The Programmer Cultivator

After completing a full search of the area, Zhang Deming and Li Shifan stepped outside its boundaries. The strange air currents vanished, and a weight seemed to lift from both their Heart Spirits.

The Perception they had kept suppressed within their bodies expanded outwards once more. Zhang Deming felt his senses come alive and was slightly taken aback.

’For a Cultivator specializing in the Reconnaissance Dao, an environment like this is actually a decent training ground.’

Once they were out of the area, Zhang Deming spread his hands. A phantom book materialized and flipped open to the team map page, which he then examined.

Zhang Deming spoke up. "They’ve been gone for over a day now. By the time we catch up, they’ll probably be close to the destination. We should get going."

Li Shifan also glanced at the map and nodded. "Right. With this much of a head start, they might have already reached the first mission objective."

They had thought it would just be a quick search, but due to the unforeseen circumstances, they had been delayed by over a day. Tong Hou’s group of three was now far ahead.

With that said, Zhang Deming partially retracted the wings on his back, and he and Li Shifan began flying swiftly through the woods.

In the Hengduan Mountain Range, flying recklessly wasn’t a wise choice unless one was powerful enough.

Flying carelessly was fine as long as nothing went wrong, but if something did, it would be a catastrophe. The creatures that claimed the skies as their territory were no Little Demons; one would invariably encounter a fearsome Great Demon.

That was why the two of them chose to weave through the trees. Their speed might be slower, but with Zhang Deming’s Reconnaissance, it was at least safer, and they could avoid any major incidents.

······

After separating from Zhang Deming and Li Shifan, Nangong Cheng’s group of three left the bizarre forest area.

Nangong Cheng looked at the other two and asked, "Well? Do you want to wait, or should we press on?"

Due to his relative lack of strength, Feng Mingyou had rarely taken the initiative or even spoken up during their journey.

Hearing the question, he looked up at the other two and said, "I’m fine with whatever. You decide."

Nangong Cheng then turned his gaze to Tong Hou. "And you? Do you want to wait, or shall we move on?"

Tong Hou glanced at Feng Mingyou, then said, "Let’s go on ahead. Both of them are fast, anyway.

If their delay is short, then with Senior Brother Summoning Spirit’s reconnaissance techniques and speed, it shouldn’t take them long to catch up. If we press on now, we’re essentially increasing our overall travel speed."

Hearing this and seeing that Feng Mingyou didn’t object, Nangong Cheng nodded. "That aligns perfectly with my own thoughts. I was also planning to start moving slowly. Since we’re all in agreement, let’s head out."

Within a few sentences, the three had made their decision.

Once he finished speaking, a book appeared in Nangong Cheng’s hand, and a map materialized from it. He studied it for a moment, then looked up to get his bearings. "Let’s go. This way."

With that, he took the lead and set off. Tong Hou followed close behind. Feng Mingyou glanced back at the chaotic forest one last time before turning to catch up.

······

The three of them had originally thought they would only be ahead for half a day, or a full day at most, before the others caught up.

But after two full days of travel, just as they were nearing the mission objective, Zhang Deming and Li Shifan still hadn’t appeared.

Nangong Cheng had been leading the way for the entire two-day journey. It was only then that Tong Hou and Feng Mingyou realized that Nangong Cheng’s own reconnaissance skills were not the least bit weak.

He didn’t go as far as Zhang Deming, who scavenged for resources as they traveled, but the fact that the three of them had journeyed for two full days without a single Demon Beast attack was a testament to his skill.

For a Cultivator who didn’t specialize in the Reconnaissance Dao, such an ability was already quite formidable.

Two days later, after bypassing yet another Demon Beast territory under Nangong Cheng’s guidance, the three of them came to a halt.

Nangong Cheng flipped his hand over, producing a book. He opened the map and studied it carefully for a moment before saying, "It looks like we’re in the right vicinity?"

The two behind him paused. Feng Mingyou contemplated for a moment, then spread his hands flat and summoned his exclusive Book of All Living Beings, visible only to him. He opened the mission map and examined it for a moment before speaking.

"Mmm, we should be close. The mission map only gives a landmark, no detailed information. Looks like we’ll have to find it ourselves."

Tong Hou’s brow furrowed slightly. "So what are we looking for? Ruins? The entrance to a Secret Realm?"

Nangong Cheng shook his head. "The mission briefing didn’t specify. But based on what it did provide, it should be something along those lines. After all, we’re supposed to explore and gather information."

At this, Nangong Cheng paused and looked at Feng Mingyou, who still had his hands held out flat. "And what about the others? Have they caught up?"

Hearing this, Feng Mingyou fiddled with the illusory Book of All Living Beings for a moment before replying, "This mission map can only display my immediate surroundings and the mission objective.

It’s blurry for other regions, only showing a rough outline of the area and the two small dots that represent our senior brothers. I can’t make out the details clearly.

However, their dots aren’t stationary anymore. I don’t know exactly how far away they are, but they’re definitely on the move and trying to catch up. That much is certain."

Tong Hou paused when he heard that. "Listening to your disappointed tone, you’d think this was one of the Sect’s Array Screens, wouldn’t you?

The Sect has that kind of clarity because the Sect Protection Array covers the entire grounds, and we have both the Monitoring Department and the Array Department protecting it at all times.

That’s why you can always see your own precise location on the Sect’s Array Screen. Do you think you’d be able to see any trace of your location on the Sect’s screen once you’re outside its range?

I’m already surprised that a temporary mission map like ours can even show this much information. A tool like this is almost on par with the regular surveillance from the Hundred Spirits Blessed Land overhead!

The moment I first saw this mission map, I actually thought it was plugged into the Array Screen of the Hundred Spirits Blessed Land’s routine surveillance department."