There is a progress bar in my cultivation of immortality

After receiving the order, Zi Luan dared not linger for even a moment. His figure transformed into a streak of light, and he silently withdrew from Jiuxuan Mountain, heading straight for the Taiyan Sect's headquarters.

The mountaintop returned to tranquility. The slight ripple in Wang Ping's eyes regarding Sun Shulin had completely subsided, like a deep pool returning to stillness. His entire mind returned to the Divine Kingdom Palace, focusing on the five primordial spirits of the four realms.

Just as he had done when bestowing titles upon Xiao Qing and Xiao Min, he raised his hand and lightly touched the ever-flowing star map of the divine kingdom in the void. His solemn and grand voice seemed to descend from the heavens, echoing in every wisp of faith:

"Now there are righteous believers, of steadfast character, who have endured countless tribulations without being worn down... Therefore, I hereby confer upon you the title of Divine Generals of the Divine Kingdom, bestow upon you the seal of the Divine Kingdom, impart to you the true teachings of divine arts, grant you the incense offerings of all people, and allow you to share the joys and sorrows of the Divine Kingdom..."

As the solemn voice echoed, five pure golden pillars of light descended, completely engulfing the five primordial spirits. Countless divine runes within the pillars of light surged violently into the depths of the primordial spirits like a boiling golden tide, forcibly constructing a spiritual vein system in sync with the divine kingdom.

On the left, a primordial spirit emitted a silent shriek the moment the runes surged in. Its structure was like smoke being torn apart by a gale. After struggling for only a moment, it was completely annihilated with a soft "poof" sound, turning into the most primordial energy and being absorbed by the divine kingdom.

Immediately afterwards, another primordial spirit, like an overinflated sac, suddenly expanded, its surface runes darting about, and exploded into countless golden specks of light with a muffled crack.

Two out of five were gone, leaving three figures floating in the pillar of light, enduring immense spiritual pressure.

One of the primordial spirits oscillated violently between solidification and dispersion, its divine seal between its brows flickering uncertainly, as if struggling with some kind of inner obsession. Just as its divine seal was about to take shape, that obsession, like a crack in a dam, caused a complete collapse. The divine seal suddenly dimmed, and the light of the entire primordial spirit quickly went out. Although it did not disintegrate on the spot, it completely lost its vitality.

In the end, only two primordial spirits successfully survived this perilous baptism.

A primordial spirit was completely stabilized in the golden light, transforming into a burly divine general clad in black armor and wielding a giant axe, with the battle axe divine seal between his brows bursting forth with a sharp aura that could cleave stars.

The other figure shifted and transformed into a patrolling divine general that blended into the shadows of the starry sky, the star divine mark between his brows deep and unfathomable.

At the moment of their success, their divine light became perfectly balanced and stable, their connection with the divine kingdom's star map unbreakable. Facing Wang Ping's divine throne, they knelt in utmost reverence and worship:
"Thank you, God, for your grace!"

Wang Ping calmly observed all of this, and then with a slight thought, the consciousnesses of the two newly promoted divine generals were presented to his perception without reservation.

What Wang Ping sensed first was their absolute belonging to the divine kingdom in their consciousness, followed by their memories of their past lives. These pure and singular thoughts were like the most standard template, which was the foundation for constructing the consciousness of the divine generals. Wang Ping skillfully copied these two sets of consciousness memories as a reference for further optimizing the investiture process.

After doing all this, Wang Ping's gaze pierced through the mountains and rivers, looking at the primordial spirit of the small mountain that was in a deep slumber.

He intends to utilize these successful examples, combined with millennia of deduction, to weave a sufficiently perfect and natural subconscious memory for Xiaoshan, guiding his primordial spirit to smoothly integrate into the divine realm and become his most powerful assistant...

But suddenly, Wang Ping hesitated again.

"What's wrong? Why are you hesitating?"

Yu Lian sensed Wang Ping's consciousness and asked a question.

Wang Ping responded softly, "With my current cultivation level, there is no need for me to attempt to bestow a title upon Xiaoshan. Let him awaken naturally."

Yu Lian was silent for a moment, then said, "Alright, what we're doing is indeed a bit unethical."

After saying that, she changed the subject and said, "Your followers are now all over the starry sky. Although I have guided thousands of three-striped messengers, there are still many areas that I cannot take care of. Moreover, as time goes by, these divine magic messengers have different understandings of the divine kingdom they believe in, thus dividing into several factions, especially on Zhongzhou Star."

As she narrated, a map of a divine kingdom rapidly unfolded; it was a map of the Central Continent.

Wang Ping looked at the familiar mountains and rivers on the map.

What are they fighting for?

he asks.

Yu Lian tapped the map with her snake tail, enlarging several of the largest split areas: "The root cause lies in the difference in the understanding of power."

"Some believers think that they should practice asceticism in order to truly receive your divine grace, and they regard the pursuit of divine power as a wrong path."

“Some believers advocate for in-depth study and application of divine arts, believing that powerful forces are needed to better spread the faith, and they condemn ascetics as ‘hypocrites.’”

"There are also spontaneously formed balance factions that try to reconcile the two, but are instead rejected by both sides. Even worse, in some remote areas, believers confuse you with the local ancient mountain gods and river gods."

Yu Lian's tone carried a hint of helplessness: "The three-striped envoys I sent, regardless of their views, not only failed to persuade the other side once they entered the other's territory, but also provoked stronger resistance, and even small-scale conflicts have occurred."

As she spoke, she moved the map of the divine kingdom, zooming in on the area where the capital city of Zhongzhou was originally located, and said to Wang Ping, "In the last few hundred years, due to the application of power devices, many ordinary people have mastered great power, especially in prosperous cities. Some people have even begun to doubt their faith."

She said that these maps of divine kingdoms turned into star maps, "The religious differences in the outer space ecological zones are even greater because their ecological zones are divided into countless pieces and they do not communicate with each other."

Her tone was filled with self-blame, "Everything was fine before, and I didn't even notice these things, but in the blink of an eye, it turned into this."

"nothing!"

Wang Ping reached out and gently stroked Yu Lian's little head. For a cultivator at the peak of the fourth realm, a "blink of an eye" could be decades, but for ordinary people, decades is a lifetime.

"Human nature is like water; it takes the shape of a square or a circle, and has no fixed form." Wang Ping's voice was deep and resonant. "With billions of living beings, there are billions of thoughts. Forcing uniformity is like trying to turn a river backward; it is nothing more than wasting energy and going against the will of heaven."

“Look…” Wang Ping pointed to the reflections of some believers, “In the beginning, faith is like spring rain nourishing all things, subtle and silent. But as time flows, people’s hearts change. Their thoughts are like seeds falling into different soils. Some grow into towering trees, some become thorny vines, and some seem withered, but their roots are still searching for the source underground.” “Extremism may unify thought and suppress dissent, but it is like trapping living water in solid ice. Without the source of vitality, it will eventually die. Suppressing with force may bring superficial obedience, but it can never gain inner recognition. This is not the way, but just brute force.”

He withdrew his gaze and looked at Yu Lian, his eyes as deep as the starry sky: "I am a Taoist, and I believe in following the natural way."

"The foundation of the Kingdom of God lies in faith, not in the absolute unity of faith. As long as the core remains intact, it is acceptable for branches to grow. Sometimes, seemingly chaotic disputes can spark new ideas; seemingly heretical doubts may push faith to undergo tempering and become more pure."

"Let them fight if they want to fight; let them doubt if they want to doubt. God's grace is like a star, shining in all directions. It is not only bright for believers, but also not obscured by doubters. In the end, what will survive and thrive will be the most vital form, the one that best responds to the true desires of the soul."

Wang Ping's voice carried a transcendent calm: "We only need to maintain the essence of our divine kingdom and observe the changes. Time will provide the answer."

He looked at Yu Lian and smiled, "Furthermore, we should reduce our control over believers. Whether they believe or not is fine; there's no need to make them feel awe towards me."

Taoist beliefs may seem casual, but they are actually the most deeply ingrained in people's hearts, accompanying them in their daily lives, including food, clothing, shelter, and conduct. Some beliefs may seem profound, but they have fallen into inferiority.

Yu Lian and Wang Ping were of one mind. Although she could not read Wang Ping's thoughts, she immediately understood his ideas after his guidance and said, "I understand. That's what we did before. It's just that the faith war with the Vajra Temple a while ago changed many things."

Wang Ping didn't continue the topic. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the two divine generals who had just been appointed, and the divine palace quickly disappeared. He then said to Yu Lian, "I saw many interesting things in the mortal realm just now. Shall we go take a look?"

"Hurrah!"

Yulian gently rubbed her little head against Wang Ping's cheek.

Wang Ping gazed at the starry sky, his gaze piercing through endless time and space, locking onto a newly emerging ecological zone in the orbit of Zhongzhou Star.

The ecological zone resembles an exquisite jade ring, suspended above the orbit of Zhongzhou Star. Its outer shell is woven from countless flowing rune veins. These veins are based on crystal-carved runes, drawing on the sparse spiritual energy of the universe and the energy of stellar radiation, transforming them into pure power to maintain the operation of the ecological zone.

Wang Ping, carrying Yu Lian, instantly traveled through time and space, silently stepping into the most bustling circular street in the ecological zone.

Along the streets, the towering buildings are also covered with flowing runes, which regulate the light, temperature and even air composition inside. The streets are bustling with pedestrians, dressed in various styles, from long robes with wide sleeves to neatly tailored short-sleeved clothes.

Most of them moved with light steps, and there were many small single-person vehicles in the middle of the street, gliding silently along specially made rune tracks. Their core was no more than a fingernail-sized power unit, yet it could provide a continuous source of power.

The street shops are full of various items, such as the 'Dust-Cleansing Jade Buckle' that can automatically clean clothes. Some bookstores no longer display jade slips, but rather pre-packaged knowledge talisman cards. These cards can be quickly browsed with consciousness by simply embedding a specific reading device. However, most of these shops are frequented by Qi cultivators.

Currently, the number of Qi cultivators registered in the Dao Palace alone in this starry sky is in the tens of billions, so they don't need to worry about a lack of customers.

A patrol of soldiers, dressed in light gray-blue uniforms whose material subtly exuded energy, clearly possessing protective capabilities, moved in unison, their sharp eyes scanning their surroundings. The leader carried a simply designed long spear on his back, its blade inlaid with runes and emitting faint energy fluctuations.

This is a runic spear capable of unleashing energy shocks, now standard issue for mortal armies.

Wang Ping and Yu Lian strolled through the streets and quickly blended into this vibrant scene. In the square, young people were performing something like street dance using floating rune devices, while in the park, elderly people were stretching their muscles on rune-inspired equipment or playing a three-dimensional chess game that utilized the changing light and shadow runes.

“Here, cultivation and daily life are integrated even more closely.” Yu Lian’s golden vertical pupils looked around curiously, searching for possible new and exotic delicacies.

Before long, Yulian was drawn to a stall selling spirit fruit skewers. These skewers were made from various fruits containing a faint spiritual energy, coated with a special crystal-clear syrup, and emitted an enticing sweet fragrance.

Wang Ping smiled and bought a bunch, and Yu Lian wrapped it with her tail and ate it in small bites, her vertical pupils squinting with satisfaction.

They then entered a large talisman shop, which contained everything from household cleaning talisman discs to personal transportation shuttles, and all sorts of items incorporating rune technology. Wang Ping seemed to be observing them casually, but in reality, his divine sense had already swept over the construction principles of the core runes.

Leaving the bustling commercial district, Wang Ping led Yu Lian into a relatively quiet alley. After several twists and turns, they stopped in front of a seemingly ordinary wall. He flicked his finger, and a hidden rune flashed, causing the wall to ripple like water, revealing a staircase leading downwards behind it.

At the end of the stairs was a spacious underground space. There were no dazzling runes outside, only simple lighting to provide basic illumination. The space was divided into several areas, where some young people were engrossed in their work. Some were calculating complex formulas on paper, while others were adjusting miniature rune arrays on control panels.

This is one of the science schools that Wang Ping secretly established through puppets.

Unlike mainstream rune masters who focus more on practice and inheritance, this place advocates the deep integration of the underlying logic of modern knowledge with the rune energy system. Instead of portraits of gods, the walls are covered with diagrams of cosmological constants, energy conversion efficiency formulas, and rune structures.

A lecturer was deriving a model on the whiteboard: "...Therefore, according to the wave equation of the psionic field, if we want to optimize the efficiency of this 'spirit-gathering array,' we cannot rely solely on the traditional superposition of basic runes, but must consider introducing the concept of multidimensional manifolds to reconstruct its energy-conducting surface..."

Wang Ping concealed himself and quietly observed everything.

This knowledge is the seed he secretly spread through puppets, combining the scientific system of another world with the rules of this world.

Most of these students are of average talent and may never break through to the Qi Refining stage on the traditional path of cultivation. However, here, with their wisdom and dedication, they may be able to forge a new path in the fields of rune theory and energy application, and even drive the innovation of the entire rune technology system.

This is also an extension of the Tao, a deeper exploration and application of the laws of nature within the framework of the Tao following nature.

Yu Lian looked at the young people who were immersed in thought and communicated with Wang Ping in her spiritual sea: "This knowledge looks very interesting, but it feels very troublesome to deduce it. It's like a black hole with no end."

"Not knowing its form, not clinging to its result, but following its natural course—this is in accordance with the Dao." Wang Ping smiled slightly, then quietly departed with Yu Lian, as if he had never been there. (End of Chapter)