There is a progress bar in my cultivation of immortality

Wang Ping's gaze immediately fell on the light screen panel:

[Spatial Singularity Construction: Capture spatial particles under the Wood Spirit's rules, refine them for your own use, and construct a stable spatial singularity to achieve control over the 'space' property. When you control 80/100 spatial particles in your Wood Spirit world, you can attempt to construct a spatial singularity. Current progress: 10/100.]

[Note 1: The 'spatial' property is omnipresent. It exists within the rules of the Wood Spirit, yet it is not bound by them. You need to refine a portion of energy particles with spatial properties within the Wood Spirit world to help you manipulate these properties at any time.]

[Note 2: Only your Wood Spirit World can retain spatial particles, or refine a magical artifact used for casting spells.]

[Note 3: When your refining progress reaches (100/100), the 'space' properties under the starry sky will become second nature, and you will no longer need external assistance.]

[Note 4: Attempt to integrate this with the 'time' feature.]

After reading the contents of the light screen panel, Wang Ping subconsciously used his 'Heavenly Eye' to observe the 'space' particles manifested within the Wood Spirit World. Then, countless chaotic images appeared, but it was impossible to trace back to the period when the space was formed.

This result confirmed some of Wang Ping's conjectures: the 'space' characteristic clearly did not exist under the rules of the Wood Spirits at the beginning of the universe; it was captured by the ancient Wood Spirit life forms through long-term observation.

"Did you make it?"

Yu Lian's voice echoed in the spiritual sea.

Wang Ping responded, "It hasn't been successful yet, but I've already detected its existence, and success is only a matter of time."

Yu Lian immediately felt joy in her mind. Then she stopped disturbing Wang Ping's cultivation and transformed into her true form, using Wang Ping's primordial spirit to manifest the divine palace. She absorbed the spiritual energy within the divine kingdom for cultivation while communicating with the believers.

Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye…

Over the past twenty years, the sudden disappearance of the True Monarchs has further exacerbated the chaos in the starry sky, but the conflict has remained limited to the struggle for faith. Meanwhile, bloody battles have taken place on the front lines every year for the past twenty years, with the five realms of the demon race intervening several times to barely stop the demonic world from expanding into outer space. However, the expansion on both flanks cannot be stopped.

Wang Ping's progress in refining the 'Heaven-Stealing Talisman' increased by three points over the past twenty years due to the refinement of the Chaotic Storm and the 'Space' property, reaching (70/100), while the refinement progress of the 'Space' property reached (60/100).

The reason Wang Ping woke up from his meditation was because he sensed that the puppet, which had advanced to the fourth realm using the "Gathering Wood Technique," was about to condense a wood spirit core in its dantian.

This news was reminded to him by Yu Lian in the Spirit Sea. Over the years, Yu Lian has been traveling back and forth between Jiuxuan Mountain, busy with the faith war between the Underground Gate and the Vajra Temple, and often descending to the ecological zone of the Star God Alliance to select some good seedlings to cultivate their faith consciousness.

When Wang Ping's consciousness descended upon his clone, Yu Lian, who was playing with her clansmen in a nearby river, immediately sensed it and transformed into a beam of green light, appearing near Wang Ping's clone.

At this moment, the puppet is in perfect condition. The wood spirit light points gathered within its body based on the 'time' characteristic have formed the core prototype, and countless emerald green wood spirit light points in the sea of ​​qi are slowly rotating like a galaxy vortex.

"It should be in the next few days!"

Yu Lian gazed into the world of inspiration, softly uttered these words, and then transformed into a streak of light, flying towards the place where Yang Rong was cultivating in seclusion.

Fifteen minutes later, Yu Lian returned, this time with Yang Rong.

"Master!"

Yang Rong bowed respectfully.

Wang Ping's clone nodded and said, "Take good care of the changes in the puppet's Qi Sea and the strength of its consciousness."

"Yes, Master!"

Yang Rong naturally dared not be negligent; her success or failure lay in this.

Two Central Plains Queens…

Suddenly, a blinding blue light burst forth from the center of the puppet's vortex of qi. A prismatic crystal gradually solidified in the light, and fine emerald green patterns appeared on the surface of the crystal.

These patterns appeared out of thin air, as if an invisible hand was drawing them. When the last pattern was formed, the entire crystal suddenly became transparent, and a miniature world appeared inside, with mountains, rivers, plants and animals living in it.

At the same time, wood-like textures appeared on the puppet's body, wriggling and growing like living things, quickly covering its entire body. When the textures spread to the center of its brow, they suddenly emitted a dazzling emerald green halo, forming a leaf-shaped emerald green mark on its forehead.

The outside world suddenly changed color at this moment. The spiritual energy within a radius of a thousand miles gathered wildly, forming a spiritual energy vortex with a diameter of a hundred miles above the puppet's head. Thousands of blue light bands hung down from the vortex, and a golden lotus flower bloomed at the end of each light band. The moment the lotus flower bloomed, all the nearby plants tilted slightly in the direction of the puppet.

The puppet then opened his eyes, his pupils now a pure blue with a silver glint in the depths. He then slowly raised his right hand, palm up.

In an instant, all the newly grown grass and trees around him turned into green light spots, which condensed into a vibrant green seed above his palm. The fine green patterns on the seed's surface intertwined with the large net of wood spirit rules under Wang Ping's gaze.

"It's done?"

Yu Lian said softly.

She saw the seed undergoing the cycle of the four seasons: sprouting, growing, withering, and rebirth, endlessly repeating itself.

Wang Ping shook his head slightly and said, "No, he advanced through a side path and still needs to go through three tribulations before he can gain the recognition of the Wood Spirit."

After saying this, he stretched out his left hand and gently tapped the air in front of him. Instantly, a blessing talisman was formed and then entered the puppet's body. Then, he reached out and grabbed at the air, and the world dimmed for a moment. This was him seizing the fortune of heaven and earth and applying it to the puppet.

The next moment, the wood spirit within the puppet's sea of ​​qi instinctively devoured the puppet's physical body and primordial spirit, attempting to return to the original state of the wood spirit.

Suddenly, the emerald green mark between the puppet's eyebrows burst forth with dazzling light, and the newly formed wood spirit core within its body trembled violently. The emerald green patterns on the core's surface wriggled like living things, instantly eroding the puppet's meridians in reverse.

"Slow spell, activate!"

The puppet let out a low shout, and countless pale golden runes instantly appeared on its body. These runes wrapped around the puppet like chains, forcibly slowing down the absorption speed of the wood spirit core.

The moment the runes appeared, they shattered at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if corroded by some invisible force.

The puppet's eyes quickly lost their sparkle, and its pupils were gradually covered by a green color, as if it were about to completely transform into an unconscious spirit tree. Then, its skin began to woody, and tiny roots spread from its fingertips, trying to take root in the earth.

"Remember the puppet's current state; his consciousness has not yet succumbed."

Yu Lian whispered instructions to Yang Rong. Yang Rong, of course, dared not let such a good opportunity slip by.

Given the puppet's current state, it has already survived the first tribulation with the help of the 'Slowness Spell,' preserving the basic integrity of its primordial spirit and physical body. Next, within the ten breaths of the 'Slowness Spell's' effect, it needs to mobilize its own consciousness to tame the Wood Spirit Core for its own use.

Yang Rong remained calm and focused, carefully observing the puppet's next move. The puppet was currently attempting to form hand seals with its mutated hands.

On the eighth breath, he finally managed to raise his hands with difficulty, interlacing his fingers to form an ancient hand seal. The erosion of the wood spirit core within his dantian abruptly stopped, the surface patterns rearranged, and the powerful wood spirit energy began to flow along his meridians.

"Zi-"

A piercing sound rang out, and the puppet's body erupted with dazzling blue light. The golden runes of the 'Slowness Technique' on its body surface completely shattered, turning into golden dust that dissipated into the sky. At the same time, it completed a full cycle of Qi circulation in its body using the Wood Spirit Core, taming the Wood Spirit Core within its body.

This is not a complicated process; you only need to use your own consciousness to forcefully suppress it. The difficulty lies in the fact that time is very tight, and the slowing spell must guarantee a maximum of ten breaths. With Wang Ping's 'borrowing luck talisman' and blessing talisman, this can be easily achieved.

But this is just the beginning; the second ordeal is yet to come…

The moment the first tribulation passed, the world suddenly changed. Then, the plants within a radius of a thousand miles went berserk. Countless thick, dark green vines broke through the soil, their bodies covered with sharp, poisonous thorns. These vines were like living things, instantly wrapping around the puppet's body. The poisonous thorns pierced deep into the flesh and spirit, frantically extracting the energy from the core of the wood spirit.

"Fuck-"

The puppet's skin was corroded, but it felt no pain. It mechanically raised its hand, its five fingers like knives, and plunged it into its own abdomen, tearing off three main vines.

Then, the puppet formed hand seals, activating the golden spirit array that had been set up around it. As the array unfolded, the ground beneath the puppet's feet cracked open, and the golden light emitted was like a sword, severing all the vines that followed.

However, dozens of vines still broke through the blockade, coiling around the puppet like giant pythons, their poisonous thorns deeply embedded in the Qi Sea, frantically devouring the energy of the Wood Spirit's core.

The puppet's body shriveled up at a visible rate, as if all its life force had been drained away.

"Roar--"

The puppet suddenly raised its head and let out a roar that was not human. The green leaf mark between its eyebrows suddenly burst out with brilliant light, and the wood spirit core in its body spun wildly, shattering all the invading vines!
This is a rebellion and resistance of the wood spirit energy. The process looks extremely dangerous, but it is actually just a small-scale confrontation between the wood spirit core inside the puppet and the regular wood spirit energy in the surrounding starry sky.

But that wasn't the end of it. The moment the vines shattered, they turned into countless silver grains of sand, forming a terrifying vortex of time around the puppet.

"It's actually a backlash from the time properties!"

Yu Lian frowned slightly and looked in the direction of Wang Ping's clone. Seeing that Wang Ping did not move, she remained quiet and continued to observe. Yang Rong, on the other hand, observed while reinforcing everything she saw in her sea of ​​consciousness.

The puppet's figure began to blur, as if countless fragments of time were overlapping and flashing on it, sometimes turning into a seedling, sometimes into a withered tree, and sometimes even disappearing completely, as if it had never existed.

"Certainly!"

A soft groan echoed from within the river of time, as the puppet activated the surrounding golden spirit array to its maximum extent. The array's light surged, and the sharp golden energy transformed into countless golden chains, forcibly binding the turbulent flow of time and slowing its erosion.

The puppet's body struggled in the turbulent flow of time, the green leaf mark between its brows flickering as if it might be extinguished at any moment.

The two forces became entangled, seemingly unable to determine a winner immediately. However, as a puppet that had just cultivated its Wood Spirit Core and whose primordial spirit consciousness was still in a weak state, it was clearly impossible for it to maintain a prolonged standoff.

"Can you help?"

Yu Lian's voice appeared in Wang Ping's spiritual sea.

Wang Ping responded, "If I were to make a move, the backlash would likely engulf the puppet's primordial spirit and consciousness in the blink of an eye. If I were to use the power of the Wood Spirit Rule level to shift the River of Time away, the puppet would be unable to complete its advancement."

Yulian also understood this principle; her question just now was only subconscious, not an attempt to seek an answer.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

Just as the puppet's consciousness was about to give out, a beam of emerald green light suddenly crashed down from the sky, enveloping the puppet and purifying all the turbulent time currents and residual vines.

This is the wood spirit energy from the starry sky, which acknowledges the puppet's advancement!

After the pillar of light dissipated, the puppet stood quietly, the green leaf mark between its brows completely solidified, and its body emanated a vitality fluctuation indistinguishable from that of a true wood cultivator.

Tribulation overcome, complete!
"This kind of luck is truly unique."

Yu Lian gave the simplest evaluation.

Yang Rong couldn't help but nod. The puppet's successful advancement this time was truly due to luck. The chance of the 'Slow Spell' taking effect was only 5/100, but it took effect immediately, and the effect lasted for the longest ten breaths.

Furthermore, just as the puppet was on the verge of collapse at the last moment, the backlash from the river of time suddenly disappeared.

While recording something on a jade slip, Wang Ping said, "Luck is also a kind of strength. However, when you advance, Rong'er, I will find some Golden Cultivators from the Third Realm Side Sects to protect you. This will suppress the final backlash to the greatest extent. I will also personally enlighten the 'Slowness Technique' on you to increase its success rate."

"Thank you for your mercy, Master!"

Yang Rong immediately clasped her hands in a gesture of respect.

After speaking, Wang Ping turned his gaze to the puppet. The puppet had already passed the most difficult part and now only needed to sleep and wait for the wood spirit energy to nourish its primordial spirit. When the primordial spirit was completely completed, it would officially advance to the fourth realm.

While Wang Ping was watching the puppet, it had already closed its consciousness and fallen into a deep sleep. During its sleep, its physical body transformed into a dense jungle, and its primordial spirit wandered within the jungle.

The forest was filled with a rich aura of wood spirit, each breath containing pure vitality. In the center of this dense forest, a towering ancient tree with a whole body of emerald green rose from the ground, and the surface of the tree trunk showed the same green leaf pattern as the puppet's brow.

Every wisp of wood spirit energy gathered in this forest seeped into the puppet's primordial spirit. Thousands of emerald green ribbons hung from the ancient tree branches with their green leaf patterns, connecting with the primordial spirit and continuously supplying the purest wood spirit energy.

The surface of the puppet's primordial spirit gradually developed a jade-like luster, and patterns of the same origin as the core of the wood spirit emerged inside. These patterns grew and extended on their own, constructing a complete meridian network within the primordial spirit.

According to the records on the light screen panel, the next step could take thousands of years if luck wasn't on your side. However, Wang Ping was a Fifth Realm True Monarch who controlled luck, so as soon as the forest's energy stabilized, he immediately cast a blessing talisman into the forest. (End of Chapter)