The Programmer Cultivator

All the points of light remained motionless in the Cultivation Room for several seconds before the red dot at the core began to flicker.

As the red dot flickered, all the illusory runes and points of light in the Cultivation Room seemed to answer a summons. Like a maelstrom drawing in the sea, they streamed toward the red dot with incredible speed.

The entire scene was like witnessing the Big Bang from a strange perspective, only to then see time itself rewind.

Zhang Deming was dazed for only a moment, and in that instant, all the points of light and illusory runes converged, forming a strange vortex before him.

The palm-sized vortex floated quietly before him. Compared to the script in his Dantian, it looked no different, aside from lacking the central Skill-mounting ring.

’Well, at least on the surface. Internally, there was a slight difference. After all, this subprogram’s core was built with Karma, which meant I could dismantle the script whenever I wanted.’

"Subprogram construction complete!"

As the prompt sounded, Zhang Deming came back to his senses. Everything else had vanished, leaving only the quietly floating vortex, which hovered somewhere between illusion and reality.

Zhang Deming looked at the Cultivation Technique script he had created at the cost of one precious point of Karma, then reached out to grab it.

"Warning: Host already possesses a main program. The subprogram Cultivation Technique script cannot be run simultaneously."

The prompt sounded the moment he touched the vortex.

Zhang Deming paused. Instead of grabbing the vortex, he cupped it in his palm. He rose and walked over to the technique testing area. With a wave of his hand, a strange Spirit Species emerged and rapidly grew into a blank-slate Bean Soldier Warrior before him.

Looking at the Bean Soldier, Zhang Deming tossed the subprogram into its body. What happened next left him stunned.

He had just been casually running a test, so he’d created a pure, blank-slate Bean Soldier—one with no Skills, and the kind made of pure Energy.

But as the Cultivation Technique subprogram entered it, the Bean Soldier trembled. Zhang Deming’s Spiritual Power began to drain rapidly, only stopping after a full ninety percent of it had been consumed.

And as his Spiritual Power was consumed, the Bean Soldier completely solidified into a physical form.

As Zhang Deming looked at the now-solid form, he felt something was strange, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.

’It feels... no different from my own body. That’s it! There’s no difference at all!’

At this thought, Spiritual Light flashed in Zhang Deming’s eyes. He activated his Tier Three Reconnaissance Technique at full power and focused it on the Bean Soldier.

When he saw the results, he couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.

Even with his Tier Three Reconnaissance Technique at full power, the Bean Soldier showed no signs of being composed of Spiritual Power or a Spirit Species. There wasn’t the slightest hint. It was as if he were looking at a living, breathing person.

Previously, while he could create solid forms that looked real on the surface, anyone with a powerful enough reconnaissance ability could still discern that they weren’t truly alive, but were merely constructs of condensed Spiritual Light.

Admittedly, that previous state was more intimidating in a way. After all, only a select few in all of Hongmeng could create such a thing, the most famous example being the technique One Qi Transformed into the Three Pristine Ones.

But that was for showboating. For practical purposes, now that he had the Splitting Dao, Zhang Deming much preferred a Bean Soldier that was undetectable and reusable—one that could be used for extended periods, not the kind that was finished the moment its Spiritual Power ran out.

Gazing at the Bean Soldier, which was like a true second Incarnation, a look of delight spread across Zhang Deming’s face. His main body sat down right where it was, and with a slight shift of his consciousness, his own eyes closed as the Bean Soldier’s opened.

Zhang Deming, now inhabiting the soldier, carefully examined his new body. It was, simply put, excellent. But just as he was about to test the Bean Soldier’s power, he froze once more.

The Bean Soldier’s body didn’t contain a single shred of Spiritual Power, yet Zhang Deming could sense its Dantian!

The Bean Soldiers he’d created before had no meridians or Dantian; their entire forms were constructed from Spiritual Power. Their consumption was simply the process of drawing on that internal power.

Therefore, once that Spiritual Power was depleted, there was nothing left to sustain the form, and the Bean Soldier’s Spiritual Light would naturally dissipate.

But this Bean Soldier not only felt like it was made of flesh and blood, but it also possessed a Dantian and meridians. Within the Dantian, there was even a vortex script. At the moment, however, the Dantian was completely empty.

It appeared like a mortal who had yet to begin cultivation, but its aura, as well as the size and strength of its Dantian, were identical to his main body’s.

Absorbing the sensation of this body, which felt just like real flesh, Zhang Deming remained stunned for a long moment. He then shifted his consciousness back to his main body and took out the copy of the Five Elements Secret Manual: Fragment he had prepared from his storage bag.

His consciousness then returned to the Bean Soldier. He took the manual from his main body’s hands and, with a thought from his Heart Spirit, attempted to mount it.

"Do you wish to consume one point of Qi Fortune to mount the Pseudo Seven Tier Cultivation Technique, Five Elements Secret Manual: Fragment, onto this sub-Cultivation Technique script?"

"Yes!"

Upon Zhang Deming’s confirmation, one point of Qi Fortune was consumed. A pentagonal pattern appeared in the center of the previously hollow vortex script.

Sensing the now-complete script, Zhang Deming began to operate the Cultivation Technique with practiced ease.

As he circulated the technique, Spiritual Power began to rapidly fill the empty Dantian. After a long while, once the Dantian Spiritual Power was fully restored, the Cultivation Technique script automatically ceased its operation.

Zhang Deming was jolted as he was forced to stop circulating the technique. ’It seems this Bean Soldier can’t advance its Cultivation separately, unlike a true second Incarnation.’

’But even so, as it is now, it’s already on par with a Law Level Incarnation Technique.’

His consciousness entered the Spirit Nurturing Space, where he activated his techniques.

Technique: Splitting Skill: Yin Yang Chess Dao!

Technique: Splitting Skill: Spirit Nurturing Vine Demon Summoning!

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