The Programmer Cultivator

Chapter 146: Chapter 20: Master Painter?

The Pseudo Tai Chi power, which had only been in the process of advancing, suddenly broke through a certain point and crossed into the Tai Chi Stage.

At that moment, a mysterious message came from the ball of light.

’Fuse with self, or summon the target’s original consciousness and form a Mirror Image to assist in combat?’

”Fusion with myself.”

Zhang Deming hesitated for a moment before choosing fusion.

The ball of light flew into Zhang Deming’s body. Instantly, his aura skyrocketed, and his Cultivation directly reached the initial Tai Chi Stage.

Li Shifan, standing to the side, looked on with a sharp expression.

Zhang Deming turned to Li Shifan and said, ”In my current state, my strongest techniques are mostly for support. Do you have a trump card?

If you do, I’ll give you a boost. You take the lead.

If not, then forget it. I’ll handle it myself!”

Li Shifan fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

Then, he suddenly spoke as if talking to himself, ”Old man, it’s time to act!

If you don’t, I’m a goner, and your family line will truly end with me.”

”Sigh...”

As Li Shifan finished speaking, a long, drawn-out sigh emanated from within his body.

The entire cave fell silent. The Qiu Ape across from them froze instantly, its movements restricted.

To Zhang Deming’s astonishment, an ethereal scroll slowly unfurled behind Li Shifan.

The scroll depicted an ordinary thatched cottage with a young man on its roof.

The young man was lying on the roof, one hand cradling the back of his head and his legs crossed. A faint smile played on his lips, and he exuded a carefree, unconventional air.

As the scroll materialized, the young man in the painting came to life and let out a soft sigh.

He sat up on the thatched roof, turning to face the two of them.

It was as if he were looking through the scroll directly at Li Shifan. He spoke, ”Are you aware that every time I act, it consumes a portion of your Qi Fortune?”

Li Shifan replied, ”You can only have a future if you’re alive, right?”

Hearing this, the young man shook his head with a sigh of resignation, stood up, and stepped out of the scroll in a single stride.

He surveyed the scene. When his eyes fell on the Tai Chi Stage Qiu Ape, he was taken aback for a moment.

”You brat, you’re getting bolder and bolder. How long has it been?

And now you’re even picking fights with a Tai Chi Demon Beast?”

Apparently, while inside the scroll, he couldn’t perceive the specific situation outside, or at least, he couldn’t keep a constant watch.

Zhang Deming finally snapped out of his daze. He looked from the scroll—which now showed only the thatched cottage—to the young man standing before him and asked in astonishment, ”A Sublimated Painter?”

’Heh, now that’s a rare sight.’

’After all, there was the issue of a Painter’s reputation. Their work was worthless until they died, and even then, its value wasn’t guaranteed.’

’That’s why those who chose the path of the Painter in the Hongmeng Realm were exceedingly rare, to say nothing of a Painter at the Tai Chi Stage.’

Hearing this, the young man turned back to look at Zhang Deming. Sensing the fluctuations of his Tai Chi Cultivation, he was momentarily stunned. A glint flickered in his eyes, and he gave a wry smile.

”Cross Tier? It seems the Celestial Spirit Sect’s Inner Sect is producing more and more talented individuals these days.”

”Senior, you are...”

”ROAR—!” At that moment, the immobilized Qiu Ape let out a furious roar and began to struggle.

”I can’t hold it for long. Whatever you’re going to do, do it now.

I need to conserve my power, so I must act as little as possible. I was never lucky enough to have even a single one of my paintings achieve sublimation.

This Lifebound Painting of mine was forcibly sublimated at the moment of my death.

It triggered the Painting Dao’s cosmic punishment and underwent a mutation.

It can’t be activated by either Spiritual Power or Mental Power; it consumes only Qi Fortune.

My Li Family has fallen to its current state because of this painting I left behind. Thinking back on it now, I truly shouldn’t have done it.

I meant to leave behind a foundation for my family, but instead, it became the root of our misfortune.

It took so long for a descendant with great Qi Fortune to appear. I don’t want to watch him die an untimely death due to misfortune related to that very Qi Fortune,” the young man said to Zhang Deming, his expression full of worldly weariness.

Zhang Deming listened, nodded, and said, ”Alright!”

”I heard a Rumor... they say that for a Demon that ascends through mutation, every change has its drawback. And today is the day it erupts.”

With those words, Zhang Deming struck directly at the most fundamental weakness of an ascension through mutation.

Although it was only a Tier One Oratory Skill, with Zhang Deming using it at his current level of Tai Chi Cultivation, the effect was anything but weak.

”ROAR—!”

The Qiu Ape let out a sudden, furious roar. The skin on its body abruptly became a bloody mess, as if its fur had been flayed away.

The next moment, its skin took on a metallic sheen.

As its body flickered between these two states, the Qiu Ape appeared to be in extreme agony.

Zhang Deming didn’t stop. He raised his left hand, and a stream of Spirit Water flowed forth. He made a grasping motion with his right, and an ethereal teacup materialized.

”I have a tea named Enhancement. I invite you to partake!”

The Spirit Water poured into the ethereal teacup. A mist rose from it and merged into the young man’s body.

After doing this, Zhang Deming suddenly went weak and collapsed to his knees. He clearly still had vast reserves of Spiritual Power, yet he couldn’t even remain standing, appearing for all the world as if his power was completely depleted.

Just then, the ball of light shot out of Zhang Deming’s body and vanished into the air.

Zhang Deming’s face was now deathly pale, without a single trace of Spiritual Power fluctuating from his body.

The Mirror Images created by the Spirit Nurturing Summoning Technique possess the same abilities as their original targets.

This includes their Cultivation, Spiritual Power, and everything else.

Of course, when boosted by an Enhancement Skill, they become an upgraded version.

However, maintaining this Mirror Image required Zhang Deming’s own Spiritual Power. After two consecutive battles, his Spiritual Power was already running critically low, and he wouldn’t have been able to maintain it for much longer anyway.

For example, if Zhang Deming were to summon Feng Mingyou’s Mirror Image, enhance it, and then fuse it with his body, he would possess Tai Chi Cultivation with a full reserve of Spiritual Power.