I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 383: Chapter 103: I Uphold the Will of the Gods!

Before descending into the realm of Xuan Teng, Zhou Heng did have a selection range in mind.

However, due to his limited understanding of this world, he couldn’t descend as an individual and had to choose a group descent. For convenience, he chose the group of royalty and nobles.

Unexpectedly, this world’s repulsion against “outsiders” was unreasonably strong, causing the power of the Divine Soul Star Gate to distort. This led to a deviation in the range of his descent choices.

He became the Young Tribal Chief of a tribe.

…

The Great Wind Tribe, on the edge of Taizhou, at the foot of Nine Cang Mountain, near the Great Wilderness…

All the past scenes from the life of this corpse flickered through Zhou Heng’s mind. With his current state of Divine Soul, he easily accepted all the remaining memories of this “Feng Liyuan”.

Naturally, he also came to know who all these people around him were, and understood what his sudden death and resurrection meant.

“Surround him!”

The Great Witch Feng Yuege shouted sternly, his expression extremely serious.

“Don’t let him escape!”

Priest Feng He was also somber, staring intently at the newly resurrected “Young Tribal Chief”.

A ghost possessing the body, this was an ominous sign!

Could it truly be that the heavens wanted to doom the Great Wind Tribe?

Both felt a tinge of sorrow in their hearts.

The many brave warriors present obeyed these two figures and immediately moved to encircle Zhou Heng, who had just descended into this world.

“As expected…”

Zhou Heng’s brows furrowed tightly, knowing that the first crisis he would face in this new world had arrived.

Heavenly retribution!

Although the resistance faced by a Divine Soul descending was far less than that of a physical body, the fact that he had felt rejection upon arrival meant that he had attracted the attention of the will of this world.

Subsequently, various crises would inevitably appear, aiming to erase him, the unstable element.

The current situation was exactly that!

In border tribes like the Great Wind Tribe, should a person resurrect without warning, they would typically be considered possessed by a wandering spirit or ghost, an ill omen, necessitating execution.

——In the world of Xuan Teng, where the energy of heaven and earth is rich and the spirit is lively, and without systematic laws of the netherworld. Thus, when living beings die, if they are not properly buried and not appeased by a priest, their spirit might not completely perish and wander as ghosts in the mountains and forests.

Such wandering spirits are muddled in consciousness, but they instinctively chase after freshly dead bodies to possess them. There is a very small chance that they can merge a sliver of their spirit with the corpse and revive it.

“The heavens did not directly smite me with lightning and heavenly fire to erase me, which means they think there is still a chance to turn the tables.” Zhou Heng’s thoughts shifted as he scanned the surroundings, stood up, and looked past the crowd at Feng Yuege and Feng He. In a deep voice he said, “You intend to kill me?”

“You can speak so soon?” Feng He’s eyes flickered with a peculiar glint. In his understanding, even if soul possession was successful, the subject was initially in a state of confusion, hardly able to communicate normally.

“I am not an ordinary case of soul possession,” Zhou Heng’s chin tilted slightly upward, revealing a hint of haughtiness in his eyes. “I am descended with the will of the gods.”

He had no intention of continuing to pretend to be Feng Liyuan; that would undoubtedly result in him being treated and executed as a common possessed soul. But by invoking the will of the gods and coupling it with his abnormal lucidity, he was sure to instill doubt in Feng He, a priest.

With doubt comes the chance for leniency.

“Ridiculous!” Feng He burst into anger, vehemently shouting, “The gods have lost contact with the mortal realm for tens of thousands of years, and no one has ever heard of anyone descending with their will. A lonely ghost spewing madness deserves death! Bind him for me!”

The surrounding warriors were about to rush over, pin Zhou Heng down, and tie him up.

“Wait!” Zhou Heng raised his hand to indicate they should pause and said loudly, “Priest Feng He, as the gods’ spokesperson in the mortal world, do you not sense the change in the laws of heaven and earth, the divine power within you crying out in anguish?”

“You, spouting nonsense!” Feng He’s expression shifted at these words, he was about to give an order but hesitated, and after a slight pause, he gritted his teeth and said, “Take him away and guard him closely!”

“Yes!” The warriors nodded in unison, stepped forward to hold Zhou Heng by the shoulders, and escorted him away.

But as these warriors approached Zhou Heng, they felt an invisible force enveloping him, preventing them from getting close.

Moreover, this invisible force emanated a majestic and saintly aura, causing them to subconsciously bow their heads in a desire to submit.

“Lead the way; I will walk by myself,” Zhou Heng said indifferently, hands clasped behind his back.

The tribe’s warriors looked towards Feng He.

“…” Feng He was slightly silent, but eventually, he nodded, “Take him there, but watch him closely.”

“Yes!” The warriors echoed in unison and led Zhou Heng away.

The remaining ordinary tribe members also left, heading back to their dwellings. They could tell that the priest and the Great Witch must have important matters to discuss.

Quietness was restored in the area.

“Priest, do you believe what that… person said?” Feng Yuege frowned, “This is a wandering soul possession.”

“He is different from a wandering soul,” Feng He shook his head, looking towards the direction Zhou Heng had left, and said solemnly, “Besides, at this time, the young tribal chief truly cannot die.”

“Are you planning to let this man, who claims to descend with the will of the gods, impersonate the young tribal chief?” Feng Yuege’s eyes widened incredulously upon hearing this.

“That’s right. If we do, the Great Wind Tribe might still have a chance of survival, and moreover…” Feng He clenched his left fist and grasped the staff tightly in his right hand, taking a deep breath, “and what if he is indeed the envoy of the gods?”

“How could that be possible?!” Feng Yuege was utterly incredulous, shaking his head, “I know every priest yearns to reconnect with the gods, but in thirty thousand years, no one has ever succeeded. Not even the Emperor Fuxi and Earth Mother Nuwa have responded, let alone other deities… We have been abandoned.”

“No!” Feng He vehemently denied it, furiously inflamed, his eyes wide staring at Feng Yuege, “No, no! Every priest firmly believes the gods have not abandoned us. Otherwise, where does our divine power come from, and why would our sacrificial rituals still elicit responses?”

“This…” Feng Yuege was speechless. As an ordinary Great Witch, such questions were beyond his comprehension. After a while, he finally said, “Are we really going to accept this ominous omen as our young tribal chief?”

“Why not?” Feng He calmed down slightly and said, “Given the current situation, killing him won’t reverse the plight of our Great Wind Tribe; but if we keep him, perhaps there really is a glimmer of hope.

“Besides, you saw it too; he possesses a divine and majestic power. What he said might not be entirely false. Perhaps there’s truth to it. The gods are still watching over us.”

“`

After speaking, a faint smile appeared on the face of the great priest of the Great Wind Tribe.

“What about the people who saw the young tribal chief dead before?” Feng Yuege abandoned the attempt to persuade and chose to agree with Feng He’s opinion, “Even if we issue a gag order, there’s no wall in the world that doesn’t leak. This matter is bound to get out.”

“About that…” Feng He also frowned, looked up at the night sky, and said solemnly, “Let’s wait for the night to grow darker, then we’ll go find the young tribal chief. Since he is here as the will of the gods, perhaps there will be a way.”

“This…” Feng Yuege was somewhat hesitant, but seeing Feng He’s determined expression, he could only nod his head and said, “Alright.”

…

The place where Zhou Heng was “imprisoned” was actually the original stone house of the clan chief.

It was just that he was not allowed to leave.

There were no other coercive measures.

After all, the warriors of the Great Wind Tribe now had no clear idea about the priests’ and the great witch’s thoughts, nor were they sure whether the young chieftain had been possessed by a specter to come back to life.

Therefore, they had not dared to do anything too excessive.

Of course, in reality, they couldn’t have done much anyway. The invisible force surrounding Zhou Heng prevented them from even making contact.

Inside the stone house of the Great Wind Tribe’s chief.

Zhou Heng’s eyes were slightly closed as he sensed the condition of this body and the strength of the divine soul power that he could exert having descended into it.

“This body is quite weak, only equivalent to that of a Ninth Rank Warrior, and shows no signs of training in techniques. The divine soul power that can be used is about at the peak of the Seventh Rank, barely enough,” he thought.

Before coming to the Xuanteng realm, Zhou Heng had already clarified the divisions of cultivation realms in this world through the information he got from Gou Chen.

It’s said that the original methods of cultivation in this world came from the Human Emperor Fuxi and the Earth Mother Nuwa.

In the Ancient Era, Fuxi taught the human race, imparting techniques that could leverage the mighty power of heaven and earth, called “Taoist Formulas,” which are the origin of today’s “Magicians.”

On the other hand, it’s said that the human race was created by Earth Mother Nuwa after she killed ancient demons and gods. She mixed their remains with many spiritual materials and used divine earth as the medium. This body itself contains boundless divine power.

After the spread of the magicians’ teachings, some enlightened ancestors in the human race were inspired while casting techniques and created a method to extract the power of the gods and demons from within their own bloodlines, calling themselves “Witches.”

In the ancient times, Human Emperor Fuxi and Earth Mother Nuwa led all gods away from the earth and established the Divine Court above the nine heavens. Human intermediaries for the gods then appeared on earth and organized sacrificial rituals, among which the leaders were “Priests,” endowed with divine power given by the gods.

After tens of thousands of years of development, be they “Magicians,” “Witches,” or “Priests,” they were all divided into three main levels.

Awakening, Transcendence, Divinity Transformation.

Each level is further divided into nine stages, with a considerable range.

The Awakening level merely consists of slightly stronger ordinary people. Although there are differences in strength, with the strongest even capable of facing hundreds alone, they are ultimately not Transcendent.

Once the Transcendence level is reached, there is a fundamental improvement in nature.

At this stage, magicians can largely mobilize the power of heaven and earth, and could be called “Mages.” Witches have gained a portion of the gods’ and demons’ powers, and could be referred to as “Great Witches.” Priests actually receive the power bestowed by the gods and can be officially called “Priests.”

Among the information Zhou Heng received, there was a simple comparison of these realm levels with the Ninth Grade Martial Path.

The nine stages of Awakening are roughly equivalent to the Entry Rank to the Seventh Rank, Transcendence is about Secret Six Rank to Sect Fifth Rank, and Divinity Transformation has not been witnessed by anyone; it can only be speculated from some people’s descriptions that it might be equivalent to Absolute Fourth Rank.

This means that a priest and a great witch of the Great Wind Tribe are at least equivalent to a martial artist of the Secret Six Rank, and this is just a small tribal area in the remote region of Taizhou.

Such strength, if placed in Da Qi, could support a small sect in a county-level region.

It is evident that the overall strength of the Xuanteng realm is not low.

At least, it should be so below the Celestial Men.

Zhou Heng roughly synthesized his current situation, his body equivalent to that of a Ninth Rank, with a divine soul at the peak of the Seventh Rank.

Due to the suppression of the world’s rules, Taoist Formulas were practically useless. Except for the Puppetry Technique, which directly affects the divine soul and techniques for entering dreams, only the Taoist Formulas from the Sanqing lineage were viable.

As for martial arts, he could only utilize basic fist and foot skills; the cultivation of inner strength and True Qi was simply impossible.

That’s because, although the human race in this world looks similar to that in Da Qi, there are too many different details in their internal structures.

In terms of overall strength, he should be just able to overcome an Eighth Rank Warrior, roughly equivalent to the seventh level of the Awakening stage in the Xuanteng realm.

“However, the Tao of the Five Virtues and Five Fortunes might just work,” Zhou Heng mused silently. As he did so, he looked up, his gaze as if penetrating the stone house walls and looking out into the night sky.

“I wonder what the will of heaven and earth in the Xuanteng realm is all about. If it really rejects me, why doesn’t it directly strike me with thunder and fire? Is it unwilling, or is it unable to do so?

“If it is unwilling, then this world will with highly likely developed intelligence may be plotting something. If it is unable to do so, could it be because the original rules of this world are resisting the intrusion?

“If it’s the latter, I might be able to find some loopholes to facilitate my actions.”

Zhou Heng decided to take the opportunity to test it out.

Without knowing the situation of the will of heaven and earth in this world, many things he wanted to do could not be carried out. He would always have to be on guard for divine punishment, let alone create a new path of cultivation.

However, he needed to carefully consider how to conduct this test.

If he forcibly exerted Taoist Formulas and martial arts not of this world, it might provoke a strong reaction, and he could end up dead on the spot. However, even if he did die, the loss wouldn’t be significant; he could always descend again.

Of course, he also had to consider that the same divine soul aura descending frequently might lead to an even more intense rejection, and eventually, he might not be able to enter at all.

“Better to be as cautious as possible,” Zhou Heng thought to himself.

Just then, the door of the stone house was suddenly opened, and the two figures of the priest Feng He and the great witch Feng Yuege walked in, with Feng He leading with a solemn expression.

The two came before Zhou Heng.

The priest of the tribe got straight to the point and said, “Young tribal chief, do you have a way to make the people forget about your death and resurrection, can the will of the gods manifest their power?”

“Young tribal chief…” Zhou Heng’s eyes narrowed slightly, understanding Feng He’s intentions. He chuckled and said, “Of course, that’s not a problem.”

“`