The Programmer Cultivator

As the sphere of light was swept up by the flow of Energy, it gestated for a long while before the entire pavilion, and even the whole island, trembled.

The Light Curtain below flickered as ripples continuously spread across its surface like waves on water.

After a long moment, everything returned to calm.

However, the previously transparent and invisible Light Curtain now showed some barely perceptible threads, which looked like small cracks.

Zhang Deming felt a daze, and when he came to, he was in a different place. He had arrived on the third floor, which, judging by the layout, was the top level of the pavilion.

The others all turned to look at him. Seeing that he hadn’t brought out a sphere of light, they all had expressions that said they had expected as much.

Zhang Deming wore a look of disappointment, but his Heart Spirit slipped into his repository. A Jade Scroll lay there quietly, and he couldn’t help but smile to himself.

’A Tier Five Cultivation Technique... That’s an incredibly precious, top-tier item even in the Inner Sect of the Celestial Spirit Sect.’

After confirming he had the Cultivation Technique, Zhang Deming breathed an inward sigh of relief and finally began to take in his surroundings.

When he got a clear look at his surroundings, Zhang Deming was slightly taken aback and asked uncertainly, "This is...?"

Li Shifan spoke up. "It must be an Inheritance Land."

The third floor was significantly smaller than the second, and several circular daises were arranged throughout the room.

Some of the daises were empty. Others were covered by a light shield, inside of which sat a cross-legged skeleton.

Only one dais shimmered with a brilliant, flowing light. Inside its shield sat a middle-aged man wearing a magnificent Daoist Robe.

The man’s eyes were closed as if he were asleep, but a powerful aura could be felt even through the light shield.

His entire body was flawless, save for a few metallic specks on the back of his hands.

"An Inheritance Land?" Zhang Deming asked, puzzled.

Xue Su and Sha Xingping also looked at Li Shifan with confusion. Qu Hua, who had been about to speak, closed her mouth and watched him as well.

Li Shifan began to explain, "Before Spirit Nurturing Masters appeared and became widespread—that is to say, several thousand years ago—there was only one way to quickly gain proficiency in Techniques: Inheritance."

"An elder nearing the end of their lifespan would cultivate a special Technique and then use a unique method to seal themselves away."

"They would transform the last vestiges of their life force into the power of an Inheritance."

"A junior Disciple, after being specially selected and groomed, could then receive this Inheritance, gaining the elder’s entire lifetime of insights."

"The advantage of doing this is that it allows for incredibly rapid growth."

"As for the disadvantages..."

"The Inheritor’s Talent must be greater than the elder’s just to reach a certain degree of their predecessor’s achievements. Note, a *certain* degree, not the same height."

"If an elder had a sixty-point Spirit Root and Duality Cultivation, their Inheritor would need a Spirit Root of over sixty points, and even then, they could only rapidly advance to Tai Chi Peak."

"And for the rest of their life, it would be nearly impossible to make any further breakthroughs."

"The downsides are obvious, but the benefit is that it can help a Noble Family or Sect get through a period where they lack new talent."

"For this reason, before the era of Spirit Nurturing Masters, any family that reached a certain level of power would prepare an Inheritance Land like this, just in case."

"When the need truly arose, they wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice the potential of one or two Disciples for the sake of rapidly training up their combat strength."

"However, after the emergence of Spirit Nurturing Masters, most powers changed their method of Inheritance. They started to store several sets of Spirit Nurturing Beads, using them as their foundational Inheritance instead."

"A Sword Dao Family, for instance, might prepare five beads for Basic Sword Technique, five for Tier Two Advanced Swordsmanship, and five for Tier Three Advanced Swordsmanship."

"This would constitute a full set, which would not only preserve the potential of the family’s talented Disciples but also give them a chance to rise."

"Of course, this is also why Spirit Nurturing Beads of Tier Two and above became progressively more expensive, with the price increasing with the grade."

Zhang Deming’s brow furrowed upon hearing this.

’I can clearly sense the aura of Spirit Nurturing Beads from these daises, especially from that life-like middle-aged man. He feels like a Spirit Nurturing Bead to me.’

’But according to Li Shifan’s explanation, that shouldn’t be the case.’

"Are you saying... that these Inheritances... would do us more harm than good?" Xue Su asked.

Li Shifan nodded. "Yes. Of course, if you believe you could never surpass these individuals in your lifetime, you could still choose to accept the Inheritance."

But just then, Qu Hua suddenly spoke up. "What you’re describing is the early form of Inheritance. This is a Spirit Nurturing Inheritance."

"A Spirit Nurturing Inheritance?" Li Shifan asked, confused.

Qu Hua nodded and began her explanation. "The reason Spirit Nurturing Beads command their current market price is not just because of their effectiveness, but also because the art went down a somewhat crooked path in its early development."

"The original Spirit Nurturing Technique was meant for nurturing infants, but its development never yielded ideal results."

"Several thousand years ago, in what would later become the Spirit Nurturing Holy Land, Luan Yuling of the Luan Family was a top-tier Summoner."

"Before his passing, he chose to seal himself, intending to leave behind a core Inheritance to prevent a future decline in his Sect’s strength."

"However, during the sealing process, the Tier Four Spirit Nurturing Technique—oh, it wasn’t called that back then, it was known as the Enlightenment Technique—"

"—mutated as Luan Yuling combined it with an Inheritance Technique. The Enlightenment Technique and the Inheritance Technique fused, and from that mutation, the Spirit Nurturing Inheritance was born."

"This was the prototype of the very first Spirit Nurturing Bead!"

"The Spirit Nurturing Inheritance Technique was a method of ’nurturing a spirit with oneself, refining oneself into a bead.’ A person nearing the end of their lifespan would refine themselves into a semi-living, reusable Spirit Nurturing Bead."

"This was used to pass down an Inheritance to future generations, and at the time, it was called a Spirit Nurturing Inheritance."

Qu Hua paused, glanced at the others, and continued, "The Spirit Nurturing Inheritance possessed all the advantages of the old Inheritance Techniques, but none of their drawbacks."

"A successfully condensed practitioner became akin to a Spirit Nurturing Bead that could be reused multiple times."

"Moreover, this kind of Spirit Bead contained a person’s entire lifetime of cultivation insights, not just the insights for a single Technique."

"This ushered in the age of the Spirit Nurturing Inheritance. Countless prodigies rose like comets thanks to these Inheritances."

"If it weren’t for the fact that a Cultivator who had received such an Inheritance couldn’t, in turn, condense themselves into another Inheritance before their own death, thus preventing the effects from stacking..."

"...then the age of Spirit Nurturing would have been even more glorious."

"However, the age of Spirit Nurturing didn’t last long—only about a thousand years, which is an extremely brief period in the Cultivation Realm."

"The Luan Family had used the Spirit Nurturing Inheritance Technique to become a top power among the Blessed Lands, and so countless Disciples, one after another, dedicated themselves to Summoning and researching the mutated Spirit Nurturing Inheritance Technique."

"At that time, the Skill was still a Tier Four Technique."

"Then, around seven or eight thousand years ago, the Spirit Nurturing Technique was accidentally mutated again during a Disciple’s research, becoming a Tier One Technique."

"A Technique that could serve as a Rune Core. And just like that, the Spirit Nurturing Master was born, and the Spirit Nurturing Bead truly came into existence."

"But because it had mutated from a Tier Four Technique down to a Tier One, it was extremely difficult to cultivate."

"Even so, thanks to this new profession, the Spirit Nurturing Blessed Land ascended like a comet and was elevated, becoming the Spirit Nurturing Holy Land."

"So you’re saying these are the harmless kind of Spirit Nurturing Inheritances?"

"If that’s the case, why didn’t you just sneak forward and accept one for yourself? Why are you telling us about it?" Li Shifan challenged.