My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

Wang Ping truly hadn’t expected to find out so quickly who was targeting Wen Yang. But he was more worried that the intricate relationships between the various factions of cultivators would throw True Yang Mountain into even greater chaos.

Facing Ganxing’s questioning gaze and Wu Quan’s probing look, he didn’t reply immediately. He knew these two wanted to drag him into this. Meeting their superficially humble expressions, Wang Ping took a sip of tea to conceal the calculating look in his eyes.

The moment he drank the tea, a vicious thought suddenly flared up in Wang Ping’s mind, giving birth to an incredibly malevolent idea...

’I’m in an advantageous position right now,’ he thought. ’I could use Wen Yang’s and Ruan Chunzi’s power to suppress these two right here. Then, I could ally with ’First Day’ and the First Sect’s cultivators on True Yang Mountain to wipe them all out. After that, I could work with them to deal with the Sun Sect, and finally, incite a conflict between ’First Day’ and the First Sect.’

The emergence of this malicious thought startled even Wang Ping himself, and he found he couldn’t suppress it no matter how hard he tried. As he met Wu Quan’s and Ganxing’s gazes, he took out the divination blocks he carried with him and cast a trigram.

It was a Yin Trigram.

He cast it twice more, but it was still a Yin Trigram each time.

’It’s not meant to be.’

Only then did Wang Ping manage to convince himself and successfully suppress the vicious thought. Deep down, he already knew he shouldn’t do it; the divination was merely to confirm what he already felt.

"Fellow Daoist, how do you and Wen Yuan know each other?" Wang Ping asked, looking at Ganxing.

"It was before the founding of the Xia Imperial Family. Back then, Fellow Daoist Wen Yuan was cultivating the Emotionless Dao when she was invaded by malicious thoughts. She ended up slaughtering more than half the people in a town near her Dao Field and was ultimately expelled from the Yuqing Sect. While being pursued by the Demon Race, she fled to Nanlin Road. At the time, the Daoist Scripture Hall wasn’t as tolerant of the Demon Race as it is now. I was ordered to drive away those two demons and ended up saving Fellow Daoist Wen Yuan."

"After that, we served together in the Daoist Scripture Hall’s guard unit for over a hundred years. When our service ended, I returned to Fuming Prefecture, and she joined the True Yang Sect. We’ve kept in touch occasionally over the past few centuries, sometimes meeting up at gatherings for trade."

"As for this business on True Yang Mountain, our original plan was just to go through the motions and then leave the matter for the Lord and the others to resolve. I believe you had the same idea, Fellow Daoist. But the sudden appearance of ’First Day’ threw everything into disarray, which led to the current plan to ambush Huaimo Taoist. She wants the *Yuqing Secret Technique* he cultivates, and I want his Golden Core Bloodline."

Ganxing stopped there.

Wu Quan watched Wang Ping pour the tea and added, "I want to study Huaimo Taoist’s physical-body Cosmos."

Wang Ping offered no comment. After pouring the tea, he fixed his gaze on Wu Quan, his meaning clear: he wanted Wu Quan to elaborate on his own involvement.

Wu Quan understood, of course. He lifted his cup, took a sip, and said, "My part is simple. It was organized by the Mountain Guard. I had no prior dealings with Chang Jing. I just owe the Mountain Guard a favor."

Hearing this, Wang Ping quickly sorted through the web of relationships he had just learned about...

’So, the current intelligence is: First, Xin Shi of True Yang Mountain is planning to ambush Hu Yin with someone from our side, but it’s not clear who yet. For now, I can probably rule out Ganxing and Wu Quan. After all, they’ve been this forthcoming; there’s no reason to hide that detail.’

’Second, Wen Yuan, Ganxing, and Wu Quan are plotting together against Huaimo Taoist. Third, Chang Jing, Wu Quan, and the Mountain Guard want to corner Wen Yang. And finally, Wen Yang has teamed up with Ruan Chunzi and is trying to pull me in to help them kill Chang Jing.’

’Oh, right. And then there’s the Sun Sect and the Court, who want to end my path here.’

’Everyone has their own agenda and their own reasons. Some are acting on grudges built up over hundreds or even thousands of years of cultivation, while others are motivated by personal gain.’

’Under normal circumstances, they might set aside these grudges and interests and pretend nothing is wrong. But the disturbance caused by ’First Day’ has given them an opportunity, and malevolent thoughts have inevitably sprouted in their hearts.’

Wang Ping once again felt firsthand the brutal competition of the Cultivation Realm. Every cultivator was constantly calculating their own interests, trying their best to eliminate potential rivals.

He held his teacup, his gaze falling upon Wu Quan and Ganxing. At that moment, he believed that for the right price, these two would sell him out without a second thought. It was just that the current stakes weren’t high enough to tempt them. In that, they were just like him; if such an opportunity presented itself, he would be tempted too.

This was precisely why sects and factions existed. With a sect acting as a central hub, most of these schemes could be prevented. It was also why most who attained the Dao preferred to work only with disciples from their own sect.

"Huaimo Taoist cannot be touched."

Wang Ping stated his position directly, looking at Ganxing. "You can send a letter and ask Fellow Daoist Zi Luan."

Ganxing showed no dissatisfaction, but he didn’t speak again either. He simply gave a silent nod, making it impossible to tell if he was genuinely agreeing or just placating Wang Ping.

As for Wu Quan’s plot to ambush Wen Yang, Wang Ping felt it wasn’t his place to interfere, so he said nothing more on the matter.

However, he had another plan.

After Wu Quan and Ganxing left, Wang Ping meditated alone until dawn. He made another attempt to awaken the Spiritual Poison with the Purgatory Banner, but it was still unsuccessful. Then, he sent a mental message, summoning the Mountain Guard.

The Mountain Guard had always given Wang Ping the impression of being silent and rule-abiding, but now it seemed this Old Yang wasn’t so proper after all.

Wang Ping invited the Mountain Guard to sit, but he neither prepared tea nor invited him for a game of chess. Instead, he got straight to the point with another piece of news. "I’ve received reliable information that someone on True Yang Mountain has allied with a Fellow Daoist from our side to move against Fellow Daoist Hu Yin."

"True Yang Mountain? How is that possible?"

The Mountain Guard blurted out two questions. Whether he was acting or not, his initial reaction was to doubt the intelligence. He seemed very confident in the information he had on True Yang Mountain.

Then, the Mountain Guard seemed to recall something and asked, "Is it that old woman, Xin Shi?"

Wang Ping gave a noncommittal smile.

In the Mountain Guard’s eyes, Wang Ping’s smile was a confirmation. He then asked, "Who did that old woman find to help her? She wouldn’t dare do this alone."

This time, Wang Ping shook his head clearly. "That’s for you to investigate."

The Mountain Guard left in a hurry.

「Half an hour later.」

Hu Yin and Zhi Gong Daoist arrived together at Wang Ping’s side. Contrary to what Wang Ping had expected, the two of them weren’t there because Hu Yin was being targeted.

They had come to tell Wang Ping that the Court planned to use the chaos on True Yang Mountain as an opportunity to deal with him.

"Your safety, Fellow Daoist, is tied to the Lord’s promotion," Zhi Gong Daoist stated. "It would be best for you to remain an observer in the chaos on True Yang Mountain. Fellow Daoist Hu Yin and I will protect you. That way, unless a Fourth Realm expert takes action personally, no one will be able to touch you."

This was Zhi Gong Daoist’s stance, and Hu Yin nodded with equal gravity.

Wang Ping replied, "The Lord needs the world’s fortune. We must ensure that True Yang Mountain descends into chaos, but we cannot allow that chaos to harm the common people!"

Hu Yin declared, "The three of us are enough to restrain the other Fellow Daoists. As long as they behave themselves, the chaos on True Yang Mountain won’t harm the common folk."

Wang Ping just nodded.

After Zhi Gong and Hu Yin left, Wang Ping was about to summon Fire Box for a talk, but he suddenly sensed that the slumbering Yu Lian had reached the critical moment of coalescing her Primordial Spirit.

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