The Programmer Cultivator

And Ancestor Dang has never set foot in the Wu Earth Secret Realm.

”Some senior in our Secret Group compiled the story. If it weren’t for the lack of embellishment, it would practically be a novel. It really stands out among all the other dry records.

So it’s not just the disciples... well, pretty much every disciple in the Secret Group has read it. It’s not really a secret at all.”

Zhang Deming: ”...”

Yang Guangfu looked at Zhang Deming and asked, ”Master Zhang, you asked about this matter, and now you’ve suddenly applied to go to the Wu Earth Secret Realm today. Could it be...”

Zhang Deming didn’t deny it. He nodded and said, ”Yes, you could say I was entrusted by the higher-ups to handle something.”

Hearing this, Yang Guangfu’s lips trembled, his expression conflicted.

Zhang Deming looked at him and said, ”If you have something to say, just say it. You know I don’t like disciples who mince their words.”

Yang Guangfu paused for a moment, then said, ”For years, Ancestor Dang has sent many things to the Wu Earth Secret Realm, but every last one of them was sent back.

This has continued even after Ancestor Dang became a Four Symbols Cultivator and a Supreme Elder of the Sect. Master Zhang, if you’ve taken on this task, there’s a very high chance we’ll be kicked out on sight.

The Wu Earth Secret Realm is the Sect’s Mid to High-Tier Spiritual Material Plantation, and Ancestor Fanx Yunfei has immense authority over the entire realm.

Inside that realm, even Ancestor Fanx Qingyong—the current Manager of the Fanx Family and the highest person in charge of the Miscellaneous Affairs Department—has very little influence.

After all, Ancestor Fanx Qingyong is Ancestor Yunfei’s grandson, and from the Direct Lineage.”

Zhang Deming smiled and said, ”Don’t worry. I won’t be going under Ancestor Dang Xiangjun’s banner. It’s not too difficult for me to enter a Secret Realm and meet a Master of Three Talents these days.”

Hearing this, Yang Guangfu let out a quiet sigh of relief. ”That makes me feel much better.”

”Relax. We’re from Spirit Nurturing Peak, after all. Even if we get thrown out, the trouble won’t follow us back to the peak,” Zhang Deming said with a laugh.

Yang Guangfu was confident about that. Spirit Nurturing Peak’s transcendent status in the Sect wasn’t just for show.

Especially now, with the Cyan Wood Secret Realm. On the surface, it seemed to be controlled by the Miscellaneous Affairs Department and the Resources Department.

But because of the matter with the Flower Demon Elf Clan, the Cyan Wood Secret Realm was, in fact, on the verge of becoming Spirit Nurturing Peak’s domain.

After all, the Flower Demons couldn’t expand on a large scale without Spirit Nurturing Peak. If the Miscellaneous Affairs Department wanted Flower Demon Elves to enter the plantations of the Wu Earth Secret Realm, they would have to voluntarily give up some benefits.

The Resources Department, while appearing to be at odds with the Miscellaneous Affairs Department, was actually acting in concert with them.

And this time, the Dharma Transmission Hall and the Law Enforcement Team weren’t competing; they would even proactively lean in Spirit Nurturing Peak’s favor to curry goodwill.

Thus, the Cyan Wood Secret Realm would slowly but surely become part of Spirit Nurturing Peak, and the peak’s influence was growing greater by the day.

This was the influence of a Spirit Nurturing Master. Even if you didn’t fight or scramble for it, people would always take the initiative to deliver opportunities to your doorstep.

’If it weren’t for this, how could Spirit Nurturing Peak stand independent of—and even above—the other peaks of the Inner Sect? Just by relying on that bizarre trio up there? A century-old lazy bum, a millennia-old contrarian, and an ordinary steward?’

’In your dreams!’

’Do people really think the Sect’s Inner Sect is some idyllic paradise?’

’Healthy competition is something the Sect’s upper echelons, including the Supreme Elders, deliberately maintain!’

’The Sect has fifteen peaks and dozens of Three Talents Cultivators. Without their identity as Spirit Nurturing Masters, that trio of oddballs would be lucky to just be middle-of-the-pack.’

’If not for their profession as Spirit Nurturing Masters, expecting the four core departments, or even the Supreme Elders, to deliberately curry favor with them? Truly impossible!’

「A short while later」

The two of them, riding the Immortal Crane, arrived at the Celestial Spirit Sect Main Peak—Celestial Spirit Peak.

As the Main Peak, Celestial Spirit Peak had numerous buildings. Near its summit was a small plaza, a place quite different from the rest of the Celestial Spirit Sect.

There weren’t many buildings here, but the foot traffic was quite heavy, particularly with people from the Miscellaneous Affairs Department. Spirit Farmers and Artifact Cultivators were the ones seen entering and exiting most frequently.

Some were going to the Wu Earth Secret Realm to farm, others to the Fire Separation Secret Realm to smith. They were all long-suffering disciples of the Miscellaneous Affairs Department.

Don’t think that just because the Array Artifact Dao was flourishing, all Artifact Cultivators were wealthy bosses.

The Artifact Cultivation Dao was currently seeing a hundred flowers bloom, with many different schools. There were those who cultivated a single artifact, their fates intertwined. This path had little to do with smithing; they only needed to perfect their own Lifebound Magical Artifact.

There were those who entered the Artifact Dao through the Shaping Dao, where the Ten Thousand Laws became ten thousand weapons; this path also had nothing to do with smithing.

The most common, however, were the Blacksmiths. This path had countless subdivisions, but they were all smiths.

Because the path was so prosperous, it was actually extremely difficult for those at the bottom to get by. They couldn’t earn money and even lost it on materials—it was like that market situation from his past life where iron ore was more expensive than pig iron.

Furthermore, the path of Techniques had started to lean toward specialization, so most Low-Level Cultivators didn’t rely on Artifacts. Many couldn’t afford them, either.

As the path of Artifacts began to trend toward the Celestial Universe’s philosophy of Artifact Creation, what was clearly a prosperous path became one of the Miscellaneous Affairs Department’s many unprofitable industries—at the low-end, that is.

As for high-tier Blacksmiths? Sorry, but those were resources that belonged to the Resources Department!

What?

Unfair to the Miscellaneous Affairs Department? Totally messed up?

Then go ask the people in the Artifact Department what their ideal career path is for a promotion. See if more people want to go to an important department in Miscellaneous Affairs or one in the Resources Department.

...

Zhang Deming and Yang Guangfu leaped off Yoo Xiaoluan’s back, floating down to the plaza.

The Celestial Spirit Sect now had four and a half Secret Realms, but this plaza only had two entrance Arrays—the publicly known ones, at least.

The entrance to the Celestial Spirit Secret Realm wasn’t on the plaza. The Cyan Wood Secret Realm hadn’t been externally linked yet, and the Geng Metal Secret Realm was at least a century or more from being ready.