I Cheated While Cultivating

She could be considered as one of the Grandmasters closest to the realm of the Celestial Man in today’s world, and it was said that she once used witchcraft to instantly dry up a great lake that spanned eight hundred miles. Her mastery over witchcraft was said to have reached the pinnacle.

“Such a Grandmaster came to Huangtong Mansion City without any notice, and listening to her conversation with Feng Shaoe, it seems she is here for me?” Zhou Heng’s heart was filled with surprise and suspicion; he couldn’t recall any interactions he might have had with the Ghost Emperor Sect.

He could understand why Feng Shaoe would come after him, perhaps that girl couldn’t stand being ousted from the top ten of the Earth Ranking and wanted to challenge him to restore her reputation, but what about Li Qiyun?

Why would such an important figure take an interest in him and even throw her disciple into the mix to probe him?

Zhou Heng was filled with doubts.

However, it looked like he would find out soon enough.

By now, Feng Shaoe had already told Li Qiyun all the details of her paper figurine battle with Zhou Heng.

The White Tiger by her side also shook its body, quickly shrinking into a little white cat the size of two palms and jumped into Li Qiyun’s arms, enjoying being stroked.

“Although you didn’t truly exchange blows with him, this is enough. Taoist Formulas, this Zhou Heng is very good at Taoist Formulas, isn’t he? The Thunder Method, Sword Control Technique, paper-cutting into soldiers… very good.”

Li Qiyun’s eyes twinkled as she softly stroked the white cat’s fur in her arms, slightly nodding her head with a smile, “It seems his past life could indeed have been that Great Witch of our ancestors.”

“Master, Zhou Heng’s past life is related to our Ghost Emperor Sect?” Feng Shaoe said in surprise upon hearing this.

“That’s not necessarily the case,” Li Qiyun shook her head and said, “It’s just some similarities, and there are also parts related to other powerful beings on him, making it unclear to see.”

“Master, I don’t quite understand, is it that important to investigate Zhou Heng’s past life identity?” Feng Shaoe was somewhat confused and puzzled.

“Of course, it is very important,” Li Qiyun nodded and said, “This Zhou Heng, whether in martial arts or Taoist Formulas, is immensely powerful, and the foresight from his past life makes even those of the Upper Third Rank Immortals wary.

“Judging from these performances, his past life was at least a Divine First Rank Saint or a Taoist Master, or even possibly a Great Divine Power beyond the Divine First Rank.

“If one day he truly awakens his past life memories, or even recovers the cultivation realm of his past life, it would immediately lead to a drastic change in the world, and then no power could stay out of it.

“The older the power, the more so.”

“Are these powers worried that Zhou Heng’s past life identity has enmity with them?” Feng Shaoe suddenly realized.

“Not only that, but if they have a relatively close relationship with Zhou Heng’s past life identity, then helping Zhou Heng to recover his past life memories sooner would mean gaining a great ally out of nowhere.”

Li Qiyun shook her head with a smile, “There are also those who want to bet on him while Zhou Heng is still weak, so when he regains his memory and past life’s cultivation realm, they can use this as a bargaining chip for assistance.

“But even with such thoughts, one would need to clarify who exactly Zhou Heng’s past life identity was, in case he was some evil figure who wouldn’t acknowledge anything, then the bet would have been in vain.”

Zhou Heng, listening on the side, was utterly bemused and astounded.

Isn’t this a bit too much speculation?

Initially, he had just taken the chance to explain his sudden “burst of growth” as a reincarnation of a great being, but now it seemed to be escalating?

Many major powers were secretly taking note?

That’s a bit of a stretch.

But at this moment, he surely couldn’t jump out and say that he wasn’t a reincarnation of any great being or a Great Divine Power, but just an ordinary transmigrator, right?

That was obviously not possible.

Zhou Heng frowned, worried about this matter.

These major powers had varied intentions; who knew what situations he would encounter next?

If it was like what Li Qiyun described as the second or third scenarios, it would still be fine, at least there was good will, and he might even reap some benefits.

But what if a major power was convinced that his past life was its enemy and decided to eliminate him directly?

That would be incredibly unjust.

At this moment, Feng Shaoe raised another question, “Master, you just speculated that Zhou Heng’s past life might be related to one of our ancestors’ Great Witches, but our current actions seem to have already offended him.”

“Are you worried that Zhou Heng will hold a grudge after awakening the memories of his past life?” Li Qiyun laughed upon hearing this and gently shook her head, “Don’t worry, even if we now offend Zhou Heng to death, it won’t matter.

“Once he awakens the memories of his past life, the mere decade or so of experiences in this life cannot possibly withstand the torrent of memories from who knows how many tens of thousands of years in his past life.

“It has always been the case that when a great being awakens memories of their past life, they usually treat the memories of this life as nothing more than a dream, unworthy of their concern, so there’s no need to worry at all.

“Shaoe, in fact, you might consider it this way, we’ve only offended the current Zhou Heng, and when his memories awaken, this ‘Zhou Heng’ will essentially be dead.”

Her words were incredibly casual, as though the affair was of no consequence, as if the Zhou Heng of this life was utterly insignificant.

Zhou Heng listened to Li Qiyun’s words from the side, his eyes darkening with each word. Even though he was fully aware that he was not the reincarnation of some great being, hearing Li Qiyun speak like this made him uncomfortable.

It was clear to him that in Li Qiyun’s heart, she had never taken the Zhou Heng of this life seriously. What the “Witch King” truly cared about was only the so-called “identity of Zhou Heng’s past life.”

Even if the Zhou Heng of this life was earth-shatteringly brilliant, stunningly talented, in her eyes, he was inconsequential, even laughable.

For in her view, the outcome for this Zhou Heng was already sealed.

His past life would inevitably awaken within him, and at that time, the current Zhou Heng would cease to exist.

“Someday I will punch you hard in the face, to show you ‘this Zhou Heng’s’ mettle!” Zhou Heng raised his eyebrows and spat dismissively in Li Qiyun’s direction.

Anyway, he was currently under the effect of a Stealth Card, and even an Absolute Fourth Rank would fail to detect him.

“So that’s the way it is, I understand now,” Feng Shaoe seemed to have completely grasped the situation and laughed, “I was somewhat indignant about being pushed out of the top ten of the Human Rankings by him, but now it seems there was no need for such feelings.

“Let alone his ranking of sixth on the Human Rankings, even if he were to become number one, isn’t it inevitable that he will ultimately transform into another person? How tragic.”

“Indeed, the life of this Zhou Heng is doomed to be a tragedy,” Li Qiyun nodded lightly, then she reached out and took out a silver, crescent-shaped Time Stone, “Shaoe, take this ‘Time Stone’ and find an opportunity to get closer to Zhou Heng.”

“Time Stone?!” Feng Shaoe exclaimed in disbelief, staring at the crescent-shaped crystal in her hand, and carefully cradled it in her palm, asking, “Master, this is an Absolute Fourth Rank rarity, said to contain the principles of time’s rules, exceedingly precious. You, why are you giving this to me?”

“Exactly, this Time Stone contains the principles of time’s rules, very mysterious,” Li Qiyun nodded and said solemnly, “I want you to use this stone to probe Zhou Heng’s past life identity.

“As long as you carry this Time Stone with you and get close to him, you will naturally be able to sense some fragments of time related to him, which may contain information about his past life.”

“Master, you are truly farsighted!” Feng Shaoe nodded with excitement, clutching the Time Stone tightly, feeling immensely delighted.

With a rarity like the Time Stone, as long as one carried it for a long time, one’s body might come under the influence of the principles contained within, leading one to become more aligned with those time-related principles.

In the Grand Witch Sect, all time-related witchcraft were exceptionally powerful. Many of them were skills she had long dreamed of, yet previously had been unqualified to learn.

“As long as I keep this Time Stone with me at all times, once I reach the Secret Sixth Rank, I will have the qualifications to study them,” Feng Shaoe thought joyfully to herself, then opened her palm again, gazing at the crescent-shaped crystal with delight, believing it to be the world’s most beautiful gemstone.

But at that moment, she suddenly felt something grasp at her palm, and the Time Stone disappeared without a trace, gone in thin air.

“How, how is this possible?!” Feng Shaoe was stunned, eyes wide with disbelief, staring at her hands, almost questioning if she was hallucinating.

Could it be that the Master had changed her mind and taken back the Time Stone?

With this thought, she looked up at her Master and saw Li Qiyun with an equally astonished expression, looking dazed as if struck by lightning.

“Master, what, what’s happening??” Feng Shaoe asked in utter shock.

“How could this… Is, is there perhaps some senior among us??” Li Qiyun’s expression went from shock to panic, clutching Feng Shaoe’s shoulder, “If our words just now had offended in any way, we plead for the senior’s forgiveness. Li Qiyun of the Grand Witch Sect will not trouble you any longer, goodbye!”

Before she finished speaking, she had already whisked Feng Shaoe away in a flurry of wind and snow, disappearing without a trace in an instant, fleeing in utter panic.

For Li Qiyun, someone clearly had just taken the Time Stone from right under their noses, in front of her, and she had not sensed a thing.

This implied that the person who took the Time Stone had the same power to make her perish without her noticing!

Such divine power, such immense mana, it was simply inconceivable!

Such a person, even among the Celestial Men, could not be ordinary!

Frightened, she fled the scene immediately.

Meanwhile, Zhou Heng, the “great personality” who had taken the Time Stone, was dashing as fast as he could toward Huangtong Mansion City, his heart racing with glee.

The supplemental Spiritual Material for comprehending the ‘Sword Technique of Conviction’ was finally within reach!