I Cheated While Cultivating

Zhou Heng feigned confusion, looking at the man before him clad in dark armor, and said, “Is that your name, hmm, or should I say, codename?”

“You can call me Xuan Ge,” the man said indifferently.

“What brings you to me, sir?” Zhou Heng asked in a deep voice.

“You know about the Zhou Tian Boundary Officers and ghosts, I’ve heard this from Tian Xuan,” Xuan Ge said gravely. “So, as per the rules, I extend to you an invitation, would you join the Zhou Tian Boundary Officers?”

“And who is Tian Xuan?” Zhou Heng frowned and asked, his heart becoming even more shocked, could it be that this Ziwei Sect was really as he had previously thought?

“She often travels with Tian Ji,” Xuan Ge explained. “Tian Ji is that Star Envoy you first met.”

“So it’s her,” Zhou Heng realized upon hearing this. Xuan Ge must have been referring to Cheng Jianjian as Tian Ji, and Tian Xuan as Cheng Jianjian’s martial Sixth Rank companion.

It seemed that previously, Cheng Jianjian had not reported his information to the Zhou Tian Boundary Officers. It was Tian Xuan who had encountered him in Yuyang County and reported his information instead.

“So, are you willing to join us?” Xuan Ge continued to inquire.

“What if I refuse?” Zhou Heng asked bluntly.

“Then you will lose the opportunity to eradicate ghosts and restore peace to the world,” Xuan Ge stood with hands behind his back and said solemnly. “You will also lose a chance to learn the true nature of the world.”

“I thought if I refused you were going to kill me,” Zhou Heng said with a chuckle.

“The Zhou Tian Boundary Officers are not a wicked path. Besides, you have merit in killing those ghosts; the Zhou Tian Boundary Officers should be thanking you, how could we kill you?” Xuan Ge said in a perplexed tone. “As long as you don’t maliciously spread information about the ghosts, we will not take action against you.”

“So you’ve come here just to extend an invitation?” Zhou Heng asked.

“There’s another matter,” Xuan Ge said gravely. “I would like to ask you to keep an eye on Li Tonghe at the banquet the day after tomorrow. If he makes any wrong moves, kill him directly.”

“And the benefit for me?” Zhou Heng asked with a smile.

“Any piece of information you wish to know,” Xuan Ge said. “As long as it’s known to us at the Zhou Tian Boundary Officers, we can swear by our very own life stars that it’s true.”

“Alright,” Zhou Heng nodded, saying, “But as for what specific information I want to ask, I haven’t thought of it yet. When I decide, I can ask then, how about that?”

After all, he had already made an enemy of Li Tonghe, and judging by Li Tonghe’s demeanor, he did not seem like someone who would just let things slide. This could be a good opportunity to eliminate a potential threat once and for all.

Definitely a gain without a loss.

“Alright,” Xuan Ge nodded, saying, “Whenever you want to ask, you can. I take my leave now.”

As his voice faded, his figure slightly shook, and the whole person seemed to be covered by an invisible curtain, vanishing into thin air, leaving no trace.

Zhou Heng stroked his chin, smiling, “Interesting.”

Outside of Yuanhe Prefecture City, atop a hill.

Here stood a thatched cottage, in front of which a handsome young man with only whites in his eyes and no pupils sat cross – legged, his breath in sync with the twinkling of the stars above as if drawing on their essence.

He wore a thin white silk robe with a white jade crown on his head, appearing very scholarly, and not far away on a stone table, a mask was placed.

This mask was also in white with patterns painted on it.

A long spear.

At this moment, a dark figure was swiftly approaching from the base of the hill. In just a few leaps, Xuan Ge arrived at the top of the hill, in front of the cottage.

“He refused,” Xuan Ge got straight to the point, reporting the outcome of the mission, “Just as you expected, Heavenly Spear.”

“Zhou Heng is suspected to be a reincarnation of a powerful being, and Tian Ji holds him in close regard yet did not invite him. She must have seen that he had no intention himself, or perhaps Tian Ji had her reservations. Why bother?” the pupil-less youth said with a faint smile as he got up and walked over to the table, putting on his Heavenly Spear mask, “Did he agree to our request, though?”

“He didn’t refuse that,” Xuan Ge said.

“That’s good then. It proves at the very least he holds no hostility towards us,” Heavenly Spear said with a smile. “It seems Tian Ji left a good impression on him.

“After this matter is over, we will return and report to Lord Zuoyuan to see if we can reward Zhou Heng. After all, he has slain quite a few ghosts and has been of considerable help to us.”

“Heavenly Spear, do you think it necessary to be on good terms with this Zhou Heng?” Xuan Ge frowned slightly, asking perplexed, “He’s only Eighth Rank after all.”

“Aside from whether he truly is a reincarnated powerful being, I used my Law Eyes to see from a distance, and his fate is elusive and unpredictable; in the future, he is surely no ordinary person,” Heavenly Spear said smiling, “Being on good terms with him is of no harm to you or me, or to the Zhou Tian Boundary Officers.”

“Alright, I understand,” Xuan Ge nodded, saying, “Then regarding the matter of the unmarked stele, what should we do?”

“Strictly monitor the entrances and exits of Yuanhe Prefecture City, and then, simply wait for the arrival of the emperor’s inner seat dignitary,” Heavenly Spear slowly walked to the edge of the hill’s summit, looking in the direction of the south of Yuanhe Prefecture City, saying, “Perhaps there will come a power that even we cannot handle.”

“It’s an inner seat dignitary of the emperors?!” Xuan Ge was astonished and said, “I remember that elder already stepped into the Fourth Rank a hundred years ago, what kind of powerful being requires his personal appearance?” “Perhaps it’s an unparalleled expert at the peak of Fourth Rank, or maybe it’s a Ghost Immortal who has weathered the wind calamity…” Heavenly Spear stood with hands behind his back, gazing at the waning moon, saying, “It could also be an Overseas Loose Cultivator.”

“Then… we’re in big trouble,” Xuan Ge, stunned, found himself at a loss for words. Suddenly, he thought of something, “In that case, could Zhou Heng be in danger?”

“Under the power of such Great Power, as long as you are within Yuanhe Prefecture, no matter where you are, there’s hardly any difference,” Heavenly Spear said with a smile, “Whether he’s in danger doesn’t change with his attendance at the banquet. You’ve seen the might of a Fourth Rank expert.”

“This… you are right,” Xuan Ge seemed to have thought of something utterly terrifying.

“Let us quietly watch the changes,” Tian Ji turned his head, looking towards the Wang Family’s direction, and sighed, “After several struggles and searches, I wonder who will ultimately achieve enlightenment?”

The Taihua Mountain Range stretched thousands of miles, with majestic peaks, and its beauty was both magnificent and perilous.

It was where the gates of the Pure Yang Palace were located.

Between these peaks, seas of clouds surged endlessly, their state forever uncertain. Within them, the spiritual aura of heaven and earth touched the peaks’ spirit, transforming into springs and flowing through the white clouds.

These were known as “Cloud Sea Spirit Springs.”

For the ordinary disciples of the Pure Yang Palace, these Cloud Sea Spirit Springs were excellent auxiliary materials for refining pills and casting tools. Often, people would fly into the sea of clouds to collect the spirit spring for later use.

However, for You Ziheng, there was only one use for the Cloud Sea Spirit Spring.

And that was for brewing wine.

On this day, he was collecting spirit spring while flying wobbly through the peaks and clouds, bathed in the light of dawn, preparing to gather enough to brew a fine jar of wine.

He had just returned from Da Zhou a few days earlier, acquiring a top-notch wine brewing recipe. He had tasted that exquisite wine once while in Da Zhou and had been craving it ever since.

If he didn’t start brewing soon, the worms of hunger in his stomach would nearly crawl out.

But as he collected only half of the required spirit spring, a golden light fell from the peak of Ziwei, rolled into You Ziheng’s arms, and turned into a jade talisman decree.

You Ziheng felt a jolt, his drunken haze dissipating, his mind clearing up quite a bit as he looked at the decree in his arms, puzzled, “A decree from the Sect Master Brother? He’s well off as a Celestial Man not cultivating the ways of heaven, could it be there is some grand affair?”

Although eager to brew wine, he did not neglect the Sect Master’s decree and immediately chose to read it. With a thought, he obtained the information from the jade talisman decree.

“He has observed changes in the heavenly secrets, and he wants me to take the Divine Weapon, the Purple Virtual Sword, to Yuanhe Prefecture City??” You Ziheng’s eyes widened in shock, almost thinking he had read wrong, or was he still not sober from the wine??

The Purple Virtual Sword was one of the Pure Yang Palace’s guardian divine weapons; it was equivalent to a Celestial Man. With permission from the Sect Master, even a Fifth Rank Sect Master could wield this divine weapon and exhibit substantial power.

However, unless there was an extremely urgent matter, divine weapons were usually not taken outside the gate. Now the Sect Master was asking him to take the Purple Virtual Sword out, what kind of significant event was about to happen?

Perhaps sensing You Ziheng’s confusion, or maybe having anticipated his reaction, as he stood there in a state of shocked uncertainty, the surrounding sea of clouds suddenly surged and converged.

A moment later, the white mists in the sea of clouds neatly parted, revealing a few large characters in the space created.

“Junior brother, I’m not kidding, go now.”

Clearly, this was the work of the current Pure Yang Palace Master from Ziwei Peak.

“Tsk tsk, having been the Sect Master for hundreds of years and still so playful!”

You Ziheng arched an eyebrow and lifted his chin in the direction of Ziwei Peak, “With the Purple Virtual Sword in hand, unless a Celestial Man descends, I fear nothing. Even if something big happens and the Purple Virtual Sword is lost, I can still call upon the founding grandmaster to take action.”

The “founding grandmaster” he spoke of was the Pure Yang Palace’s strongest combat force and one of today’s greatest existences with the highest cultivation realm.

Divine First Rank.

Saintly!

A day and more passed in the blink of an eye.

But Zhou Heng’s day was rather fulfilling, and his strength had also improved further.

In this span of a little over a day, he consolidated his Innate Skill’s cultivation.

And with the base attribute boost of spirit +1, he managed to achieve the effects of the Innate Skill in nourishing the mysterious gates and ancestral orifices, even in his unskilled state, granting him certain special mental abilities.

Beyond that, he also studied the Seventh Rank Martial Arts technique “Hundred-Step Flying Sword.” Thanks to the contributions from the “Dugu Nine Swords” and many other sword techniques, he mastered this sword technique to an intermediate proficiency as soon as he learned it.

Although an intermediate Hundred-Step Flying Sword couldn’t control an enemy from a hundred steps away, Zhou Heng could now strike targets within thirty steps when the sword flew from his hand.

The power was no less effective than wielding a sword by hand.

This directly elevated his strength by a great margin, and significantly increased his attack range.

This day.

The third day of the seventh lunar month.

The birthday of the Wang Family’s elder patriarch.

It was also the day when the top five combatants of the martial competition were invited to comprehend the inscribed stone with no words.

The curtain was about to rise.

ps: In a rush and didn’t have time to correct typos, will update and revise later-