The Programmer Cultivator

He could use it however he wanted, right up until the Mirror Image’s Spiritual Power was completely drained.

But during that time, his own Spiritual Power had to be continuously consumed to maintain the Mirror Image’s very existence.

This meant that if his own Spiritual Power ran out, the Mirror Image would vanish just as it had before—even if it had just appeared and merged with him at full power.

The Spiritual Power of the Mirror Image and his own could not be fused.

Otherwise, he could just keep summoning and fusing indefinitely, giving himself a limitless supply of Spiritual Power!

If that weren’t the case, with his Tai Chi Cultivation, he could have worn the Qiu Ape down to death all by himself. He wouldn’t have needed Li Shifan to help.

’Oratory? Tea Dao? Summoning?’

’I’ve been dead for all these years... have the Inner Sect Disciples of the Celestial Spirit Sect all become this monstrous?’

The youth’s thoughts raced. Feeling the power surging through his body, he turned to Li Shifan and grinned.

"Looks like you got lucky this time, kid. You’ll get to save quite a bit of your Qi Fortune."

With that, he raised his hand and made a gripping motion, and a large, illusory paintbrush materialized in his grasp.

The brush, held like a sword, pricked the empty air and began to drift.

A speck of Spiritual Light bloomed from the brush’s tip, instantly expanding before the youth and rapidly sketching on its own.

"Painting Dao: Green Lotus Flying Sword!"

As the Spiritual Light finished its outline, a three-foot blade materialized before the youth, looking utterly real.

Once the Sword was fully drawn, the youth tapped its pommel with the tip of his brush.

The three-foot blade streaked through the air like a shooting star. Just as the Qiu Ape entered its molting state, the Sword plunged directly into its forehead.

Its powerful defense offered no resistance whatsoever.

The Qiu Ape, which had been writhing in agony, froze instantly.

Its aura slowly began to dissipate. The changes on its body faded away, revealing its Ordinary fur once more.

The youth dissolved into a shower of light and vanished back into the Scroll.

Within the Scroll, the youth reappeared on the rooftop, lying there with the same carefree abandon.

Li Shifan snapped back to his senses. Like Zhang Deming, his strength instantly deserted him, and he collapsed to his knees, his face pale.

Even though he had consumed very little Qi Fortune thanks to Zhang Deming’s help, he still looked completely sapped of his vitality.

It was as if consuming Qi Fortune damaged him on a fundamental level.

After a long while, the two finally caught their breath.

Zhang Deming looked at Li Shifan. "That was...?"

Li Shifan said flatly, "Remember that story I told you when I sold you the Cultivation Technique?"

Zhang Deming nodded. "Yeah. The one with the backstory full of plot holes."

Li Shifan said, "That was him. The Tai Chi Ancestor of our Li Family. It’s said he possessed the power of Duality."

"He failed the instant he was about to ascend to Duality. He’s been dead for nearly a few hundred years, but he never completely passed on."

Zhang Deming was speechless.

Li Shifan paused, then continued, "Before our ancestor died, he must have sensed that nothing he left behind from his Painting Dao would ever be elevated to a higher state."

"At the time, our family had no other outstanding Disciples. The entire top-tier Tai Chi Clan was being propped up by him alone."

"If he were to pass away, the Li Family’s downfall was inevitable."

"He probably couldn’t accept it. To know, before death, that the family you spent your entire life building would meet such an end after you were gone."

"And what’s more, he chose the path of a Painter—a path meant to bless one’s descendants. How ironic must that have been for him?"

"So, for the sake of the family, he chose to sacrifice himself in an attempt to forcibly elevate his Lifebound Painting."

"The elevation was a success. He left a legacy for the family, one that could barely support a Tai Chi Family!"

"But the ways of the Celestial Dao are profound. How could a single Tai Chi Cultivator ever hope to change them?"

"The Lifebound Painting he left behind not only trapped his soul for all eternity, but it also consumes Qi Fortune to function."

"So, while the Li Family was preserved because of this painting, it also marched toward ruin by using it time and time again, consuming its Qi Fortune with each use."

"By my generation, I’m all that’s left—the last of the line."

"According to him, the ancestor didn’t want the family to perish, so he originally planned to remain hidden and disappear forever."

"But then he discovered that I possess Qi Fortune. As long as I can make it through my Hidden Dragon Era, I’ll be able to soar."

"So, he decided not to stay ’dead’ after all. When I was promoted to Intermediate Apprentice, he just popped up out of nowhere."

Zhang Deming was speechless.

As Li Shifan spoke, Zhang Deming’s imagination ran wild.

In moments, he had pieced together a rich and colorful tale of a family’s struggle;

a saga of a family’s rise and fall;

and on top of that, a tragedy about becoming the family’s posthumous cheat code, only to lead it to ruin.

’This Li Family Ancestor is quite a character, full of stories. But damn, they all seem to be tragedies.’

’The Li Family Ancestor must have been a man of great standing in his time!’

"Ha, your family’s got quite the history. You’re not going to try and sell me something this time, are you?" Zhang Deming teased.

For once, Li Shifan dropped his cold and aloof persona and actually played along with Zhang Deming’s joke.

"The Qiu Ape is dead, and this place is completely sealed off now."

"Senior Brother Lu Ze isn’t here to interfere, so I can’t rip you off like last time. If I sold you something now, wouldn’t I just be losing Spirit Stones?"

Zhang Deming raised an eyebrow. "You could always call out your ancestor and have him rip me off."

Li Shifan shook his head. "Forget it. Every time I call him, I feel completely drained. Who knows when he’ll squeeze me completely dry."

"I’d like to recharge for a few days, so it’s better not to call him."

Zhang Deming was speechless.

’So, this is his true personality, huh?’

’Stoic on the outside, but surprisingly snarky on the inside!’

’It really is true what they say. Behind every icy persona is a simmering, snarky heart. The colder they seem, the snarkier they are.’

"Let’s gather the materials first. A Tai Chi Demon Beast, even one focused on strength and defense, is very valuable, especially with a Gravity Aura Bloodline."

Zhang Deming said, having recovered a fair amount of his Spiritual Power.

Although Li Shifan’s face was deathly pale, his Spiritual Power reserves were in much better shape than Zhang Deming’s. His weakened state was due to his Qi Fortune being forcibly drained.

Hearing this, he nodded, picked up his Sword, and stood up, walking toward the Qiu Ape.

Zhang Deming waved his hands, and a series of Vines sprouted from the ground.

A moment later, Li Shifan began to butcher the corpse, with Zhang Deming assisting from the side with his Vines.

Li Shifan had spent the last few months roaming the back mountains, so his butchering skills were much better than Zhang Deming’s.

After a good while, Li Shifan finished butchering the Qiu Ape.

Zhang Deming specifically cut open its stomach. Just as he suspected, it didn’t have the Wishing Size ability.

Apparently, the other Qiu Ape’s Wishing Size Bloodline must have come from its father.

After packing up the materials, they both sat down and began to quietly restore their Spiritual Power.

...

Much later, both of them had fully restored their Spiritual Power.

Neither of them had been too severely injured. After circulating their energy for a while, and with the help of Zhang Deming’s Growth Technique...

...by the time their Magical Power was restored, they were both more or less back to their peak condition.

The two then walked over to the collapsed cave entrance. Looking at the blockage, Zhang Deming asked, "How did you get in here?"

Li Shifan said, "I was passing by earlier and was drawn over by the commotion from the other Qiu Ape. I saw someone being chased from a distance."

"Hoping to scavenge something, I followed the trail back to this cave."

"I saw the Yin Yang Rejuvenation Crystals on the ceiling and was planning to sneak them out."

"But as soon as I grabbed one, two of the tunnels collapsed."

"On top of that, the Mother Qiu Ape woke up. In my haste, I had to dash into the nearest cavern."

Zhang Deming asked, puzzled, "Then why’d you come back here?"

Li Shifan shook his head, looking exasperated. "That way leads to a canyon. The view is gorgeous."

"The only problem is, it’s a damn dead end. If you can’t fly, the only way in or out is through this cave system."

Zhang Deming was stunned. "Not even with the Agility Technique?"

Li Shifan shook his head. "I’m not sure, but there shouldn’t be a huge difference between the Agility Technique and the Sword Step I’ve learned, so I doubt it."

"The cliffs on all sides are sheer as if cut by a knife. There’s nowhere to get a foothold."

"You’d probably need a Tier Three Feather Fall Skill to have a chance."

"So you haven’t checked the other two directions?" Zhang Deming pressed, looking at the passage that had already been caved in when he first arrived.

’After all, a place that uses top-tier ascension materials for decoration is clearly no Ordinary place. Not to mention, there was that talk about a Secret Realm.’