There is a progress bar in my cultivation of immortality

Chapter 1056 The Buddhist Kingdom of Heavenly Craftsmanship

Wang Ping, who was in deep meditation, woke up immediately. The confinement he placed on Tiangong was mediated by his own powerful divine consciousness, which was connected to his divine palace.

At the center of the divine palace, a complex divine rune was being constructed, drawing upon the power of the entire palace to suppress Tiangong's physical body and primordial spirit.

At this moment, an invisible force is penetrating the divine runes.

Suddenly, the divine runes in the center of the divine palace twisted and deformed, and fine cracks appeared on the surface, as if countless invisible hands were tearing at it. The golden divine light flowing inside the runes began to become disordered, sometimes expanding like the blazing sun, and sometimes contracting like fireflies.

Wang Ping stretched out his hand and gently pointed. The surging faith and spirituality gathered within the divine realm converged towards the divine rune like a tide, but it stabilized in the blink of an eye and dispelled the tearing force from the outside.

Subsequently, his consciousness, through the medium of the faith and spirituality of the Divine Palace, landed on the divine runes in the center of the palace, and quickly sensed the Heavenly Craftsman's rebellious consciousness at this moment.

Yu Lian then perched on Wang Ping's shoulder, her primordial spirit connected with Wang Ping's consciousness, curiously observing the struggle between Wang Ping and Tian Gong, ready to contact the followers of the Taiyan Sect at any time to activate the divine magic array set up by Jupiter.

A few breaths later, Wang Ping's consciousness pierced through the barrier of the divine runes, and a majestic mountain suddenly unfolded before his eyes.

The mountain is as clear as crystal, with a faint golden light flowing across its surface. Every inch of the rock face is engraved with Buddhist characters from the Vajra Temple, the characters vigorous and powerful like dragons and snakes coiling, exuding a solemn and dignified Zen spirit.

At the summit, a magnificent Buddhist temple stands tall, its golden roof reflecting the sunlight. Copper bells hanging between the upturned eaves move automatically without wind, emitting clear and melodious Buddhist chants that echo throughout the entire Buddhist kingdom.

The mountain path winds along, with countless stone statues standing on both sides of the stone steps, all in the form of demons. There are monks with fox heads and human bodies, their hands clasped together, their expressions devout; there are arhats with tiger faces and fangs, their eyes wide open in anger, yet concealing compassion; and there are bodhisattvas with eagle wings hanging down their shoulders, their brows lowered and their eyes downcast, as if listening to the voices of all living beings.

Although they looked different, they all wore robes, held prayer beads, and were enveloped in a faint Buddhist light, blending seamlessly with the atmosphere of the entire mountain.

The mountains were shrouded in mist, and countless illusory figures appeared and disappeared, all resembling demon monks.

Some sat cross-legged chanting scriptures, some walked slowly, and some bowed with their palms together. Although their movements were not exactly the same, they all conveyed a sense of tranquility and devotion. Their consciousness resonated with the Buddhist temple on the mountaintop. The chanting sound rose and fell like the tide, yet remained harmonious and unified, as if they had long since merged with the will of the heavens, and there was no longer any distinction between them.

Within the mountaintop temple, the will of the divine craftsmanship hangs like the sun in the sky, illuminating the entire Buddhist kingdom. With each ripple of Buddhist light, the chanting of sutras rises and falls throughout the mountain, and countless figures appear and disappear, as if their very existence is the manifestation of the divine craftsmanship's Buddhist teachings.

Upon witnessing this scene through Wang Ping's primordial spirit, Yu Lian immediately exclaimed, "This is the ocean of Tian Gong's consciousness. He created a divine kingdom within his ocean of consciousness, and these demon monks are Buddhas appointed by him, as well as some of the most important relatives and friends in his life. He actually maintains his humanity in such a way; truly... amazing!"

Wang Ping couldn't help but admire the work of nature. It created a Buddhist kingdom in its own ocean of consciousness and even separated different consciousnesses to communicate. Most people would probably have gone mad long ago, but it was able to maintain a clear mind.

"Perhaps this is the Buddhist kingdom!"

As he spoke, he stepped onto the mountain steps and instantly appeared outside the gate of the Buddhist temple at the summit. As Wang Ping stepped into the temple, the view before him suddenly opened up.

The temple is paved with gold bricks and lotus patterns are carved on the ground. On both sides stand eighteen golden statues of demons and Buddhas in different forms. The first one on the left is a white elephant venerable, with an elephant head and a human body, a long trunk that hangs down, and half-closed eyes, revealing compassion for all living beings. The first one on the right is a blue lion bodhisattva, with a mane like flames, but a serene face, holding a lotus flower in its paws, as if listening to the suffering of the world.

Further inside, there are various Buddhist figures such as the Fox-faced Guanyin, the Black Tortoise Arhat, and the Crane Buddha, some sitting, some standing, some smiling, some lost in thought. Each one is lifelike, surrounded by a faint golden Buddhist light. They all have compassion in their eyes, and their gentle gazes are fixed on Wang Ping as he enters this place, as if they had already foreseen his arrival.

In the center of the Buddhist hall, a nine-tiered lotus platform floats in mid-air. Tiangong sits on it, wearing a golden-red kasaya. His face presents the perfect image of a Buddha, with a dot of cinnabar on his forehead, his ears reaching his shoulders, his eyebrows lowered, and a serene smile on his lips that seems to transcend life and death.

Behind him, a golden halo slowly rotated, within which countless Buddhist characters could be faintly seen flowing, each character seemingly containing the supreme Dharma.

Below the lotus platform, the merit water in the Seven Treasures Pond ripples gently, and golden lotuses bloom in the pond. On each lotus flower sits a miniature version of a demon Buddha, chanting sutras in a low voice, the sounds converging into a peaceful chant.

Tiangong slowly raised his eyes, his gaze as clear as the morning star, yet as deep as the sea. He did not speak, but the chanting throughout the Buddhist hall changed, transforming into a magnificent Buddhist sound:
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Changqing!"

His voice was neither hurried nor slow, showing neither resentment at being trapped nor eagerness to escape, but only a detached calm.

When Yu Lian was in Tian Gong's sight, she immediately hid all her aura in Wang Ping's spiritual sea. Wang Ping met her gaze directly, and all Buddhist thoughts flooded into his mind. Just as a fantasy was about to form, it was suppressed by a powerful will.

"Fellow Daoist, your path is truly righteous and honorable. Why must you choose the path of divine arts, and why give rise to so many unnecessary thoughts?" As Wang Ping bowed to Tiangong, a divine light rose from beneath his feet, converging into a golden mystic light behind him.
His figure remained standing in the same spot, yet he gave off a sense of infinite elevation, with enormous phantom images of divine kingdoms constantly appearing around him, through which one could see countless believers praying.

Then, he reached out his left hand and gently grasped a branch of the Jianmu tree in his hand. Yu Lian's consciousness, which was in Wang Ping's spiritual sea, also appeared on Wang Ping's shoulder, her golden vertical pupils curiously observing everything in the Buddhist kingdom.

"Fellow Daoist, don't you find what you're saying laughable?" Tiangong maintained his solemn demeanor, met Wang Ping's gaze, and said, "Fellow Daoist, you also possess the Great Dao, so why do you stir up trouble?"

Wang Ping fell silent. That's human nature; people always have two sets of standards for others and for themselves. After more than ten breaths of silence, he spoke again: "With your current cultivation level, you cannot break my restraints, so why bother yourself?"

The Heavenly Palace remained solemn and dignified, showing no fluctuation in emotion or expression. Instead of answering Wang Ping's question, he extended his left hand and pointed in front of him, instantly unfurling a phantom star map.

Countless points of light appeared on the star map, each representing a temple of Vajra Temple. Countless believers knelt before the altar, chanting the mantras of the Heavenly Craftsmen. Their spirituality transformed into streams of golden light, converging at a certain point in the void like rivers flowing into the sea.

The worship of believers forms a vast array spanning a star field, with 360 main temples as the array's core and tens of thousands of branch temples as nodes, all connected by spiritual veins formed by the power of faith.

At this moment, Tiangong made a hand seal with his right hand, and the boundless light and electricity of faith in the Buddhist kingdom converged on his consciousness, clearing away the binding spells that Wang Ping had set up in his body.

The binding spell immediately showed signs of loosening. Although the movement was so weak as to be negligible, if this continued for many years, the binding spell would inevitably collapse before it was unsealed.

"What made you decide to do this?" Wang Ping asked softly. This was the most basic and most effective method, but it would damage the foundation of Tiangong's divine kingdom. Moreover, if he didn't want to, he could continue to exert influence on the imprisonment spell, making Tiangong's efforts completely futile.

"I just want to see what you will choose, fellow Daoist. If you want to continue imprisoning me, you will spend most of your energy on me."

Tiangong responded with unusual calmness.

After saying that, he added: "The war to wipe out the rebels is not going well at the moment. Lieyang is busy with his own affairs, and you have imprisoned me, which makes the progress of purifying the chaotic storm slower than ever before. When the agreed time of three hundred years arrives, the summoning of the universe rules will be a matter of course, and you will be chosen by the Dragon Lord to become the energy source for the descent of the rules."

"In addition, there is another matter. In this chaotic situation, I think you are right. There is indeed a need for new Xuanmen Five Realms. So I have arranged for Wangqing to advance to the fifth realm, and Lieyang is probably doing the same thing."

Upon hearing this, Yu Lian said in her spiritual sea, "These people are indeed difficult to deal with. If they can really come to their senses and allow their disciples to advance to the fifth realm, it will be difficult for us to stop them. However, Xiao Shan has already occupied one of the spots, which is inherently disadvantageous to us."

Tiangong looked at the still silent Wang Ping, dispelled the star map in front of him, formed a Buddhist mudra with his hands, and said to Wang Ping with a detached attitude of neither joy nor sorrow: "You have another path to take, which is to kill me now, or kill Diwen and Lieyang!"

Yu Lian stretched her neck and said to Tian Gong, "Master, are you so confident that the Five Realms you have trained will listen to you? With them around, you will immediately become dispensable."

Although she looked down on Tiangong in her heart, she only had the cultivation level of the fourth realm, and she still maintained basic respect for Tiangong in her words. This was the deterrent power of the position of True Monarch to other cultivators. Even Yulian could not resist this kind of deterrent power.

Tiangong's expression remained unchanged as he replied, "You're right. We can deduce everything, but we cannot deduce the choices people make. So we can only choose the path we believe to be right from among countless dark roads. As for what we will encounter on this path and what our fate will be, we can only leave that to the will of Heaven."

As he said this, he pointed his right finger at Wang Ping and said, "Just like when we chose you, I don't regret my choice. Your advancement to the fifth realm has at least maintained the peace of this starry sky for more than a thousand years, and that's enough."

Wang Ping couldn't help but recall the events that had occurred since he advanced to the fifth realm. In fact, his conflict with Tiangong and Diwen was not a life-or-death struggle, but merely a clash of interests. As his cultivation continued to improve, he would inevitably have to control this starry sky in the future, which would undoubtedly offend the interests of Tiangong and the others.

They would instinctively protect their own interests and suppress Wang Ping's cultivation speed, to the point that they came up with a plan to use Wang Ping's cultivation level to manifest the rules of the starry sky.

"I didn't mean any harm, I just wanted to do something."

Wang Ping looked at Tiangong and said.

Tiangong closed his eyes slightly, indicating he did not intend to continue communicating with Wang Ping.

After confronting him for more than ten breaths, Wang Ping withdrew from the Buddhist Kingdom of Heavenly Craft with Yu Lian's consciousness. When the magnificent palace of the Divine Kingdom reappeared in their sight, Yu Lian, who was lying in the center of the map of the Divine Kingdom, immediately contacted the seven Rakshasa envoys. The auras of the two nine-tailed foxes, Cai Yan and Chi Mei, also appeared under the throne one after another.

However, Wang Ping did not immediately express his opinion. He sat quietly on the throne. The thing that bothered him most during this conversation with Tiangong was that the Dragon Lord was on the opposite side of him.

"How is the artifact repair going?"

Wang Ping suddenly asked about this matter.

Yu Lian was taken aback, sensing Wang Ping's emotions, and replied, "Suppressed under Mount Jiuxuan."

Wang Ping nodded and then asked, "Are Rong'er and the others doing alright?"

Yu Lian replied, "Everything is fine. Qianqian is expected to advance in seclusion within thirty years, and Wenyi has also recovered well."

Wang Ping nodded again, then sat on the throne and fell silent. Half an hour later, he began to multitask, refining the chaotic storm, deducing the fourth stage of the "Gathering Wood Technique", and continuing the experiment of the Star Barrier.

However, he soon found himself lost in deep thought.

After a long silence, he said, "This starry sky is still too small. We are hesitant to do anything, and even when we try to attack our opponents, we end up damaging our own interests."

Yu Lian, lying on the map of the divine kingdom, replied, "So our goal has always been to go out into the world, hasn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ping extended his left hand and waved it gently. The Divine Kingdom Palace vanished without a trace. Then, the illusory image of the Jianmu tree behind him grew wildly until it reached a height of ten thousand feet before stopping.

Then Wang Ping made a hand seal with his right hand, and a river of time appeared in the Wood Spirit World in front of him. With his other hand, Wang Ping gently touched the river of time, and endless Wood Spirit runes gathered at the center of the river of time, forming layers of emerald green light.

"This is... a Star God Core? Do you know how to create a Star God Core?" Yu Lian sensed the characteristics of the emerald green light spot and immediately asked Wang Ping.

"No, this is not the core of the Star God, but a manifestation of a characteristic of the Wood Spirit. Can it help unorthodox sects generate a spiritual vein core?" Wang Ping's last question was an inquiry.

Xinghai's voice appeared as Wang Ping finished speaking. Looking at the 'time' properties gathered by Wang Ping, he said, "You actually had the answer a long time ago, so why did you ask me?"

Wang Ping remained silent. He looked at Yu Lian and said, "Imprisoning the Heavenly Craftsman is no longer important. What we need to do now is to quickly resolve the internal problems of the Taiyan Sect and the Star God Alliance, and wait for the situation to change."

"Can't we strike first? Is it because of the rebels?"

"The rebels are only part of the reason; the bigger reason is that it's unnecessary, and there's no advantage to strike first."

(End of this chapter)