The Programmer Cultivator

"Looks like your ancestor has a Blessed Source of his own, or maybe he’s just benefiting from your good luck." Zhang Deming smiled and turned back to a slightly stunned Li Shifan. "What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and take it. Isn’t this stuff basically a tonic for your ancestor?"

Hearing this, Li Shifan snapped back to his senses. With a wave of his hand, he collected the illusory orb. Then he looked at Zhang Deming and said hesitantly, "Senior Brother, you’re giving all of these spoils to me. Is that... really okay?"

Zhang Deming chuckled. "I never said I was giving them to you for free. Besides, if you really feel that bad, how about you let me have first pick if we find something truly good later?"

"Deal!" Li Shifan replied without hesitation.

Zhang Deming faltered for a moment, turning to see Li Shifan’s earnest expression. Shaking his head, he said, "I was just kidding, don’t take it so seriously. If there’s truly something I need, believe me, I won’t be shy about it."

"But I won’t just give things away for free. No matter how close we are, when we team up, we need some standards for distributing resources. It should be balanced based on contribution. Otherwise, a team like ours won’t last."

"This is one of my principles, a bottom line for how I operate. With casual acquaintances, it doesn’t matter; if they get the short end of the stick, so be it. But for a long-term partnership, it’s best to get these things straight. If we don’t, resentment will inevitably build up over time."

Li Shifan, who had been about to speak, paused when he heard this. "Right," he said, nodding. "I’ll keep that in mind."

Zhang Deming smiled. "Come on, let’s go. We haven’t even seen it yet. For all we know, this isn’t the birth of a natural Summoning Spirit at all!"

Of course, that’s what Zhang Deming said, but all the signs pointed to their guess being correct. The two of them might have truly hit the jackpot this time.

Hmm...

’It seems like every time I team up with Li Shifan, we end up striking it rich somehow. Is my own Qi Fortune just that strong now, or is it because of Li Shifan’s protagonist-level destiny?’

As his thoughts wandered, Zhang Deming continued toward the cave with Li Shifan. Every so often, a Sword Shadow would come floating toward them.

Zhang Deming would shatter it with a vine-spike, and Li Shifan would step forward to collect the illusory orb. And so, the two of them pressed on, heading deeper into the cave.

...

The cave was vast and deep. The two men advanced cautiously, bracing themselves against a fierce but not overly rapid airflow, their guards up. With rhythmic frequency, a Sword Shadow would float toward them every time they covered a certain distance.

Zhang Deming met each one without fail, puncturing it, while Li Shifan silently collected the orbs that appeared in their wake. They continued like this for a long time until, in a daze, they passed through what felt like a thin membrane, and both of them froze.

The cave was still the same cave, but after passing through the membrane, the fierce, Sword Qi-like airflow had vanished. The two men paused, exchanged a glance, and then looked back, but saw nothing.

Hesitantly, Zhang Deming reached a hand out behind himself to feel the air.

He felt the distinct sensation of his hand passing through an invisible film, like breaking the surface of water. It was a very thin layer, and he could clearly sense it constantly fluctuating.

Zhang Deming paused. "Is this a spatial displacement?" he asked hesitantly.

Li Shifan also reached out, feeling it for a long moment before nodding. "It seems like it. A very advanced spatial displacement, too. The outer section of the cave is clearly not in the same space as this part."

"The Sword Qi-like airflow isn’t coming from this part of the cave, either. The seam between the two areas is completely undetectable. If we hadn’t personally experienced that subtle difference when passing through it, we’d never have known there was a spatial displacement here."

Zhang Deming’s brow furrowed slightly. "The Space Dao, like the Heart Spirit Path, is a High Tier path. A displacement of this caliber would require the touch of Law-Level Power, at the very least."

"Sword Dao, Painting Dao, Heart Spirit Summoning, and now the Space Dao has appeared. This place is getting more and more interesting... and I’m getting more and more curious."

Li Shifan frowned. "But what’s the point of all this? Were those Sword Qi currents meant to be a gate? Does getting past them mean we’ve passed some kind of trial?"

"Doesn’t that explanation seem a little far-fetched? If this was really about a trial, creating an Evil Wind Cave would be a thousand times easier than creating an environment of Sword Qi, wouldn’t it? And it would be a more effective trial, too!"

Zhang Deming shook his head. "Who knows? Let’s go in and see for ourselves."

The two paused at the intersection for a long while before starting forward again. With the airflow gone, they both lowered their Shields and proceeded with renewed caution.

After walking for a short while, Zhang Deming paused. "The Sword Shadows have disappeared, too?"

Li Shifan nodded. "Based on their previous frequency, we should have run into another Sword Shadow by now. Since we haven’t, they most likely came from the same source as the airflow. If that’s the case, the ’trial’ theory really doesn’t hold water."

As they spoke, they walked for another moment before the cave suddenly opened into a vast chamber. A Cave Mansion stood before them.

The Cave Mansion was extremely simple. Straight ahead was a large hall surrounded by several stone chambers. Inside, there were only tables and stools carved from stone. Beyond that, the chambers themselves were as empty as the hall—there was nothing.

After searching the place, both Zhang Deming and Li Shifan paused. Zhang Deming frowned, staring at the Cave Mansion. He felt the layout was somehow familiar.

But for the life of him, he couldn’t recall where he might have seen it. ’Few of the Cave Mansions I’ve encountered have had this kind of style.’

That’s right! Qingshui Town! The bottom of Qingshui Lake, the place on Cliff Mountain—weren’t they built in this same simple style? A flash of inspiration struck Zhang Deming as he recalled his experience back in Qingshui Town of Liuzhou.