The Programmer Cultivator

Chapter 286 - 17: Is Weak AI Good?

After Yang Guangfu led the two of them into the gorge, he gave a slight bow to the middle-aged man by the pond but said nothing, heading directly for another thatched hut.

Seeing this, Zhang Deming and Li Shifan also bowed slightly before following him.

But just as Li Shifan was about to step into the hut, the middle-aged man who was fishing frowned slightly.

The moment the middle-aged man frowned, Li Shifan froze. A miniature scroll suddenly materialized from his left hand.

The scroll vibrated a few times, but no figure emerged from it. The middle-aged man looked surprised. He glanced at the two of them before looking away again.

As he looked away, the scroll disappeared from Li Shifan’s palm.

Yang Guangfu was slightly taken aback by this but said nothing. He simply continued forward and stepped into the hut.

Li Shifan and Zhang Deming exchanged a glance. Without a word, they followed Yang Guangfu into the hut.

"What was that just now...?" Li Shifan whispered after they were inside.

"Shhh..." Yang Guangfu turned back, stopping Li Shifan from saying more.

Li Shifan paused, taken aback, while Zhang Deming took a moment to observe the hut.

The hut didn’t look large from the outside, appearing somewhat old and worn. The interior, however, was surprisingly spacious, far larger than its external dimensions would suggest. The perception of space felt distorted.

Inside the hut, there was an altar table.

On the altar table sat three palm-sized, toy-like artifacts.

A toy Dragon Turtle with a dragon’s head holding a pearl, the body of a tortoise, and the feet of a snake; a crudely made Earth Puppet; and a miniature brazier with a small flame flickering inside.

The Dragon Turtle was in the center, flanked by the brazier and the miniature puppet. At the very front of the altar table sat a miniature Incense Burner, not much larger than the three artifacts themselves.

A stick of cyan incense was currently burning in the Incense Burner. The wispy cyan smoke didn’t disperse; instead, it swirled around the Dragon Turtle.

Zhang Deming stared at this scene, slightly stunned.

Because in his Spirit Nurturing Space, the image of the Dragon Turtle constellation had shown exactly this scene ever since the combat ended.

Although the image was very blurry, comparing it to what was in front of him now, Zhang Deming was certain.

Staring at the toy Dragon Turtle, Zhang Deming had an inscrutable expression.

’Could this be the Main Body of that Peak of Three Talents Earth Spirit?’

’They turned it into a figurine and are even burning incense for it?’

’So this is the true power of the Four-Nine Upper Sect!’

Yang Guangfu, however, didn’t stand there dazed. He walked to the altar table, bowed slightly to the Incense Burner, and then activated the Command Token in his hand.

Zhang Deming felt a brief moment of disorientation. When he came to his senses, he had already left the hut and was standing in a large plaza.

Zhang Deming was momentarily stunned. Standing on an Array Platform, he glanced around.

He realized he was back in the core area of the Cyan Wood Secret Realm. The three of them were now standing on the entrance Array Platform of the plaza.

Only after arriving did Yang Guangfu let out a long sigh of relief. "I never thought we’d run into an Ancestor today," he said.

Hearing this, Li Shifan asked, "Who was that just now?"

Yang Guangfu shook his head. "I don’t know either. All I know is that he’s a Sect Ancestor, but I don’t know anything beyond that.

Because the Cyan Wood Secret Realm is still being dealt with, its entrance hasn’t been connected to the outside world yet.

If you two Senior Brothers didn’t have urgent business, as unrelated personnel, you wouldn’t have been brought into the Secret Realm like this.

That place we were just in is where the Sect’s Secret Realms are stored. I’ve been there a few times, but I’ve only run into that senior twice in total.

That’s why I didn’t warn you two Senior Brothers in advance. I never thought you’d be so lucky..."

Zhang Deming and Li Shifan nodded. It was clear their guide didn’t know much either. Zhang Deming looked around, changing the subject. "Is the Sect repairing the Secret Realm right now?"

Zhang Deming now noticed that the entire Secret Realm had suffered extensive damage from the incident with the Dragon Turtle and the pool of sludge.

And around the plaza, many disciples from the Miscellaneous Affairs Department’s construction teams and the Array Department were busy at work.

They were repairing and renovating the surrounding buildings.

The whole place was like a massive construction site, bustling with activity.

’Hmm... this construction site is a bit fantastical, though. Puppets are everywhere, and materials are flying through the air.’

Yang Guangfu nodded. "Yes, the Sect plans to move both the Inner Sect Trial and the core trials into the Cyan Wood Secret Realm.

So, quite a few modifications are needed. The Miscellaneous Affairs Department has been pretty busy lately.

But none of that has anything to do with us. We should hurry over to the Cyan Wood Forest where the Flower Demon Elves are."

Zhang Deming nodded. "Alright, lead the way."

Yang Guangfu led Zhang Deming off in a specific direction.

Along the way, Zhang Deming noticed that most of the arrays in the Cyan Wood Secret Realm had been damaged to some extent.

The entire core area, especially the building district, was filled with disciples making repairs. There had to be at least several thousand of them.

The weakest among them were ’Inner Sect’ Disciples with Peak Apprentice Cultivation, and they were just doing odd jobs.

Most of them had Tai Chi Cultivation, and occasionally, you could even spot one or two Duality Cultivators in some areas.

’During my few days on Spirit Nurturing Peak, I had no idea the Inner Sect had mobilized so many people to come in here.’

’But that makes sense. After all, Spirit Nurturing Peak is independent of the four departments and doesn’t handle most of the Sect’s daily affairs.’

’Besides, a few thousand people isn’t a huge number for the Inner Sect anyway.’

"Duality Cultivators can enter the Secret Realm now?" Zhang Deming asked, looking at some of them.

Yang Guangfu nodded. "The Artifact Spirit was severely injured and then sealed by the Sect. Because of that, the Sect was able to forcibly modify many of its core rules.