Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 837 - Chapter 837 Chapter 837 Many Plans

Chapter 837: Chapter 837: Many Plans Chapter 837: Chapter 837: Many Plans Feng Jun carried Feng Tianyang down the mountain, and even brought along Brother Zhang, the guardian of the tea trees.

Brother Zhang is truly a respectable and admirable person. He had watched over the tea trees for twenty years, and only occasionally descended the mountain when people were hoisted up by pulleys. But such trips generally didn’t last more than a week.

The longest he had been away was two months, when his mother passed away. But that happened in early autumn, so it didn’t affect the harvest of the Inquiry Tea.

When the three of them reached the mid-mountain, the other Taoists had no role but to serve them. By that time, it was getting late and dinner time was upon them.

Feng Jun took out a plastic bag containing five jin of Spirit Rice, “Steam this rice. Today, I’m treating everyone. Even you should try some, Miao, and see how it compares to your Inquiry Tea.”

Brother Zhang looked at him, his eyes somewhat dull, “A Storage Magical Artifact?”

Feng Jun glanced at him sideways and nodded slightly, “Yes, don’t you have one in Xuande Cave Heaven?”

This was a matter of whether or not one knew how to make conversation. He did it on purpose, blocking off the upcoming topic with a single remark and sparing himself a lot of trouble.

Steaming the rice was a quick process, especially since they had both natural gas and a pressure cooker even halfway up the mountain.

Half an hour later, the meal was served. The rice was made of Spirit Rice, and the dishes were… all vegetarian.

But Spirit Rice was ultimately different. There were no more than ten people on the mountain, yet the steamed Spirit Rice weighed more than ten jin. In just over ten minutes, it was devoured as if swept away by a tornado.

“Good stuff,” Feng Tianyang patted his belly, expressing his satisfaction, “Mountain Master Feng, this rice is even better than the Inquiry Tea.”

Feng Jun nodded, answering as a matter of course, “That’s why I have no interest in targeting Inquiry Tea. I just want to help you solve the problem.”

Brother Zhang burped, “Mountain Master Feng, it’s not that I distrust you, it’s just that I’m somewhat reluctant… What exactly is wrong with the Ancient Tea Trees?”

Upon hearing this, Feng Jun sighed, “How shall I put it? All things have a spirit…”

The problems with the Ancient Tea Trees were numerous, but in essence, they boiled down to four words: the era of declining spiritual energy!

Feng Jun could feel that the Earth Vein of this mountain was quite strong, even somewhat stronger than those of Wangwu.

However, compared to Wangwu, the base of this mountain was a bit smaller–a very steep peak with only a bit more than a hundred acres at the top. So, no matter how large the base was, it could not exceed one square kilometer.

Providing bountiful Earth Vein energy to the top of such a small base is naturally a forced endeavor.

If one considered the entire Taibai mountain range as the base, then the area was considerable. But since this peak rose abruptly from the ground, even with the addition of the terrain, such an Earth Vein would not typically be very strong.

Therefore, Feng Jun believed that this place had indeed been remodeled by a Golden Core Master, enhancing the quality of the Earth Vein.

It was precisely because of this that despite the Earth Vein still being quite powerful, he could imagine that it must have waned a lot compared to before.

Why was this? It was, of course, due to the era of declining spiritual energy, which generally caused the Earth Vein to compensate for the insufficient Spiritual Energy.

An additional issue was the anomaly of the three Ancient Tea Trees.

They had lived through times with relatively abundant Spiritual Energy, which was why only they could produce top-notch Inquiry Tea. But for the same reason, they were more sensitive to Spiritual Energy than other tea trees.

Now, with Spiritual Energy becoming increasingly scarce, the three Ancient Tea Trees had entered a phase of decline. Although not yet in a “dying” stage, they were not far from it. A decrease in yield was a natural consequence–how long they could continue to survive was uncertain.

Feng Jun sensed a trace of extremely obscure life force at the root of the weakest Ancient Tea Tree. Using his Mobile Phone, he discovered that it was “a sprout in gestation.”

That is to say, the old trees were nearing death, but before dying, they wished to bring forth an offspring.

It was for this reason that Feng Jun lamented, “All things have a spirit.” All living beings have the instinct to reproduce.

By convention, the things he observed and analyzed could be sold for money–even if he didn’t treat the actual issue, he could charge a diagnostic fee.

However, the people of Xuande Cave Heaven had been kind to him, traveling a great distance to seek advice and bringing valuable gifts from the start, all with proper respect.

True, Feng Jun didn’t care much for the Inquiry Tea, but he was very aware of how precious even a trace of Spiritual Energy contained within those leaves was in the current Earth Realm. Even Maoshan, with its Spirit Gathering Arrays, would definitely consider it a rare treasure.

Only someone who could obtain Spiritual Energy across planes would find it lackluster.

Feng Jun wasn’t interested in charging a diagnostic fee, not because he thought it unreasonable to charge, but because… the Earth Plane really was too poor. Reviving the tea trees would yield him only five jin of Inquiry Tea, so how much should he charge for diagnosis?

It was better left unmentioned. Since they were all fellow cultivators, it wasn’t too much trouble to help out.

When he had laid out the reasons one by one, Feng Tianyang was stunned into silence, and Brother Zhang said nothing more.

After a long while, Feng Tianyang sighed, “So what you’re saying is, these three ancient tea trees are really going to die?”

Feng Jun nodded, “That’s normal, isn’t it? What living being doesn’t die? Their environment has been deteriorating, and they’re barely hanging on.”

Brother Zhang couldn’t help but ask, “Mountain Master Feng, how long do you think they can live?”

Feng Jun shook his head and replied straightforwardly, “I can’t really tell, these are trees that have lived for a thousand years. Even if they’re close to death, they might easily live another hundred or eighty years.”

The two of them exchanged looks for a long time before Brother Zhang sighed heavily, speaking with deep concern, “Being in charge, if we let things passed down from our ancestors be destroyed in our hands, then we would be the sinners of Xuande Cave Heaven.”

Do you think I need reminding? Feng Tianyang waved his hand, truly somewhat flustered, “Of course, I don’t want to be a sinner, but do we just do nothing and watch the ancient tea trees die bit by bit? Is that appropriate?”

“That way, we might not become sinners outright, but we would feel guilty toward our ancestors in our hearts!”

Brother Zhang turned to glance at Feng Jun, then stood up and bowed deeply with great respect, maintaining the bow, “I hope Mountain Master Feng can provide us with further guidance. Taibai would surely repay your kindness generously.”

Your generous repayments… I’d rather not, Feng Jun really wasn’t interested in that, thus he didn’t take up the offer, merely suggesting, “If the two of you don’t believe, you can go dig up the southwestern tea tree and see if its roots aren’t nurturing new sprouts.”

“If you have evidence, just explain it to the convent, and let everyone decide by vote; wouldn’t that keep you from worrying about being the scapegoat?”

“How could this possibly be decided by a vote?” Both of them shook their heads in unison, answering with a wry smile, “Such a secret is known only to a few in the convent, and for such a major issue, it has to be decided by the head alone, it can’t be determined by voting.”

Feng Jun could actually understand their concerns; the burden of history really wasn’t easy to bear. He pondered for a moment before saying, “But I’m not very good at Earth Vein Traction, that’s more in line with the work of a Golden Core Master. I’m concerned I might not be up to it.”

“Mountain Master is actually versed in the art of Earth Vein Traction?” Feng Tianyang’s eyes brightened, his face showing sincere admiration, “Indeed, capabilities make the capable, but… what if the Earth Vein Traction fails?”

“Fail…” Feng Jun’s lips curled slightly, and after thinking it over he replied seriously, “The worst outcome, you certainly wouldn’t want to hear it.”

Brother Zhang asked gravely, “Does that mean all three ancient tea trees would be destroyed?”

That was the worst outcome he could think of.

But Feng Jun didn’t want to deceive; he thought for a moment before speaking, “Probably more than just those tea trees.”

He really wanted to explain that his ability meant there was a good chance of not ruining the trees; at worst, the Earth Vein might not be perfectly altered, possibly causing some damage to the trees.

But such an explanation seemed a little embarrassing, detracting from his image as an expert, so he might as well not say it.

However, his answer was far from friendly to the two from Xuande Cave Heaven; Feng Tianyang’s face couldn’t help but darken, “Let’s not consider this method for now… Mountain Master Feng, do you have any other methods?”

“Another method is to set up a Spirit Gathering Array,” replied Feng Jun after some thought, yet he soon shook his head, “This natural Formation is too exquisite, and the Spirit Gathering Array might just be superfluous. In the long term, it wouldn’t be good for the tea either…”

Of course, these were just one of the reasons; the most crucial point was: What would he gain from setting up the Spirit Gathering Array?

It wasn’t that he wasn’t willing to help, but he needed a reason to help–why should he help you?

Kindness easily turns into enmity; he had heard of such situations happening more than once or twice,

“Spirit Gathering Array?” Feng Tianyang’s eyes immediately lit up, “Can Mountain Master Feng craft a Gathering Spirit Array Plate?”

“The Gathering Spirit Array Plates of Maoshan are their own creation, not mine,” Feng Jun pointed out the misconception succinctly, “I know how to set up a Spirit Gathering Array, but it’s expensive.”

Feng Tianyang nodded silently, the response was within his expectations. Since the other party had emphasized the cost, he didn’t bother to inquire how much it was, but he still had some other thoughts, “Can you repair a Spirit Gathering Array?”

Feng Jun wasn’t opposed to seeing someone else’s Spirit Gathering Array; after some thought, he answered, “It’s not very likely, and… it’s also expensive.”

Feng Tianyang rubbed his forehead with a troubled expression, the words “very expensive” made him hesitate to ask further.

Before interacting with Feng Jun, he had thought that Mount Taibai could offer something of value in exchange for his help, but now he had completely abandoned that idea–their prized top-grade tea was less valuable than the rice Feng Jun could take out at will.

After a moment of silence, he asked somewhat sheepishly, “Is there a third method?”

“Sweet Dew Talisman,” Feng Jun answered crisply, “It can be used on a ten-acre area, and for these kinds of tea trees, using one every two months should suffice… one Talisman costs ten million, but I must clarify that this is a temporary solution and doesn’t address the root cause.”

Feng Tianyang wasn’t concerned with the price of ten million; his concern lay elsewhere, “This Sweet Dew Talisman… besides nourishing tea trees, can it also kill insects?”