My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

Chapter 266: Chapter 1: A Change of Identity

「Early August.」

The weather in Ningzhou Road was pleasantly cool. The autumn harvest had just ended, granting the common people a period of leisure. With the exception of a few counties requiring mandatory labor, most areas were at rest, causing the local markets to liven up.

South of Shunyang Prefecture, on the edge of a forest and outside a dilapidated small county seat surrounded by mountains, most of those coming and going were members of the Demon Race clad in beast hides. They held fine furs in their hands, haggling with a merchant buying pelts.

At a nearby open-air teahouse, two Pig Demons held large tea bowls. Just like the members of the Demon Race at the other tables, they spoke in hushed tones, appearing to discuss whether their fur-trading business would turn a profit.

"Is the intelligence accurate this time?" the Pig Demon with clean, white tusks, seated on the left, asked in a low voice, his expression wary.

"Big Brother, don’t worry. I saw that Old Yang enter the city with my own eyes. My man has already followed him in." The younger Pig Demon across from him seemed unconcerned. After speaking, he lifted his tea bowl and gulped down the tea.

"You sent someone to follow him inside?" The eyes of the Pig Demon on the left glinted.

The Pig Demon on the right hadn’t had his fill of tea and was about to call the waiter for a refill. Hearing his big brother’s question, he nodded and said, "Right." He then called out into the teahouse, "Waiter, another bowl of tea! Make sure you put in enough salt. This young master isn’t short on cash!"

Just as the waiter loudly called back his acknowledgment, a Military Officer in chainmail and an iron helmet emerged from the city gate. Behind him, two Garrison Soldiers marched a Mouse Demon forward.

Their appearance immediately drew the attention of everyone in the market. The Pig Demon who had ordered tea also looked over. When he saw the captive Mouse Demon, he frowned slightly and muttered, "That’s the scout I sent into the city!"

"Did he startle that Old Yang?" The cautious Pig Demon on the left asked. His companion on the right merely glanced at the sky, then got up, blended into the market crowd, and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Just then, the waiter brought out a bowl of tea. The Pig Demon who had ordered it took the bowl and downed it in two gulps, complaining, "Is your salt made of gold or something? I told you to add more. It’s not like I’m not paying."

As he grumbled, he set down the tea bowl and strode toward the garrison officer. When he got close, he took an identity token from the Daoist Scripture Hall out of his pocket.

"Officer, this lad is a new employee of mine. Is there something wrong?"

"Did he break a rule?"

"What rule?" The Pig Demon flashed the token in his hand. "I’m acting under orders from the Daoist Scripture Hall!"

"You beast! How dare you talk back to me!"

"And who do you think you are? My Mountain Monarch is an honored guest of Taishan Daoist! He could have you killed with a single word!"

Their argument grew louder and louder, but it was all talk; neither side had any intention of actually fighting. The onlookers, however, weren’t about to let the drama die down and began to cheer them both on.

While the argument raged at the city gate, a small fishing boat at the county ferry dock began to move. It followed a line of other fishing vessels, slowly heading down the river and away from the city. At that moment, a squad of constables from the County Magistrate’s Office was patrolling the area. One of them, a middle-aged constable, happened to glance at a Sheep Demon on the boat who was dressed in a long cotton robe.

After passing the end of the street, the middle-aged constable made an excuse, left the squad, and hurried toward the deserted northern part of the city. A quarter of an hour later, he was outside the city walls, running along a small path below a stretch of paddy fields and into the nearby forest.

A short while later, more than ten Transformed Demon Race members from various clans emerged from the woods...

...

「Half a month later.」

At Baisui Lake, Hu Qianqian was hosting a banquet for two new friends from the Demon Race: an Ox Demon named Niu Qi and a Tiger Demon named Wang Ben.

The three of them were all demons who had the good fortune to also cultivate Taoist Family methods, and they were among the few of the Demon Race registered with the Daoist Scripture Hall. When they gathered, they naturally had endless topics to discuss.

"Looking at the current situation, Fellow Daoist, your decision to refuse the Imperial Family’s recruitment a hundred years ago was the right one." Wang Ben raised his cup to toast Niu Qi, who sat across from him. "It’s a good thing you didn’t listen to my bad advice back then."

"Fellow Daoist, you meant well. And the offer from the Imperial Family was indeed tempting. I’m just used to roaming the countryside alone and not accustomed to the clean streets of Shangjing City." frёewebηovel.cѳm

Niu Qi had a dark complexion and rarely smiled, but the goodwill in his tone was palpable.

It was a well-known fact that the Imperial Family liked to recruit Ox Demons who had entered the Fake Pill Realm. This was because Ox Demons were diligent by nature and accustomed to following orders. Although they could be short-tempered at times, they were far better than other members of the Demon Race with their fickle personalities.

"You’d better not drink," Wang Ben said, his eyelid twitching as he stopped Niu Qi from reaching for the wine.

"Haha, alright."

Niu Qi gave a somewhat awkward laugh. Afterward, he looked at Hu Qianqian and said, "Fellow Daoist, you have great fortune. To be accepted as a disciple by Daoist Changqing and have the entire Wudao Prefecture as your own personal Dao Field... it truly makes us envious."

Wang Ben immediately interjected, "What fortune? It was Fellow Daoist Hu’s unique foresight! Back then, Daoist Changqing had only just entered the realm, and yet she, already at the Fake Pill Realm, chose to become his disciple."

"Right, right, right!" Niu Qi nodded hastily.

Hu Qianqian leaned back casually in her chair, holding her wine cup. "You two Fellow Daoists make it sound so legendary. I was just looking for a place to settle down at the time."

"In any case, we’ll have to ask you to look after us in the future, Fellow Daoist. To be honest, life for us in the Demon Race isn’t easy on Nanlin Road. Every time there’s trouble, we have to charge to the front lines. But when the mission is done, we don’t get a share of the spoils. That’s not even the worst part. The key thing is that on several occasions, they turned around and sold us out to the Court."

Wang Ben sighed repeatedly as he spoke of these matters.

Hu Qianqian reached up to scratch her fluffy ears, then smoothed the fur at the corner of her mouth, which was damp with wine. She said, "Perhaps this is what they call the heartlessness of the Great Dao. My master has a compassionate heart, but he also possesses a thunderous wrath!"

Niu Qi and Wang Ben exchanged a glance. Wang Ben then stood up and cupped his fists. "Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand my meaning. I meant that the two of us know right from wrong, and we understand how difficult cultivation is in this world. We never thought of just quitting. We were wondering... if it would be possible to follow Daoist Changqing..."

At this, Niu Qi also stood and cupped his fists. "If you have any orders for us, we will do our utmost."

Hu Qianqian let out a soft laugh. Looking at Niu Qi, she said, "Fellow Daoist, you rejected the Imperial Family back then, yet now you’re taking the initiative to follow my master. That seems a bit contradictory."

"I just didn’t want to go to Shangjing City. Besides, that was then, and this is now," Niu Qi said without further explanation.

Just then, Wang Ben said with a smile, "We also have a great gift for you..." He paused and took a breath. "I happened to discover that you were investigating a Sheep Demon in Ningzhou Road, Fellow Daoist, so I took the liberty of looking into it for you. Unexpectedly, I ended up finding a big fish."

Hu Qianqian’s brow furrowed slightly. She hadn’t told anyone about her investigation into the Sheep Demon, Mountain View, and had been very secretive about it. However, she showed no displeasure. Her expression relaxed, and she asked, "And what big fish would that be?"

"Everyone on Nanlin Road knows that Daoist Changqing is looking for Wulang Daoist. And we found him!"

Hearing this, Hu Qianqian’s ears unconsciously twitched back, and a glint flashed in her azure eyes. "Are you certain?"

"Yes!"

...

Jinhuai Prefecture City, Daoist Scripture Hall.

In the administrative courtyard of the Pacification Envoy, the place was no longer deserted as it had been when Xiao Shan Lord was in charge. With a constant flow of documents and clerks, it had become the central hub of the entire Daoist Field Hall.

In the main building, Zuo Xuan came every afternoon to preside over affairs, handling urgent business that the clerks could not.

This afternoon was no different.

Zuo Xuan had just sat down when a Foundation Establishment cultivator who managed the courtyard walked in with a freshly brewed cup of southern bitter tea. This cultivator was an Inner Sect Disciple from Qianmu Temple named Liu Qing, a kinsman of Liu Shuang.

"This tea is better than yesterday’s," Zuo Xuan commented with praise.

"It’s a new autumn tea that just came in," Liu Qing replied with a smile. Seeing that Zuo Xuan was already absorbed in her files and had no intention of speaking further, he tactfully withdrew from the main building.

But just as he left, he came back in.

Hu Qianqian had arrived. Upon entering the main building, she first stood at the doorway and cupped her fists. "Greetings, Daoist Zuo."

"Qianqian, it’s you. Come, sit over here."

Zuo Xuan invited Hu Qianqian to sit at the Eight Immortals Table and instructed Liu Qing, "Go brew some tea."

"No need. I’m here on urgent business. Let’s get straight to the point."

"Very well!"

Zuo Xuan gave a light wave of her hand, and everyone else in the main building obediently took their leave. Then, Zuo Xuan activated an Array that she had personally rearranged.

"You can speak now..."

Hu Qianqian was taken aback by Zuo Xuan’s series of actions, and she couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive. ’Is what I have to say really important enough to warrant all this fuss?’

"I’ve found Wulang’s hiding place. But Master and Grandmaster have gone to visit Tianshan Daoist. I was afraid of missing the opportunity, so I came to you first."

A hint of delight appeared on Zuo Xuan’s face the moment Hu Qianqian said she’d found Wulang’s hiding place. When Hu Qianqian finished, she praised her, "You did the right thing. Fellow Daoist Changqing has already advanced to the Third Realm. A minor figure like Wulang isn’t even worth his trouble. Besides, this matter involves Xiu Yu Taoist... but *we* can be troubled for him..."

She sat down in the Grandmaster’s Chair, lowered her voice, and elaborated, "If Fellow Daoist Changqing were still in the Second Realm, getting rid of Wulang could be passed off as a rivalry between peers. But now, for him to do such a thing would be somewhat dishonorable. We’re different, though. This matter needs to be planned carefully. We should try to resolve it by the time Fellow Daoist Changqing is elected to the third seat, so it can be presented as a great gift."

"Daoist Zuo, you are very thoughtful. I hadn’t considered so many factors!"

Hu Qianqian cupped her fists, her face full of sincerity.

Zuo Xuan resisted the urge to roll her eyes. ’I know how clever this Fox Demon is,’ she thought. ’Sometimes she doesn’t seem like one of the Demon Race at all, she’s just too low-key.’

"This matter requires careful planning. After all, Wulang is a Second Realm Gold Cultivator. We can’t rule out the possibility that he has one or two other Second Realm Cultivators with him. In that case, to take them down quickly and without any mishaps, we’ll need at least six Second Realm Cultivators on our side!"

"Also, your intelligence..."

"It was given to me by two Fake Pill Demon Cultivators registered with the Daoist Scripture Hall. They also have Second Realm Cultivation and are willing to help us if needed."

Zuo Xuan paused at this. "Let’s be cautious. We’ll scout them out and get a clear picture of their strength first. Give me two days!"