The Programmer Cultivator

Zhang Deming composed himself, took the Treasure Box, and returned to the storage room. He set down the Celestial Heart Treasure Box. ’Might as well give myself some hope,’ he mused.

After setting the box down, Zhang Deming looked at the dreamy orb of light he had sealed. A mass of black mist swirled inside, flickering with blurry, imperceptible images.

’I wonder if this thing has any relevant memories inside!’

Zhang Deming gazed at the sphere of black mist, his thoughts racing. But his Heart Dream Technique was only at Tier Three; he didn’t dare act so recklessly.

His cultivation was only at the Duality level and his Technique had yet to reach the Law Level. On top of that, the Soul Mist had come from a Soul Dao Demon Cultivator.

Forget searching for memories; if he acted rashly, there was a very real chance he’d be counter-controlled and turned into a Substitute Death for the original owner!

He had only come in to investigate a slight suspicion and check if there was any change in the box. Now, after this little detour, he had come away with nothing.

Zhang Deming shook his head and carefully inspected the contents of the storage room one more time.

He paid special attention to the Quantum Notebook and found it was still silent. Ever since he sent his last message, there had been no word from ”Watch Tower.” ’They must have believed me and are waiting in silence,’ he figured.

Seeing that everything was in order, Zhang Deming turned and left the room.

He took out the Command Token for the Cyan Wood Secret Realm. Because of the Flower Demon Elf delivery and his trip to the back mountain, he hadn’t visited the Cyan Wood Flower Sea in half a month. ’The three little ones inside must really miss me,’ he thought.

With a light pulse of Spiritual Power, the Command Token flickered. A miniature Array materialized at his feet, and Zhang Deming vanished into it.

...

After a moment of dizziness, Zhang Deming found himself in the Cyan Wood Forest settlement. He froze the moment he stepped out of the Array Room.

’If I’m not mistaken, this place was supposed to be sealed for a long time. It’s only been a year. Why are there so many people here now?’

Watching the many Disciples traveling between the Cyan Wood Flower Sea and the settlement, Zhang Deming was slightly taken aback. ’Are they all here for the Flower Demon Elf handover? So many of them?’

As his thoughts raced, Zhang Deming strolled toward the Cyan Wood Flower Sea. He occasionally overheard conversations among the Disciples, and it seemed the name Pei Xiaoxiao came up with remarkable frequency.

Just as Zhang Deming stepped into the Flower Sea, the three little ones flew over right on schedule. The winged one, as always, landed on his head first. The other two perched on his left and right shoulders, hugging his neck and rubbing their cheeks against him, melting his heart with their cuteness.

But right now, Zhang Deming was in a daze. He paid no mind to the three little ones, his eyes fixed on a figure following behind them.

She had a rather cold and aloof aura, with an inexplicable sharpness to her. Her stunningly beautiful face looked vaguely familiar, and two pairs of gossamer, dragonfly-like wings vibrated slightly behind her.

’I haven’t even been in the Secret Realm for half a month. Did Senior Brother Yuee and the others really manage to produce a member of the Royal Race?’

’No, that can’t be right. At their tallest, the Royal Race are only about 1.5 meters. This person is 1.7 meters tall, which is considered tall even for a Human Race woman.’

’Even a male from the Flower Demon Elf Royal Race would struggle to be this tall. A hybrid? Impossible. Not enough time has passed!’

’Besides, why do her face and aura feel so familiar, yet so strange?’

”Greetings, Master!” Pei Xiaoxiao flew before Zhang Deming and gave a practiced bow, pulling the lost-in-thought Zhang Deming back to his senses.

”And you are...?” Zhang Deming asked, stunned. He looked at her familiar gesture with a completely baffled expression.

Pei Xiaoxiao flashed a sweet smile. It didn’t quite match her current cold and aloof temperament, but because she was beautiful enough to pull it off, it didn’t feel out of place.

She smiled and said, ”Master, it’s me, Xiaoxiao!”

What?

’You’ve got to be kidding me!’

’Sure, girls change a lot as they grow up, but I’ve only been away for a little over ten days, not ten-plus months or ten-plus years.’

’I could forgive her appearance changing; after all, Hongmeng’s beauty industry is more impressive than the plastic surgery ’Evil Skills’ from my past life, and it’s all-natural to boot.’

’But for your temperament to change so drastically is another story! Your Cultivation has even reached the Duality level, and your entire aura has been turned upside down. This is Pei Xiaoxiao?’

’Ha!’

’You’ve got to be...’

’Wait a second... looking closer, she really does resemble Pei Xiaoxiao. The transformation is huge, but it’s made up of many small changes. At first glance, it’s a dramatic shift, but upon careful inspection, she really does look like Pei Xiaoxiao.’

’So, this really is Pei Xiaoxiao? Is this what Senior Brother Gan wanted me to see?’

A torrent of thoughts flooded Zhang Deming’s mind in an instant. He asked uncertainly, ”You’re really Pei Xiaoxiao?”

Pei Xiaoxiao nodded and said, ”Yes, Master. I really am Xiaoxiao.”

”How did you end up like this? What did Senior Brother Yuee and the others give you to eat?” Zhang Deming asked.

”Er... Master, I don’t know why I changed, either. Master Yuee and the others keep asking me that too...”

Pei Xiaoxiao clearly had the cold and aloof bearing of a sophisticated beauty, but her words always revealed her ditsy, cute personality. The combination had a strange appeal.

Well... that is, it probably held a strange appeal for certain Cultivators.

”What do you mean you don’t know? You’re already at Duality Cultivation. That can’t have just appeared out of thin air, or been shoved into you by someone else, can it?” Zhang Deming said, exasperated.

Pei Xiaoxiao nodded. ”Yeah, it kind of just appeared. A few days ago, I was running with the Flower Demon Elves in the Flower Sea, ’practicing’ my Agility Technique.”

”I don’t know what happened. I just fell asleep while I was running, and when I woke up, I was like this. It’s been a few days, and I’m still not used to it.”

As she spoke, she tugged at her clothes, as if a certain area had suddenly become heavier and she still wasn’t used to it.

”Ahem...”

Watching Pei Xiaoxiao’s action, Zhang Deming let out a series of coughs. ’Yep, no doubt about it,’ he thought. ’That’s Pei Xiaoxiao, the same country girl who could hide treasures down her pants.’