I Cheated While Cultivating

Chen Xingjiang really kept brainstorming himself, and finally chose to actively abandon his cultivation, just to beg for his life?

This was a Great Grandmaster of Absolute Fourth Rank!

“Tao Lord, he is testing you,” just at that moment, the voice of Qingxia God suddenly came, echoing in Zhou Heng’s heart, “Absolute Fourth Rank, Yang God’s Dharma Body, in my era, could already be called ‘Celestial Man’.

“With such a realm, such cultivation, who could want to abandon it and just do it, unless the Celestial Man intervened, otherwise who could render useless a Celestial Man, even if it’s the Celestial Man himself, it was impossible to do.”

“Thus, Tao Lord, this man is testing you. If you really agree, then most likely he will be able to confirm that you are not the true Sixteenth Prince Zhao Qin.”

“Isn’t he afraid that the Sixteenth Prince will see through his thoughts and thus increase the punishment?” Zhou Heng responded in his heart.

At the same time, he also felt that these Great Grandmasters were indeed not easy to deal with.

This Chen Xingjiang looked as if he was scared to death, already kneeling to beg for mercy, yet his heart actually still pondered testing him.

“To seek survival from death, isn’t that the way?” Qingxia God instead said, “In the eyes of the current Chen Xingjiang, without testing the truth, he is certain to die, but if he tests it, perhaps there is a slim chance of survival.”

“Tao Lord, later on, just pretend to be furious, expose his intention to test you, make him believe you truly are Zhao Qin, then….”

“No need,” Zhou Heng interrupted Qingxia God’s words, replying, “Just kill him directly.”

“But Tao Lord, in my current state, I can’t silently kill a Celestial Man,” Qingxia God expressed some difficulty.

She was after all only a Divine Soul inhabiting a body, and although the essence of her Divine Soul was extremely high and her mana was on a level not comparable to that of Absolute Fourth Rank, she could easily deceive Chen Xingjiang in terms of concealing and disguising, but if it came down to actually fighting, she would not be able to silently deliver a fatal blow in a short time.

This would be equivalent to a battle between two Great Grandmasters at the pinnacle of the Fourth Rank.

Such an event would inevitably lead to large-scale atmospheric disturbances or even changes to the laws of nature, resulting in Chen Xingjiang being assassinated inside the County City yamen, and the outcome would become very problematic.

Moreover, Chen Xingjiang was a Prefectural Governor of a state.

This Fangzhou County City was his most core territory, and unless he was an idiot, he would have definitely made unknown preparations within this city to respond to unexpected attacks.

Especially since it was near the border of Da Qi, once a real Great Grandmaster-level battle occurred, it would inevitably lead to a series of chain reactions.

At that time, it would be difficult to resolve.

“What if he could be immobilized, made completely unable to move?” Zhou Heng said.

“If he were to be completely unable to move, unable to make any act of resistance, I can manage it,” Qingxia God said, “A fatal strike, silent, without leaving any trace.”

As a former Second Rank Tao Lord, she still had that confidence.

“Good,” Zhou Heng made up his mind.

Meanwhile, Chen Xingjiang was still waiting for the “Sixteenth Prince’s” response, but in fact, he was already extremely panicked inside.

He didn’t want to give up the cultivation he had worked so hard to achieve, nor did he want to die.

In his view, his only chance of survival now was to test this Highness, to see if he was really the Sixteenth Prince!

In fact, Chen Xingjiang still had some doubts in his heart.

Why would the Sixteenth Prince come in person so suddenly after so many days without any news?

Has something gone wrong?

In times of despair, one always considers various possibilities, and subconsciously leans towards those that are favorable to oneself.

The situation with Chen Xingjiang was almost the same.

“Your Highness!” Chen Xingjiang had not received a response for a while and called out again, reverently saying, “Please, Your Highness…”

“Paralyze!” Zhou Heng suddenly spoke, using the Paralysis Card.

In an instant, a supremely powerful and to Chen Xingjiang, unimaginable restraining force descended out of thin air, and Chen Xingjiang, a Great Grandmaster at the peak of Fourth Rank, was instantly immobilized.

His mouth was open, still in the posture of speaking, but he was no longer able to move even a bit.

At the same time, his mana, his Divine Sense, everything about him, came to a halt, all frozen in place.

Only his thoughts were still able to function.

However, with his Divine Sense paralyzed and his Divine Soul Power unable to interact with reality, he had lost all capability to resist, completely defenseless.

“What’s going on, His Highness has made a move against me? Why? Could it be that His Highness has seen through my intentions, but doesn’t he plan to ask me about them?” Chen Xingjiang found it somewhat unbelievable.

“This, this kind of power?!” The Qingxia God was quite shocked, her mind tumultuous with surprise.

Zhou Heng’s use of the paralyzing technique clearly involved the level of Laws and their melodies!

In her view, this meant that Zhou Heng, the reincarnation of a Tao Lord, had regained some of his capabilities, able to exercise even higher Divine Skills.

Similarly, this also meant that her chances of escaping Zhou Heng’s control were even lower.

However, though shocked in her heart, the Qingxia God did not slow down her actions. She directly extended her right hand, her delicate fingers spread out, pressing it upon Chen Xingjiang’s head.

“What is she going to do, wait, this maid, she, she’s a Great Grandmaster??”

Chen Xingjiang was utterly horrified inside, it had never crossed his mind that this seemingly harmless and lovely girl, appearing to be only thirteen or fourteen years old, could actually be a Great Grandmaster!

It was beyond belief.

In Da Qi, at the gate of any prefectural city or county city, there was a large array that recorded the entrance of any Martial Artist above the rank of Secret Sixth rank.

Yet why had this young girl not triggered this mechanism upon entering the city?

Did she have some special method of concealment?

While Chen Xingjiang was shocked, he suddenly felt his life force rapidly fading away, as if he had traversed a thousand years in a moment, from the prime of his life to its very end.

“What’s happening, am I, am I going to die of old age??” Chen Xingjiang was horrified inside. He wanted to resist, wanted to use his mana, wanted to manifest his Dharma Body, but he couldn’t do any of it because it was all frozen by Zhou Heng.

In the brief span of less than a breath’s time, Chen Xingjiang had transformed from a vigorous middle-aged appearance to a decrepit old man, with a face and hands full of wrinkles and spots, and eyes clouded with murkiness, his entire body exuding death.

In the palm of the Qingxia God, a green pill had formed, glowing faintly and filled with a rich life essence. This was the essence of Chen Xingjiang’s entire life and the Yang God’s Dharma Body.

At this moment, Chen Xingjiang felt his body and consciousness sinking into a bottomless abyss, descending into eternal darkness.

In the end, his already murky eyes finally dimmed completely, devoid of any luster.

He had died of old age, with even his Divine Soul decaying.

“Congratulations! Alongside the incarnation of the Qingxia God, you have slain the formidable enemy ‘Chen Xingjiang,’ Fortune Bag [Silver] +2.”

Zhou Heng received the reward notification, glanced at Chen Xingjiang’s corpse, suppressed the urge to search the body, and left the Prefectural Governor’s office of Fangzhou County City together with the incarnation of the Qingxia God.

He then ordered that no one was to enter the main hall within three days.

After leaving the Fangzhou County City, Zhou Heng took advantage of the time the Qingxia God’s incarnation still had and asked her to take him to Sui State.

That was the place in Da Qi’s thirty-three states where evil sects abounded the most.

Suitable for him to go.

…

In the Imperial City of Zhongzhou, Da Qi.

Prince Zhao Qin’s residence.

Zhao Qin was fighting crickets in the garden, surrounded by four maids feeding him various fruits.

At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed in grey hurried in.

He looked like a man, yet he had a pale, beardless face and soft facial features. His walking posture was also slightly different from that of a man, likely a eunuch who had been castrated.

The four maids, seeing this person coming, quickly stepped back and bowed respectfully, saying, “Greetings to Minister Cao.”

Minister Cao paid no attention to the maids, walking directly to Zhao Qin’s side and wrapped his voice in Mana, saying, “Your Highness, Chen Xingjiang is dead.”

“I know.” Zhao Qin continued to focus on the cricket fight, didn’t even bother to disguise his voice as he spoke directly.

“I heard it was you who personally led people to execute him?” Minister Cao spoke in a low voice.

“Isn’t it fragrant for this prince to fight crickets here in the Imperial City?” Zhao Qin chuckled, put down the cricket fighting tools, looked towards Minister Cao, and said with a light laugh, “Why would I go to that bitterly cold land in the northwest?”

“This humble servant also thinks it unlikely for Your Highness to do such a thing, but the people and officials in Fangzhou keep saying you killed a good official who rid people of a scourge, who protected a region.” Minister Cao said.

“Let them say what they will.” Zhao Qin seemed utterly unconcerned, laughing, “Chen Xingjiang is dead, and when the next Prefectural Governor takes over, neither the public nor the officials will soon remember him.

“Let’s not talk about this, the reason I called you today is not for the sake of Chen Xingjiang. I want you to investigate someone, find out everything about him inside and out.”

“As you command, Your Highness.” Minister Cao bowed to listen.

“His name is Zhou Heng, supposedly a disciple of Pure Yang Palace, the sixth generation of true transmission, a junior brother of the incarnate True Yang, and also the reincarnation of some ancient being of great power.” Zhao Qin smiled and said, “It’s a bit difficult, so I must trouble Minister Cao.”

“…” Minister Cao’s face immediately turned bitter, saying, “Your Highness, his status is extraordinary, how do you expect me to investigate, you are well aware of Pure Yang Palace’s reputation.”

“What do you think I want you to investigate?” Zhao Qin burst into laughter and said, “Rest assured, I won’t make you offend Pure Yang Palace. What I want you to investigate is merely the background of this Zhou Heng.

“His parents, his ancestors, who they were, and current whereabouts of his family and clan— I want you to find everything out clearly.”

“Your Highness intends to…” Minister Cao tensed up upon hearing this.

“Minister Cao, you’ve been rather talkative today,” Zhao Qin casually picked up a cricket, gently squeezed, and crushed it into mush, “haven’t you?”

“Your Highness, please forgive me!” Minister Cao was instantly frightened into a shiver, hastily saying, “Your Highness’s command shall be carried out with all my heart and effort.”

“Get lost!” Zhao Qin tossed the mushed cricket aside and waved his hand.

“Yes.” Minister Cao respectfully withdrew, his demeanor much lower than when he arrived.

“Zhou Heng…” Zhao Qin picked up another cricket, placed it in the palm of his hand, then gently closed his fist and sneered, “Interesting.”

Afterwards, he opened his five fingers; the cricket was still alive but began to crawl chaotically in the palm of his hand.

But no matter what, it couldn’t escape the confines of his palm.

…

“Zhou Heng! It’s Zhou Heng! Run quickly!”

“Why hasn’t an Innate master or Great Grandmaster taken action to kill him, why?”

“Do we just let him continue his wanton killing?”

“Can those of us from the Evil Sects still live?”

“Do people of the Evil Sects deserve to die? Didn’t I just kill a few people to forge weapons?”

“Purple Lightning Thunder Blade, you won’t die a good death!”

In the half month since these exclamations, cries, and curses started resonating across Sui State, the members of various Evil Sects were all living in dread, terrified of Zhou Heng knocking on their door.

Sui State was indeed one of the northernmost border states of Da Qi, and justifiably the state with the densest concentration of evil martial arts clans.

In just half a month,

The number of evil disciples Zhou Heng killed and the evil sects he annihilated was already five times more than in Fangzhou.

It truly felt like there were rebellious Evil Sects everywhere, impossible to kill them all. He even began to doubt whether the Da Qi Imperial Court still had any control over Sui State.

Because he had discovered not just one Prefectural city’s leader colluding with the Evil Sects. With such a border, it’s a wonder Da Qi’s domain remains stable—quite curious indeed.

However, this journey of slaughter made Zhou Heng’s reputation grow even larger, surpassing what it was in Fangzhou.

Many counties and Prefectural cities saw his arrival as a ray of hope.

The Killing Orders released by the four major evil paths gradually became a laughing stock, because before anyone could go after Zhou Heng, he would already have exterminated the Evil Sects in a region.

These were not so much Killing Orders against Zhou Heng, but rather death warrants for all the Evil Sects under heaven!

At the same time, Zhou Heng gradually acquired a new nickname.

Evil Exterminator Blade.

When he learned of this new moniker, he expressed a preference for Purple Lightning Thunder Blade instead.

Purple Lightning Thunder Blade sounded quite good.

…

“Task location: Three Rivers County in Yuliang Prefecture, Sui State, Da Qi.

“Brief description of task: Reported by Qin Fang, the prefect of Yuliang, strange weeping sounds are heard throughout Three Rivers County at night, so sorrowful and chilling that the entire city is disturbed. Those who seek out the source of the sounds never return; three Seventh Rank Warriors have already perished.

“Objective of the task: Investigate the source of the weeping sounds to determine whether it is related to Evil Creatures.

“Warning for the task: If it is discovered that the phenomenon is related to Evil Creatures of at least Seventh Rank, report it to the organization immediately and do not act rashly.

“Basic rewards for the task: 300 Virtue Points, 1000 taels of silver.

“Additional rewards for the task: Verification of connection to Evil Creatures and confirmation of information concerning the Evil Creatures will be rewarded with an extra 600 Virtue Points.”

As Zhou Heng was closing in on wiping out half the Evil Sects in Sui State, as the time was nearing December, he finally received the third mission assigned by the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer.

It wasn’t because The Supreme was slow in his work.

It was rather due to Zhou Heng, who began annihilating Evil Sect members and evil practitioners all along his route from Fangzhou, effectively destroying many potential births of Evil Creatures.

After all, the birth of Evil Creatures was inseparable from the spread of evil methods and the deliberate cultivation of Evil Sects.

Zhou Heng’s massacre of the evil path naturally reduced the number of tasks related to Evil Creatures.

Only upon reaching Sui State, a place that could be described as teeming with evil paths, was there finally a task concerning Evil Creatures that could be dispatched.

“Three Rivers County.” Zhou Heng found the name somewhat familiar; after a moment’s thought, a flash of insight crossed his mind, “The newly ranked tenth on the man list, Xu Kong, seems to be from Three Rivers County.”