Chapter 2707: Chapter 2699: Lost
Feng Jun truly can’t endure Elder Dianjing; he already understands this person’s mindset somewhat, and knows there’s no malice.
But he just feels uncomfortable around him, so he chooses not to interact.
Want to conduct deductions? No problem, just bring Spirit Stones—and incidentally, he can scold a bit to vent.
Want a free ride on my deductions to help you complete the Array Plate refining? Sorry, go as far as you can.
Of course, continually avoiding isn’t a solution, so he comes to White Pebble Beach every few days, always arriving in the morning and leaving by noon. If Yi Jue brings him semi-finished products to deduce, he’ll do it; if not, he’ll leave once it’s time.
As for refusing to deduce? That’s impossible; he’s already agreed, and there’s profit sharing.
People you dislike can be put aside, but responsibilities must still be upheld, perhaps just a little more casually.
This demeanor has caused Elder Dianjing quite a bit of trouble. Most technical masters have a common flaw: they tend to be impatient, especially when nearing results.
Feng Jun’s attitude of coming only once every few days makes Elder Dianjing grind his teeth in frustration, but he also has another fault—outside of formations, he doesn’t scold others.
It’s not that he’s never scolded others, but past experiences have taught him that scolding people on matters beyond formations may eventually embarrass himself—in other words, he only has confidence in scolding on formations; in other areas, he truly lacks the qualifications.
And he knows that Feng Jun acts this way because he has issues with him, so he simply doesn’t consider the issue—not even mentioning it.
Can’t come to White Pebble Beach on time? Then while waiting, he could conduct several tests on multiple fronts.
Some issues have thus been resolved, at least considering more possibilities, and those that can’t be solved are accumulated to be asked when that fellow comes next.
His response strategies are somewhat effective, at least not wasting those waiting times. In the overall progression, the impact isn’t particularly significant; instead, others praise his organized work approach—"sharpening the knife doesn’t delay the chopping of firewood."
Yet Elder Dianjing is frustrated, especially seeing success getting closer, but having to wait in a chaotic daze during the waiting time, his mindset even collapses a bit.
Eventually, he couldn’t help but whisper a complaint to Yi Jue, "You should also advise Feng Xiaoyou to have some decisiveness in his work."
Yi Jue gave him a cold glance and retorted, "Don’t you know why he’s doing this?"
Such a direct rebuke, Elder Dianjing managed to endure, even finding a reason, "I don’t mind, the key is the Artifact Refining Path... they’re quite resentful too."
"They don’t dare to hold much resentment," Yi Jue replied coldly, without saying more.
Elder Dianjing had also heard that the Artifact Refining Path had offended Feng Jun earlier, requiring not just an apology but also compensation with extreme spirits, only then was the matter resolved. Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but sigh, "Ah, it’s a habit formed over so many years... can’t change."
"Hehe," Yi Jue sneered, despite her cold persona, she couldn’t help but add, "There’s no unchangeable habit... it’s just not wanting to change."
"I’m nearly two thousand years old," Elder Dianjing replied indifferently, then added deeply, sighing, "Most of my life has passed, growing old and gray, asking me to change habits now... wouldn’t that be living backwards? I’d feel wronged."
Ultimately, he clearly understands his own shortcomings and knows how to solve them, but just doesn’t want to feel wronged.
Yi Jue looked at him deeply, "If you don’t want to bear that kind of grievance, then bear today’s grievance. Being headstrong always comes with a price."
Precisely because of this reason, what could have been smoothly completed in the final refining stage instead stumbled for over a month, before finally completing the refining and roughly optimizing the Array Plate.
Some even said, if it wasn’t for True Immortal Dianjing continually adjusting and attempting various plans, the refining time would have at least doubled.
This statement is indeed accurate, but Elder Dianjing really wants to curse: If Feng Jun had cooperated, it wouldn’t have taken even ten days!
Yet all this is in the past; once the Array Plate was completed and tested, that evening, Elder Dianjing, Elder Yi Jue, Mountain Master Feng, and people from the Artifact Refining Path jointly hosted a celebration at White Pebble Beach.
Everyone celebrated together for the continuous effort that took less than four months to completely revamp and perfect a new formation. This formation could not only be applied in the Insect World, effectively relieving the burden of the frontline, but also assists Tianqin in accumulating Spiritual Energy!
To be honest, throughout the entire process, despite various stumbling blocks, ultimately having several unique geniuses working together made the speed enough to become a legend—at least within three to five hundred years, it would be well-known across Tianqin.
Looking long term, it’s hard to say, but it’s indeed turning a substance that is unaccepted in Tianqin into Spiritual Energy, the positive significance of which cannot be overestimated.
That night, more than thirty thousand people celebrated at White Pebble Beach, and among the clan practitioners outside, many notable figures came to witness and celebrate the birth of this legend. The atmosphere was exceptionally lively.
Seeing the scene so lively, Feng Jun brought over the Yin-Yang Mirror just in case, to keep everything in order at the manor.
As midnight approached, Feng Jun set off another batch of fireworks, further enhancing the celebratory atmosphere.
In fact, if cultivators are willing, the visual effects created using techniques are much more splendid and far more enduring than fireworks. However, using techniques for performance is essentially disrespectful to the art and an insult to the performer.
It’s like a sword cultivator, half-drunk, letting out a long laugh and then drawing his sword to cut through mountains is an impulsive and intoxicating act. But performing a sword dance is disrespectful to the sword.
Fortunately, the fireworks Feng Jun brought were specially made. He commissioned Beauty Lin and Yang Yuxin for custom designs, regardless of the cost, they had to be cool, dazzling, and shocking.
Given his current status in Huaxia, not to mention customized fireworks, even more extravagant toys wouldn’t be an issue. It’s just that overly excessive toys can only be delivered abroad.
Of course, he has cross-border delivery means that everyone knows about, but choosing a delivery location abroad is a matter of principle.
The fireworks he brought this time were very expensive and reportedly exchanged for quite a bit of gold, but they were truly beautiful, making many Nascent Soul True Immortals nod in appreciation—achieving some effects through techniques is easy, but as ordinary objects, they were truly stunning.
The fireworks lasted for about an hour, and after they finished, the celebration moved towards its conclusion, though some people remained highly enthusiastic.
An artifact refining True Immortal was actually discussing using techniques to enter the path with a talisman True Immortal. After some argument, Elder Dianjing from the formation path intervened, and soon after, Elder Yi Jue from the spirit plant path couldn’t hold back any longer.
Cultivators are human, too, and when the atmosphere is right, they express themselves without reserve.
Anyway, the bustle lasted until dawn. Feng Jun left halfway through the night, and shortly after he left, Yi Jue also departed.
In these recent two months, he rarely stayed overnight in the Earth Realm, sitting and resting until noon when he was about to leave through the Bidirectional Gate, a True Immortal from the Rui Family sought an audience.
He guessed the other party’s intention, so he didn’t let them in, instead asking Mei Yeyu to relay a message: Wait four more days, and once the formation path finishes testing the array plate and leaves, I will start crafting magical treasures.
On the fifth day, after Elder Dianjing departed, Mountain Master Feng, who had rested for two and a half months, struck again to craft the virtual combat system for everyone.
The adjustment of the Rui Family’s magical treasure went very smoothly, only taking three days to complete, followed by Yi Jue helping to sprinkle Spirit Stones.
With her assistance, Feng Jun generally wouldn’t lend a hand. Operating alone is actually easier than collaborating with someone else, but usually, he wouldn’t leave; instead, he quietly stood by to watch her work.
When unable to help, companionship is also an attitude; at the very least, it provides the other party with comfort.
However, Yi Jue had only been working for less than two hours when Mei Yeyu hurriedly entered, sending a Divine Sense to Feng Jun.
Yi Jue, when dealing with affairs, typically stays focused. Though the current task is relatively simple, it still challenges her command of Divine Sense. Fortunately, her multitasking retained a bit of bandwidth.
She noticed Mei Yeyu sending out a Divine Sense, then Feng Jun’s expression subtly changed. He calmly indicated, "If there’s something to handle, just go do it; after all, you can’t help with this here."
She always speaks concisely, and Feng Jun knows she’s not angry, so he nods slightly, "I’ll go take care of it."
He swiftly walked out of the manor and then, in a flash, blinked to the place where the White Pebble Beach disciples had made purchases. Walking towards a group of people, he spoke with a stern face, "What’s the deal? Are you planning to return the deposit?"
"No, we have no intention of returning the deposit," said the leader, an elderly man with a Nascent Soul Eighth Layer cultivation level, but with very strong momentum, devoid of the feeling of someone in decline. One could sense this person is likely a Strong Nascent Soul.
However, at this moment, his face showed a hint of trepidation, as he expressed in a deep voice, "We only wish to apply for a delay in ranking."
As Feng Jun only had to move, a Spiritual Qi Shield descended, and then Xuanyuan Buqi stepped in, "Feel free to speak; there’s nothing to worry about."
Feng Jun sighed, looking helplessly at Nascent Soul Eighth Layer, "Delayed now, not earlier? And it just happens now?"
This group is surnamed Xiong, though they’re not from the ancient Youxiong Family, but the Mi Xiong Family. Following the completion of the Rui Family’s magical treasure refining, the Xiong Family’s magical treasure was to be refined next, yet they still owed Feng Jun fifteen pieces of Extreme Spirit.
The Xiong Family wanted the top-tier magical treasure, having previously provided five pieces of Extreme Spirit as the deposit. As long as they paid the remaining twenty pieces before the refining began, Feng Jun would proceed with crafting the magical treasure.
It’s a common scenario; too many people want Feng Jun to craft magical treasures. There’s no way everyone can pay the full Extreme Spirit in advance—not to mention Feng Jun’s crafting time isn’t guaranteed. Speaking more extremely, if he perished, whom would you seek for compensation of the Extreme Spirit?
Feng Jun allows them to pay full before refining, which considers him accommodating, and now the other side claims... the Extreme Spirit is lost?
(It’s the end of the month, there are three hours left for double monthly tickets, nearly reaching twelve thousand votes, there’ll be a customary update at midnight, reserving the guarantee of monthly votes for the beginning of next month.)