The Programmer Cultivator

To put it simply, his cultivation had been mostly nurtured, not earned through strife. He hadn’t seen much of the world.

Never mind someone like Elder Huang. He had never even met a Duality Master from the Celestial Spirit Sect. The most he’d ever dealt with was a steward from an affiliated family.

Consequently, the day’s events had left him completely overwhelmed. This was especially true with Elder Huang’s sudden appearance. His Heart Spirit had faltered for a moment, and he hadn’t been paying attention to his surroundings.

He still hadn’t figured out how the old man had appeared out of thin air.

Seeing the patriarch looking at him, he stammered in a daze, ”Ah, in... in reply...”

”Call him Elder Huang! He is a true senior to us, there is no need to worry,” Qu Qingxian said.

Qu Qingxian’s comforting words allowed the dazed Qu Zhiwen to compose his Heart Spirit a little. He paused, then said, ”To answer Elder Huang, this junior isn’t entirely clear on the matter either.

That person suddenly appeared today, claiming to be our ancestor. For... certain reasons, this junior drove him away. When he returned, he had transformed into that form possessed by an Evil Ghost.

After he saw me and the patriarch, it only took a few words before he had us under his control. He captured us and brought us here, and then... then...”

Qu Zhiwen glanced at the sleeping crowd in the square, his eyes reddening. With a catch in his voice, he couldn’t continue. He was still young, after all, and had been too sheltered by the family; there was a limit to what he could handle.

However, for a family like the Qu Family, it was rare to produce such a gem, so it was only normal to dote on him. After all, if Qu Qingxian failed to reach the Duality realm, the responsibility of elevating them to a Duality Family would likely fall on Zhiwen’s shoulders.

”An ancestor?” Elder Huang frowned, looking at Qu Qingxian with suspicion. ”Does that mean what the Evil Ghost said wasn’t nonsense? Are you also from the ancient Five Elements Legacy Clan?”

Upon hearing this, Qu Qingxian immediately replied in a panic, ”To answer Elder Huang, this subordinate truly does not know. When the previous patriarch of my Qu Family’s Spirit Scattered and he passed on, he never mentioned a single word about our Qu Family having a ’main branch.’

There isn’t a single shred of information about this in our family records, either.

This subordinate only knows that the Qu Family painstakingly clawed its way up from being Loose Cultivators to where we are today. From start to finish, we have never had any contact with the Five Elements Remnants, nor do we know anything about a Five Elements Legacy Clan.

This subordinate and the entire Qu Family truly knew nothing of this matter. If we had, I would never have allowed the Qu Family to be reduced to such a state.”

”What’s there to panic about? I’m not looking to place blame,” Elder Huang said indifferently, glancing at Qu Qingxian. ”Do you think there’s anything this old man hasn’t seen? As long as you don’t conspire with those remnants and engage in their cannibalism, I don’t care what your origins are.”

Qu Qingxian let out a small sigh of relief. He had interacted with Elder Huang many times, but this was the first time he had ever seen the man display such open disgust toward anyone.

Having gained a general understanding of Elder Huang’s temperament, he knew this matter was far from simple.

Something had to be evil to an extreme degree to elicit such a strong aversion from someone like Elder Huang, with his indifferent air and a disposition that had witnessed the full spectrum of worldly change.

Elder Huang looked at the disciples in the square and asked in surprise, ”So, you all just suffered a calamity out of the blue? And that person really did target his own descendants?”

Qu Qingxian shook his head. ”This subordinate doesn’t know if he’s a Qu Family ancestor or not. But if he is, then we’d rather have been born from a stone.”

”Heh, you’re truly unlucky to be saddled with an ancestor like that.” Elder Huang looked at Qu Qingxian and continued, ”Although your injuries aren’t severe, they have damaged your Soul Body.

If you heal them carelessly, a full recovery will be difficult. What’s more, you’re on the cusp of advancing to the Duality realm. If you wish to advance in the future without any ill effects, you must heal yourself properly.”

A bitter look crossed Qu Qingxian’s face. He looked at his people sleeping in the Spirit Rain that filled the square and said, ”Now that the Qu Family is in this state, this subordinate doesn’t have the resources or Spirit Stones for such an expense. Even if I did, I would give them to my kinsmen.”

Elder Huang also glanced at the square. ”Your petition this time led the Alliance to discover traces of the Five Elements Remnants. That counts as a great service, so the Contribution cost for the petition will be waived.

As for the reward for this discovery... we’ll discuss that later.

For now, you should hurry and notify the Celestial Spirit Sect to deal with the aftermath of today’s incident.

This old man is merely an Incarnation, and my time is nearly up. The only other thing I can do is help awaken these disciples...”

Elder Huang paused before continuing, ”From the looks of it, these disciples will face another tribulation when they awaken.

As for any other response from the Alliance, forget the official channels. It’s not appropriate for them to get involved, and it’s not convenient for this old man to do so either. However, that lad Zhang Wu has a connection with me. I’ll have a word with him later and ask him to give you some extra help.”

Qu Qingxian was stunned for a moment, then looked at Elder Huang, deeply moved. ”This subordinate thanks Elder Huang. I will never forget your kindness.”

Elder Huang waved his hand. ”We are all members of the Alliance. There’s no need for such formalities.”

Just as he was about to act, Elder Huang paused and added, ”Right. The Celestial Spirit Sect will certainly react to this incident. You won’t be able to hide the details of an event this major. So, when it comes to my involvement, just tell them it was this old man who intervened.”

”This subordinate understands!” Qu Qingxian replied.

Elder Huang nodded, then used the last of his Spiritual Power to wave a hand at the low-hanging, jade-green cloud cluster in the sky.

The cloud cluster pulsed and descended like a mass of fog, enveloping all the sleeping disciples within it.

Having done this, Elder Huang’s entire figure transformed into a strange Spirit Seed Bean. The bean then dissolved into motes of Spiritual Light and vanished between Heaven and Earth.

...