The Programmer Cultivator

In an instant, the Dragon Turtle’s clear, draconic eyes fixed on Zhou Zhixin. The emerald light within its Dragon Bead brightened considerably.

The old man stared intently at Zhou Zhixin and asked, ”What did you throw?”

Zhou Zhixin paused, stunned. ”A Spirit Nurturing Bead,” he said. ”Weren’t you trying to enhance your Spirituality? Whether you’re an Earth Spirit or a Demon Beast, a Spirit Nurturing Bead should be effective, right?”

”A Spirit Nurturing Bead? What kind of treasure is that?” the old man asked.

Zhou Zhixin paused for a moment before replying, ”It’s something similar to an Elixir, a new creation from a few thousand years ago. It only started to spread throughout All of Hongmeng in the last few centuries.”

The old man was still confused, but he didn’t dwell on it. He looked at Zhou Zhixin and said, ”More. I need that Vitality.”

Zhou Zhixin’s face twitched. ”More...? What do you think Spirit Nurturing Beads are, candy?

If I weren’t a Sword Cultivator who dislikes dabbling in all sorts of Techniques, I wouldn’t even have this one on me.”

”You have no more?” the old man asked.

Zhou Zhixin nodded woodenly. ”No more.”

”How can you have no more? My divination clearly showed a path to survival.” He then turned to look at the others.

One by one, they all held out their empty hands and shook their heads.

Zhang Deming’s eyes flickered. ’He wants Spirit Nurturing Beads?’

’I have over a hundred of them on me. I’ve nearly finished crafting this batch from my materials, and next month’s delivery isn’t due yet.’

”How can we be sure you won’t turn on us after we save you?” Zhang Deming spoke up at this moment.

The old man froze for a second, then looked at Zhang Deming in pleasant surprise. ”You can rest assured. From the day I became an Earth Spirit, I lost my free will.”

”And since you’ve all passed the trial, you’re considered Blessed Land Disciples. My own rules forbid me from harming you.”

”Then what do you call this?” Zhang Deming asked.

”The Blessed Land is in danger. All Disciples have a duty to fight,” the old man replied calmly.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Deming fell into contemplation for a long while before finally saying, ”I have something that can help you, but...”

Zhang Deming glanced around and fell silent.

The old man looked around, and understanding dawned on him.

With a wave of his hand, a Light Curtain rose, isolating Zhang Deming from the others.

The others watched with flickering eyes as Zhang Deming and the old man were separated.

Dang Ruyu looked at Li Shifan and asked, ”Junior Brother Li, what is Junior Brother Zhang...?”

Li Shifan shook his head. ”Senior Brother must have his own plan. I’m not sure either.”

Hearing this, the others all showed differing expressions and fell into contemplation.

······

Once isolated, Zhang Deming looked around. He found himself enclosed by an invisible Light Curtain, standing before the draconic mouth formed from the whiskers.

With a flip of his hand, he tossed a Spirit Nurturing Bead inside.

Instantly, the Dragon Turtle above the mucus reacted again. The green light from the Dragon Bead intensified once more.

Seeing this, Zhang Deming pondered for a moment.

With another flip of his hand, before the old man’s pleasantly surprised eyes, he pulled out fifty or sixty Spirit Nurturing Beads—all of them were of the Spiritual Shield type.

’If the goal was just to comprehend the Spiritual Shield Technique, three to five would have been more than enough.’

’But this time, the main purpose isn’t comprehending a Skill, but Spirit Nurturing. And it’s for an already highly intelligent Demon Beast... no... an Earth Spirit.’

’Ever since becoming a Spirit Nurturing Master, he had always been taking shortcuts; he had never actually performed the primary duties of one. Today was a first.’

Thus, he pulled out all the Spirit Nurturing Beads most compatible with the Dragon Turtle: the Spiritual Shield ones.

He tossed the entire handful into the draconic mouth all at once.

After Zhang Deming did this, the surrounding Light Curtain dissipated. The spectral old man had also vanished, gone who knows where.

When Zhang Deming reappeared before the others, the entire Secret Realm began to shake violently before anyone could even ask a question.

”ROAR—”

Above the mucus, the Dragon Turtle’s eyes regained their clarity. It raised its head and let out a long, melodious draconic cry as the Dragon Bead flew from its mouth.

Its emerald light illuminated the entire core of the island.

Countless motes of light emerged from the Dragon Turtle’s body, forming a hollow circle around it.

’Is this...?’

’Comprehending the Skill from the Spirit Nurturing Bead, or a successful Spirit Nurturing?’

’Can a Demon Beast... no... an Earth Spirit that’s already intelligent also undergo a successful Spirit Nurturing?’

As he gazed at the familiar hollow circle of light, thoughts raced through Zhang Deming’s mind.

Just then, a fragmented vision appeared in Zhang Deming’s Spirit Nurturing Space.

The vision showed the scene before him: a malformed Dragon Turtle, head raised in a long cry, surrounded by thirteen serpentine, tentacle-like bodies flailing chaotically in the air.

But the vision wasn’t as clear as usual. It was somewhat blurry and flickered constantly.

It was like watching an old black-and-white television with a bad signal.

The vision was brief, shattering into a brilliant mote of light that, surprisingly, had a faint reddish tint.

Zhang Deming reached out to touch the mote of light and froze.

The feedback from his Technique informed him that he couldn’t pull the entity’s consciousness over.

It wasn’t because its Cultivation was too high, nor because it was an Earth Spirit. The feedback indicated that the entity’s consciousness was incomplete.

In other words, the entity seemed to have a split personality. Only a small fraction of its consciousness had comprehended Zhang Deming’s Skill and received a weak Spirit Nurturing effect.

Forcibly pulling it would completely shatter its consciousness, and Zhang Deming currently lacked the power to do so anyway.

Therefore, he was unable to pull it over.

’Aside from that, everything else functions normally.’

A sharp glint flashed in Zhang Deming’s eyes. ’If everything else is normal, doesn’t that mean Spirit Nurturing Summoning will also work?!!!’

’This is a Three Talents powerhouse at the Peak of the Celestial Realm!!!’

’It even follows the Blessed Fortune Path! If I can summon it when I need good fortune, wouldn’t that mean...’

Zhang Deming had no more time to think, because a dramatic change was occurring outside.

After the draconic cry, the Dragon Turtle’s eyes became completely clear.

The entire Secret Realm continued to tremble. They could clearly feel as if the Dragon Turtle was mobilizing the power of the whole realm and directing it to crush itself.

A plume of red smoke abruptly burst from the Dragon Turtle’s head, detaching itself completely.

Before the Dragon Bead above its head could react, the smoke invaded the thirteen swaying serpentine bodies.

Countless eyes began to sprout from the scales of the serpentine bodies. Soon, nearly all the scales on the thirteen bodies had transformed into vertical, reptilian pupils.

Their original serpentine appearance was completely gone. They had become malformed tentacles, densely covered in vertical pupils and tipped with a gaping maw.

The moment the transformation was complete, the surrounding space trembled violently. The power within the Secret Realm split into two forces and began to struggle against itself.

Above the mucus, the thirteen tentacles, as if gaining a mind of their own, lunged in unison to bite the draconic head.

”HISS—”

”ROAR—”

The draconic head and the thirteen tentacles descended into a chaotic brawl.

At the same instant, the two opposing forces within the Secret Realm clashed.