Chapter 1043: Chapter 1043: Crimson Phoenix and Hei Luan

The Ning Family’s gratitude directly manifested itself in that small courtyard, insisting on no longer accepting any money from Feng Jun under any circumstance.

Originally, they thought that Mountain Master Feng simply relayed a message through someone else for them to seek help from Master Busheng, which to them seemed like a shot in the dark.

But when they found the Tianxin Platform, the bodies had already been brought out, and it seemed that the ones truly shooting in the dark… were themselves!

Therefore, the Ning Family adamantly refused the 12,000 Spirit Stones from Feng Jun, arguing that Master Busheng had already resolved the matter quite beautifully, eliminating all future troubles; insisting on paying would be deemed as disrespect towards the Ning Family.

Feng Jun, however, with a stern face, asked: We originally agreed, regardless of the outcome, that this amount of Spirit Stones was it. Are you really going back on your word now, or do you think I’m the kind of petty person who doesn’t keep his promises?

Or are you suggesting that if I hadn’t been able to ask Master Busheng for help, you would’ve been willing to pay me more?

The atmosphere between both parties became very tense, and to an outsider unaware of the situation, it might even look like a dispute over an uneven divide of spoils.

While Luo Shuchen went to cultivate in Mount Zhige, Huang Fu Flawless tried to mediate on the side, to no avail.

Just then, someone came to report, “The Hei Luan from the Crimson Phoenix Sect has arrived and entered the Crimson Phoenix Sect’s courtyard.”

Hei Luan,” Huang Fu Flawless twitched the corners of her mouth upon hearing this, “This one is not as easy to deal with as Bai Luan.”

But no matter what, since one of the Nine Luan of the Crimson Phoenix Sect had arrived, Chairman Huang Fu immediately prepared a greeting card, planning to pay a visit later– as neighbors, it was the proper courtesy to high-rank cultivators.

However, before she could make the visit, Hei Luan took the initiative to come over, accompanied by two Qi Refining disciples and a male cultivator at the Earthly Dust stage.

Hei Luan had a dark complexion yet was not unpleasant to look at, what you would call “charmingly dark,” with a tall and slim stature, long straight legs, standing at around 1.8 meters tall. However, her age should not be considered young–she had reached the peak of Earthly Dust Stage Eight, barely touching Stage Nine.

Upon entering Tianxin Platform, she cast a doubtful glance at Feng Jun and the two ascendants from the Ning Family, frowning slightly.

However, there were disciples behind her who recognized Feng Jun; they quickly stepped forward and whispered a few words to her.

Then Hei Luan looked towards Feng Jun, nodded slightly, and showed a trace of a smile on her face, “So Mountain Master Feng is also here, a fortunate meeting indeed.”

Her words were polite enough, and her expression was passable, but… there was no bow of the hands.

In any case, some details made it clear that her politeness towards Feng Jun was merely superficial.

But Feng Jun was not displeased because of this; he’d seen too many self-righteous individuals. She was a notable figure from the Earthly Dust Stage Eight within the Four Great Sects, and to have this attitude towards him…was actually not too bad.

So he smiled and nodded, then bowed his hands, “I’ve met Hei Luan, if you have business with Chairman Huang Fu, then I will take my leave.”

“No need, it actually involves you as well,” Hei Luan waved her hand with an indisputable tone, “It would be best for the three of us to sit down together and talk this through.”

Among the three parties, Huang Fu Flawless was the weakest. Although she had a Guest Elder from Tiantong behind her, they were only Guest Elders of Tiantong.

Nevertheless, she wasn’t at all timid; after inviting the others to sit down, she then spoke out, “May I know why Hei Luan has come here? Do you have advice for us?”

In fact, from this statement, one could tell that she was not very enthusiastic about Hei Luan.

Chairman Huang Fu is an astute and perceptive person, well-versed in the ways of conducting business. To smooth things over with some polite conversation is second nature to her. Why else would she get straight to the point without some casual preliminaries, seeking the visitor’s intentions right after they met?

Hei Luan, however, didn’t mind all that and went straight to the point, “I heard that Tiantong has become the agent for Mount Zhige’s Boiler Camel Motorcycle?”

“That’s correct,” Huang Fu Flawless nodded. When it was a key moment, she showed responsibility, “Mountain Master Feng took care of some business for his friend, but most of the shares are with me.”

Hei Luan stared at her unwaveringly, “I wish to trade directly with Mountain Master Feng. Is that a problem?”

“Direct trading is, of course, possible,” Huang Fu Flawless nodded without hesitation. But then she followed up with the two words that were bound to come up, “But why? Is it because we did something unsatisfactorily?”

“That is not the attitude you should have towards a high-ranking cultivator!” Hei Luan pointed at her, then spoke expressionlessly, “Fortunately, you’re dealing with me. Had it been someone else, you’d be in for a hard time. I’m very magnanimous… You have done nothing wrong, but I need to deal directly with Mount Zhige.”

Feng Jun frowned upon hearing this, lit a cigarette, thinking whether this person was arrogantly conceited or just plain foolish.

“All right, my attitude was lacking, and Hei Luan has taught me well,” Huang Fu Flawless smiled and graciously concurred, “Then please enlighten us, why do you need to deal directly with Mount Zhige?”

“Because talking to you is pointless,” Hei Luan was certainly straightforward, then she pointed at the male Earthly Dust cultivator beside her, “Let me introduce you, this is Luo Lieyang from the Thunderous Power origin.”

Huang Fu Flawless greeted Luo Lieyang with a bow of her hands, smiling, “So it’s Ascendant Luo, I’ve heard about you from Ascendant Shen.”

Luo Lieyang is at the fifth level of out-of-world cultivation. Facing Chairman Huang Fu’s greeting, he smiles and says, “Chairman Shen… someone I often deal with.”

Thunder Plains is a subsidiary force of the Crimson Phoenix Sect, with an ancient legacy. It is the only force in the Cultivation World that specializes in Thunder Cultivation and is now the headquarters for Thunder Cultivators. However, Thunder Techniques do not belong to the Five Elements, making the legacy hard to pass on, and it has never been very prosperous.

In the Earth Realm, Thunder Techniques are relatively more prosperous. Why? Because the Heavenly Dao has collapsed, many Yin Spirits do not enter the cycle of reincarnation, and Thunder Techniques are the most effective against Yin Spirits; thus, they thrive.

Of course, there’s another important reason: in the age of declining spiritual energy, Thunder Techniques can harness the yin and yang particles in the environment to produce thunder and lightning without requiring too much spiritual energy–thus, in the environment of declining law, Thunder Techniques are mostly dominant.

If the Huaxia military had three thousand Sword Cultivators at their disposal, would they bother building an electromagnetic gun?

I digress. Actually, Thunder Cultivation is considered to be of extreme yang; the Crimson Phoenix Sect’s primary Cultivation Technique is the Fire System, also extreme yang, hence the two inherently have a close affinity. Now, Thunder Plains is even under the protection of the Crimson Phoenix Sect.

Currently, Thunder Plains indeed has a Golden Core Master; but compared to the Four Sects and Wutai, or even the forces of the two peaks and one valley where each has more than one Golden Core, the influence of Thunder Plains is still slightly lesser.

Chairman Huang Fu Flawless nods thoughtfully, “So… it’s the Thunder Plains that wants the Boiler Camel Motorcycles?”

Luo Lieyang smiles and nods, “Indeed, our Thunder Cultivators in Thunder Plains think the thunder and lightning on the plains is too unstable…”

Originally, Thunder Plains was not a force but a vast plain interspersed with some low hills, where due to the landform, thunderstorms are frequent all year round, making it the most thunderstorm-concentrated area in the Cultivation World.

Because of the dense thunderstorms, Thunder Cultivators naturally gathered here, and initially, there were more than a dozen large and small Thunder Cultivation forces, including clans and alliances. However, over time to combat Evil Cultivators, the Crimson Phoenix Sect gradually integrated the forces of Thunder Plains.

After the integration of Thunder Plains, there were still some internal factions, but overall it has stabilized.

Feng Jun listens quietly, slowly nodding as he roughly guesses what the other party is angling for.

As expected, Luo Lieyang continues, “We’ve also purchased a few sets of the Boiler Camel Motorcycles. The design is quite ingenious; and what’s precious is that the strength of the thunder and lightning is controllable. The only pity is that the thunder power is a bit weak, only barely enough for those at the Initial Stage of Qi Refinement…”

At this point, he turns to Feng Jun, “I wonder if it’s possible to enhance the thunder power of this device?”

Feng Jun ponders for a moment and then nods, “The model we’re currently selling is for ordinary lighting. If Brother Luo wants to use it for cultivation, then increasing the current by several times should do the job. May I know how many times higher does Brother Luo need the current limit to be?”

Luo Lieyang folds his hands in greeting and asks earnestly, “A thousand-fold would suffice, even ten thousand-fold wouldn’t be a problem.”

My goodness, Feng Jun’s mouth twitches, that would match a power plant’s thermal power unit, “Brother Luo, are you sure? Does an ordinary out-of-world Thunder Cultivator really need so much power?”

“Why must it be limited to the out-of-world stage?” Luo Lieyang gives him a surprised glance, “This item can also benefit Golden Core Masters and even… Nascent Soul Immortals might consider it.”

Feng Jun is speechless, “You said it’s just for auxiliary cultivation, right? The Thunderous Power of the sky far surpasses that of the Boiler Camel Motorcycle; why would Nascent Soul Immortals want to use this?”

Hei Luan speaks in a deep voice, “You have a good relationship with our Crimson Phoenix Sect and are no stranger, so can you level with us, how many times stronger can you make it?”

Feng Jun smiles wryly and spreads his hands, “For the Boiler Camel Motorcycle, with some effort, enhancing the current by fifty to sixty times is not a problem. I had no idea your ambitions were so grand; talking about increasing it by thousands to tens of thousands of times is beyond my expectation.”

Hei Luan glances at Luo Lieyang, who shakes his head, “That’s truly not enough, not even sufficient for my personal cultivation.”

“Then there’s nothing we can do,” Feng Jun shakes his head, expressing very straightforwardly, “I am truly sorry.”

Of course, the Earth Realm still has larger power generation units, but such large units are far too complex. Installation and adjustments require professional electrical engineering personnel, and they would consume a large amount of fuel, which is a deficit in this realm.

As for hydroelectric and nuclear power units, Feng Jun dares not even consider them.

Since that’s the case, he simply doesn’t tell the truth anymore and says it’s not doable, to quash the other party’s hopes.

After exchanging glances, Hei Luan and Luo Lieyang pause for a moment before Hei Luan speaks, “You share a good relationship with Bai Luan, can you make an exception for her and share the manufacturing process of the Boiler Camel Motorcycle?”

Bai Luan “that person”? Feng Jun’s brow furrows, “Hold on, I would like to ask, does Senior Hei Luan really have such a good relationship with Bai Luan?”

“My relationship with her is… decent, I guess,” Hei Luan’s brows furrow, answering somewhat reluctantly, “Occasionally we have some differing opinions, but we are all Crimson Phoenix disciples, and both listed among the Nine Phoenixes; surely you don’t think we are sworn enemies, right?”

Their relationship is indeed quite ordinary, and in the Crimson Phoenix Sect, it’s almost to the point of arguing upon meeting, but according to the rules of the Four Great Sects, it’s not appropriate for the sect’s disciples to be openly opposed. In reality, these are internal conflicts within the sect and do not affect external unity.

Therefore, she won’t admit outwardly, “I find Bai Luan displeasing to the eye.”

(Updated up to here, studying in the Imperial Capital, steady updates, calling for monthly passes.)