The Programmer Cultivator

"The other two juniors received decent rewards, so I can’t leave you out. In that case, I’ll give this Scroll to you. What kind of painting would you like? I can alter it for you."

Li Shifan’s expression froze. He gave Zhang Deming a strange look, as if to say, ’Are you for real? I dare you to say no!’

Zhang Deming faltered under Li Shifan’s gaze and said with a dry laugh, "Um, I think I’ll keep it as is. Elder Huang’s taste is just fine."

Li Shifan glanced at the dainty Yinn Yindi, with her maid-like appearance, and silently cursed in his heart, ’Scumbag!’

’Senior Brother Zhang, so this is who you really are!’

Elder Huang glanced at Zhang Deming and said, "If you like it, just say so. Stop trying to pin it on this old man. You’ve gotten quite bold today."

"Hehe..." Zhang Deming scratched the back of his head, a sheepish smile on his face.

Elder Huang glanced at Zhang Deming, waved his hand, and said, "Forget it. As long as you like it. Consider this painting your reward for this occasion."

With that, Elder Huang glanced around and said, "This place is no longer dangerous. I have many matters to attend to, so I won’t dally. The three of you, continue to work hard. Don’t let this fortuitous opportunity go to waste."

Zhang Deming and the other two bowed in unison. "We disciples will heed Elder Huang’s teachings."

As the three of them bowed, Elder Huang dissolved into motes of Spiritual Light and vanished.

The three of them straightened up. As they stared at the spot where Elder Huang had vanished, before anyone could speak, Yinn Yindi beside them bowed to Zhang Deming once more. "This servant greets you, Master!"

"COUGH, COUGH..."

The words made Zhang Deming break into a coughing fit, as if he’d choked on his own breath.

Li Shifan and Li Cheng both paused, shooting Zhang Deming a strange look before glancing at the maid-like Yinn Yindi.

After a few more coughs, Zhang Deming finally looked at Yinn Yindi and said, "Don’t call me Master. Call me Young Master from now on."

"Yes, Young Master. This servant understands," Yinn Yindi said timidly. Combined with her delicate features, she truly looked the part of a handmaiden.

’Well... if you don’t count her age, that is!’

’For us Cultivators, especially a Three Talents Great Cultivator, what does age even matter? After all, the signs of the Celestial Human Five Declines won’t appear until one’s time is up.’

Zhang Deming’s expression was awkward for a moment before he regained his composure and said, "And just... act more normally day-to-day."

’Day-to-day?’

Li Shifan latched onto the key word, shooting Zhang Deming an even stranger look.

Zhang Deming ignored the wild thoughts of the unscrupulous grandfather-and-grandson duo and asked Yinn Yindi, "Tell me why you were here, how you fell into such a state, and what your identity is."

Yinn Yindi began to speak. "By the time Elder Huang reshaped this servant, my Dao Heart was already damaged and my Soul Body was grievously wounded.

"Although Elder Huang reshaped my temperament, the Soul Injury didn’t disappear. Due to all this, I don’t retain many of my former memories."

Zhang Deming paused. "Do you at least remember the reason you were here?"

Yinn Yindi nodded, then shook her head. "I remember some of it, but not all."

Zhang Deming contemplated this for a moment. After a flicker of thought, he looked at Li Shifan and said, "Wait for me."

With that, the Scroll in front of Zhang Deming vanished, and he himself zoned out, standing completely still.

Li Shifan froze. Staring at the zoned-out Zhang Deming, he thought, ’This... he’s not having another breakthrough, is he?’

’If you have another breakthrough, Senior Brother Zhang, you’re going to lose me for good! I’ll be green with envy even after I reach the Duality realm!’

...

Zhang Deming reappeared in the Spirit Nurturing Space. With a wave of his hand, an orb of light manifested.

Rune Summoning: Spirit Nurturing Summoning Technique: Dragon Turtle!

The orb of light fused and stretched, reforming into the image of Elder Huang.

Rune Summoning: Spirit Nurturing Summoning Technique: Feng Mingyou!

Another orb of light appeared. The temperament of the summoned Elder Huang shifted as he rematerialized within the Spirit Nurturing Space.

Then, the Scroll materialized, and Yinn Yindi appeared beside Elder Huang, standing silently like a handmaiden.

Once this was done, the summoned Elder Huang waved his hand. An amber sphere drifted down from the Chaos in the sky above, hovering before him.

The summoned Elder Huang reached out and tapped it. The amber sphere slowly expanded to the height of a person, revealing Ding Xuesi trapped rigidly inside. He couldn’t even move his lips; only his eyes could finally dart around.

The moment he could move his mouth, he spoke with desperation, "I surrender! Fellow Daoist, as long as you don’t seal me back in that state again, anything is negotiable."

When sealed within the amber sphere, only his consciousness was active; the rest of him was completely immobile. And his consciousness being active was not a good thing. If his mind had been frozen, being sealed for thousands of years would have passed in an instant.

But with his mind left to run free, it became the ultimate form of torture. Being sealed in such a state was the equivalent of solitary confinement for a Cultivator—the super-xianxia version.

Moreover, since he was a Soul Body, his thoughts raced like lightning. At that speed, it felt as though time itself was accelerating inside the seal.

In just a short while, his thoughts had already been racing inside the Spirit Nurturing Space for what felt like an eternity. Although time itself hadn’t changed, the speed at which his mind was working made it feel as if a very long time had passed.

The summoned Elder Huang gave him an indifferent look. "What to do with you is yet to be decided. First, tell me about the situation outside."

With that, the summoned Elder Huang paused, glanced at Yinn Yindi beside him, and gestured toward her. "If you don’t want to end up like she did, you’d best be honest. If you try any funny business, it wouldn’t be hard to make you suffer the same fate."

Hearing this, Ding Xuesi finally noticed Yinn Yindi standing nearby. After hundreds of years of their souls being entangled and their Life Artifacts bound together, a single glance was all it took for him to freeze.

With his Three Talents Cultivation, even while sealed, he could easily discern the abnormality of Yinn Yindi’s state. He stared at the summoned Elder Huang, his face twisting in terror. "You... you’re a Heart Spirit Dao Cultivator?"