The Programmer Cultivator

Chapter 717: Chapter 150: Here Comes the Holy Land Love Rival Melodrama?

Guk Liancai stared at Yuee Mengsheng. After a moment of distraction, Yuee Mengsheng turned to Guk Liancai with a dark expression and said, “Find this amusing?”

Guk Liancai replied instinctively, “Oh, it’s very amusing. It’s rare to see you get jealous and drop that lazy act of yours. Very amusing indeed.”

“Is that so?” Yuee Mengsheng said ominously. “I think our peak having its own platform is a bit too dull. Perhaps we should join the Dang Family later and have Master Zhang discuss the Dao with us.”

“Er…” Guk Liancai’s face stiffened. “Senior Brother, you can’t do this. This is a Dao conference! How can our peak kiss up to Celestial Spirit Peak? We’d lose all our prestige!”

“And why not? You two were the ones who practically begged me to take charge of Spirit Nurturing Peak. I think it’s a fine idea. It’s settled, then!” With that, Yuee Mengsheng rose and left the main hall.

Guk Liancai was left standing there, stunned. His expression gradually darkened. ‘Did I just pay a price for enjoying the show? Everything was fine a moment ago. How did I end up getting burned?’

…

Zhang Deming and Gan Zili left the main hall and exchanged a look. Both of them let out a sigh of relief in unison.

Then, they shared a knowing smile. Gan Zili said, “It’s been centuries. I haven’t seen that old codger get so jealous in ages. Junior Brother Zhang, why don’t you provoke him a few more times?”

“Ahem…” Zhang Deming, who had just started to relax, suddenly began coughing. He gave Gan Zili a speechless look and said, “Senior Brother Gan, you too? Sooner or later, you’re all going to drive me away!”

“Doesn’t matter, as long as it pisses off that old codger!” Gan Zili said with a grin.

“…” Zhang Deming was at a loss for words. He quickly changed the subject, “Let’s get going. We’re running out of time. We can’t still be finding our places when the array activates. We’d be a laughingstock in front of All of Hongmeng.”

His words successfully diverted Gan Zili’s attention. Although Gan Zili had great faith in Song Huidong, it was impossible not to feel some anxiety about such a grand event. Thus, the two of them flew straight toward the grand plaza of Spirit Nurturing Peak.

At this moment, following a notice issued by the Spirit Nurturing Peak’s Array Department and with the Law Enforcement Team maintaining order, nearly 100,000 disciples from Spirit Nurturing Peak had gathered in the peak’s central plaza.

Even though the plaza was enchanted with special runes to extend the space, it still looked crowded with nearly 100,000 Inner Sect Disciples of all kinds. The entire square was a dense sea of people.

They were generally divided into three columns. The largest group consisted of the Advanced Apprentice “provisional” Inner Sect Disciples, while the smallest was made up of the Duality Disciples who served as Stewards throughout the Inner Sect.

The three formations were distinct at a glance—well, actually, you could only really make out two: the Tai Chi and the Apprentice formations.

There were so few Duality Disciples—only one or two hundred of them—that compared to the formations of tens of thousands, they were barely noticeable.

In addition to these groups, there were two Three Talents Elders at the very front of the assembly.

One was the guardian of Spirit Nurturing Peak’s Scripture Pavilion, and the other was an Elder who had risen through the ranks on the peak itself. In total, Spirit Nurturing Peak currently had only five Three Talents Elders, which was actually a relatively high number among the fifteen peaks of the Inner Sect.

The formations in the plaza were mostly complete, but for some unknown reason, there were still constant, minor adjustments being made in various sections. With so many people, even with the heightened discipline of cultivators, it was no small task.

The hustle and bustle intensified, especially as faint lines of Spiritual Power and runes began to flicker and emerge from the ground beneath the plaza.

After all, the appearance of these runes signaled that the conference was about to begin. The Array Department was already warming up and running diagnostics on the Celestial Spirit Sect’s Sect Protection Array, making its final adjustments.

When Zhang Deming and Gan Zili floated over, they saw this somewhat chaotic scene and both frowned.

Song Huidong and the two Three Talents Elders immediately came forward. After the four of them exchanged greetings, Song Huidong bowed to Zhang Deming and Gan Zili. “Greetings, Master. Master Zhang.”

Gan Zili frowned slightly and looked at Song Huidong. “What’s going on? It starts in less than half an hour. Why aren’t the formations complete?”

A bitter expression appeared on Song Huidong’s face. “Master, you really can’t blame me for this. We had everything sorted out just a moment ago.”

But then, after the Array Department began warming up the Sect Protection Array, they announced that the newly built communications hub was having some integration issues with the other modules and required a slight, last-minute adjustment.

“A ‘slight’ adjustment for them means a massive reshuffle for our hundred thousand disciples. I’m guessing it’s not just our peak; the other peaks are probably in total chaos right now too.”

“The fact that we’ve managed to reorganize this quickly is probably a good sign. Who knows what kind of mess the other peaks are in.”

Gan Zili’s brow furrowed. “Didn’t they activate the Grand Array more than a day early this time? They burned tens of thousands of extra Spirit Stones, yet it’s not even running as smoothly as in the past. And now they’re making adjustments at the last minute? What on earth has the Fang Family been up to these last few years?”

Spiritual Light flashed in Zhang Deming’s eyes as he surveyed the plaza. “Senior Brother,” he began, “I suspect this is happening precisely *because* they activated the Grand Array early.”

“They clearly tried to use the extra day to tack on a new module to the Sect Protection Array, probably to show off. But it seems they only just now got it working.”

“You can bet the Array Department’s main control room is in an absolute panic right now. If you’re looking for the most chaotic and rushed place in the sect, that would be it.”

Gan Zili paused. He looked down at the faintly flickering lines of Spiritual Power and runes on the plaza. “This is… the Illusion Array activating at full power? What are they planning?”