My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

Nether Water had already fused with the Lizard Demon’s Demon Core, giving birth to the Lizard Demon’s soul.

Today, just as he always did, Wang Ping used one of the Spiritual Creatures as a medium to command Nether Water. He had it use the Purgatory Banner to absorb the Taiyin Aura, refine it into Nether Qi, and then use that to nourish the Lizard Demon’s soul.

But today was different. While nourishing the Lizard Demon’s soul, Nether Water’s usually deathly-still disposition suddenly grew animated. Then, his illusory figure seemed to phase between the real world and the Inspiration Realm, his original humanoid form gradually blurring.

Wang Ping immediately threw out six Blessing Talismans, forming a sealed Array to contain Nether Water’s consciousness within.

"Help me suppress the Lizard Demon’s consciousness!"

Nether Water’s voice rang in Wang Ping’s ears. The next moment, in the Inspiration Realm, a large gray lizard materialized above Nether Water’s blurry form, attempting to devour his consciousness.

Wang Ping immediately sent out two Spirit Stabilizing Talismans. They formed a resonance on either side of the large gray lizard’s body, creating a stable space that immobilized it.

The large lizard, which had been about to wreak havoc, was enveloped by the space created by the Spirit Stabilizing Talismans. It was as if it were imprisoned, its consciousness and movements frozen in place.

Nether Water instantly reverted to his humanoid form. Using the Spiritual Creature as a medium, he frantically absorbed the True Essence from Wang Ping’s Qi Sea. His illusory figure abruptly doubled in size, his body opening like a great maw to swallow the immobilized lizard in a single gulp.

The very moment Nether Water was about to swallow the lizard, Wang Ping withdrew the Spirit Stabilizing Talismans. Yu Lian spoke then, "Nether Water is trying to use the Purgatory Banner’s imprisoning space to forcefully assimilate the Lizard Demon’s soul."

As Yu Lian finished speaking, a gray-black space formed around Nether Water. The Nether Qi generated by this space helped him quickly digest the lizard soul he had just swallowed.

Wang Ping extended his Primordial Spirit Consciousness to observe and immediately understood what was happening.

Thanks to Nether Water’s near-daily nourishment, the Lizard Demon’s soul had gradually regained its spiritual awareness. Today, that awareness had fully formed. It had instinctively tried to escape, but after failing, it attempted to turn the tables and seize control of Nether Water’s consciousness.

Nether Water was caught off guard at first and nearly allowed the large lizard to succeed. Fortunately, Wang Ping had acted in time, using the Spirit Stabilizing Talisman to immobilize its consciousness.

"He’s succeeded!"

Yu Lian’s vertical pupils stared intently at Nether Water inside the ’imprisoning space’.

Wang Ping had noticed as well. He took two steps back, more than doubling the size of the sealed space created by the Blessing Talismans. After checking that the Spiritual Creature acting as the medium was stable, he quietly observed Nether Water digesting the great lizard’s soul.

By the time the sun had completely set behind True Yang Mountain, Wang Ping had already cycled through three Spiritual Creatures and consumed a fifth of his Qi Sea’s True Essence. Only then did Nether Water finally finish digesting the great lizard’s soul.

When the imprisoning space dissipated, Wang Ping dispelled the sealed space as well.

The moment the sealed space was gone, Yu Lian eagerly asked, "How do you feel?"

Nether Water had the Purgatory Banner circle around him as he spoke. "I can now cast Spiritual Poison with a single thought, and it’s far more powerful than before. If your Golden Armored Puppet isn’t careful to defend itself, I can corrode the spirituality of its internal Array in a single breath, turning it into scrap."

Wang Ping understood. "And what if I’m controlling it myself?" he asked.

Nether Water thought for a moment before replying, "If it remains within the Spiritual Poison, its spirituality will be corrupted even with the Wood Spirit Aura resisting it—unless it has an isolating Array. At most, it would take thirty breaths to corrode the spirituality of the puppet’s internal Array. If I use the poison in conjunction with a Sword Talisman, a single unblocked strike would be enough to finish it. Of course, I’m talking about puppets made of ordinary materials. Your two special ones don’t count."

"Oh?"

Wang Ping was skeptical. After all, when he personally controlled a Golden Armored Puppet, the strength of its Magic was equivalent to that of an ordinary Third Realm Cultivator.

Sensing Wang Ping’s doubt, Yu Lian suggested, "Why not just test it and see? It’s not like those puppets are valuable. You have over a hundred of them in your storage bag."

"Alright!"

Wang Ping agreed. He took out a physical Soldier Talisman and animated it into a Golden Armor Soldier. Just as he was about to use a Spiritual Creature as a medium to control the Purgatory Banner, the illusory Nether Water formed the hand seal for a common Daoist Technique he had devised. Imitating Wang Ping’s casting posture, he shouted, "Go!"

Instantly, a mote of hazy gray light flashed before Wang Ping’s eyes and enveloped the Golden Armor Soldier he had just summoned. Wang Ping then felt the spirituality of the Array within the soldier descend into chaos. When he subconsciously tried to take control, the puppet shattered and fell to the ground with a loud CLATTER.

"You can cast Magic on your own now?" Yu Lian flew around Nether Water’s illusory figure.

"I can cast Magic as long as I have enough energy inside me. I’ve always been able to. I just absorbed a lot of True Essence while digesting the Lizard Demon’s soul," Nether Water replied matter-of-factly.

"..."

After hearing Nether Water’s explanation, Wang Ping waved his hand to disperse the Spiritual Poison and stepped forward to inspect the parts scattered on the ground.

’To be used again, they’d have to be reforged and inscribed with a new Array.’ This was the effect of the Spiritual Poison on puppets. If used against a being of flesh and blood, it would likely turn a mortal into a desiccated corpse in an instant; after all, a mortal’s Flesh and Blood Spirituality was the most abundant.

"Let’s try again!"

Wang Ping animated another Golden Armored Puppet. This time, it connected with his Primordial Spirit Consciousness the moment it appeared. The Wood Spirit Qi inside it flowed along the refined Arrays, forming a simple, circulating Qi Sea within the puppet’s body.

The instant the Qi Sea formed inside the puppet, Nether Water’s Spiritual Poison struck. The portion of Wang Ping’s Primordial Spirit Consciousness attached to the puppet felt the distinct sensation of being eroded by the Spiritual Poison.

’It feels like something is feeding on my Qi Sea. The Spirit Veins simulated by the internal Array are rapidly withering, and their spiritual connection to the world is draining away at a perceptible rate.’

Wang Ping took out the jade slip he used for recording and noted down his observations.

Finally, at the forty-second breath, the spirituality of the puppet’s internal Array descended into chaos. Not long after, it dissipated completely, and the puppet collapsed into a pile of useless parts.

For a Third Realm Cultivator, such a long duration might not seem very effective. ’But then, the Spiritual Poison isn’t meant to completely destroy a Third Realm Cultivator. That wouldn’t be realistic anyway.’

’The true purpose of the Spiritual Poison is to hinder the enemy!’

When a Third Realm Cultivator is afflicted by the Spiritual Poison, the spirituality within their body changes. This subtle shift might even cause them to hesitate when casting Magic. Furthermore, to avoid contamination, they would be forced to either dodge immediately or use Magic to dispel it.

’This would give me an opening to either attack or escape.’