I Cheated While Cultivating

“Ao aol!” The palm-sized little mystical creature immediately saw red, flew into the sky with a tread on water, opened its mouth, and the wine gathered together, reversing its flow into its mouth.

“Mmm mmm!!” The little mystical creature hummed contentedly, rolled twice in the sea of clouds, and then returned to its original form—a thirty feet tall being, before diving back into the sea of clouds.

Splash!

In the sea of clouds, waves suddenly surged out of nowhere, but as soon as they rose into the air, they turned into mist, then condensed back into clouds, and by the time the clouds gathered back into the sea, the mysterious creature had already disappeared without a trace.

“Was that… a kylin just now?” Zhou Heng said in astonishment; he had read about such creatures in some texts while he was on Earth.

He hadn’t expected to actually see a living one.

Nowadays, it was extremely difficult to find rare and exotic beasts in this world; even in remote mountainous forests, there were mostly just wild animals, let alone demons with spiritual consciousness, not to mention mythical beasts like the one from legend.

“A juvenile water kylin indeed,” You Ziheng took a gulp of wine, shook his head, and smiled: “Decades ago when I was wandering the land, I stumbled upon a critically injured water kylin and saved it. It entrusted its newly born child to my care.”

Although he is now a drunken Taoist, fifty years ago he was listed as the top martial artist in the world, known as the White Crane Swordsman with a dashing reputation, naturally, he had his fair share of adventures.

“You’re keeping it here in the sea of clouds?” Zhou Heng still felt amazed.

“Our Ta Hua Mount’s sea of clouds is not ordinary mist; within it lies the Sea of Clouds Spirit Spring, where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth converges and condenses, which is perfect for the growth of the water kylin,” explained You Ziheng as he continued to fly on the white crane. “I must say, these naturally born extraordinary creatures have a profound foundation incomparable to us mere mortals. Don’t be fooled by that greedy little thing from just now; even its mana is equivalent to that of an advanced Fourth Rank professional.”

“Advanced Fourth Rank!?” Zhou Heng was a bit confused.

He just couldn’t connect the little creature that had just been begging for wine with the sovereign experts and loose immortals on the level of Dark Emperor, Five Great Emperors, or even the Great Saintly Merciful Immortal.

The gap seemed too vast.

– The power of a loose immortal typically lies between Fourth and Third Rank. Some exceptionally powerful Fourth Rank individuals with divine skills also have the strength to overcome loose immortals. Hence, generally speaking, loose immortals can be considered as Absolute Fourth Rank, albeit usually stronger.

“Don’t be too surprised; there are many more wonders in Pure Yang Palace,” tapping Zhou Heng’s shoulder, You Ziheng smiled and said, “I will first take you to my cave dwelling at the Purple Clouds Peak to stay temporarily. Once I report the situation to the sect master brother, I’ll make arrangements for your initiation.”

“Thank you, senior,” Zhou Heng nodded, but his gaze couldn’t help curiously sweeping around.

In this vast sea of clouds, amidst these towering mountains, who knows how many mysterious things are hidden.

Initially, Zhou Heng thought the cave dwelling mentioned by You Ziheng was merely a simple cave fashioned from the mountainside, rough-hewn but suitable for rudimentary habitation.

But upon arriving at Purple Clouds Peak, he realized he was very much mistaken.

The entrance to the cave dwelling was indeed a cave, but walking inside, Zhou Heng discovered another world, an independent spatial realm.

There were suns, moons, stars, mountains, and earth within, along with palace towers spread out as if it were a real world.

However, what was most eye-catching was a peak shaped like a wine gourd. At the summit was something akin to a volcanic vent, spewing out a milky white liquid.

The smell of alcohol was rich.

It must be alcoholic mash.

After this mash was expelled, it would come into contact with the clouds in the air and transform into cascades that plummeted from the clouds, pooling into large lakes below.

At the center of each lake, there was a jade platform with a delicate palm-sized wine glass on it, refining the entire “lake” into a golden liquid essence.

“This is called Jade Cup Golden Elixir, have you ever seen it?” You Ziheng beamed with pride as he laughed, “This is the ambrosia that even the true immortals of ancient times coveted, a top-notch wine. The taste is truly exquisite, drinking a cup makes one’s divine soul intoxicated.”

“It’s miraculous,” Zhou Heng’s eyes widened, feeling that his vocabulary was insufficient; he could think of no other word but ‘awesome’.

“Hehe, you’re quite lucky to have witnessed the gourd’s ale churning out alcoholic mash; it’s a rare occurrence,” You Ziheng gazed at the cascades with a sigh, “I obtained this yeast in an adventure in my early years. It spews only once a month, with each eruption producing thirty lakes worth. And it takes ten lakes to create a single drop of golden elixir, a thousand drops to fill a jar. Do the math, how long would it take to fill a jar?”

“Three drops a month, a jar per thousand drops… that’s roughly three hundred and thirty-three months, nearly twenty-eight years to fill one jar!” exclaimed Zhou Heng in surprise.

“Wrong,” You Ziheng shook his head, took out a small exquisite jade bowl, and drew the golden liquid from the jade cup in the center of the lake directly into this bowl, drank it all in one go, and then turned to Zhou Heng with a grin, “Hehe, this jade cup will never be full because every time I return, I drink up the accumulated golden elixir…burp!”

Splash!

Before he could finish speaking, he actually fell down on the spot, quickly falling into a deep slumber with snores as loud as thunder, making Zhou Heng’s scalp tingle.

What about going to report to the sect master??

He passed out drunk just like that??

Pure Yang Palace might be a home of immortals, not just full of mysterious things but also some quite intriguing people.

With no other choice, Zhou Heng sat down beside You Ziheng and began cultivating his Innate Skill.

As he cultivated, he felt something different than before; as his Inner Qi circulated, it drew threads of cool air from the outside environment into his body.

This clear and bright energy was incomparably pure, almost like an extremely potent nutrient solution. After being refined by the Innate Skill, it directly caused Zhou Heng’s Inner Qi to surge explosively.

“Congratulations! You’ve refined a strand of heaven and earth’s vital energy. Your Martial Arts ‘Innate Skill’ [Seventh Rank] Inner Qi has greatly increased, proficiency +50.”

“Congratulations! You’ve refined a strand of heaven and earth’s vital energy. Your Martial Arts ‘Innate Skill’ [Seventh Rank] Inner Qi has greatly increased, proficiency +66.”

“Congratulations! By continuously refining heaven and earth’s vital energy, you’ve triggered the ‘Unity of Heaven and Man’ effect, greatly benefiting your Martial Arts ‘Innate Skill’ [Seventh Rank], proficiency +666.”

[Seventh Rank] Innate Skill: Advanced (1856/3000)

What the hell!

Isn’t this cultivation speeding up a bit too fast?

Zhou Heng was dumbfounded.

He never expected that while simply practicing to consolidate his cultivation as he waited for You Ziheng to wake up, he would directly elevate his Innate Skill from intermediate to advanced level. His Inner Qi volume had more than tripled, and his spirit had also strengthened considerably.

Nor did he expect that the Innate Skill would have the ability to absorb the external world’s vital energy, which was something only those at Sixth Rank of Martial Path with the ‘Interplay with Outer Scenery’ level could accomplish. It truly lived up to the name “Innate”!

Utterly delightful!

– Sixth Rank Martial Path is known as “Interplay with Outer Scenery” or “Innate Realm.” Its hallmark characteristic is building a bridge between heaven and earth, merging the small inner landscape with the vast outer landscape of the world, drawing in heaven and earth’s vital energy into oneself, refining Inner Qi into True Qi, and weaving the primary laws of heaven and earth, thus being able to perform various martial skills that seem incredible to ordinary people.

But why didn’t this happen when I was cultivating outside before?

Could it be because You Ziheng’s Cave Dwelling is special?

Zhou Heng was puzzled in his heart.

“Wakeup!”

At this moment, a loud shout, like the ringing of bells and drums, woke Zhou Heng up.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, looking around in confusion, only to see You Ziheng standing by with an astonished look on his face, “Senior You, what’s wrong?”

“Are you mad? A mere Eighth Rank Martial Artist daring to connect with heaven and earth to refine vital energy,” You Ziheng stared with wide eyes and said, “Aren’t you afraid that your little bit of spirit and still-imperfect inner landscape will be swallowed by the laws of heaven and earth, turning you into a living dead?”

Subsequently, he painstakingly explained to Zhou Heng that for Martial Artists, prematurely connecting with heaven and earth to refine vital energy was not necessarily a good thing.

Because the precondition for Sixth Rank Martial Path’s interweaving with the laws of heaven and earth is a sufficiently perfected inner landscape and a powerful spirit, strong enough not to be influenced or swallowed by the great laws and rhythms of the world.

In order to initially connect with heaven and earth, one should at least wait until the peak of the Seventh Rank, with a preliminary perfection of the inner landscape, and a spirit strong enough to maintain a primary level of awareness in dreams.

But Zhou Heng was only at Eighth Rank, and it was certain that his inner landscape was not perfected and he had not reached the required Cultivation Realm. You Ziheng believed his spirit was most likely unable to maintain even a basic clarity in dreams, so connecting with heaven and earth to refine vital energy at this time was undoubtedly very dangerous.

“I know you’re a great being reincarnated and occasionally get martial skills that far surpass your current Cultivation Realm,” You Ziheng said earnestly, “but you must use them with caution. However, you have only just begun cultivating in this life, and it’s not necessarily good to be ahead of your time.” He assumed that Innate Skill was martial knowledge Zhou Heng obtained from fragmented memories of his past lives.

“Well, I didn’t expect it to happen like this either. I’ve never drawn on heaven and earth’s vital energy when practicing outside,” Zhou Heng scratched his head.

He didn’t explain that his spirit was strong, far exceeding an ordinary Peak of the Seventh Rank and that he was already able to stay conscious in dreams. You Ziheng meant well by his warning, so there wasn’t much point in arguing.

“Ah?” You Ziheng was momentarily taken aback by Zhou Heng’s words, then seemed to realize something, his expression subtly changed, and he actually slapped himself with a smack, “This is all because of the wine, because of the damn wine!!”

“Senior You?” Zhou Heng said in surprise, wondering what was going on. Had You Ziheng previously made a grave mistake because of alcohol?

There’s a story here!

“It’s nothing. Sigh, I misjudged you, it’s my fault,” You Ziheng sighed and continued, “What you were just cultivating must be a rather ingenious Inner Strength skill, which serves as a foundation for the internal and external exchange.

“Normally, you should only start drawing heaven and earth’s vital energy at the peak of the Seventh Rank when it won’ t cause any harm. But my Cave Dwelling has rough and thin laws of heaven and earth, fewer constraints, and it was my oversight for not warning you sooner, allowing you to draw the vital energy.

“Let’s do this: I’ll offer you an unconditional favor in the future, anything goes, as compensation for my oversight; what do you say?”

For a Grandmaster like You Ziheng of the Fifth Rank, and a Grandmaster of the Pure Yang Palace at that, he was a first-rate person in the entire world. His promise was incredibly valuable.

But Zhou Heng shook his head and said with a smile, “There’s no need for that, Senior You. Since we’ve met, you’ve helped me a lot. Besides, I haven’t suffered any loss just now; instead, my cultivation has greatly advanced. There’s no need for you to compensate.”

“Well said, kid,” You Ziheng laughed too, saying, “Before, I only went to see you because that girl Jiang Jian recommended it, but now I feel this lad is indeed not bad. If you encounter any troubles in the future, just come to me.” “Then, thank you for your care, Senior,” Zhou Heng didn’t refuse this time. He looked around again and inquired, “Senior You, is this what is known as the Cave Sky of the inner landscape?”