The Programmer Cultivator

The scene was a stark contrast, exceptionally jarring to the eye—and this was with the central object of the altar still missing.

Among the five pools, only the silvery-white metal one had a damaged metal sphere at its center. The centers of the other pools were all shrouded in a ball of Spiritual Light, obscuring whatever lay within.

As he took in the scene and sensed the lingering evil within the pools, Zhang Deming’s expression turned exceptionally grim.

’He didn’t know what the Five Elements Blessed Land was like in the past, but the current Five Elements Remnants were another story. In that moment, he firmly labeled them in his mind. People like that... if he had the power, he’d kill them on sight.’

The entire domed altar fell into a profound silence, surrounded by pitch-black darkness.

The only light came from the metal sphere, which flickered faintly as the silver liquid seeped into it. It was dormant... on standby, slowly repairing the damage to its surface.

Staring at the altar and the metal sphere, Zhang Deming took a deep breath. He decided to turn back and check the other four passages; the matter here was beyond his current capabilities.

But after taking just a few steps forward, Zhang Deming paused. It felt as if his Perception had brushed against something.

The entire silent altar suddenly lit up. The metal sphere, which had been on standby, began to pulse with a brilliant Spiritual Light.

Below, a portion of the silver liquid in the metal pool began to twist and contort. With the metal sphere as its core, the liquid pulled together and coalesced, forming a colossal metal man.

This pool of silver liquid, just like the small module Zhang Deming had obtained, was actually a pool of Spiritual Nanorobots.

The metal figure was tall and entirely silvery-white, with a golden sphere floating above its head. As soon as it formed, it immediately turned its head to look in Zhang Deming’s direction.

Spiritual Light flickered in its silvery-white eyes. Looking at the miniature Zhang Deming, it spoke. ”Human, this is not a place you should be. You shouldn’t have snuck back after we let you go.”

Zhang Deming looked at the silvery-white robot and retorted, ”Is that right? Well, Hongmeng isn’t a place for things like you, either.”

The silvery-white Metal Giant looked at Zhang Deming. ”Really? Then die!”

As it spoke, the silvery-white Metal Giant smashed a fist down toward Zhang Deming.

Zhang Deming’s body instantly shrank to the size of a speck of dust. The iron fist slammed into the spot where he had been standing, creating a massive crater.

Now just a speck of dust, Zhang Deming was caught in the gust from the punch and floated harmlessly backward.

Just then, the Metal Giant’s eyes flashed with a mechanical light.

”Micro-unit detected. Activating swarm mode.”

The Metal Giant’s hand suddenly liquefied, then seemed to evaporate as it slowly vanished. Countless nanorobots swarmed toward the dust-sized Zhang Deming.

At Zhang Deming’s thought, the Powerful Ape Transformation Rune within his Bean Soldier body sprang to life. It reached out, grabbing the Rune Cores for Sleeve Qiankun and the Spirit Nurturing Vine Demon Summoning Technique.

The miniature Zhang Deming instantly expanded, growing to the size of an ordinary ape. Facing the countless swarming nanorobots, he held out an ape’s palm.

The unique pulling force of Wishing Size and Sleeve Qiankun activated. Countless nanorobots were drawn into Zhang Deming’s ape-like palm, coalescing into a ball of silver liquid.

The instant it sensed this change, the sphere above the Metal Giant’s head flashed. The liquid in Zhang Deming’s hand suddenly detonated as countless nanorobots self-destructed.

A bizarre energy surged into Zhang Deming’s body, slowly tainting his Bean Soldier form.

Sensing the familiar fluctuations of Karma, Zhang Deming paid it no mind. Instead, he frowned, focusing on his current ape-like form. ’For some reason, I feel like this state is missing something.’

’After this Fusion, while the ape has some unique abilities, it lacks the singular aura of the Ancient Heaven-Devouring Python I once had—that distinct fluctuation of an Ancient Exotic Species.’

’Because of that, it hasn’t made the final leap, and its power feels much weaker. So this combination can’t create the Long-Armed Ape? What else does it need?’

’Grasping the sun and moon, Shrinking Thousand Mountains, Distinguishing Good and Evil, Qiankun Manipulation?’

’That’s it, Distinguish Good and Evil! It’s missing the Power of Blessed Fortune, the ability of Prophesying Misfortune and Fortune!’

Zhang Deming stretched out his hand, and a ball of light materialized.

Rune Summoning: Spirit Nurturing Vine Demon Summoning Technique—Dragon Turtle!

Zhang Deming merged the ball of light directly into his body. With the fusion of the Dragon Turtle Mirror Image, his entire being—no, his entire ape-like aura—transformed.

An aura unique to an Ancient Exotic Species emanated from Zhang Deming. It not only startled the Metal Giant, who was preparing to attack again, but as the aura spread, it also alarmed a vast area surrounding the Hengduan Mountain Range.

In that instant, Zhang Deming transformed from an ordinary ape into a Long-Armed Ape... well... with his Three Talents Cultivation, a ”Long-Armed baby ape” at best!

Even the Metal Giant stared at him in astonishment. The sphere above its head flickered with multicolored lights as it attempted to scan Zhang Deming.

”A High-Tier Transformation Path?” the Metal Giant said, its tone thick with confusion. Its eyes flashed with light, and its processor seemed to be running into a logical error as it processed nonstop.

Zhang Deming glanced at the flickering sphere above its head, having no intention of wasting words. His body rapidly expanded, and in the blink of an eye, he was even larger than the Metal Giant.

Now massive, Zhang Deming reached out with his ape-like palm, snatching at the sphere above the Metal Giant’s head.