My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

Wang Ping quickly composed himself, meeting Yu Cheng Taoist’s gaze.

"Did you understand it?"

"That’s good," Yu Cheng Taoist said, looking at Wang Ping. "Remember this: you can only practice drawing the Luck-Borrowing Talisman for now. You must not truly create it. It works by borrowing the fortune of heaven and earth. At your current level of cultivation, using it even once would kill you instantly. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Master."

"Good. Lastly, there are some Wood Spirit Techniques." Yu Cheng Taoist took out a booklet and handed it to Wang Ping. "You must view this book with your divine soul to see its contents."

Wang Ping took the booklet. Its cover felt delicate and silky smooth, like stroking silk, though it definitely was not. When he opened it, the pages within were completely blank.

"The techniques recorded in here are not like the ones from the Qi Cultivation stage. They all require a Spirit Vein to be planted within your body before they can be used. Without this prerequisite, attempting to cultivate them by force could drive you mad. That’s why the Daoist Scripture Hall employed a little trick when creating this book."

Wang Ping nodded in understanding but didn’t rush to focus his divine soul to view it.

Yu Cheng Taoist continued, "Now that you’ve entered the Path, you can learn some unorthodox techniques, or even fuse with other Spirit Veins. However, based on the principle of the five elements overcoming one another, you must never fuse with a metal-attribute Spirit Vein. At best, your Qi Sea will become blocked; at worst, your body will explode, and you will die. You should avoid fire-attribute ones as well, as they can easily damage your core foundation."

"I see you enjoy Alchemy, but it would be best not to continue. Refining Elixirs for those who have entered the Path requires building a furnace fire within your body, which would harm your Wood Spirit Vein."

Yu Cheng Taoist picked up the teapot and smiled. "It’s best not to fuse with any other Spirit Veins at all. You have Yu Lian with you, and she can help you with many things. It’s like those Buddhist Family scriptures you studied before. We can comprehend their Dao, but there’s no need to actually follow their path. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand!"

Wang Ping didn’t actually enjoy Alchemy; he just saw it as a good way to make money. He had originally planned to look into it further when he had the chance, but after hearing Yu Cheng Taoist’s words, he abandoned the idea.

"There is one last crucial matter. Now that you have entered the Path, you should be promoted to the Fifth Seat in the Daoist Scripture Hall. However, our Qianmu Temple has no allocation for a Fifth Seat. This will come down to a vote, so in a while, you’ll have to take a trip with me."

...

「On the peak of Qianmu Mountain.」

After his conversation with Yu Cheng Taoist, Wang Ping returned directly to his Dao Field. He sat in his small courtyard while an attendant brought him a jar of fine yellow wine. As he drank, he contemplated his future goals.

’The most urgent task is definitely fusing with the Spirit Communication Talisman, but that’s a long-term goal requiring persistent effort. Next is practicing the Seven-Star Killing Array. Then there’s communicating with the Locust Tree Divine Soul every day, trying to get it to manifest as soon as possible.’

’Right, I also need to awaken the puppet I got from the seabed soon. The situation in Zhongzhou has been chaotic for decades. If something unexpected happens, it’ll be one more ace up my sleeve.’

’Also, the guide for the Seven-Star Killing Array said I need to forge physical Longswords to maximize its effectiveness. That will require a large amount of iron bamboo that’s over a hundred years old. Hmm... and awakening the puppet also requires a wood-attribute Celestial and Earthly Treasure.’

’And then there’s... the final Nine Extremes Array.’

’The amount of money all this will cost is astronomical!’

’I need to ask Junior Brother Zhao about this.’

As he thought of Zhao Qing, a strange feeling came over Wang Ping. ’When I achieved Foundation Establishment, a whole crowd of junior brothers and nephews came to congratulate me. Why has no one come now that I’ve entered the Path?’

’Did something major happen?’

He would never have guessed that this was due to an earlier order from Yu Cheng Taoist forbidding anyone from setting foot on the Mountain Peak Dojo without permission. Thus, he summoned the attendant at the gate and asked, "Has anything significant happened at the temple recently?"

"There hasn’t been?"

"Then..." Wang Ping started to ask why it was so quiet, but he shook his head before the words came out. "Bring Junior Brother Zhao here."

"Yes, sir!"

Zhao Qing arrived faster than Wang Ping had expected.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother! A breakthrough into a new realm! Your future on the path of cultivation will surely be prosperous. I’d say even immortality is within your grasp!" Zhao Qing effusively congratulated Wang Ping the moment he saw him.

"You’re not doing badly yourself. In another seven or eight years, you should succeed in marrow cleansing, and you have a good chance of reaching Foundation Establishment before you’re a hundred." Wang Ping didn’t voice the full extent of his promise, since the temple’s resources for breaking into the next realm were limited. At present, besides the Taiyan Talisman, there was only a single Water Spirit Vein.

As for the Wood Gathering Skill, Wang Ping estimated the resources it required wouldn’t be much less than those for the Water Spirit Vein.

"I can only hope, thanks to your blessings, Senior Brother."

As the manager of the Inner Courtyard, Zhao Qing was a savvy operator. He showed no displeasure at Wang Ping’s remarks, instead asking, "Senior Brother, what can I do for you?"

"I need to buy a few things..." Wang Ping didn’t specify what, changing the subject instead. "Is the Court still looking to buy Power Pills?"

"Do you have time to make them, Senior Brother?"

"Yes, I have plenty of time at the moment. I need some money to buy a few things."

Zhao Qing’s face lit up, and he said quickly, "Everyone is looking to buy Power Pills right now. In some places, the price has already soared to seven or eight taels of silver apiece. If you sell now, you can make a huge profit off the original market price of six taels."

Wang Ping poured Zhao Qing a cup of wine and motioned for him to sit. "Is it because the war on the front lines is consuming so many?" he asked.

"Exactly!"

Zhao Qing nodded. "You might not know, Senior Brother, but about half a year after you went into seclusion, General Niu Man—he was the Imperial Envoy from the Yongming Port incident—led two thousand Government Soldiers and wiped out more than a dozen powerful families in Mozhou Road. He ended up forcing the entire Mozhou Road to rebel."

He lowered his voice. "This time, the Court completely misjudged the situation. When the war broke out, not even the Daoist Scripture Hall sided with them. Niu Man was defeated and retreated to Nanlin Road in less than three months. But not only did the Court not punish him, they promoted him to Minister of War."

"Then there’s the war in the Northwest, which has been a mess for two years now. The Rebel Army and the Court seem to have reached some kind of tacit understanding: as long as the rebels don’t advance past Liuzhou Prefecture, the Court turns a blind eye. But there are still plenty of skirmishes, of course."

"Finally, there’s the war in the north. Both sides have been locked in a stalemate at Beiguan for two years, with the front lines not moving at all... Senior Brother Wang Kang managed to snag himself the rank of Fourth-Grade Cavalry Captain out of the whole affair. A lot of the disciples from the temple who returned to secular life have gone to join him."

"All three of these war zones need massive amounts of Power Pills!"

After listening, Wang Ping picked up his wine cup, savored its aroma, and said, "Why does it feel like the Court is holding back? With the empowerment of Divine Techniques, the Central Imperial Guard shouldn’t be this weak, should they?"

"Haha, you want to know why? Because we have a new Emperor!"

"Oh?"

It then dawned on Wang Ping. The previous Emperor had been on the throne for twenty years. Cultivating the Divine Technique was equivalent to abandoning most of one’s humanity to oversee the world in a state of pure rationality. Each emperor’s reign never exceeded twenty-five years, with some lasting only fifteen.

"It’s the Wanfeng Era now!"

Zhao Qing grinned, a cynical expression on his face, then scoffed. "And there’s one more big piece of news. Our Second Senior Brother is now the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, and he has the new Emperor’s complete trust!"

"Second Senior Brother..."

Wang Ping mulled over the two words, which felt both strange and familiar. "Is there any news of First Senior Brother?" he asked.

Just as Zhao Qing was about to answer, Liu Shuang appeared at the gate of the small courtyard with two young attendants. She bowed to Wang Ping and said, "Master!"