I Cheated While Cultivating

The scene was deadly silent, not a sound to be heard.

Everyone present was staring, dumbfounded at the spectacle before them.

The “Son of God,” Gu Xiao, had been struck on the head by Zhou Heng’s “Evil-Slaying Palm,” and died on the spot, becoming a headless corpse that collapsed to the ground, his hot blood flowing everywhere.

The distinguished Seventh Rank of the Celestial List, possessor of the Solar Divine Body—was he truly dead?

Could it be?

How could this happen?

Those witnessing this battle had considered the possibility of Gu Xiao losing, just as they had considered Zhou Heng losing, but they had never imagined a fight to the death that would end in a fatality.

Even though Pure Yang Palace and Solar Divine Palace had certain longstanding feuds, and their disciples often engaged in martial combat upon meeting, they were, after all, both righteous sects, not inclined to battle to the death.

But now, Zhou Heng had actually killed Gu Xiao!

This was a serious incident!

“I didn’t expect Gu Xiao to be so fragile. Brother Zhou, your strength has grown stronger compared to before,” Wang Xiuye walked over, his face showing astonishment, and some sighs of regret.

Previously, when they were in Wujiang Prefecture City, Zhou Heng was at the peak of Eighth Rank, and even then, Wang Xiuye was no match for him. Now that Zhou Heng had reached Seventh Rank, his strength far surpassed Wang Xiuye’s.

This is like comparing goods, which makes one feel inadequate, and comparing people, which can be disheartening!

“However, killing Gu Xiao, won’t this cause problems?” Wang Xiuye said, somewhat worried. Gu Xiao’s status within Solar Divine Palace was no ordinary matter; it could not be described simply as that of a True Disciple.

He possessed the Solar Divine Body!

Ever since the Ancient Mythological Era, before Gu Xiao, there had only been one other with the Solar Divine Body in the Solar Divine Palace, which could only mean they valued Gu Xiao tremendously.

“Indeed, I’ve killed him, but this doesn’t mean he is completely dead,” Zhou Heng shook his head and chuckled lightly, pointing at Gu Xiao’s headless body and said to Wang Xiuye, “Previously in Wujiang Prefecture City, you were resurrected after dying at the hands of that Loose Immortal. Do you really think that a Son of God, as highly valued as Gu Xiao, would not have a secret treasure of resurrection?”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Gu Xiao’s headless corpse spontaneously combusted, the blood that had pooled on the ground burning as if it were oil.

In the blink of an eye, the headless corpse and the blood had burned away to nothingness, vanishing without a trace.

The onlookers were staring, their faces filled with disbelief.

For ordinary people and common, unranked or Ninth Grade martial artists, such an eerie scene was unheard of!

“This is a resurrection treasure, Gu Xiao should have returned to a prearranged resurrection site,” Wang Xiuye slapped his forehead, looking slightly embarrassed, “I completely forgot about this.”

From a collateral family, although he was the most outstanding disciple of his generation within the Wang Clan of Xuanzhou, he only managed to receive a secret resurrection treasure bestowed by his family after considerable effort.

After being killed by the Loose Immortal Yu Long, he was resurrected back at his family home and even got scolded by the direct line elders.

Because, the Wang Clan of Xuanzhou no longer had a Celestial Man.

Such resurrection treasures, once used, were gone—one less with each use. The direct line elders all felt that Wang Xiuye was being too wasteful.

Since then, he no longer had a resurrection treasure on him,

This made Wang Xiuye fundamentally not want to remember anything about the life-saving secret treasure, which led to him momentarily forgetting that he still had such a thing to save his life.

“Although Gu Xiao had a life-saving secret treasure, after this battle, I’m afraid he won’t re-enter the Jianghu for a short time,” Zhou Heng said with his hands behind his back, looking at the place where Gu Xiao’s corpse had disappeared, and chuckled, “unless he is confident he can defeat me.”

Without a doubt, Gu Xiao was a person with extremely strong self-pride. To be killed by Zhou Heng under the watchful eyes of the public, especially since it was he who took the initiative to provoke the fight, this was in his eyes an unimaginable disgrace.

Without the confidence to defeat Zhou Heng, he would not reappear in the Jianghu.

…

Above the long street where Zhou Heng and Gu Xiao battled,

a middle-aged man clad in a gray robe, holding a dust whisk, with an indistinct air about him stood hovering in the air, his gaze fixed on the azure shadow not far ahead, his expression solemn.

This middle-aged man referred to by Gu Xiao as “Uncle Quan” was named Gu Quan. He was Gu Xiao’s clan uncle and was over two hundred years old, a Fifth Rank Sect Master.

When Zhou Heng was battling Gu Xiao earlier, he intended to intervene and stop Zhou Heng from killing Gu Xiao, but he was blocked by the azure shadow and could not take action.

Although the aura of the azure shadow was also only at the level of a Sect Fifth Rank, Gu Quan could clearly sense that this shadow was most likely just an avatar, whose essence of power far exceeded that of a Grandmaster. This was why it easily stopped him.

Its real body would probably be that of a Great Grandmaster at the Absolute Fourth Rank.

“This Great Grandmaster, even if you want to protect Zhou Heng, it’s fine, but he killed the divine son of our sect, thus sealing the enmity. Do you also want to share this grudge?” Gu Quan said in a deep voice.

Although he suspected this azure shadow’s real body might be of the Absolute Fourth Rank, he did not feel afraid, because behind him stood the colossal entity that is the Solar Divine Palace.

An extremely powerful sect known to have inherited from the Mythical Era with a Divine First Rank among them, and even in the current times, there are still three living beings with the mighty power of Second Rank.

This gave Gu Quan the confidence to threaten a Great Grandmaster at the Absolute Fourth Rank.

“Get lost!”

From within the azure shadow suddenly came a low shout, containing an intense Law Power, a technique surpassing the level of Sect Fifth Rank, that instantly hammered down upon Gu Quan’s Divine Soul.

Hum!

Gu Quan was directly sent flying backward, with no power to resist, his struggles utterly ineffective. After flying backward for over three hundred miles, he finally slowly came to a stop.

But just as he stopped, Gu Quan immediately spat out blood and fell from the sky. That single shout had severely shaken his Divine Soul, pushing his Dharma Phase to the brink of shattering.

“This is the power of the Dharma Body, an authentic Absolute Fourth Rank!” Thoughts raced through Gu Quan’s mind, his anger flaring, “Who else in Xuanzhou County City has such power? Zhou Heng’s Taoist Protector?

“But it’s well-known that the Pure Yang Palace has never followed the custom of having accompanying Taoist Protectors, so who else could it be? The governor of Xuanzhou? Or… that dying old thing from the Xuanzhou Wang Clan?

“Damn it, with my severe injuries and significant damage to the Dharma Phase, I’m afraid I’ll need to recuperate for thirty years…”

…

Purple State.

Among the seven coastal states of Eastern Sea in Da Qi, it is the most prosperous and powerful one, but also one of the few states over which the Imperial Court has the least control.

For the ancient Solar Divine Palace is situated in the Purple State, atop the Dawn Glow Mountain.

The Dawn Glow Mountain stretches nearly ten thousand miles and is said to be formed by the ancestor of the Solar Divine Palace, who for eighty-one years absorbed the solar essence and morning glow, and created it with the Great Divine Power.

The mountain is aptly dubbed “Morning Glow Mountain” and also referred to as “Eastern Purple Qi Mountain Range”. It’s for this reason, too, that this land is called “Purple State”.

Since time immemorial, the people of Purple State have worshipped the Sun God, bowing in the direction of Morning Glow Mountain on the first day of each year and conducting grand ceremonies to offer sacrifices to the Sun God, praying for peace and prosperity.

One could say that in the land of Purple State, it is not at all strange to know only of the Solar Divine Palace and not of the Da Qi Imperial Court.

Atop the highest peak of Morning Glow Mountain called Purple Qi Peak, lies the divine realm most revered and yearned for by the countless peoples of Purple State.

At this moment, atop Purple Qi Peak, myriad paths of crimson glow flowed incessantly.

On the divine light platform constructed of Sun God stones, sat three middle-aged men. They were clad in luxurious garments, radiating golden light and emitting intense brilliance, like three suns illuminating the void.

Suddenly, a jade platform behind them spontaneously burst into golden flames, catching the attention of the three men. All opened their eyes and stood up to look.

After a short while, the golden flames slowly extinguished, and the figure of Gu Xiao appeared on the jade platform.

As soon as Gu Xiao opened his eyes, he saw the three men before him. He hurriedly stepped down from the jade platform and bowed with clasped hands, “Greetings to my master, and to the two esteemed uncles.”

These three were none other than the three Absolute Fourth Rank Great Grandmasters of the Solar Divine Palace.

“The Crimson Sun Revered One” Wei Xuanling, “The Great Solar Rainbow” Jiang Yang, and “The Burning Sea Deity” Gao Yan.

Among them, “The Crimson Sun Revered One” was Gu Xiao’s master, as well as the strongest Absolute Fourth Rank Great Grandmaster of this generation in the Solar Divine Palace, ranked fifth on the Earth Ranking, with immense strength.

And that jade platform was precisely the “resurrection point” previously set by Gu Xiao.

“What happened, have you been killed?” Wei Xuanling saw Gu Xiao descend from the jade platform and asked with a slightly furrowed brow and a grave tone, “Who has the ability, who has the audacity, to kill you?”

The other two also turned their gaze toward Gu Xiao, equally curious.

In their view, within the realm of Lower Third Rank, even a top-ranked martial artist from the human list would find it hard to spar with Gu Xiao, not to mention there were very few who could actually kill him, except maybe the number one, Fang Wen.

Who would possess such ability?

If a Middle Third Rank powerhouse took action, forcibly oppressing by higher realm, that would be an even bolder move.

Gu Xiao wasn’t just an ordinary disciple of the Solar Divine Palace—a Solar Divine Body like him, if he truly fell at the hands of another Middle Third Rank individual, the Solar Divine Palace would undoubtedly seek vengeance with all their might.

To dare to lay hands on Gu Xiao was indeed a brazen move.

“It was Zhou Heng!” Gu Xiao said gravely, “There’s nothing more to say, I was indeed inferior in skill. Moreover, Zhou Heng is very cunning; he is not just any ordinary Pure Yang Body but the Vajra Unbreakable Divine Body, which is rare to see in a thousand years!”

Then, he recounted the details of his battle with Zhou Heng.

“Well, you lost fairly,” Wei Xuanling nodded and spoke soberly, “To withstand more than two hundred hits from the Overturning Heaven Three Palms without harm, even being unaffected by supreme techniques like the Golden Crow Sundering Heaven, and still possessing extremely potent strength, he must indeed have the Vajra Unbreakable Body.

“However, given that his bloodline is very thin, he should only have a Vajra Unbreakable Body. Otherwise, if it were just the recoil power of the divine body, your hand would have been injured by the shock—that would be a true Vajra Unbreakable Divine Body.

“Moreover, according to your description, the palm technique used by Zhou Heng is extremely mysterious and powerful, giving the impression of a celestial being crushing mountains and shattering the earth. It is probably a Fourth Rank ultimate skill; this individual must not be underestimated.”

“I think this man must not be spared!” Gao Yan, with his volatile temper, exclaimed as his eyes widened like copper bells, “If our Solar Divine Body died once, the Pure Yang Body of the Pure Yang Palace should die once too!”

“Do you wish to take action personally?” Jiang Yang scoffed lightly from the side and asked, “Based on Xiaor’s account, Zhou Heng’s strength is likely sufficient to enter the top three of the human list, and he might only be second to Fang Wen among the Lower Third Rank. Who can you find to defeat him?”

“There’s no need for my two uncles or my master to arrange anything, I will defeat him with my own hands!” Gu Xiao declared solemnly, “This time I simply didn’t expect him to also have a divine body. I will cultivate for some time, and upon our next encounter, I am determined to defeat him personally!”

“Good, that’s the spirit I expect from a disciple of Wei Xuanling!” Wei Xuanling was quite pleased and chuckled. “Let’s not discuss that for now. Did you find out any news during your trip to Xuanzhou?”

“Master, I indeed heard a rumor,” Gu Xiao nodded and said, “In the County City of Xuanzhou, I heard that over a hundred years ago, there was a sighting of two suns in the sky. The person you’ve been searching for might be connected to Pingzhou.”

“Two suns in the sky, Pingzhou…” Wei Xuanling narrowed his eyes slightly upon hearing this and thought to himself, “It seems that fellow must have had the assistance of a master back then to conceal the heavenly secrets and obscure the news from the common world, otherwise, we should have heard of it long ago.

“Finally, a clue?” Gao Yan laughed heartily and said, “That’s great, I was just thinking about going out to stretch my limbs. Brother, let me go.”

“You? There’s no need,” Wei Xuanling directly shook his head and said, “Gu Quan is still in Xuanzhou and can relay the message to have him investigate in Pingzhou.”

“That… alright.” Gao Yan nodded somewhat disappointedly.

“It’s been more than a hundred years, you’ve really made me search hard for you!” Wei Xuanling looked towards Pingzhou with narrowed eyes, his gaze carried a chill.

…

Inside the auxiliary estate of the Wang Clan.

Zhou Heng was sitting on the bed in the guest room, looking at his hands, moving his fingers back and forth, and feeling the power within them while mulling over something, thinking to himself:

“Vajra Unbreakable Divine Body, Gu Xiao considered me as such a Divine Body? Is it because of my sturdy physique and great strength? But that’s just the base attribute enhancement from my constitution +4 and colossal strength +5…

“Could it be that these enhancements are actually manifestations of the Vajra Unbreakable Divine Body, similarly to how the base attribute bonus against shadow spirits is seen as a Pure Yang Body?

“If that’s the case, then what about my other base attribute bonuses like insight, agility, Spiritual Root, spirit, comprehension, dexterity, and evil-banishing? What kind of physique would they correspond to?

“Even though some are only +2 or even +1, their effects are extremely powerful. It seems that the benefits of these base attribute enhancements are much greater than I initially thought.”

Before, he had only regarded the base attribute enhancement as a simple increase, but now it seemed there was much more to it.

“I can look into the exact nature of these conditions later, when I return to Ta Hua Mount or Purple Tenuity Palace.” Zhou Heng gathered his thoughts, preparing to meditate and understand the biggest gain from his recent battle with Gu Xiao.

[Absolute Fourth Rank] Golden Crow Slaughter God Great Law: Not Learned (0.0000001/1)

An absolute Fourth Rank technique!

Theoretically, this was an earth-shattering technique on the same level as “Overturning Heaven Three Palms”!

Moreover, this technique was related to the Golden Crow, and there were legends about the Golden Crow on Earth as well.

This made Zhou Heng wonder if there was any connection between this technique and Earth?

But the rank of the “Golden Crow Slaughter God Great Law” was just too high; no matter how he contemplated it, he could only increase his proficiency by 0.0000001 at a time.

It was almost impossible to comprehend.

The only benefit was that while attempting to comprehend this technique, he could envision the sight of the Golden Crow rending apart a giant deity, which was quite beneficial for enhancing his palm and finger techniques.

“It’s a pity that I’ve already used the epiphany card when learning ‘Overturning Heaven Three Palms’; otherwise, I could directly learn this technique.” Zhou Heng couldn’t help feeling regretful, as if he was guarding a treasure yet unable to unlock it.

“Wait a moment, the copper mansion that had been assigned for me to live in had an image of the Golden Crow on its screen wall.

“And that mansion had many peculiarities, with rumors that its original owner disappeared after the occurrence of the two suns in the sky.

“Could there be something useful there for comprehending the Golden Crow Slaughter God Great Law? Hmm… It’s worth checking out.”