I Cheated While Cultivating

Even Cui Guanlan, scion of his family, stood up, his expression a mix of shock and question, as he looked towards Zhao Zhen and Zhao Qin on the platform and demanded, “Your Highnesses, what is the meaning of this?”

From the Southern Jin side, Zhou Yin also rose to his feet.

However, he didn’t question the two on the platform, but instead turned to Tianyizi and Tang Kaiyun beside him and asked in a grave tone, “What’s going on here?”

“You’ll know soon enough,” Tang Kaiyun answered with a light smile, offering no clear explanation.

“It’s just a minor unforeseen event, no need for panic,” Tianyizi gently shook his head, swaying the whisk in his hand and smiling, “Just wait and see, Master Zhou.”

“You?!” Zhou Yin’s sense of alarm grew stronger. As he was contemplating whether to question Zhao Zhen and Zhao Qin directly, he saw Zhou Heng stepping out from the crowd.

“One Celestial Man and one at the peak of Fourth Rank, daring to trap us all here,” Zhou Heng’s gaze fixed on the two on the platform as he rebuked loudly, “What are you trying to do?”

Now that the doors of the Palace of Divine Light had suddenly shut, sealing everyone inside,

it was clear there was a scheme at play.

But one of them was the Crown Prince of Da Qi, the other the most favored Sixteenth Prince of the current times; under normal circumstances, whatever they needed or wanted to obtain shouldn’t have posed any difficulty.

Why go to such lengths to brazenly offend the many sects and noble families, as well as the backing Celestial Men, Tao Lords, and even Immortals?

Such actions were, of course, baffling to those present.

First and foremost, they needed to understand what those two were trying to do to have any hope of freeing themselves.

“Worthy of being the reincarnation of a great power, even when trapped like a turtle in a jar, your words carry such confidence,” Zhao Qin praised with a clap and smile, “I hope you can maintain that confidence shortly.

“Brother Emperor, we can begin now.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhou Heng suddenly felt the world spin, with the light and shadows shifting swiftly around him, vital energies turning into multicolored glows, and the laws of nature twisting even more.

It seemed they were about to start the transference to another realm.

Zhou Heng made a split-second decision, spreading a sliver of the Power of Cave Sky, enveloping himself, Cheng Jianjian, and Zhu Zhenzhen, which also slowed down the process of the realm transfer.

This force of transference seemed to be merely at the level of a Celestial Man, and with this sliver of the Power of Cave Sky as a shield, it seemed indeed possible to disrupt the process.

But Zhou Heng’s mind suddenly shifted, abandoning this plan, and used the Power of Cave Sky to maintain a connection between the three of them, ensuring they wouldn’t get separated during the transference.

At the same time, he also saw Fang Wen, Chen An, Cheng Zhi, and Cui Guanlan become enveloped in the brilliance and vanish from sight.

Unexpectedly, he noticed that four individuals from Southern Jin were also covered in the glowing light.

They were Zhou Yin and Tianyizi, along with their guards.

Then, Zhou Heng perceived a moment of dizziness and in the blink of an eye, he found that his surroundings had changed completely.

The three of them had been transported from the Palace of Divine Light to a vast grassland.

Here, the sky was high and the ground was wide, endless at a glance, not even the rise and fall of mountains could be seen, as if the very edges of the sky were green, grassy landscapes.

Huh!

The sound of the wind howled, causing the white clouds in the sky to tumble and drift chaotically, blowing the clothes of Zhou Heng and his two companions to flutter wildly.

“This place, it appears to be a Cave Sky world,” Zhou Heng’s brows furrowed slightly as he sensed the abnormalities in the principles of heaven and earth outside, finding it extremely difficult to manifest his inner realm externally.

Clearly, they had been transferred to a different world.

“I also sensed that manifesting the inner realm externally is extremely difficult,” Cheng Jianjian nodded lightly, saying, “This place should no longer be Da Qi. Based on the previous situation, this may very well be the Cave Sky world of the Crown Prince of Da Qi, Zhao Zhen.”

—For Martial Artists, whether the blending of the inner microcosm with the outer macrocosm is “seamless” is an essential criterion for judging whether the principles of heaven and earth have changed.

Therefore, the external manifestation of the inner realm would naturally blend with the principles of heaven and earth. Normally, after the initial blending, one could, to some extent, harness the primordial energy of heaven and earth without any sensation of difficulty or obstruction.

If suddenly it becomes difficult and awkward to merge the inner realm with the outer heaven and earth, it often indicates a change or a distortion in the principles of heaven and earth.

The current level of difficulty, then, was more akin to having switched worlds completely.

“No, this probably isn’t Zhao Zhen’s Cave Sky,”

Zhou Heng shook his head gently; he had just tried using the Power of Cave Sky to probe the surroundings, “This Cave Sky world is very stable and does not run smoothly, indicating that its internal rules have not experienced fluctuations or adjustments for a long time.”

“Does that mean the ‘master’ of this Cave Sky world may have perished?” Cheng Jianjian’s eyes lit up as she spoke with a smile, “If that is the case, we might still have a chance.”

“Correct,” Zhou Heng nodded, saying, “As long as this is not Zhao Zhen’s Cave Sky, even if he has some measure of control, he shouldn’t be able to monitor everything without exception.”

He was already considering whether to use the Magic Weapons projection card “Seven Arrows Book of Nail Head” that he had obtained from opening the platinum treasure box earlier.

To curse Zhao Zhen to death.

Right now, the prerequisite was to confirm the degree of Zhao Zhen’s control over this place.

“Junior martial uncle, Senior Sister Cheng, why has he captured us and brought us here?” Zhu Zhenzhen asked, completely baffled, “Don’t they fear that the Sect Grandmaster will cause them trouble?”

In her eyes, Sect Grandmaster Yan Shouyi was the most, most, most powerful person in the world. If they were bullied or wronged outside, the Sect Grandmaster would always stand up for them.

“Zhao Zhen and Zhao Qin obviously have no fear,” Zhou Heng shook his head and said in a deep voice, “I don’t know what they are planning, but this is a massive setup, having ensnared most of the attendees of the Sunlight Wine Gathering.

“Moreover, it’s not just the descendants of sects and noble families from Da Qi; even Zhou Yin from Southern Jin and Tianyizi were also transported across realms. I wonder if they were transported to this world as well?”

“I can’t figure out what they want to do either,” Cheng Jianjian’s brows knitted lightly, her thoughts whirring as she spoke, puzzled, “This event happened in the Palace of Divine Light, right during the Sunlight Wine Gathering, so it was bound to be exposed.

“If something really happened to us, it would surely be revealed. By then, our Pure Yang Palace, along with Longevity Way, Qing Emperor Palace, Infinite Temple, and the Cui family of Fengzhou would know that it’s a problem on Zhao’s side.

“What can Zhao Zhen and Zhao Qin gain from this? What do they desire the most? The only thing I can think of, it seems, is advancing to Celestial Man, achieving the status of Tao Lord?”

Zhao Qin was already a Great Grandmaster at the Absolute Fourth Rank peak three hundred years ago, and by now he had certainly reached the Peak of the Absolute Fourth Rank. For him, the most likely goal was naturally advancing to Celestial Man.

Yet he is not even four hundred years old, and a Great Grandmaster at Absolute Fourth Rank could live for at least a thousand years. He could have steadily progressed step by step, so why the urgent rush?

As for Zhao Zhen, he is even more inscrutable. He was already a Celestial Man before the commencement of the Tianyang Battle three thousand years ago.

Now that he has weathered all five decays of a Celestial Man, possessing an indestructible Primordial Spirit and an imperishable body, he is effectively immortal, beyond decline and catastrophe.

For such a powerful being, even if he desires to achieve the status of a Tao Lord, he needn’t take any risks in haste.

And most crucially, whether it is advancing to Celestial Man or achieving the status of a Tao Lord, what does that have to do with them, a few young people at the Peak of the Seventh Rank?

“`

Could it be that these few people had something on them that could help Zhao Zhen and Zhao Qin prove the Dao of Celestial Man or Tao Lord?

How could that be possible.

The gap was too vast.

Whether it was Celestial Man or Tao Lord, both were of the Upper Third Rank of immortals, while those who were still at the Peak of the Seventh Rank in the Lower Third Tier fundamentally had no right to be mentioned in the same breath.

“No matter what the situation, let’s first get out of this grassland and see if we can find any living creatures,” Zhou Heng looked around and was about to say more when his brows suddenly lifted.

Boom!

Boom boom boom!!

The ground suddenly began to tremble violently, and a huge shadow, as if appearing out of thin air, was rushing over from a distance. Each step seemed to be caused by a massive force pounding the earth, creating deafening sounds.

Zhou Heng and his two companions could now clearly see what it was.

It was actually a pitch-black humanoid shadow.

This shadow, over twenty zhang tall and extremely large, seemed to be just an image, yet, it bore a heaviness like no other, speeding towards Zhou Heng and his party with incredible velocity.

Moreover, this shadow was filled with a dense and heavy ghostly aura.

It somewhat resembled a ghostly entity!

…

The vast Palace of Divine Light had become extremely quiet.

Zhou Heng, Cheng Jianjian, Zhu Zhenzhen, Fang Wen, Chen An, Cheng Zhi, Cui Guanlan, Zhou Yin, Zhou Danqing, Tianyizi, and Daoist Shande had all vanished without a trace.

The only ones left to attend the Morning Sun Wine Party were the three members of the Da Qi Royal Family, along with Tang Kaiyun and his companion, Lv Zhongxian.

Atop the high platform, Zhao Zhen and Zhao Qin were all smiles, highly satisfied with the outcome.

The Crown Princess Consort beside them, however, was unreadable, her entire being seemingly very rigid. Compared to when Zhou Heng and the others were present, she lacked a lot of vivacity.

Then, all of a sudden, the Crown Princess Consort began to slowly disintegrate into countless points of light, vanishing into thin air. The real Crown Princess Consort had never once set foot in the Palace of Divine Light.

From start to finish, the person seated on the high platform in the role of the Crown Princess Consort was nothing more than an illusion.

At the same time, the three members of the Da Qi Royal Family who supposedly came to attend the Morning Sun Wine Party also began to dissolve into points of light, one after the other, revealing they too were fakes, their true selves had never been there.

Now, in the Palace of Divine Light, there remained only Zhao Zhen and Zhao Qin, Tang Kaiyun and Lv Zhongxian, as well as Wei Chang, the manager of the palace’s internal affairs, who were real.

Clap clap!

Clap clap clap!

“Excellent skill, a well-laid plan,” Tang Kaiyun started to clap his hands, beaming with praise.

His plump and round face revealed a completely different temperament from before, full of haughtiness and superiority.

Compared to earlier, he seemed like a different person.

“`

“If it weren’t for the items that Brother Kaiyuan brought, neither my imperial brother nor I would dare to do this,” Zhao Qin stepped down from the high platform and approached “Tang Kaiyun” with a smile. “I have already felt Its presence.”

At this time, what occupied Tang Kaiyun’s body was no longer the person he originally was; he had been temporarily possessed by the Third Prince of Southern Jin, Tang Kaiyuan, who had taken control of his body.

“Why the hurry, sixteenth prince?” Tang Kaiyuan smiled and said, “Not much time has passed; Zhou Heng and Zhou Yin should not have met yet.”

“They will meet soon,” Zhao Zhen also stepped down from the high platform and said solemnly, “We don’t have much time and need to complete this matter as soon as possible. Take out the items first.”

“All those young people are under the watchful eyes of powerful beings. Now that they have been brought into the Cave Sky, they will be discovered very soon,” Zhao Qin said gravely. “Since you have already awakened your will and taken control of your brother’s flesh, there is no need to delay, is there?”

“Hahaha, fine, fine, I won’t delay,” Tang Kaiyuan laughed out loud.

Despite saying so, his actions suggested otherwise, as he appeared to pay no heed to their urgency, fumbling slowly within his sleeve robe without any sign of producing anything.

“What do you want?” Zhao Zhen, seeing through Tang Kaiyuan’s thoughts, asked directly.

“Jinzhou, Jiangzhou, and Yuzhou—these three states shall belong to Jin,” Tang Kaiyuan forsaking any pretense, put forth his demand directly.

These three states were the most affluent in the south of Da Qi and also possessed extremely rich underlying resources; under normal circumstances, Zhao Zhen would never agree to such a demand.

Yet, Zhao Zhen nodded his head and said, “It can be done.”

“Hahaha, how refreshing!” Tang Kaiyuan laughed heartily and then immediately produced a palm-sized sculpture from his sleeve, saying, “I have brought the item.”

The material of the wooden sculpture was peculiar; it was neither gold nor jade but had the luster of metal and the smoothness of a gem, jet black throughout, displaying the visage of an emperor, absolutely majestic, with an air of controlling life and death.

It was likely an idol of a deity.

The moment Zhao Zhen and Zhao Qin saw this idol, a fervent light instantly shone from their eyes; they looked as if they couldn’t wait to prostrate themselves in worship, akin to the most devout believers in the presence of their god.

“Now, it’s up to the two of you,” Tang Kaiyuan smiled and stepped back, distancing himself from Zhao Zhen and Zhao Qin. Meanwhile, Lv Zhongxian by his side immediately took his own life, turning into a mist of blood that coalesced into a gate of light.

Tang Kaiyuan swiftly maneuvered his brother’s body through the gate formed from the blood mist, leaving behind what he perceived to be the soon-to-be chaotic Imperial City of Da Qi.

Thus, at this moment, only Zhao Zhen, Zhao Qin, and Wei Chang remained in the Palace of Divine Light.

After Tang Kaiyuan departed, Zhao Zhen and Zhao Qin immediately knelt down, bowing in utmost reverence, as if they were the most loyal disciples before the god they worshipped.

Both of them, simultaneously, began chanting:

“The chaotic energy of Taiyi, the supreme honor of the formless void… The adjudicator of life and death, the reducer of disasters and misfortunes. The cycle of creation, the magnanimity of heaven and earth… The ruler of the human path, Dongyue Tianqi, the greatly compassionate and holy emperor. The vastly spirituous and profound, Siming the True Lord, the Heavenly Sovereign of autonomous majesty.”

At the same time, Wei Chang walked forward, raised his hand to grasp his head, and violently pulled it off his neck. Blood spurted out immediately, splashing onto the idol.

The idol, bathed in fresh blood and hearing Zhao Zhen and Zhao Qin recite the sacred decree, instantly exhibited a dark purple glow on its surface, with seventy-two points of faint blue fire appearing all around.

If Zhou Heng were here, he would immediately recognize that the arrangement and sequence of these seventy-two points of faint blue fire were identical to what he had seen in the sacrificial ritual in his memory at the Wan Sky Mountain, without a single deviation!

It was a ritual that could transform humans into ghostly beings!

“Not enough, it’s still not enough; the blood of a single Absolute Fourth Rank is only sufficient to awaken the spirit of the Lord’s idol,” Zhao Zhen abruptly raised his head, his gaze turned to the seventy-two points of faint blue fire surrounding the idol, and his expression grew wild with frenzy.

“Zhou Heng, Zhou Yin, we still need your divine souls, the reincarnation of great powers, to truly awaken the authority of our Lord. Hurry, hurry up!”