I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 382: Chapter 102: The Golden Bridge from the Other Shore Descends!

“Congratulations! You’ve struck it lucky! You have obtained a special skill card: Appraisal Card*1.”

“Congratulations! You’ve struck it lucky! You have acquired the Taoist Formulas ‘Celestial Man Qi Watching Technique’ [Sect Fifth Rank]”

…

“Congratulations! You have gained a basic attribute: Slaying Demon +2.”

“Congratulations! You have obtained a special skill card: Cosmos in the Sleeve [Copper]”

…

“Congratulations! You have acquired the Martial Arts ‘Emperor’s Sword Technique’ [Absolute Fourth Rank]!”

…

“Congratulations! Upon opening the Platinum Treasure Box, with incredibly good fortune, you have obtained the Technique Projection Card: Other Shore Golden Bridge [Silver]!”

…

…

After opening all the Fortune Bags and Treasure Boxes, Zhou Heng was overjoyed.

Other Shore Golden Bridge!

This was clearly the supreme divine skill displayed by the legendary Grand Pure Daoist Ancestor when he unfolded the Tai Chi Diagram.

It was another Three Pure Ones-level Technique Projection Card!

Before this, he had already obtained a “Heaven Opening Seal [Silver]” Technique Projection Card, and now he had gotten another one.

This meant that Zhou Heng could now use Two Three Pure Ones-level Technique Projections!

Although the power of these technique projections was undoubtedly only a fraction of the original—perhaps not even one in a billion—their power was still the mightiest weapon currently at his disposal.

“With these two trump cards, my journey to the Xuanteng Realm should be utterly without mishap…” Zhou Heng thought happily to himself.

The power of the Other Shore Golden Bridge Projection Card was so great that it made him subconsciously overlook the special skill card “Cosmos in the Sleeve.”

In fact, it was also an extremely powerful divine skill!

“Cosmos in the Sleeve [Copper]: Unfurl one’s robe to create a void, encompassing all things. Within ten thousand miles, any being below the level of Celestial Man can be drawn into the sleeve, their life and death at one’s control.”

This technique could not be said to be weak, but it paled in comparison to the Other Shore Golden Bridge.

However, this was to be expected.

After all, these were the items obtained from a Silver Fortune Bag without hitting the jackpot. They were already very rewarding.

Afterward, Zhou Heng shifted his attention to the newly acquired Taoist Formulas and Martial Arts.

“Celestial Man Qi Watching Technique: Sect Fifth Rank Taoist Formulas. Imitate the mana of a Celestial Man, observe the changing laws of heaven and earth, see through the opponent’s Qi and fortune, find their weaknesses, and the trajectory of their fortune’s changes. If cultivated to the utmost peak, one can observe the rise and fall of dynasties and great teachings.”

“Emperor’s Sword Technique: Absolute Fourth Rank Martial Arts. This is the sword of the Emperor, capable of certifying the Emperor’s Dharma Body. Only those who possess the conduct of an Emperor may cultivate it. Comprising nine forms, it executes the will of Heaven and sweeps across the universe.”

If this had been before, Zhou Heng would have been thrilled to receive such Martial Arts as Emperor’s Sword Technique, but now, as he looked at the reward prompt and the introduction to the Martial Arts, he felt no inner excitement.

Honestly, he was somewhat disappointed.

It wasn’t that the “Emperor’s Sword Technique” wasn’t strong enough; after being optimized by the System, this Martial Arts had become a supreme technique, capable of proving the Taoist Dharma Body, and it also contained the special charm of executing the will of Heaven. It should belong to the top-tier supreme techniques.

Receiving such a peerless technique from the Gold Fortune Bag is not a loss.

However, Zhou Heng’s taste had become distorted, and after opening inheritances like “Three Palms Overturning the Heavens,” “Sword Technique of Conviction,” and “Three Treasures Wishful Fist,” he felt that “Emperor’s Sword Technique” was undoubtedly strong, but ultimately, it was a bit lacking.

“No wonder there was no ‘luck through the roof’ notification.” Zhou Heng felt a slight regret in his heart, but after seeing the Celestial Man Qi Observation Technique, his mood improved by quite a bit, “For a Sect Fifth Rank Taoist Formula, this technique can be described as supreme.”

At the Middle Third Rank level, whether it was Secret Sixth Rank, Sect Fifth Rank, or Absolute Fourth Rank, the most common approach was to link one’s True Qi, True Gang, or Mana with the laws of heaven and earth to mobilize the great forces of nature and exert formidable power.

The Celestial Man Qi Observation Technique allowed one to perceive the changes in the laws of heaven and earth, penetrate the fluctuations in the opponent’s Qi, and find weaknesses. This was essentially a way to breach the common battle methods of Middle Third Rank powerhouses, sufficient to give Zhou Heng’s strength a leap forward in improvement.

Moreover, this Taoist Formula was not limited to dealing with Martial Artists; even practitioners from other worlds and systems could hardly bypass the part of communicating with the laws of heaven and earth.

The Celestial Man Qi Observation Technique could restrain them all!

In addition, it provided the capability to observe the trajectory of shifts in Qi fortune and even the rise and fall of a dynasty’s fortune, coincidentally related to the path of the Five Virtues and Five Fortune that Zhou Heng was planning before.

To open such a Taoist Formula from a Copper Fortune Bag was truly a delightful surprise.

“Based on the information about the Xuanteng Realm received from Gou Chen, the Emperor of that world ruled the central land, while various kingdoms stood in the cardinal directions, with countless tribes deep within the wilderness and forests. The intertwined complex web of power included priests, great witches, royal families, and nobles…”

Zhou Heng thought to himself, “This Celestial Man Qi Observation Technique is exactly what I need for discerning the strengths and weaknesses of people and forces, thus allowing me to avoid many unnecessary troubles and make things more convenient in the future.”

After making a series of preparations, he went to the Worry-Free Hall to seek the counsel of the Five Emperors’ inner seat.

There, one could parse exact tasks from world information. Generally, these tasks conformed to the world’s rules; completing them meant aligning with the development of the particular world’s heavenly law, thereby acquiring positive feedback and merit.

However, the merit acquired from completing tasks usually converged into the Zhou Tian Star Diagram and Purple Tenuity Palace, with the exploring Star Officers only gaining a small portion, mostly good deeds.

This was something Zhou Heng came to understand after thoroughly reading the “Innate Five Virtues and Five Fortune Treasure Book.”

In some sense, the Star Officers of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer traveling through the myriad worlds to complete tasks could be considered as “working” for the Zhou Tian Star Diagram and Purple Tenuity Palace.

Zhou Heng had a premonition that perhaps the new permissions he would acquire next might relate to this aspect.

Previously, he could only take a portion of the good deeds, but naturally, there might be a chance to take a share of the merits in the future.

…

Inside the Worry-Free Hall.

“The heavenly laws of the Xuanteng Realm are very complex, and they seem to have developed their own will, making it difficult to parse task information,” the Five Emperors’ inner seat sighed, “So long has passed, and we’ve only managed to parse five tasks.”

“Five is quite good.” Zhou Heng smiled, “I was even prepared for there to be just one task.”

“Five before the number of tasks,” the Five Emperors’ inner seat shook their head, saying, “Previously, four tasks have been taken by Star Officers exploring that world, leaving only one remaining.”

“Ah?” Zhou Heng let out a light exclamation, frowning, “Have those tasks been completed, or are there still people undertaking tasks in the Xuanteng Realm?”

“That’s not the case. Currently, the situation is quite tense everywhere, and those who went to explore the Xuanteng Realm have all returned.” The Five Emperors’ inner seat shook their head lightly, regretfully saying, “It’s just a pity for those four tasks.

“Of those four, only the initial Heaven Prison was completed; the rest were failures. The Xuanteng Realm is peculiar, and once a task fails, it can’t be parsed again. Such a pity, such a pity.”

“It seems I have no other choice.” Zhou Heng chuckled, “Then give me this last remaining task. I also want to see what kind of task that even Celestial Men haven’t taken on.”

“Alright.” The Five Emperors’ inner seat nodded gently, smiling, “This task isn’t too difficult, but it’s somewhat troublesome and strange. The rewards are not bad either.”

“Thank you.” Zhou Heng said with a smile.

…

“Name: Xuanteng Realm (tentative)

“Category: The Grand Thousand Worlds”

“Affiliation: Unknown, suspected to be the main realm of the void”

“Calamity: Unknown”

“Peak Force: Absolute Fourth Rank (tentative)”

“…”

“Civilization characteristics: Priestly rituals, tribes, wilderness…”

“…”

“Heaven and Earth Vital Energy: Dense”

“Law Suppression: Extremely high”

“Time Flow Speed: Double”

“World Overview: … The ‘Heaven Prison’ Star Officer accidentally obtained guiding information within the Star Gate, and after ‘Heaven Prison’, ‘Wenchang’, ‘Solar Guardian’, ‘Gou Chen’, five Star Officers’ preliminary exploration, it is known… In the ancient era, gods lived upon the earth. Mother Earth Nuwa formed humans from clay. Human Emperor Fuxi educated the people, initiating the first civilization of the human race… In the ancient times, Fuxi and Nuwa led the gods away from the earth, establishing the Divine Court above the nine heavens, and then sacrificial rites began among humans… Thirty thousand years ago, the connection between the human realm and the Divine Court was lost. Although priests could still draw divine power, they no longer received divine decrees, leading to great chaos… Ten thousand years ago, a youth with an iron sword emerged from the Great Wilderness, pushing across the six directions, flattening the eight wastelands, founding the Central Celestial Dynasty, declaring himself Emperor, enfeoffing lords, and governing all directions…”

“Mission Details: Beyond the already existing paths of ‘Priest’, ‘Great Witch’, ‘Magician’, forge a new and viable path of cultivation and train at least ten disciples equivalent to Secret Six Rank.”

“Mission Reward: One part of a Celestial Man Three Fortune Martial Art, a chance to refine a Celestial Man Divine Weapon, ten thousand merit points.”

…

…

Great Wind Tribe.

This is one of the tribal groups under the Nine Cang Mountain range, on the outskirts of Taizhou; scaling the Nine Cang Mountain and heading south would take you to the Great Wilderness, a land rumored to be uninhabited for thousands of miles, yet where numerous treasures left by ancient gods are buried.

Legend has it that in the Great Wilderness there is spring water that prevents aging, a divine tree that grants immortality, beasts that, upon consumption, prevent all illness, and even a divine medicine that grants limitless mana with just one bite…

All these legends inspire boundless yearning.

Every year, people from various nations and even from the imperial lands of Zhongzhou come to climb the Nine Cang Mountain. Among them are priests, great witches, magicians, as well as nobles and even close relatives of the Emperor!

The legends of the Great Wilderness are so captivating.

Yet, among the tribal groups beneath the Nine Cang Mountain Range, there is an ancestral teaching that forbids anyone from climbing the Nine Cang Mountain or venturing into the Great Wilderness, for any reason.

Otherwise, they will certainly face divine punishment!

Consequently, even the most outstanding warriors in the tribes do not dare to casually scale the Nine Cang Mountains. They are even cautious when hunting on the mountain, daring only to stay at the foot and never climbing higher.

But three days ago, Feng Liyuan, the young tribal chief of the Great Wind Tribe and the most promising talent to become a Great Witch in three hundred years, quietly left the tribe in the dead of night, determined to scale the Nine Cang Mountain alone.

He wanted to search for the Fountain of Youth and Elixir of Immortality in the Great Wilderness to resurrect his recently deceased parents.

Taizhou is already a border wilderness in the Central Plains, sparsely populated, with only three or four sizable cities and quite desolate.

The tribal groups beneath the Nine Cang Mountain, being on the edge of Taizhou, are naturally even more barren. The yield of cultivated crops is very low, and most people can only rely on hunting for a living.

But because of the ancestral teachings, people dare not easily venture up the mountain, which means the suitable hunting areas are very limited.

Neighboring tribes often fight over hunting grounds and boundaries.

Even casualties occur.

Half a month ago.

The Great Wind Tribe and the South Fire Tribe, ten miles away, clashed fiercely over the ownership of a hunting area.

In the end, due to the South Fire Tribe secretly employing a magician to launch a sneak attack, killing the chieftain couple of the Great Wind Tribe, they seized control of the hunting grounds.

The defeated Great Wind Tribe returned home and, according to the tradition passed down by the ancestors, let the seventeen-year-old son of the chieftain Feng Liyuan inherit the position of tribal chief.

But no one expected the young tribal chief to be so immature. At first, he did not believe his parents had died in battle. Upon realizing the truth, he considered searching for divine medicine in the Great Wilderness to resurrect them.

Only after the tribe’s priest persuaded him did he barely calm down, but in the end, he still sneaked out, went up the Nine Cang Mountain, and that night, a bolt of thunder struck him from the sky.

This bolt of thunder also woke up all the people of the Great Wind Tribe. After discovering that Feng Liyuan was missing, they hurried towards the Nine Cang Mountain to search and found his body.

At this time, the night was deep, the moonlight obscured by clouds and the stars sparse.

The entire Great Wind Tribe fell into silence.

Priest Feng He and Great Witch Feng Yuege, the two strongest members of the Great Wind Tribe, were silent, their fists clenched and bodies trembling slightly. They were both over a hundred years old and not long for this world.

They had both planned to pass on all their life’s learning to Feng Liyuan to make him a strong chieftain and to quickly leave behind many descendants.

But such an unthinkable event had occurred.

With Feng Liyuan dead, the whole Great Wind Tribe was essentially finished…

“Ah!”

At that moment, Feng Liyuan, who had been lying motionless on the grass mat, suddenly let out a shout, abruptly sat up, and looked around with wide eyes.

“Is this… a deviation in the descent of the Divine Soul?” Zhou Heng, after seeing the situation around him, couldn’t help but feel alarmed, “The repelling force of this world is so formidable, what exactly is happening?”