The Programmer Cultivator

If it were anyone else, they obviously couldn’t control Li Cheng’s Sword Spirit so easily. After all, Summoning Class familiars are very personal things.

No matter their disposition, all familiars have a unique Heart Spirit imprint. Even if someone knew the method to control them, it would be impossible.

But Li Shifan was an exception. This was because Li Cheng had transformed from a ghost into a spirit, and his own Cultivation hadn’t yet reached the stage of the Gathering of the Three Souls. Therefore, rather than calling him a ghost now, it was more accurate to say he was a special kind of Artifact Spirit.

After all, ghosts have their own autonomy, whereas an Artifact Spirit has none once it acknowledges a master. Li Cheng was precisely one of these—an Artifact Ghost with no autonomy of his own.

Due to the Soul Binding, he was deeply entangled with Li Shifan, from his soul to his very consciousness. The connection was no less profound than the one Li Shifan shared with the Long Sword he cultivated as part of his own life.

For all these reasons, it wasn’t difficult for Li Shifan to control the Sword Spirits.

To be precise, these Sword Spirits were also products of the scroll. And since the scroll had become a semi-Lifebound Magical Artifact for him, he should have been the one to control them in the first place, if not for Li Cheng’s presence.

In other words, if he so wished, he could even seize control from Li Cheng and dominate him completely—be it the Lifebound Painting or Li Cheng’s Soul Body.

This was because, in essence, the painting was now Li Shifan’s Magical Artifact—a soul-bound one at that.

It was also for this reason that, despite Li Cheng’s reluctance back then, his descendants had managed to drain the family’s Qi Fortune, one after another.

Even the most sensible descendant would eventually have moments where they’d lose their temper, ignore the danger, and act against his wishes.

Thus, as Li Shifan executed the Spell, the three miniature Sword Spirits around them vibrated and came under his control.

Li Shifan then thrust his hands out, spreading his arms wide.

Three Spirit Swords shot out from his waist, spinning outwards in sync with his outstretched arms. As they expanded, the three Sword Spirits also grew larger.

By the time the three Sword Spirits emerged outside the Shield, they had already grown to the size of normal Long Swords.

The three Sword Spirits, which seemed to be formed from pure Spiritual Power, slowly circled the Shield.

Li Shifan once again formed several hand seals for a Spell. The Sword Spirits vibrated as their auras linked together, creating a peculiar protective field.

Instantly, the pressure on Zhang Deming lightened, and his Spiritual Power consumption was significantly reduced.

Most importantly, the constant needle-pricking sensation in his mind eased considerably. Now, it was just a dull headache, completely within a tolerable range.

At that moment, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Deming looked at the floating Sword Spirits and said, "Are you sure about this? These things are basically fragile goods right now, and your ancestor only managed to churn out three of them. If we accidentally shatter them... he’s going to cry, isn’t he?"

Li Shifan’s expression stiffened. He glanced at Zhang Deming, who was still in the mood to joke under the circumstances, and said thoughtfully, "It’s fine. I figure that even if we do find the materials, my ancestor will just drag us out to be his grunts anyway. He’ll make me work for him, hunting down those Sword Shadows outside.

"Let’s just consider this him taking on the risk in advance. Call it our payment!"

’This guy and I are on the same wavelength,’ Zhang Deming thought. ’He’s really got a good read on his ancestor’s personality.’

Zhang Deming nodded and said, "Alright then. If you, the grandson, don’t even feel bad for the ancestor you’ve been so deeply connected with for so long, why should an outsider like me care? If they break, they break."

Li Shifan was speechless.

Seeing Li Shifan’s speechless expression, the corners of Zhang Deming’s mouth lifted into a slight smile. "Let’s go," he said. "A defense like this won’t last long before we run out of power."

With that, Zhang Deming flipped his hand and took out several Spirit Stones, crushing them in his palm. With his Cultivation Technique Script running automatically, his Spiritual Power began to recover rapidly.

Even so, the Shield they had created was simultaneously running three Techniques, one of which was even a Law-Level Technique. This caused him to feel his Spiritual Power draining quickly, even with his cultivation running on autopilot.

Since they weren’t at a critical point yet, Zhang Deming didn’t take out his Spirit Crystal Pendant. Instead, he continuously pulled out Spirit Stones to replenish his energy as he and Li Shifan proceeded cautiously deeper along the cliff path.

After advancing carefully for a while, Zhang Deming and Li Shifan both stopped short. On the cliff path ahead, an illusory Sword Shadow was drifting toward them.

As it drifted, the turbulent air currents caused the illusory Sword Shadow to flicker constantly. Before it could even reach them, the shadow trembled once and vanished on the spot.

Seeing this, both of them were stunned. They exchanged a look, their eyes glinting with contemplation.

"This doesn’t look like what Ancestor described—the Lifebound Painting’s overflowing power causing things to be born spontaneously in the area. It looks more like a Summoning, or perhaps a naturally occurring Summoning Spirit," Li Shifan said as he watched the spot where the Sword Shadow had been.

Zhang Deming also frowned. "That Sword Shadow that just broke apart really did seem like a naturally occurring Summoning Spirit!"

"If they really are naturally occurring Summoning Spirits, then this could be a huge score for you!" Li Shifan said.

Zhang Deming replied, "Let’s wait and see. It’s no use getting our hopes up now, only to be disappointed if we’re wrong."

The two then continued forward. A moment later, they saw another Sword Shadow drifting toward them—or more accurately, drifting out toward the mouth of the cliff.

As it moved, the violent air currents caused it to flicker nonstop, its form wavering as if it could vanish at any second.

When the Sword Shadow drifted in front of them, it showed no reaction, simply continuing straight toward the cliff mouth. It seemed completely muddled and dazed, possessing little to no Spiritual Wisdom.