The Programmer Cultivator

Chapter 105 - 99: Editing the Hidden Breath Technique

This time, however, Zhang Deming didn’t intend to meet face-to-face. After stashing the Spirit Nurturing Bead in a designated spot, his consciousness entered the Spirit Nurturing Space.

He casually beckoned for Qu Qizhong’s light dot, and a small card materialized in his hand.

West District, Upper East Street, Liuling Lane, No. 153, base of the large tree by the left courtyard wall. Pick it up quickly.

A line of text rapidly appeared on the card. Zhang Deming tossed the message over.

He then hurried away, making his way to a teahouse across the lane.

He chose a good spot and sat in the teahouse, quietly sipping his tea.

A short while later, Qu Qizhong arrived. He found the hidden Spirit Nurturing Bead at the location Zhang Deming had provided and left immediately.

As for the Spirit Stones from the sale, he had already deposited them at the Spirit Manor.

Zhang Deming sat in the teahouse drinking his tea like an uninvolved stranger, pretending not to have seen a thing.

After Qu Qizhong left, several figures still failed to escape Zhang Deming’s deliberate observation.

There were several people in all, their tracking skills ranging from amateur to professional. They were clearly not from the same group.

’It seems I still underestimated how attractive a Spirit Nurturing Master is to the major powers.

How many days has it been?

And this is while I’m trying to be discreet. Not only am I already being followed, but by at least three different groups. It looks like I really need to hurry up and work on my cultivation.

Otherwise, if something goes wrong here and I need to call for help, I’ll be completely lost!

But from the looks of their cautious tracking, they obviously all want to make secret contact with the Spirit Nurturing Master behind this operation.

So, I should be safe for the time being.’

Zhang Deming got up and left. He hadn’t planned on meeting today anyway.

This was the benefit of Zhang Deming having spent time building a complete distribution network: it was discreet and secure.

Besides, even if he were targeted, he could just switch the drop-off point next time. Unless someone used exceptionally powerful methods, no one would be able to trace it back to him.

And the people who possessed such methods were all major figures, who wouldn’t bother to act against him personally.

Even if Qu Qizhong were captured and controlled, he wouldn’t be able to betray Zhang Deming before the goods were dropped off.

As long as he never showed his face, he was essentially invincible in this situation.

Following Zhang Deming’s instructions, Qu Qizhong didn’t hold back with this batch of nineteen beads.

They sold out within a few days, fetching a total of one hundred and eighty-one Spirit Stones.

The average price was already starting to creep past eight Spirit Stones per bead. It seemed people were beginning to realize how special these Spirit Nurturing Beads were and had started scrambling to buy them.

Zhang Deming went to the Spirit Manor and withdrew the Spirit Stones.

He was buzzing with excitement. After living so frugally, to suddenly have several hundred Spirit Stones was a fortune significant enough to tempt even a Tai Chi Great Cultivator.

Suppressing his inner turmoil, Zhang Deming took the Spirit Stones and headed straight back to the Sect.

Carrying such a huge sum, he felt like everyone around him was sizing him up with ill intent, as if some villain was plotting to harm him.

He returned to Qingyou Pool on Little Hui Peak with the Spirit Stones. Only after stashing them in his room did Zhang Deming finally feel a sense of relief.

At least for now, this was his safest place.

Over the past few days, as the nineteen Spirit Nurturing Beads were sold off, Zhang Deming had received eight screens and light dots.

He hadn’t opened a single one to make contact, tossing all of them into the Spirit Nurturing Space.

The appearance of each light dot was accompanied by the formation of a 0.2 white light ball and a 0.02 gold light ball.

Combined with what he had left over, Zhang Deming now had two complete white Qi Fortune Light Balls.

To Zhang Deming’s pleasant surprise, one of the two light balls was another ’sequence’ type.

Zhang Deming looked at the ’branch’ light ball and the ’sequence’ light ball, contemplated for a moment, and chose ’sequence’.

Actually, considering the rarity of the ’sequence’ light ball, it would have been more logical to keep it as a spare.

But considering the Technique he wanted to edit, Zhang Deming chose the ’sequence’ light ball anyway.

Zhang Deming took out the *Hidden Breath Technique* manual he had sold earlier and opened the editing panel.

"Ordinary Energy: 1. Small-scale plug-in is editable.

Editing conditions satisfied!

..."

Zhang Deming skillfully entered the ’/Dantian’ command.

Zhang Deming: Dantian > {Hidden Breath Technique}

The basic code framework generated by the ’sequence’ light ball was as simple as ever—so simple that it was hard to know where to begin.

’Considering the principles of the Hidden Breath Skill, there’s no need to turn it into a Bloodline this time. A passive effect seems more appropriate.

But it absolutely can’t be an uncontrollable passive. From experience, Zhang Deming knew that with self-evolving passives, the harm usually outweighed the benefits.

Some passives can become truly terrifying!

If this Hidden Breath Skill can’t be controlled, its effect will only grow stronger as my cultivation increases.

What would await me is my presence diminishing, making it harder and harder for people to notice me.

Until... I reach the highest realm of Concealment, to the point that the entire world forgets I ever existed.’

After pondering the effects and application of the Hidden Breath Technique for a moment, Zhang Deming began to add the code.

{Thus, the amount of Spiritual Power supplied will determine the strength of the Hidden Breath Technique’s effect, while the user’s intent will determine the direction of its concealment effect.}

’Hmm, this way it’s still a passive, unlike the Agility Technique’s semi-passive Bloodline effect.

But trading my own Spiritual Power for a controllable passive option is probably the best solution for the Hidden Breath Skill I can come up with right now.’

Anyone who doesn’t understand code, or hasn’t grasped its essence, would wonder why ’sequence’ isn’t used to edit a Cultivation Technique.

Or they might think the code for the previous semi-passive was just a ’branch’.

In truth, there is a fundamental difference. For a semi-passive constructed with ’sequence’...

Looking at the language, it might seem like a ’branch’: if you supply Spiritual Power, the Skill runs; if you don’t, it doesn’t.

Isn’t that just a ’branch’?

No, it’s not!

With ’sequence’, once the Technique is activated, it never truly ends.

The amount of Spiritual Qi supplied merely determines the Technique’s strength.

In essence, the reason this Technique qualifies as a semi-passive is that it is *always* running.

It’s as if Zhang Deming built an aqueduct; with Spiritual Power, water flows through it.

Without Spiritual Power, even if no water is flowing, the aqueduct itself is still there—it hasn’t vanished.

This is the effect of ’sequence’; it is not a ’branch’.

This is also why ’sequence’ can only be used on certain kinds of Magic, as some Magic lacks a continuous effect.

A ’branch’, on the other hand, runs once when its condition is met. The next time the condition is met, it runs all over again.

Therefore, ’branch’ can be applied to any kind of Magic; it’s universally applicable.

As for why ’sequence’ isn’t used to edit Cultivation Techniques?

Because it doesn’t work for them either!

A Cultivation Technique requires the constant intake of Spiritual Qi and circulation of Spiritual Power, running in cycle after cycle—one Circulation after another.

It’s not a case of absorbing Spiritual Power once and letting it run forever.

A single Circulation of Spiritual Power can’t last forever, taking a lifetime to complete. That wouldn’t be a Circulation; it would be a straight line.

Even if it could, what damn good would that be? If a Circulation isn’t completed and the Spiritual Power doesn’t flow into the Dantian, how could one’s cultivation possibly increase?

So, ’sequence’ cannot facilitate the autonomous operation of a Cultivation Technique. Only a ’loop’ can do that.

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