There is a progress bar in my cultivation of immortality

Just as Wang Ping was engaged in an earth-shattering duel with the three True Monarchs, Tiangong, Diwen, and Lieyang, near the sun, and the immense power of the rules shook the cosmos, attracting the attention of all high-level cultivators in the inner ring star field, the Demon Star was plunged into an unprecedented and terrifying catastrophe.

Initially, only a few inconspicuous magic array lights appeared sporadically in remote corners of the demon star. These magic arrays had distorted structures and were evil sacrificial rituals that had long been forbidden by the Dao Palace to be used to communicate with extraterrestrial life forms.

However, after only a few breaths, these scattered points of ritual light spread like a plague across the surface of the demon star. Hundreds of sacrificial arrays were activated at the same time, echoing each other and forming a network covering the entire demon star.

Countless low-level demon cultivators, or even some unintelligent demon beasts, were driven into these magic arrays by bewitching or coercing. Their flesh, blood, life, and spirit were sacrificed to the altar as offerings, accompanied by desperate wails!
What appeared on the altar was an indescribable mad consciousness filled with chaos and greed, extraterrestrial energy of various forms polluting the aura, and some distorted life projections, which poured into the demon star like a flood that had burst its banks!
However, due to the restrictions of the rules, only disordered polluted life forms emerged on the altar, and the highest level was only entry into the realm, but there were too many of them.

These polluted, disordered life forms rapidly infiltrated the land, mountains, and rivers of the demon star. Plants withered and mutated instantly, transforming into bizarre beings waving tentacles; rocks twisted and deformed, their surfaces revealing writhing veins; rivers became viscous and putrid, bubbling with colorful bubbles.

The transformations of those beings directly corrupted by extraterrestrial energy were even more terrifying. Some demon cultivators swelled and mutated, losing their reason and turning into monsters that only knew how to kill; others had their consciousness completely devoured, becoming puppets controlled by the rules of destruction from the extraterrestrial realm; and still others had their very existence distorted, becoming living channels for communicating with the extraterrestrial realm!

In a very short time, the entire demon star was transformed from a vibrant sacred place of cultivation into a living hell. Desperate roars, the howls of evil creatures, the explosions of spells, and the buzzing of spatial rifts intertwined, playing a destructive symphony of the collapse of civilization.

When this earth-shattering event occurred, the high-level forces of Xuanmen and Tianmen were preoccupied with the decisive battle between Wang Ping and the three True Monarchs, and had no time to spare. Only some second- and third-realm demon cultivators organized the people of various tribes to resist.

Just as the demonic star transformed into a purgatory, and desperate wails and the roars of evil creatures shook the starry sky.

In the inner ring star field, within the various ecological zones that the Dao Palace has cultivated for thousands of years, another, more hidden yet equally deadly crisis has suddenly bared its fangs like a lurking venomous snake!
These ecological zones, whether belonging to the secluded cultivation grounds of the Xuanmen or the bustling starports controlled by the Tianmen, all require a massive number of cultivators to continuously input their magical power day and night to maintain their massive protective formations and spiritual energy circulation systems.

A significant portion of these tasks are undertaken by unorthodox cultivators whose lifespans are nearing their end. A large portion of these are unorthodox cultivators at the third realm. Most of them share a common characteristic: they are secretly studying and absorbing refined demonic energy, since it has been proven to be harmless energy.

These cultivators are scattered throughout the array nodes, earth vein hubs, and spiritual energy conversion pools, like gears on a precision machine. Though inconspicuous, they are an indispensable part of maintaining the stability of the entire ecosystem.

However, just as the evil ritual of the demon star reached its peak and the extraterrestrial pollution was transmitted across the starry sky through some unknown connection, these old cultivators from unorthodox sects, scattered in countless corners of ecological zones, whose life flames were already as flickering as candles in the wind, almost simultaneously froze!
Then, the light of reason that once belonged to humanity in their cloudy eyes was suddenly extinguished like a candle flame blown out by a gale, and replaced by a scarlet color that was the same as that of extraterrestrial life forms in the Demon Star Domain, filled with chaos and a desire for destruction!

"Ho...ho..."

A strange, inhuman growl squeezed out of their withered throats, and the meager magical power within them, already entangled with demonic energy, instantly boiled over, transforming into the purest and most destructive polluting energy!

The next moment, the madness began!

These out-of-control old cultivators, as if a destructive switch had been flipped, no longer maintained the magic array. Instead, they frantically poured their withered bodies and reversal power into the core of the array they had once guarded.

Some lunged at the hub controlling the flow of spiritual veins, using themselves as fuel to detonate the accumulated spiritual energy and create violent energy storms; others used their twisted fingernails to carve blasphemous runes, polluting the pure spiritual pool and turning the life-sustaining energy source into a highly toxic swamp; still others directly rammed their heads into the fragile rune array, defiling the intricate array structure with their blood and chaotic will!

In just a moment—

Within countless ecological zones, the previously stable light curtains flickered violently, and even collapsed suddenly. The spiritual energy became frenzied and chaotic, triggering a series of small-scale earthquakes and energy leaks. Huge holes appeared in the protective barriers in the sky, and the internal environment began to deteriorate rapidly.

The ecological zone, which originally served as a bastion of civilization, is now facing unprecedented paralysis and turmoil due to the sudden backlash from its internal foundation!

This rebellion, which occurred "from within," was even more destructive and psychologically impactful than the calamity of the demon star.

The inner ring of stars has entered its darkest hour ever…

Some ecological zones around Jupiter also encountered similar problems, but Li Miaolin, Que Cai, Tongyu Daoren, Miaoqing Daoren, Keyue, and Luo Feng, who had already received Wang Ping's orders, immediately led the core disciples of the Taiyan Sect to the ecological zones where the incident occurred to suppress the chaos.

As for the ecological zones near the meteorite belt on the outer edge of Zhongzhou Star, there is nothing that can be done. Fortunately, over the past few hundred years, all factions have been dedicated to promoting the faith in the divine kingdom, and almost every ecological zone is guarded by the divine kingdom envoys of the True Lords.

As the ruling class of this starry sky, the cultivators of the four realms of Xuanmen and Tianmen showed the decisiveness and ruthlessness of the ruling class at this moment. Without the unified command of the True Monarchs, the powerful elders, protectors and even some patriarchs of large families left behind by various sects immediately made a nearly unanimous reaction after the initial shock - suppression!
Because of the battle between the True Lords, the elite disciples of various sects, the law enforcement teams, and the mountain-protecting soldiers who had been urgently awakened, who had been waiting for orders, surged towards the locations where the incidents occurred like a tide. They no longer distinguished the identities of the troublemakers. Whether they were old cultivators whose lifespans were about to end or low-level disciples who had been corrupted, as long as they showed signs of losing control, they were met with merciless killing.

The shrill screams and the roar of spells echoed throughout the ecological zones. Former fellow disciples and even teachers were now forced to fight each other. Blood stained the key points of the array, and charred corpses fell on the rune array. The entire suppression process was swift and cruel, with a resolute determination like a warrior cutting off his own arm.

At the same time, the divine messengers deployed by the True Lords in various ecological zones played a crucial role. The gentle yet firm radiance of faith spread from the Taoist temples and shrines everywhere, quickly resisting and purifying the pervasive pollution, providing shelter for the panicked mortals, and greatly stabilizing the minds of the survivors.

After paying a heavy price, the storm of rebellion within the ecological zone was finally suppressed temporarily. The light curtain was lit with difficulty, the loopholes were temporarily repaired, and the turbulent spiritual veins were channeled again.

But just as the Xuanmen and Tianmen were busy cleaning up their "family affairs," during this brief gap when their power was greatly restrained, the long-dormant extraterrestrial rebels finally revealed their sharpest fangs!
The army of cultivators, who had long been assembled on the outskirts of the outer planet and were completely corrupted, launched an unprecedented attack like a swarm of sharks that had smelled blood. They took advantage of the moment when the outer planet's defenses were briefly weakened due to internal turmoil and the restraint of its high-end combat forces.
The pitch-black demonic tide crashed against the crumbling defenses of the extraterrestrial planet like a tsunami. The garrison, having lost the presence of a fifth-realm cultivator and having just undergone a purge, was utterly unable to mount an effective resistance. Lines of defense were rapidly torn apart, and fortresses silently collapsed under the erosion of the demonic energy.

In just a few dozen breaths, this extraterrestrial star, which had guarded the front line of the inner ring star field for nearly a thousand years, changed hands and was completely covered by dense demonic energy and rebel flags!

Even more chilling is that, with the fall of the outer planet, the demonic world that had been clinging to the vicinity of the star barrier and slowly eroding reality seemed to have gained a powerful support and nourishment. Its expansion speed suddenly soared, and the dense, pitch-black demonic energy spread towards the inner ring star field at an unprecedented speed, like a living thing. Wherever it passed, the stars dimmed, and the spatial structure was distorted and assimilated!

The portal to the demonic star, which was still in a state of chaos, has now been opened wide, and the shadow of destruction seems to be about to descend.

At that very moment, in the core region of this starry sky, the Five Elements suddenly manifested, illuminating other star fields with colorful spots of light, and the expansion of the demonic world ceased. The battle between Zang Yi, Yue Xi, and the others with Bai Xinhou Ji stopped abruptly. They watched the expanding demonic world with solemn expressions, while simultaneously keeping a close eye on the battle at the core of the starry sky, feeling the oppressive force of the Five Elements, and a sense of awe and longing for the power of the True Monarchs arose within them.

The ten breaths of silence seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, yet also felt like an eternity. The battle at the core of the starry sky had already been decided within those short ten breaths.

The suppressed earth vein energy was very clear, and the fleeing golden spirit energy was equally eye-catching. The raging flames filled them with worry.

"The Dragon Lord remained completely unmoved!"

Zang Yi's tone was filled with incomprehension, but also with an imperceptible sense of relief.

Zhi Xin let out a breath and said, "Isn't this just right? You'll have to take care of things within the Star God Alliance from now on."

Bai Xin and Hou Ji exchanged a glance, and Hou Ji asked, "What should we do?"

Bai Xin looked at Zhu Wu, "What do you think, fellow Daoist?"

Zhu Wu thought for a moment and cautiously said to Bai Xin, "I will go with Fellow Daoist Wang Xuan to pay homage to the Dragon Lord first. You two should stabilize the situation on Da Luo Star first, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Xin looked at Zang Yi and the others, who then decisively transformed into streaks of light and flew towards the inner ring star field, seemingly not intending to linger there any longer.

"it is good!"

Bai Xin made a decision.

As he answered, he looked toward the sun at the core of the starry sky.

...

Just then, Wang Ping put away the demon sword and the golden-armored puppet.

Once detached from the tangible sensations of reality, Xinghai immediately returned to his rational state. He looked at Wang Ping and said, "Your cultivation of humanity is indeed useful. If it were me in the past, I would definitely be extremely attached to the tangible sensations of reality."

Wang Ping's gaze swept around, instinctively surveying his surroundings before snapping out of his 'self-discipline' state. Yu Lian also cautiously emerged from her sleeve, wrapping her arms around Wang Ping's and craning her neck to observe the surrounding starry sky.

"It seems that the Dragon Lord really intends to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. Previously, Lieyang, Tiangong, and Diwen seemed to be subordinate to the Dragon Lord, but in reality they had a lot of say. Now that you have suppressed them, they can only become the Dragon Lord's vassals, and they dare not have any thoughts of breaking away in the short term."

Yu Lian offered a simple assessment of the matter: "Furthermore, you've driven Lie Yang mad, so he's unlikely to be able to summon the rules of the starry sky anytime soon. And your split has given the rebels a greater chance of survival. What exactly is the Dragon Lord thinking?"

Wang Ping observed the chaos in the starry sky with the mirror array, but did not take immediate action. Then, his gaze swept over Di Wen, who was in the river of time, and he did not continue to kill him. Firstly, Di Wen was an important tool for dealing with extraterrestrial life forms in the future; secondly, the earth vein energy was inherently unstable, and without his suppression, it would be difficult to cultivate another fifth-realm earth vein cultivator in the future.

He reached out and gently touched Diwen Zhenjun, who was in the River of Time. Instantly, a passage across the starry sky was formed, and Diwen was sent back to Saturn.

And look at the blazing sun now…

Lieyang's consciousness had completely transformed into a boiling chaos.

The thought of burning and destruction took over his consciousness. The most primal urge to destroy, like an eternal hurricane, swept through every corner of his existence, driving the Golden Crow True Body to roll wildly under the instinct, spraying pure and violent flames in all directions without any purpose.

What is he going to do?

Yu Lian asked softly.

As soon as she finished speaking, a beam of colorful light flashed across the starry sky and appeared a hundred miles to Wang Ping's left, followed by a familiar celestial aura that immediately rushed towards him.

Xuan Qing remained silent. He sighed as he looked at the crazed Lie Yang. The space around him transformed into fire spirit energy. As colorful mystic light appeared behind him, he formed a fixed hand seal with his right hand and gently touched the star with the transformed fire spirit energy with his left hand.

Just then, a bolt of purple lightning streaked across the void, and Bai Yan appeared beside Wang Ping, saying, "Do you understand the Dragon Lord's intention?"

Wang Ping nodded and asked in return, "So that's why you were holding back?"

Bai Yan replied, "I just wanted to make it clearer for you."

As his words fell, the dormant magic array surrounding the star reappeared and instantly connected with the dormant Five Realms True Yang consciousness at the core of Mars. (End of Chapter)