There is a progress bar in my cultivation of immortality

As Wang Ping spoke, his gaze turned toward the sun. As his consciousness emerged, he vanished. Yu Lian, who had sensed Wang Ping's thoughts long ago, had already leaned on his shoulder and traveled through time and space with him to the vicinity of the sun.

The prominences and flares that once erupted wantonly on the surface of the sun are now as gentle as flowing golden lava, and the fiery streams of light steadily radiate endless light and heat. The gravitational field that was once violently distorted by the great war has also returned to stability.

The space that was originally filled with destructive energy has now been cleansed, leaving only the purest yang energy, which warmly illuminates this star field. Occasionally, a few tiny arcs of electricity or energy ripples flash at the edge of the corona, but they are quickly smoothed out by the sun's powerful magnetic field.

On orbit, some safe distance from the sun's surface, the disciples of the True Yang Sect were busy at work. They rode various magical artifacts, shuttling between the scorching rays of light. The remaining floating platforms and palace foundations were repositioned, shimmering with the light of defensive formations to resist the still terrifying heat.

New building materials were continuously transported in, and hundreds of thousands of disciples worked together in perfect harmony. Some used their exquisite fire control techniques to soften and shape the materials, some inscribed reinforcing runes, and others carefully guided the true fire of the sun, taming it and injecting it into the energy core of the new building.

New palaces slowly emerged in the golden light. Although they were far less magnificent than the former Sun Residence complex, they were already taking shape. Their structures were simpler and more practical, and the array of runes throughout them significantly enhanced their stability and defense.

Wang Ping's appearance went unnoticed by anyone, because he concealed his aura. The moment he regained his footing, he locked onto Xuan Qing and Bai Yan's auras. With a tremor in space and time, he appeared out of thin air beside the two of them.

Although he concealed his aura, the moment he appeared, Xuan Qing and Bai Yan instantly locked onto his presence. After a brief exchange of glances, Bai Yan smiled and said, "Now that the Demon Lord has gained power, what are your plans, fellow Daoist?"

Wang Ping cupped his hands and said, "I naturally prefer to get rid of him, but this is something the three of us cannot do alone." As he spoke, his consciousness probed into the core of the array in front of him.

Inside the core of this magic array, the physical body and consciousness of the Golden Crow, which was exposed to the blazing sun, were sealed. Most of its main consciousness was sealed, leaving only its basic survival instincts.

It's just a seal, not a stripping, because Lieyang is one of the rule managers of this starry sky. His main consciousness is extremely powerful. Even with Wang Ping's current cultivation level, it's impossible to completely separate him from his primordial spirit, because that would be equivalent to going against the True Yang rule of the entire starry sky.

Xuan Qing noticed Wang Ping's gaze and looked at the core of the formation. Instead of continuing Wang Ping's topic, he spoke about Lie Yang's condition, "Once his consciousness stabilizes, we can arrange for the fellow Daoist on Mars who was suppressed by Lie Yang to come and merge with his consciousness. Only in this way can we permanently change his mind."

"Thanks to the magic array he constructed earlier, his consciousness was already connected with that fellow Daoist's consciousness. We only need to rearrange their primary and secondary consciousnesses. After the consciousnesses are merged, his fleshy spirit will be suppressed here to maintain the stability of the sun. This will save us a lot of trouble."

Wang Ping nodded subconsciously. Previously, the True Yang Sect had to expend a large number of disciples to manage the raging power of the sun, which meant that the sun's base always needed at least two True Yang cultivators of the fourth realm. If the Golden Crow's physical body could stabilize the sun in the future, it would indeed save a lot of trouble.

"In that case, how long will it take Rongyang to regain consciousness?"

Wang Ping asked.

Xuan Qing pondered for a moment and said cautiously, "If nothing unexpected happens, he can regain consciousness in a hundred years, recover to the point where he can use fire spirit magic within three hundred years, completely suppress Lie Yang within a thousand years, and assimilate Lie Yang within two thousand years should not be a problem."

Wang Ping remained silent.

Bai Yan added from the side, "As long as he can use fire spirit magic, he can summon the rules of the starry sky together with us."

Wang Ping nodded slightly. With his current cultivation level, he could not eliminate Wu Nian in a short time. The only way was to use the rules of the starry sky.

As for the cost, it depends on Long Jun's choice. With Xing Hai's help, Wang Ping is already in an invincible position in this matter. Once he deals with Wu Nian, if Tian Gong and the others cause him trouble, he can use this as an excuse to suppress them.

As the three were talking, a very slight energy fluctuation suddenly came from the edge of the starry sky. Ordinary cultivators would not be able to sense it at all, but Wang Ping and the other two were True Monarchs of the Fifth Realm. They all looked towards the direction of the Demon Star.

...

The outer edge of the demon star's orbit is now filled with demonic energy!

It was a large army dispatched by Wu Nian. He was much more anxious than Wang Ping had imagined, probably because he had been silent for too long.

The vast airspace centered on the demon star was suddenly filled with countless ferocious war creations. Dark flying ships, like moving mountains, tore through the void, their surfaces covered with dense attack runes that shone with a chilling light, like the deadliest swarm of bees in the sea of ​​stars.

As soon as they appeared, they entered the orbit of the Demon Star and locked onto all targets on the Demon Star's land that were surging with powerful demonic energy.

The invasion began in an instant, but the demon star was prepared.

On the earth, countless demonic shadows soared into the sky. The giant demons that revealed their true forms roared and used their hides and claws, which were harder than steel, to withstand the falling energy beams. Warriors who rode the demonic winds threw out bone spears containing ancient curses, and magical artifacts etched with runes carried boulders burning with eerie green demonic fire, crashing down on the invading surging demonic energy like a meteor shower flying backward.

The starry sky outside the orbit of the demon star has been stained with an ominous dark red. The army sent out by Wu Nian is not just a fleet, but more like a moving, living abyss.

Around that enormous, dark starship, countless bizarre demonic creatures swarmed, terrifying life forms born from pure demonic energy and evil thoughts from beyond the realm.

The roars of the demon warriors mingled with the sharp howls of the monsters, quickly setting the stage for the bloody battle in the starry sky.

At the heart of the battlefield, a third-realm demon cultivator, manifesting his true form as a giant mountain ape, roared and swung his arm, covered in rock-like muscles, smashing a bone-spiky demon manta ray that was trying to approach into pieces with a single punch. Blood and bits of flesh exploded in the vacuum.

But the next moment, countless tiny demonic insects, like piranhas that have smelled blood, instantly covered its arm. Its steel-like hair and flesh were devoured and disappeared at a visible speed, revealing the surging demonic bloodline energy inside.

Before the giant ape could even let out a scream, the two armies clashed, engulfing his small body. At the moment of impact, billions of sounds erupted and then vanished simultaneously!

The most direct collision between energy and spiritual veins took place here. The demons at the forefront were instantly torn to pieces by the ferocious physique and demonic magic of the demon race, and filthy demonic blood and severed limbs were splashed like a torrential rain.

Similarly, countless demon warriors were instantly vaporized by the energy projected from the flying boats within the demonic energy upon contact, or were devoured into bones by the tidal wave of demonic insects, or even pierced by those invisible demonic shadows, their primordial spirits wailing as they dissipated.

Space was like a fragile piece of cloth being violently crumpled. At the center of the collision, a blinding light burst forth, enough to eclipse even the stars. It was a scene of the violent annihilation of countless spells, demonic power, magical energy, and the energy released in the final moments of life.

A destructive shock ring, visible to the naked eye and a mixture of pitch-black demonic energy and eerie green demonic energy, spread wildly in all directions at an alarming speed! Wherever the shock ring passed, the folds of space rippled rapidly, stirring up the spiritual energy balance of even deeper star fields.

This energy fluctuation, containing extreme destruction and chaos, though attenuated over a long distance, still possessed an inherent grandeur and devastation that was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake. Its subtle yet clear ripples instantly pierced through the endless starry sky, reaching the vicinity of the sun, where they were keenly detected by the three True Lords, Wang Ping, Xuan Qing, and Bai Yan.

On the sun's orbit.

Wang Ping, Xuan Qing, and Bai Yan almost simultaneously withdrew their gazes from the direction of the demon star. What they "saw" was not a specific scene, but an incredibly clear signal of destruction coming from that distant star field.

Bai Yan's face grew even colder, his tone carrying a sinister undertone: "What a commotion... This Demon Lord's move is enough to destroy the world!"

Xuanqing Dao's body shimmered with a faint, clear light, seemingly instinctively resisting the chaotic fluctuations coming from afar. He said softly, "Another battle has broken out, leaving us no time to rest."

Wang Ping's gaze was profound, as if piercing through endless space and directly seeing that bloody battlefield: "He is testing us, and also announcing his presence, testing our reaction."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Xuan Qing and Bai Yan: "What exactly is the Dragon Lord thinking? Do you have any guesses?"

This is the reason why Wang Ping came here to find Xuan Qing.

Xuanqing replied, "Since the matter of Lieyang has been almost resolved, I will go on your behalf and ask the Dragon Lord what his intentions are."

Wang Ping was not satisfied with this answer, and he pressed further, "What if the Dragon Lord has other ideas?"

Upon hearing this, Xuan Qing looked intently at Wang Ping and immediately sensed Wang Ping's thoughts and concerns. Therefore, he immediately made a promise: "If he has any other ideas, I will do my best to stop him. At the same time, I will also persuade fellow Daoists Tiangong and Diwen to stop him."

Wang Ping remained silent for a moment, then chose to trust Xuan Qing. He clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Then I'll leave it to you, fellow Daoist."

Xuan Qing nodded, then transformed into a beam of colorful light and flew towards the teleportation array near Mars.

After Xuan Qing left, Bai Yan said, "The Dragon Lord's eldest son has advanced, but his condition is not very stable. He probably took a shortcut, so he probably won't make a move in the next hundred years."

Wang Ping looked at Bai Yan and asked curiously, "Where did you get this information from?"

Bai Yan looked towards Mercury and said, "Everything in the world needs the combination of Yin and Yang, and even we cultivators are no exception. It is not difficult for me to find out about the Dragon Lord's situation, unless he transcends Yin and Yang and the Five Elements."

Wang Ping understood that Bai Yan observed the internal state of Linshui Mansion through the fluctuations of the Five Elements and Yin Yang, rather than obtaining information through conventional means.

Yu Lian couldn't help but say, "It really is the eldest son. I thought it was Ao Hong. So Ao Hong was just a cover? Also, the Dragon Lord seems magnanimous, but he is actually very vengeful. Back then, Lie Yang took the Third Prince's life, and now he directly killed Lie Yang. Lie Yang is also very magnanimous. I believe the Dragon Lord doesn't even want to believe us."

A smile flashed across Bai Yan's cold face as he looked at Wang Ping and said, "Lie Yang may have harbored prejudice against human cultivators from the bottom of his heart, and his prejudice has made him the way he is now."

Yu Lian continued, "It's not just Lie Yang who has prejudices; the other True Monarchs of the Xuanmen also have great prejudices."

"So they're all outdated!"

Bai Yan stared into Wang Ping's eyes, "Have you thought about replacing them all?"

Wang Ping immediately denied it, saying, "I never thought of that. I'm already exhausted just dealing with the things at hand." After saying that, he looked at the magic array that was suppressing and sealing the blazing sun and said quickly, "I'll leave this place to you, fellow Daoist."

After saying that, he took Yu Lian and traveled through time and space back to Jiuxuan Mountain. The mountaintop was still the same as when he left, without the noise of the outside starry sky. Wang Ping landed on the edge of the cliff at the top of the mountain, looking out at the endless sea of ​​clouds and observing the undulating mountains and forests below the sea of ​​clouds.

Yu Lian nestled on Wang Ping's shoulder, sensing the thoughts spreading within him. Soon after, she silently rose into the air and flew towards the spirit-gathering array where the calico cat was cultivating.

After much deliberation, Wang Ping still couldn't find a way to break the deadlock; ultimately, his cultivation level was too low.

He sighed softly, and his primordial spirit, through the wood spirit of the starry sky, instantly captured the auras of Li Miaolin, Que Cai, and Miao Qing. He then sent a telepathic message to the three of them, telling them to come to Jiuxuan Mountain.

Before long, the three of them arrived behind Wang Ping, led by the puppet.

Wang Ping, however, continued to gaze at the sea of ​​clouds ahead, seemingly making some kind of decision. But he did not keep the three of them waiting for long. After more than ten breaths, he spoke up and said, "You must do your best to help the Demon Star resist the invasion of the demonic world."

"Yes!"

The three responded in unison.

Wang Ping continued, "My cultivation has greatly increased, and I have already glimpsed a portion of the power of the Heavenly Dao. I can steal five thousand years of lifespan for you, but you must offer up a 'Wood Spirit Origin'. Are you willing?"

The three were all taken aback upon hearing this, but Miao Qing was the first to react, immediately bowing and saying, "This disciple is willing!"

A hint of joy appeared between her brows as she spoke, for her lifespan was coming to an end, and if she could not advance, the 'Wood Spirit Origin' would be of little use to her.

Li Miaolin and Que Cai were thinking of Zi Luan at this moment, guessing that Wang Ping wanted to cultivate Zi Luan and raise his cultivation to the fourth realm of perfection. As cultivators of the same era as Zi Luan, they naturally felt jealous, but dared not show it. When Wang Ping turned to look at them, they immediately said at the same time, "Disciples are also willing!"

Their guess was correct. Wang Ping did indeed want to cultivate Zi Luan quickly. The reason he exchanged five thousand years of his lifespan with the three of them was that Wang Ping was unsure of the extent of damage it would cause him to infuse Zi Luan's wood spirit energy with his own cultivation. The lifespan exchange, however, could be done gradually, and Li Miaolin and Que Cai's lifespans could even be postponed for now. (End of Chapter)