The Programmer Cultivator

A middle-aged man’s face appeared on the metal sphere. ”If I hadn’t been on guard, the ancestral land would have been gone by the time you got started. I’ve already paid a hefty price to protect the Celestial Heart Altar without a scratch.

Old Ghost Qu, and then there’s you. After preparing for so many years and investing so much to initiate the sacrifice, why is there only this pathetic amount of Karma? What’s that supposed to accomplish?

It’s one thing that the power is weak, but you even have to borrow the Celestial Heart Altar to suppress your injuries. So, are you actually planning to start this thing, or did you just call us here to heal you?”

The black mist trembled, its condition clearly unstable. ”For all these years,” it said, ”my family has been shouldering the burden of both the Guann Family’s Cyan Wood Sacrifice and my own Qu Family’s Turtle Water Sacrifice during the daily rituals.

I’m the one who single-handedly raised Guann Zhenzhen to where she is today. My family has been doing the work of two. Times have been hard, so what if there’s a little less?

One of you is just here to fill a spot, and the other can barely be considered a member of our Five Races, not to mention you’ve come up short on your Sacrificial Power. Where do you get the audacity to lecture me?”

Guann Zhenzhen heard this and retorted bluntly, ”Old Ghost Qu, cut the crap. If I hadn’t helped you, you’d still be sealed up by those bald donkeys from Leiyin Temple, left to rot in that godforsaken place.

Helping me improve my Cultivation was part of our original deal.

And as for my Guann Family, if we hadn’t taken the fall for Jinshan Temple’s purge back in the day, bearing the full brunt of the disaster by ourselves, would I have fallen to my current state?

If not for that, why would my Guann Family’s daily sacrifices ever need help from your family?”

The black mist that was Qu Wenbai fell silent, not arguing further. ’If this squabble continues,’ he thought, ’we’re all going to die here.’

He spoke up, ”What now? If we drag this out any longer, the Celestial Heart Sacrifice will probably fail before it even starts.

Besides, that person outside is terrifyingly strange. If we give them time to react, I’m afraid even with the Celestial Heart Altar, the few of us might not be able to get away.”

Their exchange seemed to last a long time, but that was because the three were communicating via their Heart Spirits. In the outside world, the miniature altar had only just appeared.

”Who is this person? How are they strong enough to trap the Celestial Heart Altar during the Celestial Heart Sacrifice?” the middle-aged man on the sphere asked.

”The senior of that little brat you encountered, the one who was causing trouble at the ancestral land!” Qu Wenbai replied succinctly.

”Little brat? A Duality Cultivator who can unleash the power of the Peak of Three Talents? A Cultivator that defies all reason, and you call him a ’little brat’?” the middle-aged man, Duan Yuanbing, said in astonishment.

Of course, the middle-aged man on the metal sphere could only be considered half of Duan Yuanbing at this point; he was more of an artificial intelligence.

Qu Wenbai’s black mist trembled as he replied, ”Compared to the one outside, he really is just a junior. My current condition is entirely thanks to a single one of that person’s Incarnations. I haven’t even met the real person.”

Duan Yuanbing was shocked. ”Then what’s the plan? If they’re really that powerful... forget waiting for the Celestial Heart Altar to descend. If we delay even a moment longer and they react, the Celestial Heart Sacrifice itself will be compromised!”

”Call for help!” Guann Zhenzhen interjected.

The sphere and the black mist both paused, then said, ”It’s the only option.”

With that, the seductive flower, the metal sphere, and the distorted black mist all began to vibrate in unison.

As the three objects vibrated, a hazy ball of light over one of the lava pools responded faintly.

However, it was merely a response, not a rescue. In other words, the Martial Artist faction lacked the means to actively intervene; their Fire Attribute Lu Family could only wait passively.

This development caused the vibrations of the distorted black mist, the seductive flower, and the metal sphere to quicken over their respective pools.

Just then, in the miniature pentagonal altar, the previously still pool of sludge responded. The hazy light at its center dissipated, and an Earth Puppet emerged.

With the Earth Puppet’s appearance, some of the strange Energy in the sludge pool was rapidly consumed. The altar trembled, spun once, and vanished without a trace.

...

Meanwhile, outside, Elder Huang had just consumed a portion of his remaining Spiritual Power. He watched with an indifferent expression as the Yin Yang Vine disrupted Qu Wenbai’s rhythm, causing his old injuries to erupt.

Then came Guann Zhenzhen’s rescue attempt, absorbing Qu Wenbai’s vital essence, followed by the miniature altar flashing into existence and disappearing again. The entire series of events—from the altar’s appearance to its vanishing—took no more than a second.

’If my true body were here, and at full strength,’ Elder Huang mused, ’I would have tried to capture that thing in that brief window of time.’

But in his current condition, that was clearly impossible. If this body were to use just one or two more Techniques, it would likely dissipate completely as its Spiritual Power ran out.

Thus, in that fleeting moment, Elder Huang simply watched with cold indifference, making no move.

After Qu Wenbai vanished, Elder Huang turned to glance at Qu Qingxian, his brow furrowed slightly. He spoke in a level voice, ”Those are remnants from the turmoil of the Ancient Five Elements Blessed Land. They are far more terrifying than your Ordinary Demon Cultivators.

Those they target rarely meet a good end. With your level of Cultivation, you shouldn’t have been capable of provoking them. How did you draw their attention?”

Hearing this, Qu Qingxian struggled to his feet and bowed to Elder Huang. ”Elder Huang, I... I don’t know either.

I was on the verge of a breakthrough, so I’ve been in long-term seclusion. In fact, the entire Qu Family has been closed off, receiving no visitors.

Forget about going out and causing trouble; we’ve had minimal contact with any of the other Cultivators or families in Celestial Spirit City.”

”Then how did all of you end up in this state?” Elder Huang asked, turning his head to gesture at the people in the plaza outside.

Qu Qingxian hesitated, then looked toward Qu Zhiwen.

Although Qu Zhiwen was only at the Tai Chi realm, his excellent Talent allowed his Cultivation to progress rapidly, and as a result, he was being specially groomed by the family.