The Programmer Cultivator

Zhang Deming’s group of eight arrived at the square and bowed in unison to Dang Xiangjun. Dang Jun’an was the first to speak. ”Grand-uncle, have you found anything?”

Dang Xiangjun shook his head. ”We were a bit late. They were already scared off. I’ve been searching for a while but haven’t found any traceable clues. They cleaned up their tracks quite well.”

”Even you couldn’t find any clues, Grand-uncle? Then it seems we won’t be able to root them out,” Dang Jun’an said with a slight pause.

Dang Xiangjun was a master of tracking and searching, a cultivator who specialized in the Reconnaissance Dao. If a professional cultivator of the Four Symbols Stage couldn’t find any clues, then they were likely gone for good.

The cold and stern Zhou Jiuyan, however, paused. He latched onto a key point. ”Scared off?”

Dang Xiangjun nodded. ”You could say that. I heard they were injured, but we couldn’t keep them here. They got away.”

”Weren’t they supposed to be a Three Talents Stage remnant? To scare off someone more crazed than a Demon Cultivator, it would take a cultivator like you, Master Dang, wouldn’t it?” Fan Qingyong, who looked like an old farmer, also spoke up.

Dang Xiangjun understood Fan Qingyong’s implication but didn’t answer him directly. Instead, he looked at Zhang Deming and replied indirectly, ”As for the specific person involved, you’ll have to ask him. I didn’t see it myself; I only heard about it from this disciple.”

At his words, everyone glanced at Qu Qingxian. They had all noticed his unusual state long ago, but now was not the time to ask about it. After a brief look, they all turned their gazes to Zhang Deming.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Zhang Deming paused. He glanced at Qu Qingxian, who stood with his head bowed in silence, and said, ”Master Dang must be referring to Elder Huang. For certain reasons, I have some involvement with the Qu Family.”

”Because he looks out for me, by extension, he has also kept an eye on the Qu Family. Perhaps Elder Huang happened to witness what was happening here, which is why he sent an incarnation and scared off the Five Elements Remnant.”

”Of course, this is just my speculation. After all, for a personage of Elder Huang’s stature, this disciple can’t claim to know the full situation.”

The others around him had a moment of realization upon hearing the name ”Elder Huang.” After all, this wasn’t the first or second time his name had come up in their circle.

They had even seen him in person once, and if you included all the times they’d heard about him, it was three or four times in total. Thus, they had some familiarity with him and didn’t consider him a complete stranger.

”Mm. If his incarnation hadn’t come, the Qu Family would likely have been annihilated this time. So, it’s hard to say whether these juniors have a Blessed Source or not,” Dang Xiangjun said, glancing at Zhang Deming.

Everyone looked at Zhang Deming, then at Qu Qingxian, who stood to the side with his head bowed, his condition strange.

The Qu Family’s calamity had become this junior’s blessing, but looking at him now, it was impossible to tell if it was a blessing or a curse.

”Why are you all here as well?” Dang Xiangjun asked, looking at Dang Jun’an and the others.

Dang Jun’an replied, ”Because of your instructions, Grand-uncle, and also the commotion when the senior brothers from Spirit Nurturing Peak left. I was worried something might have happened, so I came along to see.”

Dang Xiangjun looked at the assembled group. ”This will probably cause quite a stir. But that’s fine. We should take this opportunity to properly clean up the area around the Sect.”

”Lately, whenever I use my disc for sensing, I’ve felt something amiss around the Sect but could never find the source. With things as they are now, it must be related to these Five Elements Remnants.”

”It’s been many years since we’ve had a disaster involving remnants. It’s not a bad idea to take this chance to sort things out thoroughly.”

Dang Jun’an was taken aback for a moment. ”Now?” he asked, astonished.

Dang Xiangjun glanced at Dang Jun’an. ”For now, you should first settle the Qu Family’s affairs. For something like this to happen to an Affiliated Family near Celestial Spirit City is a dereliction of the Sect’s duty. This matter must be handled properly. Don’t let the other disciples see this and lose heart.”

”I will take that to heart!” Dang Jun’an replied.

”Since I’m already out, I’ll make a trip to the back mountain. I probably won’t find anyone, but I should at least go take a look.” Dang Xiangjun turned to Zhang Deming and said, ”Give me the address.”

Zhang Deming immediately replied, ”Of course, Master Dang.”

Dang Xiangjun then gave a few more instructions, casually took the simple Array Card from Zhang Deming’s hand, and a Jade Disc appeared beneath his feet. With a flicker, he vanished from before their eyes.

Among those who remained, Yang Longying of the Resources Department turned to direct the people from the Elixir Department, while Sect Leader Dang Jun’an, following Dang Xiangjun’s instructions, personally escorted Qu Qingxian away and began making arrangements for him.

The remaining group, who had nothing specific to do, looked around the area. Seeing that they weren’t needed, Yue Mengsheng and his two companions bid farewell to the others and gestured for Zhang Deming to leave with them.

The group returned to Spirit Nurturing Peak. As they neared the airspace above the peak, Gan Zili looked at Zhang Deming and asked, ”Junior Brother Zhang, do you have some free time coming up?”

”I shouldn’t be too busy. Do you have any instructions for me, Senior Brother Gan?” Zhang Deming asked.

Gan Zili replied, ”If you’re not busy, you should go take a look at the Cyan Wood Secret Realm when you have a moment.”

Zhang Deming looked at Gan Zili in confusion. ”Hasn’t the cultivation quota for the Cyan Wood Flower Demon Elves already been met? Is there a problem in the Cyan Wood Flower Sea?”

Gan Zili looked at Zhang Deming intently, as if trying to determine whether Zhang Deming truly didn’t understand the meaning behind his words or was just playing dumb.

After studying him carefully for a moment and still being unable to tell, Gan Zili simply replied, ”Just go and take a look first. After you’ve seen it, if it’s convenient, come and tell the rest of us about it.”

Zhang Deming’s baffled expression was so convincing that the others were almost certain he truly knew nothing about Pei Xiaoxiao’s situation.