I Cheated While Cultivating

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Zhou Heng would never believe such a situation could exist.

Ghosts leading armies, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops composed of ghosts and humans alike, engaging in conquest, while the opposing commanders, although human, had forces that were also made up of ghosts and humans.

Even more so, both sides were predominantly ghosts.

What’s going on?

Zhou Heng had thought Wan Shankong’s previous words were nothing but gibberish meant to confuse the mind, but it turned out to be true.

During the battle of Tianyang, did ghosts really participate in the fight, fighting shoulder to shoulder with humans?

That’s preposterous!

Suddenly, the scene shifted.

Zhou Heng saw a huge circular altar, at least a hundred yards in diameter, with seventy-two lamps burning around its edge, all with pale blue flames.

Under the night sky, without moon or stars, only these blue flames struggled to illuminate the darkness.

Kneeling beneath the altar were tens of thousands, and beyond them lay a vast complex of majestic and spectacular palaces.

This seemed to be inside a massive imperial palace.

In the center of the altar stood three people.

One of them, not far from the center of the altar, was dressed in red ceremonial robes and wore a jade crown, appearing to be a man in his thirties, indifferent and dignified in demeanor.

His attire was quite ancient, but clearly high-ranking, not the garb of an ordinary person.

Another was standing in the center of the altar, tall and robust, at least nine feet tall, his presence like a mini-giant—intimidating and ferocious.

It was none other than Wan Shankong.

And the third, it’s uncertain if they could even be called human. It was a mass of purple-black mist, hovering in the air, outlining a human figure but without substance.

“Once this ceremony begins, you will become a ghost with no chance for regret,” the dignified man in red spoke gravely, “Shankong, you’re a powerful underling of mine, already a Fifth Rank Sect Master at such a young age with the hope of ascending to Fourth Rank. Think it over carefully.”

“I am willing to sacrifice my life for you, my lord, and willingly become a ghost!” Wan Shankong knelt on one knee and declared loudly, “I shall never regret this for eternity!”

…

The scene ended there.

Following that, the Memory Crystal shattered, devoid of any continuation.

After all, it was only a fragment dropped by a remnant soul, so the information and images it contained were also incomplete.

Yet, even these incomplete memories had dealt a considerable shock to Zhou Heng.

“Was Wan Shankong originally human, a Fifth Rank Sect Master who transformed into a ghost through some special ceremony?” Zhou Heng was stunned and incredulous, hardly able to believe it.

He had previously read memories from a Memory Crystal about the sealing of ghosts and knew what form ghosts really took.

Ghosts were not born from the souls or spirits of the deceased.

Initially, they were “Yin spirits” that emerged naturally from the murky Yin energy of nature.

According to the natural law of Yin and Yang convergence, these Yin spirits naturally crave to absorb Yang Energy and devour it.

Once a Yin spirit completely devours its first living person, it gains its own intellect and thoughts, becoming a true ghost.

But what Wan Shankong’s memories suggested was that, during the Tianyang battle, humans could apparently be transformed into ghosts through a special ceremony.

And then they were thrown into the war?

This was another birth method for ghosts, distinct from “natural birth”!

“Turning humans into ghosts for war is probably because of the nearly indestructible nature of ghosts. Such a characteristic where they can’t be killed no matter what, is like having a cheat in a large-scale war.”

Zhou Heng fell into deep thought.

The information displayed in the memory fragments of Wan Shankong’s remnant soul was hard for him to believe.

If all this were true, what would it mean?

It would mean that during the Tianyang battle, the existence of ghosts was common knowledge, far from the tightly concealed truth of the present.

Previously, Xuan Yang had also mentioned having experienced the Tianyang battle, after which he was sealed… The previous Wan Shankong was just a remnant soul; perhaps his true body was still in a sealed state?

Could it be that during the Tianyang battle, did humans truly rely on the power of ghosts to wage war against each other, only to seal the ghosts away after the conflict ended?

Of course, Zhou Heng didn’t feel any pity or sympathy for the ghosts because of this.

No matter what experiences the ghosts from that time had gone through, all of the ghosts he encountered now spared no human life and killed at will.

Every single one of them deserved to be killed and eradicated.

Worthy of no pity whatsoever.

It was just that Zhou Heng was puzzled.

If the conditions during the Tianyang battle were indeed like what Wan Shankong remembered,

Then why has it become the situation we have today?

Was it simply a case of “when the birds are gone, the bow is put away”?

Once the war ended, and ghosts lost their use, they were then sealed away?

That was indeed possible.

But such a reason is too simple.

Could that really account for the deep taboo surrounding this topic, whether among the general populace, the Imperial Court, or the Great Sect?

Is it just for the sake of saving face?

Or did some grave, unknown event occur at that time that drastically changed people’s attitudes towards ghosts, leading to the current scenario?

That is also a possibility.

In the midst of these changes, what role did the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer play, and what purpose did it serve?

Today’s Zhou Tian Boundary Officer is responsible for suppressing and killing demons to maintain stability in the world; if you say they’re unrelated to the actions after the Tianyang battle that led to sealing the ghosts, Zhou Heng would not believe it.

In fact, the establishment of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer might very well be connected to the sealing of a vast number of ghosts.

And the foundation for the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer’s establishment was the Zhou Tian Star Chart, which is the map of the Three Enclosures and Twenty-Eight Mansions, a starmap not found in this world and likely related to Earth.

“If that’s the case, does it mean that if I can just find out what really happened during the Tianyang battle, why the ghosts were sealed, and why the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer was established, I might be able to find clues about Earth?”

At this thought, Zhou Heng’s spirits couldn’t help but lift.

Since the day he realized he had traversed to another world, he had been trying to figure out what was going on.

Why had he traversed, why had he come to this world, and was there still a chance to return to Earth?

His initial intent to learn martial arts was partly for these reasons.

But he had always been at a loss, until he joined the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer and saw the map of the Three Enclosures and Twenty-Eight Mansions, which confirmed that this world was indeed related to Earth.

However, his knowledge was limited to this, and he had no clear idea of how to proceed with the investigation. He could only place his hopes on a desire that was uncertain.

As of today, it seemed that he had finally found a relatively clear line of investigation?

Indeed, there might also be clues at the Pure Yang Palace.

After all, if what Wan Shankong had said was true and Chen Dongxuan had taken action to suppress it, that would mean that the Pure Yang Palace must have also been involved in sealing the spirits after the battle at Tianyang.

This excited Zhou Heng greatly, giving him a sense of “After endless mountains and rivers that leave doubt whether there is a path out, suddenly one encounters the shade of a willow, bright flowers, and another village.”

“Next, I will continue to use the platform of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer to investigate matters related to the spirits, and also pay more attention to the Pure Yang Palace,”

Zhou Heng set a plan for himself, then got up from bed, opened the window and looked in the direction of the Chang Xing Sect, “But first, I should handle the matters concerning the Chang Xing Sect.

“I’ll take this opportunity to refine and integrate my own martial arts to see if I can create a martial art unique to myself. I’ll use this as a foundation to build an inner landscape and a little world, and step onto the Seventh Rank’s transformation.”

He then began to study the several martial arts he had obtained from the Fortune Bag.

…

“You are contemplating the martial art ‘Xiao Wuxiang Gong’ [Seventh Rank]. With enhancement from martial arts of the same tier and higher levels, the difficulty of comprehension is reduced, proficiency +0.5.”

…

“Your martial art ‘Xiao Wuxiang Gong’ [Seventh Rank] has reached a proficiency of 1, and you have formally acquired this martial art. With enhancement from martial arts of the same tier and higher levels, proficiency +3000.”

…

“You are contemplating the martial art ‘Dou Zhuan Xing Yi’ [Seventh Rank], proficiency +0.2.”

…

“You continue to contemplate the martial art ‘Dou Zhuan Xing Yi’ [Seventh Rank] and trigger the ‘Heaven rewards the diligent’ bonus, proficiency +20.”

…

Eventually, the night passed.

[Seventh Rank] Xiao Wuxiang Gong: Advanced (3000/3000)

[Seventh Rank] Dou Zhuan Xing Yi: Beginner (125/1000)

Zhou Heng did not study the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms because there was not enough time, and compared to Xiao Wuxiang Gong and Dou Zhuan Xing Yi, the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms were too distinctive to use in front of others.

He planned to use the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms as the martial art of the Ziwei Emperor identity, not exhibiting it as Zhou Heng.

Xiao Wuxiang Gong and Dou Zhuan Xing Yi would be very helpful for him in dealing with the Chang Xing Sect next.

The former could mimic the exertion of other martial arts, while the latter could borrow force to fight, dealing with others using their own methods against them.

The greatest humiliation between martial artists is to be defeated by your own best martial arts.

Vengeance must be fierce.

Zhou Heng had no intention of showing any mercy to the Chang Xing Sect.

As for whether the Chang Xing Sect would put a label on him for stealing martial arts and then send a Middle Third Rank expert to kill him, Zhou Heng was not worried in the slightest.

The trump cards he held were certainly not just for show.

Besides, if it came to casting blame, he also had a hat to put on the Chang Xing Sect.

The matter of Chang Xing Sect disciple Chen Song colluding with the wicked Plague Emperor Sect to attack the disciple of the master of the Pure Yang Palace… Zhou Heng hadn’t yet asked the Chang Xing Sect for justice.

…

Before heading to the Chang Xing Sect, Zhou Heng first visited a forested mountain over a hundred miles from the post station.

There was a portal to the Purple Tenuity Palace.

Walking along a path paved with the brilliance of countless stars, listening to the praises of the Treasure of Purple Tenuity, Zhou Heng passed through a purple mist and arrived in front of a mountain range that stretched endlessly.

Then he was stunned.

The place where Zhou Heng now stood was a floating platform made of accumulated purple mist.

This place was separated from the Purple Tenuity Palace by the same vast void spanning thousands of miles, as well as a magnificent Star River.

The last time he went there, the Supreme had escorted him, riding clouds and mist, but this time Zhou Heng had no means to do so.

There was no direct path to the other side from here.

“Hehe, do you want to cross over?”

Just then, a sharp voice came through, but Zhou Heng did not know when a small, hunchbacked man wearing a mask had appeared on the purple mist platform.

The mask bore a simple design, just a single vertical line.

This was the constellation of the Star Officer “Line,” part of the “Huagai” constellation’s handle.

Zhou Heng looked at the man, feeling his profound and vast aura, and greeted with a bow, “Senior, do you have a way?”

“Of course, that’s what I earn my living doing,” Line nodded repeatedly, laughing, “I’ll take you across, and you only need to give me thirty good deeds.”

“Good deeds can be traded?” Zhou Heng was surprised inside, but did not speak out loud, as he sensed another strong aura coming swiftly towards them.

“Line, you’re fooling the newcomer again!” The voice arrived before the person. The speaker was a woman, and her voice sounded quite mature.

In a moment, the woman had landed on the purple mist platform.

She was gracefully curved, tall and slender, with a pleasing form.

She, too, wore a mask, painted with a Huagai.

There was no need to say more.

This was one of the Star Officers from the Ziwei Sector, “Huagai.”

“Line is always like this. You shouldn’t blame him,” Huagai looked at Zhou Heng and was about to greet him, but suddenly froze, her gaze locked on Zhou Heng’s mask, “You, you’re the new ‘Ziwei’ that appeared a few days ago?”

“What, Ziwei?!” Line was also startled upon hearing this, hurriedly looking up at Zhou Heng, his eyes fixed on the emperor image painted on the mask, “I’ll take you across right now, rest assured, no need for good deeds.”

“Me too!” Huagai said hurriedly.

Afterward, under the extra enthusiastic escort of these two, Zhou Heng arrived at the Purple Tenuity Palace and saw The Supreme and the Taoist Boy responsible for Tianli again.

But before Zhou Heng could speak, they took the initiative to greet him and welcomed him into the Purple Tenuity Palace.

What’s going on?

Zhou Heng was utterly baffled.

The attitude of these people from the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer was bizarre, to say the least.

Luckily, he had chosen a common star path, and just as he entered the Purple Tenuity Palace, he met the Supreme.

But as he was about to ask a question, he saw the Supreme also pay his respects like the others before, then came forward with a smile.

“Senior, what’s going on?” Zhou Heng asked in confusion.

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