I Cheated While Cultivating

“Yue’er, what’s wrong?”

The proprietors of Bai’s family saw their daughter suddenly in such a panic and immediately became somewhat flustered; they also looked towards the old man in front of Pure Yang’s number one Martial Arts Hall.

But the next instant, Bai Yuejian shook her head and forced a very strained smile, saying, “Nothing, nothing’s wrong, I’m fine, father, mother, let’s hurry on.”

“Ah?” The proprietors of Bai’s family were completely baffled, but since their beloved daughter had said so, they hastened to leave, quickening their pace right away.

It seemed that Bai Yuejian left with her parents just like that.

However, where Bai Yuejian had been standing, a world invisible to mortals was suddenly opened.

This world was not large, but it replicated Huangtong Mansion City exactly, as if it had been copied from the real Huangtong Mansion City without any discrepancy.

Only that there were no people here.

The only one present was the doorkeeper of Pure Yang’s number one Martial Arts Hall who claimed to be Jiang Er, still sitting in his original place, but Xie Chong was no longer by his side. In front of him stood a pretty young girl with handsome features.

Only now, the young girl had her eyes closed, as if she were devoid of consciousness, and by her side stood a woman in light cyan clothes, enchanting and alluring.

It was the Qingxia God.

The Bai Yuejian who had left with her parents before was actually just a projection, not her true body. Both Bai Yuejian and the Qingxia divine soul within her had been intercepted by Jiang Er.

“Tao Lord, it’s been a long time,” the Qingxia God said, attempting to maintain her composure with a bitter smile on her face.

“Not that long, just a year, I believe,” Jiang Er smiled, setting down the fan in his hand, “What are you trying to do?”

“This…” The Qingxia God fell silent for a moment, then said, “I was deceived and made a vow with my foundational essence, I need help to remove it.”

She chose to tell the truth.

Although Qingxia Mountain had not fully recovered yet, possessing only the strength equivalent to an Absolute Fourth Rank, she was very clear about how terrifying the power of a Tao Lord was. In front of a Tao Lord, any lie was meaningless.

Moreover, given the distance between Huangtong Mansion City and Yuanhe Prefecture City, for a Tao Lord like Jiang Tafa, it was practically the same place. The events that had transpired previously in Yuanhe Prefecture City could hardly be concealed from his perception.

“It’s the Qing Emperor Palace, right?” Jiang Tafa said with a smile, “Can’t you guess the real purpose behind the Qing Emperor Palace aiding you?”

“They’re just coveting my foundational essence,” the Qingxia God said with a cold laugh, “Thinking they can covet my foundational essence just because it’s a part of the heritage I left behind, which evolved on its own. They know not life from death.”

“That may not be the case,” Jiang Tafa said lightly, shaking his head, “After thousands of years of evolution, the Qing Emperor Palace may well have developed their own specialties. They too had produced a Tao Lord.” ṜάƝօВÈṩ

“So what?” The Qingxia God still carried pride in her chest.

“My master used to say women are unreasonable, and it seems he was right,” Jiang Tafa laughed but was unconcerned with the Qingxia God’s attitude, “If you wish to go, I won’t stop you, but you cannot continue to control this child.”

“You won’t suppress me?” The Qingxia God was stunned, filled with doubts; Jiang Tafa’s attitude was unexpected.

“My master tasked me with maintaining the seal that suppresses you; he didn’t instruct me to suppress you per se,” Jiang Tafa’s expression was calm, and then he smiled again, “Besides, you have already sworn fealty to that person with your foundational essence, I won’t provoke this trouble.”

“If I remove the vow with my foundational essence, will you then suppress me?” The Qingxia God’s brows furrowed, her recently eased heart becoming vigilant once more.

“I cannot rule out that possibility,” Jiang Tafa said, smiling as he shook his fan.

“So, you’ve made up your mind that I can’t lift the oath of the Tao Seed?” The Qingxia God’s expression turned unfriendly as he said, “Do you think I can’t overcome those juniors from the Qing Emperor Palace?”

“It seems that the reincarnation has indeed damaged your wisdom. You’ve clearly regained part of your memory, yet you still act like a child,” Jiang Tafa answered irrelevantly, continuing on his own track.

“Are you saying I’m brain-damaged??” The Qingxia God was a bit confused and in disbelief as he said, “You weren’t like this before.”

“Haha, returning to the mortal world naturally brings a bit more humanity. This kind of life isn’t bad,” Jiang Tafa’s face wore a deeper smile, his white beard quivering, “Since you’ve reincarnated, isn’t it good to live peacefully?”

“Heh, live peacefully?” The Qingxia God let out a cold snort and said, “You said that if I wanted to go to the Qing Emperor Palace, you wouldn’t stop me, so now let me go.”

“No, I’ve changed my mind,” Jiang Tafa suddenly stood up, his body emitting layers of golden light, and said in a deep voice, “It’s better to suppress you after all!”

“What?!” The Qingxia God was shocked and cried out, “You’re going back on your word!”

Immediately after, Jiang Tafa pointed a finger, and the golden light turned into talismans, merging into the Qingxia God’s soul body, but it didn’t seal her. Instead, it made her soul body more solid.

“Just kidding,” Jiang Tafa shook the fan and laughed heartily. He then waved his hand dismissively, “Go on, leave me to my peaceful life. This child will stay here for now. The talisman just now will allow you to exist as a projection through this child.”

“Damn it!” The Qingxia God cursed silently, not daring to make a sound. After regaining her composure, she realized she was back in the projected body of Bai Yuejian, with the Bai family’s innkeeper and his wife close by.

“What exactly is Jiang Tafa plotting?”

For the Qingxia God, who had been suppressed for thousands of years by this Ascendant Tao Lord, the fear was real, as evidenced by her terror-stricken face upon seeing him.

In her memory, this Ascendant Tao Lord had always been decisive and arrogant, never holding anyone in regard. Apart from the original Saint of Law, even the other Saints didn’t seem to matter much to Jiang Tafa.

“But now, he’s showing such concern for Zhou Heng…” The Qingxia God furrowed her brows, feeling even more puzzled and somewhat worried.

“Could it be that Zhou Heng is the reincarnation of the Saint of Law? Yes, only that could make Jiang Tafa care so much. And only then would he choose to live in Zhou Heng’s hometown. I see now!

“No wonder Zhou Heng is so powerful. Normally, even the reincarnated self of a divine Lord Saint would not be able to produce such overly powerful countermeasures. But if he’s an existence on the level of the Middle Ancient Saints, then that would make sense.”

The Qingxia God believed she had guessed the true identity of Zhou Heng’s past life.

But this truth did not reassure her, instead, it made her more panicked and uneasy.

The Saint of Law was a Lord adept at manipulating rules. His Tao was the Tao of Ordinance, revising, distorting, and evolving the normal Laws of the Tao to create ordinances of his own devising.

If, as conjectured, he truly was the reincarnation of the Saint of Law, then it was highly likely that he possessed countermeasures with similar effects. These could twist the incomplete vow of the Tao Seed into a complete state.

By then, she might go from “being forced to do three things a day for Zhou Heng” to “being forever loyal to Zhou Heng, with him being able to make her do anything at any time.”

Just the thought of it was terrifying.

“I must lift the oath of the Tao Seed as soon as possible, or else the consequences are unimaginable.”

The more the Qingxia God thought, the more frightened she became, even beginning to envision unspeakable scenarios of being utterly controlled by Zhou Heng.

“Quick! It has to be quick!”

…

Shortly after the Qingxia God had left Huangtong Mansion City in the projection of Bai Yuejian, Zhou Heng returned to the place.

In fact, before he even truly entered the city, he had already spread out his divine sense. He had almost enveloped the entire Huangtong Mansion City in his search for Bai Yuejian’s presence.

The outcome was locked on the first martial arts academy of Pure Yang.

However, when Zhou Heng arrived here, he only saw Bai Yuejian lying asleep on a cool mat, and Jiang Er drinking tea beside him, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan.

The couple who managed the place were nowhere to be seen.

Moreover, he didn’t sense the aura of the Qingxia God on Bai Yuejian’s body.

“No need to look anymore,” Jiang Er began as he waved his fan, speaking indifferently, “The soul of Qingxia God has already left, possessing the projection of this child and gone to the Qing Emperor Palace.”

“Senior… I have seen you, senior Tao Lord that seals and banishes,” Zhou Heng bowed in a salute, thought for a moment, and asked, “Senior, have you seen Qingxia God here?”

“I have, and I asked her some questions,” said Jiang Er with a smile. “Don’t call me any Tao Lord or senior, come take a seat. After all, you are considered my employer.”

As the gatekeeper of the first martial arts academy of Pure Yang, it was indeed not wrong for Jiang Er to call Zhou Heng his employer.

“I wouldn’t dare,” said Zhou Heng as he waved his hands repeatedly, but he still sat down beside him and said, “It seems that senior doesn’t intend to continue suppressing Qingxia God?”

“She has already sworn loyalty to you with her Dao seed; why would I suppress someone on my employer’s side,” retorted Jiang Er, as if it were only natural, laughing, “unless she is no longer yours.”

“That is an interesting way to put it, senior,” Zhou Heng looked to the east and smiled, “It seems you are quite certain that the Qing Emperor Palace won’t be able to help Qingxia God break her Dao seed vow?”

“It’s not that they can’t, it’s that the Qing Emperor Palace never intended to help her break it,” Jiang Er said with a smile, “Her going there is like a lamb entering a tiger’s den; this is a typical example of demotion in intelligence after reincarnating and transferring calamity.”

“Demotion in intelligence?” Zhou Heng’s mouth opened slightly, and he almost laughed out loud, “Does the Qing Emperor Palace covet her Dao seed, wanting to use it to condense their own?”

“No,” Jiang Er shook his head lightly, “There is already a Tao Lord in the Qing Emperor Palace, refining the withered wood Dao seed, presenting him with two paths of the Nine Nether in front of him.

“One path is to continue nourishing the Dao seed, allowing you to bear the Dao fruit, thereby proving yourself as a Divine First Rank. The other path is to find a similar wood element Dao seed, devour and refine it, inducing the emergence of a new wood element Dao fruit.”

“This…” Zhou Heng’s mouth twitched slightly as he forced a wry smile, “Does this mean I am going to face a Tao Lord once again?”

“Do you still have a method?” Jiang Er asked with a hint of a teasing smile.

“What do you think, senior?” Zhou Heng countered with a question.

“Hahaha!” Jiang Er laughed, biting his palm-leaf fan, “So what’s your next move, heading to the Qing Emperor Palace?”

“No, I’ll go back to Yuanhe Prefecture City,” said Zhou Heng with a smile, “and wait for the rabbit.”

“Are you so sure that Qingxia God will return?” asked Jiang Er, smiling.

“As long as she doesn’t want to die and isn’t truly foolish to the extreme, she will certainly return,” Zhou Heng confidently affirmed.

Although Jiang Tafa said that Qingxia God was a typical example of demotion in intelligence after reincarnation and transferring calamity, he didn’t see it that way.

As one of the many rulers who once dominated an era, even if her memories had not fully recovered, she shouldn’t act rashly without leaving herself a way out.

Especially when she wasn’t at her wit’s end yet.

Moreover, when Qingxia God previously came to explore his dreams, she only used a strand of her divine soul, which clearly showed caution. Now that she must have regained more of her memories and power, there’s no reason she would become more reckless.

“So, if the time comes, will you help her against the Tao Lord of the Qing Emperor Palace?” asked Jiang Er again.

“We’ll see when the time comes,” Zhou Heng said with a smile, not giving a definite answer.

In his view, the Tao Lord of the Qing Emperor Palace probably wouldn’t dare to make a move rashly. With the precedent set by Master Yuxin, the Tao Lord of the Qing Emperor Palace couldn’t be unaware that Zhou Heng had means that could obliterate even a Tao Lord.

Even if everyone suspected that the means were a legacy from his past life and subject to restrictions, since he first “revealed his identity,” he had already used the legacy of his past life countless times.

No one knew whether he had exhausted it, and it was likely that the Tao Lord of the Qing Emperor Palace wouldn’t dare to personally risk it.

Therefore, if the Qing Emperor Palace was sending someone to Yuanhe Prefecture City to capture Qingxia God’s reincarnation, it would probably send a Celestial Man descending, or maybe even dispatch a Fourth Rank Absolute top Great Grandmaster.

After all, a Celestial Man taking action would be quite conspicuous.

And for an opponent of the Absolute Fourth Rank, even without his special privileges and skill cards, Zhou Heng could take on a fight.

…

Zhou Heng thus settled down in Yuanhe Prefecture City, taking up residence at the Bai’s family home.

In his spare time, he casually imparted some martial arts pointers to Bai Jingtian.

The man’s martial talent was decent, but he had never learned any profound martial arts, so Zhou Heng just taught him some basic techniques from the Pure Yang Palace to enhance his martial understanding.

Who knows, there might be an addition to an outer or inner sect disciple to the Pure Yang Palace.

If luck was on his side and he caught a Grandmaster’s eye, he might even have the chance to receive true transmission.

So, as the days passed, Zhou Heng had already stayed at the Bai’s family for five days, but still had not seen any changes.

But he wasn’t worried.

If nothing turned up after a long wait, that would mean Qingxia God had truly been doomed by the Qing Emperor Palace.

A reincarnation of a Tao Lord, who once dominated an era!

If she were to be schemed to death just like that, it would be a complete waste, not even worth the effort of subjugation.

Better to start over in another reincarnation cycle.

Recraft and rebirth.

On the sixth day.

Early in the morning.

While Zhou Heng was instructing Bai Jingtian’s morning session, he suddenly saw the sunrise in the east as if covered by a layer of mist, turning everything foggy, while the flowers, grass, and trees in the yard began to grow wildly, and an invisible yet intensely rich vital force surged abruptly.

“Master, what’s happening?” Bai Jingtian was shocked and bewildered.

He had seen something similar before—it was during the last major battle that almost led to disaster for Yuanhe Prefecture City when Liu Gaoyang tried to prove himself as a Celestial Man.

“It’s nothing to worry about,” Zhou Heng reassured with a wave of his hand.

Meanwhile, his eyes shone with a golden light as he looked towards the Qingxia River, and with his divine sense, he could see towering waves churning endlessly, as if the entire river were being overturned.

“I beg for the Tao Lord’s aid! I beg for the Tao Lord’s aid!” The voice of Qingxia God drifted over from afar.

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