The Programmer Cultivator

At this, he looked at the members of Xuande Temple and said, ”Come to think of it, it must have been the High Monks bestowing a Blessing.”

Song Huidong: ”...”

Zhang Deming: ”...”

’If I hadn’t seen with my own eyes how those three old-timers from Spirit Nurturing Peak felt about this exchange with Xuande Temple, I almost would have bought it!’

’What happened to being a slacker? What happened to quiet cultivation?’

’This bootlicking skill is on par with any of the Three Talents bigwigs, isn’t it? As expected of someone who’s lived for hundreds of years!’

Huixin and the monk beside him had been about to speak, but after the other two interjected, they paused. Now, there was no way for them to say what they had intended.

He could only offer a polite smile. Before he could respond, Bai Chuzhong immediately cut in with a sigh, ”Since you’ve put it that way, Fellow Daoist, I dare not delay any further. I can only, with a heavy heart, hand the High Monks over to you.”

”Not at all. If you are that fond of them, Fellow Daoist Bai, you are welcome to accompany your disciples to our Celestial Spirit Sect. Then you can continue your profound discussions with the High Monks,” Guan Shouxin said with a smile.

Bai Chuzhong’s illusory form seemed to waver for a moment, as if his Spiritual Power was unstable. He chuckled and said, ”No, thank you. Welcoming guests and seeing them off, letting the younger generation have their chances—these are traditions many years in the making. I can’t bring myself to fight with these disciples for an opportunity.”

He glanced at Guan Shouxin and continued, ”I imagine our fellow Daoists at the Celestial Spirit Sect are eagerly awaiting your return, so I will delay you no longer.

”I wish all the High Monks a smooth journey ahead, and I wish Master Huixin success in fulfilling his Original Vow. I’ve had a sudden flash of insight while seeing you all off, so I won’t accompany you any further.”

”You are too courteous, Fellow Daoist Bai!” the crowd replied, returning the formal gesture.

Seeing this, Bai Chuzhong’s illusory figure dissolved into countless motes of Spiritual Light and vanished.

The group paused for a moment. Bai Zhixin took in the scene, looked at the others, and said, ”In that case, let’s depart at once!”

Guan Shouxin nodded. ”High Monks, after you.”

The monks from Xuande Temple, who had been subjected to the combined flattery of Guan Shouxin and Bai Chuzhong, had remained rather quiet. They gave a brief acknowledgment to Guan Shouxin and, without standing on ceremony, flew directly toward the Cyan Feather Green Ship.

Bai Zhixin led her group of young disciples, following close behind them along with the members of the Celestial Spirit Sect.

After the group had departed, the structure on the back of the giant jellyfish shrank to the size of a palm and was caught by Bai Chuzhong, who had reverted to his physical form.

He then transformed into a streak of light and vanished over the horizon. His departure was so swift, it seemed as if he were fleeing from the plague itself.

* * *

「Celestial Spirit Sect Territory, Liuzhou, Baijie City.」

A long, long time ago, the Cultivation Realm was still in the traditional era of sects. Although the major sects would send disciples out to establish Noble Families, they didn’t actively promote the practice. It was handled casually, left entirely to the will of the individual disciples.

But because Spiritual Power was scarce in Liuzhou, Immortals had all but vanished from the region. For most people, cultivating Immortals were figures who existed only in legends; contact with them was exceedingly rare for any level of society.

Thus, in such an environment, the Martial Arts Dao, which had very low requirements for Spiritual Power in its early stages, flourished instead. During its golden age, the Liuzhou Martial Arts had even produced a fair number of Grandmaster Martial Artists.

It was even rumored that Divine Power Martial Artists—beings who could soar through the heavens and move through the earth, rivaling even Immortals—had once appeared. Of course, these were only rumors. As for whether they were true, who could say?

In any case, it was true that the Liuzhou Martial Arts had once known a glorious past.

The name Baijie City, or ”City of a Hundred Heroes,” originated from this period. Legend has it that during the golden age of martial arts, Baijie City was the Holy Land for all of Liuzhou’s Martial Arts, and it produced countless exceptional figures.

Later, with the dawn of the resource era initiated by the Spirit Nurturing Holy Land, the Celestial Spirit Sect began to execute its ’Stallion’ plan—a strategy of land acquisition and resource plundering.

The Sect no longer made arrangements based on a disciple’s wishes. Instead, it dispatched disciples to every region and set certain conditions. Disciples who failed to meet these conditions by a certain age were sent out to act as ’stallions’—to establish families and build a resource network for the Sect.

Because of this initiative, many of the Celestial Spirit Sect’s previously barren regions slowly began to show signs of an Immortal presence, and families of Immortals started to appear.

The appearance of Immortals was accompanied by the decline of the Martial Arts World. After all, for those with talent and ability, who would bother with the Martial Arts Dao when they could pursue the Immortal Dao?

As a result of these developments, Martial Artists became increasingly rare, and the Martial Arts World fell into decline.

The same was true for Baijie City, the Holy Land of Liuzhou’s Martial Arts. Or rather, because it was a major hub for Martial Artists, the decline was even more apparent there.

Yet, the Lu Family and the Duan Family—the top Martial Artist Families and de facto rulers of Baijie City—did not react to this trend. They took no measures, simply letting events run their course.

Hundreds of years, nearly a millennium, slowly passed. By now, Baijie City has become just another ordinary city, one where the martial spirit is only slightly more pronounced than elsewhere.

However, it remains under the control of the Lu and Duan Families. Few people even know that they are Martial Artist Families anymore; most assume they are just ordinary Noble Families.

The relationship between the two families is also exceptionally good, with the Lu Family taking the lead and the Duan Family playing a supportive role. They have never had any conflicts or disputes over their interests.

On this day, Baijie City awoke to the crowing of roosters and barking of dogs, just as it always did. And as always, in the eyes of the common people, the Lu Family and the Duan Family remained as mysterious as ever.

But on this very ordinary day, a peculiar radiance suddenly began to flicker within the Lu Family’s ancestral hall. The light was not only strange, but also pulsed with an extremely distinct rhythm.

Had an ordinary person seen it, their first thought would have been either that their ancestors’ spirits were manifesting or that the place was haunted.

The guardian of the ancestral hall was an old man. The moment he saw the flickering radiance, he froze. An instant later, his expression changed drastically, and he shot out of the hall at an incredible speed. His movements were exceptionally agile, completely belying his aged appearance.