My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

In the dim grotto, two Golden Armored Puppets, directed by Wang Ping’s Primordial Spirit Consciousness, stood guard on either side of the corridor’s exit. Qingjiang stood obediently before them, her hands forming a Spell. A cyan halo bloomed into existence, lighting up every corner of the cave.

Most of the cave appeared to be naturally formed, with a few man-made areas. For example, where the ground met the corridor, a large clearing had been paved with gravel. The edge of this clearing was a dense web of tree roots. They radiated from an old tree clinging to the wall, snaking across the surrounding walls and floor.

As Wang Ping stepped into the grotto, he sensed a dense Wood Spirit Qi. He felt deeply unsettled, for he was unable to control it; even the vines that had been spreading behind him stopped dead at the corridor’s entrance.

When Yuan Zheng and the Tiger Demon followed him in, they both frowned slightly—not because of the environment, but because the dense Wood Spirit Qi was affecting their Primordial Spirits.

With Wang Ping’s arrival, a Primordial Spirit phantom materialized before the old tree. It had Xiu Yu’s former appearance, yet Wang Ping could not perceive the phantom’s specifics. He could only observe it with his naked eye, and it felt like an illusion.

But Wang Ping knew this was no illusion.

"You’re not Xiu Yu!"

Wang Ping’s declaration was sudden, his tone utterly confident.

The Primordial Spirit phantom across from him asked, "And why do you say that, Fellow Daoist?"

"I’m simply stating a fact!"

"And what makes you think that?"

"Xiu Yu would never be like you. He would rather perish than appear before us in such a grotesque form!"

"Hahahahaha!"

A wave of laughter echoed through the grotto, causing the old tree’s branches to RUSTLE. Then, the Primordial Spirit phantom said, "You think you know me so well?"

Wang Ping fell silent.

Xiu Yu pointed at Dongcan and asked, "You love to guess, don’t you? Then guess this: why was he able to escape at this particular moment?"

"You did it on purpose?"

"That’s right!"

"What are you planning?"

"I wanted to talk to you. This is a rare opportunity. Normally, when you come looking for me, you’re bound to bring Zi Luan along. I hate him, and I don’t trust him."

Wang Ping silently agreed. If Zi Luan hadn’t been tied down by the sudden chaos that had erupted, he would certainly be here right now.

Xiu Yu’s ethereal phantom sat cross-legged on the tangled roots. He looked at Wang Ping and said, "Right now, Zi Luan must be laughing his head off. I can almost hear it..."

As he said this, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter himself—a hearty, unrestrained laugh.

Just then, Yuan Zheng sent a voice transmission, "Should we take him down?"

Hearing this, the Tiger Demon was instantly eager for a fight.

Wang Ping took a step forward. Wood Spirit Arrays materialized around his body, dispersing the loathsome Wood Spirit Qi around him. His gaze, fixed on Xiu Yu, filled with killing intent.

"Do you know why I came here?" he asked.

"Of course I do. To kill me, right? You don’t expect me to beg you, do you? Look at me. In this state, what’s the difference between this and being dead?"

"What are you trying to say?"

Xiu Yu suppressed his laughter and asked, "Do you remember what Master asked me, back when the three of us were before him? The truth is, I was even more afraid than Zi Luan that I was just a puppet. But I couldn’t show it, because I was a genius. That was Master’s impression of me. I had to be defiant and untamable, because that was his impression of me, too!"

Wang Ping raised his left hand to stop Yuan Zheng and the Tiger Demon from advancing. Then, with a light tap of his right hand, an Armor Talisman formed before him, enveloping himself, Yuan Zheng, Dongcan, and the Tiger Demon within its barrier.

Xiu Yu paid no mind to Wang Ping’s actions and continued, "When I was young, my greatest wish was to roam the world, to document the cultures of different lands and compile them into books. Then, when I was too old to walk, I’d write a storybook or two."

"But the world was in turmoil back then, so I had no choice but to join the Six Heart Sect to find safety. Mmm, for a time, I believed all these memories were fake. I’ve been waiting for this day to come..."

He started laughing again—an unstoppable, crazed laugh.

After a long moment, he finally stopped laughing. He looked at Wang Ping and said, "It wasn’t until just now... that I dared to remember why I joined Master in the first place. That day, internal strife broke out within the sect. Barely one in ten disciples survived. I was lucky to make it out alive and was taken in by Master. I thought I would attain a certain level of power and then leave the sect to fulfill my dream..."

His story, just begun, came to an abrupt halt. He let out a soft chuckle and said, "Master is still the same old Master. He never lied to us. But I didn’t want to walk the path he planned for me. So, ever since I advanced to the Third Realm, I have been constantly trying to find a way to escape the path he set for me."

"I cultivated frantically and secretly made countless attempts to advance, but at least half of them were sabotaged. They could always find me."

He looked at Wang Ping. "I know you want to attempt the Fourth Realm. On the surface, there are two spots open for the Fourth Realm right now. But those two spots aren’t necessarily for us. Do you understand?"

Wang Ping remained silent.

Xiu Yu didn’t wait for Wang Ping’s answer, continuing, "It’s right to be cautious, because there are simply too many ’accidents.’ We could be having a normal conversation one moment, and an ’accident’ could happen the next."

At these words, both Yuan Zheng and the Tiger Demon instinctively became more alert.

As did Wang Ping.

Xiu Yu ignored the trio’s vigilance and continued, "You said before that this wasn’t me. You were right. This is just the majority of my Primordial Spirit’s consciousness. The true, dominant consciousness already separated from it long before the Shangjing City incident began. Do you remember when I was punished with wall-gazing?"

Hearing this, Wang Ping asked dubiously, "So you deliberately went on a killing spree on Pingzhou Road back then?"

Xiu Yu chuckled softly. "Master’s attention was entirely focused on Shangjing City at that time. During my wall-gazing, his Primordial Spirit Consciousness didn’t rest on me for even a moment. It was the perfect opportunity for me to escape. This body was left behind to bear the brunt of Master’s loss of control after his failure. But I never expected..."

His words stopped abruptly again. After a few breaths of silence, he looked up at Wang Ping. "Even so, he is still not to be trusted. In the end, he left me some things. He said they could help me advance to the Fourth Realm, along with a Wood Spirit Origin. He also told me that you possess the Divine Technique Formation, and that Zi Luan has a ’Composite Array’ and the Demon Soldiers that are its core."

"He wants to incite a fight between us. He’s always been like this. But I don’t want to fight anymore. I’m so tired after all these years. Everything he left me, I’ll give it all to you."

Wang Ping didn’t know whether to trust him, so he could only remain silent.

Xiu Yu’s Primordial Spirit phantom stood up and looked at Qingjiang, who was standing nearby. "I have only one request," he said. "Take care of this disciple of mine. She has suffered a great deal in her years with me."

With that, he looked back at Wang Ping. "Without her, you would have died more times than you can count. Back when you were only in the Second Realm, Zi Luan goaded you into confronting me. At that time, whether it was me or her, killing you would have been as easy as saying a word. To make everything seem plausible, I had to go into seclusion every day. And I hate seclusion."

As he spoke, Xiu Yu’s emotions began to destabilize.

"I hate seclusion! I hate cultivating!"

He roared, venting the knot of frustration in his heart. Then he looked up at the sealed ceiling and said, "I still have a score to settle with Zi Luan. The rest of you can do as you please!"

As his voice fell, a Transfer Array formed around his Primordial Spirit Consciousness. With a distortion in space, the Primordial Spirit phantom vanished in an instant.