I Cheated While Cultivating

“Then come to my cave-abode.” You Ziheng nodded slightly and casually tossed the loudly crying water Kylin into the sea of clouds, then turned and walked with Zhou Heng toward the entrance of the cave-abode.

At this moment, Zhu Zhenzhen, dressed in a green dress, popped up from nowhere.

Her eyes sparkled as she swung her hands and called out, “Master, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Little Uncle-Master; I’ve missed him to death. Please, let me join you in the cave-abode to chat with him for a bit.”

“You’re not missing your Little Uncle-Master; you’re just craving your master’s liquor!” You Ziheng blow on his beard and took out a gourd of wine from his sleeve, tossing it to Zhu Zhenzhen, “Just half a gourd for you, drink it sparingly!”

“Okay! Master is the best! I don’t miss Little Uncle-Master at all now!” Zhu Zhenzhen immediately beamed with joy, hugging the gourd of wine and hopped away without a trace.

“This little girl…” You Ziheng shook his head and said with a light chuckle, “But this personality isn’t too bad; she knows how to deceive others. At least she won’t suffer losses, don’t you think, Little Junior Brother?”

“…Um, that’s right.” Zhou Heng suppressed his amusement, acknowledging the truth in the saying that the disciple mirrors the master.

Afterward, the two arrived inside You Ziheng’s cave-abode and found a gazebo to sit in. Gourd Mountain was still spurting wine, and the air around them was filled with the fragrance of alcohol, making it hard not to become intoxicated.

“Did you come because of the Killing Orders the four major Evil Sects have issued against you, Junior Brother?” asked You Ziheng with a light laugh, “Have doubts in your heart?”

“Correct,” Zhou Heng nodded slightly and replied, “In fact, it’s not surprising that Yunxiao Heavenly Palace and the Plague Emperor Sect would send assassins after me given my recent actions. However, issuing a public Killing Order in such a grand manner is puzzling.

“Moreover, it should not be widely known yet that I killed Zhong Xinghai and Ma Quan, so these two Evil Sects spreading the news so quickly is certainly suspicious.

“Furthermore, involving Honghua Palace and the Nine Deaths Sect, which have not had major conflicts with me, almost seems like they are using me to provoke a war between the Righteous and Evil Paths. This situation is not normal, so I returned to the mountain to inquire.”

“I see, I understand your doubts now. They are mainly focused on two points,” You Ziheng pulled out another wine gourd, poured himself a drink, then belched, and said with a smile, “First, you feel that the release of the Killing Order was too soon, too rapid. This is understandable. It’s very likely that these Killing Orders had been decided upon half a month in advance, and have little to do with your recent actions.”

“Half a month ago?” Zhou Heng was surprised and speculated, “Could it be because of the demon calamity and the grand demon in Liangzhou? With all the Celestial Men gone there, the Evil Sects want to take this opportunity to stir up trouble?”

“The Righteous Celestial Men are in Xi Liang resisting the demon calamity, which for the Evil Sects, is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” You Ziheng nodded and said, “In the past, under such circumstances, the Pure Yang Palace and other Righteous Celestial Men would have stepped forward to negotiate, preventing an actual conflict.

“However, now, with the negotiable Celestial Men all in Xi Liang, these Evil Sects are unrestrained and naturally much more brazen.”

“Aren’t they afraid of the many Celestial Men returning and settling scores after the autumn?” Zhou Heng frowned.

“What can be done by settling scores?” You Ziheng shook his head and said, “Could they really annihilate the Evil Sects? Since they cannot, at best they would kill some common disciples or Middle Third Rank, which is meaningless.

“It might even lead some from the Evil Sects to act recklessly out of desperation, wantonly slaughtering and causing greater panic, to the detriment of all.”

“…” Zhou Heng fell silent for a moment before saying, “Senior Brother You, I have always had a question: why do Evil Sects still exist in this world?”

“With the power of Pure Yang Palace, Infinite Temple, Ten Major Sects, Twelve Ancient Families, and the Imperial Court, can we not eradicate all these harmful evil paths from the world?”

“Indeed, we cannot,” You Ziheng gave an answer that surprised Zhou Heng greatly. He said, “This involves a question, junior brother. What do you think these evil paths are, and where do their evil doctrines come from?”

“Are they… from martial artists who cultivate evil practices, or from evil beings among the ancient immortals and gods?” Zhou Heng said somewhat uncertainly.

This was the origin of the vast majority of sects in the world.

But judging from You Ziheng’s implications, it didn’t seem to be the case.

“Among the four great evil paths, only the Heavenly Palace fits this description. The others, like the Nine Deaths Sect, Plague Emperor Sect, and Honghua Palace, have only emerged as evil paths in the past three thousand years,” said You Ziheng, setting down his gourd of wine. “Evil paths, evil creatures, don’t you find these two terms very similar?”

“The origin of evil paths is related to evil creatures?” Zhou Heng exclaimed in surprise. This was something he hadn’t considered.

He had always thought that evil creatures were similar to ghosts and demon entities, doomed to be eradicated the moment they appeared in the human world. But now, it seemed that this was not the case.

“When an evil creature’s level escalates to the extreme, reaching the Divine First Rank, it becomes an ‘Evil God’,” You Ziheng sighed softly. “The path of an Evil God can be imprinted into this world, indelibly.

“As long as the cosmic laws remain, the Evil God cannot die. Even if it’s annihilated in both body and soul, it will resurge from the cosmic laws after a period of time. The three Evil Gods are the sources of the three great evil paths.”

“Resurge?” Zhou Heng’s eyes widened at the words, astounded. “Does this mean that sects like the Nine Deaths Sect, the Plague Emperor Sect, and Honghua Palace actually do have Divine First Rank individuals, but they are Evil Gods who have been vanquished and are now preparing to return?

“If that’s the case… since evil creatures feed on negative emotions, is the resurgence of an Evil God also related to the negative emotions of all beings? If the world falls into chaos and all beings live in fear, could that accelerate the resurgence of the Evil God?”

“Junior brother is perceptive, indeed that is so,” nodded You Ziheng. “Your second doubt was exactly why the four great evil paths are doing these things that are clearly provocations against the entire righteous path, right?

“Now you’ve guessed the answer yourself. Why do they do this? Because this is their goal.

“Taking advantage of the absence of the Celestial Men, disturbing the world, instilling fear and insecurity among the people, they increase the world’s negative emotions, providing nourishment for the resurgence of the Evil God.”

“But if that’s the case, shouldn’t we be joining forces to fully eradicate these evil factions?” Zhou Heng questioned, “To prevent them from stirring chaos in the world for the revival of the Evil God?”

“They cannot be annihilated,” You Ziheng shook his head. “Admittedly, if forces like Pure Yang Palace were to unite, it should be easy to eliminate the four great evil paths. But once a large number of Celestial Men who practice evil doctrines are killed, it would be akin to accelerating the resurgence of the Evil God.”

“…There’s such a thing?” Zhou Heng questioned.

“All of an evil sect’s existence originates from an Evil God, including the evil doctrines they cultivate,” You Ziheng explained. “The Primordial Spirits of the evil sect’s Celestial Men are hosted in the void, which is actually at the place of the Evil God’s path. Once they die, their Primordial Spirit will be absorbed by the Evil God’s path, thereby accelerating the resurgence of the Evil God.”

“Doesn’t that mean the cultivators of the evil path are just nourishment for the Evil God? Why then do people cultivate such doctrines, and furthermore, why do they wish for the revival of the Evil God?” Zhou Heng spoke, even more perplexed.

“No,” You Ziheng shook his head, “Evil Gods need Celestial Men servants to act on their behalf, so they won’t devour Celestial Men without reason. Moreover, Evil Gods may even allocate some of their authority within the dao, granting their servants powers in the realm of the Celestial Men that rival those of a Tao Lord with Great Divine Power.

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“So, that means as long as one Evil God from the evil sects is revived, then the Celestial Men corresponding to that sect will all possess might comparable to a Tao Lord. This is also why all the evil sects wish to revive their own Evil Gods,” Zhou Heng said with a nod, sighing, “Killing the high-ranking Celestial Men of the evil sects will accelerate the revival of the Evil Gods, while killing their ordinary disciples or Middle Third Rank will neither shake their foundation nor will it avoid causing panic among the common folk.”

“The roots of the evil sects lie in their Evil Gods, and as long as the Evil Gods are not destroyed, they can be infinitely revived. Therefore, the corresponding evil sects also cannot be completely extinguished, which leads to the only way to deal with these sects by limiting their actions?” Zhou Heng inquired.

“Exactly,” You Ziheng nodded.

“Then, why don’t these evil factions have any concerns in general?” Zhou Heng frowned, “Even if the Celestial Men are still around, what can they do to them?”

“It’s different,” You Ziheng shook his head, “If the Celestial Men are still around, they can summon the Taoist Sovereign God Soldier to isolate a large area from negative emotions, thereby dissipating them. The Evil Gods cannot absorb these, and creating chaos in the world would thus be meaningless.

“Moreover, although killing a Celestial Man from the evil sects carries the risk of hastening the revival of an Evil God, occasionally killing one or two Celestial Men won’t have particularly severe consequences.

“But who would be willing to be one of those one or two Celestial Men? Of course, no one. Therefore, when the Celestial Men are around, these evil factions might operate in the shadows, but they wouldn’t dare be openly provocative.

“After all, even Celestial Men from evil factions are mostly afraid of dying.”

“In that case, it really is a rare opportunity for the evil factions now,” Zhou Heng tapped his fingers on the table, spoke with a grave voice, “And their approach is quite cunning.

“Although the four great evil sects have issued a Killing Order against me, which could be considered a provocation against the entire orthodox path, it’s still only ‘could be considered.’ Ultimately, this is a matter concerning only Pure Yang Palace and me, Zhou Heng.

“Even if things do escalate, the retaliation that the four great evil sects must face would be much less than if they were facing the entire orthodox path. And with the four houses sharing the burden, the loss would be even smaller.

“However, even if it’s only a concern for Pure Yang Palace and me, Zhou Heng, it will inevitably create unfathomable fear among the people throughout Da Qi and the martial world.

“If even a sixth-generation true heir like me, a Celestial Man of Pure Yang Palace, can be ruthlessly pursued with a Killing Order by the four great evil sects, what more for ordinary Martial Artists or common folk?

“The loss of safety will be the beginning of fear, the beginning of the spread of negative emotions, and this is exactly what the four great evil sects want, right, Brother You?”

“Absolutely correct,” You Ziheng nodded, smiling, “This is precisely why Sister Qi has asked you to retreat to the mountain for some time. Well, I think the same. By retreating to the mountains, you should be able to avoid disaster temporarily.”

“If I do retreat to the mountain to cultivate, what would the four great evil sects do?” Zhou Heng’s eyes narrowed slightly as he posed the question, “I suppose they wouldn’t just let things be.”

“They would probably look for other true heirs of Pure Yang Palace who are outside, or true heirs and direct descendants of top Martial Dao Sects and large worlds,” You Ziheng replied, “The effect won’t be as strong as with you, but as long as they choose the right person, they can still spread panic.”

“And if I continue to stay down the mountain?” Zhou Heng asked again.

“Then Pure Yang Palace will have to play along with them,” You Ziheng grinned, took a sip of his wine, and said, “For every attack you face, we take out a member of their sect, for two attacks, we kill a pair. However many times you’re attacked, that’s how many times we’ll strike back.”

“Doesn’t that mean Pure Yang Palace has to engage in all-out war with the four great evil sects?” Zhou Heng was slightly stunned, then shook his head, “Such large-scale combat would spread panic and unrest even faster, leading to an even greater emergence of negative emotions.”

“Pure Yang Palace has always been protective of its own,” You Ziheng chuckled, “If we don’t take action while you’re being attacked, what’s the point of having a sect?

“As for the spread of panic, well, disciples of these evil sects aren’t made of iron. When enough of them are killed, they will ultimately become fearful. Once they’re sufficiently scared, the matter will naturally subside.

“Actually, these evil sects also understand the manner of Pure Yang Palace, and I guess their minimal expected return is the fear and unrest that spreads before their disciples are killed scared, any extra is a bonus.”

“In that case, for the four great evil sects, would my staying in the mountains to cultivate provide them with the greatest return?” Zhou Heng raised an eyebrow, spoke solemnly,

“Pure Yang Palace might fight to the death with the evil sects for their disciple, but other sects may not necessarily do the same. As long as they are successful in their pursuit, panic and unrest would rapidly spread through Da Qi.

“It would also make the world believe that I and even Pure Yang Palace are afraid of these evil factions and dare not face their pursuit head-on, only acting like scared turtles. In doing so, they could kill two birds with one stone, and the spread of fear and unrest might be even more severe.”

“Indeed,” You Ziheng smiled, “This is why Sister Qi and I only advised you to cultivate in the mountains. As for what to actually do, it still depends on what you think.”

“Brother You, aren’t you afraid that my retreating to the mountains to avoid disaster will bring shame to Pure Yang Palace?” Zhou Heng asked.

“Haha, what’s that to worry about? It’s nothing but vanity,” You Ziheng shook his head, laughing, “At worst, after this affair is over, we’ll just kill one or two of their Celestial Men to regain some face.”

“It seems that in the eyes of the four great evil sects, I’m really an excellent pawn.” Zhou Heng clenched his fist, chuckled, “This feeling is truly frustrating.”

“So, little junior brother, do you plan to cultivate in the mountains, or to leave the mountain?” You Ziheng inquired.

“Leave the mountain,” Zhou Heng responded decisively.

“Good,” You Ziheng nodded, “Then as we said before, for every attack you face, Pure Yang Palace will kill one…”

“Brother You, there’s no need for that,” Zhou Heng suddenly shook his head, “This time, when I leave the mountain, I won’t face any attack.”

“What do you mean?” You Ziheng was puzzled.

“I will take the initiative to attack and seek out the evil sects,” Zhou Heng’s gaze turned icy.

“You mean to…” You Ziheng was taken aback.

“I won’t wait for people to come to kill me; I will go and kill them first.” Zhou Heng stood up, his voice resounding, “Kill! Kill until no one on the martial world dares to come! Kill until this Killing Order becomes a jest!

“That way, there won’t be any fear or unrest.”

“…” You Ziheng was silent for a long time after hearing this, and after a while, he finally exclaimed, “Little junior brother, your magnificence is truly admirable, no wonder the head of our sect took you as a disciple on behalf of our master. Alright, you just go and kill all you want. We’ll deal with the Middle Third Rank experts of the evil sects on your behalf.”

“Thanks, Brother You, but there’s no need,” Zhou Heng grinned, a cold glint in his eyes, “Even if a Middle Third Rank comes, I will still kill them without hesitation!!”

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