I Cheated While Cultivating

The chanting still layered upon itself, as if countless spirits were reciting in unison.

This time, unlike before, Zhou Heng even felt that the chanting was not meant for others but for himself.

It was just like the Divine Recitation he had heard when he entered the world where the Purple Tenuity Palace existed.

Previously, he had also asked the Inner Seats of the Five Emperors about hearing strange sounds when entering the world of the Purple Tenuity Palace.

The Inner Seats of the Five Emperors gave him a precise response, confirming sounds would be heard but they were mostly incomprehensible mutterings without any useful information, utterly unintelligible.

And they admonished him not to focus his spirit on listening intently, lest his spirit suffers harm.

This meant that the recitation of the Ziwei Divine Decree was only audible to him.

Others only heard meaningless mutterings, which even carried a certain degree of danger.

“Are these voices reciting praises to the Great Emperor of Ziwei?” Zhou Heng’s brows slightly furrowed as he thought, “Since the real Great Emperor of Ziwei is nowhere to be found, have these prayers reached the ears of an impostor like me?

“Right, it must also have something to do with the Zhou Tian Star Chart; otherwise, why can’t I hear anything outside… No, wait, aren’t I in the midst of executing the Divine Punishment of the Stars to exterminate evil creatures?

“How did I come to such a place? Is it that every first use of the Zhou Tian Star Chart’s power results in this, or is it something special about the Ziwei star position?”

While Zhou Heng was confused, his hand had already condensed a spherical starlight, incredibly dazzling and bright, almost like a miniature sun, containing extremely powerful forces of evil’s destruction.

This was the Taoist Formula “Divine Punishment of the Stars,” a starlight attack condensed to obliterate ghosts and malevolent spirits, a method employed by members of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer to borrow the power of the Zhou Tian Star Chart, specifically purposed for vanquishing ghosts and demons.

But the starlight he was condensing seemed not merely to borrow from the Zhou Tian Star Chart’s power. It was more like the starlight had converged on its own, forming such a glistening orb intertwined with Taoist Rhyme Theory in his palm.

Indeed, this orb was not only imbued with extremely powerful force but also interwoven with layers of profound principles. Zhou Heng could not help but feel an insight into the way of the stars simply by looking at the orb.

“Congratulations! By observing the intrinsic principles and Taoist Rhyme Theory within the Zhou Tian Star Chart, you have gained insight and learned the Taoist Formula ‘Martian Guarding Heart Mantra\'[Sixth Rank], proficiency +1.”

“Martian Guarding Heart Mantra: A flickering firelight, chaotic and misleading, hence called Martian; the heart is like the heart of the Azure Dragon star, the fire burns a vivid red. When Martian lingers in the heart, misfortune arises.

“Used as a mantra, it has the effect of bringing misfortune upon others. Used as a Taoist art, it controls the firelight, incinerating demons and malevolent spirits.”

To unexpectedly comprehend a Sixth Rank Taoist Formula!

This was a pleasant surprise indeed.

Zhou Heng’s mood instantly brightened, not expecting that executing the Divine Punishment of the Stars for the first time would bring such a gain.

In the realm of Taoist arts, he had always been at a disadvantage.

Up to now, his only usable Eighth Rank Taoist Formula was Palm Thunder. Although the Five Thunder Righteous Method belonged to the Fifth Rank, his current level of attainment was not yet sufficient to comprehend it, so he had to set it aside for later.

——Taoist arts differ from martial arts. Before truly mastering a Taoist art, one can only ponder it through scriptures or objects containing relevant Taoist rhymes and principles, unlike martial arts where one might extrapolate from previous martial knowledge. Therefore, understanding is more difficult, and the requirements for attainment are more stringent.

Furthermore, with his identity as the Ziwei Master, he did not possess any suitable Taoist arts, resulting in him having to rely solely on his Innate Power of Pure Yang and the aggressively yang nature of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms to suppress evil creatures and spirits.

This approach worked well against spirits, but it proved extremely difficult when combating evil creatures.

After all, the Power of Pure Yang had limited effects on evil creatures and was similarly limited against malevolent Yin spirits.

Unless he advanced his Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms to Perfection and furthered his Cultivation of the Pure Yang Classic, he could only possibly eradicate evil creatures directly with his Power of Pure Yang and martial arts.

Otherwise, it would always feel somewhat ineffectual.

Now that he had acquired the “Martian Guarding Heart Mantra,” it was an ideal complement to his shortcomings.

As he grasped this Secret Six Rank Taoist Formula, the starlight in Zhou Heng’s hand had also solidified, and with a flash of light before his eyes, he found himself back in Huangtong Mansion City within the Ledian District.

The Golden Dragon Mirage was still restraining that evil creature, unchanged from before, as if his previous experience in the world of stars had not consumed any time at all.

Hum!!

At that moment, a dazzling beam of starlight streaked across the sky, casting its glow into the eyes of everyone in Huangtong Mansion City, making them feel as if they were beholding a splendid Star River in broad daylight.

Even the brilliance of the sun overhead was almost overshadowed.

This light, as if embodying the splendid Star River, consolidated into a column that fell precisely upon that evil creature.

“Aaahh!!”

A terribly wretched scream came from within the starlight. The evil creature, which previously gave Zhou Heng some trouble and seemed difficult to defeat, did not have a chance to recover and instantly disintegrated into nothingness under the enveloping starlight.

When the starlight dissipated and tranquility returned, even the Golden Dragon Mirage had vanished, leaving no trace of where the evil creature had been.

As though it had never existed.

Eradicated completely.

Spirit and form, both extinguished!

Erased from existence!

“Congratulations, you have slain the formidable enemy evil creature ‘Long Tooth,’ Fortune Bag [Silver] +3.”

The reward notification sounded.

Zhou Heng let out a long sigh of relief.

This was his first battle against a Seventh Rank evil creature, a completely different experience from fighting humans or spirits, and it made him recognize his true strength without the “attribute restraint.”

“I’m not yet flawless in every aspect, for instance, when dealing with evil creatures, my martial arts and Taoist formulas are both lacking in some areas, and my key basic attributes also lack bonuses for this aspect.”

Zhou Heng made a simple summary of his situation.

However, the martial arts aspect could be addressed by elevating the realm of Purple Thunder Seven Strikes and the Pure Yang Dan Jing, and as for Taoist formulas, he already had the “Shining Stars Mind-Protecting Spell”; it was just a matter of practice and proficiency now.

The only thing still without a solution was the basic attribute bonus, which was completely random and dependent on one’s luck with opening Fortune Bags; there was no reliable method to address it.

If there was one, it would be to open more Fortune Bags.

“Once things settle down, I’ll open those three Silver Luck Bags I just got. I remember that Silver Luck Bags have the highest probability of granting basic attribute bonuses,” Zhou Heng thought to himself.

“Star Envoy, your martial arts and Taoist formulas are impressive, truly powerful!” At this moment, Wu Zongshan came over and said admiringly, “Evil creatures are difficult to kill, yet under the Star Envoy’s Taoist formulas, they are easily defeated.”

His heart was indeed filled with emotion.

This Star Envoy was only an Eighth Rank martial artist, yet he had the power to kill a Seventh Rank evil creature. The Zhou Tian Boundary Officer was indeed incomparably mighty.

If a common Eighth Rank martial artist faced the combat power of the Seventh Rank, they would be effortlessly crushed, likely unable to withstand even one confrontation with a Seventh Rank evil creature before being knocked unconscious by the psychic assault.

The difference was immeasurable, as vast as the sky is from the earth.

For martial artists, possessing a high-level inheritance was crucial.

“Although the evil creature is dead, its influence remains. Those elderly who died here, as well as the families of the women originally from the Melody Workshop, were all innocents parasitized by the evil creature. Please, Master of the Mansion, take good care of their families,” Zhou Heng said solemnly.

This one evil creature’s rampage had already resulted in a massive human tragedy, with thirty to forty women from the Melody Workshop, more than a dozen men, and some elderly who came to listen to music and rejuvenate—all of them fell victim to the evil creature’s actions.

Behind them were dozens of families who suffered unexpected misfortunes, hundreds of grieving relatives; moreover, they couldn’t be told the truth.

The existence of the evil creatures needed to remain concealed.

The only alternative was to offer these families more compensation in other ways; this was Zhou Heng’s thought, and he hoped that Wu Zongshan, the Master of the Mansion, would fulfill this responsibility.

“You are thoughtful, Star Envoy. I had been contemplating how to compensate their families,” Wu Zongshan nodded and said, “Please rest assured.”

“Then I shall take my leave now,” Zhou Heng bowed slightly.

He then strode away.

“Star Envoy, take care,” Wu Zongshan was slightly stunned, not expecting the Star Envoy to act so decisively and efficiently.

“Truly an extraordinary person, before long, there will likely be another powerful figure in the world.”

…

After leaving the Melody Workshop, Zhou Heng directly utilized his lightness skill to leave the city; he planned to stay away from Huangtong Mansion City for a few days before returning openly under his real identity as Zhou Heng.

Although somewhat troublesome, he felt quite a thrill of playing a role, as if he could interact with people as two separate individuals.

Not bad.

As he was leaving the city, he encountered a man dressed in a multicolored robe with similarly dyed hair, whose inner qi felt rather peculiar and untrustworthy.

However, Zhou Heng did not judge others without evidence and would not attack without being sure of someone’s character, so he simply ignored the man.

The man also noticed Zhou Heng and even recognized the attire of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer, quickly bowing his head, his eyes filled with dark shadows and resentment.

“Damn it, the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer, ruining my plans. Just a little more growth from that evil creature, and I could have refined it into a Spectral Light; consuming it would have allowed me to break through my limits and reach Secret Six Rank!

“Cursed, cursed! No, I cannot let this go; I have to find other opportunities. I must break through to Secret Six Rank!”

…

Three days later.

Zhou Heng leisurely returned to Huangtong Mansion City on a spirited red date horse. This time, he made no disguise, dressed in regular blue robes and returning with his original identity as Zhou Heng.

As he approached the city gate, the man who had been lurking around Huangtong Mansion City looking for an opportunity noticed him.

The man in the multicolored robe perched in a tree, watching Zhou Heng from afar, his eyes shining, and he couldn’t help but lick his lips.

“Ah, how perfect, excellent material! He must be the true disciple from the Pure Yang Palace—I’ve hit the jackpot. If I refine him into a Spectral Light, not to mention reaching Secret Six Rank, even attaining Sect Fifth Rank wouldn’t be a problem!

“Hahaha! Fantastic, fantastic! And he’s only an Eighth Rank martial artist, hahaha! My little treasure, here I come! I’m coming for you!!”

With a leap, he jumped off the tree and pounced directly toward Zhou Heng!!