My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

The southern face of Moon Mountain.

Wang Ping stood alone on the edge of a high ground, gazing at the gathering in Yuequan Town. The others had all found excuses to leave.

Before long, the sound of an Entering Cultivator tearing through the sky echoed from above. He looked up to see two figures appear. The one in the lead was a patrolling Entering Cultivator from the Daoist Palace, clad in a green Daoist Robe. Following behind him was Lu Shan.

He had come as promised.

A dozen breaths later, the two landed a hundred feet before Wang Ping on the stone path that led up to the high ground.

The patrolling Cultivator saluted with a cupped fist, then respectfully stepped back and to the side. Lu Shan, however, came forward and clasped his hands. "Greetings, Changqing Zhenren."

Yu Lian, perched on Wang Ping’s shoulder, flicked her tail in displeasure. As wisps of Water Spirit Qi emerged around her, Lu Shan hastily clasped his hands again. "Greetings, Fellow Daoist Yu Lian."

"A pleasure, Fellow Daoist Lu Shan."

Wang Ping returned the greeting with the same courtesy, and Yu Lian nodded in acknowledgment.

After the exchange of pleasantries, Lu Shan took the path Wang Ping had cleared and walked onto the high ground. The two stood side by side, looking out at the gathering around the Moon Spring Array. After a perfectly normal, two-breath pause, Lu Shan spoke. "The situation in Zhongzhou has taken a sharp downturn these past two days. Many old friends of mine are planning to leave the Zhongzhou Continent."

Wang Ping smiled. "I can understand them. If I weren’t already caught up in this, I’d be making the same choice."

Lu Shan paused for a dozen breaths before replying, "But there are also those who see this as a heaven-sent opportunity. They will be the wild cards in Shangjing City’s future."

Wang Ping kept his smile. "That’s also understandable."

Lu Shan paused for another dozen breaths. "Every time Fourth Realm Cultivators get directly involved in the affairs of the Zhongzhou Continent, it turns the world upside down. At this rate, I fear the entire continent will be torn asunder." He pointed toward the vast mountains and rivers before them. "Even if the land itself is shattered, they have more than enough ways to restore it."

Wang Ping didn’t reply this time, only giving a slight nod. ’The Five Elements Qi of the Five Profound Sects is, by its very nature, a power drawn from the world itself. Aside from certain specific environments that couldn’t be restored through Five Elements Magic, like the Mist Sea Region, damage to ordinary areas was a trivial matter. They could even dispel the poisonous miasma Wu Ma Daoist had created in the Southern Sea Region.’

’As for the lives of the common folk, perhaps a few Cultivators cared deeply, due to their chosen Path or their own conscience—people like Dan Chen Daoist and Yunshan Daoist, whom he knew. Most, however, would simply choose to ignore it.’

’Lu Shan’s speech was meant to remind him that the price for getting involved in Shangjing City would be immense. He was setting the stage to bargain in the conversation to come.’

But Wang Ping didn’t take the bait.

A silence fell between them.

Wang Ping wasn’t in a hurry. ’There were many people he could work with. The only reason he’d had Zhang Xinghuai prioritize finding Lu Shan was that cooperating with an entire sect involved fewer complications.’

’If this didn’t work out, he wouldn’t mind using someone else.’

"What do you need me to do?"

Lu Shan was not one for idle chatter. After a long silence, he cut straight to the point and asked Wang Ping what he needed.

Wang Ping didn’t mince words either. "I don’t need you to scheme for me in Shangjing City. Given the current situation, no one can make any real plans there. What I need is an escape route."

He paused, seeming to consider how best to phrase his next words.

Lu Shan remained patient, not interrupting Wang Ping’s train of thought.

"By my estimation, the conflict in Shangjing City will be over in a flash. I need to establish a safe retreat path that will allow me to return to the south the moment the fighting is over."

Wang Ping didn’t deliberate for long. He stated his thoughts even more directly. "I want to establish a series of single-use Transfer Arrays in Moon Mountain, Ningzhou Road, Shanwu Road, and the Northwest Region."

Lu Shan immediately understood Wang Ping’s plan. "You want me to protect these Arrays, Fellow Daoist?"

Wang Ping nodded. "Correct. If I can return to Qianmu Temple safely, you will have a share of the Secret Technique I possess."

After a brief silence, Lu Shan agreed. "No problem. That is a trivial matter for me. But I have one condition: you cannot share the Nine Tripods Sect’s Secret Technique with anyone else."

Wang Ping shook his head gently. "That’s impossible. I’ve already made a deal with Fellow Daoist Ganxing. He will be helping you guard Moon Mountain."

Lu Shan thought for another moment. "If you agree to my condition, Fellow Daoist, the entire Nine Tripods Sect will owe you five favors. We will not refuse any request, so long as it is within our power to accomplish!"

At these words, Wang Ping couldn’t help but turn to look at Lu Shan.

’There was so much the Nine Tripods Sect could do. In all the world, there was likely nothing they couldn’t handle, short of matters involving a Fourth Realm Cultivator!’

"But Fellow Daoist Ganxing..."

"I will deal with him myself!"

Wang Ping made a show of considering it for a long moment before agreeing. "Fine. No problem!" He paused, then continued, "I will give you the design schematics for the Transfer Array within the next two days. Also, I don’t want too many people to know about this."

He took out an unactivated Puppet Bird and handed it to Lu Shan.

Lu Shan accepted the Puppet Bird. "Understood."

With the deal settled, the two exchanged a few more pleasantries. Since they didn’t know each other well, the small talk was painfully awkward. Half an hour later, Lu Shan left behind three Communication Jade Slips and departed.

"Can he be trusted?" Yu Lian asked, unable to wait a moment longer after Lu Shan had gone.

"I never planned on trusting him."

Wang Ping said, "My main Transfer Array will be established in the Northwest Region. The ones at Wushan Road and Moon Mountain are merely stopovers. My real focus is Ningzhou Road; I’ll be entrusting the Transfer Array there to Yuan Zheng."

"Is this what the storybooks call ’creating a diversion’?"

"Exactly."

’The Northwest Region was the one place he could trust the most right now. For one, Guangxuan would be arriving in the Northwest in half a month. Second, many disciples from Qianmu Temple were gaining experience in the Northwest Army. Third, Zhang Xinghuai and most of his closest blood relatives were also in the Northwest.’

’As for Ningzhou Road, Hu Qianqian would be the public face communicating with the Demon Race, while Yuan Zheng Daoist would build a network in secret. This would also ensure both security and discretion.’

’The only problem was that this plan would be incredibly expensive. Fortunately, money was the one thing Wang Ping didn’t lack right now. Besides, the spoils Qianmu Temple had looted from the siege of True Yang Mountain were more than enough to trade for the materials needed for these Arrays.’

After considering these matters, Wang Ping took one last look at the gathering at the foot of Moon Mountain, then turned and entered the vine-covered hut behind him. A moment later, two Puppet Birds flew out, carrying his replies to his master and to Zi Luan.

Shortly after, another two Puppet Birds took flight. One carried a message asking Hu Qianqian to come to the front lines, while the other instructed Guangxuan to find him first upon arriving in the Northwest.

Having done all this, Wang Ping released twelve puppets. They left the high ground and headed toward Ningzhou Road, Shanwu Road, and the Northwest to scout locations for the Arrays.

Finally, three Golden Armored Puppets appeared. Their task was to enter the base of Moon Mountain.

The three Golden Armored Puppets had just departed when a Puppet Bird landed on the eaves of the hut. Yu Lian darted out the door, and with a flick of her tail, swept the Puppet Bird inside.

It was from Yu Cheng Taoist.

It relayed a message from Yue Ziyu: one of his disciples would be coming to find Wang Ping soon.

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