My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

In the night-shrouded courtyard, two Qi Cultivators carried an unconscious maid outside. The grounds beyond were brightly lit, where dozens of Qi Cultivators and Jianghu Travelers in martial attire had taken over every corner of the estate, strictly forbidding anyone from moving about.

A sudden scream pierced the quiet courtyard, but it was cut off as soon as it began. A moment later, there was a THUD, as if a heavy object had fallen to the ground.

Inside the room.

Xuanhe’s body lay crumpled on the ground. White powder trickled from his vacant eyes, then from his mouth and nose. Finally, the white powder seeped from every pore of his skin, turning to dust and dissipating into the air upon contact.

This was the final swan song of a Spirit Vein after its Spirit Vein Consciousness had died.

Three people stood beside Xuanhe’s corpse. Two of them radiated a Wood Spirit Aura, and they had sealed Xuanhe’s life force completely within the room. Meanwhile, Wenhai swiftly cast an Earth Vein Sealing Spell, locking Xuanhe’s dissipating memories inside his head.

"Fellow Daoists, he mentioned earlier that he had intelligence on Changqing Zhenren. It’s no longer appropriate for me to read this memory alone. Which of you would be willing to read this intelligence with me?"

Wenhai looked at the two Wood Cultivators, his expression filled with anticipation—anticipation for Xuanhe’s memories, and for the new intelligence. He had originally just wanted to take revenge, but he never expected to stumble upon a chance to earn such immense merit.

The two Wood Cultivators glanced at each other. Finally, the elder cultivator on the left said, "I’ll do it."

Wenhai nodded and looked at the cultivator who had spoken. Their eyes met, and they simultaneously formed hand seals, casting the Daoist Palace’s unique composite Soul Searching Technique. As the spell took shape, their spiritual senses simultaneously accessed the memories in Xuanhe’s mind. The other Wood Cultivator kept a serious watch on their surroundings.

After about ten breaths, Wenhai and the elder Wood Cultivator simultaneously released the Soul Searching Technique spell.

"How did it go?"

the Wood Cultivator standing guard asked.

Wenhai turned to look at him, then glanced around the silent room. After stowing Xuanhe’s corpse in a storage bag, he said, "Let’s get out of here first."

"Alright!"

Having come to an agreement, the three of them exited the house. They sent a voice transmission to the Qi Cultivators guarding the estate, instructing them to handle the cleanup. Then, one after another, they rose into the air and flew off towards the nearest stronghold, staying low over the endless, watery rice paddies outside the estate.

「Thirty minutes later.」

The trio passed over a quiet village and landed outside a mountain watchtower near the forest’s edge.

"Who goes there?"

the on-duty Government Soldier barked.

As the words left his mouth, Wenhai tossed out a token. The Government Soldier caught it, and when he saw Wenhai stepping out from the darkness, he quickly forced a smile. "So it is Lord Wenhai. Forgive my poor eyes."

"It’s nothing."

Wenhai took back his token and led the two Wood Cultivators into a private room in the watchtower.

Once inside, Wenhai took out a pre-refined isolation array and activated it. He then exchanged a few quiet words with the elder Wood Cultivator who had read Xuanhe’s memories with him before taking out a bamboo slip and a brush to record everything quickly.

As he wrote, Wenhai also explained, "Xuanhe attended a secret gathering in the Southeast Sea Region. At this gathering, an organization was trying to find the whereabouts of Changqing Zhenren. They offered a guaranteed spot for promotion to the Third Realm to anyone who could provide Changqing Zhenren’s location at least three times when he was out."

"That’s it?"

The other Wood Cultivator replied, "Yes, that’s it. It’s likely another one of the Taiyan Three Realms Cultivators, or possibly several of them."

Wenhai’s furiously writing brush suddenly paused. He looked up at the flame of the oil lamp flickering back and forth and said:

"I thought Xuanhe held some high position in the Taiyin Sect, but it turns out he was just a pathetic man. He couldn’t make it there anymore, so he took this mission to return to the south. On one hand, he wanted to try and plant spies in Qianmu Temple; on the other, he was taking kickbacks from the Taiyin Sect’s merchant caravans to raise funds for his advancement to the Third Realm."

His voice grew softer as he spoke, because he had discovered from Xuanhe’s memories that the seemingly powerful and impressive man had, in fact, lived a life of constant trepidation from the very beginning of his cultivation, forced to maneuver between several different factions.

His original plan was to establish a foothold in Mozhou Road and then attempt to advance to the Third Realm. He never expected an unknown member of the Demon Race to barge in and ruin all his plans. It was all rather theatrical, really—hundreds of years of painstaking effort, all for naught in a single moment.

The elder Wood Cultivator beside him, who had also read Xuanhe’s memories, stopped writing, looked at Wenhai, and said:

"Your master was quite a capable man. From the very beginning of his cultivation, he was juggling the True Yang Sect, the Earth Cave Sect, and Zi Luan Zhenren. Not only did he advance all the way to the Second Realm, but he also attained the position of High-level Patrol Envoy of Mozhou Road. If not for that incident in Wudao Prefecture, he might be preparing for his advancement to the Third Realm right now."

Wenhai didn’t deny the fact that Xuanhe was his master. With a thoughtful sigh, he said, "There aren’t that many ’what ifs’ in this world. But if there were, I’d wish I could advance to the Fifth Realm right now."

"Haha!"

The other two men burst out laughing.

After the laughter subsided, Wenhai said, "Let’s finish recording as fast as we can. We’ll aim to be done before dawn. After we proofread it, we can return to Jinhuai City."

"Sounds good. But, Friend Wenhai, don’t forget about us when it comes to the follow-up for this mission!"

The follow-up to the mission was, of course, to dig up the identity of the people or organization seeking Changqing Zhenren’s whereabouts. While this task would be troublesome, it wasn’t particularly dangerous—just incredibly time-consuming. The merit gained, however, would be immense, and it would also be an opportunity to connect with a powerful figure.

"Of course," Wenhai readily agreed. "This clue is something we spent seven years to obtain. It’s only natural that we should carry out the subsequent mission together."

Writing for an entire night was as simple as drinking a glass of water for Second Realm Cultivators. At dawn, they proofread both copies of the report. After confirming there were no issues, they obtained a temporary flight permit from the Hai Zhou Road Daoist Palace and, one after another, transformed into three streaks of light, flying toward Jinhuai City.

「Eight hours later.」

The trio was stopped by the cultivators of the Jinhuai City outer guard patrol. Following the Guardian Cultivators’ directions, they landed at a Daoist Palace encampment in the southern suburbs and then proceeded into Jinhuai City on foot.

The city had been expanded twice in the past seven years; after all, it was now the capital of the nation. The original Inner City had been completely sealed off and renovated, finally giving the Emperor a true Imperial Palace. It was named Chang’an Palace, a name that signified a wish for long-lasting peace and stability.

The streets leading into the city were also much wider than before. Four main avenues—east, south, west, and north—led directly to the gates of the Imperial Palace. At the same time, these avenues divided the city into four districts. The most magnificent of these was Dongcheng District, which lay adjacent to Chang’an Palace.

The Daoist Palace Headquarters was also located in Dongcheng District. Its complex occupied a fifth of the district, right next to the eastern side of the Imperial Palace. Furthermore, its buildings were taller than the Imperial Palace itself, making the palace look like an annex of the Daoist Palace.

After showing their tokens, Wenhai and his two companions proceeded unimpeded into the innermost complex of the Daoist Palace. Here stood seven wooden towers, the Dao Fields built for the seven chiefs of the Daoist Palace.