The Programmer Cultivator

Chapter 430: Chapter 72: Li Gui Meets Li Kui?

"Hmph. My real techniques are only just beginning!" Xu Baiqing said coldly, his ashen face showing no sign of relief.

With that, he held out his right hand, and a bronze spoon floated above his palm. A miniature Eight Trigrams pattern materialized on the spoon’s base, and it began to spin rapidly.

"Master of the Compass, Heart-Driven Dao. Between dawn and dusk, all creation can be changed."

Rune Technique: South Captivity!

As the Sinan in Xu Baiqing’s hand spun rapidly, a strange cage made of the Eight Trigrams materialized and shot toward Li Cheng to envelop him.

Sensing the power of the technique, Li Cheng’s face fell. He roared, "Now!"

With that, his entire figure condensed like smoke, transforming into a miniature scroll that flew toward Li Shifan.

Li Shifan, who had been ready all along, hesitated for a moment. Finally, he gritted his teeth, crossed his arms over his chest, and began to chant loudly, "Infinite Hongmeng..."

...

After Qin Shizhong took his leave, Zhang Deming sat quietly in the courtyard for a long while before rising and heading into his room.

The moment he stepped into the room, Zhang Deming felt a stir in his Heart Spirit. He quickly turned his consciousness inward and entered his Spirit Nurturing Space.

In the Chaos Sky of the Spirit Nurturing Space, the point of light representing Li Shifan was flashing erratically. Zhang Deming focused his senses on it, and when he saw Li Shifan’s current predicament through the light, his expression immediately changed.

Zhang Deming beckoned with his hand, and a ball of light materialized.

Rune Summoning: Spirit Nurturing Summoning Technique - Qu Qingxian!

The ball of light rapidly elongated, taking the form of Elder Huang. Immediately after, Zhang Deming gestured again, and two more balls of light appeared.

Rune Summoning: Spirit Nurturing Summoning Technique - Dragon Turtle!

Rune Summoning: Spirit Nurturing Summoning Technique - Feng Mingyou!

Zhang Deming fused the two balls of light into Elder Huang’s body, and then his own Heart Spirit entered the form as well.

When all this was done and Elder Huang opened his eyes, he was already radiating the aura of a Three Talents Great Cultivator. He carried an air of transcendence, a detached calm that seemed to place him above the mortal world.

Without further hesitation, Zhang Deming beckoned to the point of light representing Li Shifan. Once it was before him, he tapped it.

A passageway appeared before him, and Zhang Deming plunged right through.

...

As Li Shifan chanted, a white sphere of light slowly condensed before him, sending out a strange ripple of power.

The expression on Xu Baiqing’s face changed. He had been planning to capture the two of them and give them a... warm welcome.

Watching the figure of light stretching out before Li Shifan, he cried out in astonishment, "An Outer Body Incarnation?!!"

The ball of light before Li Shifan had now stretched into a humanoid form. It slowly solidified, revealing the transcendent figure of Elder Huang to all present.

His white hair flowed freely and his hands were clasped behind his back. His entire being radiated a transcendent air, as if he stood alone, apart from the rest of the world.

Seeing that it was Elder Huang who had come, Li Shifan quickly bowed. "Greetings, Elder Huang."

Li Cheng, who had just flown over, materialized once more and also bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Elder Huang."

Elder Huang ignored Li Cheng. He glanced at Li Shifan, gave a slight nod, and asked, "What is your report?"

Li Shifan immediately began his report. "I accepted a mission to find the Heart-Connected Lotus Root. With the help of Seventh Uncle Zhang... I mean, Senior Zhang Buyi, I obtained several sections of the root and a Heart-Connected Lotus Platform. On our return journey..."

In a few brief sentences, Li Shifan gave a quick and clear account of what had happened.

After listening in silence, Elder Huang summarized, "In other words, you were ambushed and robbed for no reason?"

Li Shifan nodded. "Yes, Elder Huang! I am slow-witted and my cultivation is lacking. I truly had no other choice but to request your aid."

Elder Huang nodded, paying no mind to whatever else Li Shifan was about to say. He turned to face Xu Baiqing.

Xu Baiqing had looked astonished ever since Li Shifan began his plea for aid.

But when he saw Elder Huang appear as an incarnation at the Peak of Three Talents, he froze completely, not daring to move an inch.

Elder Huang looked at the stunned Xu Baiqing. "Not bad," he said. "You’ve got quite some nerve, bullying one of my own."

Snapping back to his senses, Xu Baiqing immediately bowed. "This one is Xu Baiqing, a disciple of the Quanzhen Temple’s Inner Courtyard. Greetings, Senior."

Elder Huang paused for a fraction of a second, then flicked his Daoist Robe. With the simple gesture, an invisible wave of force shot out and struck Xu Baiqing.

"Ugh..."

Making no attempt to resist, Xu Baiqing let out a muffled grunt. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he was forced back a dozen steps before finally regaining his footing.

Elder Huang looked at Xu Baiqing and snorted. "Hmph. You think waving the name of a Blessed Land is enough to intimidate me? Even if you brought out the Hongmeng Holy Land itself, you still owe me an explanation for today’s events."

"Third Uncle!" The youth rushed forward. When he saw the blood still trickling from Xu Baiqing’s mouth, his expression turned icy. He glared at Elder Huang and his companions. "So you think you’re the only ones with powerful backers, huh?!"

With that, he ripped the Protective Talisman from his neck.

"Don’t!" Xu Baiqing, having just regained his composure, saw the youth’s action and cried out to stop him before he could do anything else. There was an unmistakable hint of panic in his voice.

But it was clearly too late. The moment the youth tore the Protective Talisman from his neck, it activated.

A powerful fluctuation of Spiritual Power made the very space around them tremble.

The resulting display of power was immense. An oppressive aura materialized out of thin air, so powerful it was difficult to breathe.

"Who has the audacity to lay a hand on my disciple!"

An ancient voice emanated from the epicenter of the Spiritual Power fluctuation. As the words rang out, countless motes of Spiritual Light began to converge at its core.