I Cheated While Cultivating

“That is to say, she is still safe, right?” Zhou Heng breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Following the rules, I should not inquire about the details of her mission, should I?”

“Correct,” the member of the Five Emperors Inner Seat nodded and said, “Theoretically speaking, apart from me, the manager of the Hall of Worry-Free, only the high-level management has the authority to directly review the mission status of others.

“However, if you can obtain the consent of the person undertaking the mission, then it is possible to learn about it, or if a problem arises in the mission world that requires someone to cross worlds for a rescue, you can also learn the details of the mission.”

“Neither of these apply to me, well, it’s best if the second scenario does not occur.” Zhou Heng smiled, feeling much more relaxed after knowing Cheng Jianjian was safe.

“The star lord can rest assured, with Tian Ji’s strength, that mission isn’t particularly difficult, and she should be able to return smoothly after some time,” the member of the Five Emperors Inner Seat smiled.

“If Tian Ji returns, please send me a message, senior,” Zhou Heng said.

“It’s a small matter, star lord, rest assured,” the member of the Five Emperors Inner Seat nodded in agreement, as to him, it was indeed a trivial task, requiring minimal effort.

“Aside from that, there is another matter I wish to inquire about,” Zhou Heng added.

“The star lord may speak,” the member of the Five Emperors Inner Seat beckoned.

“Are there still demonic creatures in other worlds?” Zhou Heng asked, “Like animals and plants that have gained sentience? It seems that demonic creatures have already vanished within the Da Qi territory.”

“Not to mention Da Qi, you will not see demonic creatures in the three kingdoms of the Central Plains either, but that does not mean they are completely extinct,” the member of the Five Emperors Inner Seat said with a smile, “In some remote, deep mountains and old forests, small demons occasionally come into being, but they rarely become powerful, not much stronger than ordinary wild beasts.

“This is because during the Middle Ancient Era of Saints, the human race was incredibly strong, and many demonic creatures were hunted down by human martial artists, or tamed as pets or mounts. With the human race’s overwhelming dominance, many great demons and even demon immortals chose to reside overseas.

“After the Age of Saints concluded, the Central Dynasty overwhelmed the era, noble families stood tall, and the overall strength of the human race surpassed the past. Consequently, the number of demons born afterward also decreased, leading to the situation you see today.

“However, in the myriad worlds of the heavens, although most are also dominated by the human race, the human race in most worlds is not strong enough to completely suppress the demonic creatures.

“Therefore, in other worlds, as long as there are conditions for demonic creatures to be born, they are generally present, and in some higher-tier worlds, there are even great demons comparable to Celestial Men.”

He seemed to have quite a bit of sentiment on this matter, and found himself saying a few more words as he spoke, realizing afterwards that he may have said a bit too much.

“It’s good for the star lord to just listen. If you travel to a world with demonic creatures in the future, we will make sure you are prepared in advance,” the member of the Five Emperors Inner Seat said, feigning as if nothing had happened.

“Understood, thank you, senior, for clearing my doubts,” Zhou Heng nodded and smiled, yet his heart was stirring with thoughts as he caught a key piece of information in what the Five Emperors Inner Seat had just said.

After the end of the Middle Ancient Era of Saints, the strength of the human race surpassed their past!

What does that imply?

In a world where might is intrinsic to oneself, the strength of a race depends on the number of its top-notch powerhouses.

That is, the number of Divine First Rank individuals.

In the Middle Ancient Era, the Nine Saints alone accounted for nine Divine First Rank individuals.

Beyond that, there were the Pure Yang Palace, Taixu Viewpoint, Jia Ye Temple, Infinite Temple and other top Sects, each having at least one Saint.

How numerous were the Saints of that era.

After the Age of Saints, with the Nine Saints perished and nine Divine First Rank individuals gone, how could the human race possibly become stronger than before?

How could such a thing occur?

Considering the current situation of the world, the three empires of Da Zhou, Da Qi, and Da Jin put together might not even have that many Divine First Rank individuals.

If what the member of the Five Emperors Inner Seat said is true and the human race was truly that mighty after the Middle Ancient, why did it become what it is today, what happened in between?

At that thought, the answer was almost at hand.

The Battle of Tian Yang!

“It seems that the impact and secrets contained in that battle from three thousand years ago are much greater than I had previously speculated,” Zhou Heng thought to himself, “No wonder whether it’s the Sect or the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer, they are all so tight-lipped about that battle.”

Interested in the Battle of Tian Yang, he tried to further inquire with the member of the Five Emperors Inner Seat, but no matter how he probed, this Great Grandmaster remained tight-lipped.

He only said that once Zhou Heng’s authority in Pure Yang Palace or Zhou Tian Boundary Officer increased a step further, he would naturally be able to understand more about the Battle of Tian Yang and that there was no need to worry at this time.

Therefore, Zhou Heng could only take his leave from the Hall of Worry-Free, saying farewell to The Supreme and Tian Li, the two Celestial Men. He once again stepped onto the starlight bridge, found a “bridge cave,” and walked through.

The very next moment, he had traversed a million miles of Da Qi’s territory and arrived at the foot of Taihua Mount.

The disciple guarding the mountain recognized him and did not impede his passage, allowing him to proceed up Taihua Mount.

Above the Golden Peak of Jade Void Peak.

Zhou Heng saw Yan Shouyi again and said, “Senior Brother, I’ve inquired about Jiang Jian’s situation. She’s just gone to take care of something very important to her, and there is no danger at the moment.”

“That’s good, that’s good,” Yan Shouyi nodded gently, smiling and saying, “This way, at least I can give Teacher Qi a response.”

“Teacher Qi is concerned about Jiang Jian,” Zhou Heng chuckled, then said, “Senior brother, there’s another matter I’d like to ask about after my return.”

“Speak,” Yan Shouyi nodded and said.

“I encountered ghostly entities in Yang Fan’s Cave Sky world…” Zhou Heng gave a rough account of his previous experiences in the Cave Sky world, “Can Celestial Men’s Cave Skies also breed ghostly entities?”

“Those were not ghostly entities, and as you said, even though they resembled ghostly entities, something was not quite right about them; they are actually the erosion by evil spirits from beyond our domain, a crisis that every Celestial Man must face.”

“Erosion by evil spirits?” Zhou Heng’s eyes widened upon hearing this, and many thoughts flashed through his mind, he said in astonishment, “Could it be that the Cave Sky worlds of Celestial Men, just like the myriad worlds, are subject to invasions by evil spirits, which use them as stepping stones for their descent?”

Evil spirits are a higher form of existence among evil creatures, akin to the transformation of ghostly entities into Ghost Immortals. Many evil spirits aim to descend into this world.

Such a descent is not achieved overnight; before truly arriving in this world, evil spirits must traverse one world after another, continuously drawing closer.

If the Cave Skies of Celestial Men are like the myriad worlds, then undoubtedly, they are the stepping stones closest to this great world.

“Heh, in fact, many worlds within the myriad worlds are not even fundamentally comparable to the Cave Skies of Celestial Men,” Yan Shouyi said with a light nod and a smile.

“That’s right, just as you suspected, evil spirits erode the Cave Skies of Celestial Men to use them as stepping stones to truly descend into our world.

“In fact, outside of our world, many evil spirits are already lurking, but they have been blocked by barriers and prohibitions, preventing them from a large-scale descent.

“For them, if they wish to truly descend, the simplest way is undoubtedly to erode a ‘stepping stone’ that is already within this world, and the Cave Skies of Celestial Men are undoubtedly the best choice.

“Such erosions by evil spirits are a constant and incurable threat to Celestial Men. In some ways, they are even more troublesome than the decline tribulations.”

At least after surviving the decline tribulations five times, one could enjoy carefree and everlasting life, but the erosion by evil spirits is like an adhesive plaster that, no matter what, cannot be completely eliminated.

Unless all the evil spirits lurking outside the world are annihilated without exception.

By doing this, the erosion by evil spirits could be resolved at the source.

But who could possibly achieve that?

“These evil creatures and evil spirits are truly too bizarre,” Zhou Heng felt somewhat weighed down in his heart after hearing Yan Shouyi’s explanation.

Even Celestial Men must constantly face this terrifying erosion by evil spirits.

In other words, even if one eventually overcomes the five decline tribulations, one wouldn’t truly enjoy carefree and everlasting life; there would still be such great crises to face.

“Junior brother, you needn’t be too concerned about this; over the past few millennia, various Sects’ Celestial Men have developed many methods to resist the erosion by evil spirits,” Yan Shouyi said with a smile. He walked to the edge of the Golden Peak’s cliff, looking at the sea of clouds in the distance. “Unless it’s a Celestial Man who is as weak as Yang Fan and has to fully conceal their power to avoid detection,

“Otherwise, it’s quite difficult for normal Cave Sky worlds to be eroded by evil spirits. What you saw should be considered an exceptional case.”

“Is that so?” Zhou Heng let out a sigh of relief upon hearing this; he had truly thought that even Cave Skies of Celestial Men could be eroded by evil spirits.

That would be a serious concern indeed.

After that, he consulted Yan Shouyi on a few questions regarding the cultivation of the Pure Yang Danjing and then took his leave.

Via the Starlight Bridge of the Purple Tenuity Palace, he returned to the nearest entrance to Huangtong Mansion City.

After Zhou Heng left, Yan Shouyi remained standing at the edge of the cliff, still looking at the tumbling, unsettled sea of clouds, when suddenly he touched his temple.

Gently, with some force, he plucked out a strand of white hair.

Immediately, the strand of white hair combusted without flame, turning to ash and vanishing into nothingness.

…

As the year approaches its thirtieth day, the festive atmosphere becomes thicker.

It is now the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, and every household in Huangtong Mansion City has posted the character for ‘fortune’ and hung up lanterns; firecrackers and all kinds of New Year goods are also prepared to celebrate.

This day at dusk.

The winter snow had just stopped.

The streets were piled with thick layers of snow.

As the sun set, it illuminated the sky with rosy clouds that also reflected on the snow, casting a brilliant radiance.

Zhou Heng walked along this road, his feet crunching in the snow, making a pigeon-like sound.

In his hand, he held several brocade pouches containing protective talismans he had personally drawn, ready to be delivered to Lin Cang, Lei Xiuyan, Yu He, and others as blessings for the New Year.

As he walked,

Zhou Heng suddenly perceived a brightening before his eyes, as if the glow of the setting sun and the brilliance reflected from the snow converged, gathering around the figure of a person ahead.

It was a girl clad in a red cloak with an exquisite hairpin, her features delicate and beautiful, strikingly radiant as if a fairy from a dream.

“Happy New Year, Brother Heng,” the girl said with a sweet and charming smile, it was Yun Xiu.