My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

The summit of Mount Laishan.

As the battle at Bin Pass concluded, a phantom figure projected down from the Golden Body Divine Statue atop True Yang Mountain. This was the priest who managed the incense and worship for the Xiao Shan Lord, a being constructed from a spiritual consciousness.

When it noticed Wang Ping and the others, it spoke in a completely emotionless voice, "The Lord has given an order. Changqing Zhenren is to return to the Six Heart Sect at once."

"I obey the Lord’s command!"

Wang Ping cupped his hands in a salute.

The priest returned the salute stiffly, then vanished into thin air.

"What does the Lord mean by this?" Ganxing asked.

But no one answered him.

Wang Ping glanced at him, then looked around at the others. "After I leave, you will all deliberate and decide on any major issues together. If it’s not urgent, you can send me a letter. For urgent matters, Fellow Daoist Zhi Gong has full authority."

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist!"

Zhi Gong Daoist was the first to respond.

Huaimo, Hu Yin, and the Mountain Guard responded next. Wu Quan and Ganxing exchanged a look, apparently not understanding why Wang Ping was putting Zhi Gong in charge of the front line, and were the last to reply.

Wang Ping cupped his hands in salute once more. He then tossed an identity token down into the clouds and, taking Yu Lian with him, transformed into a streak of pale green light heading south. In the blink of an eye, he streaked across the sky near Mount Laishan and vanished without a trace from everyone’s sight.

After Wang Ping left, Liu Shuang and Zhao Yu’Er cupped their hands in salute to the other Third Realm Cultivators and flew toward the front line. Zhang Xinghuai immediately followed behind the two of them.

About two hours later, Wang Ping’s figure appeared in the sky above Nanlin Road.

Yu Lian looked down at the familiar mountains and rivers below, asking, "The Xiao Shan Lord has summoned us back this time. What do you think it’s about?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ping materialized from the Wood Spirit Qi and hovered beneath the clouds. He remained impassive to the prostrations of the mortals on the ground and the salutes from some Cultivators. He also remained silent in response to Yu Lian’s question. After several seconds of thought, he said, "I’m suddenly a bit tired. How about you carry me for a while?"

"No problem!"

After replying, Yu Lian transformed into her true form, a massive body over twenty zhang long. Wang Ping executed a graceful flip under the clouds, landing atop Yu Lian’s head, where he sat down cross-legged.

"Hold on tight, here I go!"

Yu Lian let out a cheerful cry. Her enormous body shot through the clouds, flipping and weaving above the sea of clouds. Mysterious Water Spirit Formations formed spontaneously in her wake. She continuously expelled Water Spirit Qi, filling the space above the clouds with a dense mist, which then naturally fell toward the ground.

In a forest thick with camphor trees, deep in the mountains north of Shuangqiao Village and southwest of Ning’an Prefecture, stood a hunting lodge. It was used not only for hunting but also to monitor the Demon Race and wild beasts in the forest, preventing them from entering the village.

Some time ago, a disciple from the Daoist Palace said he wanted to set up an Array in the forest to cultivate, offering to help guard the village from the beasts in the woods as well. Naturally, everyone in the village readily agreed.

After this Qi Cultivator moved in, the village’s farms were no longer attacked by beasts or the Demon Race. And so, during the Spring Festival, every family prepared gifts and brought them over, stuffing the hunting lodge full both inside and out.

「The first day of the new year.」

Just after 7:00 AM, the hunting lodge received a visitor.

She was a Kun Dao dressed in a simple, blue, Narrow-sleeved Daoist Robe. Her features were delicate and beautiful, but her face looked weathered, likely from the dust of her journey and the harsh winter cold. An ugly Daoist Hat hid her charm, and the combination gave her the profound air of an orthodox Mystic Sect master.

Unfortunately, the laugh that escaped her as she entered the courtyard shattered that orthodox image completely.

It was Ke Yue!

"Fellow Daoist Dongcan, what a fine mood you’re in. Are you planning to retire here and live the pastoral life?" Ke Yue teased with a smile, seeing the Cultivator cooking meat soup under a thatched shed in the courtyard.

This Cultivator was none other than Dongcan, the very man wanted by the Daoist Palace!

"A life like this isn’t so bad. My mind hasn’t been this quiet in a long time."

Dongcan held an earthenware bowl in his left hand and stirred the pot with an iron ladle in his right. Just as he was about to scoop up some soup to taste for salt, he seemed to sense something and turned to look at the sky outside the shed.

Ke Yue also turned, her gaze fixed on the identity token that had appeared beneath the clouds at the edge of the northern horizon.

After the token’s projection vanished, Ke Yue smiled and asked, "So, what have you decided?"

"What are you referring to?"

"What’s the point of playing dumb at a time like this?"

Dongcan turned back, stirred his meat soup once more, and tasted it. A satisfied expression crossed his face as the soup touched his lips. He invited Ke Yue, "Want a bowl? The meat is cured pig’s trotter from the village, and the vegetables are dried wild greens I picked in the forest last summer."

Ke Yue’s gaze immediately fell upon the soup pot. She walked under the thatched shed and said, "In my distant memory, a soup like this was what I strived for my entire life."

"Haha!"

Dongcan laughed heartily. He grabbed a new bowl from the nearby stove, expertly ladled a serving of soup, and handed it to Ke Yue before filling a bowl for himself.

"You have to eat winter soup while it’s hot."

After reminding Ke Yue, Dongcan picked up a pair of chopsticks made from twigs and began to eat. After just two bites, he looked up at Ke Yue and said, "I’ve only got one pair of chopsticks here. Just break off a couple of twigs and make do."

Ke Yue just smiled. She carried her earthenware bowl over to a pile of dry firewood next to the shed and sat down. Forgoing chopsticks, she drank the soup directly from the bowl in big gulps. After finishing the broth, she used her hands to grab the cured pig’s trotter inside and began to gnaw on it. "This is the taste. I remember the first time I tasted this, it was from a bone the master of the house threw out during the new year. I would always desperately lick every last bit of juice from the bone."

Her mouth was already covered in grease as she spoke.

Dongcan chimed in, "You had it worse than me. I tried to steal directly from the master’s house. I was so hungry back then, I felt like I was about to die. I figured I was going to die anyway, so I swallowed a mouthful of mud mixed with river water to get a little strength back, then grabbed a hatchet and went to rob a small, wealthy household nearby. Unfortunately, I was beaten back by their guards before I even set foot in the courtyard."

"Just as I was about to be beaten to death, the master of the house came out and asked if I wanted to live. I said I did. He had someone force the mud out of my stomach, then fed me a bowl of noodle soup. After that, he brought out a bowl of meat soup and told me that if I agreed to kill someone for him, the soup was mine to drink. I agreed on the spot."

After telling his story, he drained the soup from his bowl in one go. He picked up a piece of pig’s trotter, chewed it to pieces, bones and all, and swallowed. Then he ladled another bowl for himself and looked at Ke Yue. "What do you want me to do?"

Ke Yue finished the meat on her bone, habitually sucked the marrow and juices from it, and then licked the grease from her lips. She said with a hint of regret, "It’s a shame that after cultivating a Spiritual Body, you can no longer fully appreciate delicacies like this."

After she spoke, she put down the earthenware bowl. A ’Cleansing Charm’ materialized around her. "This is much more fitting for me!"

She reverted to the cold demeanor of a Cultivator and looked at Dongcan. "Give me a copy of the Secret Technique you obtained, then do something for Changqing Taoist. If you do, you’ll get to live, and live very well."

Dongcan put down his now-empty bowl and asked, "That’s it?"

"Yes!"

"When did you become Changqing’s dog?"

"Don’t try to provoke me!"

"Heh!" Dongcan chuckled softly. "Spies from Qianmu Temple have already found their way to my doorstep."

Ke Yue froze for a moment, then shot to her feet.

Dongcan grinned at Ke Yue. "If I wanted to do business with Changqing, why would I need to go through you?"

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