My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar-Chapter 40: Condensing the Divine Soul

Yu Cheng Taoist seemed to see through Wang Ping’s thoughts. "The process of condensing the divine soul is no small matter," he said. "Even with Yu Lian’s help, you cannot underestimate it. I have already handed over all affairs of the Yige Pavilion to Fellow Daoist Gu Heng. For the next month, you will follow me to the back mountain for secluded meditation... Also, the monastery isn’t short on money lately. Stop your Alchemy for now and focus on your cultivation."

At this, he glanced at Liu Shuang and Yang Zhiping in the courtyard. "As for your two disciples’ cultivation, just let them practice on their own for now. One month... it won’t be a problem."

"I can take an hour each day to teach Liu Shuang and Yang Zhiping," Wang Ping said, unwilling to give up on his two disciples.

"That works!"

Yu Cheng Taoist didn’t try to persuade him further. Some things are hurtful if said aloud, and some lessons must be learned through experience, not explanation. After agreeing to Wang Ping’s request, he transformed into a streak of light and vanished.

In the small courtyard...

Liu Shuang and Yang Zhiping had intended to wait for their Grandmaster and Master to finish talking before stepping forward to pay their respects, but they hadn’t expected their Grandmaster to leave so abruptly. This left them feeling a little uneasy.

"Let’s begin..." Wang Ping instructed.

"Master, we didn’t get to greet Grandmaster just now... Will that be alright?" Liu Shuang asked in a hushed voice.

"Don’t worry, it’s fine!"

「An hour later.」

Wang Ping appeared in the familiar small courtyard on the back mountain...

Yu Cheng Taoist was seated by the Stone Table in the courtyard, just as before, with an acolyte waiting on him. Seeing Wang Ping, he pointed to a cushion in front of him and ordered, "Enter your meditative state. Remember to communicate with Yu Lian first."

"Yes, Master!"

Wang Ping bowed, stepped forward, and sat cross-legged on the cushion. He easily emptied his mind and entered a meditative state. First, he communicated with Yu Lian in his Spirit Sea: ’When I start circulating Spiritual Qi to condense my divine soul, you need to be responsible for guiding me.’

’What do you mean?’ Yu Lian’s tone was full of innocence.

’...’

’Are you blaming me?’ Yu Lian could sense Wang Ping’s emotions.

’No!’

’You’re totally blaming me...’

Wang Ping and Yu Lian went back and forth for quite some time before he managed to explain clearly what she needed to do. Afterward, he spent some more time calming his mind and sinking into stillness once again.

Condensing the spirit...

This involved condensing one’s consciousness onto Spiritual Qi, thereby achieving an out-of-body effect, or being able to sense one’s surroundings even with closed eyes. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Without Yu Lian’s guidance, Wang Ping, following the method recorded on the bamboo slips, would have had to first enter a state of no-self after achieving meditative stillness, perceiving his own emotions and thoughts from a third-person perspective.

This step was very abstract.

But with Yu Lian’s help, Wang Ping easily shut off all his external senses. As an internal ’third party,’ he perceived his own emotions and thoughts, then mobilized the Spiritual Qi from his Qi Sea to envelop his ’third-party’ self. Using the Spiritual Qi as a foundation, he began to perceive the world anew.

And then...

Wang Ping seemed to see a new world. First came countless sounds—insects, birdsong, the wind, his own breathing. He could not only hear them but ’see’ them. This was followed by a vast field of vision. Just as he was becoming immersed in it, he heard what sounded like someone whispering. When he focused his mind to listen closely, a bone-chilling coldness suddenly assaulted him.

The next moment, it was as if he had experienced Hell, and then his consciousness snapped back to his body.

"GASP, GASP..." Wang Ping awoke from his meditation. The palpitations in his chest made him feel suffocated, and his body instinctively gasped for air.

"Very good. You’ve already reached the threshold on your first try!" Yu Cheng Taoist’s voice came, full of praise.

Wang Ping tried to collect his thoughts. Just then, Yu Lian spoke up in his Spirit Sea: ’How can you be so stupid? Just ignore all those chaotic sounds and focus only on what you want.’

’...’

Feeling indignant, Wang Ping wanted to continue, but Yu Cheng Taoist called out, "Come over and have a cup of tea first."

After he had finished a cup of tea, Yu Cheng Taoist said, "The divine soul perceives the essence of this world. You can even see the Five Elements Spirit. But you must never try to clearly hear what they are saying!"

"I didn’t tell you this at the beginning because I wanted you to experience the bizarre wonders of the Spiritual Power Realm for yourself. Did you find it amazing, or terrifying?"

Wang Ping nodded subconsciously. Just now, when his divine soul had listened to that strange voice, he had felt as if he were being pulled into an endless space where everything around him was distorted and shifting. Fortunately, the feeling had vanished in a flash.

"You just need to act as if you can’t hear it. Drink this cup of tea, then go try again." Yu Cheng Taoist poured another cup for Wang Ping.

The tea was clear and bitter, but drinking it calmed the heart.

Then, Wang Ping tried again...

After he entered his meditative state, Yu Lian spoke first in his Spirit Sea: ’If you ignore those Spirit Monsters, their voices will disappear on their own after a little while.’

’Alright, let’s continue!’

Sinking his consciousness, Wang Ping soon felt that strange new world again. This time, however, his divine soul was scattered by a slightly stronger gust of wind—and it was scattered without even leaving his body.

Wang Ping was too embarrassed to even mention it.

The third attempt.

It was the sound of Yu Cheng deliberately tapping on the tabletop that caused his divine soul to disperse...

After the tenth attempt, Wang Ping clearly felt a mental exhaustion. It was the first time he had felt tired since he began Qi Cultivation, which was a novel feeling in itself. At the same time, he knew he could not continue.

"That’s enough for today. We’ll continue tomorrow morning at the same time!" Yu Cheng Taoist reminded him from behind.

"Yes!"

Back on the mountaintop...

Yang Zhiping was doing his Taoist studies, but Liu Shuang was nowhere to be found.

"Where’s your Senior Sister?"

"She went to the martial arts grounds in the front hall to find someone to spar with..."

"Why didn’t you go?"

"I..."

"Alright, go on if you want to. Sparring with others more often will prevent you from being at a disadvantage when you go out to gain experience in the future."

"Yes!"

Yang Zhiping couldn’t suppress the joyful look on his face. He bowed, packed his things, and prepared to go have some fun at the front hall.

Yu Lian dropped from Wang Ping’s wrist, summoned a cloud, and flipped onto the eaves of the roof to sunbathe. ’It’s been a long time since I’ve had fresh shrimp,’ she said lazily.

"Remind me tonight, and I’ll have Liu Shuang and the others get some for you from the foot of the mountain tomorrow."

"Don’t worry, I’ll definitely remind you."

Wang Ping had intended to meditate and rest, but after a moment’s thought, he walked over to the locust tree. He hadn’t nourished it with Spiritual Qi yet today. Yu Lian also piloted her cloud, tumbling and maneuvering through the low air before landing on a branch of the locust tree. She watched Wang Ping with one eye open, the other closed as if sleeping.

This afternoon, Wang Ping sat before the old locust tree until Late Afternoon. He only rose when Liu Shuang and Yang Zhiping returned. As the three of them walked into the small courtyard, laughing and talking, an acolyte arrived with their evening meal.

During the meal, Wang Ping instructed Liu Shuang, "When you go down the mountain tomorrow, remember to buy some live shrimp for Yu Lian." With that, he took out one tael of silver from his storage pouch. After a moment’s thought, he handed it to Liu Shuang. "With the rest, you two can buy whatever you like."

"Thank you, Master!"

Liu Shuang’s eyes lit up as she snatched the silver into her hand as quickly as she could.

「One month later.」

Wang Ping’s three-hundredth attempt at condensing his divine soul...

According to the requirements of the light-screen panel, Wang Ping had already succeeded long ago. But Yu Cheng Taoist’s standards were higher; he required Wang Ping to endure for at least a quarter of an hour amidst specific noises. Last time, under Yu Cheng Taoist’s scolding, he had almost made it a full quarter-hour!

So this time, before attempting again, Wang Ping first adjusted his state of mind, communicating with Yu Lian multiple times in his Spirit Sea before proceeding...