The Programmer Cultivator

The two of them stopped before the cliff path, hesitating as they saw the Compass pointing clearly inside.

While this entire battlefield was dangerous, it wasn’t completely unexplored. But judging by the self-contained aura of the cliff path before them, it was likely that very few people had ever set foot inside.

After a long hesitation, Zhang Deming was the first to speak. "Let’s go. We’ve come all this way; we can’t just turn back now. We have to at least take a look. If it’s really too dangerous, it won’t be too late to retreat then."

Li Shifan was apparently thinking the same thing, as he nodded in agreement.

The two of them then carefully stepped into the cliff path together. For various reasons, the entire path had formed a semi-natural barrier of isolation.

As Zhang Deming stepped into the entrance of the path, he clearly felt as if he had passed through a thin membrane, much like the sensation of a cheek breaking the surface of water.

"Ngh..."

The moment he entered the cliff path, Li Shifan let out a muffled grunt, his brow furrowed in pain.

Zhang Deming frowned as well. The surrounding aura had become incredibly violent, swirling about like a baleful wind. The danger was so great that his Spiritual Shield manifested on its own, protecting his body from any physical harm.

However, as the aura continued to churn, he felt a piercing pain in his Heart Spirit Perception, even though he hadn’t projected it outward at all.

It felt as if someone were repeatedly jabbing needles into his temples, causing a splitting headache.

Zhang Deming was faring better than most would. Thanks to his experiences on this journey, the moment his Shield activated, he had subconsciously infused it with his Dream Dao Technique.

As a result, his Spiritual Shield shimmered with specks of dream-like Spiritual Light, granting it a decent measure of protection for his Heart Spirit and weakening the assault by more than half.

Even so, Zhang Deming’s brow remained tightly furrowed. The pain was nearly unbearable, a severe, piercing sensation in his mind, exacerbated by the ceaselessly swirling currents of air in the path.

Li Shifan, however, was enduring the full brunt of it. The swirling aura ceaselessly ravaged and crushed his Heart Spirit Perception; one can only imagine the agony he was in.

Zhang Deming took a sharp breath and, hearing the grunt, turned to look at Li Shifan. He found Li Shifan half-kneeling on the ground, his brow furrowed in agony, with two streams of fresh blood trickling from his nostrils.

The miniature Scroll that had been beside him had vanished, retreating deep into Li Shifan’s body, not daring to even show a hint of its form.

An environment like this was lethally and directly harmful to someone in Li Cheng’s condition.

"Are you okay? Can you still take it? If not, we have to get out of here!" Zhang Deming took a step forward, looking at Li Shifan with concern.

Li Shifan remained half-kneeling for a long moment before catching his breath. He replied through clenched teeth, "I’m fine. Not dead yet!"

Zhang Deming was speechless.

He gave Li Shifan a long look. ’What a tough bastard. For the better part of two years, he has been knocking about the back mountains, always this hard on himself. And yet, he’s managed to hold onto a sliver of his pure heart, never becoming bitter or resentful, nor letting his methods turn sinister. Such a disposition is truly rare.’

Zhang Deming mulled it over for a moment, then reached out and tapped the Shield in front of him. At the same time, he commanded, "Expand!"

Following his command, the Spiritual Shield before him began to slowly expand. This Shield was supposed to be a single-target defense. It was not at the Law Level, nor could it be freely reshaped or extended. Yet, under the influence of his Law-Level Word Spirit Technique, it began to grow.

It continued to stretch until it enveloped Li Shifan, and only then did it stop.

Li Shifan had been using every ounce of his will to resist the violent, swirling, baleful aura. Suddenly, the pressure lessened. Although an unbearable, piercing pain still throbbed in his mind, it was infinitely better than before and no longer hindered his ability to speak or move.

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

He paused, turning to see the look of concern in Zhang Deming’s eyes, his brow slightly furrowed. It took him a moment to get the words out.

Zhang Deming reached up and rubbed his temples, as if to alleviate the feeling of needles pricking his brain.

Hearing Li Shifan, he waved a hand. "Let’s hurry up and explore. My Shield only has this strange protective quality because it’s a Fusion of several Techniques."

"It’s meant for single-target defense. I had to use a Law-Level Technique to expand it like this. At my current Cultivation level, I can’t keep it up for long."

Li Shifan paused at his words. "Wait!"

Zhang Deming turned to look at him, puzzled.

Li Shifan opened his left hand. A tattoo resembling a Scroll materialized beneath the skin of his palm. On the Scroll, a silhouette of Li Cheng appeared like an animated figure. Its lips moved, and Li Cheng’s voice emanated from his palm.

"This place is the remnant of a Technique left by a Great Cultivator of the Painting Dao, mixed with the Heart Spirit Dao and the Sword Dao. After mutating over a long period of time, it produced this bizarre environment."

"It is far too suppressive for me in my current state; it’s practically designed to kill me."

"Even within this Shield, if I linger too long, my soul is in danger of perishing, so I won’t be coming out. This Sword Spirit, however, should be a great help to you both. You can control it yourself."

As he finished speaking, the tattoo-like Scroll slowly faded, disappearing back into Li Shifan’s body. Simultaneously, three miniature Spirit Swords materialized around Li Shifan, hovering and rotating about his waist.

Seeing this, Li Shifan closed his hand, and his fingers began to move rapidly, forming a series of seals.

As his hands flew through the signs, the Sword Spirits hovering at his waist twitched a few times before falling completely under Li Shifan’s control.