The Programmer Cultivator

In that brief moment, his eyes had already turned red, as if he’d caught pinkeye.

As the Spiritual Light in Zhang Deming’s eyes faded, the stinging sensation slowly subsided.

”Be careful. My Perception and Reconnaissance range have been severely weakened,” Zhang Deming made sure to remind them.

Everyone nodded. Li Shifan replied, ”Deming, why don’t I take the lead?”

Although Zhang Deming also knew the Sword Control Skill, he hadn’t equipped it because he was saving up for the Enhancement Skill and new functions, and it was still only at Tier Two.

Besides, this Technique was Li Shifan’s Rune Core. Compared to Li Shifan’s current Tier Three Sword Control Technique, Zhang Deming’s was much weaker and couldn’t be used as dynamically.

So Zhang Deming turned to glance at Li Shifan, whose aura was unusually active. He nodded. ”Alright. You take point.”

The five of them had been advancing in a triangular formation. After their conversation, Zhang Deming and Li Shifan quickly swapped positions.

Li Shifan took point, with Zhang Deming and Nangong Cheng on the flanks, while Tong Hou and Feng Mingyou brought up the rear.

After they switched positions, the group’s speed dropped sharply. Zhang Deming had to rein in his Perception, and Li Shifan didn’t have a Spiritual Eye Technique.

The five had only been advancing cautiously for a moment when Zhang Deming and Nangong Cheng stopped almost simultaneously. Zhang Deming immediately declared, ”Law Order: Concealment is forbidden here!”

As he spoke, a strange fluctuation spread out along with the sound waves.

Around the group, transparent phantoms emerged. There were quite a few—five in total.

Everyone froze as they looked at the faintly visible phantoms.

’What is this...?’

’Sword Spirits?’

Zhang Deming’s brow furrowed slightly as he looked at the transparent phantoms, which resembled Long Swords.

As the phantoms appeared, a Spiritual Light began to glow on the sword-like figures. Just as Zhang Deming was about to make a move, a Yin Yang Fish Chessboard materialized beneath his feet, and his entire body went rigid.

Zhang Deming: ”...”

Nangong Cheng: ”...”

Li Shifan: ”...”

Feng Mingyou: ”...”

The four of them stood frozen in place, utterly dumbfounded. A single thought echoed in all their minds: ’What the fuck?!’

Zhang Deming was utterly speechless. ’We’re in the middle of a fight and he decides to play ”statues”? Don’t you know how badly this Technique can screw us over?’

’No matter how well you’ve developed it, you can’t just pull this stunt at the drop of a hat!’

’Without any coordination, it completely disrupts everyone’s rhythm. This is some next-level friendly fire...’

Just as Zhang Deming’s exasperation reached its limit, a white chess piece materialized in front of the four of them, and Tong Hou’s voice entered their minds.

”I’ll release it in a few breaths. Be ready.”

Zhang Deming: ”...”

’I already forced the enemies out of hiding, and you were *still* afraid of being caught off guard?’

Though outwardly speechless, Zhang Deming quickly replied, ”Watch Clear Tea.”

”Got it!”

No sooner had Tong Hou replied than a white chess piece appeared over his head, and a black one over Feng Mingyou’s. As the auras of the two pieces intertwined, both men shuddered.

Technique: Chess Dao Shell Shedding!

The two of them vanished at the same time, leaving behind two phantoms of Spiritual Power—one black, one white. The chess pieces hovered above the phantoms’ heads, vibrating slightly.

With their disappearance, the entire chessboard began to shake and became extremely unstable.

After lasting for only a few breaths, the chessboard shattered into a shower of Spiritual Light and vanished. In that same instant, Zhang Deming and the other two sprang into action.

Zhang Deming targeted the two transparent Sword Shadows in front of him, which seemed to be composed of Spiritual Power, and slammed both his hands onto the ground.

Technique: Thorny Earth Spike!

Dozens of spikes erupted from the ground, shooting towards the two phantoms nearby.

But the Jade Spikes passed straight through the two Sword Shadows, as if they had no physical form.

Zhang Deming’s expression shifted, and he immediately warned, ”Careful! These don’t seem to be Sword Spirits. They’re some kind of mutation born from the remnants of a Heart Soul Summoning Daoist Technique and Swordsmanship. Ordinary physical attacks probably won’t work on them.”

Nangong Cheng and Li Shifan, who had just launched their own attacks, had also noticed something was off. They both paused for a moment upon hearing Zhang Deming’s warning, but neither replied.

After issuing the warning, a fantastical light shone from Zhang Deming’s hands. The Jade Spikes that had erupted from the ground ahead began to glow with that same fantastical light.

The field of spikes immediately began to shift between corporeal and incorporeal, taking on an unreal appearance.

Previously, the Jade Vines had been completely intangible to the Sword Shadows, but this change allowed them to make contact.

The spikes rapidly softened, transforming into vines that coiled towards the two Sword Shadows.

The Sword Shadows looked illusory, but they were exceptionally sharp. As the many vines coiled around them, a surge of Spiritual Light erupted. They spun in a circle, instantly dicing all the encroaching vines into pieces.

The jade-like vines seemed to possess no durability at all before their blades.

Zhang Deming felt a chill and frowned. He still couldn’t sense any life fluctuations from these things. Their Cultivation fluctuations were bizarre as well; he couldn’t discern a specific level. They seemed to be nothing more than mutated Spirit Bodies.

With just a single spin, the Sword Shadows had severed the surrounding thorny vines. Before Zhang Deming could act again, the two Sword Shadows flickered and vanished.

They reappeared right in front of Zhang Deming. An overwhelming sense of crisis caused his Spiritual Shield to automatically manifest. Simultaneously, with a thought, Zhang Deming made the Shield glow with that same fantastical light.