My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

Chapter 351: Chapter 80: The Battle on the Other Side

While Yuan Hu fled Mianzhu County under the cover of Quan Cang and two other members of the Demon Race, Quan Cang’s group was locked in a standoff with Lu Shan, Zi Luan, and their companion. At that moment, a streak of light shot in from the distant horizon, landing ten li to their south in the blink of an eye.

It was the ’late’ Wang Ping!

"Fellow Daoist, you’ve arrived just in time." Zi Luan greeted Wang Ping with a cheerful smile.

"I was halfway here when I suddenly thought of something, so I made some other arrangements," Wang Ping replied, also smiling cheerfully.

"Oh?"

Zi Luan conversed with Wang Ping as if no one else was there. "I imagine Fellow Daoist anticipated this situation and made arrangements to deal with it?"

Wang Ping nodded. "Of course!"

Their conversation not only made Quan Cang and the other two demons a little worried, but it also annoyed Lu Shan and the other Artifact Cultivator. Zi Luan, ever so clever, immediately communicated with Lu Shan via voice transmission to dispel his displeasure.

"Fellow Daoist Quan Cang, are you trying to provoke a war by invading the territory of our Human Race without cause?" After hearing Zi Luan’s explanation, Lu Shan immediately leveled a heavy accusation at Quan Cang.

"If I recall correctly, according to the trade treaty our two races agreed upon four hundred years ago, your Mianzhu County and the lands west of my territory are both buffer zones. Technically speaking, I am not in violation!"

Quan Cang replied with a chuckle.

The so-called buffer zones were established back then for the two races to profit from each other’s territories and to pursue fugitives. In principle, cultivators at or above the Third Realm were not welcome, but there was no written rule to enforce this.

"Fellow Daoist Quan Cang, you’re bullying our Daoist Scripture Hall because you think we’re weak now!"

The provocative intent in Zi Luan’s words was obvious.

The other Artifact Cultivator frowned slightly at his words, but the Tiger Demon across from them just had to reply, "So what if we are? You want to start a war? Do you dare?"

Hearing this, Zi Luan was inwardly bursting with laughter, but he maintained a solemn expression and looked toward Lu Shan at his side.

Lu Shan cursed inwardly, but on the surface, he spoke calmly, "Mianzhu County does not welcome the three of you at this time. Please leave at once, or I’ll be forced to show you some... local hospitality."

Hearing this, the Mouse Demon, Quan Cang, nonchalantly glanced at the two powerful demons beside him. The Tiger Demon, who had been about to say more, immediately fell silent. The Snake Demon also swallowed the words he was about to speak.

Quan Cang himself, however, met Lu Shan’s challenge with silence.

His objective was clear: to buy time for Yuan Hu’s escape. He didn’t seem to care about Wang Ping’s unexpected arrival, adopting an air of someone who had done his best and would leave the rest to fate.

Beneath the clouds, an eerie silence fell. Down below, however, it was utter chaos. The merchants traveling to Mianzhu County were worldly people; the moment they saw the standoff in the sky, they began flocking to the Daoist Scripture Hall’s checkpoint. In an instant, the crowd swelled, and stampedes broke out sporadically.

Time seemed to pass quickly. Suddenly, a searingly hot ray of light shot from the northern sky, making the crowded masses even more frantic. Fights even broke out.

And among the two sides in the standoff beneath the clouds, the atmosphere also underwent a subtle change.

"The True Flame of the True Yang Sect, and a Star God proficient in the Three Realms Barrier... what a grand gesture!" Quan Cang looked at Wang Ping. "Fellow Daoist, you must be the Daoist Changqing who is now famous throughout Zhongzhou, are you not?"

"I am he!"

A sense of dread washed over Wang Ping. Alarmed, he secretly activated the Pocket World Mirror.

His caution was justified. The moment the words left his mouth, a phantom image flashed through the space to his left. Not daring to be arrogant, Wang Ping directly used the Pocket World Mirror’s surface to teleport next to Zi Luan and the others.

The instant he vanished, three blood-red claw marks flashed through the space he had just occupied.

"The Pocket World Mirror... I haven’t seen one of those in a long time..."

Cang’an spoke with a chuckle, his left hand rapidly forming a seal. As demonic energy surged, countless scarlet claws flickered in and out of existence around him. The moment he attacked, Lu Shan also made his move. The warhammer-like Magical Artifact beside him streaked through the void, forming a dense Array from which continuous bolts of lightning shot out.

"Today, we settle all scores, old and new! I’ll flay you alive, take your Magical Artifact, and offer them to the departed souls of my Demon Race!"

The Tiger Demon’s entire body pulsed with demonic energy. Wielding a long spear, he ignored the lightning falling from the sky and shot toward Lu Shan as a streak of light. Lu Shan, however, paid him no mind, instead controlling the seven other Arrays around him as he charged toward the Mouse Demon, Quan Cang.

CLANG!

The Tiger Demon was intercepted by the other Artifact Cultivator, who also used a long spear to meet him head-on!

The remaining Snake Demon locked eyes with Zi Luan and once again activated his Spirit-Banning Technique. This was the best method for dealing with Wood Spirits, but he was facing two Third Realm Taiyan Cultivators, not an ordinary Wood Spirit.

The instant the Snake Demon activated the Spirit-Banning Technique, Zi Luan summoned a Spirit Communication Talisman above his head. A dense Wood Spirit Qi, so thick it was almost tangible, instantly appeared and neutralized the dark energy of the Spirit-Banning Technique.

Meanwhile, the slaughtering array Wang Ping controlled, formed from Sword Talismans, had already closed in on the Snake Demon. The demon summoned a suit of Treasure Armor, which surprisingly managed to block the high-frequency attacks of Wang Ping’s slaughtering array.

However, the Snake Demon was likely not faring well. After withstanding the first wave of attacks, he rapidly retreated, throwing up a black Energy Barrier as he did. The barrier blocked a dozen poison-laced Talismans hurtling toward him from Zi Luan.

Just as Wang Ping was about to control his Sword Talismans to attack again, Yu Lian suddenly warned him in his Spirit Sea, "That Mouse Demon has been watching you the whole time. Be careful he doesn’t ambush you. Also, the Artifact Cultivator fighting him is acting strange. He keeps probing you with his clumsy Primordial Spirit."

’These people are always scheming!’

Wang Ping muttered to himself, discreetly activating the illusion of the Water Moon Bell. Then he summoned two tangible Golden Armor Soldiers and connected them to three Talismans within his Primordial Spirit Consciousness.

One of these two Golden Armor Soldiers was the one Zi Luan had given him from the Daoist Scripture Hall, while the other was a replica. After being connected to the three Talismans, their strength was nearly at the Third Realm. They could withstand an ambush or two.

In that moment of Wang Ping’s hesitation, Zi Luan had already moved to block for him, summoning his own Sword Talismans to battle the Snake Demon’s demonic energy.

WHOOSH!

A sound like a violent gust of wind suddenly rang out.

The next moment, Wang Ping sensed something attacking from his right. As he retreated, he used one of the Golden Armor Soldiers to block.

CLANG!

It was that invisible claw attack from before again.

When the Golden Armor Soldier’s shield met the attack, it was as if an all-penetrating blade had struck it. The attack left three vicious marks on the shield and even gashed the arm the soldier used to hold it.

Moreover, this was an area-of-effect attack; Zi Luan, Lu Shan, and the other Artifact Cultivator were all targeted.

Zi Luan and Lu Shan dodged the blow. The other Artifact Cultivator, however, didn’t notice it in time, but the tension created by the Artifact Cultivation Array around him blocked the attack.

The Mouse Demon’s attack wasn’t meant to kill anyone, but to force them back. As they fell back, the Mouse Demon and the other two demons flew rapidly toward the Heaven-breaking Mountain Range.

He had no intention of tangling with them any longer.

Wang Ping watched the Mouse Demon’s retreating back and, for some reason, suddenly felt that he had been the likely target of the demon’s last attack.

This wasn’t a case of him being self-important; the series of events that had just transpired simply forced him to this conclusion.