There is a progress bar in my cultivation of immortality

Jinhuai City.

As the former capital of Southern Chu, after hundreds of years of development, it has not only failed to become more prosperous, but has shown signs of decline. If it were not for the fact that this place is an important transportation route between the north and the south, and if the headquarters of the Southern Taoist Palace is not located here, it would have declined into an ordinary city.

There are only a few hundred thousand ordinary people in the city, and most of the others are Qigong practitioners and their families who live here. This has also led to the construction of many shops selling cultivation materials inside the city.

In addition, there are an endless stream of entertainment buildings such as theaters and teahouses, which provide entertainment for those Qigong practitioners who have lost their ambition but have a lot of wealth.

There is a huge square in front of the Taoist Palace. There are three main streets in the city that lead into the square. The main street connecting the west city gate has the most traffic and is the widest. There is a teahouse called "Shangfang" at the intersection leading to the main street.

This is where Guan Xi met Wang Ping. There are open-air stalls on both sides of the teahouse door, selling various dried fruits and snacks, and there is also a mutton soup shop that is crowded with people.

Wang Ping really likes the urban atmosphere here, which makes him feel that he is still a living person. He is wearing an ordinary blue Taoist robe at the moment. People passing by greet him in a friendly manner because his robe has the mark of Qianmu Temple.

However, although they were polite, they all kept their distance because Yu Lian, who was lying on Wang Ping's shoulder, would look at everyone with her vertical pupils, making them feel uneasy.

After entering the teahouse, a waiter was about to come up to greet guests, but Liu Huai'en, who had been waiting for a long time, got there first. He clasped his fists and said, "Please come this way. I have already booked a private room."

He pointed to the stairwell on the left.

Wang Ping just nodded slightly and walked towards the stairwell while enjoying the opera on the stage in the center of the hall. Yu Lian was still looking at everyone who passed by, causing many people to stop and walk around from a distance.

Yu Lian didn't care. She didn't care about these ordinary people in front of her.

Liu Huai'en, who was leading the way, said with a smile: "This is the property of your Qianmu Temple. I heard that the daily turnover is tens of thousands of taels of silver."

Hearing this, Wang Ping's eyes fell on Liu Huai'en's smiling face. In Wang Ping's eyes, Liu Huai'en seemed to have not changed at all since the day he met him. At this moment, he somewhat understood the so-called 'Way of the Sage'. This was not a path that ordinary people could practice, and even Wang Ping felt that he could not practice it himself.

"I remember that the fried shrimps in Jinhuai City are delicious. Remember to get me a plate later!" Yu Lian spoke in human language.

"That was in the past. Now the store has moved to Zhonghui City. The chef who stayed to look after the store has no skills. I heard that he lacks a spice." Liu Huai'en quickly explained: "Many good things in Jinhuai City have been moved to Zhonghui City."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Guan Xi coming towards him from the corridor on the second floor. Guan Xi was still dressed like a scholar, wearing a pure white silk long gown with narrow sleeves, an exquisitely crafted jade belt around his waist, and a jade hairpin on his head.

"Greetings, fellow Taoists. Please come this way!"

Guan Xi first clasped his fists to greet Wang Ping and Yu Lian, then pointed to the open door of the box not far behind him.

Yu Lian spoke in human language, "You don't know how to treat guests well. You didn't even let us into the dojo. Coming to this market teahouse is like letting us sleep in the open air."

Guan Xi apologized immediately upon hearing this, "It was my negligence. It was mainly because there were too many people at the Jiminhui station, and my dojo has now become a contact point."

As they were talking, Guan Xi politely led Wang Ping into the box, while Liu Huai'en stopped at the door and closed it.

The furnishings in the box are simple, with just an octagonal table and a wall cabinet in the left corner. There is a stove under the cabinet, but it is summer now and the stove is sealed.

"sit!"

When Guan Xi invited Wang Ping to sit down, he took out two teacups and filled them with tea for Wang Ping and Yu Lian respectively.

When Wang Ping sat down, Yu Lian flew up into the sky and landed on the chair next to him.

The tea was unexpectedly good. Wang Ping tasted the tea and nodded. Then he looked at Guan Xi and said, "Let's get straight to business."

Guan Xi nodded and smiled, looking like a good old man, "Okay, but before I talk about the Nanhai Taoist, I have one more thing I need to tell you."

"What's the matter?"

"Fellow Daoist, do you still remember the case you announced in the Dao Palace about hunting down the Four Realms Star God Guardian?"

"I have some impression. Did you find out anything? To be honest, I just put this case on hold for show. I never thought that anyone would really find out anything." Wang Ping put down the teacup in his hand, and with a rare look of curiosity in his eyes, he asked, "What did you find out?"

Guan Xi took a sip of tea, met the curious gazes of Wang Ping and Yu Lian, and said slowly: "The Jimin Society has always been curious about the missing four-level star gods. Some people think that they were swallowed by the cultivating star god cores, and some people think that the star god consciousness led them to the outside world, but we have never had a reason to investigate this matter."

"Until you put Wei Zun's case on the record, we not only had a reason to investigate the matter, but we could also use the Dao Palace's channels to act, which was killing two birds with one stone."

"We used this case as a cover to investigate other missing Star God cases. The explanation given by the Star God Alliance was that these missing Star Gods could not stand serving in the outer borders, so they escaped from the surveillance of the Star God Alliance when they returned to Zhongzhou for vacation. But in fact, according to my understanding, even in the outer borders, the ecological environment in the area where the four-level Star Gods are located is not bad."

“Let me put it this way. Their lives in the outer borders were almost the same as those of the nobles of the Central Plains’ aristocratic families, except that their humanity was greatly restricted. But after they disappeared, I am sure that the environment they were in after they disappeared was much worse than that in the outer borders. In that case, the explanation given by the Star God Alliance does not make sense at all.”

"So the direction of our investigation is the Star God Alliance, and our target is the regulatory organization within the Star God Alliance. In order to gain their trust, our people have gone through more than a hundred years and four generations to infiltrate their organization. It took us more than ten years to initially discover some secrets."

"What secret?" Yu Lian asked impatiently.

Wang Ping had actually long suspected that there was a problem within the Star God Alliance, but he had no interest in it. Moreover, the Star God Alliance was extremely xenophobic, and his puppet was discovered not long after entering.

The saintly way of the 'Jimin Society' makes their members look like ordinary people, and they also have secret means. They are the best candidates for investigation and undercover investigation. It is reasonable for them to be able to infiltrate the Star God Alliance. It's just that the time it takes makes Wang Ping feel a little incredible. After all, he has not experienced too many years.

Wang Ping looked serious and asked, "Was it done by someone in the Star God Alliance?"

"That's right!"

Guan Xi's tone was certain, "I can guarantee that it was done by their people. Their internal regulatory agencies will monitor the words and deeds of each member. When they find members who are dissatisfied with the status quo, they will instill some ideas in them, such as making them doubt the legitimacy of the rule of the True Lords."

"Over time, many members want to change the world, and then they will disappear secretly. Some core members disappear from the Star God Alliance almost every year. Only the Star God Alliance knows about these people, so their disappearance has no impact on the entire world. However, it is different for those fourth-level Star Gods."

"Each of the Four Realm Star Gods has a name, and every time they disappear, it will attract attention from all parties. I think if it were not for this, more than half of the Four Realm Star Gods on the front line would have disappeared!" Guan Xi closed his mouth after saying this, and then slowly sipped his tea.

Wang Ping fell into deep thought. He was thinking about the problem here. You know, the Star God Alliance is too far-reaching, even Yuanwu Zhenjun is their member.

"It seems that the control of you True Lords over this starry sky is not as strong as I imagined." Yu Lian made this comment after some consideration.

"It is also possible that you, the True Lords, are not interested."

Guan Xi had the attitude of a modest gentleman.

Wang Ping picked up his teacup, looked at Guan Xi and asked, "Any other information?"

Guan Xi shook his head, "That's all for now. Our people can't change their minds, so they can only do routine work, and there's no way they can disappear with those people."

Wang Ping took a sip of tea and asked, "Do you have any information about Wei Kong's case in the Star God Alliance?"

Guan Xi stood up and walked to the window after hearing this. He pushed open the window next to him to let the noisy sounds in the hall in. Then he said, "It is forbidden to discuss any topics related to Wei Kong within the Star God Alliance."

Wang Ping also stood up and walked to the window, looking down at the noisy crowd in the hall, the audience throwing coins onto the stage, and the smiles on their faces. He said, "In this case, let's just leave it at that. One day in the future they will reveal their intentions, so we just need to be on guard."

"You are still so cautious."

Guan Xi smiled, agreeing with Wang Ping's suggestion, and then changed the subject and said, "Well, let's talk about the real business now."

Wang Ping nodded without saying anything, while Yu Lian was eating the fresh fruits placed on the Eight Immortals Table.

"Are you interested in hearing about Nanhai Daoren first?"

"He is the only monk in the fourth realm of the side sect. I am more interested in him than anyone else."

"hehe…"

Guan Xi chuckled, "He is very ordinary. He practices the Art of Fine Wood. He once served as a guide boy for a fourth-level Taiyan monk. There is no way to verify the identity of that fourth-level Taiyan monk because the Taiyan sect had not yet been established at that time. Human civilization had just begun and there was no habit of recording history."

"He is ordinary, but it is rumored that he is very hardworking and has a firm heart. Senior Yuxiao once said that if he had started practicing the orthodox secret method of Xuanmen, he might have been promoted to the fourth level before him, but it is more likely that he would have fallen quickly, because in the cultivation environment at that time, diligence was not a compliment for Xuanmen cultivators."

"But it's different for the side sects. His diligence makes many people like him because he can help those orthodox monks do some dirty work and never complains. Over time, everyone can't do without him. He uses the opportunity to help others to move freely among the Taiyan monks from all sides. Later, he played a big role in the establishment of Taiyan Sect."

"Like all the clichéd stories in the world, no one remembered his contributions, and he gradually faded out of people's sight. When he reappeared, he was wearing his unique painted mask. The entire Zhongzhou continent was also in an uproar because of his promotion. He publicly said that he could help the third-level side sect monks to advance, so countless side sect monks who were waiting to die came to him."

"You also know what happened later, right?"

"Turns out he's a pitiful fellow. I can understand him, but in ordinary stories, guys like him would die miserably." Yu Lian commented casually.

Wang Ping glanced at Yu Lian and asked, "What happened during the time he disappeared? Who was helping him behind the scenes?"

“That’s a good question!”

Guan Xi walked back to the Eight Immortals Table and sat down. He picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. He said with a smile, "A lot of things happened during this period. First, Huishan Zhenjun was besieged. Then Taiyan Sect was disbanded. Qianmu Temple was established in Nanlin Road. Senior Yuxiao was elected as the leader of the southern cultivation world."

"As for who was helping him behind the scenes, we initially thought it was the Taiyin Cult, because the promotion method he spread had obvious Taiyin Cult sacrificial rituals. Later, for a long time, he was indeed inseparable from the Taiyin Cult. Before Xiaoshan Fujun was promoted, we also believed that the Taiyin Cult was behind him."

"He suddenly showed up when Lord Xiaoshan was promoted, and we immediately locked onto his aura. We have been monitoring him from a distance over the years, and discovered that standing behind him was Vajra Temple."

Wang Ping also returned to the Eight Immortals Table and sat down, and asked, "So do we still need to face the Vajra Temple this time?"

Guan Xi looked at Wang Ping and asked, "You don't seem surprised."

"Because I had similar guesses before."

"is it?"

Yu Lian watched the two chatting and asked quickly, "Where is that guy?"

Guan Xi looked at Yu Lian and responded, "Outer space..." He then looked at Wang Ping, "You must also have your own secret transfer station in outer space to collect energy crystals accumulated in outer space, right? The same is true for the Vajra Temple. The Nanhai Taoist is in the transfer station set up in the outer space of the Vajra Temple."

Yu Lian asked, "So, you're just going to charge in like this? Just the three of us?"

"Haha, I'm not that stupid. Although saints are omnipotent, I'm not a saint yet. The Jimin Society will send out two more people. One of them has already quietly gone to outer space through a secret method, and we need fellow Taoists to help transfer him out. Otherwise, when we pass through the atmosphere, we will be marked by the magic array set up by the True Lords of the atmosphere."

Guan Xi bowed to Wang Ping while speaking.

Wang Ping met Guan Xi's gaze and calculated secretly in his heart that there were currently three fourth-level cultivators in the Vajra Temple on Zhongzhou Star, but he did not rule out asking Linshui Mansion and Taiyin Sect for help.

"If you have helpers, you can call them. We don't mind too many people. We only want the spiritual body of the Taoist from the South Sea. We don't want anything else!"

Guan Xi picked up the teacup and said.

Wang Ping also picked up his teacup and asked, "When do we set out and where do we meet?"

He planned to call Zhi Gong and Rong Yang. After all, there were spoils to be taken and no favors would be owed. As for Ao Hong, he should stay in Zhongzhou Star. If Ao Bing appeared in outer space, he would not mind sharing the news with Ao Hong.

However, it is highly likely that these calculations will not be used, because with so many four-level monks dealing with the South Sea Taoist, even if the Vajra Temple has reinforcements, it is likely that they will arrive too late. (End of this chapter)