There is a progress bar in my cultivation of immortality

Entering the entrance of the waterway that crisscrosses the gray water pool, in the center of the monotonous city, in front of the magnificent palace, a team of water soldiers are holding a bucket of cool river water in their hands.

They staggered to the steps of the palace and poured the water on the already scalding palace guards, which immediately drew cheers from the guards. They cheered and excitedly swayed their armored bodies.

"Behave yourself, don't let your slime dirty the temple!"

A shrimp soldier who looked like a general came flying over. He was much more majestic than the other water soldiers thanks to the silver metal armor he was wearing.

As soon as he finished his scolding, another team of soldiers carrying buckets came over and washed the mucus secreted by the palace guards on the steps. The dirty water flowed along both sides of the steps to the purification array beside the river, and finally flowed into the clean river nearby.

It is worth mentioning that the city’s rivers do not allow the direct discharge of filth. To discharge, it is necessary to go near designated purification arrays. For this purpose, the city has also set up ten patrol teams to capture aquatic creatures that violate the rules. If caught in the act, they will be punished with flogging.

According to convention, the guards on duty in front of the palace would persist until three quarters after noon, and then another team of aquatic soldiers would crawl out of the nearby river to replace them on duty.

Today was no exception. When a new team of aquatic soldiers dragged their wet bodies ashore, the palace guards, who had already been smoking from the sun, rushed into the nearby river as soon as they completed the handover.

As they cheered, several figures appeared from a small courtyard nearby and appeared at the foot of the white marble steps of the main hall.

It’s Wang Ping and the others.

The moment they appeared, the water soldiers in front of the palace all cast their eyes over. The next moment, the cheering water soldiers in the waterway all dived into the water at the first possible moment, while the water soldiers in charge of guarding all lowered their heads.

"Can these little demons defend this place?"

Yu Lian asked in confusion. The ones guarding in front of the palace were all little demons with no cultivation. The only ones with cultivation were two shrimp soldiers who were equivalent to the foundation-building stage.

Zizhu smiled and said, "They are here to prevent some little demons from causing trouble. If you spend more time with the demons, you will know that they are very stupid and sometimes very stubborn. Even if you whip them until their skin is torn, they will continue to make mistakes after their wounds heal."

Upon hearing this, Yu Lian immediately thought of the demon tribe in Baishui Lake. It seemed that they were a bit stupid sometimes, so she nodded in agreement.

Zizhu stopped talking about this, looked at Wang Ping and said, "Let's go, the old ancestor is in there. He sent me a message yesterday, asking me to roast a big fish for him with nectar."

"Yeah, what about the grilled fish?"

Lan Yang exclaimed.

Zizhu was also stunned, then said: "It was so comfortable to bask in the sun, I forgot about it, I will make it up to him tomorrow."

"But aren't we moving?"

"Then make it up to him this afternoon!"

Yu Lian reminded at the side: "Tell the little demons to roast first."

Lan Yang and Zi Zhu paused, then looked at the shrimp soldiers standing respectfully beside them. Zi Zhu ordered, "Go, catch a big fish in my yard and grill it."

"Yes!"

The shrimp soldier tilted his head and looked at Zizhu with his big left eye. After confirming the order he had received, he flew to the yard next to him.

Wang Ping's guess was correct, the courtyard really belonged to Zizhu and Lan Yang.

"tread"

The water on the steps had not dried up yet. Wang Ping felt a heavy sound when he stepped on them. He even felt something silky. It should be the mucus that is naturally secreted by the skin of aquatic creatures.

When you reach the top of the stairs, it is much drier, but dryness refers to the environment. The water spirit energy in the space is very rich. Wang Ping can even observe the light blue spirit energy flashing in front of the palace with his naked eyes.

The most eye-catching thing is the palace itself. Standing on the steps, Wang Ping felt like an ant looking up at a giant. The stone gate of the palace was ten feet high, and each piece of white jade used to build the palace was at least four feet high.

“It’s so big!”

Yu Lian, lying on Wang Ping's shoulder, stretched her neck and looked up at the top of the palace.

The same was true for Wang Ping. Although his soul had sensed the grandeur of the palace, observing it with the naked eye gave him a different feeling. After all, his soul was extremely powerful, and most things in this world were like ants to him.

"Go open the door!"

Zizhu orders Lan Yang to do something.

Lan Yang's body grew rapidly, and in a blink of an eye it was ten feet long. His huge body was just normal in front of the huge stone gate.

As a heavy sound echoed, the stone door opened a very small gap, but it was enough for six ordinary people to pass side by side. At this moment, Lan Yang was like a naughty child, sticking his head into his head to observe the situation inside the palace.

"come in!"

A lazy voice came from inside, and the voice sounded a little tired.

Lan Yang was startled. He retracted his head and looked at Wang Ping and others and said, "The ancestor is calling you."

He had no intention of going in, and Zizhu also stopped in front of the palace gate.

"You guys come in too!"

Just as Wang Ping was about to take Yu Lian into the gate, a voice was heard from inside.

Lan Yang, who was at the front, took a step back and called out to Wang Ping, "Please come in first, my dear guest."

Wang Ping did not hesitate, while Yu Lian stretched her neck, her pupils full of curiosity. When they entered the palace, Zizhu and Lan Yang shrank their bodies and followed in.

The interior of the palace is even more magnificent. It has only one hall. At a glance, it seems to be a hundred feet deep, but there is no pillar supporting it. The reason why it has not collapsed is because it is supported by the earth vein formation.

The hall is well lit because there are some reflective arrays around the majestic sky, which accurately shine the sunlight into every corner of the hall.

Furthermore, there was a water spirit vein in the middle of the hall. It was placed on top of a fountain made of white jade. It continuously produced water, forming a pool with a depth of fifty feet around the fountain. There was a green halo flashing in the pool, which was the spiritual energy created by the water spirit formation locking the spirit vein.

A huge spirit snake was coiled on the fountain in the middle of the pool. Its exact size could not be seen because only a small part of its body was wrapped around the fountain, and most of its body was under the pool. It was covered with snow-white scales, and mysterious water spirit runes were faintly visible on the surface of the scales. Its huge head was lying on the top of the fountain where the spirit vein was placed, and its eyes were golden vertical pupils like the Yu Lian family.

After Wang Ping entered the hall, the pair of golden vertical pupils had been staring at Wang Ping, with inquiry and curiosity in their eyes. When Wang Ping walked to the edge of the pool and prepared to pay his respects, his huge vertical pupils moved slightly, and he looked at Zizhu and Lanyang who were following behind him and asked, "Where is the grilled fish I ordered?"

“It’s already been grilled.”

It was Lan Yang who answered again. He seemed to remember something and added, "There are two prepared to entertain Lord Changqing. They should be ready soon." He was interrupted by a water bullet before he finished speaking. Then he heard the giant snake say unhappily, "How can you say that in front of the guests? Where is the etiquette I taught you?"

"... "

"Lord Changqing should not be considered a guest!"

Wang Ping was already used to the thinking patterns of the spirit snake clan, so he did not feel awkward. After the giant snake and Lan Yang finished their conversation, he clasped his fists and saluted, saying, "Greetings, senior."

"You can call me Xinshi!"

"Meet Senior Xinshi."

"Yuxiao said that Qianmu Temple would rise again in the next five thousand years, but he was wrong this time. It has only been more than 1,200 years, and Qianmu Temple has risen again."

"Senior Xin Shi, have you met the Grandmaster?"

"Didn't they tell you that it was me who signed the spiritual contract with Yuxiao?"

Lan Yang next to him immediately explained: "I didn't have time to say it."

Xin Shi's eyes fell on Lan Yang again, and he looked as if he was too lazy to continue talking nonsense. Then he looked at Wang Ping and continued the previous topic, "You don't look any different!"

His tone was full of doubt.

Wang Ping looked at Xin Shi calmly and asked, "Is the Grandmaster still alive?"

"Death is not far away!"

Xin Shi said this very bluntly, as if he had a deep resentment towards Yu Xiao, but in the next moment, an unconcealable sadness appeared in his golden vertical pupils.

Wang Ping clasped his fists and said, "Senior, could you please elaborate?"

He has always been very concerned about this issue. He feels that Grandmaster Yuxiao should be alive, but just not in a good condition, because neither in Xiaoshan Mansion nor in the existing archives of the Taoist Palace, there is any mention of Grandmaster Yuxiao's fourth-realm quota, and after his disappearance, there has been no incident of third-realm cultivators fighting for the quota.

"Everyone thinks Yu Xiao is a warm-hearted and honest cultivator with an optimistic and enterprising spirit, but in fact, he is very thoughtful. Since he was promoted to the third realm, he has been scheming almost every day, but even I don't know what he is scheming."

Xin Shi's body, which was located under the pool, kept swaying, causing ripples in the pool. But he did not continue talking. Judging from the look in his eyes, he should be recalling something very important.

Wang Ping did not disturb him and just waited quietly. Zizhu and Lan Yang also remained quiet. Yu Lian's little head was pressed against Wang Ping's cheek.

After a long time, Xin Shi continued, "Suddenly one day, Yu Xiao decided to plot for the position of the True Lord. He talked to many people, including Lie Yang, Xuan Qing, and Xiao Shan. I didn't even know what they talked about. Every time I asked him, he would smile and answer: You will know later."

"But I still don't know!"

The pool splashed some water, and Xinshi's body under the pool swayed more violently.

After a long while, Xin Shi calmed down. Wang Ping's figure was reflected in his vertical pupils as he continued, "He took me with him when he went to seek Master Huishan. Master Huishan explicitly said that there might be a place for Master in the Blue Palace in the Misty Sea."

He stopped here.

Wang Ping couldn't help himself this time and asked, "Have you been to the Misty Sea?"

“Been there…”

Xin Shi spit out his tongue, and his body wrapped around the fountain slowly sank, and then only his head floated on the water. After his eyes aligned with Wang Ping's, he said, "But I really don't remember what happened. I have spent 1,200 years trying to recall what happened in the Misty Sea, and I still don't remember much."

"The only thing I remember is that there was an extremely bright beam of light, and then, Yu Xiao's spiritual body was destroyed, and his soul was locked in a strange magic circle in the center of the Canglan Palace."

"He asked me to leave and told me that if a descendant of Qianmu Temple was promoted to the fourth realm in the future, he would let Canglan Palace know. He said that this might be five or six thousand years later, so I should be patient and wait for him to appear."

He looked at Wang Ping, "I don't know if the person he was talking about is you, but you are indeed the successor of Qianmu Temple, and you have also been promoted to the fourth level, but it hasn't been that long."

"Are you going to the Misty Sea to look for him?"

Wang Ping did not answer immediately.

Just as he was thinking about what Xin Shi said, Xin Shi added: "Oh, I almost forgot, he also said that you should wait until you have his strength before going to find him!"

"What kind of strength does Grandmaster Yuxiao have?"

This is what Yu Lian is asking. She has read countless vernacular stories written by Nan Fang, and Yu Xiao's shadow can be seen in each of them to some extent. In these vernacular stories, Yu Xiao is always omnipotent.

Xin Shi was silent for two breaths before answering, "In the era when he existed, almost no fourth-level cultivators dared to fight him. Even Monk Kaiyun of the Vajra Temple only needed a curse talisman to make his soul collapse."

Wang Ping found it a little unbelievable when he heard this. After all, according to the characteristics of the five elements, metal specifically overcomes wood. All wood-related spells can be split apart by metal cultivators' force.

"At that time, the cultivation world was saying that Yu Xiao had obtained some of the power of a True Lord. As long as he could refine this power, his promotion to a True Lord would be just around the corner."

Yu Lian quickly asked again: "Is it true?"

In response to Yu Lian's question, Xin Shi burst into laughter, and his laughter caused the waves in the pool to surge.

"I do not know either!"

An unexpected answer.

Xin Shi sighed and said, "I just said that Yu Xiao is too thoughtful. He plans many things by himself, but he is also like a knight-errant, always fighting for justice. He often uses his puppets to help the weak and suppress the strong. But in his own words, this is just a drop in the bucket."

As he spoke, the master who was originally like a legend in Wang Ping's mind gradually became real. This was the human nature at work. Only when a cultivator possessed enough humanity would he sound real, otherwise it would sound illusory.

Xin Shi told many more stories about Yu Xiao, but most of them were recorded. Regarding some secret things, Yu Xiao seemed to be deliberately hiding them from him, which might be a means of protection.

Unconsciously, he talked about the cholera caused by the Nanhai Daoist. "The people behind the Nanhai Daoist should be the Vajra Temple and the Taiyin Sect. This is what Yuxiao said at the time. How should I put it? Yuxiao's original words were: If the world's spirituality is too stable, there will be problems. Death and life must reach a balance to be perfect."

"Some people want to break these rules, but others are desperately trying to protect them. The Vajra Temple and the Taiyin Sect are the two most traditional sects. They prevent all changes and rigidly maintain the original covenant."

Yu Lian asked curiously: "What is Master Yu Xiao's choice? To maintain tradition or to seek a new way out?" (End of this chapter)