of the Rockspring Gully’s mountainside, probably no Snake King… I’ll go scout around first.”

After a while, he returned dejectedly, “I saw no signs of Golden Vipers, but… I don’t think they would dare to deceive me. Should we search somewhere else?”

Feng Jun responded with a smile, “Sure, let’s split up to search. You take the left; I’ll take the right. Remember to keep in touch.”

As he spoke, he handed over a walkie-talkie to the other party and showed him how to use it.

The width of the Red River Valley was limited, so even if the two searched separately, they would at most be ten li apart. In theory, they should be able to hear each other just by shouting.

However, since it was a hunting period, shouting might startle the prey, which would be unfortunate.

Once they began their search, their pace slowed considerably. The bottom of the Red River Valley consisted of streams and scattered stones, but slightly higher up, there were abundant reeds and thickets, and even higher, shrubs. On the slopes of the valley, there stood tall trees.

In such an environment, if Spirit Beasts intentionally hid, it would take some time to find them.

Feng Jun was able to search for “nearby Spirit Beasts” and could thus move faster, but Liang the Fatty, holding something akin to a compass, could also detect the presence of Spirit Beasts, so he was not slow either.

After searching about a li in this way, they saw plenty of small animals, but they didn’t encounter any Spirit Beasts.

Half a li further on, Liang Zhongyu found a group of ordinary scorpions, with one Scorpion King among them, which indeed qualified as a Spirit Beast.

With the mindset that “every little helps,” he dispatched the scorpion, then laughed dryly, “At least we won’t return empty-handed.”

“Look at how petty you are,” Feng Jun replied with annoyance, “Barely a dozen or so Spirit Stones, and you’re this concerned.”

“Of course, it matters. It’s enough to pay several months’ management fees,” Liang Zhongyu cheerfully answered, “the worries of a poor man, which a rich man like you wouldn’t understand…”

Two hours later, after searching almost two li, they encountered only that one Spirit Beast. Feng Jun had caught two pheasants and a deer, which, though ordinary animals, had far more Spiritual Energy than those on Earth.

The key point was that they were natural and unpolluted, reasons good enough for him to act.

As evening approached, Liang Zhongyu discussed with him through the walkie-talkie, “Lao Feng, should we head back to the city wall to rest, or should we stay here? If we’re going back to the city wall, we need to start heading back now.”

Feng Jun pondered for a moment before asking seriously, “Will we encounter Desolate Beasts at night? If so, how many at most?”

“`

“Run into ‘how many more’?” Liang Zhongyu couldn’t help but exclaim, “If we could encounter even one, that would mean we’ve done something unconscionable… Not even once in a whole year!”

“Then we can totally camp out here,” Feng Jun spoke somberly, “I suggest we scout another mile before setting up camp.”

Both were very experienced at camping in the wilderness; Liang Zhongyu chose a spot near the mountaintop, claiming that such a location could prevent avian sneak attacks.

As for Feng Jun, he was setting traps and alarms, and he even put up an electric fence–not to electrocute any game, but to ensure no animal could approach them silently.

Since they had an electric fence, there had to be a generator, but to avoid attracting attention, Feng Jun didn’t install any lightbulbs or such.

By the time they had finished setting up camp, it wasn’t dark yet, but their chosen location was in the shadows, which were not easy to spot if one wasn’t paying attention.

But the roar of the generator… there was just no helping that, Liang Zhongyu deeply detested the noise, “Lao Feng, the sound of this generator has to be improved, who knows how many Spirit Beasts it will draw?”

“Don’t you mean to scare away how many?” Feng Jun retorted with a smile, “I think the noise is rather pleasant.”

In reality, he was making the best out of an unpleasant situation; the noise could only scare away insects and other small creatures, or Spirit Beasts like the Golden Viper which were more timid. But there was nothing to be done about the generator’s din as there wouldn’t be any quick technological revolution to silence it.

“Forget it, I’ll go get us something to eat,” Liang Zhongyu didn’t bother to argue further and stood up, “In this place, it’s best not to eat cooked food.”

Feng Jun was, of course, no stranger to these precautions, though it was his first time camping in a spot frequented by Spirit Beasts.

So he too stood up, planning to gather some plants to eat, then subconsciously, he took out his infrared binoculars to look around, a habit he’d picked up when he first entered the mobile phone realm–it was almost dark after all.

After a glance, he froze, then discreetly reached for the walkie-talkie and spoke softly, “Lao Liang, be careful. There’s someone in ambush about half a mile to your right.”

About two seconds later, Liang Zhongyu’s voice came through the walkie-talkie, “Damn it, I just saw some Spirit Grass, and now I can’t find it… What’s the cultivation level?”

His voice was very low as he said the last four words.

“Don’t know, just be careful,” Feng Jun whispered back, “I have two on my side… Once I make a move, pretend you’re coming to support me; if that guy tries a sneak attack, it’ll be just the right moment for you…”

“Hmm,” Liang Zhongyu grunted in acknowledgment, his reply muffled, “Understood.”

Feng Jun stood upright, taking a look around and then lit a cigarette. Just after taking a puff, he suddenly staggered, a long blade flashing in his hand as he lunged toward something to his right front.

He couldn’t see clearly what cultivation level the two figures were, but since they were so sneaky, they obviously had no good intentions. Now facing two against one, he naturally chose to strike first.

A distance less than a mile was crossed in the blink of an eye. Only when his long blade was about to strike did he suddenly startle, “Qi Refining Initial Stage?”

This man at the initial stage of Qi Refining had thick eyebrows, a proper face, and held a folding fan in his hands, which was not made from gold or stone. Moreover, he stood there with ease, showing no signs of stealthy pursuit.

But Feng Jun was certain the man was indeed tracking them. Otherwise, in such a desolate area, that distance was close enough to cause a misunderstanding–especially since the guy must have messed with his qi emanations.

Thus, Feng Jun only slightly eased the force behind his attack, intending to give the man a mild lesson.

The man with a proper face sneered, his folding fan instantly expanding to about three feet in length to meet Feng Jun’s blade edge-on, “Such rage, you really are haughty!”

The fan easily blocked Feng Jun’s strike, making it seem like it was no challenge for him.

Feng Jun, unwilling to argue, slashed out three more times in rapid succession.

The man parried the three strikes with his fan but involuntarily retreated three steps, his eyes narrowing, “Treasure Weapons?”

Internally, he was far more shocked than he let on because his arms felt incredibly sore and weak, and he could barely hold onto his folding fan. Was this the combat strength of someone in the High Tier of Qi Refinement, and to think he was a Martial Enlightment expert, could he really be this formidable?

“Madman,” someone else called out loudly, “Did you think of this day when you insulted me back then?”

Feng Jun didn’t even need to look to the side; he recognized from the corner of his eye that the shouter was none other than Xue Hongsheng, who once tried to forcefully take his contribution points–of course, he couldn’t be distracted given he faced an initial Qi Refinement stage opponent.

He took a deep breath and spoke with narrowed eyes, “Xue Hongfei?”

“It’s me,” the proper-looking man said with a grave face, speaking slowly, “If you join the Xue Family right now, I can appoint you as a Patron.”

Feng Jun laughed heartily, looking up to the sky, “And not even as a Guest Elder… When did the Xue Family’s standards drop so low as to appoint a mere High Tier Qi Refinement expert like me as a Patron?”

He was in fact trying to see if the other party could see through his Qi Concealment Technique.

“A High Tier Qi Refinement expert in Martial Enlightment, and so young, is worth the gamble,” Xue Hongfei spoke tonelessly, “Of course, the key is that you have a good relationship with the Huang Fu Family, and as for Tiantong… they might not back you up.”