There is a progress bar in my cultivation of immortality

Chapter 1047 Stopping the Mind and Putting It to Use
Over the next few months, Wang Ping refined the Chaotic Storm while simultaneously attempting to nourish the Netherworld Demon Source with his puppets. Finally, one day six months later, the light screen panel reacted:

[Unknown Secret Technique: Nourishing the Demonic Source with one's divine soul requires setting up a stable consciousness array, maintaining reverence for the internal consciousness of the Demonic Source, and being prepared for any backlash from the consciousness. Each cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage can attempt this a maximum of two times in the Central Continent. Within ten years, one can achieve fusion between one's own divine soul and the Demonic Source. (Progress 5/100, today's progress 1/2 times)]

[Note 1: The consciousness of a newly born demonic source is not strong. It can be completely resisted by someone with Foundation Establishment cultivation. Remember, it is to resist, not suppress. The characteristic of the demonic source is aggression, and you need to be even more adept at aggression than it.]

[Note 2: You can be even more insane than it, forcing it to submit to your will, which can accelerate the process of cultivating the magic source.]

[Note 3: The best fixed magic circle is one with the water element attribute; opposition is relative.]

When the light screen panel popped up, Wang Ping didn't immediately pay attention to the markings on it. Instead, he used his powerful primordial spirit consciousness to capture the golden light within his primordial spirit and physical body.

Unfortunately, just like before, it can see, but it cannot probe with its primordial spirit.

Wang Ping stopped dwelling on the matter, because once his consciousness became trapped in it, he would be unable to break free for a very long time.

Following the prompts on the light screen panel, Wang Ping spent another six months cultivating the compatibility between the puppet's soul and the demonic source to (10/100).

During this time, the universe returned to calm. The struggle between the three factions of Linshui Mansion, Zhenyang Sect, and Vajra Temple ended at some point. The rebel front was also in a stalemate, and the Earth Script did not advance rashly as it had at the beginning.

While everyone was focused on their own affairs, Zhi Xin appeared at the public Ascension Platform of Taiyin Star with five Fifth Realm Star Gods. Since they had already presented their visiting cards, the Taiyin Sect disciples verified their identities and then set up a cloud bridge leading to the Chaotic Storm for Zhi Xin and the others to use. This also told Zhi Xin and the others that they could only fly within the area defined by the cloud bridge.

As the group approached the chaotic storm, Wang Ping released his aura to guide them closer to the Wood Spirit World.

At the edge of the chaotic storm's raging and disordered energy turbulence, the barrier of the Wood Spirit World remained as solid as an ancient rock. When Zhi Xin and his group of six, riding the cloud bridge guided by the Taiyin Sect, arrived at the outer edge of the Wood Spirit World following that gentle yet vast aura, the raging storm around them seemed to be soothed by an invisible force, revealing a strangely peaceful area.

The next moment, the space rippled silently, and a figure materialized from the void, solidifying in front of the six people.

That was the body that Wang Ping manifested through his primordial spirit.

Zhi Xin dared not be negligent in the slightest. Although the five Fifth Realm Star Gods behind him were veterans of countless battles, they also felt an immense sense of pressure originating from their life level and the essence of their power.

Then, the six people moved in perfect unison, without the slightest hesitation, and under Zhi Xin's lead, bowed deeply to the illusory figure. Their postures were extremely respectful, and their voices carried heartfelt reverence and an undisguised awe.

"This humble Taoist greets True Lord Changqing!"

Their battle leather armor, unique to the outer borders, was still stained with dust and malevolent energy, but under the radiance of the True Monarch's projection, these traces seemed to be purified, leaving only pure reverence for the supreme being.

Furthermore, judging from their normal human physiques, they were most likely the earliest human cultivators to follow Yuanwu in cultivating planetary god abilities, and also the group of star gods who felt the strongest sense of belonging to the inner ring star field.

Wang Ping's primordial spirit projection cast a deep, calm gaze across the crowd, then nodded almost imperceptibly and said, "It is good that you have abandoned darkness for light. From now on, you must abide by the order of the Dao Palace."

"Yes, I obey the True Lord's decree!"

Six people responded simultaneously.

Wang Ping's gaze fell on an acquaintance, Pei Daoren, whom he had wanted to join long ago, but was later tricked by Hui Daoren, which prevented the plan from succeeding.

Wang Ping, whose true form was hidden inside the Wood Spirit World, opened his 'Heavenly Eye' between his eyebrows and scanned Zhi Xin, Pei Daoren, and the others. Zhi Xin and the others immediately seemed to sense something, but under Wang Ping's gaze, they dared not make any moves and could only maintain a respectful and attentive demeanor as he listened to his teachings.

A few breaths later, six different paintings separated in Wang Ping's ocean of consciousness; they were six life paintings, each with different colors but similar trajectories.

He saw a frail boy struggling to survive while being hunted by demons. His eyes burned with a thirst for power. He was eventually found by Yuanwu, who taught him the secret arts of the mind. He then spent thousands of years in the ice and darkness of the outer battlefield.

I also saw a descendant of a human leader who, after his tribe was overthrown by the demon race, cultivated under the Yuanwu Sect with deep-seated hatred. Later, he continuously killed demon cultivators in the war against the demon race and fought a difficult battle in the outer realms.

There was also a pitiful person who fled to the cold snowy lands of the Northern Continent to escape the demon race. Before his life was cut off, he was taken in by Yuanwu and eventually advanced step by step to the fifth realm. He then established his own dojo and ecological zone on the border of the outer realm and passed on countless disciples.

Just as Wang Ping had predicted, all six of them were human cultivators before the great war of the demon race. They were fortunate enough to be chosen by Yuan Wu to cultivate the planetary mysterious method. In their memories, Yuan Wu had trained at least tens of thousands of children and teenagers, but in the end, only less than twenty of them made it to the present day, and now only the six of them remain.

Throughout their long lives, they spent most of their time fighting. At first, they fought against the demon race, then against extraterrestrial monsters, and later against the Dao Palace cultivators, who were defined as rebels by Wang Ping's decree. The place where they had earned their lives with blood and fire collapsed under Wang Ping's decree.

They all had some complaints about Wang Ping, but as time went by, those complaints were quickly replaced by the pressure of survival.

Although these six people already possessed the cultivation of a fifth-realm Star God, they were still no match for Wang Ping. Their methods of concealing their auras were completely exposed under Wang Ping's gaze.

The result was that none of the six of them had any problems!

This result did not surprise Wang Ping. Their defection stemmed from their subconscious attachment to the human cultivators, a life shaped by their birth. Their lives made their survival their top priority, and now seeking refuge with the True Lords was clearly the best way to survive.

After reading these six memories, Wang Ping verified that the six realm secret techniques they had obtained were indeed almost identical to those provided by Bai Yan. Only then did he clear these memories from his own consciousness, mark the six people as temporarily safe, and said, "You can follow Zang Yi and Yue Xi to annihilate the rebel army. There will be rewards after the battle."

“However…” His voice suddenly turned cold, like an ice blade slicing through the void, “The laws of the Dao Palace are the heavenly rules, and none of you may overstep them in the slightest.”

The six men felt a chill run down their spines. Wang Ping's penetrating gaze and the unwavering resolve in his words made them instinctively bow again and shout, "Thank you for your grace, True Lord! We will strictly abide by the rules and regulations and dare not disobey!"

A complex mix of emotions surged beneath Pei Daoren's lowered eyelids: the regret of not being able to seek refuge back then, the fear of having his thoughts exposed, and the unfathomable uncertainty about the future.

Wang Ping didn't care about his thoughts. After giving his instructions, he waved his hand and said, "Do your job well and leave." With that, the illusory figure he created with his primordial spirit disappeared.

Zhi Xin and the other six breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little disappointed. After all, they were all fifth-realm star gods, and more or less believed that they were of great use, especially the four star gods who had not yet had the chance to reveal their identities.

"Everyone, a new life awaits us. True Lord Changqing has made it clear. Now that we have returned to the Dao Palace and are under the tutelage of you True Lords, it is time to make our mark. We must not slack off."

Zhi Xin's voice revealed his anticipation for the future. Most of his disciples had moved out of the outer borders ahead of time, and now that they had returned to the inner ring star field, they were not empty-handed.

Upon hearing this, the other five immediately expressed their support, since Wang Ping was right there. Then, led by Zhi Xin, they returned to the public ascension platform of Taiyin Star along the cloud bridge, preparing to go to the front line to make further contributions.

After taking in these six people, Wang Ping didn't pay much attention to them. Star God cultivators could be an important fighting force for the future, but they were of no help to his current predicament.

...

Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. Wang Ping's progress in cultivating the 'Heaven Stealing Talisman' has increased slightly, reaching (61/100).

Ten years is but a fleeting moment in the vast universe. The core area of ​​the inner ring star field maintains a superficial peace due to the will of the Dao Palace True Monarch, but the invisible battle line on the outer border is like a solidified scar on the star river, lying between order and chaos.

The once unstoppable momentum of the Earth Script True Lord has long been replaced by a protracted tug-of-war. The once fiercely clashing starfield battlefield has now fallen into a heavy and oppressive silent standoff.

The composite defense belt, jointly constructed by Dao Palace cultivators, resembles a long serpent composed of countless floating fortresses and energy barrier nodes, winding and coiling in the starry sky.

On the other side of the defensive line, the star field controlled by the rebels was eerily silent, with no large-scale energy fluctuations or mobilizing fleets, only a deliberately maintained, deeper darkness.

Occasionally, swift, ghostly reconnaissance shuttles would silently glide out of the darkness, flashing past the edge of the outer perimeter of the defense zone, leaving behind a few fleeting ripples of energy before disappearing into the boundless chaos.

To make it easier to supply the front lines, the Dao Palace built a cluster of ecological zones outside the defensive line, which resembled a group of isolated islands rooted on the edge of the steel defense line and the dark chaos. Their light stood out conspicuously in the cold void.

The real battlefield for the allied forces over the past decade was not merely the silent standoff line, but the encirclement of that demonic world that expanded like a cosmic scar!
The thick, inky, foul demonic energy churned and expanded deep within the star field controlled by the rebels, periodically assaulting the Dao Palace's defenses in an attempt to pollute the starry sky and expand outwards. To stop the pollution and impact of the demonic energy, the Dao Palace has already paid the price of hundreds of thousands of light-cultivation Qi practitioners' lives.

Despite the relentless erosion of demonic energy day and night, the Dao Palace's defensive line not only remained unbroken, but instead continued to purify and counterattack, forcing the filthy demonic energy boundary line back and compressing it inch by inch.

However, this progress is extremely slow. At this rate, it is clear that Diwen will not be able to win the bet with Tiangong, and the rebels and extraterrestrial beings in the demonic world will certainly not surrender easily.

A real battle seemed imminent, yet it just wouldn't erupt, keeping the frontline cultivators on edge, never daring to relax their guard. As a result, the defenses had to be rotated every month. Fortunately, there were enough cultivators in the inner ring star region.

Time continued to move forward in this state, and several more years passed in the blink of an eye.

Suddenly, the long-silent darkness erupted.

Without warning or probing, millions of crimson lights suddenly shone from the depths of the dark star field. It was the long-planned attack signal from the rebels. In an instant, countless ferocious demonized flying ships surged out of the darkness, like ants pouring out of a broken anthill, densely swarming towards the Dao Palace's defense line.

Wang Ping immediately awoke from his meditative state, as did the other True Monarchs, but he merely watched.

The rebel airships had no formation whatsoever, yet they carried a suffocatingly frenzied momentum. The defensive array in front of the floating fortress at the forefront immediately lit up, and the energy barrier instantly increased to its maximum intensity. The patrolling airship formation quickly assembled, forming an interception net above the defensive line.

Earthly True Monarch sat in the command tower of the extraterrestrial planet. His primordial spirit instantly enveloped the entire front-line battlefield. He discovered that although the number of these attacking flying ships was astonishing, they were all controlled by the lowest-level demonized puppets, without even the aura of a fifth-realm cultivator.

"Order all combat battalions to respond according to Plan C." Di Wen's calm voice echoed throughout the command post. "Without orders, no battalion shall launch an attack without authorization. The defensive line must be kept intact."

The front line of defense on the outer planet was held by the snake demon Bai Xin, who was stationed with elite demons. He didn't take such a large-scale attack seriously.

The battle erupted in silence. The Dao Palace's defensive shock array wove a dense net of light, tearing the demonized flying boats at the forefront to shreds. But the flying boats behind were fearless. They even actively crashed into the energy barrier, releasing large clumps of filthy demonic energy in the explosion. This demonic energy was like a living thing, and after exploding, it quickly corroded the barrier of the defensive array.

As time went by, the defensive barrier on the front line was about to collapse. The cultivators on the front line anxiously awaited the order to counterattack or the arrival of reinforcements, but Diwen remained unmoved. His deep gaze pierced through the battlefield and stared into the dark depths.

After three days and three nights of relentless attacks, the first energy barrier of the Dao Palace's defense line finally succumbed to its strain and shattered with a deafening explosion. Only then did Di Wen order, "Retreat to the second line of defense."

The order was instantly transmitted throughout the entire army via divine sense. The well-trained cultivators immediately initiated the pre-set retreat procedure, and the floating fortress began to slowly move backward under the cover of the shock beams.

When the last fortress was retreated to the second line of defense, Diwen personally intervened. He formed a hand seal and gently pressed it into the void. In an instant, countless beams of earthen-yellow light illuminated the abandoned first line of defense area.

"rise!"

Diwen issued a decree.

With a deafening roar, the star field began to distort and collapse. The demonized spaceships that were pouring in were instantly torn to pieces, and the demonic energy that was seeping in was also swept into the suddenly appearing spatial rift.

This was a trap set by the Earth Script long ago, using an entire star field as the price to teach the rebels a bloody lesson.

However, countless frenzied consciousnesses then emerged from within the demonic world, and countless demonized flying boats carrying mad wills surged forth from the front lines of defense to attack the Dao Palace's defenses.

(End of this chapter)