My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

The moment Dongcan revealed his aura, Yuan Zheng Taoist discovered him immediately. He personally descended to the Ascension Platform and brought him to Yu Cheng’s Dao Field on the rear of Qianmu Mountain.

Wang Ping’s Primordial Spirit had been monitoring Qianmu Temple this entire time, so he discovered Dongcan at almost the same moment as Yuan Zheng Taoist. After Yuan Zheng Taoist sent a telepathic message informing him of Dongcan’s identity, he immediately activated the Water Moon Bell, creating an illusory figure that descended upon the rear mountain Dao Field.

"Let’s keep this brief. Where is Xiu Yu?"

Wang Ping wasted no words on Dongcan.

Dongcan was in a terrible state. His physical body had been ravaged by a backlash from the demonic energy of his magical artifact array, and he exuded an unsettling, foul stench. He used what little consciousness he had left to suppress the demonic energy backlash, confining it to his chest.

Facing Wang Ping’s question, he struggled to straighten his back, cupping his fists to address him as an equal. "Xiu Yu is in a small village south of Wudao Prefecture. He’s heavily injured, and his Spiritual Body is mostly destroyed. But, his condition is strange. His strength hasn’t weakened at all. I suspect he used some kind of powerful treasure."

Hearing this, everyone present instinctively found it hard to believe. After all, Wudao Prefecture was nominally Wang Ping’s private Dao Field in the Southern Cultivation Realm, simply left in the temporary care of his disciple, Hu Qianqian.

"And just how credible do you think that story is?" Yuan Zheng Taoist voiced the doubt on everyone’s mind. "Also, why did it take you so long to appear?"

"As for whether my words are credible, you Fellow Daoists need only send someone to investigate to find the answer. With so many people in Nanlin Road willing to die for you, I trust that won’t be too difficult, will it?"

Dongcan’s gaze swept over Yuan Zheng, Ruan Chunzi, and Yu Cheng before finally landing on Wang Ping’s illusory figure. "The reason I’m so late is that my soul was suppressed by an array cast by Xiu Yu, something similar to the Taiyin Sect’s Spirit Control Technique. It also caused my soul’s Lifebound Array to backlash against me."

"You’re the one who injured Xiu Yu?" Ruan Chunzi asked.

"Partially. Back in Shangjing City, they were originally planning to besiege Changqing and Zi Luan... those two Fellow Daoists. But for some reason, the Cultivators from the Kongshan Association suddenly went berserk, and then Fellow Daoist Guanmao went berserk as well. It all happened so suddenly that Xiu Yu almost perished on the spot. Later, people from the Jimin Association showed up, subdued Guanmao, and took away his Primordial Spirit and Spiritual Body."

"I took that opportunity to ambush the already-injured Xiu Yu, but his Primordial Spirit escaped. Moreover, he summoned a Magical Artifact that suppressed my soul, keeping me trapped until four hours ago."

Just as Dongcan finished speaking, a streak of green light descended from the sky above the Mountain Peak Dojo.

It was Wang Ping’s real body!

He had temporarily entrusted the duty of guarding Liu Shuang to Yu Lian. If anything were to happen, he could use the Pocket World Mirror to teleport back to the Mountain Peak Dojo at any time.

Wang Ping’s gaze landed on Dongcan. Dongcan tried to meet his eyes, but inwardly, he instinctively shied away.

"What’s the exact location?"

"I have a condition."

Dongcan lowered his head and continued without waiting for Wang Ping’s agreement, "The Kongshan Association has likely been purged by the Jimin Association by now. I have nowhere left to go. I hope, True Man, that you can grant me sanctuary!"

Ruan Chunzi said coldly, "With our level of strength, it would only take us a few moments to survey every blade of grass south of Wudao Prefecture!" He clearly did not like Dongcan at all.

Dongcan cupped his fists and bowed to Wang Ping. "Changqing Zhenren, you of all people must know how simple it is for a Taiyan Cultivator who has perfected the Third Realm to evade detection by a Primordial Spirit. Although Xiu Yu’s condition has become unstable for some reason, his hiding place cannot be detected by a Primordial Spirit’s probe. And I estimate he will recover by nightfall at the latest. At that time..."

"Fine. I agree."

Wang Ping raised a hand to stop what Yuan Zheng was about to say and decisively accepted Dongcan’s request. Then, he looked at Yuan Zheng Taoist and said, "I’ll trouble you, Fellow Daoist, to take Fellow Daoist Dongcan to Baisui Lake. Have Qianqian arrange for manpower to seal all teleportation channels south of Wudao Prefecture. Quickly!"

"Not a problem!"

Yuan Zheng nodded and said to Dongcan with a smile, "Fellow Daoist, shall we attend to business?" With that, he enveloped the sickly Dongcan in a streak of light and flew off toward Wudao Prefecture.

After Yuan Zheng and Dongcan left, Wang Ping took out three bamboo slips. He used Wood Spirit Qi to imprint the same message on all three, then summoned the Pocket World Mirror to send the slips on their way.

These three bamboo slips were for Zi Luan, Wu Quan, and Ganxing, respectively. Then, he took out another bamboo slip, wrote a message, and also sent it out through the Pocket World Mirror. This one he sent to Zhi Gong in his capacity as one of the seven chiefs of the Daoist Palace. He had supported Zhi Gong’s attack on Hai Zhou Road back then, so it was only reasonable for him to ask Zhi Gong for help now.

The reason he didn’t use a Communication Token was that he was asking for help—help that might involve a fight. Sending a personal, handwritten request was a matter of basic etiquette.

After sending the four bamboo slips, Wang Ping looked at Ruan Chunzi and smiled. "Fellow Daoist, care to join me for a show?"

"Alright!"

Interest was written all over Ruan Chunzi’s face.

Wang Ping then turned to Yu Cheng Taoist. "Don’t take down the Barrier Formation until I return!"

"Rest assured. Nothing will happen at the temple!"

Yu Cheng Taoist gave a relaxed smile.

Wang Ping nodded, bowed with cupped fists to his master, then summoned the Pocket World Mirror to conceal his and Ruan Chunzi’s auras. They turned into a streak of light and flew towards Baisui Lake.

「Fifteen minutes later.」

The first reply came from Wu Quan, saying he would arrive within Half an Hour. Next was the reply regarding Ganxing, which stated that he was away again. Then came the reply from the Six Heart Sect: Zi Luan was busy dealing with unrest in various places, and not even the disciples of the Six Heart Sect knew his current whereabouts.

Wang Ping had no choice but to take out the Puppet Bird used to contact Zi Luan.

By the time he and Ruan Chunzi landed at the Baisui Lake Dojo, Zhi Gong Daoist’s reply finally arrived. This was mainly because Jinhuai City was currently under lockdown, so it had taken some time for his message to get through.

Meanwhile, under Hu Qianqian’s command, the Baisui Lake Demon Race army was silently converging south of Wudao Prefecture through the network of waterways connected to the lake.

「Half an hour later.」

Wu Quan was the first to appear at Wang Ping’s Baisui Lake Dojo, followed by a Tiger Demon of the Core Formation Realm. Ostensibly, the demon represented the Daoist Palace, but in reality, he was representing Zhi Gong and Hu Yinlai.

As they exchanged greetings, a grayish-white barrier unfurled to the south of Wudao Prefecture.

Wang Ping immediately projected his identity Token beneath the clouds, then transformed into a streak of light and flew south. Wu Quan, Ruan Chunzi, and the Tiger Demon followed close behind.

Within moments, the four of them spotted a small village encircled by a barrier that originated from deep within the surrounding waterways.

At that moment, a Daoist Scripture Hall identity Token—one he hadn’t seen for a long time—rose from beneath the clouds to Wang Ping’s left. It belonged to Wu Fu, who had previously allied with Wang Ping and Zi Luan.

"Ah, Fellow Daoist Wu. It’s been a while. Are you well?"

Wang Ping greeted him first.

Wu Fu flashed through the sky, appearing about sixty feet in front of Wang Ping. He cupped his fists and said, "The world has spawned many more villains in recent years. I can hardly kill them fast enough!"

He spoke in a flat tone, then looked down at the barrier. "I saw your identity Token, Fellow Daoist, and came over out of curiosity. It’s not easy to find a peaceful haven like this in the world today. If there’s anything you need my help with, Fellow Daoist, just say the word."