The Programmer Cultivator

Amid his confusion, Lu Ya’s expression began to change.

One moment he was still baffled, but the next, as the badge on his chest turned a brownish-yellow, his brow furrowed. He muttered to himself, ”What’s going on? You old devil, not only are you injured, but you’re cursed too?”

A moment later, the badge-like altar on his chest flashed again, this time turning silver. His expression went blank as he muttered, ”Why didn’t you deal with the curse before we acted? You should have at least told everyone...”

Before he could finish, his expression changed once more. The badge-like altar became a jade-green tinged with pink, and he went on, ”You were cursed before, but you never brought it up again. I thought you’d dealt with it. Why is it still in your body? Did you grow attached to it or something?”

The vine attached to the puppet’s rear was causing a rift among the five perfectly fused individuals.

As a result, they could no longer communicate seamlessly with their Heart Spirits. While their Heart Spirits conversed within the altar, the puppet on the outside put on a bizarre, schizophrenic display.

In their prior state of fusion, the five had not merely been joined physically, but were deeply fused in both body and consciousness.

Had they maintained that state, all five would now be feeling the terrible condition within their shared body, along with a strange, destructive sensation.

This sensation severely impacted their fusion, causing a separation between Qu Wenbai and the other four. Or, to be more precise, the other four instinctively rejected a deep fusion with him.

”How was I supposed to know your Sealing was so shoddy we’d run into this person again? Besides, time was so tight back then. We came as soon as we’d managed the initial activation of the Celestial Heart Altar.

”Where would I have found the time to explain my condition, let alone meticulously remove the curse?” The puppet muttered as the Celestial Heart Altar on its chest turned black and its expression shifted once more.

Elder Huang watched the puppet’s schizophrenic display with indifference. His Spiritual Power was draining rapidly, yet the vine inside the puppet and on its rear grew with excruciating slowness.

In just a few moments, Elder Huang had already expended nearly half his Spiritual Power, yet the vine had barely grown. The effect, however, was not nonexistent; on the contrary, it was incredibly significant.

With the Celestial Heart Altar suppressing him, he knew he didn’t have enough Spiritual Power to unleash a Technique that could kill them outright.

But thanks to the influence of his Spirit Species vine, the puppet was also being indirectly controlled, as the five-person fusion had already been compromised.

Feeling nearly half his Spiritual Power depleted and the rest draining away, Elder Huang focused his Heart Spirit. The Dark Pawn within him pulsed, rapidly replenishing his spent energy.

But even with the Dark Pawn, his total Spiritual Power was only equivalent to two and a half Dantians. It was simply impossible to defeat them directly with this Skill.

He showed not a hint of tension. Instead, he turned his head indifferently to look at Pu Hua. ”Pu Hua Bodhisattva, do you intend to just stand there and watch the show?”

Pu Hua faltered at the words, finally snapping out of his stupor at the sudden, astonishing turn of events. Without another word, he charged straight at the puppet.

The puppet’s expression was in constant flux, the color of the Celestial Heart Altar on its chest shifting with it.

As a result, its reactions were abnormally sluggish. It met Pu Hua’s charge with stiff, clumsy movements.

Though a gap in their strength existed, both sides were at the Four Symbols Stage. Without a chasm-like difference in power, the puppet, moving like a wind-up toy, was utterly powerless to parry Pu Hua’s assault.

It was struck countless times in just a few exchanges.

Under Pu Hua’s assault, the flames wreathed around the puppet’s body rapidly weakened, then slowly died out.

Pu Hua then landed a solid blow on the puppet’s body, knocking all sorts of viscous fluids out of it that went flying in every direction.

As Pu Hua continued his attack and Elder Huang’s Spiritual Power was rapidly consumed, the puppet’s form grew increasingly unstable, and its reactions became even more rigid.

Seeing this, Pu Hua raised his hand, and his Spiritual Power surged wildly.

”I wish: Long Fist Sky-covering!”

As he voiced his wish, a massive, illusory fist materialized before him and struck the puppet with the speed of lightning.

”SPLAT...”

”SQUELCH...”

With a wet thud, the puppet was sent flying by the punch, splattering into a puddle of ooze—no, it was five distinct puddles of ooze that sprayed outwards.

The five globs of liquid writhed, transforming into a dazzling flower, a metal sphere, a twisted black mist, an ordinary tinderbox, and an ugly puppet. A miniature altar also appeared, vibrating slightly in the air.

Each time the altar vibrated, the five objects pulsed in unison. However, while the other four were fine, the twisted black mist—with its Jade Vine-like tail swaying incessantly—could never quite match their frequency.

During each collective pulse, the interference from its jade-like tail caused it to be half a beat behind, making it impossible for the altar to gather and fuse the five separated objects once more.

Furthermore, with the five objects now separated, the ”Five Elements Destruction Path Enhancement” wish that Pu Hua had previously made began to take effect.

Aside from the ordinary tinderbox, the auras of the other four objects began to weaken slowly. The twisted black mist, in particular, was in an increasingly dire state, assailed by afflictions both internal and external.

However, even though the five individuals had been separated into five objects, they still maintained a resonant frequency with the Celestial Heart Altar. They weren’t completely severed, their fusion had merely been interrupted.

Because of this, once they were separated, Pu Hua found that he was temporarily unable to do them any real harm.

He would throw a punch, and the five objects would dissolve into a pool of liquid, only to reform with the next pulse of the altar.

While his attacks might have been causing some damage, there were no immediate, visible effects. Pu Hua tried more than a dozen different approaches in quick succession, but none of them proved effective.

The five individuals were aware of their current state. Although it was unpleasant, they understood that as Incarnations, they could easily outlast Elder Huang in a battle of attrition, thanks to their altar. Thus, none of them made a reckless move.

They simply maintained their current state, content to engage Elder Huang in a battle of attrition. After all, they couldn’t see a good way to break the stalemate without taking damage themselves.

Elder Huang felt his Spiritual Power reserves, now nearly drained even within the Dark Pawn, and said calmly, ”Coordinate with me. We’ll cripple one of them first!”

As soon as he spoke, the drain on his Spiritual Power suddenly intensified. The twisted black mist froze solid as the small, tail-like Jade Vine enveloped it completely.

The vine instantly turned monochromatic, causing the twisted black mist within it to cease its vibrations entirely.

”I wish: Golden Body with Furious Eyes, and a Pupil Power to awe gods and demons!”

Pu Hua pressed his palms together. As he voiced his wish, a dazzling golden light shot from his eyes, striking the twisted black mist.

”TSSSSSS...”

”AAAAHHH...”

As the golden light pierced the twisted black mist, the sound of sizzling flesh filled the air, accompanied by Qu Wenbai’s bloodcurdling scream.

The altar and the other four objects shuddered in unison, but Qu Wenbai’s form no longer even attempted its half-beat-late pulse.

The miniature altar floating in the air began to slow its rotation. Even the exceptionally powerful protective barrier that was automatically generated by its spinning started to weaken.

Seeing how effective the attack was, Pu Hua paid no mind to the energy cost. Golden light flickered in his eyes as he fired relentlessly at the twisted black mist.

Whenever it tried to escape, the drain on Elder Huang’s Spiritual Power would accelerate, and the monochromatic vine would bind the black mist in place.

”TSSSSSS...”

”AAAAHHH...”

”TSSSSSS...”

”AAAAHHH...”

The sounds echoed with a grim rhythm. Each time the Celestial Heart Altar pulsed and the twisted black mist failed to resonate, the altar’s rotation would slow a fraction more. It grew slower and slower, looking as if it would soon stop completely.

The other four, who had been planning to stall and win through attrition, had not expected such a sudden turn of events.

’What do we do?’ Guann Zhenzhen’s illusory Heart Spirit asked from within the Celestial Heart Altar’s Heart Spirit Space.

The state of the four was bizarre. Their Heart Spirit illusions were like smoke. Their lower halves were a tangled, four-colored mass, inextricably intertwined, while their upper bodies remained distinct and normal.

Duan Yuanbing replied instantly. ’I’ve temporarily diverted some of the altar’s power to run 389,721 simulations. The analysis is clear: our probability of success on this mission has dropped to zero. We have to withdraw!’

Lu Ya, completely lost, asked, ’How do we do that?’

The other three paused in unison. Their minds turned to the distant, tormented form of Qu Wenbai, and a cold light glinted in their eyes.

The three of them said nothing, but the thought of how to retreat that had just flashed through their minds was instantly transmitted to him through the connection binding their lower halves.

Sensing their shared thought, Lu Ya too fell silent, a similar cold light now glinting in his own eyes.