The Programmer Cultivator

Other than that one direction, the entire area was a dense jungle. As far as the eye could see, everything looked the same.

If it weren’t for the Haoyang in the sky, Zhang Deming might not have even been able to tell which way was which.

After walking for only a moment, another Two-Tailed Demon Fox leaped out. It also had Advanced Apprentice Cultivation.

Furthermore, Zhang Deming hadn’t noticed before, but this Two-Tailed Demon Fox’s Cultivation was exactly the same as his.

Even the amount of Spiritual Power it had left was identical.

Now that he was looking closely, Zhang Deming noticed the problem.

’So this really is an assessment. Is the lifelike nature of these creatures achieved through some kind of Summoning Class Technique, like Mirror Image replication, or a similar ability?’

’In that case, would concealing my Cultivation affect my opponent’s?’

Zhang Deming mulled it over, continuously running tests while dodging the Two-Tailed Demon Fox’s attacks.

The Concealment had no effect; it seemed this place could sense the fundamental power within his Dantian.

After testing for a moment, Zhang Deming turned and walked away, having no intention of getting tangled up with this Two-Tailed Demon Fox.

If he could obtain its Bloodline, he wouldn’t mind. He would’ve been more than willing to fight a dozen more, so long as they didn’t all attack at once.

But if it was just a realistic Mirror Image Body, he’d rather not bother.

’Who would bother working themselves to the bone for nothing?’

As Zhang Deming pressed on, the surrounding forest seemed completely unchanged.

After running for several minutes, Zhang Deming suddenly stopped. An Array Light Curtain, like a wall of air, had materialized before him, completely blocking the path forward.

Zhang Deming stopped in front of the Light Curtain and prodded it with a vine. It wasn’t dangerous in the slightest; it just felt like an exceptionally tough wall of air.

However, when Zhang Deming reached out and touched the aerial Light Curtain, the outline of a Two-Tailed Demon Fox was rapidly sketched upon its surface.

The Light Curtain then displayed:

Target: Two-Tailed Demon Fox;

Status: Target kill complete;

Overall Evaluation: Good.

Result: Pass (Passable).

As soon as the information finished displaying, the entire wall of air rippled like water, and Zhang Deming’s hand passed straight through.

’So this place really is something like the Celestial Spirit Sect’s Inner Sect assessment grounds?’

’So these so-called dilapidated ruins are actually an assessment point for the Inner Sect or Outer Sect of some unknown power from some unknown era?’

’And it can still function properly when it’s this fragmented?’

’Heh, now this is truly interesting!’

Of course, there was still a small possibility that these were just the ruins left behind by an eccentric Array Cultivator. But given the current situation, that seemed unlikely.

Looking at this information, Zhang Deming instantly had a rough understanding of the situation, and a few theories flashed through his mind.

After a brief hesitation, he stepped through the aerial Light Curtain.

’Since I can’t break my way out, I might as well just continue. It’s better than being completely clueless.’

As he passed through the Light Curtain, that disorienting sensation washed over him once more.

When Zhang Deming came to his senses, the dense forest was gone. He was now in a grassland.

The surroundings were still a boundless expanse; besides the small hill he had seen before, there were no other landmarks to be found.

’Looks like that hill really might be the destination.’

He had just started to move when he felt another surge of danger. At the same time, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble violently.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Zhang Deming executed several backflips to get away from where he stood.

The instant Zhang Deming leaped away, a huge, grotesque mouth like flower petals burst from the ground where he had just been standing, its maw wide open.

It was a giant earthworm, a full ten-plus meters long, with a petal-like mouth at its tip that made it look quite hideous.

’An E Qiu?’

’Another ancient species of Demon Beast that’s almost extinct!’

The heart of an E Qiu could be used as a key ingredient for Techniques related to Divination, calculation, and matters of fortune and misfortune.

Thus, sharing the same fate as the Two-Tailed Demon Fox, the E Qiu had also been extinct in the outer Hengduan Mountain Range for a very long time.

Looking at the E Qiu, Zhang Deming felt a major headache coming on.

Although the creature’s Combat strength wasn’t terrifying and it only had a single Bloodline ability that wasn’t even offensive... Zhang Deming would still rather fight another Two-Tailed Demon Fox than take on this thing.

That was because the E Qiu’s Bloodline ability was an aura of misfortune.

If he were even slightly tainted by its ability, a person with his level of Cultivation would suffer from Unbelievable Misfortune for the better part of a year.

It was the kind of Unbelievable Misfortune where you’d step in dog droppings the moment you walked out the door or get hit on the head by bird droppings falling from the sky.

For someone like him, who held many secrets, being tainted by such misfortune would be an exceptionally bad thing.

"HISS..."

Its sneak attack having failed, the E Qiu opened its large, petal-like mouth and roared at Zhang Deming.

Then, its body slithering forward, it charged over at high speed.

Light Wings appeared at Zhang Deming’s heels, and he shot forward as well, wanting absolutely nothing to do with this creature.

This was despite its Cultivation only being at the Peak Apprentice level, just a little stronger than his own.

After all, being unlucky was no small matter. This was the Cultivation Realm.

Once you were struck with Unbelievable Misfortune, you wouldn’t just get injured. You could easily end up in a situation where you’re "sitting at home when disaster falls from the sky."

You could just be walking along, and two powerful figures would suddenly fall out of the sky, locked in a desperate battle, with you caught in the crossfire.

In the Cultivation Realm, the way of luck was considered one of the most supreme concepts.

For those with Low-Level Cultivation, it meant constantly getting injured and contracting illnesses.

The E Qiu was enormous. It was far stronger than the Two-Tailed Demon Fox, but it was also much slower.

In just a moment, Zhang Deming shook it off and continued to race forward.

But after running for more than ten minutes, the small hill in the distance didn’t seem to get any closer at all.

’Is it just as I suspected? You can’t pass without dealing with the first target?’

The aerial Light Curtain that marks the exit won’t even appear.

Zhang Deming shook his head, speechless. He stopped trying to avoid the E Qiu, came to a halt, and waited quietly for a moment.

Before long, Zhang Deming felt the ground begin to vibrate as the E Qiu rapidly approached from beneath the earth.

The creature’s underground speed was actually a bit faster than when it slithered on the surface.

Zhang Deming waved his hands, and vines shot out. A few wrapped around his body, while others rose from the ground, poised like snakes.

The moment he finished his preparations, Zhang Deming instantly dodged away.

From where he had just stood, the large, serrated, petal-like mouth shot skyward once more.

Seeing Zhang Deming dodge its attack again, the E Qiu wasted no time and charged straight for him.

The surrounding vines spread rapidly, whipping toward the E Qiu.

He had absolutely no desire to engage this thing in close-quarters Combat; he didn’t want a faceful of misfortune.

With its thick hide, it almost completely ignored the lashing from Zhang Deming’s Vines.

Given the E Qiu’s enormous size, the powerful lashings at most only made it pause for an instant.

Seeing this, Zhang Deming retreated while continuously sprouting more Vines.

This time, he didn’t hold back on his Spiritual Power. A great many Vines were sprouted, twisting together on the spot to form a massive python made of vines.

In terms of size, it was in no way inferior to the E Qiu.

The moment the vine python took form, it swept its tail toward the E Qiu.

The attack sent the unprepared E Qiu tumbling away.

"HISS..."

Provoked by the giant vine python, the E Qiu’s attention shifted. It roared at the massive vine creature, its large, petal-like mouth gaping open in a threatening display.

Immediately, the E Qiu and the giant vine python began to wrestle.

Seeing this, Zhang Deming controlled the giant vine python, having it wrestle with the E Qiu while simultaneously beginning to wrap around the creature’s body.

Slowly, the python and the earthworm became entwined, their lower bodies twisting together like rope. Only their heads remained free, constantly snapping at one another.

Zhang Deming’s Heart Spirit stirred. His hands flew through a series of seals, but he didn’t press them directly to the ground.

Just then, the giant vine python extended a single Vine, which Zhang Deming grabbed with both hands.

In that instant, the giant vine python coiled around the E Qiu suddenly dispersed, breaking apart into dozens of individual Vines that bound the unprepared creature as tightly as a rice dumpling.

In that same instant, the Vines tightened. As the E Qiu struggled, Zhang Deming activated the Technique.

"Technique: Thorny Vine Thorns!"

At the Mastery Level, the Casting of a Technique was no longer restricted to a specific form.

In fact, with enough effort, one could even begin to develop related Techniques based on the original.

Spiritual Power surged without pause through the Vine in his hands.

The Vines enveloping the E Qiu abruptly sprouted countless sharp thorns, which stabbed into its incredibly thick hide like Earth Spikes.

Instantly, the tightly bound E Qiu was pierced by the dense thorns on the Vines. As the thorny Vines contracted, the E Qiu’s entire body went stiff, and it lost all signs of life.

But at the very moment of its death, a black light surged within its mouth.

As it breathed its last, a ball of black light shot out directly.

The moment the black light touched the Vines, it sank right into them, and a strange fluctuation instantly spread out like lightning.

As if he had been electrocuted, Zhang Deming instantly dropped the Vine and canceled his Growth Technique.

The Vines and the E Qiu dissolved into a sky full of light specks at almost the same time.

With an ugly expression, Zhang Deming stared at his hands, wondering if he had been tainted by the misfortune.

’I should be fine... right?’

’After all, I was extremely careful, and my reaction was very fast.’

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Deming pushed the thoughts from his mind and began to restore his Spiritual Power.

The two consecutive battles had consumed more than half of his Spiritual Power.

Based on his previous experience, an attack probably wouldn’t come right away if he didn’t move.

Sure enough, by the time Zhang Deming’s Spiritual Power was fully restored, a second E Qiu had yet to appear.

Zhang Deming got up and once again headed toward the small hill.

After a moment, another E Qiu appeared. Zhang Deming paid it no mind, leaving it in his dust as he pressed onward.

A quarter of an hour later, sure enough, he saw the aerial Light Curtain again.

Zhang Deming reached out to touch it. A silhouette of an E Qiu was once again sketched onto the aerial Light Curtain, which then began to display information.

Target: E Qiu;

Status: Target kill complete;

Overall Evaluation: Good.

Result: Pass (Passable).

Seeing that his evaluation was "Good" again, Zhang Deming had a pretty good idea of how to improve his score.

If he had confirmed his theory during the previous stage, he might have farmed a few more foxes to raise his score.

But for this stage... ’Better to forget it! It’s best to play it safe!’

He wasn’t willing to get greedy and reckless; a single mistake could result in being plagued by misfortune.