The Programmer Cultivator

When Nangong Cheng finished speaking, Qu Qingxian glanced at Qu Qizhong. Qu Qizhong immediately leaned forward and said, ”I’m looking for some medicinal materials to treat Soul Injuries and Heart Spirit Injuries, as well as some to soothe the heart and mind.

”Hmm... they don’t need to be too high-grade; low-grade will suffice. But since we don’t have many Contribution points, we can only trade with Spirit Stones or Spiritual Materials.

”If any of you are interested, you can come to the Qu Family estate in Celestial Spirit City. Provide your codename and find us to make a trade.”

Another silence fell over the group. No one spoke up immediately. Zhang Deming waited a moment, looked around, and asked, ”Does anyone else have anything to discuss?”

Everyone shook their heads. Seeing this, Zhang Deming said, ”In that case, let’s conclude today’s council. You may all go about your business.”

With that, Zhang Deming waved his hand and ejected everyone else. He sat in the All Living Beings Tower, thinking for a moment before taking a step out of the Spirit Nurturing Space and returning to his Subprogram body.

This time, he had brought all the aspects of his Dao that he had split off. Aside from automatic recovery, he had brought nearly all of his strength, making this body truly no different from his Main Body.

To some extent, it had already surpassed his second Incarnation and was approaching the level of One Qi Transformed into the Three Pristine Ones—or rather, One Qi into *One* Pristine One. He no longer needed to find a signal relay and perform a Fusion with a Bean Soldier just for the sake of power.

His Heart Spirit left the Spirit Nurturing Space, taking the place of the Dream Spirit. Opening his eyes, he found that Qin Shizhong had already stood up and, along with Wang Qian, was waiting for him quietly.

After getting up, Zhang Deming retracted all the surrounding Vines and Arrays. He exchanged a look with Qin Shizhong, and neither of them brought up what happened in the council. Wang Qian also stood by quietly, not asking a single question.

Zhang Deming said, ”Let’s go. We shouldn’t delay any longer.”

As he spoke, wings emerged from his back. Two Jade Vines extended out, wrapping around the other two’s waists, and they set off toward Pann City.

...

More than half a month passed in a flash. They moved from city to city, and since these were all mortal cities with no presence from Noble Families or Sects, dealing with them was quite easy.

It only took a few uses of Zhang Deming’s Oratory to control all the people and Martial Artists. The Martial Artists were turned into Human Fields, while the mortals were punished according to the severity of their crimes.

All matters of managing and organizing the mortals were left to Qin Shizhong. With constant practice, he became increasingly proficient, and the number of administrative apprentices he trained slowly grew, as did their skill.

Just like that, they continued their journey, saving many cities along the way. But the further they traveled, the more horrific the devastation became. Even Qin Shizhong, who was not one to be easily affected, found his mood growing somber.

...

「Several days later. Panzhou Main City, Pann City.」

Although it was called the main city, this was merely a name. It had none of the planning of an administrative or commercial center of a province from his past life.

Due to the unified culture but divided city-state governance, each city was essentially a small country.

Of course, since they all belonged to the same Sect, the various cities within each prefecture still had some connections to one another.

However, its designation as the ’main city’ didn’t stem from these connections. Cultivators called it the main city because it was home to the most Cultivation Families in all of Panzhou. It also served as a central hub for Celestial Spirit Sect disciples dispatched from various locations to manage the mortal populace.

For this reason, a prefecture’s main city was never situated on wide-open plains. On the contrary, every important city within a prefecture was always surrounded by numerous mountain ranges. Only such geography could provide enough Spirit Veins to sustain the various large and small Sects or minor Noble Families.

Therefore, unlike Jing City, which was on a plain, Pann City was located in a hilly basin.

It was surrounded by countless mountain ranges, large and small, with the city itself occupying the plain at the center of the basin.

Since the entirety of Panzhou was quite barren, this city was where most of the legends about Immortals were concentrated. All sorts of urban myths, storybooks, and folktales circulated endlessly.

Furthermore, new legends about opportunities to meet Immortals would surface from time to time. Some were incredibly detailed and convincing. However, while most seemed plausible at first, they would grow more and more fantastical with each retelling, eventually becoming so exaggerated they were dismissed as nothing more than storybook fiction.

This state of affairs had lasted in Panzhou for untold ages, but in recent days, a sudden uprising shattered these eons of ’peace’.

...

When Zhang Deming arrived with Qin Shizhong and Wang Qian, they were greeted by the sight of smoke rising from all corners of the city. Having endured the disaster for a longer period, the scene in Pann City was many times more horrific than in Jing City. The air was thick with the stench of blood and fire.

Just as they had before, the three of them headed straight for Pann City’s disciple recruitment plaza. Zhang Deming’s Spiritual Power surged as he activated his Oratory.

A moment later, when the people of Pann City had gathered in the plaza, they were all mortals in varying conditions.

Some, after being roused by Zhang Deming, immediately fell back into a stupor. Others seemed to have lost their minds entirely. And despite being Panzhou’s most prosperous main city, Pann City’s surviving population was now smaller than Jing City’s.

None of the three felt good about it, but after witnessing so much over the past half-month, they had become somewhat numb, and their emotions remained steady.

Once the people were gathered, Qin Shizhong began his usual task of organizing the administration. Zhang Deming and Wang Qian, however, had a new job: healing.

Clusters of Jade Seedlings sprouted up around Zhang Deming, their leaves shimmering with specks of dream-like light.

Wang Qian’s task was to then pluck the individual leaves and use them to treat the most severely injured people.