There is a progress bar in my cultivation of immortality

Chapter 1087 Leisure time
(I'll write a chapter about my daily life with my disciples and grand-disciples to relieve my mental stress; you can skip this if you mind.)

Wang Ping carefully compared the two demonic cultivation techniques he had obtained and found that the cultivation methods were almost identical. Unlike the Xuanmen secret techniques, which required different advancement methods based on specific attributes, these techniques did not have such differences.

This is most likely due to the shared origin of the rules of destruction, or it could be because the major regions of the universe are occupied by the rules of destruction. When energy is abundant, advancement is relatively easier and faster, allowing one to advance their cultivation level first and then practice more spells and secret techniques.

This is something Wang Ping greatly admires.

He speculated that if the energy in the future Order Universe is sufficient, Xuanmen cultivators could likely follow the example of extraterrestrial demon cultivators, first nourishing the core of their spiritual veins with energy, and then attempting to cultivate secret techniques once their cultivation level advances.

But that's all for the future; right now, he needs to be grounded in reality.

Yu Lian then said, "From Yuan Wu's intelligence, we can see that extraterrestrial life forms are also divided into various star regions, and each star region has several demon lords. In this way, we are not actually in great danger, but it will be extremely difficult to get out. First, you have to deal with the demon lords of the star regions surrounding this star field."

Wang Ping laughed and said, "When we get to that point, the path ahead will naturally become clear. There's no point in thinking about it so much now."

After he finished speaking, the mirror array around him unfolded and connected to the experimental ecological zone that he, Xuanqing, and Lieyang had set up near the star barrier. Because Lieyang had been suppressed by him, the disciples of the Zhenyang Sect had already withdrawn, leaving only the disciples of the Yuqing Sect and his puppet.

Without the supervision of Lieyang, Xuanqing expanded the ecological zone to a certain extent, using the secret methods of the Yuqing Sect to build dozens of magic arrays in the starry sky around the ecological zone to cultivate demonic sources.

Wang Ping also sent out more puppets to help Xuan Qing cultivate more puppets with demonic energy as a foundation in the ecological zone he built, in preparation for future attempts.

This attempt to cultivate the 'Netherworld Demon Source' went smoothly; the initial preparations were merely a matter of course, given the ample resources available.

After the puppet successfully cultivated the demonic source, Wang Ping didn't spend much time on it. When his consciousness returned to Jiuxuan Mountain, Yu Lian suddenly said, "Your disciple has come to see you several times, but you have been meditating. The Spring Festival is almost here, so why don't you wait until they have paid their respects before you go into meditation?"

Wang Ping neither refused nor responded to Yu Lian. He got up and walked to the edge of the cliff. His consciousness quickly captured Yang Rong, who was in seclusion. After confirming that Yang Rong was in good condition, he then focused his consciousness on the Taiyan Sect's residence in outer space and the surrounding ecological zone.

Most of the ecological zones were incredibly quiet, except for the distant demon race ecological zone, which was bustling with activity, as if celebrating something.

Yu Lian sensed Wang Ping's thoughts and explained to him, "It's that rat. His Dharma assembly is estimated to last for a hundred years, and now is the lively time."

Wang Ping didn't comment on this, but Yu Lian continued, "That rat truly deserves to be called the oldest living creature. At the crucial moment, it relied on us to completely protect itself and its people."

"You mean he knew something in advance?"

Wang Ping asked.

Yu Lian denied it, saying, "I sent my people to explore the waterways of their ecological zone, but I didn't find out anything about it. I also read their preserved historical documents, and what that rat said was pretty much the same: their entire tribe is filled with resentment towards other demon clans, and what they hold the most resentment about is the siege of Yao Xi by the True Monarchs back then..."

"How should I put it? If we were to compare history to a storybook, in the historical documents of other tribes, Yaoxi is a villain, but in their tribe, Yaoxi is an upright person, a wise ruler who can lead this starry sky into the future."

Yulian then shared a lot of information she had gathered during this period.

Wang Ping listened quietly, treating it as a story about adjusting human nature. As dusk approached, Yu Lian suggested, "We haven't been to a mortal city in a long time. Do you remember the last time you played with the Five Elements Stone? Now that we have some free time, why don't we go and take a look at the mortal city in the nearby ecological zone?"

"it is good!"

As soon as Wang Ping finished speaking, the two of them disappeared from the spot and reappeared in a mortal city near the Taiyan Sect's headquarters.

The city was just beginning to light up, with lanterns hanging high on both sides of the street. The shouts of vendors and the laughter of pedestrians mingled together to create a lively atmosphere of everyday life. Yulian was coiled on his shoulder, its scales gleaming warmly under the lamplight. When passersby glanced over, they all looked on with surprise, as if it were perfectly natural for Wang Ping to have a spirit snake coiled on his shoulder.

They first entered a riverside teahouse, where a storyteller was recounting the tale of a general whom Wang Ping had no recollection of who single-handedly broke through enemy lines a thousand miles away. He slammed his gavel, and the entire audience cheered.

Wang Ping chose a square table by the window and sat down. He ordered a pot of jasmine tea. As the white steam rose from the teacup, he gently stroked the rim of the bowl with his fingertips, his gaze falling on the storyteller's raised eyebrows.

Over thousands of years, he had witnessed the truth of countless battles in the cultivation world, but at this moment he found the crude stories compiled by mortals quite interesting. In these stories, victory and defeat were always clear, and loyalty and treachery were always evident, which was much more enjoyable than the real world.

After finishing a bowl of tea, Wang Ping led Yu Lian through two long streets to a market selling Five Elements Stones, where various stones were displayed on the bluestone slabs on both sides of the street.

Wang Ping stopped in front of a small stall, picked up a piece of earthen stone the size of a goose egg. The stone was carved with a Qilin riding waves. The carving was not top-notch, but the Qilin's tail curled along the natural golden pattern, which made it look lively and wild.

When he paid, the stall owner enthusiastically recommended the stall's prized possessions, but he only picked out three of the most plain, unadorned stones. Wang Ping smiled, chatted with the stall owner for a while, and then continued browsing while playing with the newly bought Five Elements Stones.

Finally, following the sweet aroma, they found a candy shop where piles of osmanthus and pine nut candies wrapped in oil paper were stacked up like small mountains, and a malt sugar artist was scooping up golden syrup to outline a flying phoenix.

Wang Ping bought a piece of sesame brittle, broke off a small corner and put it in his mouth. The moment the sweetness melted on his tongue, he couldn't help but recall something similar that seemed to have happened a long, long time ago, but he couldn't remember when it happened.

"Is it sweet?"

Yu Lian asked.

As Wang Ping nodded, Yu Lian swallowed another piece of sesame brittle, her voice sweet and sticky: "Thanks to your efforts, humane civilization has now developed to the point where... look at that sugar painting stall."

Wang Ping looked in the direction she indicated. The old craftsman turned his wrist slightly, and golden syrup danced on the stone slab, outlining not the traditional phoenix, but the silhouette of a streamlined starship. Almond slices were even specially inlaid in the portholes as portlights.

The children playing nearby pointed at the sugar painting and shouted, "This is the Azure Phoenix, my dad is on it!"

Looking up, streaks of light occasionally flash across the deepening twilight sky. The enormous transport spaceship, trailing a deep blue tail flame, slowly heads toward near-Earth orbit. As its shadow sweeps across the buildings with their green tiles and upturned eaves, it automatically creates a soft halo of light to buffer the shadows.

An old woman selling wontons on the street lifted the lid of her pot. In the rising steam, runes could be seen on the side of her cart—marks of a temperature-regulating array to ensure the soup never got cold. Yu Lian flicked the tip of her tail over her head. "Now, mortals are no longer arguing about food and clothing. They no longer need to imprison themselves on their own little plot of land."

They crossed a stone bridge, where koi carp leaped in the flowing water below. Wang Ping stopped by the bridge railing and looked out. In the distance, the pagoda's spire was suspended by a glass-colored protective shield, while the pagoda itself maintained its wooden structure. Further away, students flew across the clouds on swords, their schoolbag straps fluttering in a straight line behind them.

“Humanity and civilization have been preserved, but all suffering has been eliminated,” Yu Lian said softly. “You have so many followers, largely because you have given them new hope.”

"Let's go back." Wang Ping put the pebbles into his sleeve. As he turned around, he saw the storyteller in the teahouse putting away his gavel. The old man seemed to notice his gaze and smiled as he cupped his hands in a traditional greeting.

Wang Ping also bowed in greeting, and then disappeared with Yu Lian. He used his puppet to monitor the entire starry sky, so he naturally noticed the progress of human civilization, but he had never experienced it as carefully as he did today. Take the sesame brittle he had just eaten as an example. In the past, ordinary people on the streets of Zhongzhou could not afford it, so no one would sell it.

Upon returning to Mount Jiuxuan, Yulian said jokingly, "You are now the number one cultivator of the human path. Human civilization is flourishing, and people no longer have to go hungry. Everyone has more choices, and all of this is because of you. You must not be confused."

Looking up at the stars in the sky, Wang Ping sometimes had extreme thoughts when he encountered difficulties. For example, some people had performed evil sacrifices because of their greed, and he thought that imprisoning the living beings on Zhongzhou Star might be the right way, or he could refine them all into puppets and make their human thoughts consistent with his own.

"How about we go fishing over there in the shallows?"

Wang Ping suggested that there are many rivers on Jupiter, and many places suitable for fishing, but he preferred to fish at his disciple's dojo.

Yulian immediately agreed, "Okay, I recently learned a new way to grill fish, I'll go to Qianqian's place and see how it tastes."

...

Time flies, and the Spring Festival of the Central Plains calendar has arrived in the blink of an eye.

As dawn broke over Mount Jiuxuan, Wang Ping's disciples and followers descended to the summit, guided by puppets.

Liu Shuang carried him at the front, Hu Qianqian followed only half a step behind, and Shen Xiaozhu led their disciples to stand respectfully with their heads bowed. When everyone saw Wang Ping's figure under the spirit tree, they immediately bowed and said, "Congratulations to Master/Grandmaster/Grandmaster on the New Year and wishing you a happy and healthy New Year."

After the ceremony, the mountain breeze seemed to soften considerably. Wang Ping chatted with his three disciples, but apart from Hu Qianqian, he didn't discuss cultivation matters with the other two. However, Liu Shuang took the initiative to inquire about Xia Wenyi, and Yu Lian provided an explanation for her.

Then Wang Ping inquired about the condition of the younger generation. Compared to Liu Shuang and the other two, they were more afraid of Wang Ping than respectful. They always answered his questions with the same few sentences, leaving Wang Ping helpless and frustrated. Perhaps in a few thousand years, he might really become a lonely man!
After chatting, Wang Ping led his disciples to a tea table that had been prepared beforehand by the cliff, where the mountain spring water on the clay stove was making a soft hissing sound.

As Wang Ping sat down at the chessboard, Yu Lian invited Shen Xiaozhu to sit opposite him. The master and apprentice quickly made their moves, the black and white pieces landing on the chessboard with a clear and melodious sound, which blended with the faint sound of the pine trees in the distance, making the mountainside even more tranquil.

Liu Shuang and Hu Qianqian sat quietly to one side, occasionally exchanging a few words in hushed tones, or refilling their master's and junior sister's teacups with spring water.

As the game of chess came to an end and the aroma of tea reached its peak, Liu Shuang placed the Jiao Wei Qin on her lap and casually plucked the strings a few times. A few scattered, clear notes flowed out, like the chirping of mountain birds just waking up, inadvertently setting the tone for the game.

Hu Qianqian smiled gently and picked up her jade flute to play along.

Then came the clear and melodious sound of the flute and the distant sound of the zither, which harmonized with the mountains, waters and pines in front of them, bringing peace to their minds. The clouds on the cliff seemed to slow down as they rolled. Even the rain lotus on Wang Ping's shoulder swayed its tail tip contentedly.

As time passed, the music gradually faded, and in the distance, on a more open flat area, the young disciples began their sparring.

Their movements were nimble and captivating, almost theatrical, and occasionally their skillful control drew murmurs of applause, which they quickly suppressed, afraid of disturbing the elders' quiet conversation.

Before they knew it, the setting sun had dyed the sea of ​​clouds a warm gold. Liu Shuang had stopped playing the zither and was playing chess with Wang Ping. They had already reached the middle game, and the situation on the chessboard was evenly matched. Obviously, Wang Ping was giving Liu Shuang a significant advantage.

"This time, I have come to pay my respects to my master, and I do not intend to return to Zhongzhou Star," Liu Shuang suddenly said.

"Oh? You've figured it out?" Wang Ping could remain calm even when facing the combined attack of three True Lords, but his disciple's words revealed a hint of surprise.

"This disciple intends to pass on the mantle of Zhongzhou Star to Lei'er, and spend the rest of my time here with Master, in quiet cultivation," Liu Shuang said with a smile.

Wang Ping simply nodded. He had already examined Liu Shuang's condition. Because Liu Shuang advanced by gathering the consciousness of the Wood Spirit, as time went by, the strength of her primordial spirit could no longer be maintained, while the consciousness of the Wood Spirit continued to increase. In at most five hundred years, she would have to fall into a deep sleep in order to suppress the consciousness of the spiritual veins in her body.

This deep sleep is equivalent to the true end of life, because it also means that she can never wake up again. If she were to wake up forcibly, she would go insane due to the revival of her spiritual veins and consciousness. If Wang Ping were to intervene, he would most likely strip Liu Shuang of most of her consciousness and memories, and in that case, Liu Shuang would no longer be Liu Shuang.

Wang Ping wouldn't follow Xiao Shan's example and turn her beloved disciple into a puppet, even though such a method is very tempting.

“You can choose anything you like on this Jupiter. Even if you take a fancy to Mount Jiuxuan, your master will agree.” Yu Lian answered Liu Shuang on Wang Ping’s behalf.

"Ok!"

Wang Ping nodded slightly and placed a piece on the board to conceal the complex emotions he was experiencing.

Hu Qianqian smiled and said, "Then I will have to bother you more often in the future, Senior Sister, to learn your zither skills."

Liu Shuang replied with a smile, "No problem."

After the game ended, the younger generation, who had been waiting for a long time, straightened their clothes, bowed, and took their leave one by one. Liu Shuang stood next to Wang Ping, whispered a few words to her grand-disciple Zhao Lei, and then shooed Zhao Lei away as if to drive him away.

After the younger generation had all left, Wang Ping said to Liu Shuangyan, "How about we, master and disciple, play another game of chess?"

(End of this chapter)