The Programmer Cultivator

Qin Shizhong nodded. ”I understand.”

With that, he rose, gathered the materials from the table, and left the Flying Spring Waterfall Tower.

He didn’t look back until he was outside the Array’s effective range, and the thunderous roar of the Flying Spring Waterfall filled his ears once more. He took one last, deep look at Zhang Deming sipping tea in the small courtyard of the Flying Spring Waterfall Tower, then turned and walked away.

Zhang Deming watched Qin Shizhong leave. He sat in the small courtyard, savoring his tea for a while longer before going inside.

And with that, he had finally used up all the materials he had acquired for advancing to the Tai Chi Stage.

...

Meanwhile, deep within the outer layers of the Hengduan Mountain Range, in a vast, primordial forest.

Li Shifan gripped a Long Sword, a huge bundle slung over his back. Inside were mainly a few sections of Heart-Connected Lotus Root and a precious, jade-like Heart-Connected Lotus Platform.

Without a storage pouch, travel was incredibly inconvenient, even with the bundle made from Spirit-Blocking Cloth.

Ever since parting ways with Zhang Buyi, his ancestor, Li Cheng, had once again hidden himself away in the palm of his hand, while Li Shifan began to move stealthily toward the outer edge of the mountains.

He was carrying many extremely precious items, so he was exceptionally careful, and his pace was slow.

Over several days, he had only covered a distance that took him one or two days to travel on his way in.

Fortunately, before they parted ways, Zhang Buyi and his ancestor had used their United Force to travel as a streak of light for a short time. It wasn’t long, but they had managed to cover nearly half the remaining distance.

In addition, a large area in the outer region had been cleared out because of the incident with the Secret Realm.

So, he only needed to travel cautiously for another three to five days to make it out of the mountain range.

Perhaps it was out of boredom, or maybe because staying mentally tense for so long wasn’t good for him.

So, as Li Shifan moved forward cautiously, he started to commune spiritually with his ancestor. Well, more like a Heart Spirit conversation.

”Ancestor, you were a Duality Stage Cultivator before you died, more or less. How did you manage things so poorly that you couldn’t even leave your grandson a single storage pouch?

It’s fine for now while I’m using Sword Step. But what if one day I reach the Duality Stage and my Sword Control Skill reaches Tier Four?

Imagine me then, riding my Flying Sword with a giant sack on my back, zipping back and forth across the Hengduan Mountain Range.

What a sight that would be... a total disgrace to the Li Family’s name, don’t you think!”

Feeling the bundle on his back, especially the massive space taken up by the Heart-Connected Lotus Platform—it was like carrying a giant cooking pot—Li Shifan couldn’t help but grumble. At that moment, even his cool and aloof persona began to crack.

”Hah! Even if I had left a fortune behind, do you really think any of it would have made its way to you?

Before our family fell from grace, we at least managed to break into the circle of Inner Sect Families. We had more than three storage pouches back then.

The reason you’re in this situation today is, in the end, due to generations of losing our Qi Fortune. Eventually, it cost the entire family’s Qi Fortune, landing us in our current state.

So, kid, you’d better watch your... Wait, be careful! Something’s wrong!”

Li Cheng didn’t even finish his sentence. He stopped short, his voice shifting to an urgent warning.

But Li Cheng’s warning wasn’t needed. At almost the same moment, Li Shifan froze. His body went taut as he stared intently in one direction in the forest, on full alert.

At that moment, the surroundings became unnaturally quiet. Not even the chirping of an insect could be heard.

While Li Shifan was on full alert, a snow-white deer, as graceful as an Elf, appeared before him.

The deer was snow-white, standing chest-high to an average man and measuring between one and two meters in length. It wasn’t particularly large.

On its head was a pair of very sharp antlers. Its huge eyes were exceptionally vivid, glinting with the Spiritual Light of Wisdom as they stared intently at Li Shifan.

”Be careful. This is an Enchanting Spirit Deer. It possesses a Bloodline power of the Heart Spirit class, making it an extremely difficult opponent among Tai Chi Stage Demon Beasts.

It was likely drawn by the items on your back. As a Three-Star rare material, the Heart-Connected Lotus Platform is extremely attractive to Demon Beasts with a Heart Spirit Class Bloodline.” The moment the Enchanting Spirit Deer appeared, Li Cheng’s words echoed in Li Shifan’s mind.

Li Shifan’s brow furrowed. ”Doesn’t the spirit-blocking bundle have any effect?”

Li Cheng sounded puzzled as well. ”It should be working. Otherwise, your journey wouldn’t have been this peaceful.

Forget the Heart-Connected Lotus Root; the Lotus Platform alone is something that a Three Talents Level Demon Monarch would have to guard for a century just for it to mature. You can imagine how precious it is.

If it really wasn’t working, you would have spent the last few days running for your life, let alone having the leisure to grumble at me.”

In the brief moment it took for their mental exchange, the Enchanting Spirit Deer had fully revealed itself, its eyes flickering with Spiritual Light as it watched Li Shifan.

It sized up Li Shifan, who held his sword in one hand, and then its eyes erupted with a dazzling Spiritual Light.

The Spiritual Light was somewhat dreamlike, captivating anyone who looked at it. Li Shifan was instantly dazed.

Seizing the opportunity, the Enchanting Spirit Deer sprang forward, charging straight at Li Shifan with its razor-sharp antlers.

”Snap out of it!”

As Li Shifan stood dazed, Li Cheng’s voice echoed in his mind with a peculiar vibration.

Li Shifan snapped out of his trance.

The moment he recovered, the first thing he saw was a huge antler, glinting with a cold light, rushing toward him.

Technique: Sword Control Shield!

Li Shifan instantly reversed his grip, holding his sword vertically and bracing the flat of the blade with his left hand. As the technique activated, a massive Sword Shadow materialized, forming a shield as large as a door in front of him.

”CLANG...”

With a tremendous crash, Li Shifan was hurled backward by the immense force, snapping several ancient trees as he plowed a long furrow through the earth.