The Programmer Cultivator

Otherwise, with no Dao Mark or proxy anchor, he truly would have had no way to use his Splitting Dao to upgrade the Bean Soldier he had lost before. He would have just had to stick to his original plan.

After placing a Dao Mark on the Bean Soldier, Zhang Deming began to consider which Techniques to split to it this time.

The Chess Dao was a must, as he needed the Spiritual Power stored within its Dark Pawns. As for the remaining three slots, he pondered for a long time, initially unsure which three of his Techniques would form a cohesive set.

But as he mulled it over, his eyes suddenly lit up. Zhang Deming had an idea. Once he had decided on the Techniques, Zhang Deming no longer hesitated and raised his hand to activate the Skill.

Technique: Splitting Skill: Spirit Nurturing Vine Demon Summoning Technique!

Technique: Splitting Skill: Sleeve Qiankun!

Technique: Splitting Skill: Powerful Ape Transformation!

Technique: Splitting Skill: Yin Yang Chess Dao!

With these four split off, can you guess what he was planning?

That’s right. Zhang Deming was going for a transformation. He wanted to take this opportunity to see if he could create a Long-Armed Ape!

Gazing at the orbs of light hovering before him, Zhang Deming focused on the Bean Soldier in his senses and sent the four orbs flying toward it. At the same time, his own consciousness followed.

In a daze, Zhang Deming opened his eyes to find himself lying on a massive rock, surrounded by other equally enormous rocks. The world, as seen through his eyes, seemed to have become infinitely large.

In reality, it was he who had become very small, about the size of half a grain of rice. For the sake of exploration, he had used Fusion on the Bean Soldier before he left, then shrunk it to this size.

If it were too small, it would be impossible to explore properly. If it were too large, a super-soldier with no Technique abilities would be easily discovered. That was why he had chosen this size. But now that he had Splitting Dao, these were no longer concerns.

He stood up and sensed the Spiritual Power within the Bean Soldier’s body. It was still more than half full.

Simply maintaining a Bean Soldier’s existence didn’t consume much Spiritual Power. Based on the current rate of consumption, this Bean Soldier could lie here for at least a month before disappearing.

He assessed the situation and took stock of his new body. Because Zhang Deming had split the Rune Core over as well, the body was exceptionally easy to use—a completely different feeling from controlling a marionette.

Therefore, Zhang Deming moved around a bit, then looked down. He let his body grow slightly larger, stopping when it was about the size of a peanut.

This size was big enough to move around, didn’t hinder exploration too much, and made him even less likely to be discovered. ’Well, if there’s some kind of Array scan, then never mind,’ he thought, ’but I’ll be especially wary of that.’

This was the spot Zhang Deming had previously found to be the easiest to explore downwards from, so he didn’t bother looking for another place.

With a mere thought, countless thread-like Vines erupted from Zhang Deming’s body, rapidly weaving themselves before him into a drill full of science-fiction elements.

’Yes, the reason it looks like sci-fi is because it’s a bit cartoonish,’ he mused. ’It’s jade-green all over, its body consisting of just a cockpit and a giant drill bit in front. It looks exactly like something pulled out of Doraemon’s magic pocket.’

A machine like this, if built normally, would definitely not be able to operate.

But Zhang Deming’s was of the same nature as the current Array Artifact Dao: a mechanical shell with a Technique for a core. In essence, it was a Vine Technique, so how could it possibly not run?

The reason he made it this way wasn’t on a whim. He had chosen this form after considering the situation with the spherical main-host.

Judging from the module Zhang Deming had obtained, that spherical host was a Main Brain-type creation. If it was really causing trouble down below, it wouldn’t be doing the work itself.

It would definitely be using a pile of modules and mechanical constructs. If he happened to run into any of them, a form with these elements would be the most likely to be overlooked.

Of course, this was just a precaution. As for the actual situation? Who the hell knew.

Zhang Deming was in the cockpit, which had no instrument panel. With A Thought, the entire machine began to drill downwards rapidly.

The drill bit was made of countless threads, invisible to the naked eye, that processed the rock in front of it. It had a mechanical shell but operated in a fantastical way.

This mountain was very peculiar, like a single mass of natural metal. But despite its hardness, it was like tofu before Zhang Deming’s Tier Four Vine Skill.

Thus, Zhang Deming’s descent was extremely fast. In just a moment, he reached a very deep area. As he advanced, Zhang Deming suddenly felt everything become lighter.

He and the machine plummeted downwards like a small pebble.

Zhang Deming’s expression changed. Countless threads extended from below, acting like springs the moment he was about to land, gently supporting him.

This allowed him to land on the ground without making a sound. The machine burst into countless thread-like Vines, which retracted back into Zhang Deming’s body.

After all this was done, the peanut-sized Zhang Deming began to survey his surroundings.

This was a huge tunnel. ’Or at least, it’s huge for someone of my current size,’ he thought.

It looked a bit like a city’s subway tunnel, but judging from the marks all around, people—or something else—must be active here often.

The entire tunnel showed many signs of activity, and it was clean and tidy.

CLANK... CLANK...

Zhang Deming had just finished surveying the area and gotten a clear look at the tunnel’s environment when he heard a sound approaching.

His expression flickered. The Rune Core pulsed faintly, and Zhang Deming’s Bean Soldier body rapidly shrank, becoming invisible to the naked eye.