I Cheated While Cultivating

He knew why Cheng Jianjian went to the coast of the Eastern Sea, but he hadn’t expected her to go to Ningyu Town.

Over a month ago, Cheng Jianjian’s master, Qi Rui, received news that the properties of the Pure Yang Palace located in Jin State’s Tongyun Prefecture by the coast of the Eastern Sea were mysteriously destroyed, and the Grandmaster sent to investigate also disappeared one after another.

So Qi Rui took Cheng Jianjian to investigate, and she had reported back during the mission, saying that they had identified clear clues related to the evil experts of the Yunxiao Heavenly Palace.

How did she suddenly end up in Ningyu Town, and it seems she encountered big trouble there?

“Gou Chen has inspected the seal over Cang Hua in Ningyu Town and found nothing out of the ordinary,” said the inner seat of the Five Emperors. “It is still necessary for the Star Lord to use your authority to probe into the whereabouts of the Big Dipper.”

Zhou Heng had previously announced three privileges. One of them could sense the location of each Star Officer, and the inner seat of the Five Emperors wanted him to use this privilege to find the Big Dipper.

“This is what I should do,” Zhou Heng nodded lightly.

At the same time, a purple glow emerged in his eyes, within which numerous images flickered, as if the Three Enclosures and the Twenty-Eight Mansions were all hidden within.

A moment later, Zhou Heng closed his eyes and then slowly opened them again. The starlight had disappeared, and he said in a deep voice, “The Big Dipper is no longer in this world. She has gone to a very distant world, and that world is not low in essence; there should be mighty beings residing there.”

Through the control of the Purple Tenuity Palace’s authority, he had sensed Cheng Jianjian’s location, but it was not clear. He could only deduce that she might be in that world, unable to ascertain the exact direction.

This meant that the world where Cheng Jianjian was now is extremely distant from here, a distance measured on a temporal-spatial scale. In his memory, only the star gate of the Purple Tenuity Palace can cross such vast distances.

How did she get there?

A question emerged in Zhou Heng’s mind.

“That’s good, finding her is good,” the inner seat of the Five Emperors breathed a sigh of relief, saying, “Then should we issue a mission to find someone to make contact with her, to help her return?”

The inability of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer to contact Cheng Jianjian also meant that she could not return through the power of the star gate; this required someone to actively go there to establish contact with her.

“There is no need to release a mission, I will go directly,” Zhou Heng shook his head lightly and said in a deep voice, “It will be the fastest and the safest this way.”

From what he had just sensed, the world where Cheng Jianjian was didn’t seem simple. There were definitely not a few strong beings. If ordinary members of the organization went there, they might not be much help.

But the Celestial Men of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer are not many, each usually keeping to their own duties. If they were to suddenly travel to another world, who knows what chaos could ensue, so it’s not suitable to send Celestial Men there.

Therefore, the best solution was for Zhou Heng to go personally. With his current strength, even without the use of special skill cards, he had few enemies below the Celestial Men and could solve most troubles.

In fact, he had a much simpler method, which was to use the “Summon” privilege, calling back the outer Star Officers by force with the power of the Purple Tenuity Palace.

But the problem was, it wasn’t just Cheng Jianjian who had disappeared, her master was involved too.

The master of Jade Qiong Peak from the Pure Yang Palace, Qi Rui, Zhou Heng’s senior sister.

If only Cheng Jianjian was summoned back, the problem would still not be resolved.

“Hmm, there seems to be no other way,” the inner seat of the Five Emperors agreed with Zhou Heng’s suggestion and nodded, “Does the Star Lord need any more assistance?”

“No need,” Zhou Heng shook his head lightly, then he bid farewell and left the Hall of Dispelling Anxiety, heading to the location of the star gate.

This time he did not intend to descend by his Divine Soul but directly with his true body.

After all, if his Divine Soul descended there, initially too weak, no matter how fast the recovery, it ultimately needed time. Moreover, now that he had initially formed his Dharma Phase, he also needed to verify his Martial Arts by sparring with others.

As for the differences in the laws of different worlds that suppress strength, to Zhou Heng, the impact was already minimal.

The Innate Five Virtue is the root of all laws and all paths. With the refinement of the Five Virtue Dharma Phase, even if he arrives at a place with completely different Heaven and Earth Laws, he will soon adapt through the Five Virtue Dharma Phase, reweaving the laws and recovering his strength.

Moreover, when Zhou Heng used the Purple Tenuity Palace’s authority to sense Cheng Jianjian’s situation earlier, he also explored some information about that world.

The laws of that world seem to be very close to the stars, seemingly quite similar to the authority of the Purple Tenuity Emperor.

Worthy for him to explore personally.

…

In the eleventh year of Da Wei’s Ningkang era, on the eighth day of the sixth month,

A red demon star fell into the wilderness of the Eastern Wastes, the mid-heaven purple star flickered and moved, deviating from the palace abodes. The head of Heaven’s Observatory died suddenly at night, at only twenty-eight years of age. From then on, Emperor Li Zhengchun of Ningkang began to fall ill without recovery.

The court and the land were shaken, and the people were panic-stricken.

Families, sects, and regional governors commanding their territories harbored intentions of struggling for supremacy, Confucianism, Taoism, and the Buddha Sect suppressed the Star Palace teachings, vying for the world’s doctrinal supremacy.

Civil war raged across the land.

…

In the dense forest between mountains, under the cover of dark clouds without a star in sight, the rain fell hard and the wind blew fiercely.

A well-built man carried a little girl in his arms, accompanied by a young woman as they frantically fled. His body was covered with wounds that continuously bled, washed by the heavy rain.

Yet his pace did not falter, desperately racing through the forest. Even as his body gradually became numb, he didn’t stop.

At this moment, there was only one thought in his mind: escape. Escape from here, from Suzhou’s boundaries. Only if they escaped could his wife and daughter have a chance to live; otherwise, death was certain.

The young woman’s expression was of heartfelt sorrow, but her gaze was resolutely fixed on the man as she prepared to share life and death with her husband.

The little girl in the man’s arms looked to be just over ten years old, exquisitely beautiful and adorable. She lay quietly in her father’s embrace, lips pursed, without uttering a sound.

Behind them, through the dense forest, a group of at least a dozen black-clad assassins wielding steel blades chased after them, each emitting a deadly aura, clearly seasoned and bloodied experts.

“We can’t let Li Chengyu escape. If this fails, we’re all dead!”

“Pick up the pace; he must die in this forest and must not escape the Suzhou boundaries!”

“Li Chengyu is already gravely injured; even the protection of the Celestial Swift Star won’t let him get far!”

“Keep pursuing, we must kill him, he must die!”

As these black-clad men hastened their chase, they whispered among themselves.

Although the level of Stellar Force they possessed was merely ordinary Slaughter standard, their martial arts were exceptional. Coupled with their numbers, they were confident they could take Li Chengyu down.

Having already run over a hundred li with his wife and daughter, Li Chengyu was at his limit. If it weren’t for a lingering obsession and the protection of a Heavenly Gang level Stellar Force, he would’ve already succumbed to his grave injuries.

However, even with that, when they reached the center of the dense forest, he could no longer hold on. Suddenly tripping over a broken tree, he fell to the ground.

His wife too had used up all her strength and, tripping over as well, fell into a mud pit, her fine clothing instantly stained by the mud.

The little girl previously held in Li Chengyu’s arms was tossed out, but seemingly knowledgeable in some fist and kick techniques, and having conserved some strength, she managed to adjust her body mid-air, landing steadily on the ground.

“Father, Mother!”

The moment the little girl steadied herself, she rushed to her parents. She spoke softly, audible only to herself and her parents, so as not to draw any attention.

“Cough, cough! Good, good child, your skills are impressive!” Li Chengyu managed a vague smile and, summoning all his strength, lifted a hand to gently touch his daughter’s small hand, gritting his teeth, “Run, escape! The farther the better!”

“Ning’an, let’s go, quickly!” The young woman also mustered all her strength to speak, urging the little girl to leave. Her body trembled, and she cried torrents of tears, clearly in utter despair.

“Father, Mother, don’t you… don’t you want Ning’an anymore…” The little girl couldn’t maintain her composure any longer and burst into tears, with drops falling and mingling with the rain.

“Run, run! You will die, you’ll die!” Li Chengyu growled, straining with all his might to stand, but he collapsed back to the ground, barely an inch off, completely devoid of strength.

“Father, I’ll help you, let me help you up!” The little girl tried to assist Li Chengyu but was firmly shoved away by him.

“Go! Get out!!” Li Chengyu roared, “I don’t have a daughter like you! Get out!!”

“…” The little girl was stricken as if struck by lightning, and she stood frozen under the pouring rain, immobile.

“Ning’an…” The young woman was heartbroken but didn’t dare utter another word to explain, steeling her heart she said, “Go, leave us! We don’t want you anymore! Go!”

“`

Thwack, thwack, thwack!

Just then, from a dense forest not far away, came the sound of clapping, followed by a dozen men in black clothing, all holding long sabers, emerging from the trees.

“What a scene, ‘the relentless parting from one’s daughter,’ a pity I’m not versed in painting, and have neither paper nor pen in hand; and with the torrential rain, it cannot be preserved. Truly, that is a regret,” said a man in black, clearly of much higher status, standing in front of the other men in black, looking mockingly at Li Chengyu, who had collapsed on the ground, and his wife and daughter by his side.

“Cao Guishan!” Li Chengyu nearly roared, staring intently at the man in black. “It’s you, you were sent by my elder brother, weren’t you?!”

“Nonsense, plainly you, as a prince, have no thought of serving the emperor but instead plot treason during His Majesty’s serious illness!” Cao Guishan laughed coldly. “Such a crime must be punished!”

“You!” Li Chengyu’s anger rose, veins on his forehead bulging as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Third Prince, do you know?” The tone of Cao Guishan suddenly softened, filled with mockery, he chuckled, “Right now, you look like a dog, a grand Fourth Rank Star Officer, blessed by the Tian Ji Star, to end up in such a state is truly laughable.”

“Ptui!” Li Chengyu glared at Cao Guishan, his eyes filled with fury, teeth clenched, “If only I could summon the Star Realm, all of you are trash, all of you must die, all of you must die!”

“Impotent rage. Ever since the ominous star descended three years ago, your Star Palace has been finished!” Cao Guishan lifted his palm and, with a fierce swoop downward, he snorted, “Chop them up into a bloody mess with a flurry of knives!”

“Yes!”

The dozen men in black received the order and immediately moved towards Li Chengyu and his wife and daughter with their sabers.

Thwack, thwack!

Just then, from a nearby area of the woods, suddenly came the sound.

It was the sound of shoes stepping on the muddied ground.

“Who’s there!” Cao Guishan immediately furrowed his brows, shouting fiercely, “Come out!”

The dozen men in black also halted their movements, looking alert.

A brief silence engulfed the surroundings.

Moments later, a young Daoist in a Taoist robe and wearing a jade crown walked out from the forest. Despite the pouring rain, his garments and hair were not in the least bit wet.

“May I know who Your Excellency is…” Cao Guishan’s pupils contracted slightly, a chill rising in his heart, rain not touching the body, this was the use of extremely high-level Martial Path internal energy; this person was not ordinary in strength.

However, as he was asking, he had already signaled his men with a covert hand gesture, seeking an opportunity to launch a sneak attack and kill the Daoist.

Today’s events absolutely could not be known by anyone else.

“Just a passerby,” Zhou Heng said with a smile.

“Since you’re a passerby, I might as well send you on your way!” Cao Guishan’s eyes brimmed with ferocity as he shouted, “Kill him!!”

————

PS: Sorry, I’ve been rushing to catch high-speed trains these last two days, and the updates have been lacking. My apologies.

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