I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 335: Chapter 55: The Fall, The Grieving of Heaven and Earth

Heaven’s will descended, punishing all mankind!

He felt as though he had become the enemy of the entire world, with every being and item in this world attacking him.

This was the genuine feeling Zhou Heng experienced at this moment.

Even the simple act of breathing felt like inhaling steel needles, and extending his Divine Sense normally resulted in a burning pain akin to fire; the universal energy he once used as easily as his own limbs now turned against him…

Everything was targeting him, everything was hostile towards him.

This situation was extremely terrifying for Zhou Heng, who had already united with the external landscape as a Secret Six Rank Innate.

In a mere instant, Zhou Heng felt his internal small world collapse, as the colossal external force backflooded into his body, breaking down his inner landscape like decaying wood before a strong wind.

At first, he tried to use the Power of Cave Sky to guide and weaken this massive force.

But he immediately realized it was futile, against the strength of the backflooded energy from the external world, the Power of Cave Sky seemed nonexistent, unable to produce any effect.

This was Heaven’s will targeting Zhou Heng, an unfathomable Divine Skill on the level of the Great Dao.

It was the capability of a Tao Lord.

The Second Rank power from Jia Ye Temple had finally made their move.

A direct kill!

Zhou Heng was utterly powerless.

The blood qi in his body flowed in reverse, his meridians fractured, and even his Divine Soul showed cracks. It was as if an invisible giant hand emerged from nowhere, intent on utterly crushing him.

In the next instant, Zhou Heng was on the verge of both physical and spiritual destruction.

At this moment, a golden light suddenly appeared out of the void, cutting gently through the air, creating a small world out of nothing that enveloped Zhou Heng, isolating him from the hostility of the external world.

This was the power of Yan Shouyi, who acted just in time to save Zhou Heng.

Under the protection of the world created by the golden light, Zhou Heng finally caught his breath, avoiding immediate explosion.

However, even so, the situation within his body had become chaotic. His inner landscape had turned into a chaotic mush, and his physical body could collapse at any moment, leaving him with slim chances of surviving.

Crack!

Zhou Heng had just caught his breath and had not even had the chance to think about how to deal with the current situation when he heard the sound of the void shattering. The small world that had just been opened by the golden light had developed cracks and was about to break.

That feeling of being targeted and hostile by all things in the world surged up again!

While this force was only seeping through the cracks of the small world, much weaker and finer than at the beginning, Zhou Heng was no longer in his prime condition.

The moment he sensed this force, his already struggling inner landscape burst into further chaos, boiling like a chaotic mush, threatening to burst through and destroy his body.

Zhou Heng’s vision went dark, and he felt dizzy, almost passing out.

The majesty of the Tao Lord was impossible to resist.

The gap was too large.

Certain death.

He was determined to use “Open Gate” to escape Yuzhou directly.

But he was also reluctant.

To leave just like this?

Then what was the purpose of his coming here?

But what could he do to break through the situation, and what did he have left in his hand?

The all-powerful special skill card?Nôv(el)B\\jnn

This card could transform into any special skill card he had ever possessed.

But even the strongest of his previous special skill cards, “Five Colored Divine Light [Copper]” and “Fooling [Copper],” may not be effective against the might of a Tao Lord.

Besides these—

Aging?

Fortune stealing?

Or perhaps the projection card of the Heaven Rotating Seal?

Aging could be ruled out; it was said that Tao Lords had achieved immortality, living as long as the heavens and earth. Aging them three thousand years would be meaningless.

The power of the Heaven Rotating Seal should not be a problem. The projection from the Ziwei Star Palace had previously frightened away the Evil God, so the projection of the Heaven Rotating Seal couldn’t be too inferior.

But how could he find the target, and how could he secure the time to use the Heaven Rotating Seal?

That was a big problem.

What about stealing fortune?

Zhou Heng began to consider the possibilities of the situation.

However, as his thoughts reached this point, he sadly discovered that his body had already started to fall apart, destined to die within a few breaths.

Although he possessed the Resurrection Card, which allowed him to resurrect on the spot, he would still be unable to avoid the same fate of being rejected and targeted by everything in heaven and earth after resurrection; escaping through “Open Gate” was his only alternative.

“Is it ending like this?” Zhou Heng was unwilling, but under these circumstances, there was no other way left.

The Tao Lord was simply too strong.

Even without making an appearance, not to mention not descending in real form, merely by slightly manipulating the rules, any creature could be instantly killed on the spot, or even worse than dead.

However, just at this moment, Zhou Heng suddenly noticed that he couldn’t feel the hostility anymore, as if that strange power had once again been isolated.

At this moment, in Zhou Heng’s perception, it was as if when the golden light had just created the small world, the intense hostility from all things in heaven and earth had vanished.

It seemed everything had returned to its normal state.

Moreover, a warm and comforting power emerged from the void, materializing into clumps of white mist that wrapped around Zhou Heng’s body, nourishing his physical and spiritual forms, and rapidly healing his injuries.

Although his inner small world was still a shattered chaotic mess, his physical body had returned to normal, no longer on the verge of collapse, effectively pulled back from the brink of death by the enveloping white mist.

Undoubtedly, this was the power of the Tao Yin Yuan Sect diagram, with Yan Shouyi maneuvering this Unique Divine Weapon to provide support and protection to Zhou Heng.

This gave Zhou Heng finally some time to adjust himself and to think.

How to break the situation?

First, he had to meet the Second Rank Taoist practitioner from Jia Ye Temple, or at least be able to determine his location.

Otherwise, whether it was the Heaven Rotating Seal or any other special authority, they would be useless without a target, leaving him completely devoid of a means to break the situation.

“But, with my current level of cultivation, even in my prime, it would be impossible to discern the exact location of a Second Rank Taoist practitioner, let alone now with serious injuries and the collapse of my inner world— it’s even more impossible…”

Zhou Heng’s brow furrowed tightly. He couldn’t sort out any ideas for the moment when suddenly, while he was deep in thought, he noticed the white mist healing his wounds.

“No, perhaps there is a way…”

This white mist was the power of the Tao Ying Yuan Sect’s chart, and he had the formula to control this Unique Divine Weapon in his hands!

Although limited by his level of cultivation and unable to fully mobilize the might of the Tao Ying Yuan Sect’s chart, using some of its miraculous effects to search for the Second Rank Taoist practitioner from Jia Ye Temple shouldn’t be a problem.

With this thought, a trace of joy suddenly emerged in Zhou Heng’s heart. With no time to waste, he immediately mobilized the few traces of True Qi left in his body, enduring the intense pain of his collapsing inner world, and activated the formula.

At the same time, outside the small golden world, there was an endless expanse of white mist that suddenly responded.

…

In the skies above Yuzhou, within the extremely dense white mist.

A gold and a cyan light were still in confrontation. The cyan light, resonating with the chant of Buddha’s name, was clearly superior and had already suppressed the golden light.

“Benefactor Yan, why must you do this?” A spirit will within the cyan light conveyed, with a hint of laughter, “Although your junior brother has some unusual methods, he is after all only of the Secret Six Rank. Do you really think you can turn the tide with his help?”

“Why can’t I?” Yan Shouyi’s voice came from within the golden light. He chuckled, “Hasn’t he already eradicated a large portion of Jia Ye Temple’s influence in the realm of Yuzhou?

“As a result, your avatar has lost its support, and no matter how powerful, it will eventually dissipate. Old bald donkey, your time is running out.”

“Indeed, it’s not much.” The spirit will in the cyan light continued to laugh, “That’s exactly why this humble monk has to speed up and take care of both of you, to avoid any interference with the opening of the ancient Pure Land!”

“I’m afraid you don’t have the ability, bald donkey!” Yan Shouyi snorted coldly, while his Taoist power surged, Pure Yang brilliance flourished, and within this Pure Yang, there was a trace of Pure Yin so subtle it was almost indistinguishable.

He was preparing to reveal the true power of his cultivation.

Just now, in order to prevent Zhou Heng from completely collapsing and dying, Yan Shouyi forcibly transferred some of the power of the Tao Ying Yuan Sect’s chart, which led to the weakening of his suppression of the Second Rank Taoist practitioner from Jia Ye Temple and being directly surpassed.

If he continued to hide his strength now, he would probably be completely suppressed.

Then, the ancient Pure Land would inevitably be opened, and all the people of Yuzhou would be forcibly converted into followers of Buddha Sect. Both he and Zhou Heng would be unable to escape their fates.

But just as Yan Shouyi was about to amplify that trace of Pure Yin power, merging it with the Pure Yang to form the Yin Yang Tai Chi, he suddenly noticed that someone else was activating the power of the Tao Ying Yuan Sect’s chart.

As the actual controller of the Tao Ying Yuan Sect’s chart, he could clearly sense that the person mobilizing the power of this Unique Divine Weapon was Zhou Heng.

“What does he want to do?” Yan Shouyi wondered.

Zhou Heng’s condition was very bad, hanging by a thread. With such a dying body, even if he managed to leverage a bit of the power from the Tao Ying Yuan Sect’s chart, what could he do?

However, Yan Shouyi soon learned of Zhou Heng’s purpose through his control over the Tao Ying Yuan Sect’s chart, which only intensified his confusion, “Is he looking for the exact location of that old bald donkey?”

The Tao Ying Yuan Sect’s chart truly was a Unique Divine Weapon. Zhou Heng quickly found the Second Rank Taoist practitioner from Jia Ye Temple and, using the power of the white mist, moved himself directly above the vast expanse of white fog, standing between the golden “sun” and the cyan “sun.”

At that moment, Zhou Heng was witnessing up close a battle between a Second Rank Taoist power and Yan Shouyi. He saw the grandeur of the Tao being displayed, glimpsed the true form of the Tao’s essence, which was akin to peering directly into the deepest mysteries of a certain Tao.

Thus, in that instant, his mind became a blank canvas—his current realm could not withstand such an assault of information from the Tao.

Next, he would suffer a mental breakdown, go insane and lose control, then his physical body would disintegrate, his Divine Soul would be annihilated, and he, as a whole, would cease to exist, pulverized by the force of the Tao to the point of leaving not a single speck of residue.

“Junior Brother!” Yan Shouyi cried out in alarm, not understanding why Zhou Heng would do such a thing.

“Haha! Courting his own death, the ancient pure land is about to open, and this indeed makes for a fine spectacle.” From within the green light, laughter was heard as a middle-aged monk, corpulent and donning a kasaya, stepped out. He was about to speak when his complexion suddenly changed drastically.

The aura of this Second Rank Taoist power from Jia Ye Temple became chaotic out of nowhere, the light in his eyes dimming, his body beginning to tremble, his facial features distorting, and an expression of madness appearing on his face. His Tao power erupted abruptly as if it was being unleashed.

Watching this scene, Yan Shouyi’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably, his face exhibiting disbelief as he stared at the monk before him and muttered in a low voice, “Has he… gone mad?!”

A Second Rank Taoist power, even if only an incarnation, would still possess strength far superior to that of the Third Rank of Heaven; their realm and mental will were extensions of their true self, genuine Second Rank entities.

And he just… went mad?

Wait, what about Junior Brother?

Yan Shouyi hastily turned to look at Zhou Heng, only to see that Zhou Heng had strangely returned to his normal state, eyes firmly closed and Divine Sense withdrawn, completely sealing off his perception and refusing to look at the monk across from him.

Obviously, this was to avoid his spirit being impacted by the sight of the monk’s madness.

“Did he know already?” Yan Shouyi was dumbfounded, uncertain. “What kind of method is this, a contingency from his past life? But this is just too exaggerated…”

This is a Second Rank Taoist power!

Even if it’s just an incarnation, it’s still the incarnation of a Second Rank power!

At this time, Zhou Heng was focusing inward, attending to his own being without caring about anything external, but he knew he had succeeded. And in the depths of the unknown, he sensed a boundlessly vast world.

It seemed like a pure land, yet also like the Heavenly Realm.

This world should have been opened by that Second Rank power from Jia Ye Temple, but now the responsibility had been transferred to him.

Actually, before Zhou Heng arrived here through the white fog, when he was confirming the enemy’s location, he had already activated a special privilege, “Fate Transfer.”

“Fate Transfer: Steals a portion of any being’s fate for the next minute and transplants one’s own fate for the next minute onto that being.”

Zhou Heng had stolen the fate of the Second Rank power from Jia Ye Temple for the next minute and had transferred his own fate of mental collapse, total breakdown, and utter annihilation onto him.

Thus, the fates of the two had naturally been exchanged.

Emerging victorious, the one to open the ancient pure land became Zhou Heng, while the one who lost control, fell into madness, and was on the brink of obliteration became the Second Rank power who was once on the verge of victory.

“Ahhhh!”

An utterly mournful scream resounded in the skies above Yuzhou, and at the same time, the very principles of Tao within Yuzhou let out wails of sorrow. The mountains and rivers shook as though in lamentation, and a red rain poured down from the heavens, as if the sky itself wept blood, and the rivers glowed crimson.

When a Tao Lord falls, heaven and earth grieve!

If not for the Tao Yingyuan Sect’s barrier separating Yuzhou from the outside world, the various phenomena that were manifesting would not be limited to Yuzhou’s boundaries; the entire world, whether the Central Plains, West Wasteland, Mo Bei, the Desolated Divine Mountains, the seas beyond… all would exhibit similar anomalies.

This incarnation of the Second Rank power from Jia Ye Temple, after a brief bout of madness, completely collapsed, bursting into millions of blue glows, transforming into countless lotus flowers, drifting and descending softly.

He had fallen.