The Programmer Cultivator

He quickly sensed his surroundings, but he didn’t see a soul. He couldn’t even detect the faintest fluctuation of a Technique.

His wariness of Elder Huang and the Blue Sky Alliance deepened a little more.

’Blue Sky Alliance, huh?’

Muttering to himself, Qu Qingxian waved his hand, opening the secret chamber before heading toward his family’s archives.

He had no recollection of the Blue Sky Alliance whatsoever. Since he’d fallen into their trap, he needed to gather some information—at the very least, to get a handle on the situation.

...

"Senior Brother? Senior Brother Zhang?" The moment Zhang Deming snapped out of it, he heard Li Shifan’s questioning voice.

"Yeah? What is it?" Zhang Deming asked.

"You just spaced out all of a sudden...?" Li Shifan asked.

Zhang Deming smiled and said, "Oh, it’s nothing. I just remembered something."

Li Shifan glanced at Zhang Deming but didn’t press the issue. "Let’s go," he said. "I feel completely recovered now."

Zhang Deming nodded. Light Wings materialized at his heels, and he sprinted down the mountain.

The auras of Li Shifan and the sword on his back instantly merged as one. His body became like a sword as he executed Sword Step, following just a bit slower.

Zhang Deming glanced back and slowed down slightly, matching Li Shifan’s pace.

Sword Cultivators weren’t particularly fast in the early stages. However, among the many cultivation paths, they took a massive leap forward at the Tai Chi Stage.

This applied to both their speed and their overall combat prowess. In terms of speed, they were among the first to unlock the ability to fly.

For example, the Agility Technique path only reached the Feather Fall state at Tier Three, allowing one to become Light as a Feather and borrow the wind to glide for short distances.

But fundamentally, that still wasn’t true flight.

But Sword Cultivators were different. A Tier Three Sword Control Skill allowed for genuine, short-term flight. Even with a Tier Two Sword Control Technique, if you pushed it, you could "launch" yourself for a short distance.

Of course, it all depended on your definition of "flying."

After descending the mountain and passing through the faint Concealing Array that enveloped the entire range, the two of them activated their Identity Cards to check the map.

A moment later, they figured out their location.

Somehow, they had ventured deep into the Hengduan Mountain Range—much deeper than they’d realized.

Zhang Deming’s expression changed as he looked at the wider map. "We’re in the southern part?"

Li Shifan nodded. "A little too deep. We’re already near the border of the middle ring. Tai Chi Demon Beasts should be common here. We need to leave, quickly."

Zhang Deming’s expression grew a little grim. "Let’s go," he said, nodding.

With that, the two of them quickly concealed their auras, got their bearings, and headed directly back toward the Sect.

They traveled cautiously, stopping to replenish their Qi every so often before pressing on.

They traveled like this for the better part of a day, until dusk fell.

Because they were so deep in the mountains, the two had no intention of stopping to rest.

Even though they still possessed Mortal Bodies, with the support of their Spiritual Power, they could go two or three days without rest. The most they would feel is extreme fatigue.

As night fell, the entire deep forest began to stir with activity.

Their journey through the night was inevitably affected.

"Have you noticed? These Demon Beasts seem a little too frenzied," Li Shifan said as they ran.

Zhang Deming nodded. "More than a little. A lot.

"We may be deep in the Hengduan Mountain Range, but it’s not normal for even the herbivorous Demon Beasts and animals to be this aggressive.

"And have you noticed that a lot of the Demon Beasts seem to have some kind of ’skin disease’? Some are even oozing a disgusting liquid!"

Li Shifan’s mouth twitched as he listened. "Yeah," he said, "a lot of the animals and Demon Beasts have metallic spots on their skin.

"Back in the outer regions, where it wasn’t as deep, I thought I was just seeing things, or that it was just a localized issue.

"But now it seems like something has seriously gone wrong inside the Hengduan Mountain Range."

Zhang Deming nodded. "I’m starting to think so, too. And judging by the looks of it, this is no small matter.

"Which means it’s probably got nothing to do with small fries like us."

Li Shifan nodded in agreement. The two fell silent and continued their cautious journey.

At this depth, with the Demon Beasts being so frenzied, one careless mistake could mean leaving their lives behind here.

The two traveled all night in fits and starts. As dawn approached, the forest didn’t grow quiet. Instead, it became even more frenzied.

Just as Haoyang was about to rise, the roars of beasts and the violent aura of combat suddenly erupted ahead of them.

"Sounds like people?" Li Shifan said.

Zhang Deming focused his senses for a moment, then nodded. "It sounds like a Tai Chi Cultivator fighting a Demon Beast. Should we go take a look?"

Li Shifan shook his head. "Let’s not. With our level of Cultivation, we should just focus on getting out of here. This place feels too strange."

Hearing this, Zhang Deming nodded. "Right. That’s probably for the best."

With that, they adjusted their direction slightly and set off again.

This time, however, they hadn’t gone far before they sensed another battle.

They exchanged a glance and changed direction again.

After this happened several more times, Zhang Deming finally stopped. "Let’s go check it out," he said. "If we keep making detours, we’ll end up circling this entire region."

Li Shifan nodded. They both suppressed their auras again, and only after completely concealing any trace of their presence did they sneak cautiously forward.

A moment later, Zhang Deming and Li Shifan arrived at the battle.

The first thing they saw was a massive, mutated Demon Beast. It looked like it had once been a Tai Chi Stage Blast Spirit Deer.

But now, not only was the Blast Spirit Deer’s aura frenzied, but its entire body had also become semi-metallic, with a viscous fluid drooling from its mouth.

Aside from its head, its entire body looked like a Demon Beast forged from metal.

This granted it incredible defense and immense power.

But it also made the creature even more savage, its eyes a constant, blood-red color, devoid of all reason.

Fighting it was a standard Inner Sect squad.

Two Masters of Tai Chi and three Peak Apprentice ’Inner Sect’ Senior Brothers.

Why were the words ’Inner Sect’ put in quotes?

Because even if you enter the Inner Sect, you don’t necessarily become an Inner Sect Disciple. There are specific rules about that.

The five of them cooperated with perfect tacit understanding. Although the Blast Spirit Deer was incredibly savage, the team handled it with ease, relentlessly besieging it.

Defeating it seemed to be only a matter of time.

Zhang Deming and Li Shifan watched for a moment, then exchanged a silent glance. They carefully skirted the battle area and continued on their way.

Just like that, they began to encounter battles at frequent intervals.

It seemed a vast area was filled with similar combat.

"Looks like they’re on a mission. Did the Inner Sect issue a group assignment?" Li Shifan asked.

"Looks that way," Zhang Deming said. "I don’t know much about the Inner Sect, but from the looks of it, this is probably a long-term mission from the Sect.

"Apparently, the Sect is already aware of the problem here but just hasn’t found the source yet.

"Right now, they’re probably searching for the source while trying to contain the spread."

The Celestial Spirit Sect had hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of members. A single Sect was easily comparable to a major city from his past life.

’Forget the Inner Sect, I barely know anything about the Outer Sect. I haven’t even fully explored my own area on Little Hui Peak.’

’After all, this wasn’t like my previous life with the internet and its information explosion. And even if it were, there’s no guarantee I’d know much more.’

Li Shifan nodded. "Judging by how practiced they are, this must have been going on for a while."

"We should get a move on," Zhang Deming said. "The affairs of the Inner Sect are not something we can get involved in right now."

The two exchanged a few more words in low voices and quickened their pace.

They traveled for the better part of another day, facing scares but no real danger.

This high-intensity, high-alert travel left them both exhausted.

However, as evening approached, the frenzied atmosphere in their surroundings began to subside.

This signaled that they had finally left the main affected area, and both of them let out a long sigh of relief.

They still didn’t rest much, continuing to travel at a rapid pace.

After several more days of this, having rested only once and taken a slight detour, they finally returned to the cave where they had first met.