There is a progress bar in my cultivation of immortality

Once Wang Ping's will was set in motion, the massive resource machine under his control began to operate silently yet efficiently.

The first thing established was a spacetime channel that only his primordial spirit could clearly observe and maintain. It was a stable energy conduit built between Jupiter's orbit and the starry sky where its chosen opposition point was located.

To accomplish this, he needed to mark rune lines in all the starry skies outside and inside Jupiter's orbit, and also establish a spirit-gathering array at regular intervals.

And this is just the most basic step. After all, this is about setting up a spacetime tunnel. After doing all this, Wang Ping needs to personally control the puppet to give this tunnel 'spacetime' characteristics. At the same time, Wang Ping also needs to set up the basic framework of the fortress artifact.

Twenty years is but a fleeting moment in the vast expanse of space.

While Wang Ping was stationed in Jupiter's orbit, his mind was divided into two parts: one part continued to monitor the situation in the starry sky, and the other part devoted itself to the construction of the fortress. His puppets, who were cultivators of the third realm of unorthodox sects and earth veins, became the "engineers" of this distant starry sky.

The puppets first brought over a celestial body with a diameter of about 100 miles that had already been detected, and placed it in the gravitational field of Jupiter's orbit. The next step was to modify the mass of this celestial body so that it could interact with the orbital gravity.

Amidst the buzzing sound, the power of the ley lines in the starry sky was forcibly invoked, and the internal structure of the asteroid began to be reshaped. Impurities were expelled and transformed into a pervasive dust cloud in the starry sky. Then, with a wave of the puppet's hand, it was swept into a specific magic array as auxiliary material for subsequent construction.

The metallic minerals at the core of the planet were refined and forged into greater toughness under the power of the earth's veins. Basic reinforcement runes were also imprinted on them. The volume of the entire asteroid shrank slightly during the refining process, but its density and strength increased exponentially. Its surface began to exhibit a cold texture that perfectly blended metal and rock.

But this is merely the skeleton of the fortress.

Meanwhile, the spacetime tunnel that Wang Ping had built was almost complete, and a large number of rare and precious materials that were used to further reinforce the celestial bodies were transported from Jupiter.

Although these materials are rare treasures in themselves, enough to make cultivators of the third or even fourth realm flock to them, they are still "crude" and "fragile" for the fortress artifact that Wang Ping wants to create. They cannot withstand the energy erosion of the future star sea, as well as the possible combat pressure.

Therefore, Wang Ping needed to personally refine them to give these materials the strength to carve Five Realms runes.

In an instant, an omnipresent and boundless vitality appeared around the star, as if it contained the ultimate truth of the growth, decay, and cycle of all plants in the universe, carrying an absolute will to control and reshape.

"Congeal!"

Wang Ping uttered a single word, yet it was like a law or decree, as highly condensed and materialized wood spirit particles flowed from his fingertips.

Then look at those indestructible, ancient ironwood. Their surfaces quickly soften, like willow branches in early spring. Under the influence of the wood spirit's rules, the internal fibrous structure begins to divide and recombine on its own, becoming denser and full of spirituality. Its color also changes from dark to restrained and deep, like pieces of living metal forest.

The alloy ingots forged from the core fragments of stars, shrouded in a verdant halo, revealed countless fine, pale green patterns on their surfaces, resembling plant veins. These patterns were the most primal "toughness" and "vitality" of the material itself, stimulated by the rules of the high-level wood spirit, enabling it to maintain extreme hardness while gaining incredible self-repairing and energy buffering properties.

The rare crystals containing void properties undergo the most wondrous changes. They sprout like seeds, growing into countless tiny, almost transparent, emerald-green crystalline threads. These threads actively entwine with the surrounding materials, as if constructing an active neural network for the entire fortress that can adapt to and guide void energy.

Wang Ping's eyes reflected countless representations of material structure and energy flow. Using the rules of wood spirit as a scalpel, he precisely "pruned" the disharmonious "branches" inside the material, "grafted" in more powerful properties, and "cultivated" the most perfect form.

The entire refining process was devoid of towering flames or deafening roars; only a profound and tranquil power of growth surged silently in the starry sky.

Time passed slowly as Wang Ping refined these materials, with Yu Lian always by his side, communicating with the believers in the divine kingdom from time to time.

When the last batch of core materials completed their transformation under Wang Ping's Wood Spirit Rules, radiating a restrained yet powerful life luster, the second phase of the fortress's magical artifact construction officially began.

As Wang Ping's thoughts stirred, the puppet army, which had been waiting for a long time, transformed into streaks of light and swarmed out from the passage exit in the direction of Jupiter, spreading out in an orderly manner to the key nodes of the fortress skeleton.

When the first piece of "Ten Thousand Years of Sinking Ironwood Core" was precisely embedded into a groove in the main beam structure, the deep luster on the surface of the core flowed slightly, and the spiritual channels inside, like living fibers, immediately resonated with the basic runes that the earth vein puppet had previously imprinted on the fortress skeleton.

Wang Ping hovered in the starry sky, overlooking everything, meticulously controlling every aspect. His eyes no longer reflected a cold steel jungle, but a giant, growing life form.

Yu Lian perched on Wang Ping's shoulder, clearly sensing that the enormous creature beneath his feet was becoming increasingly "alive," a dormant yet unsettling power brewing within it.

She would occasionally look up at Wang Ping's focused profile, then lower her head again to continue communicating with believers through the divine kingdom, transforming the silent, magnificent scene into a "miracle" allegory that believers could understand.

Twenty years and then another ten years...

Time is still insignificant on the scale of the starry sky. The fortress that once covered a hundred miles has been completely transformed, replaced by a nascent star fortress that exudes a metallic chill and the green glow of life.

Its outline is ferocious and full of power, its surface is covered with rune armor that incorporates the characteristics of wood spirit, and countless inactive runes are faintly visible under the rune armor. Inside is a life system connected by a network of active crystal threads.

At this moment, Wang Ping is constructing an even larger spacetime tunnel around the star so that he can mobilize its power in any region of this starry sky. After all, he can't keep such a large thing by his side all the time, nor can he live on it. It is just a magic artifact, which may become an important tool for Wang Ping to expand beyond the realm in the future.

When the magic array was completed, Wang Ping led Yu Lian through endless space and time to a boundless starry sky outside Jupiter's orbit. With the fluctuation of his thoughts, he could easily detect the existence of the celestial fortress. Now, with just a thought, the fortress artifact could travel through space and time to appear in front of him.

Then, the Wood Spirit World around Wang Ping rapidly unfolded and hid beneath the starry sky. At the same time, a phantom of a ten-thousand-foot-tall Jianmu tree spread out. Yu Lian sensed the question Wang Ping was pondering and asked, "Do you intend to merge that fortress into the interior of this Wood Spirit World?"

Wang Ping did not respond to Yu Lian, but instead asked the same question: "Is this possible, Senior Xinghai?"

Xinghai's figure materialized, forming a tangible face, and looked directly into Wang Ping's eyes, saying, "That's a magic artifact you made, so it's perfectly acceptable." Wang Ping couldn't sense Xinghai's thoughts, and he smiled, saying, "However, before that, we need to outline the core of the magic array for the celestial body. I'll have to do this step myself."

As he spoke, the Wood Spirit World around him disappeared, and the next moment he took Yu Lian through time and space and returned to the starry sky near the Celestial Fortress.

Wang Ping first dismissed all the puppets, descended to the surface of the star, and then entered the core of the star, which was a bright hall. With his will, visible wood spirit particles appeared out of thin air and were then imprinted on the walls, ceiling and floor of the hall.

There is an energy separation array at regular intervals. Wang Ping infused a portion of his consciousness into these arrays. In the future, these arrays will be the key to the fusion of the fortress's magical artifacts with the Wood Spirit World.

In a short while, the magic array runes in the hall were completed. Wang Ping's primordial spirit carefully scanned the runes he had drawn. After confirming that there were no problems, he manipulated the wood spirit energy to extend the core of the magic array in the hall outward and connect it to the rune lines that were connected to the entire magic artifact.

The process was completed in the blink of an eye. After checking with his primordial spirit to confirm that there were no problems, Wang Ping summoned Xinghai and said, "In its current state, it should be able to barely guide the energy within your body, senior, right?"

Xinghai responded, "Whether it will work or not, we'll only know after trying. Also, I must correct you on one point: that metal sphere is something that comes naturally to me, not something I depend on."

"Then try it!"

As Wang Ping spoke, he released his consciousness and took out the metal ball. After a brief silence, he decisively placed it in the core of the magic circle.

Then Wang Ping made a hand seal and activated the rune circuits of the fortress artifact.

hum! ! !
A deep hum that directly affects space and the primordial spirit erupts from the core of the fortress.

The fortress trembled violently, and all the activated runes instantly shone brightly, transforming into a dazzling, almost pure white, intense light that illuminated the dark starry sky as bright as day!

Inside the core hall, the runes drawn by Wang Ping transformed into a surging, roaring torrent of energy. Standing at the very center of this energy storm, Wang Ping was the first to feel the changes in the Star Sea's consciousness.

A vast, chaotic, yet infinitely possible torrent of thought surged into the perception of the Star Sea like a bursting dam. In this torrent, Wang Ping "heard" countless chaotic new "thoughts".

It was a wonder at the very existence of things, a curiosity about the touch of cold metal, a first experience of the exhilaration of flowing energy, and an excitement at the fact that one's own power could so directly influence the material world.

All sorts of nascent "human nature" and "desire" sprouted wildly in the vast consciousness of the starry sea at the moment when they were deeply connected with the material world.

This dramatic shift in consciousness had a direct impact on the external world.

The light of the entire fortress began to flicker violently, and its shape even showed subtle distortions and instability. At this moment, Xinghai was like an infant who had just acquired a body and did not yet know how to control his power.

Yu Lian clung tightly to the back of Wang Ping's neck. She could feel that the giant thing beneath her feet was about to come to life completely at any moment, and might even disintegrate because it couldn't withstand this sudden "life"!
However, the violent energy soon subsided, likely because Xinghai had mastered the spell and adapted to the fortress's strength and resilience.

Wang Ping and Yu Lian both breathed a sigh of relief.

"This feeling is wonderful, even better than controlling the demonic sword, but I probably won't be able to experience it for long." The illusory figure of Xinghai appeared before Wang Ping; otherwise, I would have been trapped within it.

"As we agreed beforehand, let's try to define your state of consciousness!"

As Wang Ping spoke, he continuously outlined the network of rules in this starry sky within his vision. Then a problem arose: he could not observe the life network of the star sea, so he could only intervene directly with his cultivation.

“Okay, you can read my current state first, and then fix my consciousness in this state. Once I gradually get used to the feel of the real universe, it won’t be so troublesome.”

Xinghai did not refuse. After responding to Wang Ping, he said something quite humane: "Perhaps our meeting was truly a destiny preordained!"

Wang Ping was taken aback by these words, which were too suggestive. He immediately suppressed his thoughts and used the 'Heaven-Stealing Talisman' to steal a portion of the heavenly secrets. He then used this portion of the heavenly secrets to define the thoughts of the Star Sea in his own way.

Immediately following, the feedback far exceeded Wang Ping's expectations, like the Big Bang at the beginning of the universe, and surged back along the connection between his primordial spirit and the runes.

This is the best feedback energy for refining the 'Heaven Stealing Talisman', but this power is extremely strong. At this moment, Wang Ping is like a mortal who has eaten too much and is full. He sees the fusion progress of the 'Heaven Stealing Talisman' on the light screen panel suddenly increase to (392/100).

But in an instant, the progress suddenly dropped to (0/100), and in that instant, Wang Ping even felt the 'Stealing Talisman' disintegrating, which was caused by too much feedback. During that instant, Wang Ping's consciousness went blank.

Fortunately, it was only a momentary process. Perhaps Xinghai noticed Wang Ping's condition and took the initiative to leave the core of the fortress's magic array. Soon after, Wang Ping recovered, the feeling of being stuffed disappeared, and his progress in cultivating the Stealing Heaven Talisman returned to (83/100).

At this moment, a magnificent universe appeared in Wang Ping's ocean of consciousness, and he even glimpsed the interwoven network of rules within that universe. However, this network of rules was chaotic and disordered, with only endless energy feedback.

But it was merely a glimpse; when he tried to remember it, he only had a vague impression.

"How are you?
Yu Lian's voice echoed in the spiritual sea.

Wang Ping's consciousness returned to the real world. Looking at the familiar hall, feeling the tactile sensation of the material universe, and gazing at the sea of ​​stars, he clearly sensed that his fate in the future had taken a slight turn. (End of Chapter)