My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

Chapter 349: Chapter 78: Preparing for the Hunt

"I went to see Daoist Wu Quan myself to learn about the Broken Water Sect’s situation. They had established contact through a Kun Cultivator from the Earth Cave Sect named Qi Hua, but she has since disappeared. Daoist Wu Quan had people check all the Earth Cave Sect branches in the south, but they found no trace of her."

As Wang Ping invited Zi Luan to sit and busied himself with starting a fire for tea, Zi Luan began by discussing the Broken Water Sect. Then he added, "Daoist Wu Quan should be here tomorrow to retrieve his puppet."

"I suspect that Kun Cultivator, Qi Hua, is already dead," Yu Lian added from the side.

"We have to investigate even if she’s dead. We can start with the people she usually associated with. In a matter like this, it’s better to wrongly accuse someone than to let the culprit get away!" Zi Luan said sternly. "Someone is trying to uproot the Southern Cultivators. That is unacceptable."

Wang Ping affected an air of indifference. After all, with Zi Luan personally on the case, it would be redundant for him to interfere.

The tea was soon ready, and Yu Lian waited politely to drink.

After downing a cup of tea, Wang Ping brought up the matter of Yuan Hu. "I’ll take the Samadhi True Flame that Yuan Hu cultivated. As for the great treasure he possesses, it can be considered our shared property, but I think we should return it to the Upper Dan Sect. The favor we’d gain would be well worth it."

Zi Luan picked up his teacup and smiled. "The Samadhi True Flame would be useless to anyone else, so if you have a use for it, take it. As for the great treasure, returning it to the Upper Dan Sect is indeed the most profitable move. I have no objection. Shall we divide his Primordial Spirit and accumulated wealth according to our previous agreement?"

"Alright!"

The two then discussed the details, with Wang Ping elaborating on the intelligence he possessed.

After listening to Wang Ping’s explanation, Zi Luan said, "In that case, the two of us should be enough to take him down. But just in case, I’ll go to Shanwu Road and pull some strings."

His tone was filled with confidence.

Wang Ping didn’t refuse. His greatest potential gain from this affair was helping Yuan Zheng Taoist ascend to the Third Realm. It would be best if the ascension was completed before the world fell into chaos; that way, his own assets for the coming turbulent times would increase. Compared to Yuan Zheng Taoist’s ascension, all other aspects were secondary.

With matters settled, Zi Luan stood up to leave. He needed to go to Shanwu Road to coordinate things personally.

No sooner had Zi Luan left than Yu Lian warned, "He’s trying to test your backers!"

Holding his teacup in one hand, Wang Ping tugged at the hem of his robe with the other. A fleeting sense of insecurity passed through him, but he just smiled. "I know. Yuan Zheng and I are already in contact. It’s fine."

"As long as you know!"

Yu Lian drained her cup in one gulp, then used her tail to curl around the teapot and pour herself more tea.

「The next day at noon.」

Daoist Wu Quan formally presented a calling card, and Wang Ping, in turn, formally welcomed him onto the sect grounds.

After two hours of awkward small talk, Daoist Wu Quan left with his puppet.

Wang Ping politely saw him out of Shang’an Prefecture.

At the end of October, Wang Ping received a reply from Yuan Zheng, confirming that Yuan Hu was still in the Demon Realm.

In mid-November, Zi Luan sent someone to deliver a temporary flight Token for Shanwu Road to Wang Ping. Wang Ping turned the Token over and over in his hands and sighed, "Zi Luan is a frightening person."

In his spare time, Wang Ping had been studying killing arrays. He could now barely control sixty Sword Talismans and had also developed a Strangling Array for his Soldier Talismans that incorporated Spiritual Poison.

Furthermore, his refinement of the Pocket World Mirror was now over thirty percent complete, allowing him to utilize its Mirror Space with greater flexibility. Combining it with the Purgatory Banner and the Water Moon Bell produced surprisingly effective results.

Yu Lian’s assessment was, "With this setup, nobody could escape if you launched a sneak attack. In a direct fight, they wouldn’t even be able to touch you, and if they’re not careful, you’ll imprison their Primordial Spirit."

Of course, she couldn’t resist adding, "And when I evolve to the Third Realm, we’ll be even more formidable!"

After hearing Yu Lian, Wang Ping reflected for a moment. ’She’s right. My current magical artifacts and techniques are indeed a bit underhanded. My only means for an open, honorable duel are the Soldier Talisman and Sword Talisman.’

But then he had another thought. ’My goal is to cultivate the Dao for a long life, not to fight others.’ With that, he was no longer so conflicted.

Time passed in a flash...

In early December, Wang Ping received a secret message from Yuan Zheng. Yuan Hu had been driven out of the Demon Realm and was last seen to the west of it.

He hadn’t even finished reading Yuan Zheng’s letter when a dispatch from the Demon Realm also arrived.

Wang Ping immediately transformed into a stream of light and plunged into the Wood Spirit Qi. He used the Pocket World Mirror to conceal his aura, landing beside a river at the foot of the mountain. Under the cover of both Wood Spirit Qi and Water Spirit Qi, he flew northwest at incredible speed, sticking close to the river’s path.

「Two hours later.」

He flew past Nanlin Road and entered the territory of Ningzhou Road. The northbound river here was bustling with traffic.

「A little over an hour later.」

Wang Ping arrived in the northern forests where the Demon Race was active. As a precaution, he slowed down, concealing his aura even more thoroughly, while also using Yu Lian’s ability to submerge himself within the river.

「Four hours later.」

The river suddenly split into numerous tributaries, and the water became much colder. He had reached Shanwu Road.

Just as Wang Ping was about to produce his temporary identity token and take to the sky, a sudden sense of dread washed over him. He immediately shot out of the river in a deserted spot, concealed his aura with the Pocket World Mirror, and landed in the shadow of a mountain peak.

CLATTER.

He cast a trigram.

A Yin Trigram!

Wang Ping’s expression remained unchanged. Reaching his left hand into the void, he spent several months of his lifespan to activate the Luck-Borrowing Talisman. As light and shadow flickered, he cast another trigram.

Still a Yin Trigram!

"How can this be?"

Yu Lian asked.

Wang Ping didn’t answer. Instead, he continued to draw upon the Luck-Borrowing Talisman and cast a third trigram.

This time, a Yang Trigram!

Wang Ping let out a breath. Two Yin and one Yang meant that his goal was achievable, but fraught with immense risk.

Divination wasn’t absolute, but for some things, it was better to believe than not.

At that moment, countless thoughts flashed through Wang Ping’s mind. The entire affair replayed itself rapidly in his head.

He quickly discovered what had been overlooked. The original plan was to ambush Yuan Hu. In an ambush, the two of them would have been almost certain of victory.

But now that the plan had changed, they were facing a fully prepared Yuan Hu, yet their manpower was still allocated as if for an ambush.

’Yuan Hu is a Third Realm Alchemist, after all; his network can’t be weak. So, his recent behavior was most likely a deliberate show of weakness.’

’That left one final question. A man as clever as Zi Luan must have realized this, yet he didn’t offer a single word of caution.’

Wang Ping remembered Yu Lian’s earlier words: "He’s trying to test your backers!"

Ah, human nature.

Sometimes, it’s just so easy to trust others. Even though Wang Ping had been extremely cautious, human nature is just that complex. In the midst of doubt, one can inadvertently place complete trust in someone.

Wang Ping looked up at the sky. His presence was completely concealed, and no one was watching him for a hundred li in any direction.

After a moment of thought, he released three puppets he had prepared beforehand. He had them take their respective identity tokens and proceed to Shanwu Road to gather intelligence.

Then he glanced toward True Yang Mountain, took out a crimson Communication Jade Slip, and used Wood Spirit Qi to imprint two lines of small text on it before activating the Array within. The Communication Jade Slip immediately transformed into an invisible stream of light, shot into the clouds, and vanished in the blink of an eye.