There is a progress bar in my cultivation of immortality

Chapter 1040: Their respective plans

Lieyang showed no surprise at the Dragon Lord's words. He cupped his hands and said, "What suggestions do you have?"

He was very polite.

Long Jun opened his eyes and then closed them again, looking completely uninterested in everything. He replied to Lie Yang, "You guys come to a conclusion first. Don't try to get your hands on me. I have no interest in saying anything more to someone like you."

After saying this, he closed his eyes, seemingly unwilling to continue speaking.

But Lieyang didn't seem to intend to leave so easily. Knowing Lieyang's true nature, the Dragon Lord continued with his eyes closed, "Your next stage of cultivation requires Changqing. If you go too far, how will you explain yourself later?"

His tone was languid and casual.

Lieyang said, "That's why I've come to ask you for help. I hope you can step forward and make a decision on your own as the chief!"

The Dragon Lord did not rush to refuse. He slightly opened his eyes, his golden vertical pupils revealing a curious look, and asked, "You seem to have come prepared. Tell me, what can you promise me? I am very curious, what else do you have that can interest me?"

Lieyang cupped his hands and said, "I will fully support the Seventh Prince in advancing to the fifth realm!"

As he finished speaking, ripples appeared on the calm water around the Dragon King's enormous body.

"Humanity has been rising for nearly ten thousand years, and we now have the conditions to accommodate more fellow Daoists of the Fifth Realm. Changqing's advancement is the best proof of this. Moreover, the rules clearly state that each sect of Xuanmen and Tianmen has three Fifth Realm slots. Currently, only Taiyan Sect has two True Monarchs, which is not a good thing."

Lieyang and Longjun looked at each other and said these words.

"I need to think about it. You can try it yourselves first."

After the Dragon Lord finished speaking, a water curtain appeared around Lieyang, pushing him out of the Dragon Palace hall. Lieyang, who had stabilized himself outside the Dragon Palace, did not say anything more. He cupped his hands in the direction of the Dragon Palace and then transformed into a streak of fire, flying towards the Ascension Platform on the outer edge of Mercury.

The moment Lieyang left, a series of splashes appeared on the calm water in the hall, revealing a four-clawed dragon body, smaller than the Dragon Lord. It was Ao Hong, who had announced his seclusion. He looked towards the door and said, "Father was right. Lieyang is indeed the most hypocritical person in the world."

The Dragon Lord said indifferently, "That's just how the demon race is. Although they use the secret methods of the Xuanmen to glimpse the great Dao of the universe and understand the principles of the world, and they pretend to be enlightened masters, the character they are born with can never be changed. It's just a pity about Zhenyang. He is full of wisdom, and his cultivation is even better than mine..."

"Alas, perhaps it was precisely because he possessed such profound cultivation that he was able to merge with Lieyang and attempt to assimilate Lieyang's nature with his own consciousness, but in the end, it was all for naught."

Ao Hong turned to look at the Dragon King and asked, "Father, are you planning to agree to Lieyang's request?"

Upon hearing this, Long Jun looked down at Ao Hong and said, "Back then, the decision to allow Chang Qing to advance to the fifth realm was undoubtedly the right one from today's perspective. His appearance has created a crisis for all of you fellow Daoists. Lie Yang has already seen the future path and knows that the rise of humanity is unstoppable, which is why he agreed to your advancement."

Ao Hong's eyes flashed, and he asked, "Father, do you mean that there will be other cultivators who advance to the fifth realm in the future?"

Dragon Lord did not answer the question, but said, "When someone surpasses the fifth realm, this matter will naturally fall into place, but... this step is not simple, and this person needs to bear unparalleled pressure."

Ao Hong then asked, "Does Father have another chance to improve his cultivation?"

Long Jun turned his head slightly with his golden eyes toward the half-open door and said softly, "This is only one possibility. Everything Lie Yang is doing right now is planning for this possibility, but his greater hope is to eliminate it. The same goes for Tian Gong. Earthly script is too easy to be manipulated. Most of the time, the two from Tianmen believe in self-preservation."

He then looked at Ao Hong, "What Changqing wants to do is destined to be rejected by the other fellow Daoists in the future. Although his cultivation is rapid, with his current cultivation, let alone the combined efforts of the other fellow Daoists, even I cannot defeat him. Do you think he can persevere?"

Ao Hong didn't rush to answer. After thinking for a long time, he asked, "What is Changqing's current cultivation level?"

Dragon Lord replied, “In terms of cultivation alone, he should be the highest among all the True Monarchs besides me, almost on par with Di Wen. If the other fellow Daoists join forces, he has no chance at all. Furthermore, those six demons have been keeping a low profile for nearly ten thousand years, and they may be able to enter a new realm at any moment. If the other fellow Daoists cannot defeat him, they can also win over the demons.”

Ao Hong scoffed, "The demon race? Hmph, I reckon they've already lost the courage to go any further!"

The Dragon Lord immediately reprimanded him sternly: "Don't underestimate anyone. There are capable people among the demon race. Don't forget what happened to Yao Xi."

"Father is right, I was a bit arrogant again..." Ao Hong quickly admitted his mistake, and then continued the previous topic: "Changqing has left a good impression on me. At least his way of handling problems is relatively normal. If I really had to choose one person among the True Lords, I think Changqing is the most suitable to govern this starry sky, apart from Father."

After a few moments of silence, the Dragon Lord said, "You and Lao Jiu have been studying mortal knowledge for so long, researching countless historical documents. With a personality like Chang Qing's, how do you think we should conduct ourselves when he takes control of this starry sky?"

Ao Hong was taken aback and looked at the Dragon King, asking, "Father, are you planning to agree to Lieyang's request?"

The Dragon Lord still did not answer. He looked at Ao Hongyan and said, "It's too early for this matter. What you need to do now is to cultivate diligently and not be distracted by worldly affairs."

...

the other side.

Leaving the blazing sun of Mercury, and standing on the Ascension Platform waiting for the teleportation array to activate, he suddenly became unsure whether he should head to the border or first go to the chaotic storm outside the orbit of the Moon.

After considering it for a moment, he chose to go to the outer planet. After merging with the consciousness of Zhenyang, he did have some moral barriers to some of his plans, but that was all.

With the feeling of weightlessness from the teleportation array, Lieyang appeared on the Ascension Platform of the outer planet. The surrounding cultivators bowed to him, and his gaze fell upon the network of interwoven magic arrays in the starry sky.

The entire starry sky has been transformed into a massive defensive fortification, with tens of thousands of floating array bases connected to each other by various runes, forming a defensive barrier covering a small part of the star field.

Hundreds of thousands of cultivators were scattered across the void nodes between the array bases, each forming hand seals and casting spells. The cultivators of the fourth realm sat on lotus platforms, their bodies surrounded by the aura of the five elements and yin-yang spiritual energy, continuously injecting pure mana into the nearest array base; the cultivators of the third realm formed a battle formation to maintain the spiritual energy channels between the array bases.

"Once I fall from my current position, I will definitely not have a good ending, so you will have to suffer in silence for now. I will make it up to you after I have adjusted everything."

The blazing sun's cold eyes softened into a warm and benevolent gaze the moment his feet touched the Ascension Platform. He smiled and looked around at the cultivators who were bowing to him, then transformed into a streak of light and flew towards the edge of the demonic world.

Upon seeing Lieyang's return, Tiangong asked, "How is it? Will the Dragon Lord intervene?" Lieyang shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, the Dragon Lord will not intervene, but he promised that if we reach an agreement, he will agree to invoke the rules of the starry sky."

Tiangong immediately looked at the earth's inscription.

Di Wenyan said, "What's the point of doing this? We've given our all, only to drive out the extraterrestrial beings. Just when we've stabilized the spirituality of the starry sky, they might descend again."

What he didn't know was that this might be exactly what Tiangong and Lieyang wanted. They wanted this starry sky to keep cycling so that they could control it, plunder its resources for their own cultivation, and seek a higher realm.

However, both Tiangong and Lieyang are people who care about their reputation, and they would never speak their minds.

Upon hearing this, Tiangong exclaimed "The Sage is merciful" and then said to Diwen, "Fellow Daoists Xuanqing and Baiyan have just sent back a message that the chaotic storm on the outer edge of Taiyin Star must be stopped in time. This will distract us. If we do not use the rules of the stone tablet, this world of demonic energy will continue to expand outward. In a few hundred years, that extraterrestrial consciousness may have already rebuilt its physical body."

“That’s perfect, we can suppress his physical body and consciousness!” Diwen and Tiangong looked at each other and said, “We now have tens of millions of cultivators at our disposal, and their power can suppress the expansion of the demonic world.”

Tiangong paused for a moment, then said, "Fellow Daoists Bai Yan and Xuan Qing have confirmed that the energy within the chaotic storm is abundant..."

Diwen raised an eyebrow, looked at Tiangong seriously, and said, "So that's what you were thinking about." He did not blame Tiangong, but sighed and said, "External forces are always external forces. Cultivation is still something you get through your own practice. Even if you are not talented enough, you should not be greedy for temporary gains."

Seeing the dissatisfaction flash between Tiangong's brows, Lieyang couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing, but at the same time, he felt a sense of shared misfortune, as their cultivation levels hadn't improved for a long time.

“Spiritual energy also has consciousness. When you decide to take a shortcut, it will surely turn its back on you.” Diwen stretched out his empty left hand, and a wisp of earth spirit energy swirled around his fingers. “The five colors blind the eye, the five sounds deafen the ear, and the five flavors dull the palate; galloping and hunting drive the mind mad, and rare goods lead to wrongdoing; therefore, the sage focuses on the belly rather than the eye, and thus discards the latter and chooses the former.”

"Changqing has not yet attained the True Lord status, yet he understands these principles, while you have cultivated for tens of thousands of years and witnessed countless cosmic miracles. Why is your cultivation inferior to that of a junior?"

Diwen's final words to Tiangong were tinged with reproach: "Is your Buddhist wisdom just empty talk? Sometimes your ideas are even inferior to those of your disciples."

"The sage is merciful!"

Tiangong put his hands together and said, "Some things, once picked up, are hard to put down. This has nothing to do with great wisdom. If Changqing really has the opportunity to replace us in the future, he will definitely not be able to put it down once he picks it up."

Upon hearing these words, Diwen frowned slightly but did not continue. After sighing, he asked, "What are your plans?"

He glanced at Lieyang as he asked the question.

Tiangong said, "Let's set a time limit. If we can't stop the expansion of the demonic world within three hundred years, you'll have to agree to use the rules of the starry sky."

Diwen did not answer immediately, but instead asked, "What are your thoughts on the chaotic storm on the Moon?"

Tiangong said, "Collect the energy into the crystal and distribute it according to the current arrangement of the meeting. Also, take this opportunity to see the reactions of the other fellow Daoists."

Upon hearing this, Diwen looked thoughtfully at Lieyang and said, "You're quite the schemer, but I'm afraid we'll have to fight." From Diwen's current perspective, it was Lieyang who wanted to take away his share.

Lieyang simply bowed silently, seemingly not intending to dwell on the topic.

Diwen didn't bother with any more words and said directly, "Then let's contact the other fellow Daoists and hold a meeting."

...

Outer edge of the chaotic storm.

Wang Ping, Xuan Qing, and Bai Yan stood in the void, forming a triangle around the chaotic storm. The magic array they constructed covered an area of ​​nearly 100,000 miles around the storm.

A white jade array plate floated above Xuanqing's head, covered with Taiqing runes. Thousands of pure qi hung down, wrapping around the surface of the storm like a spider web. In the area bound by the pure qi, the gray-black turbulent currents struggled left and right like trapped beasts. Each struggle tore fine cracks in the void, but they could never break free.

Bai Yan stood on a dark blue array, where the Yin energy condensed into an ice crystal barrier, freezing the turbulent storm into a strange sculpture. The frozen domain remained eerily still, and the frozen energy turbulence retained its ferocious form in its final moments, yet a faint light still slowly writhed within.

Behind Wang Ping, the illusory image of the Jianmu tree supported the sky, and countless vines pierced into the storm. The chaotic energy of the starry sky covered by the Jianmu vines surged like boiling water, and emerald halos constantly burst from the nodes of the vines, dyeing the gray-black turbulence green.

Upon receiving Lieyang's message, Wang Ping immediately connected with the puppet on Jupiter. When the projection space of a meeting opened, Wang Ping suddenly felt a strange change in his own destiny. This change made him feel extremely agitated. He immediately entered a state of 'self-discipline' and began to deduce with his hands.

Xuanqing, who was 100,000 miles away, was in the same boat. The Jade Purity Sect's gaze into destiny was even more intense than that of the Taiyan Sect. After a long while, Xuanqing looked in the direction of Wang Ping and sighed.

Wang Ping couldn't predict the outcome, but he knew that this gathering would inevitably involve a decision that would affect his fate, so he decided to first see what the True Lords at the gathering planned.

When his consciousness entered the projection space, the other True Monarchs, including the two from the Demon Clan and the Star God Alliance, were already seated. He first bowed to the two Saints, then cupped his hands to the crowd and explained, "There was a problem with the magic array just now, which delayed us for a while. Please forgive me, fellow Daoists."

"Business is important, fellow Daoist, please take a seat."

Tiangong smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.

After Wang Ping took his seat, Lieyang began with the same opening remarks: "The Dragon Lord will not participate in this meeting, but he will support all our decisions."

Without waiting for a response, he got straight to the point: "I think you all know why we have this emergency meeting. There are two things to discuss: first, how to deal with the extraterritorial rebels; and second, how to properly resolve the energy turbulence that has appeared on Taiyin Star."

He paused and then added, "These two things can also be considered one thing, since they were both caused by things from outside the realm. If you have any thoughts, feel free to share them."

As before, he first handed the problem over to others without offering his opinion immediately.

(End of this chapter)