The Programmer Cultivator

Grabbing Dang Ketao, still trapped in the Pottery Cocoon, the puppet opened its mouth and stuffed him inside. Its throat convulsed as it swallowed him whole. The puppet then melted like a block of wax, transforming into a bizarre, ceramic, human-shaped cocoon.

All sorts of Runes materialized on the surface of the cocoon, linking together to form a strange Sealing Array.

Having completed the seal, the two men breathed a collective sigh of relief. Duan Fangchun licked his lips and took the initiative. ”This one’s mine!”

Guan Yu chuckled. ”I have no problem giving him to you, but you’ll need to allocate a sufficient share of the resources you plundered this time to me.”

Duan Fangchun replied almost without thinking, ”Fine. That stuff is useless to us anyway.”

A smile spread across Guan Yu’s face. He gestured with a wave of his hand. ”Alright, he’s yours. But you’d best wait until after we’ve finished our retreat. Do what you’re going to do in the dungeons once we’re at the new clan territory.”

”Don’t worry,” Duan Fangchun replied, his gaze burning as he stared at the cocoon. ”My Tier Three Divine Power Realm Cultivation was achieved by consuming the Resources of two Human Realm cultivators. I’m more familiar with how to handle this than you are!”

Guan Yu nodded. ”In that case... good...”

Before he could finish, his expression stiffened. An instant later, both of their faces changed drastically. Guan Yu roared, ”This is bad! Get back!”

He had barely finished speaking and was about to retreat, but it was already too late.

Before them, the ceramic cocoon that should have had its Spiritual Power completely sealed, leaving its occupant with no possible way to resist, began to vibrate violently. A web of cracks spread across its surface, and a Fiery Red Spiritual Light poured from the fissures, as if they hadn’t sealed a person at all, but a living Bursting Fire Technique.

”CRACK...”

Before their horrified eyes, the fractured cocoon shattered. As it burst apart, highly compressed flames erupted in all directions like a torrent of magma.

The two men bore the brunt of the blast, especially Duan Fangchun. Since he’d been about to collect the cocoon, he was practically on top of it.

Horrified, Duan Fangchun raised his blade vertically to block, rapidly channeling his body’s True Essence through the longsword to construct a defense. Meanwhile, Guan Yu’s knee-high puppet dove headfirst into the ground, attempting to burrow to safety.

”BOOM...”

”BOOM...”

”BOOM...”

Neither of them had completed their evasive maneuvers when a series of explosions rang out. The Technique detonated completely, the sound shaking the very heavens like a thunderclap.

Accompanying the thunderous roar was an endless surge of fire and a violent tremor that felt like an earthquake. The shockwave filled the entire Secret Realm Space and even blasted out through the still-open Space Gate.

Duan Fangchun, caught in the heart of the blast, was still raising his blade to block. The Evil Shield he was constructing with his True Essence hadn’t even fully formed when the wave of fire struck him.

The instant the flames made contact with his True Essence Shield, the shield shattered. A tremendous force threw him backward as the endless fire engulfed him.

His body was flung backward at Rapid Speed, carving a long trench in the ground before he finally came to a stop. By then, his entire body was charred black like a piece of charcoal, covered in severe burns.

”Ugh... Aaargh...”

A long moment later, the stiff, charred figure of Duan Fangchun twitched. The charcoal-like shell covering his body instantly cracked and flaked away, revealing a man of raw, bloody flesh beneath.

His skin was a mass of red, and flesh writhed as it attempted to regenerate, but to no avail. A pervasive heat that had infused his entire body was actively preventing his wounds from healing.

Whenever the flesh tried to knit itself back together, the heat would flare up, seemingly with a will of its own, searing the new tissue.

It made for a truly wretched sight. As the last of the charred shell fell away, Duan Fangchun could no longer suppress the soul-deep agony and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

...

Meanwhile, Guan Yu, in his knee-high puppet form, had only just managed to plunge his head into the dirt when the wave of fire hit. The entire puppet was sent flying. It soared for some distance before crashing back into the earth, gouging out a massive crater.

”Cough, cough...”

A moment later, a figure made of scorched earth rose from the massive crater. The puppet’s body was covered in cracks. With stiff, jerky movements, it bent over and coughed, spitting out several clumps of rock and soil.

...

At the epicenter of the explosion lay a massive crater. As the smoke and dust settled, a single, dancing flame became visible.

As the flame flickered, countless motes of fiery light floated up from the various craters left by the explosion.

The sparks rapidly converged on the dancing flame, slowly coalescing into the form of Dang Ketao.

And... he was quite a sight to behold. A pair of magnificent Fire Phoenix Wings were now partially unfurled on Dang Ketao’s back. The Phoenix Wings alone caused his presence to skyrocket.

He was also panting heavily. Looking at the two miserable figures, he sneered, ”I’ve lived a few hundred years. Did you really think I’m blind? Setting a trap right in my face... that’s some real confidence you’ve got. But hey, this works out. Saves me a lot of trouble.”

The moment he opened his mouth, however, his magnificent aura was completely shattered. Not even the most perfect, glorious Phoenix Wings could salvage it.

”Haha... good! Excellent! A meal like this... I’m looking forward to it even more now!”

Hearing this, Duan Fangchun suddenly burst out laughing. It was hard to say if the pain had driven him mad or if he had seen through Dang Ketao’s plan.

As he laughed, he completely ignored his grievous injuries, abandoning any attempt to heal himself. With his True Essence surging wildly, he charged at Dang Ketao once more.

Dang Ketao was still panting slightly. ’My heart sank,’ he thought, but his face showed no fear. ”In such a hurry to die? Fine, I’ll obli—”

”Aaargh—”