My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

BOOM!

As a golden light curtain rose around the grand golden hall, a violent echo resounded from above the clouds. The entire cloud layer then quickly dispersed from the powerful impact, revealing a vast expanse of ignited void beneath the atmosphere.

In this expanse of burning void, space itself seemed to be collapsing. A figure, burned blood-red, shot out from the collapsing space and rushed toward the grand golden hall at an imperceptible speed.

It was Master Kaiyun. Most of his body was scorched by flames, and his clothes had been incinerated, leaving only a pair of specially-made trousers. As he rapidly descended, his hands formed a Spell, causing a complex Gold Spirit Rune Array to surface on his burnt skin.

Min You, standing guard near the golden light curtain, struggled to track Master Kaiyun's figure. Even at full power, he couldn't pinpoint Master Kaiyun's exact location. He had no choice but to erect a colossal barrier to protect the entire area, embedding a complex Sealing Array within it.

CLANG!

The sound of metal striking metal rang out, and the powerful impact made the very earth tremble. A large hole shattered open at the apex of Min You's barrier. The space around the hole then rapidly collapsed, swallowing the barrier whole.

Master Kaiyun's Primordial Spirit shot straight through the Inspiration Realm, manifesting in the physical world as pure energy. As it shattered Min You's barrier, his Primordial Spirit rapidly formed a Spell. The moment the Spell took shape, the image of a pitch-black wild ox materialized around his physical body, which hovered at the edge of the collapsing space. Then, a tattoo of a three-eyed wild ox appeared on his scorched skin.

The wild ox tattoo on his body seemed to possess a unique power, allowing him to remain unscathed at the edge of the collapsing space. The energy radiating from him was like innumerable blunt instruments, tearing at the space around him.

His tattoo was the image of the divine beast, the Metal Ox. Legend told that after the Great Celestial Venerable of the Primordial Profound Method was born in the depths of the Cosmos, he created the five first beings: the Metal Ox, the Profound Tree, the Ancestral Dragon, the Golden Crow, and the Earth Turtle. They represented Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, respectively.

This very legend flashed through Min You's mind. He subconsciously moved to reinforce his barrier, but with a flicker, Master Kaiyun vanished.

CLANG!

Before Min You even had time to worry, Master Kaiyun's right fist had already smashed into the surface of the golden light curtain that stretched from heaven to earth.

But when his mighty blow landed on the golden light curtain, it was like an egg striking a stone. His fist, brimming with Metal Spirit Aura, disintegrated upon contact. The immense inertia snapped his arm, and the force of his own strike sent his entire body flying backward.

Just then, Rongyang Monarch appeared as a streak of light, landing beside the golden light curtain. He didn't take advantage of his opponent's vulnerability. Gazing at the recoiling Master Kaiyun, he said, "You see? We are all merely doing our best and leaving the rest to fate. Why must you be so reckless with your life?"

By the time his words faded, Master Kaiyun had already stabilized himself in mid-air. The Spirit Veins within him gathered Spiritual Qi from the surroundings, swiftly repairing his damaged arm.

Master Kaiyun looked at Min You and Rongyang Monarch, who barred his way before the golden light curtain. He formed a hand seal to cast a 'Cleansing Spell,' then tore away the tattered rags on his torso. Bare-chested, he brought his palms together and replied, "It's been a while since I've been able to cut loose. Of course I have to make the most of it. Zhongshan Country is too poor, and my senior brother is too strict. The last time I really fought was over a thousand years ago, against the Demon Race."

A warm smile touched his lips, his gaze filled with a hint of reminiscence. "I remember fighting side-by-side with you, driving the Demon Race out of Zhongzhou. A thousand years have flown by, yet now we find ourselves opponents!"

Rongyang Monarch picked up on the thread, asking, "Fellow Daoist, do you still remember why we drove out the Demon Race?"

"Of course I remember!"

"Then why, Fellow Daoist, must you prevent Xiao Shan Lord's advancement?"

"Why ask what you already know?"

"But you are doomed to fail. This is the people's will!"

"As you said, Fellow Daoist: do our best and leave the rest to fate."

Their conversation ended there. On the other side of the battlefield, Wan Zhi Daoist, He Feng Taoist, Cang Ji, and South Sea Taoist also ceased their fighting.

Though they were fighting, they were also constantly using their Primordial Spirits to monitor Xiao Shan Lord's condition. Just a moment ago, they had felt his aura vanish without a trace. Yet when they turned to look with their own eyes, the golden light curtain that shot into the sky was still present.

"Such an incredible move, Fellow Daoist Xiao Shan!"

Master Kaiyun exclaimed in genuine admiration, "To think one can actually succeed in using Heaven and Earth Fortune to obscure the secrets of the cosmos! But even if he pulls it off, I fear he'll be paying off that debt for tens of thousands of years!"

As his words faded, Wan Zhi Daoist and He Feng Taoist transformed into streaks of light and landed beside Min You. South Sea Taoist reverted to the appearance of an ordinary Daoist, landing beside Master Kaiyun with Cang Ji, one on each side.

The two sides faced off, their gazes occasionally drifting toward the golden light curtain as they tried to use their Primordial Spirit Consciousness to pierce the barrier and see what was happening inside.

But all of them failed.

Within the light curtain, the grand golden hall remained as dazzling as ever. Beneath it, the Divine Skill Map endlessly supplied the space with Divine Technique energy.

Xiao Shan Lord manifested his newly-formed Primordial Spirit, now a being of pure energy. He took a moment to sense the sealed space around him, constructed from the Wood Spirit Replenishment Array and Heaven and Earth Divine Techniques. After confirming everything was in order, he focused his emotions, bringing himself to a peak state, and let his gaze fall upon Wang Ping, Zi Luan, and Xiu Yu.

His profound humanity caused a flicker of hesitation on his face. He then reached out, tapped his own head with his forefinger, and copied three sets of memories. He implanted each one deep into the Spirit Seas of Wang Ping, Zi Luan, and Xiu Yu.

Just then, the sleeve of Wang Ping's left arm twitched. A faint smile touched Xiao Shan Lord's lips as he glanced over, but it vanished as he turned his gaze back to the blank Talisman.

To advance to the Realm of True Monarch using the method of the *Taiyan Talisman* was not like advancing through the first Four Realms, where one could simply wait for the opportune moment. The Fifth Realm was about stealing the power of heaven and earth: one had to merge the Wood Spirit Origin, which had been refined by the Heaven-Covering Talisman, with their Spiritual Body while simultaneously drawing the Heaven-Stealing Talisman.

Xiao Shan Lord casually retrieved a delicate wooden box from a special storage pouch at his waist. Its surface was carved with a complex Wood Spirit Array, and the center of the lid was inlaid with the core of a ten-thousand-year-old vine, which served as the eye of the Sealing Array.

CLICK-CLACK.

As Xiao Shan Lord undid the seal, mechanisms on the box's surface began to turn with the soft whirring of gears. The lid then sprang apart, revealing an even more complex Wood Spirit Sealing Array within.

With his free hand, Xiao Shan Lord formed a Spell and undid the Array inside the box. A hidden compartment sprang open, revealing an irregularly shaped mass of energy that pulsed with a cyan glow.

The instant it appeared, innumerable Wood Element True Spirits materialized out of thin air in the void of outer space nearest to the region. They plunged through the atmosphere toward the ground, only to be trapped by the Wood Spirit Sealing Array within the Divine Technique Light Curtain.

Simultaneously, more Wood Element True Spirits materialized across the Zhongzhou Continent, but they were quickly ensnared by the Wood Spirit Sealing Arrays that had been laid out all over.

This was the Wood Spirit Origin!

Xiao Shan Lord stared at the Wood Spirit Origin, hesitating for two seconds before his Spiritual Body swallowed it in a single gulp. As the abundant Wood Spirit Energy flooded his being, both his Spiritual Body and his Primordial Spirit Consciousness raised their hands in unison, beginning to draw the Heaven-Stealing Talisman upon the surface of the blank Talisman!

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