There is a progress bar in my cultivation of immortality

Wang Ping was not surprised by this answer. Because of his alliance with Ao Hong in the past, the disciples of Linshui Prefecture and Taiyan Sect often acted together and trusted each other relatively.

Seeing that Wang Ping was listening attentively and didn't seem inclined to interrupt, Zang Yi continued, "The destruction of these twelve ecological zones wasn't solely due to the three of them; cultivators from the Underground Sect were also involved, as were several disciples from our Star God Alliance..."

His voice suddenly paused, for he realized Wang Ping didn't want to hear the detailed information, so he changed the subject: "According to my preliminary investigation, they were discussing who should take the blame. Originally, the disciples of the Underground Sect were supposed to participate, but I don't know why they didn't show up. I summoned him, but he has already returned to the ecological zone on the outer edge of Saturn..."

He didn't say what he was going to say, but the meaning was obvious: the Underground Gate was unwilling to hand over the person. Then Zang Yi raised his voice slightly and continued, "I interrogated the cultivators in the alliance who participated in the destruction of those ecological zones, and the answers I got were the same as the results of my investigation. They did indeed intend to put someone out to take the blame at this meeting."

"Furthermore, Miao Qing did not kill them when she made her move. The reason why those two disciples from Linshui Mansion died was that their bodies were invaded by an undetectable energy beforehand."

"Untraceable?" Wang Ping repeated these three words. He believed that with Zang Yi's cultivation level, he could count the number of things in this starry sky that he could call 'untraceable' on one hand.

"It's because my cultivation level is too low. I've tried everything, but I still can't find the origin of this power. However, this power is relatively more effective against Shui Ling," Zang Yi said, bowing his head as he gave his final conclusion.

Upon hearing this, Wang Ping stared intently at Zang Yi for a moment. He had only guessed that it was earth elemental energy that suppressed water elemental energy, but he had no concrete evidence and could not draw any conclusions rashly.

Wang Ping, however, would not draw a conclusion. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Let's handle this matter as a conflict arising from an unequal distribution of spoils. The other cultivators involved will be punished by facing the wall for three hundred years."

"Yes!"

Zang Yi answered without hesitation, then asked with a hint of hesitation, "Should we continue investigating the case files regarding the destruction of the remaining ecological zones?"

Wang Ping smiled and said, "Why not investigate? Aren't you curious why they provoked conflict between Linshui Prefecture and my Taiyan Sect? How will you know the answer if you don't continue investigating?"

He pointed at Zang Yi and said, "But you must remember, we can't let them continue to destroy the ecological zone. The meeting assigned you and Zhu Wu this investigation task so that you can supervise them and prevent them from doing anything out of line. If anyone doesn't listen to advice, you can suppress them directly."

"I understand."

"Then let's get on with our business."

Wang Ping waved Zang Yi away, got up and walked to the edge of the cliff. He gazed at the river where Yu Lian was in seclusion and fell into deep thought. After a while, he used the mirror array to spy on the puppet Wang Qian.

The first thing that catches the eye is a barren land. This is an undeveloped asteroid in the outer orbit of Saturn's moons. He is now leading his disciples to develop this planet and establish a new ecological zone here. This is an order personally given to him by the Earthly True Lord.

Zhi Gong and Yun Song also received the same order. Only Daoist Bai Wan remained at the headquarters of the Earth Cave Sect. In other words, those who were previously close to the Taiyan Sect within the Earth Cave Sect were transferred away from the headquarters, and only cultivators who maintained their independence were allowed to remain.

This prompted many cultivators within the Earth Cave Sect to accelerate their separation from the Taiyan Sect in order to avoid being purged in the future, and even Zhi Gong was no exception.

Wang Ping didn't blame them. According to the puppet Wang Qian's memories, he sensed the killing intent of the Earthly True Monarch. If the Earth Spirit didn't need enough fourth-realm cultivators to stabilize it, they might have already been dealt with by the Earthly True Monarch.

Therefore, Puppet King Qian has no memory of what happened in the central city.

Wang Ping then connected with other puppets and, after investigating for a while, discovered that both the Vajra Temple and the True Yang Sect were tacitly preparing to gather more flying boats and cultivators to besiege the ecological zone controlled by Linshui Prefecture.

Surprisingly, Linshui Prefecture did not offer any explanation for this matter. It should be noted that a large portion of the flying boats and magical artifacts consumed by Linshui Prefecture on the battlefield were provided by the Taiyan Sect. In recent days, the four realms of the Zhenyang Sect and the Vajra Temple have personally visited Ziluan and increased their purchases of flying boats and magical artifacts. Their purpose is clearly to take over the original portion of Linshui Prefecture's supplies.

Wang Ping did not intervene in this matter. He simply observed it silently and secretly used his puppets to investigate the spies who had infiltrated the inner ring star field from the outer border. At the same time, he used Quan Xing and Zhi Xin's channels to send puppets to the outer region.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye. The conflict between the central city of Linshui Prefecture and the Taiyan Sect continued to affect the situation in the starry sky. The first thing that was most affected was the severing of cooperation between the Taiyan Sect and Linshui Prefecture in various aspects. Some exchange ceremonies were also suspended as a result, and various trades came to a standstill.

However, at this critical moment, Ao Hong chose to go into seclusion, which caused the struggle between Linshui Prefecture and Jingang Temple and Zhenyang Sect to be defeated one after another. Because of the defeat of Linshui Prefecture, Jingang Temple and Zhenyang Sect broke out into conflict again due to the accumulated contradictions.

Wang Ping calmly observed the changing situation, waiting for Yu Lian to awaken. In the blink of an eye, it was already the year 1100 of the Dao Palace calendar. More than ten years had passed since Di Wen Zhenjun awakened.

One summer evening, Shen Xiaozhu suddenly arrived at the Jiuxuan Mountain Taoist temple.

"Senior Wu intends to pass away peacefully."

Shen Xiaozhu came to report on this matter: "The Earth Cave Sect requires all cultivators of the Third Realm to return, otherwise they will be treated as heretics. Senior Wu has no choice but to choose to pass away peacefully."

The 'Senior Wu' she was referring to was Old Master Wu.

Upon hearing this, Wang Ping's first thought was dissatisfaction with Diwen Zhenjun. He rarely felt such dissatisfaction with anyone, and this dissatisfaction gave him an impulse to fight Diwen Zhenjun.

"Bring Master Wu to the Taiyan Sect headquarters. I want to see who dares to come and demand him back!"

Wang Ping's voice was cold.

Shen Xiaozhu said, "Senior Wu has already gone into seclusion, and Wen Hai also seems to be choosing to go into seclusion as well."

Wang Ping's consciousness immediately connected with one of his clones, which instantly descended to Zhongzhou Star and, a few breaths later, sensed Wu Laodao's aura.

It was underground in a mountain range on Xishi Road. At this moment, Wu Laodao's breath was weak because his lifespan was already very short.

Wang Ping's clone appeared underground where Wu Laodao was in seclusion.

The underground stone chamber was dark and dry, with only a few lamps emitting a faint light. Old Wu sat cross-legged on a blue stone platform, his body withered like rotten wood. His once full face was now covered with wrinkles, and his skin was an unhealthy grayish-white, as if he might turn into dust and vanish at any moment.

His breathing was almost imperceptible; his chest rose and fell slightly with each inhale, and his exhale carried a faint smell of decay.

The spiritual veins within his body were withered and shrunken, like dead vines, with only a faint, earthy-yellow spiritual light struggling to circulate within them. Each time this spiritual light passed through an acupoint, it would cause a slight tremor, clearly indicating that even the most basic circulation of Qi was difficult to maintain.

His primordial spirit was extremely weak, and the once brilliant spiritual sea in his sea of ​​consciousness had dimmed, leaving only a few faint fireflies flickering in the darkness.

"Why is it so..."

Wang Ping spoke up. Upon hearing Wang Ping's voice, Old Wu opened his cloudy eyes, sensed Wang Ping's aura, and a flash of joy crossed his remaining consciousness. He laughed and said, "My advancement to the third realm has consumed a lot of energy, which has greatly shortened my lifespan. In recent years, I have been relying on that old fellow Yuan Zheng's pills to sustain my life. I originally wanted to continue to live for a little longer, but alas, fate has not allowed it."

"How fortunate I am to have a Xuanmen True Lord see me off at the very last moment."

His voice grew weaker and weaker. When he saw Wang Ping about to make a hand seal, he waved his hand and said, "There's no need to prolong my life. Living like that is too painful. It's much more carefree for me to die like this. Besides, I've already boasted to my disciples and grand-disciples. If you bring me back to life now, what will become of my old face?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ping stopped performing the hand seals and sensed Wu Laodao's emotions. He was unusually open-minded and showed no fear of death.

"My life has been very fulfilling. At the beginning of my cultivation, I had a group of close friends, and later I had a good disciple. Thanks to you, I even reached the third realm and saw the vast world beyond the realm. This world is so big that I sometimes feel hopeless. But later I realized that even such a vast universe will be destroyed one day, let alone a small person like me."

"Go about your business, I need to rest."

He waved to Wang Ping with difficulty.

Wang Ping's heart was stirred, and many long-forgotten memories surfaced in his mind. He thought of his junior brother Su Dun and three senior brothers from the beginning of his cultivation, as well as his master whom he missed dearly.

"You should have a good rest."

Wang Ping spoke softly, and before his words even finished, he was already gone, and subconsciously appeared above Qianmu Temple.

After lingering above Qianmu Temple for a short time, Wang Ping sensed Wen Hai's presence and appeared in the underground stone chamber where Wen Hai was in seclusion. Wen Hai was in good condition and had nearly five or six hundred years left to live. If he took some elixirs, living another thousand years would not be a problem.

"Go to the Taiyan Sect, and no one will dare to do anything to you."

Wang Ping left after saying those words.

Wen Hai was taken aback at first, then his face lit up with ecstatic joy. He knelt down and prostrated himself on the spot where Wang Ping had just appeared.

Jiuxuan Mountain.

Shen Xiaozhu was reporting on the various cuts between the underground gate and the Thousand Wood Temple, and Wang Ping listened patiently.

When his disciple had finished reporting, Wang Ping instructed, "If you're going to sever ties, do it thoroughly. Cease all cooperation with the Earth Cave Sect. Go tell Zi Luan that any Taiyan Sect disciple who has any contact with Earth Cave Sect cultivators will be expelled from the Taiyan Sect immediately."

Shen Xiaozhu sensed the anger in her master's heart and lowered her head to reply, "Yes, Master."

"Go and attend to your business. Don't worry about the underground gate. If you encounter any problems you can't solve, just ask Ziluan."

"Yes!"

Shen Xiaozhu responded again, then bowed and left.

Wang Ping ignored Shen Xiaozhu who had left. He picked up a communication token from a meeting and asked about the results of the communication between Lieyang and Diwen.

Lieyang replied half an hour later, but instead of giving Wang Ping an answer, he invited him to meet on Mars.

Wang Ping did not refuse, but to be on the safe side, he first planned out the trip and then set up a huge transfer array above the Jiuxuan Mountain Dojo before heading to Mars.

He had visited Mars twice during his time in the Four Realms, but only saw the place where the blazing sun secluded itself. This time, he first descended upon the public Ascension Platform in Mars' orbit, which was extremely close to the sun.

The ecological zones established here by the Zhenyang Sect are like bright red pearls, suspended in the scorching void. These ecological zones do not have ordinary green mountains and clear waters, nor do they have pavilions and towers. Instead, they are composed of countless floating islands burning with raging flames.

Most ecological zones lacked protective barriers, allowing the raging true fire of the sun to scorch them wantonly. Many cultivators' caves were carved directly into the rock walls of the floating islands, resembling countless fiery eyes in the void when viewed from afar.

Only a few core ecological zones support translucent crimson barriers. These barriers can not only absorb high temperatures but also contain the violent energy of the Sun's True Fire, making it more suitable for low-level cultivators.

This gives the entire Mars orbital ecosystem a primitive and wild beauty. There are no superfluous decorations or complicated buildings; only the purest fire elemental energy unleashes its power without restraint.

The five Daoists of Dengxiantai Palace and Daoist Hefeng had been waiting for a long time. Upon seeing Wang Ping arrive, they immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, True Lord Changqing."

Wang Ping glanced at the two men, and without being polite, said, "Lead the way."

"Yes!"

The two led Wang Ping to a large flying boat docked nearby. Then they saw a fiery red cloud bridge appear in the starry sky. Countless fire spirits flew on both sides of the cloud bridge. They looked like they had been tamed, but in reality they were struggling because of the constraints of the magic array.

In no time, the spaceship approached Mars. This planet has no atmosphere, and the fire spirit array drawn on its surface can be seen from afar. At the core of the array is where Lieyang meditates and cultivates, where turbulent magma surges.

As soon as the spacecraft entered Mars' gravitational field, the entire void suddenly came to a standstill.

Suddenly, the sea of ​​magma at the core of the magic array exploded, and a blinding beam of fire shot into the sky. The brilliance of the light made the surrounding true solar fire pale in comparison. From within the firelight, a golden crow that blotted out the sky flapped its wings, each feather flowing with a crimson-gold light like molten lava.

The moment the golden crow spread its wings, countless rivers of magma on the surface of Mars boiled and spewed forth towering pillars of fire, which intertwined in the air to form an ancient sun totem. The scorching heat waves created by the golden crow distorted the void along its path.

The flying boat beneath Wang Ping's feet began to tremble violently, and the protective array emitted a mournful cry of being overwhelmed. Gong Wu and He Feng had already knelt on the ground, their expressions respectful and humble.

Just as the Golden Crow was about to collide with the flying boat, it suddenly folded its wings and transformed into a streak of red light. The streak of light stopped abruptly in front of the flying boat and condensed into the figure of True Lord Lieyang. Then, he cupped his hands and said to Wang Ping, "Fellow Daoist Changqing, welcome, welcome!"

Wang Ping smiled and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, saying, "Fellow Daoist, are you planning to give me a hard time?"

His tone was joking. (End of Chapter)