There is a progress bar in my cultivation of immortality

Chapter 868 Rong Yang Exits
Leng Kezhen listened to the voice echoing in her ears and couldn't help but raise her eyelids to look at Ao Yi. However, when she met Ao Yi's eyes, she lowered her head as quickly as possible, so that she didn't even see Ao Yi's specific appearance clearly. Then she bowed instinctively.

"I am Ao Yi."

As everyone was paying their respects, Ao Yi said in a cold voice: "In ancient times, when humanity was just beginning to flourish and was still ignorant, I saw that it was weak and protected it. Later, the demons started a rebellion and I could not bear to see the lives of the people suffer, so I transformed myself into a wise man and preached to the world."

"Later, there will be another decisive battle between the demon clans. I will help you humans to annihilate the demon king, quell the wars in Zhongzhou, Dongzhou, and Xizhou, and protect the common people."

"When humanity flourishes, I will reside in the depths of the East China Sea, and from time to time I will send down sweet dew to nourish all things."

"I am not showing off my achievements when I reappear today. In fact, people's hearts are no longer the same as they used to be. The chaos in Zhongzhou first harmed my brother and then destroyed the people of the world. I cannot bear to see the people of the world suffer, so I am not showing up today for power!"

After hearing these words, Leng Kezhen couldn't help but complain in his heart that these old guys are getting more shameless as they get older. These words made people feel as if without him, Ao Yi, humanity would not be able to rise.

Ao Yi was silent for two breaths after he finished speaking, as if he was deliberately letting everyone digest the words. Then he continued, "For the sake of the people of the world and for the prosperity of humanity, before the sect competition, I have one small thing I want to announce..."

As he spoke, he looked at the person on his left. This person was none other than You Hua, the fifth prince of Linshui Prefecture. Under Ao Yi's gaze, he took two steps forward, clasped his fists to the tens of thousands of practitioners at the scene, and then looked at the cultivators from the Xuanmen, Tianmen, and demon clans in the front row and said, "Dear fellow Taoists..."

"Back then, I, Linshui Mansion, agreed with you that the runner-up of this competition would be responsible for setting up the Dao Palace headquarters. Now that my eldest brother has awakened, he is willing to take on this task and lead the Dao Palace to maintain order in the human world!"

You Hua paused here. He was old friends with many people present, and saying this would force his old friends, so he was a little reluctant to speak. However, under Ao Yi's gaze, he could only bite the bullet and look around at the people in front of him and asked, "Is there no objection, fellow Taoists?"

Que Cai looked at Leng Kezhen calmly, then looked at his nose and his heart. Liu Shuibin at the cave door just frowned slightly, glanced at Que Cai and Leng Kezhen, and then pretended not to hear it.

The representative of Yuqing Sect frowned slightly, looking at Ao Yi on the steps with some displeasure, but he did not dare to object in public. Instead, the representative of Vajra Temple took a step forward and asked, "Do you mean that Xuanmen and Tianmen will be headed by Linshui Mansion in the future?"

The representative of Vajra Temple is a new face. I think he should be a monk from the inner gate of the Three Realms who has just completed Buddhist practice.

You Hua politely stopped talking and looked at the representative of the Vajra Temple. He thought about who this person was and explained with a smile: "It turns out to be Taoist Mingqi. I am from Linshui Prefecture..."

Before he could finish his words, Ao Yi interrupted him and said, "Yes, that's what we mean. Since you are unwilling to take on the responsibility of protecting the people of the world, Linshui Prefecture is willing to take it on."

Monk Mingqi shifted his gaze to Ao Yi. Hearing Ao Yi's words, he subconsciously wanted to refute, but under Ao Yi's gaze, he had to lower his head. However, he still said, "Are you doing this to split the Dao Palace?"

The three-level representative of Yuqing Sect also said at this time: "The Dao Palace is not the private property of our Xuanmen and Tianmen, but it maintains the order of the Dao Sect under the watchful eyes of the True Lords. Do you want to represent the True Lords?"

This is a sharp but smart statement.

Ao Yi was a little confused at the moment. He should not have interrupted You Hua and talked directly with Monk Mingqi. This would put him in a passive situation. He might not have expected that a cultivator of the third realm would dare to refute him in person, because in the era when he was active, cultivators of the third realm could only obey orders from cultivators of the fourth realm.

"Fellow Daoist Qinghe, what you said is wrong. We in Linshui Prefecture have always obeyed the True Lords. The reason why we brought up this matter is because you shirked your responsibilities and were unwilling to protect the people. Does taking on the responsibility of protecting humanity mean opposing the True Lords?"

The one who spoke was Yang Shu. The 'Daoyou Qinghe' he mentioned was the third-level cultivator who was leading the Yuqing Sect this time.

When Yang Shu finished speaking, Ao Yi said in a cold voice: "When the people of the world are in trouble, I have already petitioned the Dragon Lord, and he has given me the power to manage the Taoist Palace to protect the people of the world. If you are not willing to stand by and watch, I, Linshui Mansion, will take on the responsibility alone."

He looked at Monk Mingqi coldly, "It is you who are just sitting there doing nothing but eating and drinking, not me who wants to split the Taoist Palace!"

After saying this, he flicked his sleeves and transformed into a white dragon hovering in the clouds, causing the people of the Central Island to look up, and then they prostrated themselves on the ground and prayed devoutly.

Ao Yi looked around the sky with lightning-like eyes and asked, "How is it?"

He was asking the other two seats.

Under the Qianmu Mountain.

After Ao Yi asked, Wang Ping hid his location with the "Heaven-Covering Talisman". The best way for him to deal with it now was to pretend that he didn't hear it.

Ao Yi's soul instantly swept across Qianmu Temple, and then spread to the cave gate and the demon realm further north.

At the critical moment, a beam of fire shot up into the sky from the snow-capped mountains of Beizhou, and then quickly burned most of the sky of Zhongzhou. However, the flame only flashed by, but it also reminded many people of bad memories.

The flames in the sky gathered into a point in the southeast sea and fell towards Ao Yi's huge dragon body.

"You said you want to protect the people, what are your people?"

It was Rong Yang's voice. As his voice spread, the flames that had originally stopped suddenly ignited the clouds for tens of thousands of miles. As they exploded in the clouds, they kept jumping and bursting into dazzling red flames.

A gust of hot wind suddenly blew up from the calm sea surface, and reflected a bright red light in countless island cities. Some monks who had experienced the "Burning of Central China" were suddenly terrified and subconsciously wanted to escape. The people who were kneeling to Ao Yi had long forgotten the disaster because of the hundred years. They just looked up at the sky blankly and let the hot wind brush across their cheeks.

"Ang~"

A dragon roar resounded through the sky.

The burning clouds quickly dissipated, and at the same time, streams of green light fell from the sky, dispersing the hurricane formed by the interweaving of cold and hot air, and calming the confused people and the monks who were preparing to escape.

"There are some tricks!"

Rong Yang appeared in a flash of fire. He still looked the same as before, but his expression was more relaxed and unruly. He looked towards the central island and said again: "You haven't answered me yet. Who are the people you want to protect? Is it them?"

As he spoke, he pointed his left hand at the central island below, with dots of sunflower patterns appearing between his fingers. "Can you protect the people of the world by yourself? You underestimate the words 'people of the world'!"

Everyone can hear his first words, but only those whose spiritual consciousness has reached the fourth level of cultivation can hear his second words.

Ao Yi's huge dragon body circled in the clouds, then returned to human form, looked at Rong Yang and said, "I didn't expect you to take action. What do you want?"

When facing Rong Yang, Ao Yi took off his disguise of compassion and asked Rong Yang directly about his needs.

"I don't need anything for now, I just don't like your overly arrogant attitude. Have you forgotten that my Zhenyang Sect also has a second seat?"

Rong Yang retracted his outstretched left hand, and the sunflower pattern drawn beside him suddenly disappeared.

The representatives of all parties below looked up at the two people who were confronting each other in the sky with solemn faces, not even daring to breathe, they were really afraid that the two would suddenly attack.

Wang Ping was relieved to see Rong Yang appear, while Yu Lian whispered, "Has Rong Yang reached the fourth level of perfection?"

"Yes!"

Xinghai answered Yu Lian's question, "Then the Golden Crow in the body of the True Yang cultivator has already been cultivated to perfection, but he has absorbed a lot of unstable fire spirits, so it will take a long time for it to stabilize. In addition, the possibility of his promotion again will be very low."

Wang Ping also sensed through some puppets arranged in the square in front of the Dragon Palace that Rong Yang was showing a little too much humanity at the moment. It seemed that he was not just pretending to do it, but really wanted to burn down the central island.

"what do you want?"

Ao Yi asked again.

Rong Yang might have been a little annoyed by Ao Yi's question. A gleam of fire appeared in his eyes. Then he grinned and replied: "My first thought now is to fight with you and tear off your disguise!"

Ao Yi naturally noticed the abnormality in Rong Yang's personality. He actually wanted to fight and show his strength to all the second seats. At this moment, a purple light streaked across the sky and fell beside Ao Yi, revealing a beautiful figure in gorgeous palace clothing.

It was Taoist Lin Shuang from the Taiyin Sect. The yin wind that naturally emanated from her body made Rong Yang's active human consciousness much clearer.

"I see!"

Rong Yang looked at Taoist Lin Shuang who suddenly laughed out loud and said, "Kai Yun has been scheming all his life, but he never expected that he would be led by you all the time. How ridiculous!"

After he finished speaking, he looked up and down at Taoist Lin Shuang, and sensing the surging blood-sea aura on Taoist Lin Shuang, he asked, "Is the Taiyin Sect finally going to abandon its tradition?"

Taoist Lin Shuang smiled and responded, "I'm just following the trend!"

Rong Yang nodded, "What a great way to follow the general trend."

At the bottom of Qianmu Mountain.

Yu Lian suddenly said to Wang Ping: "I sensed Cang Ji's aura in that woman's soul consciousness. Did she absorb the netherworld energy in Cang Ji's body?"

'Xinghai' added: "It's not just that simple. She violated the rules of the Taiyin Sect and refined her flesh and blood, forcibly raising her soul to the fourth level of perfection!"

"Do you also know the rules of the Taiyin Sect?" Yu Lian asked curiously.

"When they divided the Taiyin evil cultivators, Yuxiao was there!"

"You mean she used the methods of the Taiyin evil cultivator?"

"Correct!"

Wang Ping quickly digested this news in his mind. Taoist Lin Shuang's actions were equivalent to betraying the Taiyin orthodoxy, or directly betraying Master Bai Yan!

The only thing that made her make this choice was Long Jun's promise.

At this moment, Wang Ping suddenly felt that many people had become suspicious. After all, Long Jun's promise could really make many people change their original positions without any warning.
"Another person has come. His aura is so familiar. Who is he?"

The way that 'Xinghai' observes Ao Yi and others is by using the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. With his size, he can 'observe' the entire Zhongzhou Star in an instant.

Wang Ping did not dare to use his primordial consciousness to investigate directly. He still used the 'Dongtian Mirror' to observe the area above the Dragon Palace through the puppet, but his puppet's consciousness could not sense any breath. He vaguely saw an old man in yellow monk's robes with his naked eyes, but his specific appearance did not look real.

But he immediately guessed that it was Master Wangqing from Lingshan Temple!
His guess was correct, this person was Master Wangqing.

When he appeared, even Ao Yi politely saluted him with a fist.

Master Wangqing was wearing a worn but clean yellow cotton monk's robe, with auspicious clouds under his feet. His eyes were closed, blocking out all the noise of the world. His brows were full of wisdom and compassion. There were fine wrinkles on his face, as well as some mottled marks left by the years. He looked like an old man who was about to die.

“Fellow Daoist Ao Yi, what you are asking for is human nature, but now that humanity is flourishing, everyone has their own responsibilities. You cannot use your cultivation to force others as you did in the past, otherwise you will be crushed to pieces under the general trend!”

Master Wangqing still had his eyes closed while speaking.

Ao Yi counted his breaths in silence, then said, "Then let's follow the current rules and see who has the last laugh!"

Hearing this, Rong Yang laughed and said, "Don't dream if you don't have the strength, or you will make the people suffer. Look..." He pointed at the people in the central city below, "They are still kneeling to you!"

"They are kneeling down to worship my accomplishments!"

"This cultivation of yours is not yours? If you don't want it, you can give it to me!"

"You, a junior, also want to discuss Taoism with me? It happened that when I just woke up and had nothing to do, I saw a book compiled by a junior. There was a sentence in it that went, 'Heaven and earth are not benevolent, they treat all things as straw dogs; sages are not benevolent, they treat the people as straw dogs.'" Ao Yi actually refuted Rong Yang with the content of the "Tao Te Ching" copied by Wang Ping.

"Heaven and earth are unkind because the universe is natural, without action or creation, and all things can govern themselves, so they are called unkind; sages are unkind because they have no preferences, and do you dare to call yourself a sage?" Rong Yang was more knowledgeable about this scripture than Ao Yi, and he immediately found words to refute him.

"You said that this universe is natural? It is uncreated and without action? Everything takes care of itself? Saints are impartial?" Ao Yi asked in a cold voice.

“Everyone says that I, a Zhenyang cultivator, am like a madman, but I think you are the real madman. This sentence is the wisdom of human nature, but you only see paranoia. If someone like you is promoted to the fifth level, this world will never have peace!” Rong Yang’s voice became even colder.

"The land of Zhongzhou was destroyed because of your Zhenyang Sect, and I have been benefiting the people for thousands of years. Yet you are talking to me about the common people and the world. Do you have the qualifications?" Ao Yi stretched out his left hand, and a dragon ball shining with green light appeared. "If you want to fight, I am always here to accompany you."

“Why not do it now!” A crimson sunflower pattern appeared around Rong Yang.

"Saint's mercy~"

Master Wang Qing's voice was very low, and then his whole body disappeared as if swallowed by a golden light. After Master Wang Qing disappeared, Rong Yang looked at Ao Yi and Lin Shuang opposite him, snorted coldly, and returned to the depths of the snow-capped mountains in Beizhou.

(End of this chapter)