I Cheated While Cultivating

At this moment, Zhou Heng executed the Sword Control Technique, and the “Purple Lightning” flying sword turned into a streak of lightning, losing the shape of a sword. Furthermore, it intertwined with a vast amount of elemental energy from heaven and earth, shaking the principles of thunder.

In a flash, the wind and clouds changed color, and within a hundred zhang radius of the sky, winds stirred, and clouds swelled, filling with dark clouds. Purple lightning streaked and interwoven in the sky, emitting an extremely ferocious power.

And under this cover of dark clouds, aside from Zhou Heng, all other beings felt an invisible sharpness around them, ready to strike with flying swords the moment they moved.

And the intense sword light descending from the sky towards Zhou Heng had already collided with the Purple Lightning flying sword.

Although this sword light was extraordinarily powerful, far exceeding the limit Zhou Heng could normally handle, after all, it was just a sword light. How could it compare to the genuine treasured sword that was the Purple Lightning flying sword?

The moment the two collided, the sword light was immediately shattered by the Purple Lightning flying sword into countless light fragments, easily breaking them apart.

Immediately after, the Purple Lightning flying sword, under the drive of Zhou Heng’s Sword Control Technique, vibrated gently.

All of a sudden, it let out a deafening thunderous roar, transforming into a purple thunder dragon, as if it split the gloomy sky in two.

Sword Qi Thunder Sound!

This was a high-level application of the Sword Control Technique, extremely powerful and fast. It could manifest the true form of Sword Qi, triggering natural phenomena, and in an instant reach the enemy, far surpassing ordinary Sword Control Technique.

Normally, at least the seventh layer of the Sword Control Technique would be required to execute this Sword Qi Thunder Sound.

With Zhou Heng’s current level barely at the fourth layer, he should not have been able to use it.

However, with the addition of the flying sword, which was tantamount to a weapon of Secret Six Rank on its own, this became possible.

Moreover, Zhou Heng also employed the Purple Thunder Blade Skill on this sword move!

Winter Thunderbolt!

The purple thunder dragon, carrying the Purple Lightning flying sword and releasing endless sharp Sword Qi, seemed to transform into a world of thunder filled with layers of Sword Qi, rolling toward the person who had made a move just now.

“You little thing, you’re bold!”

The attacker shouted furiously from above, flying in the sky, hidden within the layers of clouds, concealing his figure.

Immediately, a gigantic flame palm pressed down from the heavens, engulfing an area of several dozens of zhang, aiming to grasp the flying sword that had turned into a purple thunder dragon.

“Flame, Solar Sword Light, are you from the Solar Divine Palace?” Zhou Heng said gravely, recognizing the nature of the power the person was using, which bore a great resemblance to the Solar Divine Palace.

“Enough talk, die!” The person above coldly snorted without giving a direct answer.

At the same time, the ground beneath Zhou Heng suddenly trembled and surged.

Then the land around him burst apart, and from within emerged a tiger-shaped behemoth made of earth, over ten zhang high, pouncing ferociously toward Zhou Heng.

Boom! Boom!

As the tiger-shaped behemoth moved swiftly, shaking the ground beneath Zhou Heng, heavy shockwaves spread out, overwhelming like a tumbling mountain.

Before the tiger-shaped behemoth even arrived, Zhou Heng had to face continuous shockwaves one after another.

Furthermore, with the behemoth’s incredible speed, if he leaped up to dodge and follow the surging shockwaves on the ground, he would inevitably be unable to escape the attack of the tiger-shaped behemoth.

In an instant, Zhou Heng was at a severe disadvantage. His opponent’s cultivation level was extremely high, at the very least a high-level expert of Secret Six Rank with Innate True Qi.

And he was in his prime, fully prepared, a Secret Six Rank expert!

Clearly, he had come to kill Zhou Heng.

Every move was a killing blow!

If it were Zhou Heng before obtaining the Purple Lightning flying sword, facing such an expert, he would have certainly died unless he used a special skill card to turn the tables.

But now it was different. With a treasured sword in hand, his strength had undergone a dramatic change.

Just when the tiger-shaped colossal beast was about to pounce over, the shockwave was surging towards him, and the purple thunder dragon created by the Purple Thunder Blade was about to be caught by the giant flaming hand, Zhou Heng suddenly closed his eyes.

In his Divine Sense Perception, a river that spanned the past, present, and future emerged. With a sword technique formed in his hands, the Purple Thunder Blade immediately trembled and soared into the sky.

Clang!

The sound of the sword’s cry pierced through all directions.

A gleaming ripple of aquamarine sword light shot out from the purple thunder dragon, positioned across the void, and unexpectedly froze everything within a radius of more than thirty feet.

Sword Technique of Conviction!

Time Immemorial!

Whether it was the tiger-shaped beast formed of clumps of earth, the giant flaming hand pressing down from the heavens, or the ground shockwave rapidly spreading, everything came to a halt.

Even the figure hiding in the clouds was suddenly stiffened, completely unable to move.

It was as if time itself had stopped flowing.

In fact, such a large scope of effect was far beyond the limits Zhou Heng could normally achieve.

Without the Purple Thunder Blade, at best he could have frozen a martial artist who was half a step into the Secret Six Rank.

Yet even so, he felt his body’s Inner Qi, which should have been endlessly regenerating, gushing out as if a large vat had suddenly been shattered, about to be completely depleted in the blink of an eye!

The consumption of this sword technique was too tremendous and terrifying!

Moreover, such a freeze effect could at most last for less than a second.

But, in a battle of life and death, even such a brief moment was more than enough!

Boom!

The thunderous roar of the Sword Qi resounded once again. The aquamarine sword light that had just frozen everything around it suddenly lit up with a purple hue.

Clang, clang, clang!

The intertwined aquamarine and purple sword light soared high, cutting through the sky, shattering the clouds, and striking the figure behind them.

It was only then that the passing sword light stirred up gales, causing turbulence in the air flow. The clouds, shattered like the surface of a lake struck by a boulder, spread out in layer upon layer of cloud vapors.

The two movements of the Sword Technique of Conviction not only had limitless mystical effects but also incredibly strong attacks, greatly enhancing the sharpness of the Purple Thunder Blade.

This strike was as effortless as breaking dead branches, directly penetrating the protective True Qi and the armor of the person behind the clouds, tearing flesh and bone!

Straight through the heart!

At the same time, through this sword strike, Zhou Heng sensed the internal condition of this person and unexpectedly found that his martial arts weren’t passed down from the Solar Divine Palace as previously displayed.

Instead, it was a tumultuous, boundless, and supremely vast sea of clouds.

The Unsettled Sea of Clouds!

Were the previously displayed martial arts, supposedly from the Solar Divine Palace, all a ruse?

Then who was this person’s true identity?

As Zhou Heng pondered, the Purple Thunder Blade completely extinguished the life force of that Secret Six Rank expert in the sky.

Blood immediately stained the heavens.

The spreading white clouds were tinged with the color of blood.

Splat!

A corpse with its entire chest hollowed out fell from the sky, fragilely breaking into several pieces, completely shattered, blood flowing everywhere, a sight most miserable.

Normally, a martial artist at the Secret Six Rank, even if they had not focused on strengthening their body’s toughness through cultivation, would still not be this fragile just through the enhancement of their refined True Qi fostering their body.

But as the corpse was penetrated through the chest by the Purple Lightning Flying Sword, it also suffered another blow.

Zhou Heng, through the Purple Lightning Flying Sword, remotely executed the Undying Seal Technique to absorb the enemy’s True Qi, depleting this Secret Sixth Rank expert’s entire cultivation.

This naturally resulted in a significant loss of vigor and structural integrity in the corpse’s blood, qi, and bones, nearly smashing it into a pulp.

“Congratulations! You killed the formidable enemy ‘Liu He,’ Fortune Bag [Silver] +3.”

…

“Whew.”

Zhou Heng let out a long sigh of relief, looking a bit pale. The battle had exhausted him so much that he had almost used up all his Inner Qi and could barely stand.

This was undoubtedly the most draining battle he had faced since his transmigration.

The opponent, after all, was a genuine Secret Sixth Rank Innate expert, whose strength was indeed very formidable.

Even with the Purple Lightning Flying Sword, such a powerful treasure in hand, defeating him was extremely difficult. A Secret Sixth Rank Innate expert could mobilize the energy of heaven and earth on a large scale, which was not something an individual’s power could contend against.

If it wasn’t for his mastery of the Sword Technique of Conviction, a technique far beyond his current level, which allowed him to turn the tide in time, he might not have emerged victoriously in the end.

Clang!

With a resounding sound of sword ringing, the Purple Lightning Flying Sword fell from the sky, spinning around. The purple light flickered, cleansing itself of all impurities, then transformed into a quail egg-sized Purple Sword Pill,

Zhou Heng opened his mouth and swallowed the Purple Sword Pill. Instantly, the True Qi just absorbed and transformed from Liu He spread out, reaching every limb and nourishing his body.

Normally, True Qi absorbed and transformed in such a way would contain the spiritual imprint of its original owner and had to be refined before it could be fully converted.

But Zhou Heng was different; his Inner View of Three Lives, Myriad Things inherently had the ability to encompass everything, and his Pure Yang Scripture contained the Power of Pure Yang, capable of refining spiritual impurities.

Besides, the Undying Seal Technique also had the effect of cleansing spiritual impurities, and combined with the Thunder Power contained in the Purple Lightning Flying Sword, the spiritual imprint within the True Qi had been completely cleansed, leaving no residue, just pure energy.

Therefore, for Zhou Heng, this bundle of True Qi was an excellent tonic.

Not only could it replenish his Inner Qi that he had just expended, but it also provided a base for his consumption when executing powerful martial arts later on and even enhanced their power.

“Liu He, this name is very common, and it is not known which power he came from,” Zhou Heng murmured with a frown. After recovering, he approached the body, which was now torn apart and becoming indistinct in flesh and blood.

He began to search thoroughly.

There were personal valuables of gold and silver, a Qiankun Bag; he directly collected these possessions into his Cave Sky. Beyond that, he also found an Identity Token with “Solar Divine Palace” inscribed on it.

“Really from the Solar Divine Palace?” Zhou Heng was still somewhat doubtful. After pondering for a moment, he decided to use an Identification Card.

Being attacked out of the blue by a Secret Sixth Rank expert was not a trivial matter.

It warranted the use of an Identification Card to investigate.

After using the Identification Card, the true information of the Identity Token was revealed.

“Solar Divine Palace True Transmission Token (Forgery): An Identity Token imitated by ‘Qiu Yuanchang,’ a disciple from the Heavenly Palace Sect. The material is average, with nothing mystical about it, but the craftsmanship is very meticulous. To the eye alone, it could almost be mistaken for the genuine article.”

So it was a forged Identity Token from the Heavenly Palace Sect. Zhou Heng had an epiphany and also remembered what that unsettled cloud sea he had perceived earlier was.

That was one of the most common Inner View scenes of a Secret Sixth Rank Innate from the Heavenly Palace Sect, which could also use the twisting “cloud sea” to simulate the Inner Qi of other types of martial arts.

You Ziheng had mentioned it to him once before.

That meant the Liu He who had just attacked him was indeed an expert from the top-notch evil Great Sect “Heavenly Palace Sect.”

“But why does the Heavenly Palace Sect suddenly want to assassinate me? And they specifically sent a Secret Sixth Rank to do it,” wondered Zhou Heng, his mind filled with confusion, unable to understand the reason.

After all, if the Heavenly Palace Sect wanted to get rid of him, they could have taken action long ago, so why wait until now?

Was it because of the evil sect’s Killing Order from before?

Or was it that earlier in the city, it was inconvenient for the Heavenly Palace Sect to make a move?

Zhou Heng pondered yet couldn’t understand, still very puzzled in his heart, he thought to himself, “Could it be that something big has happened recently that I’m unaware of, making the people from the Solar Divine Palace even more unbridled?”

With such thoughts, he began to consider whether he should take a trip back to Taihua Mount first via the starlight bridge of the Purple Tenuity Palace to inquire about the situation.

After a brief contemplation, Zhou Heng made up his mind.

To return to Taihua Mount first.

Anyway, the transmission speed through the Purple Tenuity Palace was extremely fast, and it wouldn’t delay much time and he wouldn’t miss the Morning Sun Banquet.

Subsequently, he rode his horse towards the nearest entrance of the Purple Tenuity Palace.

However, shortly after Zhou Heng rode his sorrel horse for less than ten miles, he suddenly raised his eyebrows, sensing an ambush in the woodlands on both sides of the road ahead.

“Kill!”

At that moment, thunderous shouting erupted from ahead.

Over twenty martial artists suddenly charged out from both sides of the road, each wielding a weapon, their inner qi stirring, vaguely resonating with the world outside, attacking Zhou Heng.

All of them were at the peak of the Seventh Rank!

—In the world of rivers and lakes, those at the peak of the Seventh Rank weren’t only limited to the famous experts on the youth list; that was just those below thirty years of age. Those above thirty, including those at the peak of the Seventh Rank, were not uncommon in the Great Sects and noble families.

But Zhou Heng had never expected that just after killing a Secret Sixth Rank, he would encounter over twenty at the peak of the Seventh Rank. He got furious right away, didn’t even dismount his horse, directly brought his fingers together as if holding a blade, and slashed forward with his hand.

Boom!

The Purple Thunder roared wildly, as if a world of thunder had descended, enveloping everything in front of him in an instant.

Purple Thunder Blade Skill!

Winter Thunderbolt!

“All of you die!!” Zhou Heng shouted fiercely.

Catastrophic thunder descended!

Like doomsday’s disaster, those over twenty experts at the peak of the Seventh Rank rushing towards Zhou Heng were swallowed by the sea of thunder; they perished on the spot, in an instant becoming charred.

The gap was truly immense.

Zhou Heng’s current strength had already surpassed what the level of ‘peak of the Seventh Rank’ could describe.

However, just after killing these twenty-some people, before he could even catch his breath, he heard clapping from the heavens above.

“Clap! Clap clap clap! Clap clap!”

Then, a figure was seen descending slowly on auspicious clouds and hovering in the air in front of Zhou Heng.

This was a handsome man dressed in a luxurious white brocade robe, wearing a jade crown and holding a folding fan, appearing to be around thirty, exuding an elegant demeanor.

However, this man had an incredibly arrogant look. He stood in mid-air, looking down at Zhou Heng, and laughed, “Facing so many assassination attempts in a row, aren’t you surprised, shocked?

“Honestly, the fact that you killed Junior Brother Liu surprised me as well. No matter by what means you’ve done it, such strength is indeed rare in the world. What a pity, such a pity.

“You must die today, Zhou Heng!!”

The moment his words ended, the man made his move. He unfolded the fan in his hand, and surprisingly, it was painted with a picture depicting a plethora of charming and coquettish figures.

A mere gentle fanning brought forth a light breeze, and the scene before Zhou Heng’s eyes changed.

He found himself in a fresh and elegant manor, with twelve incomparably beautiful yet distinctively tempered maidens stepping lightly towards him.

With each step they took,

their robes loosened a fraction, and the ties at their chests also unraveled a fraction…