The Programmer Cultivator

He felt the familiar aura, thick and ominous. It was bizarre and sinister, yet Zhang Deming smiled.

This thing might be a real handful elsewhere, but by coming to him, it had truly picked the wrong target to mess with!

Before he could even react, his editing panel appeared. The Karma that had just invaded vanished before it could even display its power. In his inventory, red orbs of light began to coalesce one after another.

”Karma +1”

”Karma +1”

”Karma +1”

...

’Why else did he keep fighting after the Bean Soldier was corroded by Karma? It was all to farm more of it!’

A moment later, all the Karma had vanished into the Spirit Nurturing Space. Zhang Deming’s own Karma had risen from 1.4 to 7.5; he had harvested a total of 6.1 this time.

Looking at the Karma, Zhang Deming was pleased, but not as joyful as he might have expected. This stuff represented an unknown number of human lives.

No, it wasn’t just human lives.

Simply killing people, even hundreds of thousands or millions, wouldn’t be enough to generate Karma. A simple death couldn’t breed such extreme evil.

’To create this level of evil, the deaths of these people must have been far more than a simple killing.’

With his mind in turmoil, Zhang Deming left the Spirit Nurturing Space. This time, he didn’t hesitate. He pulled out his Identity Card and quickly sent a message to Dang Xiangjun: ”Master Dang, I request an urgent meeting at the Spirit Nurturing Hall on Spirit Nurturing Peak!”

’Before, with the Martial Artist incident, the danger wasn’t obvious. As for the old ghost, I didn’t know how to broach the subject. On top of that, I had to stay low-key because of my status, my Talent, and a host of other reasons.’

’But this is different. The problem is obvious at a glance, so it should be easy to report. Besides, with my current status in the Celestial Spirit Sect, I don’t have much to fear. If I want to survive here long-term, I can’t let these things fester and grow.’

After sending the message, Zhang Deming flipped his hand over to reveal his Peak Master Jade Pendant. It was the first time he had ever used it. He sent a message to Yuee Mengsheng, Gan Zili, and Guk Liancai: ”Senior Brother Yuee, come to the Spirit Nurturing Hall at once. We have an urgent matter to discuss.”

Once the messages were sent, Zhang Deming stood up, walked to the third-floor balcony, and leaped off the cliff.

Countless Spiritual Power Light Points converged, and a pair of magnificent, enormous Light Wings rapidly formed on his back. With a gentle beat of his wings, Zhang Deming flew toward the Mountain Peak Cloud Pool.

...

Zhang Deming had just flown to the Mountain Peak Cloud Pool and arrived in the sky above the Spirit Nurturing Hall when three figures appeared almost simultaneously.

Snowflakes swirled beneath Yuee Mengsheng’s feet. Gan Zili was enveloped in a transparent bubble. Guk Liancai stood atop a fiery red wheel, which bore a striking resemblance to the Wind-Fire Wheel from the Earth Evil Escape Technique.

’No wonder his tongue is so venomous. Turns out he’s a stubborn hothead on the inside!’

The three men had each used their own Flying Technique to rush over. The moment they convened, they all looked at Zhang Deming and asked in a serious tone, ”Junior Brother Zhang, what is so important that it requires an in-person meeting?”

Zhang Deming had possessed the Peak Master Order for a long time, but he had never once used it.

In their eyes, for him to use it so suddenly, and with such a grave tone, clearly meant something extremely serious had occurred.

Thus, the moment the three of them received his message, they had immediately dropped everything and rushed over.

Zhang Deming looked at the three men. ”Let’s head to the hall first. We’re still waiting for someone.”

Guk Liancai frowned. ”When discussing matters of the Spirit Nurturing Peak, who else’s presence is required to make a decision?”

Gan Zili’s lips twitched, but he ultimately said nothing to Guk Liancai. He clearly agreed with the sentiment, even if he didn’t approve of Guk Liancai’s confrontational manner.

But having been the Second Peak Master of the Spirit Nurturing Peak for several hundred years and managing its affairs, he naturally had a certain amount of pride.

Zhang Deming paused. Already quite familiar with Guk Liancai, he didn’t rise to the bait. As he began to descend, he said, ”Master Dang should be arriving shortly.”

Yuee Mengsheng and Gan Zili paused, exchanged a glance, and followed him down. Guk Liancai’s expression stiffened, and he immediately clamped his mouth shut. ’From now on,’ he thought, ’I’d better keep my comments to myself, unless I absolutely can’t hold back.’

The three of them had just landed at the entrance to the hall when a figure appeared in the distance, leisurely approaching on a Jade Disc.

He seemed to be moving slowly, yet with each step, he flickered and covered a great distance. After just a few such flickers, he was standing before the four of them.

Upon arriving, Dang Xiangjun asked with concern, ”You summoned me with such urgency, and to the Spirit Nurturing Hall of all places... did something happen with the Secret Realm?”

”It’s not about the Wu Earth Secret Realm.” Zhang Deming shook his head. Looking at the four of them, he continued, ”It’s not convenient to speak out here. Let’s go inside.”

With that, he led the way into the Spirit Nurturing Main Hall.

The four men were taken aback. Dang Xiangjun shot a questioning, bewildered look at Yuee Mengsheng and the others, but all three shook their heads.

Filled with the same confusion, the four followed Zhang Deming into the Spirit Nurturing Main Hall, a place that was rarely ever used.

...

「Celestial Spirit City, East City, Qu Family Estate.」

Ever since obtaining the Spirit Nurturing Bead containing the Spirit Water Technique, the Qu Family’s ancestor, Qu Qingxian, had been in seclusion within the family estate, preparing for his breakthrough to the Duality stage.

He had even handed over the management of his Deep Blue Branch store to Qu Qizhong. He had reverted to being the reclusive Qu Family ancestor, perpetually in seclusion and never seen by anyone.

After a full year of gradual comprehension and indirect use of the Spirit Nurturing Bead, he had already advanced his Spirit Water Technique to the second stage: Mastery.

Taking a full year to reach the Mastery stage seemed pathetic compared to Zhang Deming—in fact, it was no comparison at all.