The Programmer Cultivator

"World Honored One," said the monk to Huixin’s right, "the Five Elements Remnants have reappeared. Our Dao Mark transmissions have been completely blocked. As your disciples, we had no choice but to forcefully activate your Golden Body Relic."

Pu Hua Bodhisattva paused his survey of the surroundings, his gaze settling on the Celestial Heart Altar in the sky. "The Celestial Heart Altar, which vanished without a trace all those years ago... To think it would one day see the light of day again.

I thought the Five Elements Remnants had all but been eradicated over the years. It seems they merely chose to go into hiding instead?"

Pu Hua Bodhisattva looked at the Celestial Heart Altar, his expression grave as he formed a hand seal. The golden orb on Huixin’s neck instantly shattered, exploding into a cloud of golden light that flowed into Huixin’s body.

Pu Hua Bodhisattva’s illusory figure also shrank, following the golden light into Huixin’s body.

Huixin slowly transformed into the likeness of Pu Hua Bodhisattva. His Duality-level Cultivation surged in the blink of an eye, only stopping once it broke through to the Four Symbols Stage. A Swastika Seal slowly materialized between his brows, rotating gently.

"Hmph. The day will come when our Five Races settle the blood feud from all those years ago with your Buddhist Sect. But for today, even with you, Pu Hua, present, we *will* be collecting our interest," Guan Shouxin said, his gaze fixed on Pu Hua Bodhisattva, his expression chilling.

As he spoke, the five illusory figures vanished. The five objects on the altar fell directly into the five pools below.

Five streams of a strange solution rose and entwined above the altar. As the solution stretched and twisted, a bizarre puppet was fused into existence.

Its head was a metallic sphere, its body was composed of a sludge-like slime, and its two hollow eyes swirled with an inky black mist.

Its entire body was covered in the same disgusting sludge seen on Guan Shouxin, but it wasn’t foul-smelling. Instead, it exuded an intoxicating floral fragrance, making the already bizarre puppet seem all the more sinister.

Its aura was incredibly powerful—considerably stronger, even, than the Pu Hua who had just managed to break through to the Four Symbols Stage.

’So their Harmonization Dao has already reached this stage?’ Pu Hua’s expression grew even more solemn as he watched the bizarre puppet. ’It seems everything we heard about you Five Elements Remnants over the years was just a facade.’

Once the puppet had fully formed, the Celestial Heart Altar shrank rapidly until it was the size of a baby’s fist, branding itself onto the puppet’s chest.

A Spiritual Light flashed in the puppet’s eyes, and it charged toward Pu Hua without a moment’s hesitation.

"I wish: May the wishes of the Buddhist Sect be ever intertwined! May the wish of the Five Elements Destruction Path be amplified!" Pu Hua declared, watching the puppet charge.

As he made his wish, a strange ripple enveloped the puppet. Its aura wavered for an instant, but that was all.

The emblem-like Celestial Heart Altar on the puppet’s chest turned a dominant, fiery red, and Lu Ya became its primary controller.

The puppet’s mouth split into a chilling grin. It moved like a phantom, appearing before Pu Hua in an instant.

Golden light surged around Pu Hua, turning his entire body gold. He met the puppet’s incoming fist with a punch of his own.

The moment their fists connected, a powerful shockwave erupted. The puppet retreated a few steps, but Pu Hua, in his Golden Body state, was sent sliding back a great distance.

After halting his slide, he frowned. ’No effect? Have the Five Elements Remnants already separated themselves from the wish of the Five Elements Destruction Path? Impossible. If they had, the Merit Pool would have sensed it.’

"Heh heh... Once I’ve eaten you, I’ll take my time telling you everything from inside my belly!" the puppet cackled with a chilling smile, charging at Pu Hua Bodhisattva once more.

As a Buddhist Sect Cultivator, he should have been proficient in Close Combat Techniques. After all, most disciplines within the Buddhist Sect involved majoring in the Wish Dao and minoring in Close Combat Techniques.

And for a Bodhisattva like Pu Hua, who was capable of creating a Golden Relic Clone, it went without saying that his mastery of Close Combat Techniques was exceptional.

And yet, in the close-quarters combat between him and the puppet, Pu Hua was somehow being suppressed in terms of pure fighting skill.

Combined with the fact that Pu Hua’s clone’s Cultivation was weaker than the puppet’s to begin with, the disadvantage was even more pronounced.

A golden clone and a sludge puppet zipped back and forth across the deck of the Cyan Feather Green Ship, the shockwaves from their clash destroying many of the surrounding structures.

BOOM...

After a brief, furious exchange, Pu Hua’s clone was once again struck by the puppet’s fist. He was sent flying backward, crashing through numerous buildings before smashing a huge crater into the ground.

The impact sent cracks spreading across the ground, revealing countless runes and the underlying structure of the ship beneath.

A chilling smile spread across the puppet’s face. "What does it matter if you’re a Bodhisattva? Today, this Traveler of the World from your Xuande Temple is as good as dead."

As its voice echoed through the air, its figure shot into the massive crater.

"I wish: May all powers gather unto me, with the strength to subdue dragons and tame tigers!"

"I wish: May my Golden Body be eternal and indestructible!"

"I wish: May my Dharma Body and Dharma Form be unstoppable!"

Pu Hua’s voice, declaring his wishes, echoed from the crater. Amid a blinding flash of golden light, a five-meter-tall golden giant emerged.

It crashed right into the incoming puppet. Caught off guard, the puppet was sent flying by a single punch from Pu Hua.

However, in the instant before impact, the puppet had crossed its arms before its chest. The golden giant’s massive fist only struck its crossed arms.

After being knocked back, the puppet tumbled a few times before righting itself and hovering in mid-air.

It paused briefly, looking down at the golden giant below, and Pu Hua, as the giant, stared back up at it.

After a brief standoff, the puppet gathered its energy. As its entire body’s power surged into its raised palm, it slowly began to press downward.