The Programmer Cultivator

Immediately after, the Pottery Cocoon shattered. A Cultivator with delicate, androgynous features emerged from within. Facing the pottery shards scattered across the ground, they spat out several mouthfuls of Essence Blood.

The Essence Blood splattered onto the shards, which instantly dissolved into mud. In a flash, the mud began to swell violently, surging toward Zhang Deming as it expanded.

"Holy shit!!!"

Zhang Deming only had time to shout before the entire space within his Shield was buried in the blink of an eye.

The area enveloped by the massive, hemispherical Shield was instantly filled to the brim with brownish-yellow mud. With nowhere to hide, Zhang Deming was buried alive within it.

After the mud had completely filled the hemispherical Shield, stretching it until it shattered and vanished, it finally came into contact with the fresh air outside. At that point, it stopped expanding and solidified into a mountain-like sphere of rock.

The once-raucous battlefield fell silent in the blink of an eye, the sudden quietness unnervingly strange.

"SQUELCH..."

After a long silence, a puddle of what looked like Blood Mud squirmed on a corner of the solidified, mountain-like rock sphere before plopping out.

The Blood Mud slowly squirmed, coalescing into the form of the androgynous Cultivator. They were now covered in blood, their aura so weak they seemed no different from a mortal.

As they turned to look at the massive, mountain-like rock sphere, a wide grin suddenly split their face.

"Haha..."

They burst into maniacal laughter, as if driven to madness. Tears welled in the corners of their eyes as they laughed, though whether from joy, it was impossible to say.

"SCHLICK..."

"Urk..."

As the androgynous Cultivator roared with laughter, a Jade Spike shot out from behind like a bolt of lightning, running them clean through.

The smile froze on their face. They slowly lowered their head to see the section of Jade Vine protruding from their chest rapidly turning blood-red.

Already extremely weak, they felt their life being drained away by the blood-red Vine. They slowly closed their eyes, filled with endless resentment as they slipped into darkness.

In moments, the Ruby-colored Vine had drained every last trace of their Vitality.

Though the androgynous Cultivator had just died, their corpse was already deathly pale, and rigor mortis began to set in as if they had been dead for hours.

The surroundings fell silent once again. The rock sphere, the corpse, and the blood-red Vine formed a morbid tableau, like an image on a painted Scroll.

"CRACK..."

After a long while, a faint sound suddenly came from within the rock sphere.

As time passed, the sound grew clearer. A moment later, a jade-like seedling broke through the surface of the rock sphere, poking its head out.

The seedling swayed as it extended outward, but it was an incredibly difficult process, as if something inside the rock sphere were pulling it back.

After a long struggle, the seedling finally slithered out like a vine-snake.

The moment the Vine emerged, the tiny hole it left behind began to exert a powerful suction, causing the surrounding rock to collapse into a small crater. The force only vanished once the hole was completely buried again.

The Vine tumbled to the ground and, with a surge of Spiritual Light, transformed into a miniature monkey. The monkey clutched a sphere resembling a Crystal Ball, and inside it was a miniature Qianying.

After taking form, the monkey gasped for breath, glancing back at the massive rock sphere with lingering fear.

The sphere resembled a mountain that had sprouted from the earth—a truly spectacular sight. ’Many years from now,’ he thought, ’this place will probably become another bizarre landmark, one created by a Three Talents Cultivator destroying their own Dao. It might even produce some unique Spiritual Materials.’

"Damn it! That was a close one!" Zhang Deming grumbled in his monkey form, looking at the rock sphere.

’If my Vine Path didn’t happen to counter the Earth Dao, I, with my Celestial Realm Three Talents Cultivation, would have actually been taken out by an Earth Realm Three Talents Cultivator. Killed by someone from a lower realm.’

’But that’s to be expected,’ he mused. ’After all, I’m only a Three Talents Cultivator through a borrowed Technique. It’s normal for there to be a gap between me and an orthodox one.’

After catching his breath for a moment, Zhang Deming waved his hand and tossed out the Crystal Ball he was holding.

The Crystal Ball shattered upon hitting the ground, and Dang Rushuang’s figure appeared.

Her last memory was of the surging mud, and now, in the next instant, the entire scene had changed. She dazedly came to her senses, slightly stunned by the sight before her.

Before she could speak, the still-panting Zhang Deming piped up, "Senior Sister, you really need to lose some weight! If something like that happens again, I won’t be able to carry you. I’ll just have to turn tail and run!"

Dang Rushuang, who had been about to offer a formal greeting, stared at the monkey. Her expression froze. "You’re... Junior Brother Zhang?" she asked, astonished.

"Who else would I be?" Zhang Deming said, rolling his eyes.

"A moment ago, your aura and appearance changed," Dang Rushuang replied. "I thought you had summoned a family elder for a possession."

Zhang Deming said, "This Technique from my third uncle just gives me his power, not his consciousness. It’s up to me how to use it; I can’t just lie back and let him take over. In his words, ’It’s fine to call for help, but you still have to win the fight yourself.’"

"Third uncle?" Dang Rushuang asked, confused.

"Just an elder in my family," Zhang Deming said.

Hearing his answer, Dang Rushuang didn’t press the matter and fell silent. She lowered her head in thought for a moment, then her expression faltered. She looked up at Zhang Deming with a strange look on her face.

Zhang Deming felt his fur stand on end under her gaze. "Uh, Senior Sister, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Hmm..." Dang Rushuang said faintly, a smile playing on her lips. "Junior Brother Zhang, you’re actually quite cute like this."

Although she was clearly trying her best to appear nonchalant, she couldn’t completely hide a faint shyness. A hint of color even returned to her pale cheeks.