There is a progress bar in my cultivation of immortality

Jiuxuan Mountain.

On the futon beside the spirit tree, Wang Ping stared at the three 'Wood Spirit Origin' in his hand. These things were no longer of any use to him.

He didn't rush to find Zi Luan. Instead, he used Jupiter's massive spirit-gathering array to repair the core of the spiritual veins in his body. After obtaining these three 'Wood Spirit Origins', he first granted Miao Qing Dao Ren a lifespan of two thousand years, while Que Cai and Li Miao Lin were truly owed the lifespan for now.

Stealing two thousand years of life force would not produce strong karmic repercussions from the backlash. Wang Ping could recover the cultivation he consumed in repairing the damaged Five Elements rules with his own wood spirit in just half a year. Calling on the power of the Star Sea would probably be done in an instant, but Wang Ping did not do so.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. The war on the Demon Star continued. The Xuanmen and the seven sects of Tianmen had sent many disciples from the side sects to provide support, but the core disciples tacitly guarded their sects' residences.

The war of faith has ceased because the ecological zones in various regions are now in a state of semi-paralysis. People are busy making a living and have no spare time for sacrifices. Moreover, the Xuanmen faith is not an evil practice and does not have the habit of forcing believers to perform sacrifices.

When Wang Ping awoke from his meditation, he habitually used his spiritual energy to explore his surroundings. Sensing Wang Ping's presence, Yu Lian immediately flew up from the riverbed at the foot of the mountain, circled around Wang Ping for a moment, and then asked, "Are you going to find Zi Luan now?"

"Correct!"

Wang Ping concealed his presence, and Yu Lian quickly landed on Wang Ping's shoulder and lay down. Then, as the space trembled slightly, their figures disappeared from the spot.

When they reappeared, they were in a closed hall.

The first thing Wang Ping felt here was the abundance of wood elemental energy, and its density was almost comparable to that of the core area of ​​Nine Profound Mountains. In addition, there was darkness, with not a single point of light in sight.

Suddenly, a slight sound of water stirring arose, and two golden vertical pupils were clearly visible in the darkness. It should be a spirit snake, a spirit snake that followed Zi Luan in his cultivation. He did not sense Wang Ping's presence, but the fluctuations in the spiritual world made him look around in confusion.

Then, a faint light source appeared out of thin air, capable of illuminating the entire enclosed hall. The serpent's vertical pupils immediately locked onto Wang Ping and Yu Lian. After instinctively exchanging a glance with Yu Lian, it seemed to have encountered something terrifying and quickly landed next to Zi Luan in the center of the hall, then burrowed into Zi Luan's sleeve.

Yu Lian's gaze then fell on Zi Luan.

At this moment, Zi Luan's aura was deeply intertwined with the vast wood spirit energy of the entire hall, as if he himself had become part of this wood spirit cycle.

A faint green glow flowed beneath his skin, flickering in sync with the flowing runes on the walls and floor, stirring the life force of the entire space with every breath.

The hall where he secluded himself was exceptionally spacious, with a high dome that disappeared into deep darkness. The walls around him and even the ground beneath his feet were all constructed from a dark brown spirit wood. The wood was warm and smooth, and its surface naturally formed mysterious wood grain, which was intertwined with countless dark green wood spirit runes that were later carefully engraved, forming an incomparably complex and vast sea of ​​runes.

These runes, like living vines, slowly flowed with a faint wood spirit energy. When all the patterns connected, the wood spirit energy became exceptionally dense, so dense that it almost manifested tangible wood spirit particles. This energy flowed and circulated slowly within this enclosed space, and with each breath, one could feel the immense vitality surging into the spiritual veins, nourishing the primordial spirit and the physical body.

On one side of the hall, a river about ten feet wide meandered silently, exuding a refreshing fragrance of grass and trees. The riverbed was covered with smooth, round jade and unidentified aquatic plants, which swayed gently with the ripples, emitting soft halos that could not penetrate the darkness at the bottom of the river.

Zi Luan's aura circulated and merged with the wood spirit energy of the entire hall, as if he were the heart of this small world. The frightened golden-eyed spirit snake had completely retreated into his sleeve, leaving only a faint trace of fear.

"You're so rude! Whose child is this?!"

Yu Lian's voice was soft, but there was a hint of anger in her tone. If she weren't afraid of disturbing Zi Luan's cultivation, she might have already started to teach the spirit snake a lesson.

Wang Ping did not rush to disturb Zi Luan, but waited for the spirit snake to awaken Zi Luan.

Three breaths later, Zi Luan opened his eyes and looked at Wang Ping, who was lifeless in the dim light. He quickly stood up, bowed, and said, "Disciple greets True Lord!"

Although he could not sense Wang Ping's aura, he could sense the flow of wood spirit energy, which was no longer converging at the core of the magic array in the hall, but rather converging on Wang Ping's body.

After accepting Zi Luan's bow, Wang Ping released a bit of his aura and said, "Now that a demon lord has descended upon this starry sky, the first thing you need to do is confirm whether the aura is really mine, otherwise you will easily be bewitched by them. In the past few days, many disciples of my Taiyan Sect have been bewitched."

Zi Luan was taken aback, then clasped his hands and said, "This disciple will respectfully obey the True Lord's decree!"

He kept a very low profile, but he was curious. He sensed the familiar aura emanating from Wang Ping and wondered what important matter the True Lord had brought to his secluded place.

"During your seclusion, new cultivators at the Fifth Realm were born in the Vajra Temple, the True Yang Sect, and the Linshui Prefecture, but my Taiyan lineage..."

Wang Ping shook his head. "Due to historical reasons, unless there are special circumstances, it will probably take thousands of years for our lineage to barely produce a person who has reached the fourth realm of perfection, let alone the fifth realm. But the current situation does not give us that much time."

As he spoke, he extended his left hand and gently touched the surface. Instantly, three crystals appeared from the wood spirit energy and floated in front of Zi Luan. "Here are three 'wood spirit essences' that can allow you to cultivate to the fourth realm of perfection at the fastest speed."

Zi Luanhe probably hadn't expected such good fortune to fall on him. After a moment of stunned silence, he quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, True Lord!"

"Practice diligently and don't waste this opportunity; you have a long road ahead of you."

Wang Ping encouraged him.

"Thank you, True Lord!"

Zi Luan bowed again. He had many emotions to express, but he couldn't say them. He could only bow his head and thank him. By the time he finished speaking, Wang Ping had already disappeared.

Zi Luan remained bowing and gesturing, not moving for a long time. The rich wood spirit energy in the hall continued to flow slowly, and the three 'wood spirit origins' floating in front of him emitted a powerful vitality that was almost tangible, constantly impacting his senses.

Wang Ping's words, especially the phrase "Your future is long," resonated and vibrated repeatedly in the depths of his mind like a resounding bell!
The Fifth Realm…

These three words were something that Zi Luan in the past could not even dream of, as they represented an existence that held the Great Dao and lived as long as the stars!
But now, the True Lord himself has arrived, not only bestowing upon him an opportunity sufficient to directly reach the perfection of the Fourth Realm, but also explicitly implying in his words that he too has a place in the Fifth Realm. An extreme, indescribable ecstasy, like a volcano dormant for millennia, suddenly erupted from the deepest recesses of his heart!

"Ho...ho ho..."

Zi Luan's body began to tremble slightly. Under his lowered head, his originally gentle and calm face twisted, and the corners of his mouth uncontrollably stretched backward, emitting a suppressed, almost choked laugh.

The laughter started out very low, with an incredulous daze, but it quickly grew louder and louder, more and more manic!

"Hahaha... Hahaha!!!"

He suddenly sat up straight, unable to contain his excitement any longer, and threw his head back and laughed wildly. The laughter echoed and crashed in the enclosed hall, causing the flowing runes on the walls to become disordered and the surface of the emerald green river to ripple violently.

After laughing, Zi Luan stretched out his trembling hands and almost greedily picked up the three 'Wood Spirit Origins'.

"Fifth Realm! Fifth Realm! Hahaha!" A terrifying light flashed in his eyes, all his previous composure and caution vanished, replaced by an almost obsessive fervor and ambition. "I can... I can actually... Hahaha! Heaven has not forsaken me! The True Lord has favored me!"

He spun around in the center of the hall like a madman, clutching the three crystals, laughing incessantly, tears even welling in his eyes. At this moment, all sect affairs and composure were cast to the winds; only one thought swirled wildly in his mind:

The fifth realm!
That's his future!

It was the future that Changqing Zhenjun promised him!
After a while, he calmed down a little from his frenzied joy after being reminded by the spirit snake, but the burning passion in his eyes did not diminish at all. He gently stroked the spirit snake's little head and hugged the three crystals tightly in his arms as if they were the most precious treasures in the world.

Another ten breaths passed, and he looked again in the direction where Wang Ping had disappeared, then suddenly knelt down and kowtowed three times, his voice hoarse with excitement: "Disciple Ziluan will certainly live up to the True Lord's high expectations!"

...

Wang Ping, upon returning to Jiuxuan Mountain, was naturally able to sense Zi Luan's earlier madness. He simply watched quietly. If Zi Luan couldn't even overcome this hurdle, he would not hesitate to replace him with someone else.

Fortunately, Zi Luan quickly restrained his spreading emotions and stabilized himself as quickly as possible.

Yu Lian then said, "Zi Luan's faith in you has suddenly increased a lot. He can now directly absorb the spiritual energy of your divine kingdom to cultivate. However, he also cultivates divine arts himself. I wonder if this will have any impact?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ping advised, "Let's not make these attempts for now. I need this piece to be stable enough."

"it is good!"

After agreeing, Yulian added, "But I can guide him to have more faith in you."

This time, Wang Ping didn't say anything more. What he was concerned about now was that half a year had passed and Xuan Qing hadn't replied to him. The message from his puppet was that none of the True Monarchs had made a public appearance in the past six months, Tian Gong and Di Wen had not appeared in public, the Vajra Temple was now under the command of Master Wang Qing, and the Underground Gate had shrunk its power to the vicinity of Saturn.

As for Linshui Prefecture, it appears peaceful on the surface. The three princes in charge are the Second Prince Yun Que, the Fourth Prince Yun Chen, and the Fifth Prince You Hua. These three princes only have the cultivation level of the third realm. As for the cultivators of Linshui Prefecture who are at the fourth realm or above, they are all currently deep within the Dragon Palace.

The True Yang Sect appears peaceful on the outside, but without the suppression of a True Monarch, internal conflicts among the various realms are gradually escalating. If it weren't for Bai Yan's presence, a civil war might have already broken out.

As for the Jade Purity Sect and the Taiyin Sect, they maintained the same neutral attitude as before, as if it were none of their business. With Bai Yan's help, Wang Ping learned that Xuan Qing was visiting Venus and seemed to be playing chess with Tian Gong, and that this game had been going on for half a year.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Ping chose to temporarily trust Xuan Qing and then entered a meditative state. His consciousness then merged into the rules of the Starry Sky Wood Spirit, sensing the characteristics under the rules of the Wood Spirit to strengthen the connection between his primordial spirit and the 'Stealing Heaven Talisman'. At the same time, he also needed to clear away the various emotions that had arisen in his human consciousness over the past few days.

Then, golden streams of light spread outwards from Wang Ping's body, forming a phantom divine palace around the spirit tree. This was a faith map that Yu Lian had created by connecting with Wang Ping's primordial spirit. Yu Lian was creating the faith map to carefully observe Zi Luan's condition.

Time passed quietly as Wang Ping entered into meditation. The disturbances and wars of the outside world could not penetrate the tranquility of the Jiuxuan Mountain Daoist Temple, nor could they touch the transcendent cultivation of a True Monarch.

The war on the front lines of the Demon Star remains fierce. Every moment, lives are lost in the clash of demonic energy and sorcery. The battle line is like a meat grinder, devouring the strength of both sides. The reinforcements sent by the Xuanmen and Tianmen are locked in a tug-of-war with the demonic cultivators. The aftershocks of the war occasionally disrupt the balance of spiritual energy in more distant star fields, causing some small sects and rogue cultivators to live in fear.

The open and covert struggles between the various factions never ceased, but to Wang Ping, all of this was like a noisy reflection on the other side of the water mirror, blurry and distant.

As time goes by, Jupiter gathers more and more of its wood elemental energy, which in turn gives rise to countless rare and precious natural treasures.

There are jade-like Ganoderma lucidum, emitting rosy light; there are exotic fruits wrapped with Dao patterns, emitting an alluring fragrance; and in some places, the pure essence of wood spirit has solidified directly, forming crystals that are crystal clear and contain runes. Any one of these treasures, if it falls into the outside world, would be enough to cause a fight among cultivators of the third or even fourth realm.

But here they are merely natural byproducts of Wang Ping's cultivation, like plankton stirred up by a giant whale swimming by, quietly growing and maturing before quietly dissipating and returning to the cycle of wood spirits, waiting for the next gestation.

Wang Ping was indifferent to this; his entire mind was immersed in a deeper understanding of the Dao and the overall strategy, quietly observing the subtle changes in the starry sky chess game.

The true lord's transcendence lies in this: all living beings struggle to cross the river of life, but are merely specks of dust in his palm.

It is unknown how much time has passed, but an energy fluctuation traveled from the Taiyan Sect's headquarters to the Jiuxuan Mountain Dojo, causing Wang Ping to awaken from his meditation.

From this energy fluctuation, Wang Ping sensed two familiar auras: Qingjiang and Leng Kezhen.

As his primordial spirit expanded, he saw two figures fighting atop a mountain in the ecological zone of the Taiyan Sect's territory; they were Qingjiang and Leng Kezhen. (End of Chapter)