The Programmer Cultivator

...

After leaving the city, the peaks west of Pann City began to rise steeply. Using his Tier Four Magic, Zhang Deming soon crossed numerous mountains and arrived in a range shrouded in wisps of fog.

As he observed the faint fog swirling through the surrounding mountains, Zhang Deming’s mastery of the Tier Three Array Dao allowed him to instantly identify it as a massive Enchanting Array.

But while its range was vast, it wasn’t even a One-Star array, so its effects were negligible. Even a mortal with slightly above-average willpower could walk right through it.

Zhang Deming reached the edge of the fog. The wings on his back slowly dissipated as a faint gray mist enveloped him.

His aura weakened rapidly, and his very presence began to fade until his figure became faint and indistinct.

Any Cultivator below Duality would likely ignore him completely, even if he stood in their line of sight—so long as he didn’t block their path or have someone point him out.

After fully activating his Hidden Breath Skill, Spiritual Light flared in Zhang Deming’s eyes, and he passed into the gray, fog-shrouded mountains.

As he entered, the surrounding fog converged on his mind, attempting to bewitch him and make him lose his way.

Before Zhang Deming even had to act, the fog stimulated his own Spirituality, causing it to pulse faintly. The fog immediately retreated, and his vision cleared.

In a ravine in the distance lay a small town. Its architecture resembled a Cultivator’s Marketplace, but it was interspersed with many mortal-style buildings, creating a unique, hybrid style.

This valley town, which had grown around the Marketplace, must have once been a paradise on earth, surrounded by green mountains and gurgling springs.

Now, however, it was filled with the thick stench of blood. The surrounding buildings had clearly been ravaged by conflict, leaving behind only rubble and ruined walls, with smoke still rising from some areas.

Spiritual Light flickered in Zhang Deming’s eyes. Many of the buildings were selectively filtered out, vanishing from his sight.

After a quick scan, he found that not a single soul was left alive in the entire town. There were only desiccated corpses drained of all Spirituality and the dismembered bodies of ordinary people.

BOOM...

Just as Zhang Deming was cautiously inspecting the town, another tremendous crash echoed out, accompanied by a brief, faint tremor.

Zhang Deming turned his head to look at the highest peak behind the town. The disturbance had come from its summit.

Finding nothing of note in the town, Zhang Deming floated up, passed over the marketplace, and drifted toward the mountain peak.

BOOM...

As he drew closer, another tremendous crash resounded, accompanied by a faint tremor. This time, Zhang Deming clearly felt the fluctuation of Spiritual Power.

Before Zhang Deming could get any closer, the Jade Disc tattoo that Dang Jun’an had given him suddenly materialized on the back of his hand, flashing with Spiritual Light.

Zhang Deming stared, stunned, at the tattoo-like Jade Disc flashing on his hand. He hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Master Dang, is something the matter?"

But there was no response. ’It seems this Dao Mark on my hand isn’t what I thought,’ Zhang Deming mused. ’Dang Xiangjun isn’t activating it just by watching me now.’

Zhang Deming waited a moment, his brow furrowed. Just as he was about to move forward again, the Dao Mark on his hand suddenly flared, releasing nearly half its Spiritual Light. The entire tattoo dimmed significantly, almost disappearing.

At that same moment, as the tattoo’s Spiritual Light burst forth, it seemed to exert a powerful pull. Spiritual Light surged violently around Zhang Deming, and a plate-sized, white Jade Disc materialized out of thin air.

While Zhang Deming stared in a daze, the newly formed Jade Disc began to vibrate, and cracks visibly spread across its surface.

CRACK...

In an instant, the Jade Disc was riddled with cracks, and then it shattered.

The explosion of the plate-sized disc wasn’t powerful, but it ejected a figure that flew directly at Zhang Deming.

Zhang Deming instinctively dodged to the side, and the figure shot past him.

THUD...

Having been dodged by Zhang Deming, the person face-planted onto the ground. When Zhang Deming turned his head and got a clear look at them, he froze in surprise.

"Uh... you can’t blame me," Zhang Deming said awkwardly, looking at the person sprawled face-down on the ground. "You just popped out of nowhere and lunged at me. Never mind catching you, the fact that I didn’t instinctively kick you away already shows my great reflexes!"

"Quick..." The figure had just started to get up when she coughed up a mouthful of blood before she could finish speaking. Her eyes began to roll back into her head as she looked ready to pass out at any moment.

Seeing this, Zhang Deming’s expression shifted. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, "Forgive me for this!"

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

With those words, Zhang Deming’s right hand transformed into a ruby-like Vine and plunged into her chest with lightning speed. The Qianying, whose eyes had been rolling back, instantly entered an ecstatic state, as if she had suddenly reached some kind of climax.

After she caught her breath and saw Zhang Deming’s face clearly, she froze, completely stunned.

"Run!"

Snapping back to her senses, her expression changed dramatically, and she cried out.

This time, however, Zhang Deming paid no attention to Dang Rushuang. With a subtle shift in his expression, the Vine that was his right hand swiftly coiled around her. Zhang Deming’s body trembled for an instant, then he and Dang Rushuang transformed into an invisible Spirit Species and vanished.