Chapter 527 7: Cultivation Progress
Mountain Peak Dojo.
Beneath a Spirit Wood Tree, Wang Ping sat cross-legged on the soft, dense grass. He was in a state of deep meditation. His Primordial Spirit had left his physical body and was also sitting cross-legged, perched atop the branches of the same Spirit Wood Tree, using a Secret Technique to absorb Spiritual Energy and strengthen itself.
To the left of his Primordial Spirit floated a wisp of Consciousness Energy. This was the consciousness of the locust tree, and it too was absorbing Spiritual Energy from the Inspiration Realm, attempting to evolve from its arboreal consciousness into the tangible form of a Divine Soul Guide.
In the distance, next to a well, a fishpond had been dug out at some unknown time. The surfaces of the crushed-stone banks and the bottom of the pond were all carved with an Array that generated fresh water, which worked in harmony with the surrounding Wood Spirit Qi.
Fresh water constantly bubbled up from the Array, flowing downstream through the garden to form a clear stream. It eventually emptied into the river at the foot of the mountain, creating a small waterfall on the southwest face of Qianmu Mountain's main peak.
At that moment, Yu Lian's massive body was sprawled out by the fishpond, her enormous head reflected in the gently rippling water. Her eyes were fixed on the fish swimming below. During this period of seclusion, she had avoided all contact with people and matters related to Wang Ping to prevent any trivial affairs from disturbing him.
When Wang Ping was in deep meditation, she would either lie idly by the pond or go read from his book collection.
SPLASH!
A Silver-backed Fish suddenly leaped from the water, as if trying to escape the pond. Seeing this, Yu Lian spat a jet of water, knocking it back into the pond. Then, the heads of two Shrimp Soldiers popped out of the water. They chased down the Silver-backed Fish, trapped it with a bit of Magic, and carefully guided it back to a dark area at the bottom of the pond.
These Silver-backed Fish had an excellent texture, few bones, and even contained Spiritual Qi. If ordinary people ate them regularly, they might even be able to skip the Qi Cultivation stage and develop Spiritual Qi and a Qi Sea in their bodies. Of course, the most important thing was their delicious taste, making them one of Yu Lian's favorite foods. That was why she had specially enlightened a dozen or so Shrimp Soldiers just to look after them.
She lay there like that until the sun came out, then rolled over to face it, comfortably closing her eyes. An unknown amount of time passed. The moment she sensed Wang Ping waking, her eyes snapped open. She then rode a cloud, flying to his side. Seeing him attempting to use his Primordial Spirit to cast Magic, she said:
"I want grilled fish today. There are two big Silver-backed Fish in the pond."
Wang Ping's Primordial Spirit Consciousness swept over Yu Lian before returning to his Spiritual Body with a hint of regret. He checked his cultivation progress. The fusion of the Heaven-Reaching Talisman was now at (86/100), which was a bit faster than he had expected. This was mainly the result of him refining the Divine Technique Formation and using it to assist his cultivation.
His progress in condensing his Primordial Spirit was still severely lacking, however. For now, it could only roam the heavens and earth. The moment he tried to coalesce Magic, the Spiritual Energy his Primordial Spirit had absorbed would collapse, wasting his entire day of practice.
"Maybe you really should try using the Divine Technique Formation?"
Yu Lian landed on Wang Ping's shoulder, patting his back with her tail.
Wang Ping had considered this long ago, but he didn't want to become too reliant on the Divine Technique Formation. This was due to his subconscious wariness of the Xiao Shan Lord.
"Just try it. I'll watch over you from the side. If anything goes wrong, I'll stop you immediately."
Yu Lian suggested again.
Wang Ping was tempted by her words, but he didn't act on it immediately. Instead, he changed the subject back to what Yu Lian had first mentioned. "You want to eat Silver-backed Fish again today?"
"Two of them have grown up."
"Is that so?"
Wang Ping replied with some amusement, the conversation driving away the doubts and frustrations from his cultivation. He said, "If you slaughter a Silver-backed Fish before it's mature, the meat will fall apart within a few breaths."
Yu Lian sat up straight and said very seriously, "It's true! I saw it with my own eyes. If you don't believe me, I'll have the Shrimp Soldiers bring one over."
"I believe you. Go on and have them grill it."
As he spoke, Wang Ping stood up and walked over to a nearby stove whose fire had gone out. Next to the stove was a wooden tea table with several messy teacups on it, some still containing unfinished tea.
"You never clean up the tea table after you're done!"
Wang Ping shouted at Yu Lian, who was flying toward the fishpond. She immediately shouted back, "It's just a 'Cleaning Spell,' isn't it? You do it."
By the time her voice faded, Wang Ping had already completed the spell for the 'Cleaning Spell.' Once the tea table and tea set were clean, he sat down on the ground, arranged the tea set with his right hand, and performed a fixed-type spell with his left.
In the small courtyard not far away, a puppet made of Spirit Wood was instantly activated. It picked up a pile of firewood from a corner of the yard, walked over to Wang Ping, and skillfully lit the stove to boil water.
The surface of the Purgatory Banner hanging from a nearby branch flashed with a Spiritual Light. Nether Water's illusory figure emerged from the Purgatory Banner, glanced at the relaxed Wang Ping, and then flew to a branch of the Spirit Wood Tree. He wrapped his phantom form around the branch and gazed up at the azure sky.
Wang Ping glanced up at Nether Water but didn't pay him much mind. Over by Yu Lian, the Shrimp Soldiers had a clear division of labor: some had already started a bonfire for grilling fish on the bank, some were preparing seasonings nearby, and others were gutting the fish.
Before long, the aroma of grilled fish wafted over from the pond's edge. After resting enough, Wang Ping summoned the Pocket World Mirror and unfolded the newly constructed Transfer Array within its layered mirror surfaces.
A dozen or so breaths later, several consciousnesses projected through the Transfer Array. These were from the hundreds of puppets he had crafted in his spare time during seclusion, which were now scattered all across the south.
Some had even infiltrated various cultivation sects and become Qi Cultivation Disciples. These puppets acted as Wang Ping's eyes, allowing him to know what was happening throughout the south at all times.
It was only while creating these puppets that Wang Ping discovered that a Taiyan Cultivator's ability to enlighten puppets was not infinite. The number of puppets he could control had already reached its limit. Any more, and he could only create simple puppets, like the one currently making tea for him.
If he were to forcibly use the Heaven-Reaching Talisman to enlighten another, one of his previously enlightened puppets would immediately lose its consciousness, which was equivalent to death.
This world had very strict rules regarding the formation of any life. This was true for the Yuqing Sect's 'Sowing Beans to Create Soldiers,' and it was true for the life of a puppet. A puppet's existence was born by borrowing the Heaven-Reaching Power cultivated through the Taiyan Talisman, drawing upon a sliver of life from heaven and earth—but this sliver of life was not granted infinitely.
This was something Wang Ping had come to understand through his recent cultivation. This principle made him think of the cultivation bottleneck that the Xiao Shan Lord's projection had told him about. Perhaps that too was a fixed rule. He didn't know the specifics of the rule yet, but he understood that it probably wasn't meant to stop a Cultivator from advancing to the Fifth Realm.
"Has anything major happened recently?"
After finishing her grilled fish, Yu Lian rode her cloud over and landed on the grass across from Wang Ping. Seeing him once again peering into the outside world through his puppets, she asked subconsciously.
"Liu Jie is going to abdicate the Emperor's throne to his eldest son!"
"So suddenly?"
"Yes!"
"Is there a problem?"
"A bit of one, especially at a time like this."
After answering, Wang Ping showed an open-minded smile and said, "But these problems are irrelevant to me. By the time I cultivate to the Fourth Realm, the Chu Country might have already gone through a whole cycle."
Yu Lian curled her tail around the teacup Wang Ping had prepared for her, took a sip of the clear tea, and said, "That's true. By the way, are you sure you don't want to try the Divine Technique Formation?"