The Programmer Cultivator

The moment the great golden bell appeared, the jade-like lotus shot forward and struck it.

"CLANG..."

A melodious chime spread out from the impact, and Lu Yongsheng’s face went pale as his body slid back a short distance.

"Aaargh! Stop!" he roared, and his sliding form slowly ground to a halt.

In the distance, Nangong Cheng, secretly adding more force, frowned slightly as his fingers twitched a few times.

Lu Yongsheng had just halted his slide and had yet to catch his breath when, with a twitch of Nangong Cheng’s fingers, the bud on the lotus branch suddenly bloomed.

The forward momentum of the branch didn’t increase by much, but the cold light glittering at its tip grew noticeably sharper.

"CRACK..."

At the soft cracking sound, Lu Yongsheng’s expression changed drastically. He saw tiny cracks appear on the golden bell before him, starting from the point where the lotus branch’s tip made contact.

The cracks then began to spread like lightning, instantly covering the area around the point of impact.

Lu Yongsheng only had time to twist his body away as a hole was punched through the golden bell. The branch shot straight through the bell, pierced his shoulder, and flew into the large crater behind him.

"Ngh..."

Lu Yongsheng let out a muffled grunt, his face paling. A bloody, middle-finger-sized hole had been punched through his shoulder blade.

If the energy from the subsequent bloom had not been expended, the hole might have been the size of a fist. Moreover, with his Tier Two Divine Power Cultivation, an injury like this should have healed in moments.

But at this moment, a trace of gray, sludge-like energy lingered on the wound. His flesh writhed, but it just wouldn’t heal.

He grunted, clutching his wound, and immediately turned to look.

The dust and smoke settled, revealing the Human Ape Elder in the large crater. Both his arms were severed, his chest was caved in, and his fur was stained blood-red. A lotus branch that looked like a Jade Flute was embedded in his chest.

However, because Lu Yongsheng had absorbed much of its power, the branch had only created a small puncture wound in the elder’s chest, not an irreversible injury.

"ROAR..."

The Human Ape Elder let out a furious roar and snapped the lotus branch. As blood gushed from his wounds, his flesh began to squirm and regenerate at a visible rate. Even his severed arms showed signs of restoration.

Roaring as he rose, he remained completely bereft of reason, charging heedlessly toward Tong Hou once again.

"Uncle Fu!" Lu Yongsheng cried out anxiously, giving chase.

Nangong Cheng frowned, watching the elder’s injuries heal at an astonishing rate.

Seeing the Human Ape Elder charging at him again, Tong Hou turned and fled without a second thought, intending to lead him on another chase.

Following closely behind the Human Ape Elder, Lu Yongsheng’s eyes flickered as he assessed the situation. ’If I don’t get rid of Tong Hou,’ he thought, ’I’ll never be able to lead Uncle Fu away.’

’My Cultivation is about the same as Uncle Fu’s, and with an Immortal watching from the side, forcibly taking him away is out of the question.’

Thus, after a moment of consideration, his eyes grew cold. His aura surged as he suddenly poured power into his legs. With his True Essence flaring, he formed a massive phantom claw with his hand and shot toward Tong Hou like a bolt of lightning.

The fleeing Tong Hou had no time to react before Lu Yongsheng’s claw strike slammed into his Shield. The pristine, transparent Lotus Shield wavered for a moment, then shattered into countless fragments of Spiritual Light.

The momentary buffer gave Tong Hou enough time to react. Without hesitation, he poured all his power into activating his Rune Core.

Rune Technique: Yin Yang Chess Dao: Trapped Position!

A chessboard bearing the image of a Yin Yang Fish appeared beneath his feet and rapidly expanded. He, along with the nearby Lu Yongsheng and the Human Ape Elder, were instantly frozen in place.

Nangong Cheng, standing off to one side, had witnessed Tong Hou’s peculiar Techniques before and was already on guard. He had kept his distance, and so was not caught in the effect.

By now, he had finished preparing another attack. He had intended to launch it the instant Tong Hou made his move, but he paused. A dense cloud of flower petals materialized before him, but he held them back.

Tong Hou, seeing this, was just about to pull his old trick—Shell Shedding. But the chessboard, which had existed for less than a second, trembled a few times and then shattered into a pool of Spiritual Light on the ground.

With his Tai Chi Cultivation, it was already difficult for him to control a single Duality-level opponent without resorting to extraordinary means, let alone two at once.

Even though he walked the path of the ultimate Trapped Position and it was his only powerful technique, trying to trap two Duality-level Cultivators with his Tai Chi Cultivation was simply too ambitious.

The pair broke free from the Trapped Position with a single, unified struggle. A sweet taste instantly welled up in Tong Hou’s throat. He almost coughed up a mouthful of blood but managed to choke it down.

But Lu Yongsheng was now right on top of him. He struck like lightning, slamming a palm into Tong Hou’s chest, causing the very blood Tong Hou had just swallowed to spray from his mouth.

Lu Yongsheng wasn’t old, but he was a product of the Martial Arts World. Coming from his kind of family and having spent so much time in the treacherous back mountains, he showed no mercy now.

After the palm strike landed, he immediately moved in for the kill.

Under this mortal threat, an altar-shaped Rune automatically flared to life between Tong Hou’s eyebrows. A strange aura emerged, and a pulse of Spiritual Power, like a Fire Resistance Ring, expanded outward from his body.

It shoved back both Lu Yongsheng and the lunging Uncle Fu. Tong Hou, who had nearly been knocked out by the palm strike, used this chance to finally catch his breath.