There is a progress bar in my cultivation of immortality

Upon hearing this, Wang Ping's gaze naturally fell on Quan Xing. As soon as Quan Xing finished speaking, he raised his eyelids to look at the rest of the crowd. Before they could express their opinions, he continued, "I intend to establish nine True Lords below the Emperor to assist in managing the affairs of the Heavenly Court. Each True Lord will establish their own government office and appoint five Lords to assist them. They can choose virtuous and capable individuals to report to the Emperor for bestowal of titles."

"The seven sects of Xuanmen and Tianmen shall be subject to the rule of the Heavenly Court and abide by the laws. All tribes of the demon race and members of the Star God Alliance shall also be brought under the Heavenly Court. All those who have reached the second level of cultivation through unorthodox methods shall go to the Heavenly Court to report for duty and be appointed. Those who disobey shall be considered to be defying the Heavenly Court."

When Wang Ping finished speaking, he looked at Bai Yan and asked, "What do you think, fellow Daoist?"

Bai Yan cupped his hands in response and said, "Excellent!"

Wang Ping then looked down at the bowing crowd below and continued, “In the past, licentious worship was rampant in the star field. Evil gods stole the faith of the people, causing demons from beyond the realm to set up altars. Now that the Heavenly Court has been established, those who have not been conferred titles, even if they reach the Five Realms, are not allowed to take incense offerings. Those who violate this rule will be severely punished according to the Heavenly Laws.”

"Furthermore, all future religious ceremonies and sacrifices should be performed with the righteous gods of the Heavenly Court as the deities to be worshipped, and a unified system must be established. This is the ironclad rule of the Seven Sects. The sects under the Seven Sects may choose their own deities to worship, but my position as a deity is indispensable."

This method will inevitably harm the interests of many people, but Wang Ping is now above everyone else, and even if the Dragon King were here, he would not raise any objections to him.

After a brief silence, Quan Xing spoke first, shouting, "Your Majesty's judgment: In the past, the star field was in chaos, and it was through thunderous means that we were able to stabilize the world. Now, we have established the Nine True Lords to stabilize the world and set up the Lords of the Palace to regulate Yin and Yang. This is to lay the foundation for eternal peace. Now, we have united the Seven Sects and gathered faiths, so that evil spirits have nowhere to hide. This is in accordance with the ultimate truth of the Heavenly Emperor."

After speaking, he bowed again, the tassels of his jade crown jingling softly.
"The Emperor guards the central authority with his own body, just as the universe is governed by the great Dao, with all the stars surrounding him. This law is in accordance with the will of Heaven and the wishes of the people. On behalf of the myriad tribes of the demon race, I humbly pledge to be the first to swear to abide by this law forever!"

Wang Ping then looked at Bai Yan beside him and asked, "What do you think, fellow Daoist?"

Bai Yan bowed again and replied, "Now that people's hearts are scattered, we need to wield thunder to restore order and control the universe. Only by doing so can we set the order of the stars and break the shackles. Only with the might of Heaven can we win the hearts of all living beings and create a new world together."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ping nodded, and his aura suddenly became as deep as an abyss. Time and space on the summit of Mount Jiuxuan seemed to stand still at this moment, and even the spiritual aura emanating from the drooping branches and leaves of the spirit trees hovered in mid-air.

Yulian tilted her head and glanced at Wang Ping, then rested her head against Wang Ping's cheek.

Bai Yan, standing beside him, unconsciously took a half-step back, while the fifth-realm cultivators below, including Quan Xing, lowered their heads even further. Then, Wang Ping's voice rang in their ears again:

"Bai Yan holds the position of Taiyin Zhenjun, and Quan Xing holds the position of Wan Yao Zhenjun."

"The two True Lords, carrying my decree, went to the Vajra Temple, the Earth Cave Gate, the True Yang Sect, the Linshui Mansion, and the Jade Purity Sect to bestow titles upon Wangqing, Diwen, Rongyang, Aoyi, and Xuanqing."

He conjured five talismans imbued with the aura of wood spirit at his fingertips, his tone turning cold:

"If anyone disobeys orders, they shall be punished according to the laws of Heaven."

Quan Xing reacted the fastest, immediately bowing and saying, "I will obey the Emperor's decree!"

After a moment of silence, Bai Yan stepped back to Quan Xing's side and returned the gesture with clasped hands, saying, "I will obey Your Majesty's decree!"

Wang Ping's gaze fell upon the five realms of the Star God Alliance, and he said, "The Star God Alliance can establish the Heavenly Patrol Division. In the future, you will be in charge of the Heavenly Court's punishments, and I will personally command you."

Zang Yi quickly replied, "I will obey the Emperor's decree."

Wang Ping's gaze then fell on Zi Luan and the others, and he instructed them: "You shall build a Heavenly Palace within a month in the starry sky. On the day that day arrives, I will discuss with the True Lords the grand plan to conquer the outer realms."

"Follow the emperor's decree."

The cultivators from the four realms, including Zi Luan, clasped their hands in a gesture of respect.

Wang Ping glanced around, handed the five talismans in his hand to Bai Yan, and seeing that Bai Yan seemed to have something to say, he said, "We'll talk about everything after the Heavenly Court's order is established."

Bai Yan nodded silently upon hearing this.

"You may all go."

As soon as he finished speaking, Quan Xing bowed deeply and then transformed into a cloud of demonic energy that soared into the sky. Bai Yan bowed deeply to Wang Ping and then vanished into the moonlight.

Zang Yi and the others dared not delay, bowing and retreating three zhang away before riding the starlight towards the Star God Alliance's headquarters. Zi Luan and the Taiyan Sect cultivators, on the other hand, rode away on auspicious clouds.

In the blink of an eye, the mountaintop that was once full of people was now empty except for Wang Ping and his apprentices. Yu Lian stretched comfortably on his shoulder, and the calico cat nimbly jumped down from the branch and quietly lay down at his feet.

At this moment, the mysterious light around Wang Ping subsided, and he turned to look at his disciples. His gaze first fell on Hu Qianqian, Xia Wenyi, and Xuan Ling, and he said, "Go and find Zi Luan. You should be more involved in the affairs of the Taiyan Sect in the future."

"Yes, Master!"

Hu Qianqian, Xia Wenyi, and Xuan Ling immediately bowed and then transformed into a streak of light, flying towards the Taiyan Sect's headquarters.

Wang Ping's gaze then fell on Shen Xiaozhu. "Your disciple should be at the point of advancing to the fourth realm, right? If you have any ideas, you can go find Zi Luan, and he will arrange everything for you."

Shen Xiaozhu lowered her head and replied, "Thank you, Master."

She felt somewhat ashamed, knowing that she had let her master down.

"Go."

Wang Ping waved his hand, and Yu Lian watched Shen Xiaozhu's departing figure, her eyes filled with regret.

As Shen Xiaozhu left, his gaze fell on Liu Shuang, and a smile appeared on his indifferent face.

Liu Shuang spoke first: "Congratulations, Master."

When she became Wang Ping's disciple, Wang Ping was just a Qi cultivator. All that had happened before seemed like a dream to her, but unfortunately, her dream was about to come to an end.

Wang Ping looked at Liu Shuang, his lips moved slightly, but in the end he only raised his hand to gently brush her temples and patted her shoulder. The child he had raised with his own hands had already turned gray in her hair.

A smile appeared on Liu Shuang's face. This was the first time her master had patted her on the shoulder since she grew up.

Looking at Liu Shuang, Yu Lian wanted to say something, but sensing Wang Ping's emotions, she couldn't bring herself to speak. She simply brushed her tail lightly across Wang Ping's cheek. The calico cat jumped onto the futon in front of the spirit tree, and the spirit dog walked to Liu Shuang's feet and sat down.

"time flies."

Wang Ping uttered these last words before walking to another futon in front of the spirit tree and sitting down cross-legged.

Liu Shuang suddenly said softly, "Disciple will go and make you some tea."

As she turned around, a withered leaf drifted down from the branch. Wang Ping had originally planned to awaken Xiaoshan's consciousness, but seeing Liu Shuang's busy figure, he calmed down and postponed the idea of ​​awakening Xiaoshan's consciousness for several hours.

Time passed unnoticed, and as dusk settled, Liu Shuang poured the last cup of tea into the jade cup. The aroma of tea and the pure spirit of the wood lingered between the master and disciple.

When Wang Ping took the teacup, his fingertips lingered on the rim for a moment. He watched Liu Shuang's back as she tidied up the tea set, looking frail in the dimming light. Yu Lian, perched on a branch, watched the master and apprentice.

As the stars filled the night sky, Liu Shuang bowed and took her leave. As she stood up, a withered leaf happened to fall onto the futon where she had just been sitting.

Wang Ping sat quietly under the spirit tree for a while longer, waiting for the figure to completely disappear into the night before getting up. Then, he took a step and landed on the sleeping hill, where the pollution of the locust tree in front of him had been completely eliminated.

This locust tree is towering, its trunk as if carved from green jade, with starlight flowing between the bark textures. Its branches and leaves stretch out into the atmosphere, forming a huge canopy in the starry sky. Each locust leaf has a translucent jade-like texture, and liquid wood spirit energy surges in the veins of the leaves.

Countless spiritual vines hang down from the depths of the tree canopy, with tiny white flowers blooming at their ends. As the petals fall, they leave emerald trails of light in the void.

After observing for a while, Wang Ping reached out and gently touched the tree trunk. Wherever his fingertips touched, fine wood spirit runes appeared on the bark. Then, a clearly visible network of rules appeared in his vision. There were two cores where the wood spirit rules converged within the network: one was the locust tree, and the other was naturally Wang Ping himself.

Wang Ping's cultivation level has now reached the point where he has completely mastered the Wood Spirit rules of this starry sky. Stabilizing the Wood Spirit Qi is just an idea for him, and defining Xiaoshan's consciousness is also a piece of cake. Therefore, the chance of awakening Xiaoshan is 99%.

"Xiaoshan's consciousness is sometimes clear and sometimes confused. He could actually wake up now, but his condition would be the same as Lieyang's back then, requiring a long time to recover."

Wang Ping said to Yu Lian.

As he spoke, his gaze pierced through the lush branches and surging wood spirit energy of the locust tree, reaching the chaotic battlefield deep within Xiaoshan's consciousness, where Xiaoshan's own consciousness was undergoing a long and arduous fusion with Huishan's vast torrent of memories.

When Xiaoshan and Huishan's consciousnesses successfully merge, Xiaoshan's cultivation level can directly rival Huishan's back then, saving thousands of years of cultivation time. However, Wang Ping cannot do it. Now that the Heavenly Court has just been established, the positions of the Nine True Lords need to be implemented as soon as possible. The Taiyan Sect must have a Fifth Realm True Lord to sit in and stabilize people's hearts, and Xiaoshan is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate.

Therefore, he needs Xiaoshan to wake up immediately, even if the price is giving up the powerful force he might immediately gain after merging with Huishan's memories.

Upon hearing Wang Ping's words and sensing his emotions, Yu Lian immediately understood his thoughts. So she said softly, "We just need him to calm people's hearts. It doesn't matter if his cultivation level is a little lower."

"This is the only way..."

Wang Ping's eyes became firm and profound. He raised his hand and gently pressed his palm on the cool tree trunk. This time, he mobilized his absolute control over the rules of the wood spirit and even used the power of the 'Heaven-Stealing Talisman' to define the rules.

In the blink of an eye, Wang Ping's consciousness, like the most precise carving knife, carefully probed into the core of Xiao Shan's consciousness and began to redefine Xiao Shan's consciousness structure.

As Huishan's memories were gradually peeled away, the stagnant aura around the locust tree, originally caused by the intense fusion of two consciousnesses, began to become purer.

After an unknown amount of time, Wang Ping slowly withdrew his palm, and five talismans appeared beside him. They processed the feedback from the rules defined by the Heavenly Dao at an extremely fast speed, and his consciousness stabilized in an instant.

Just then, the towering locust tree trembled slightly, and the ancient runes on its trunk lit up one by one, eventually converging deep within its canopy. Hundreds of millions of spiritual vines moved without wind, and tiny white flowers fell one after another, weaving a dazzling rain of light in the starry sky.

At the point where the light was at its brightest, a figure materialized from the ethereal and slowly solidified.

It was the figure of a primordial spirit rapidly solidifying.

“What a nostalgic atmosphere.”

The image of that primordial spirit was reflected in Yu Lian's golden vertical pupils.

It was Xiaoshan; he successfully woke up.

Under Wang Ping's gaze, Xiao Shan suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze was slightly confused at first, but it quickly returned to clarity. However, this clarity lacked the original profundity and gained a touch of purity. The aura emanating from his body also stabilized at the level of someone who had just entered the fifth realm.

Xiaoshan's awakened spirit stood under the canopy of the locust tree. He first looked around, and his gaze finally landed on Wang Ping.

Then, with a slight thought, the locust tree behind him, which stretched from heaven to earth, emitted a soft yet magnificent emerald light, and then countless branches converged toward his primordial spirit as if commanding his own arms.

In the blink of an eye, a middle-aged Taoist priest dressed in a blue robe, with a gentle face and eyes that held the peace and a hint of weariness that come with the passage of time, appeared on the spot.

It looked exactly like Xiaoshan had before.

Xiao Shan looked at Wang Ping, about to speak, but Wang Ping had already raised his hand, a point of spiritual light gathered at his fingertips, and without saying a word, pointed it at Xiao Shan's brow.

"Do not resist, but observe."

A massive flow of information instantly flooded into Xiaoshan's consciousness. It contained many major events that had occurred in the starry sky over the past two thousand years, from the aftermath of the battle between the outer planets to the turmoil caused by the awakening of the Dragon Lord, to the two confrontations between Wang Ping and the Dragon Lord, and finally to the establishment of the Heavenly Court and the conferment of titles upon the Nine Lords at the summit of Mount Jiuxuan.

Xiaoshan closed his eyes to process the information. When he opened them again, his gaze toward Wang Ping was filled with complex and indescribable emotions: shock, relief, and a hint of undisguised emotion.

He stepped forward and solemnly bowed with his hands clasped in greeting:
"I don't want to have been asleep all these years. The starry sky has undergone such tremendous changes, and you have come this far, far exceeding my expectations back then."

His tone was filled with sincere admiration, but also a hint of regret for not being able to participate personally.

Wang Ping did not presume to be arrogant. He returned the greeting solemnly and calmly said, "The road ahead is fraught with peril, and cannot be accomplished by one person alone. Now that the Heavenly Court has just been established, everything is in need of rebuilding. We need your strong support to stabilize the overall situation."

Upon hearing this, Xiaoshan revealed a gentle yet firm smile. He naturally understood the profound meaning behind Wang Ping's awakening of him and bestowing upon him the title of "Taiyan Zhenjun".

"It's my duty," he replied without the slightest hesitation. "It's simply my responsibility!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ping was about to say something more when he suddenly seemed to think of something, causing him to subconsciously raise his hand to calculate. Then, a look of understanding appeared in his eyes. It had taken him half a month to awaken Xiaoshan this time, and the outer space palace had already taken shape under the planning of many earth spirit cultivators.

"Now that I have attained the position of Taiyan Zhenjun, I would like to visit the Taiyan Sect first."

Xiaoshan's mind suddenly became active, and his dormant human consciousness quickly returned.

Wang Ping understood his feelings and did not stop him. He simply nodded and said, "That's the way to do it. Zi Luan has been handling all the affairs in the sect. You can go see him first."

When Xiaoshan heard Ziluan's name, his eyes showed an even stronger sense of humanity.

He bowed to Wang Ping again, then his figure transformed into a streak of emerald light, carrying with it the purest wood spirit vitality, instantly traversing the starry sky. His speed revealed his inner urgency. (End of Chapter)