Big Data Cultivation Chapter 779

Chapter 779: Chapter 779: Checkpoint Chapter 779: Chapter 779: Checkpoint “`
In the midst of the white fog, what they called the Immortal Sects was actually more akin to an immortal path. Ordinary people, once they enter the fog, could only see a vast expanse of white. Feng Jun and the others channeled the spiritual energy within their bodies, and a path suddenly appeared in front of them.

There was no defined width to the path–when one cultivator walked through, it spanned just over a meter in width; when two cultivators walked side by side, the path could extend to three meters. Moreover, its width also depended on the amount of spiritual energy each cultivator released.

Huang Fu Flawless led three people–two martial masters and one within the Qi Refinement Realm–while Feng Jun accompanied Mi Yunshan, Yu Changzhu, Chen Junsheng, Yun Buyao, and Jing Qingyang, plus Shangguan Yunjin. In total, they were a group of eleven.

After entering the white fog, they meandered their way for over two miles before the space ahead abruptly opened up into a square that was a hundred acres in size. At first glance, there seemed to be over a thousand people.

On the far side of the square, there were seven or eight checkpoints, each manned by people conducting inspections.

Although the square was crowded, it was not chaotic. Essentially, everyone had emerged from the fog, either as solitary travelers or in groups. Some people took the opportunity to rest briefly on the square, while others headed straight for the checkpoints.

Feng Jun felt it was somewhat like going through security before boarding a plane.

However, he quickly realized that his analogy wasn't quite apt–it was more akin to entering customs!

In front of the seven or eight checkpoints, there were queues, but Huang Fu Flawless led them along a path where no one was lining up.

Immediately, a robustly dressed cultivator approached them, demanding to see their identity proofs. Chairman Huang Fu produced a black card inscribed with the large characters “Tiantong.”

“Ah, a black card VIP,” the person who had stopped them nodded in acknowledgement, saying no more before turning to leave.

“Huh,” Shangguan Yunjin looked curiously at Huang Fu Flawless. “You actually have access to this channel? Disciples of Wuyou Platform don't even have that privilege.”

Feng Jun couldn't help but snort, “It's just a VIP channel. Wuyou Platform probably has the qualifications as well, but it's a matter of whether it's necessary or not.”

Huang Fu Flawless glanced at him, a trace of surprise in her eyes, but ultimately she smiled and nodded, “You're not wrong. Tiantong Commercial Alliance often transports large quantities of goods, so it enjoys priority access through this channel… The Four Sects and Wutai do not usually do so.”

It seemed like a VIP channel, but in reality, passing through was still a troublesome process.

The four people in the Qi Refinement Realm were allowed to pass quickly. Since it was Feng Jun's first time here, he spent two Spirit Stones to purchase a waist token as his identity talisman.

As the guard put it, it was still to Feng Jun's advantage since he had reached the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, was on the verge of ascending beyond the mortal realm, and had a pure aura. They didn't want to make trouble for him. If he had been in the early to middle stages of Qi Refinement, an assessment of his background and roots would have been unavoidable.

In other words, he was currently benefiting from the treatment due to someone on the verge of ascension.

The two martial masters brought by Huang Fu Flawless faced some complications, but she had the Tiantong privilege to use mortals, so after registering them, they passed through as well.

Feng Jun's group experienced a more cumbersome process. For Mi Yunshan and Chen Junsheng, it was simpler, since, being in the later stages of cultivation, they just needed to link their identity tokens with Feng Jun's. Jing Qingyang's identity token was stamped with a three-month association period.

Indeed, it was akin to the feeling of a work visa.

The most problematic were Yu Changzhu and Yun Buyao, both of whom were mortals devoid of any spiritual energy, and the Cultivation World did not permit the entry and exit of mortals.

A Qi-Refinement Practitioner could vouch for a mortal, but a Loose Cultivator at the Qi Refinement level was only allowed to vouch for one mortal.

In the end, it was Feng Jun who vouched for Yun Buyao. If he were to leave the Cultivation World, he must take her with him. Otherwise, if she was caught by patrolling cultivators, she would be accused of “smuggling,” a crime punishable by death–or, if lucky, a lifetime of labor.

Yu Changzhu, on the other hand, was vouched for by Shangguan Yunjin. No matter what, her sister was a disciple of Wuyou Platform, and that little bit of face was something Shangguan Yunjin would give.

In fact, neither Tiantong nor Wuyou Platform would face any obstacles in vouching for someone; that was the advantage of major powers. It was simply because Feng Jun had registered directly as a “Loose Cultivator” that he was subjected to a more stringent check.

For instance, Yu Changqing, Yu Changzhu's sister, only needed to show her Wuyou Platform's waist token upon entering the checkpoint. Who would care that she was in the later stages of cultivation?

Feng Jun felt that if Huang Fu Flawless had taken charge, even without using Tiantong's identity, she could have vouched for two mortals on her own.

Indeed, when he openly requested Shangguan Yunjin to vouch for Yu Changzhu in front of the guard cultivators, one of them spoke out impatiently, “What secret dealings are you conducting here… Do you think we're blind?”

Fortunately, Shangguan Yunjin was rather generous. She displayed her own waist token and asked righteously, “This girl is the sister of my fellow disciple. What's the issue if I vouch for her? Are you harboring some bias against Wuyou Platform?”

The guards weren't afraid of her as a Qi-Refinement Practitioner, but why needlessly offend Wuyou Platform?

So they turned to look at Feng Jun and spoke sternly, “You, a mere Loose Cultivator, already have a mortal female attendant. Why would you go out of your way to claim someone else at the gate of the Immortal Sects? An Innate Constitution is not something for you to meddle with.”

An Innate Constitution was indeed a perfect seed for cultivation, but… there might well be other motives at play.

“`
Just to give an example, this kind of pure constitution progresses quickly in ranks. Nurture it for some time, and once their cultivation level rises, they make excellent cauldrons. This Yun Buyao has an Innate Gold Constitution, perfectly suited to enhancing the Water Attribute talent.

Of course, doing so goes against the Heavenly Dao and falls within the category of evil cultivation, but is there any world without its gray areas?

Even darker deeds are not impossible to occur.

Feng Jun and the others were openly assessing Yun Buyao's talents just a moment ago, and that has drawn attention to her.

Nevertheless, the guard cultivator was surprisingly blunt, pointing it out like that. It's unclear if there is some other motive behind it.

Upon hearing this, Huang Fu Wuxia could not stay silent, “Feng Daoist Friend has been invited by me. Anyone with complaints, just step forward. I don't even need to use the title of Tiantong sub-branch President to pressure them. Just coming at the Huang Fu Family will be enough!”

The guard was not keen on implicating a Golden Core Family with cause and effect. He just laughed upon hearing these words, “I was just saying, advising Daoist Friend Feng to be careful in the future. Enjoy your advantages, but keep it low-key.”

Those who operate in the gray areas wouldn't dare to provoke the Tiantong Commercial Alliance or a Golden Core Family. If they were that capable, they wouldn't be in this line of work.

After leaving the checkpoint and walking for over a hundred meters, Feng Jun smiled at Huang Fu Wuxia, “I know you are staking a claim. But still, I am thankful to you… At least I'll have less trouble in the future.”

Chairman Huang Fu blushed upon hearing this, “I didn't mention any ownership. We are just partners, you know. What are you even thinking about?”

Behind the checkpoint lay a huge market town–indeed, a market town. The core area of the town, spanning over two thousand acres, featured many grand buildings, but also had green spaces, plazas, ponds, and martial drill grounds.

However, the buildings scattered outside this core area were far less uniform, with many single-story houses and a few small buildings of two or three stories. The occasional towering structure didn't even need to be asked about–definitely not something an ordinary cultivator could afford to construct.

The area was vast, truly vast. Houses were scattered, but the end was not visible at a single glance.

While Feng Jun was taking in his surroundings, Mi Yunshan took a deep breath and remarked with a sense of wonder, “So this is the Cultivation World. The spiritual energy… is really abundant. It feels like one could cultivate without the need for a Spirit Gathering Array.”

“This is nothing,” Huang Fu Wuxia couldn't help but roll her eyes in exasperation, “It's only suitable for the early stages of transcending the mundane. It may not even suit the intermediate levels, and you already find the spiritual energy abundant?”

Chen Junsheng couldn't help but nod slightly in agreement. He also thought that while the Cultivation World indeed had more abundant spiritual energy than the Secular World, they were currently in an ordinary part of the Immortal Market. How much more abundant could it be?

It was largely because Mi Yunshan, aside from using the Spirit Gathering Array, frequently cultivated with Feng Jun even under less abundant spiritual energy conditions, managing to maintain a rapid ascension pace nonetheless.

Chen Junsheng once advanced through three levels in the Qi Refinement Realm outside of an intermediate level Spirit Gathering Array in the Cultivation World, coughing up blood as he charged to the Fourth Layer Peak, only to suffer a great loss in qi and blood, earning himself many sidelong glances.

He had to rest for a while because of the rapid advancement. He is currently at the Fourth Layer Peak of the Qi Refinement Realm, ready to advance to the fifth layer at any time.

But unbeknownst to him, Mi Yunshan had also reached the Fourth Layer of the Qi Refinement Realm, not much less advanced than Chen Junsheng.

This was undoubtedly related to her Wood-based Constitution, but often, even when Yu Changqing didn't use the Spirit Gathering Array, she could still receive resources for improvement from Feng Jun–she had already mastered various Yoga poses.

Chen Junsheng, on the other hand, could cultivate only when the Spirit Gathering Array was active.

Starting at the same time as Mi Yunshan, it was purely with a spirit of not admitting defeat that he had surpassed her–despite his lesser talent, older age, and less time spent in cultivation. The once Innate Expert inevitably carried his own sense of pride.

Thus, he could keenly tell that the spiritual energy here was good, but to rapidly enhance cultivation levels, the effect was really just average.

Tiantong Commerce Alliance had a base in this Fang Market, and Huang Fu Wuxia asked Feng Jun if he wanted to rest at the Alliance's base.

Feng Jun, looking at the outdoor tents, was curious and inquired about them.

Chen Junsheng knew about this and explained that the area was public land. Cultivators could choose to set up tents there because staying at an inn or a civilian house would not only require identity registration but also the possibility of random inspections.

Living costs were high in the Cultivation World, and many cultivators couldn't afford to stay in inns, while others didn't like being disturbed. Hence, they set up their tents outside to avoid many hassles.

However, camping came with risks, as there was usually no defense. And setting up a tent didn't mean one could refuse inspections. To avoid inspections, it was better to register at the management office of the Fang Market and spend some money to get a temporary residence token.

This token hung on the tent would usually ward off any inquiries. Of course, in the face of significant events, the token held no power to exempt one from inspections; it simply meant fewer disturbances on regular days.

Feng Jun didn't want to go to the Tiantong Commerce Alliance's base, not only due to inconvenience, but he also didn't want to be seen as a vassal of Tiantong.

He felt that camping out in the Immortal Market would be an interesting experience.

Chapter end

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