Chapter 2726 - 2718: Who Is the Nightmare

Chapter 2726: Chapter 2718: Who Is the Nightmare

As Qian Zhong looked towards the manor, Feng Jun was arguing with Yi Jue—there was a disagreement in the theoretical construction of the Feign Death Pill.

This was one of the rare disagreements between them, but each insisted that their choice was correct.

The disagreement was simple, yet fundamental: Feng Jun believed the manufacturing technique was most important, while Yi Jue thought material selection was key.

Specifically, Feng Jun believed the Feign Death Pill couldn’t be a one-time consumption with no further consideration because a cultivator wanting to maintain the feigned death state might manage it temporarily, but long-term would be unrealistic, let alone ultra-long periods of three to five thousand years.

The Earth Realm’s current plan for cryogenics definitely required long-term energy support; imagine freezing a person, then losing power... Is this a plan to save or to kill?

In the Cultivation World, even if the rules of both worlds differ, maintaining the feigned death state surely requires energy.

Yet Yi Jue disagreed; she believed material selection was paramount. With the right materials, even if energy is needed to maintain the feigned death state, it becomes less crucial, and there’s even the possibility it might not require energy at all.

Her suggestion was certainly backed by facts, like the Spirit Stone in the Insect World, which remains underground for hundreds of thousands of years, but when brought to the Tianqin Plane, it dissipates quickly.

One focuses on the reasonableness of energy development, the other emphasizes the characteristics of rules—this is a fundamental conflict.

What makes it worse is that there’s no one to arbitrate between them; Elder Bian Ji is present and fully understands their differing focuses—while the feigned death state might need regular maintenance, correct material selection offers the possibility of a one-time solution.

Thus, he can only express, "You two carry on, I’ll just listen."

As for independently theorizing and testing both? Don’t joke... If the research direction is wrong, it only leads further astray.

The main reason is the lengthy time required for developing the Feign Death Pill. Even theorizing one solution might take an excessive amount of time; both believed it was reasonable to determine the direction initially.

Actually, another critical point is that, unlike the Energy Conversion Array, Elder Bian Ji hasn’t produced a sample of the Feign Death Pill. If there were any sample, even at a low-completion stage, Feng Jun and Yi Jue could help refine it with relative ease.

What’s even worse is that Elder Bian Ji attempted certain approaches in both directions, with countless schemes...

Hence upon hearing Feng Jun and Yi Jue’s debate, let alone interjecting, he almost wished to cover his face and run—there’s such a significant fundamental problem at places unnoticed.

By today, they’ve argued for four days without convincing each other. Despite Yi Jue’s serene temperament and generally amicable interactions with Feng Jun, in technical matters, once she gets serious, no one can sway her.

It’s fortunate it’s against Feng Jun; if it were someone else, she might resort to physical persuasion.

As they talked, dusk fell, and Feng Jun suggested, "Senior Qian Zhong is back, should we consult her?"

Deep in Yi Jue’s consciousness, she was somewhat disapproving of Qian Zhong, "Might as well ask Xuanyuan Buqi too, let’s gather ideas."

Xuanyuan Buqi wasn’t adept at theorizing, Feng Jun thought of retorting this way; the past two days they’ve argued... indeed got heated, but finally, he smiled and nodded, "Alright."

The two True Immortals sensed they were being discussed and weren’t surprised when approached, yet hearing about their theorizing was still shocking: aiming to study such a defying pill?

Xuanyuan Buqi wasn’t skilled in this set, but Qian Zhong responded adeptly, asked some questions, and started theorizing.

Her theorization stretched directly from evening till dawn; no one dared interrupt her.

Finally, not long after dawn, she stopped and said apologetically, "Can’t make a decision for you two; feels like both directions have promise, but not much hope."

"Both have promise"... this isn’t empty talk; crafting elixirs isn’t necessarily either-or—it’s normal for different paths to converge.

Feng Jun and Yi Jue had this realization too; they exchanged glances and simultaneously said, "Senior, choose one, please."

Qian Zhong typically had a serene nature; she wouldn’t make a choice in a this-or-that matter. Offending either of these two would be unwise, and she could choose to support Feng Jun, but after the argument, if they reconciled, she’d be seen as a villain?

Thus she suggested aloud, "Why not balance both directions? It’s a prudent approach."

A prudent approach indeed! Upon hearing, Feng Jun and Yi Jue simultaneously rolled their eyes; if we could operate like this, would we have argued for several days?

At this moment, Xuanyuan Buqi spoke suddenly, "If the argument stalls, why not seek another expertise in theorization?"

"Are you stupid?" Qian Zhong nearly jumped up. Ever since realizing Feng Jun’s destiny was also astonishing, she wished everyone would ignore White Pebble Beach. Is she now trying to bring in a deduction expert to share the destiny benefits?

But she quickly realized her impulsive action, and hurriedly covered up, "A Chess Sect cultivator once provoked Mountain Master Feng."

"I didn’t say anyone from the Chess Sect," Xuanyuan Buqi coughed lightly, "That person from the Ancient Xiong Family... is actually skilled at deduction."

"He won’t do," Qian Zhong shook her head plainly. In truth, it wasn’t about capability. The problem lay in the Xiong Family’s good relations with the Xuanyuan Family, yet last time, she had followed Feng Jun to confront them. They were potential opponents, so she didn’t want to face both Xuanyuan and the Xiong Family at once.

She didn’t initially plan to explain but noticed Feng Jun glancing at her thoughtfully, so she added, "Asking him to investigate the true culprit without results, and then owing a favor in a situation where there clearly could be progress?"

She wasn’t wrong in her judgment, and Feng Jun felt the same. Nonetheless, these days his debates with Yi Jue were intense yet fruitful, as they clarified the general direction of two developmental paths.

Indeed, unless someone deliberately argues, "the more you debate, the clearer the truth becomes" is generally the case.

Because of this, Feng Jun knew how resource-intensive and time-consuming deducing this type of elixir would be.

In other words, unless he’s not interested in this elixir, he must strive to secure more support. Enlisting a True Immortal for help in deduction isn’t out of the question.

The Xiong Family’s True Immortal... Feng Jun wasn’t fond of them, but if they were to atone for past wrongs, it might be relatively inexpensive, right?

Therefore, he didn’t react to Qian Zhong’s words, but instead looked at Yi Jue, "Do you have any thoughts?"

Yi Jue’s gaze was unfocused. After about ten seconds, she spoke in a deep voice, "If we’re talking about deduction, I know someone skilled in time and causality deduction, but their cultivation level is not high, merely at Nascent Soul Middle Phase, and they’re hard to persuade."

Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong exchanged another look but remained silent, a trace of worry surfacing in their hearts.

Feng Jun was taken aback for a moment before responding, "If you don’t have a good relationship with the fairy, then there’s no need to consider."

To deduce this pill, he could temporarily overlook personal grievances. However, he didn’t want Yi Jue to suffer any injustice.

"It’s not quite like that," Yi Jue chuckled and shook her head, "This person is aloof and carefree, intolerant of grievances, and often abandons tasks halfway even if they promised to help. Moreover, they’re a member of the Tea and Sake Way."

Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan Buqi didn’t show expressions, but internally they were frustrated: sure enough, sect practitioners were ultimately drawn in.

They had no major opinion of sect practitioners, but to them, Feng Jun was a treasure trove. Yi Jue had been part of the scene early on, and they didn’t intend to resent that, but as for others... why should they get a share?

"And what about being from the Tea and Sake Way?" Feng Jun blinked in confusion, then suddenly realized, couldn’t help but smile slightly, "I treat sects and families equally; just continue to speak."

Yi Jue naturally knew he held no bias against sects, but previously, the two powerful beings beside him came from family forces, and she was too lazy to recommend someone from a sect.

But now, as the two were becoming increasingly uninhibited—one seeking to introduce a new family True Immortal, the other trying to influence Feng Jun’s decisions—she was a bit annoyed: they made it seem like they were the only ones who could calculate benefits.

Elder Yi Jue didn’t like scheming, but she wasn’t na?ve. How could she not notice the predominance of clan cultivators around Feng Jun? She hadn’t wanted to make a fuss before, but now she felt she couldn’t remain silent.

Hearing Feng Jun’s reply, she smiled, "This person is from the Way of Tea and Sake, don’t underestimate them..."

"The Way of Tea and Sake?" Elder Bian Ji exclaimed, "The person you’re thinking of isn’t that rascal Miaomiao Sanren, is it?"

The Way of Tea and Sake isn’t exactly a proper path among the eighteen paths. Some call it "The Path of Indulgence." Cultivators in this path might not necessarily have exceptional achievements in tea or sake; as long as they master any art, they can apply to join.

Tea and sake are mere aliases; the path is filled with cultivators skilled in culinary arts, fabric arts, mechanisms, and so on.

So this path also has the alias "Hundred Arts Path," and some former path leaders wanted to rename it as "The Path of Freedom," but were collectively warned against tarnishing the name ’freedom’ by seven leading sects and the Four Paths, halting the proposal.

"Miaomiao Sanren?" Yi Jue was taken aback, then nodded, "Indeed, it’s True Immortal Miaomiao."

"That bastard is hard to deal with," Elder Bian Ji shook his head, expressing frustration, "They owe me eighty Spirit Stones, and I chased after them for more than a hundred years to collect... truly a nightmarish existence."

"Eighty Spirit Stones, debt collection for over a hundred years?" Xuanyuan Buqi finally couldn’t help it, "Elder Bian Ji, who do you think really is the nightmare?"

"At that time, I was only at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer," Elder Bian Ji glanced at him indifferently, "When I began seriously pursuing the debt I was at Out of Dust Second Layer, and when I collected the debt, I had reached Middle Out of Dust! You tell me, who was the nightmare?"