My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

PSHHH—

The Evil Fire conjured by Wu Fu was stopped with a sound like a bursting pipe. A strange ice wall blocked its path, its surface covered in complex black patterns. The wall was generated by a banner, around which a grayish-black spirit was entwined—a spirit so twisted its original form was unrecognizable.

CRACK CRACK CRACK.

The Star God Core had already merged into the eye of the Magical Artifact Array, emitting a sound like a beast crushing bone. Simultaneously, Lu Zhengping forcibly used his own unstable Primordial Spirit to devour the frenzied Fourth Realm True Spirit.

CLANG!

Ganxing’s flanking attack was blocked again, this time by two golden Longswords imbued with a golden aura. He was blasted back several hundred yards before he managed to steady himself.

"Such immense power! He’s..."

Before Ganxing could finish his warning, he quickly shut his mouth and dodged. Just as he had steadied himself, the two golden Longswords he had just deflected were rocketing back toward him at extreme speed.

But after dodging, he felt an unprecedented pressure, as if all the qi in his body had been sealed. The two golden Longswords were already upon him, right before his face. He felt he could no longer evade.

"Dammit!"

Ganxing roared, fully unleashing the Magical Artifact Array around his body. Several twisted Demon Race spirits coiled before him, and a thick, bloody qi turned his skin crimson as his body abruptly swelled in size. He thrust his hands into the Array and drew out two blood-red Horse-Cutting Sabers. "HAH!" he bellowed, swinging the sabers in his hands with all his might.

CLANG! CLANG!

Ganxing felt his spirit tremble and his Qi Sea churn within him. At the same time, an irresistible force pushed him backward, and he used the opportunity to withdraw from the battle.

Only then, still shaken, did he look back at the battle in the core area.

Then, an invisible pressure washed over him, making his scalp tingle and stirring an involuntary fear deep in his heart.

He saw Lu Zhengping’s Magical Artifact Array now covered by a black mist. This mist was so corrosive it even ate through space itself. The corroded space continuously collapsed and then repaired itself, and from within the collapsing void, a wolf-like howl that chilled the soul seeped out.

At the same time, in the Inspiration Realm, his Primordial Spirit’s body was half pristine and divine, like a true celestial from the legends of the Yuqing Sect. The other half, however, was like a demon lord, emitting a black mist as dark as ink. From within the mist, a sharp claw was choking Lu Zhengping’s neck.

Meanwhile, Lu Zhengping’s physical body was being fought over and devoured by the Demon Race spirits within his Magical Artifact Array. Black, foul-smelling blood continuously seeped from his skin. Within the Array, the magical artifacts spun chaotically around his contorting body, creating turbulent streams of energy.

Wu Fu was struck by something unknown and sent flying back several hundred yards, smashing a deep crater into the ground upon landing. He immediately transformed into a streak of Evil Fire and fled even farther away.

Liu Huai’en fared no better. He was slammed into the side of an unnamed mountain range and immediately flew back up. He was in a much more wretched state: his chest was caved in, revealing his lungs and heart, and both of his feet had been cleanly severed by a sharp blade, leaving slanted stumps!

Yet he seemed completely unfazed. His blood-soaked hands maintained an ancient Taoist Family Hand Technique, his consciousness manifesting physically on the surface of his body as he stared at the mutating Lu Zhengping ahead.

"HAH!"

A great roar erupted from the twisted black mist. It was Lu Zhengping’s Primordial Spirit, its neck still being choked. It used every ounce of its strength to form a Spell.

BOOM!

Hundreds of lightning bolts pierced through the clouds, shattering the floating landmass beneath. But the lightning wasn’t aimed at Liu Huai’en and the others—it was aimed at himself.

In an instant, heaven and earth were illuminated by a blinding light. Submerged in lightning, Lu Zhengping shouted with a body completely consumed by black blood, "This is the path of an Artifact Cultivator! We *can* ascend to the Fourth Realm!"

His words pierced the clouds and spread in all directions. On the ground, some of the fleeing Artifact Cultivators from the Daoist Scripture Hall couldn’t help but stop and gaze up at the blindingly bright lightning in the sky.

At the same time, a blood-red streak of light shot out from the sea of lightning and vanished over the horizon.

"That’s..."

Ganxing’s heart trembled. What he saw was a jade slip!

Just as he tried to sense it with his spirit, the jade slip had already vanished without a trace. In the distance, Wu Quan lowered the suspended landmass; it seemed he had intended to smash it down on the lightning-engulfed Lu Zhengping.

But the falling landmass was shattered by the lightning, kicking up a sky full of dust. Amidst the dust, the lightning continued to rage. It seemed to have become Lu Zhengping’s final act of defiance.

"That True Spirit has been obliterated by the lightning!"

The caved-in part of Liu Huai’en’s chest was already regenerating under a white glow. His severed feet had regrown halfway, and the rest was recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He said this to Wu Fu, who had just returned.

Wu Fu replied, "His physical body is also about to be torn apart."

Ganxing landed in front of them. Gazing at the weakening lightning, he lamented, "Perhaps we shouldn’t have stopped him."

The other two remained silent. Although they had similar thoughts, they knew that if given the choice again, they would do the exact same thing without hesitation.

"Don’t overthink it. In his state, he wouldn’t have succeeded even if we gave him the chance. He might have just become an even more terrifying monster. That would have been a real disaster!"

Wu Quan also approached the three as a streak of light. "The jade slip he sent out at the last moment was most likely for that successor of his. I remember his file in the Daoist Scripture Hall. The affair between him and his master was a huge deal back in the day."

Ganxing thought of the jade slip and felt a surge of irritation. By now, the lightning beneath the clouds had vanished. The twisted True Spirit and Lu Zhengping’s Primordial Spirit had been blasted to dregs, and his physical body had been reduced to cinders that were now scattering in the wind.

"A shame. After all this trouble, the most important clue is gone again. We can only hope those small fries can provide some useful memories."

Liu Huai’en said with some regret.

Ganxing’s eyes lit up as he said, "But isn’t there still that jade slip?"

"Haha!"

Liu Huai’en laughed heartily. By now, his feet had fully recovered. After laughing, he transformed into a streak of light and landed on the palace ruins remaining in the deep crater below. He took out a roll of high-quality Xuan paper and began to record the Array set up in the palace.

The other three did much the same.

Half an hour later, the four of them met in the center of the palace’s main hall. They frowned at the damaged Array on the ceiling. Wu Quan said irritably, "Couldn’t you have been a bit more subtle back there? This was an Array that imprisoned a Fourth Realm True Spirit!"

Ganxing immediately retorted, "We almost died! Who has time to think about that stuff?"

Liu Huai’en surveyed the surrounding ruins and said, "This must be the place where the South Sea Taoist secretly ascended back then. The Array above isn’t something that can be used casually. It must still contain residual energy from the Demon Soldiers in the South Sea Taoist’s possession. Otherwise, Lu Zhengping wouldn’t have specifically chosen this place for his own ascension."

"Can it still be used after being repaired?"

"Most likely not!"

"So, you’re saying to ascend to the Fourth Realm using this method, we’d still need the South Sea Taoist’s help?"

"Yes!"

Wu Quan’s immediate thought was to keep this a secret. Ganxing, standing beside him, saw through his intentions and said, "A lot of people heard him. Are you planning to silence them all?"

"This is going to be a real problem..."

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