My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

Within the Six Heart Sect, beside a narrow stream.

Wang Ping stared blankly at the flowing stream. Beside him, Zi Luan was also weighed down by his thoughts. After a long moment, the water suddenly splashed. A carp leaped from the surface, startling them both back to their senses.

"The punishment this time was a bit harsh," Zi Luan murmured in a voice so low it was almost inaudible.

Wang Ping maintained a proper silence.

Just then, a Communication Jade Slip descended from the sky and hovered before Wang Ping, glowing with a pure white halo. It was Liu Huai’en’s Communication Token.

Wang Ping took out another special, blank Communication Jade Slip they had agreed upon beforehand with Liu Huai’en and activated the array on it. The two Communication Tokens reacted instantly, and several lines of text appeared on the blank Communication Jade Slip.

The plan to retrieve the ’Spirit Communication Stone’ had gone smoothly. Following clues discovered at True Yang Mountain, the people Liu Huai’en arranged had tracked it all the way to the northern part of the Eastern Continent before finally recovering the ’Spirit Communication Stone’.

"What is it?"

Zi Luan asked, having composed himself.

Wang Ping glanced at Zi Luan and shook his head. He had no intention of letting news about the ’Spirit Communication Stone’ become common knowledge. He continued reading. Liu Huai’en promised to return the ’Spirit Communication Stone’ to Qianmu Temple.

’That’s an interesting way to put it,’ Wang Ping thought. ’He’s returning the ’Spirit Communication Stone’ to Qianmu Temple, not giving it to me.’

With Zi Luan beside him, Wang Ping immediately put the jade slip away after reading its contents. Just as he was about to say something, two Puppet Birds descended from the sky.

One Puppet Bird was for Wang Ping, the other for Zi Luan.

They each collected their respective Puppet Birds. Wang Ping’s was from Yuan Zheng Taoist. After removing the letter from its abdomen, he activated its return array.

The contents of the letter were about what Wang Ping had expected: Yuan Zheng had confirmed Dongcan’s whereabouts!

Wang Ping’s mind was a jumble. He stood stunned for a few breaths before remembering that Dongcan was the one who possessed the Promotion Secret Technique for the Fourth Realm of Artifact Refining. The intelligence report stated that this Artifact Cultivator had met with Ke Yue of ’First Day’ at his hideout while Wang Ping was having an audience with the Xiao Shan Lord.

"I’m guessing your intelligence report is the same as mine!" Zi Luan’s voice sounded from beside him. As Wang Ping turned to meet his gaze, Zi Luan asked, "Is it about Dongcan?"

"Yes!"

Wang Ping didn’t hide it.

Zi Luan released the Puppet Bird from his hand and said, "He is the only viable link to Wu Ma Daoist and South Sea Taoist. I have great use for him."

"Also, he must..."

His words stopped abruptly. He then glanced back at the Xiao Shan Lord’s courtyard Dao Field.

’He’s trying to say that Dongcan must be connected to Xiu Yu,’ Wang Ping understood. ’And perhaps Dongcan was also involved in their schemes in Shangjing City.’

"Want to head over to Qianmu Temple for a bit?" Wang Ping looked at the sky. There was still a long time until nightfall, and he planned to return to his sect first to check on things.

"You’d best not return to Qianmu Temple right now. Let’s go to the Daoist Palace instead," Zi Luan suggested.

"Alright."

The Third Realm Cultivators who followed Xiu Yu were all well-known figures in the Southern Cultivation Realm. Now that Wan Zhi Daoist had sentenced them to death with a single sentence, it was bound to cause a certain degree of turmoil.

If Wang Ping returned to Qianmu Temple now, he would surely be inundated with visitor requests.

Both men, weighed down by their thoughts, walked to the sect gate. Then, without a word, they flew toward Jinhuai Prefecture. Sensing Wang Ping’s aura, Yu Lian leaped up from a nearby river. After meeting up with Wang Ping, she shrank and wrapped herself around his left arm.

「A moment later.」

Wang Ping saw the bustling Jinhuai Prefecture City. Feeling the city’s atmosphere, which was the complete opposite of the front lines, he couldn’t help but sigh as he landed on the Celestial Platform atop the Daoist Palace’s pavilion. "The war seems so far away from here."

After saying this, he turned his head to look at the sky.

The aura of Yuan Zheng Taoist washed over him.

In the next moment, a streak of light flashed, and Yuan Zheng Taoist’s figure appeared, hovering above the Daoist Palace. He had been stopped by the Daoist Palace guards.

Wang Ping immediately sent a voice transmission to the Daoist Palace guards.

A moment later, Yuan Zheng Taoist landed in front of Wang Ping.

"Judging by your expression, is there good news?" Wang Ping asked.

"Yes, and it’s fantastic news!" The smile on Yuan Zheng Taoist’s face deepened as he spoke.

"Let’s talk inside." Wang Ping gestured to the empty pavilion beside them, then introduced Yuan Zheng to Zi Luan. The three of them inevitably exchanged a round of pleasantries.

After the three were seated, Yuan Zheng Taoist began speaking at a signal from Wang Ping. "Dongcan has discovered the traveling merchant I placed in Shuangqiao Village."

Yu Lian looked at Yuan Zheng curiously and interrupted, "But you seem very happy about it?"

She had interrupted on purpose. Her first impression of Yuan Zheng had been very poor; after all, she had been bullied quite a bit by him back when Wang Ping went to Hu Mountain Country to improve his root bone.

"Dongcan used a Secret Technique to leave a message for me in the consciousness of the merchant I arranged. He said he’s willing to cooperate with us. As long as we let him leave the Southern Cultivation Realm, he’ll help us take the life of either Xiu Yu or Guanmao."

Yuan Zheng Taoist glanced at the soundproofing array Wang Ping had activated and lowered his voice. "Also, he has something very important to tell us regarding the Xia Imperial Family’s assassination attempt on you in Shangjing City."

He directed this last sentence at Wang Ping.

Wang Ping and Zi Luan exchanged a look. Their gazes were complex, filled with surprise, delight, and a hint of anticipation for how this matter would unfold.

"I can’t trust him!"

Wang Ping voiced his concern.

Yuan Zheng Taoist replied, "He doesn’t trust us either, and he doesn’t want our cooperation to become common knowledge. So, he’s found a middleman."

"Ke Yue?"

Wang Ping blurted out the name.

Yuan Zheng Taoist nodded. "He said Ke Yue will contact you at the appropriate time."

Wang Ping fell into thought.

"The matter with Guanmao and Xiu Yu is not urgent. The most important thing right now is the assassination attempt on you from Shangjing City."

Zi Luan looked at Wang Ping and said, "Leave things here on Nanlin Road to me. I guarantee no one will notice anything amiss, and he won’t be able to escape. When you get back to the front lines, don’t act rashly. Just wait for Ke Yue to contact you."

Hearing this, Wang Ping thought for a moment before nodding. "Alright." He looked at Yuan Zheng. "You and Fellow Daoist Zi Luan should cooperate closely. Don’t act rashly under any circumstances."

Yuan Zheng immediately promised, "Don’t worry, I know what to do!"

Wang Ping said no more.

Just then, Hongyuan landed on the Celestial Platform outside.

"What is it?"

"Just now, monitoring devices everywhere detected turbulent energy flows in many places throughout the Southern Four Roads. It’s likely that a large number of Entering Cultivators are fighting."

Zi Luan looked at Wang Ping. "It must be the disciples of those Third Realm Cultivators. You should leave here as soon as possible, lest you get caught up in the mess."

"Alright."

Wang Ping stood up. After exchanging a look with Yuan Zheng, he took Yu Lian and transformed into a streak of light, ascending above the clouds.

Yu Lian said, "What happened?"

After taking out the ’Pocket World Mirror’ to conceal their auras, Wang Ping explained the events of Pingzhou Road to Yu Lian while merging into the Wood Spirit Qi, flying silently toward Ningzhou Road.

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