My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

South of Yongsu Prefecture.

Beneath a somber sky, near a truncated mountain range, the ruins of a town were faintly visible. This place must have once been a reasonably prosperous market town.

Now, however, nothing remained but damp earth and the stench of rot mixed within it.

BOOM!

A bolt of lightning as thick as a grown man’s arm flashed across the somber sky, striking the center of the town’s ruins and shattering an already collapsed wall.

BOOM!

BOOM!

More bolts of lightning struck one after another, sending flesh flying and dust billowing. The lightning was striking a disorderly army entrenched here.

WHOOSH—

Like the howling of a sea wind, a dense wave of Nether Qi surged from the depths of the mountain range, neutralizing the thunderclouds gathering in the sky.

The next moment, two phantasmal figures shot into the air. They first looked north, where more than ten Thunder Law Altars had been erected beneath the clouds. Then they looked toward Shoutai Mountain, where at least five Second Realm Cultivators were present.

GULP.

The two of them swallowed hard.

They exchanged a look, and one of them roared, "A pack of rats! All you know is how to ambush your grandpa! Watch me teach you a lesson!"

With that, he summoned an Array that glowed with a blackish-purple light. As the Array rapidly unfurled, the last shred of spiritual essence within all the mutated people below was extracted, transforming into wisps of green smoke that flowed into the Array.

Then, the two simultaneously formed a Hand Technique, using it to stabilize the crumbling Array before transforming into a streak of light and fleeing south.

Their opponents reacted quickly. In an instant, five figures gave chase, but they all stopped at the spot where the two had just been. They didn’t dare to pursue any further. After all, their intelligence indicated that the enemy had a Third Realm Artifact Cultivator on their side.

"They got lucky!"

Wenhai let out a breath, his heart finally settling. When he had received the order to advance, his mind had been in turmoil. After all, a Third Realm Artifact Cultivator could have killed him before he even had a chance to react.

The surrounding Cultivators all voiced their agreement, and for a moment, the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

Wenhai composed himself and ordered the follow-up troops to enter the area and begin cleansing the polluted land. Before leaving, the two had thrown the region’s spiritual essence into utter chaos, and restoring it would be a troublesome task.

「Meanwhile.」

After flying south for some distance, the leading of the two escaped Taiyin Evil Cultivators came to an abrupt stop and retracted the now-stabilized Array.

"What’s wrong?" the Cultivator following behind asked.

"We’re just going to go back like this?"

"What other choice do we have?"

"What do you think will happen to us when we get back?"

"..."

The two fell silent for several breaths. They then shared a tacit understanding and looked toward Ningzhou Road. Simultaneously, they descended, landing on the back of a mountain and using the dampness generated by the polluted earth to conceal themselves.

Just as they exchanged a smile, they suddenly found they couldn’t move. A warm, pleasant sensation washed over them, and then they lost consciousness.

They had been enveloped by two inconspicuous rays of white light. Their physical bodies turned to ash at a visible rate while their spiritual consciousness was extracted, following a streak of white light into a Sealing Array temporarily drawn on a bamboo slip.

"That’s twice now I’ve had to clean up the mess. The Daoist Scripture Hall is getting more and more inefficient!"

The one who had acted was none other than Liu Huai’en.

He had just finished muttering to himself when his entire body tensed like a startled wildcat. He quickly put away the Sealing Array in his hand, formed a sign with his left hand, and produced a palm-sized white crystal with his right.

"I was just confirming whether that Artifact Cultivator of theirs would suddenly appear. That’s why I’m a little late."

The newcomer wore a tattered Daoist Robe, but it was spotless. As he spoke, he smoothed his slightly knotted beard. Seeing Liu Huai’en’s tense posture, he said casually, "Don’t worry, I’m on your side..."

As he spoke, he took out a Token and tossed it to Liu Huai’en.

Liu Huai’en used a milky white halo of light to catch the Token, only beginning his inspection after confirming it was safe.

"Wu Fu? You’re Wu Fu?"

Liu Huai’en’s face was filled with astonishment. The Token bore the aura of Wang Ping, along with a message he had left behind. Liu Huai’en’s expression relaxed slightly as he sized up Wu Fu from head to toe.

"I always thought you’d be a burly giant, eight feet tall, with an uncontrollable, explosive aura. I never expected you to seem so ordinary. I didn’t even notice you approaching."

He found it hard to believe. This was a man known for his bloodlust, yet the Taoist Family aura on him was denser than that of many who had spent years in meditation to enter the Dao.

Wu Fu ignored Liu Huai’en’s stare and said calmly, "I kill, but I do not slaughter wantonly."

But Liu Huai’en’s eyes lit up. "Do you know of the Saint’s Dao?" he asked.

"Your Dao is not for me."

Wu Fu shook his head.

Seeing that Liu Huai’en was about to continue, Wu Fu’s gaze instantly sharpened. His pupils narrowed into thin black slits, and countless fine patterns appeared on his face. A bizarre green flame flickered over the surface of the patterns.

"Evil Fire?"

The words escaped Liu Huai’en’s lips subconsciously. ’Outer Realm Evil Flame. It incinerates the spirit, but it can also make one’s physical body as strong as a Gold Cultivator’s. However, a Cultivator who merges with Evil Fire can only practice quiet cultivation, or else they risk having their mind consumed by it.’

Then his eyes grew even brighter. "Since you can suppress the killing intent of the Evil Fire, the Saint’s Dao is definitely suitable for you!"

"..."

Wu Fu raised an eyebrow, retracted the Evil Fire that had appeared on his body, and looked up at the somber sky.

Liu Huai’en also looked at the somber sky. "Watch this," he said. With that, he conjured a faint glow that enveloped them both, and they merged into the dark clouds, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

A few breaths later, two figures appeared where Liu Huai’en and Wu Fu had vanished. One was the Artifact Cultivator mentioned before, and the other was Guanmao Daoist.

"They’re gone?"

"It was some kind of concealment technique. Your two subordinates are interesting. Were they planning to desert?" Guanmao tossed out a handful of gray seeds. As a dense Wood Spirit Qi emerged, thick purple vines sprouted at his feet, adorned with black, peony-like flowers.

"They vanished completely. I can’t find a single trace."

Guanmao looked at the Artifact Cultivator beside him and asked, "Should we continue the pursuit?"

The Artifact Cultivator shook his head. "Forget it. It’s better that they escaped. Saves me the trouble of dealing with them myself. After raising them for so long, I’ve grown a little attached."

"I’m afraid they didn’t just run off. They might have been captured. Don’t underestimate the abilities of a Lord, or that Daoist Changqing. The Jimin Association is always around him, and sometimes they’re even more terrifying than a Lord—especially for people like us."

"It doesn’t matter. This whole affair will be settled in half a month at most. It’s even better if we’ve alarmed the Xiao Shan Lord. Disrupting his thoughts before his promotion is part of our plan, isn’t it? As for that Daoist Changqing, the Jimin Association around him is indeed a nuisance, and he himself is a problem."

"Are you thinking of eliminating this problem?"

"Keep your little schemes to yourself. I have no fundamental conflict with him, so there’s no need to go looking for trouble. Once things here are settled, I’m leaving."

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