I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 324: Chapter 44: Riding the Tiger, Flying to the Capital City, Reunion

“Congratulations! By acquiring the Yellow Mystery Merit Qi, your understanding of the Taoist Formulas in the ‘Yellow Mystery Pagoda Manual’ [Absolute Fourth Rank] has improved, proficiency +0.05.”

“Congratulations! By obtaining the Yellow Mystery Merit Qi, your understanding of the Taoist Formulas in the ‘Yellow Mystery Pagoda Manual’ [Absolute Fourth Rank] has improved, proficiency +0.005.”

Reward notifications appeared in succession; the former was obtained by killing Wu Shan’s lord, while the latter was obtained by killing Wu San.

Such an increase in proficiency was undoubtedly substantial.

Zhou Heng was very pleased; previously, in Da Qi, he had exerted all his effort to kill a monster barely comparable to a Sect Fifth Rank great demon contaminant, and he had only gained 0.001 in proficiency.

The evaluation of that great demon contaminant was “an enemy that is difficult to defeat.”

Yet now, facing the Tiger Demon Wu San, who was evaluated as “an enemy not worthy of a single blow,” he had obtained five times the amount of Yellow Mystery Merit Qi.

Such a contrast was indeed too stark.

“Jiang Jian and Senior Brother were right, in a world where overall power levels are lower, it really is easier to receive feedback from the laws of heaven and earth,” Zhou Heng mused with a slight smile on his lips.

With this rate of acquiring Yellow Mystery Merit Qi, it wouldn’t be long before he could truly master the Yellow Mystery Pagoda Manual.

At that time, with the Yellow Mystery Tower of heaven and earth above his head repelling all evils, and unimpeded by any magic, the mere thought of it was slightly exhilarating.

Even if that pagoda was an imitation, it should greatly enhance his defensive power.

By then, even if he faced a real Fifth Rank Sect Master, he might have a chance to fight.

After the joy, Zhou Heng’s thoughts gradually calmed down, and he shifted his attention to a fragment of memory he had obtained from the Tiger Demon Wu San.

Within it was an extremely important piece of information.

“Ye Long’s father, the current State Preceptor of Liang Country, who is most trusted by Emperor Ye Feng, is actually a tiger demon; in Wu San’s memory, that tiger demon has even approached the Heavenly Heart Realm,” Zhou Heng was somewhat surprised.

Upon his divine soul descending into this world and occupying the corpse of Prince Ye Long of Liang Country, he had some impression of that State Preceptor, knowing he was deeply trusted by the Emperor of Liang, even more influential than the current Prime Minister.

“I have an agreement with Jiang Jian to meet in the Capital City of Liang Country; perhaps I will have to confront this tiger demon,” Zhou Heng glanced in the direction of the Capital City, then immediately rode the tiger towards Qingxiang Town.

After this demon-slaying journey, he clearly felt that he had many martial techniques that could be transformed into magic, which also allowed for further refinement of the Longevity Technique.

This, too, was of the utmost importance.

If he could truly pave a new cultivation path beyond the visual visualization of the divine soul, it could potentially provoke intense feedback from the laws of heaven and earth, thereby gaining a large amount of merit.

…

Life in Qingxiang Town was very tranquil, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Heng, besides going out to slay demons, spent his time in the small courtyard focusing on the refinement of the Longevity Technique.

During this period, he had deduced a relatively complete cultivation system for this brand new technique.

Body Refinement, Sensing, Qi Drawing, True Energy, Thought Storage, Yin God, Yang God.

These were the seven steps of longevity that Zhou Heng envisioned; the realm of Yin God corresponded to his current state of forming a divine soul image, similar to the True Form Realm of visualization but with several distinctions, considered a fusion of True Energy and the Divine Soul.

Before the Yin God realm, cultivators were roughly equivalent to the Lower Third Rank of the Martial Path; the Yin God realm could be categorized into Secret Sixth Rank and slightly higher levels.

As for Yang God, that belonged to the Absolute Fourth Rank level.

The transition from Yin God to Yang God was a leap from Secret Sixth Rank to Absolute Fourth Rank.

This span was extremely large, and under normal circumstances, realms are not divided like this.

It was only because Zhou Heng himself was still at the True Energy Realm, and hadn’t yet cultivated to True Gang, that he could only deduce and speculate about higher realms.

That is to say, the cultivation method currently more complete is only as far as the Secret Sixth Rank stage.

“`

As for the details of the higher realms, they still need to be perfected.

The Seven Steps to Longevity may not only have seven steps.

However, even so, when Zhou Heng informed Yu Jianghe of this method, he was astonished as if he had met a Celestial Man.

As a venerable cultivator who had passed the age of seventy, he had devoted his entire life to the study of visualization techniques and had never imagined that there could be someone who had conceived an entirely different path of cultivation.

This was simply inconceivable.

After that, Yu Jianghe and Yu Liushui became even more wholeheartedly devoted to Zhou Heng.

Originally, they had merely thought of Zhou Heng as a powerful being from the ancient Heavenly Heart realm reincarnated, but they now believed that Zhou Heng might become a Taoist God of this era, and perhaps achieve even greater feats.

Legend has it that only those who create their visualization techniques capable of reaching the Heavenly Heart realm could become Taoist Gods.

And Zhou Heng had blazed a new trail beyond visualization techniques, an achievement unprecedented in history.

Becoming a Taoist God was only to be expected!

…

“Senior, we’ve received news from Sangyang City that the demons there have been slain,” Yu Jianghe reported to Zhou Heng with a hint of embarrassment on his face.

In recent times, aside from diligently practicing the Seven Steps to Longevity, Yu Jianghe was still helping Zhou Heng to investigate news of monsters in various places.

The senior had said that slaying demons and banishing evils was beneficial to cultivation, so he naturally did not dare to slack off, lest he delay the senior’s spiritual practice.

That would be an unforgivable sin.

The presence of a demon in Sangyang City was information he had brought to Zhou Heng’s attention the day before yesterday, and indeed, Zhou Heng had planned to go to Sangyang City to eliminate the demon in a couple of days, but unexpectedly, someone had already taken care of it.

“Oh? Was it a cultivator from the Holy Sect of Mercy who took action?” Zhou Heng asked with curiosity, “Are they that proactive?”

Since his expedition to Wushan Town, Zhou Heng had gone out to slay demons more than ten times, in order to accumulate merit.

However, he had yet to encounter anyone from the Holy Sect of Mercy, which made him wonder if they had given up on Liang Country.

“It wasn’t someone from the Holy Sect of Mercy,” Yu Jianghe shook his head and said, “They aren’t that diligent. It was said to be a female cultivator who calls herself Cheng Bei.”

Cheng Bei?

Zhou Heng chuckled upon hearing this and said, “I see, she is a fellow cultivator of mine, you need not worry about it.”

Cheng Bei was naturally Cheng Jianjian.

She had taken the name Cheng Bei in the same way that Ziwei’s Zhou Heng had adopted the name Zhou Wei.

This was something they had agreed upon even before their descent.

“It turns out to be your fellow cultivator,” Yu Jianghe said in surprise.

The tone Zhou Heng had used to speak just now was not the courteous term of ‘fellow cultivator’ used among cultivators.

But rather, a true companion on the cultivation path.

What kind of person could the fellow cultivator of such a powerful being who had created his own path be?

Moreover, she was a female cultivator. Could it be… She might well be the senior’s cultivation partner!

Zhou Heng all the while unaware of the various wild imaginings brewing in Yu Jianghe’s mind, thought about the news of Cheng Jianjian slaying the demon and calculated the time.

It seemed, his descent to this place was nearing half a year.

“Since Jianjian has emerged to slay demons, it means she has already attained a certain level of strength,” Zhou Heng thought to himself, “Yes, it’s about time to head to the Capital City.”

With this thought in mind, he didn’t hesitate and immediately said to Yu Jianghe, “In three days, I will go to the Capital City. As for these two children in Qingxiang Town, I’ll have to trouble my fellow cultivator to instruct them.”

“`

“You wish to go to Capital City?” Yu Jianghe first looked stunned upon hearing the words, then as if he had realized something, “Do you want to end the ties of this life?”

In recent days, he had heard some news about the State Preceptor of Liang Country from some fellow Daoists. Many suspected that the State Preceptor might be a demon.

However, for cultivators, the life and death of a country were irrelevant to them, and there were no substantial benefits to exorcising monsters, so naturally no one bothered with what the State Preceptor was up to.

This had led to the State Preceptor becoming increasingly arrogant, with rumors that he had nearly taken complete control of the government.

Even many high officials in the court had been replaced, and it was possible that about half of them were monsters.

By this time, Yu Jianghe already knew that the “senior” before him had been reborn into the royal Ye family of Liang Country, named Ye Long.

Therefore, upon hearing Zhou Heng say he wanted to go to the Capital City, he naturally assumed that Zhou Heng intended to remove the monster that plagued the Capital City.

And by removing that monster and saving Liang Country, which was in imminent danger, theoretically, this would also sever the “senior’s” ties with the royal family of Liang Country in this life.

“But it is not exactly cutting ties.” Zhou Heng smiled and said, “I am going there to meet some people.”

“If there is anything you need, senior, Jianghe is willing to follow you through fire and water,” Yu Jianghe said.

“There is no need for that; I’ll just ride Dahuang straight there,” Zhou Heng smiled and replied, “You staying here to teach those two children is enough for me.”

——Dahuang was the name he had given to the double-winged tiger demon.

“I will obey your orders, senior,” Yu Jianghe said respectfully.

“Don’t neglect your own cultivation either,” Zhou Heng reminded, as if an elder about to embark on a journey was instructing the younger generation.

Although Zhou Heng was actually much younger than Yu Jianghe, neither felt any discord during their conversation.

In the world of cultivators, the accomplished are revered. This is the rationale of this world.

Zhou Heng was simply adapting to local customs.

…

Liang Country’s Capital City.

This was the heart of Liang Country, the most prosperous place, and even at night, it was brightly lit everywhere.

Especially inside the Imperial City, it was even more so.

Qin Zheng Hall.

This was where Emperor Ye Feng of Liang Country conducted his affairs, where the lights never went out all year round.

At this moment, Ye Feng was earnestly perusing a memorial that had just been presented today, his expression complex.

“…An Immortal Master has come riding a yellow tiger, flying through the sky. He stayed in Sangyang City before heading towards the Capital City… It is rumored that this Immortal Master is Prince Ye Long…”

When this memorial was first brought before Ye Feng, his initial reaction was one of disbelief.

Ye Long had left with the Immortal Master less than half a year ago; how could he now have the ability to fly through the sky?

This was against common sense.

As the sovereign of a country, Ye Feng had a basic understanding of cultivators and knew that those who could fly were remarkable figures even among cultivators.

How long had Ye Long been cultivating?

How could he have advanced so quickly?

Yet if Ye Long truly made significant progress in his cultivation and became an Immortal Master who could soar through the skies and dig through the earth, what should be done?

With this thought, Ye Feng’s heart was devoid of any joy; instead, it was filled with worry.

“What if Ye Long comes to seize his throne?”

Throughout history, princes assassinating their fathers to usurp the imperial power has been a common occurrence in any kingdom.

Especially when this prince possesses power beyond the royal family’s control, Ye Feng couldn’t help but worry.

Indeed, Immortal Masters had set an iron rule that emperors must not practice immortality, and those who practiced immortality must not become emperors, but that did not prevent cultivators from supporting a puppet to ascend to the throne.

“You really don’t give me peace of mind, whether this is true or not, we must handle it with caution,” said Ye Feng with a grim face, glancing outside, “Summon the State Preceptor!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” came the voice of the eunuch from outside.

In a moment, a figure approached the Qin Zheng Hall, passing through layers of guards and entering through the doors without hindrance.

The Qin Zheng Hall was strictly guarded, and, ordinarily, apart from the emperor himself and his entourage of eunuchs, anyone would be subjected to rigorous interrogation before entry.

But the State Preceptor was an exception; aside from the inner palace, he could freely enter and exit any area within the Imperial City without question or inspection.

This State Preceptor was named Wu Cheng.

He wore a purple Taoist robe, majestic and elegant, appearing like a handsome middle-aged man in his forties, with a long beard, claiming to be a true person who had cultivated for three hundred years, possessed with a bit of the aura of an Immortal Master.

“Your Majesty has summoned me in the dead of night, is it concerning Prince Ye Long?” asked Wu Cheng with a smile.

“State Preceptor understands me,” Ye Feng nodded slightly, “Indeed, I’ve heard he rode a tiger and flew across the skies, displaying the grandeur of an Immortal Master.”

“Then has Your Majesty considered whether to let him live or die?” Wu Cheng spoke very bluntly, as if he didn’t care at all whether Ye Feng would be angered by this.

Ye Feng remained silent for a long while upon hearing this, finally closing his eyes, he said, “Liang Country needs a stable situation, and it doesn’t need two State Preceptors, which is what the common people wish for. I have to consider the people’s well-being, and when the time comes, I will have to ask the State Preceptor to take action.”

“I will obey the imperial command,” Wu Cheng bowed respectfully, bending slightly with a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

…

Zhou Heng was heading to the Capital City openly and did not conceal his movements, riding a tiger through the sky and passing many major cities, making countless commoners kneel and cry out for the arrival of the Immortal Master.

This was absolutely impossible in Da Qi.

“Was it the same during the Middle Ancient Era, when great powers reigned above royal authority? What about the earlier Dark Age?”

Zhou Heng’s thoughts wandered as he also passed through layers of high clouds, and saw another magnificent and splendid great city ahead.

This was the Imperial City of Liang Country from Ye Long’s memories.

Even the commoners inside the Imperial City, upon seeing someone riding a tiger through the sky, still regarded him as a divine being, kneeling and bowing to the figure above.

Not just the commoners; even the guards at the gate could not help but kneel, and even the imperial guards inside the city laid down their weapons and saluted the figure above with utmost respect.

An Immortal Master, even just one, stood above the nation and emperor.

There was no doubt about this.

Zhou Heng, observing the scene inside and outside the Imperial City, reassessed the situation of this world.

With such circumstances, was it good or bad?

A question arose in his mind.

However, as Zhou Heng approached closer to the Capital City, it became difficult to dwell on this uncertainty.

With his Divine Sense, he sensed an overwhelming demonic aura within the Imperial City of Liang Country!

At the same time, in the Jiahe Tavern within the Capital City, a girl disguised as a handsome young master’s eyes lit up as she looked to the skies.

“He’s finally arrived!”