My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar-Chapter 39: Two New Cultivation Techniques

In the small courtyard, Liu Shuang and Yang Zhiping were sparring, practicing the moves of the Qianmu Sword Technique.

Liu Shuang had blossomed into a graceful young woman. She would turn twenty-one after the New Year; for an ordinary family, a girl of this age was already considered well past the marriageable age. She wore a cyan jade crown, a gift from her parents for her coming-of-age ceremony. In her blue Daoist robe meant for training, the way she wielded her sword made her look more like a Female Knight.

Yang Zhiping stood six chi tall, considered quite towering for someone from the south. His physique was strong and powerful. He wore a simple wooden crown and the same kind of Daoist robe as Liu Shuang. When sparring with her, he was mostly on the defensive.

Wang Ping had only managed to afford supplementary elixirs for his two disciples when they were about halfway through their Qi Cultivation. The elixir used to aid Qi Cultivation was called the Essence Qi Pill, which was refined from Essence Fruits from the Southwest Islands and could only be purchased at the Daoist Scripture Hall.

With the help of the Essence Qi Pills, their Qi Cultivation period, which would have originally taken ten years, was shortened by two. Wang Ping estimated they would complete it by the end of the year.

It was worth noting that Yang Zhiping was performing slightly better than Liu Shuang in his Qi Cultivation and was expected to finish about a month sooner. Liu Shuang was mainly just too flighty.

"Master!" Liu Shuang exclaimed upon seeing Wang Ping. She immediately shouted "Stop!" to Yang Zhiping, then happily ran over to bow in greeting. "What’s Yige Pavilion for?" she asked.

"Go ask someone else..."

Wang Ping dismissed Liu Shuang and walked back into the courtyard. Yu Lian, who hadn’t seen him in over a month, immediately descended from the eaves with Tengyun and landed on him. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"You seem unhappy?" Yu Lian asked within his Spirit Sea.

"It’s nothing. I’ll be fine in a little while." Wang Ping held out his arm, letting Yu Lian coil around his wrist. Just then, Liu Shuang sidled up to him again and asked, "Master, does that mean I can go down the mountain and take a look?"

"Go on, just don’t leave the Daoist Temple’s grounds," Wang Ping said with a wave of his hand.

Hearing this, Liu Shuang laughed with delight. She tossed her sword to Yang Zhiping, leaped lightly onto the eaves of the garden gate, and then slid down toward the steps below.

His disciple’s laughter eased Wang Ping’s mood slightly.

"Master, while you were in seclusion at Yige Pavilion, Martial Uncle Su had someone deliver a letter for you!" Yang Zhiping said, respectfully handing Wang Ping a letter he had been carrying.

Wang Ping took it, confused...

During the month or so that he had been in seclusion, a Rebel Army had emerged in Mozhou Road. They had conquered six cities in just ten days before being routed by the Prefecture City’s cavalry on the Han River Plain, south of Changwen Prefecture. Half a month ago, they had fled west toward Nanlin Road.

Su Dun had been urgently dispatched to the Nanlin Road border to suppress the rebellion. He had written this letter before leaving, asking Wang Ping to look after his children if anything were to happen to him.

After reading the letter, Wang Ping let out a heavy sigh.

「Three days later.」

Wang Kang formally requested permission from Yu Cheng Taoist to leave the mountain to gain worldly experience. The night before his departure, he found Wang Ping for a couple of drinks.

Growing tipsy, Wang Kang grabbed Wang Ping’s sleeve. "Senior Martial Brother," he said, "I know I only got into Yige Pavilion because you put in a good word with Master. But I know my own situation. I only reached the peak of Qi Cultivation last year. Even if I can improve my aptitude a bit, laying the foundation with marrow washing will take twenty years. And after that comes Foundation Establishment, then Cultivating the Divine Soul..."

"A hundred years will pass in the blink of an eye. I won’t be able to cultivate the Secret Technique, and I’ll end up stuck right where I am. Rather than waste my time, I might as well go down the mountain and do something I want to do!"

"You’re going to Shangjing City for the martial examination?"

"That’s right!"

Wang Kang was resolute in his departure.

...

「Half a month later.」

Wang Ping finished his daily Foundation Establishment cultivation. When he opened his eyes, he saw Yu Cheng Taoist.

"Master!" He quickly rose and bowed.

Yu Cheng Taoist nodded slightly. Gazing at the pagoda tree, which had grown to a height of five zhang, he said, "Your Qi accumulation is about halfway complete, isn’t it?"

"Yes!"

Wang Ping moved to stand at his side. Yu Lian unwound herself from a branch of the pagoda tree, landed on Wang Ping, and rested her head on his shoulder, curiously sizing up Yu Cheng Taoist.

"The Spiritual Qi in your Qi Sea is abundant now, enough to begin condensing your Divine Soul," Yu Cheng Taoist said. "From this day forward, you must add this practice to your cultivation." As he spoke, he took out a jade-green bamboo slip and handed it to Wang Ping.

Wang Ping accepted it respectfully. He then heard Yu Cheng Taoist continue, "After you condense your Divine Soul, you will also need to master this Wood Spirit Skill. It is a crucial step on your path to becoming a Secret Technique Cultivator."

With that, Yu Cheng Taoist handed over another jade-green bamboo slip.

Wang Ping once again accepted it respectfully. Yu Cheng Taoist continued, "Regarding the Xuanmen Five Elements, you have already encountered cultivators from the True Yang Sect and Lishui Prefecture. We at Qianmu Temple cultivate the Wood Spirit..."

At these words, Wang Ping’s gaze involuntarily fell upon the pagoda tree he had been nourishing with Spiritual Qi. Yu Cheng Taoist continued speaking, "Pagoda trees are the most attuned to the Wood Spirit. There is also a saying that the Wood Spirit itself was born from the most ancient pagoda tree in the world."

Having said this, Yu Cheng Taoist looked at Wang Ping and instructed, "Now, absorb these two cultivation techniques."

"Yes!"

Wang Ping suppressed any stray emotions and first took out the slip for the Concentration Technique. The moment his eyes fell upon the characters on the bamboo, they transformed into a stream of light that shot into the space between his eyebrows. Immediately after, a glowing panel appeared:

[Concentration Technique: The most fundamental and commonly used method of concentration. It involves condensing one’s own consciousness using the Spiritual Qi or True Essence within the body.]

[1: Follow the recorded method and use your True Essence or Spiritual Power to condense your consciousness. You can try having the Spirit Snake beside you help guide the process. Success can be achieved in about 200 attempts. (Progress: 0/200).]

[2: After condensing the Divine Soul, use True Essence or Spiritual Qi to enrich it until it can manifest physically. This can be done up to 10 times a day and can be completed within five years. (Progress: 0/100, Daily Progress: 0/10).]

[3: Have the Divine Soul leave the body and roam the world. Persist with step 2, and you will one day succeed, or you can advance to the Third Realm.]

[Note 1: Do not learn from your Spirit Snake to sense the good and evil in others. You are not her.]

[Note 2: Do not over-condense your Divine Soul. Stop immediately if you feel mental fatigue.]

After reviewing the contents of the glowing panel, Wang Ping carefully accessed the memories of the Concentration Technique he had just absorbed, then glanced at Yu Lian coiled around his arm.

"What’s wrong?" Yu Lian asked, sensing his emotions.

"It’s nothing..."

Yu Cheng Taoist watched as Wang Ping finished absorbing the information from the Concentration Technique. He then reminded him in a serious tone, "Yu Lian’s divine soul perception is already stable. When you are condensing your Divine Soul, you can ask her to help guide you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master, I understand!"

"Very good!"

Then, at a gesture from Yu Cheng Taoist, Wang Ping took out the Wood Spirit Skill. As he looked at the characters on the slip, the same thing happened: a stream of light shot into the space between his eyebrows, and another glowing panel appeared:

[Wood Spirit Skill: You can attempt to communicate with the Wood Spirit and change the attribute of the Spiritual Qi or True Essence within your body.]

[1: Enter a meditative state before the pagoda tree you nourish daily with your Spiritual Qi. Sense the tree’s divine soul and connect with it. Through its soul, absorb the world’s Wood Spiritual Qi to assimilate the True Essence or Spiritual Qi in your body. This can be done up to 10 times a day and can be completed within three years. (Progress: 0/100, Daily Progress: 0/10).]

[2: Use the converted Wood Spiritual Qi to cleanse your constitution, transforming it into a Wood Spirit Vein. This can be attempted up to 5 times per day and can be completed within one year. (Progress: 0/100, Daily Progress: 0/5).]

[Note 1: When using your divine soul to guide the transformation of your internal Spiritual Qi’s attribute, do not exceed 10 attempts within a twenty-four-hour period. Otherwise, you risk being truly assimilated.]

’To cultivate the Wood Spirit Skill, I first need to condense my Divine Soul!’

Wang Ping pulled up the information on the Concentration Technique again. Fortunately, the first step, condensing the Divine Soul, had no limits. As long as he didn’t feel mental fatigue, he could attempt it continuously.

’In other words, I can get it done today?’