I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 332: Chapter 52: Duel in the Clouds

Boom!

As Zhou Heng’s finger swiped down, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering noise erupted. The white fog, which seemed like the canopy of the sky, suddenly boiled and surged, splitting apart to both sides.

“It really opened!”

“Heavens! What kind of power is this?!”

“Is this really a Secret Sixth Rank?”

Many people present widened their eyes, watching the scene in disbelief, exclaiming in shock, and at the same time, they were also overjoyed.

Pei Hongdao and Pei Luoshu were also extremely shocked.

Pei Hongdao had tried all means to break through this white fog before but to no avail; the fog seemed like an eternal sky that he, with his Absolute Fourth Rank cultivation realm, was powerless against.

But now, Zhou Heng had effortlessly split this white fog to open an incredibly huge passage.

He was only at Secret Sixth Rank.

Could this be a secret technique from the Pure Yang Palace?

At this moment, as the boiling white fog surged and parted, a road to Yuzhou had been carved open. Some people, agitated beyond measure, charged in immediately, wanting to find their relatives and friends in Yuzhou.

However, no sooner had this person rushed in than he was repelled backward, flying out of the fog. This left him confused and made others, who wanted to enter, puzzled.

Although the road had been cleared, the repelling force of the white fog seemed to still be present.

What’s happening?

Everyone’s eyes turned toward Zhou Heng.

“This road was opened by me using a secret technique, and entering it requires the support of a secret technique as well,” Zhou Heng explained.

He had opened this road using the secret technique to control the Sect’s map of Dao Ying Abyss, and in reality, only he could enter or exit.

After all, if it could be freely accessed, it might ruin Yan Shouyi’s plan. He had decided to do it this way before casting the spell to minimize the impact on the white fog as much as possible.

However, such an explanation could not satisfy everyone.

“Let us in!”

“Are you planning to go in alone?!”

“Why not just teach us the secret technique?”

“My parents are inside, let me in!”

“Show your kindness to the end!”

Voices like these were rising one after another, and some people had started to verbally assault Zhou Heng.

“Hmph!” Zhou Heng gave a cold snort and said, “Do you all think I am someone to be trifled with?”

He then executed the Sky-Earth Striking Method, plunging these people into their most painful memories. One by one, they collapsed to the ground, weeping.

The crowd suddenly fell silent, and the rest, seeing what happened, were filled with trepidation and dared not speak anymore.

There were too many people gathered here; if the discontent were not promptly quelled, it could easily lead to a riot. It was necessary to make a quick decision and act at the start to suppress the situation.

“What the young friend did was right,” Pei Hongdao emerged from the crowd to support Zhou Heng, saying, “My daughter Pei Luoling, you should know her, is trapped in Yuzhou. Please take the trouble to find her.”

“Yes, Zhou Heng, Luoling is someone you know. Please help us find her,” Pei Luoshu pleaded anxiously.

“Seniors, Brother Luo, rest assured, I will be on the lookout,” Zhou Heng nodded, then addressed the rest, “Everyone, there really is no need to worry. I will do my best to solve the situation inside Yuzhou.

“Usually, high-level conflicts do not harm ordinary people, which you should also understand. Once the white fog enveloping Yuzhou dissipates, you will naturally be able to look for your relatives and friends.

“I can assure you, the white fog will not last much longer. Please wait here for me, I will be back shortly.”

By now, the people there had calmed down from their initial overexcited, almost irrational state, and upon hearing Zhou Heng’s words, they began nodding their heads.

“The Taoist is merciful, we beg you to quickly dispel the white fog!”

“Many thanks for the Taoist’s great kindness, my elderly mother is still in Yuzhou!”

“It was my fault for being too impulsive just now, please forgive me, Taoist, please forgive me!”

This time, the voices were mostly filled with gratitude, and emotions had notably stabilized. Moreover, with Pei Hongdao watching over, there shouldn’t be any more riots.

Thus, Zhou Heng bid farewell to the crowd and stepped into the white fog passage.

After his entry, the previously parted white fog rapidly closed, the boiling surge turning serene and reverting to its prior state as if it were the eternal sky.

…

Within Yuzhou.

Above the vast white fog-enshrouded sky, two orbs of light flickered on and off—one a golden light, pure and yang, the other a blue light, compassionate and overwhelming, each containing an incredibly strong will.

“Benevolent Yan, the one who parted the Dao Ying fog to enter is your junior disciple. Interesting, merely at Secret Sixth Rank, yet possessing such courage. It seems he is fated with our Buddha Sect,” a voice said.

“Heh, baldy, don’t indulge in verbal victories. That piece of Buddha Country will soon be transformed into a Daoist Heavenly Realm, and your schemes will vanish like bubbles. You still have time to concern yourself with my junior disciple?” another voice retorted.

“No, the monk is merely curious. Which great being could your junior disciple be the reincarnation of? He has so many astonishing tactics. Or is he actually a returning ancient immortal god?”

“Old monk, you better hope that my junior disciple hasn’t prepared any astonishing tactics for you. To protect this piece of Buddha Country, you even incarnated to descend here. Aren’t you afraid of weakening your power, allowing the Evil Spirit to break through the realm you guard and descend?”

“Amitabha, you jest, venerable sir. The monk has returned to open the Pure Land to resist the Evil God. On the contrary, why do you obstruct it?”

“If I don’t obstruct, should I just watch idly as billions of people in Yuzhou are forcibly converted? Spare me the chatter, let’s see what divine skills your Second Rank Buddha Sect can display.”

“Venerable sir, don’t persist. You’re one level below me in cultivation; the Unique Divine Weapon has been used on the Pure Land; and on the ground, there’s no power to resist my Jia Ye Temple disciples’ teachings. What victory can you hope for?”

“Heh, my junior disciple is my hope! Baldy, you may be one level above me, but you’re still trapped here, unable to move a muscle. Just watch how my junior disciple thwarts your plotting!”

“Amitabha, to place your hopes on a Secret Sixth Rank youngster, venerable sir, it seems like you’ve gone mad.”

…

Zhou Heng was unaware of the verbal confrontation above Yuzhou, but as he stepped into the mist, he saw two suns in the sky, one gold and one blue.

He recognized the aura of the golden sun; it should be the light of Tao Lord Yan Shouyi’s power. The blue one, filled with the aura of the Buddha Sect, was probably a Buddha Sect powerhouse from Jia Ye Temple.

And this blue sun seemed even more superior.

This startled Zhou Heng greatly. Since Yan Shouyi stood at the peak within the Celestial Man Realm, there should be no Celestial Man stronger than him… This Buddha Sect powerhouse was likely of the Second Rank!

“Junior brother, can you hear me?” Just then, Yan Shouyi’s voice suddenly rang in Zhou Heng’s ear, “Currently, I am in a stalemate with a bald monk from Jia Ye Temple and need your help.”

“Alright, senior brother, are you okay?” Zhou Heng could feel that this voice was transmitted through the light of the golden sun; as long as he could see the golden sun, he could hear it.

“I’m fine,” Yan Shouyi laughed, “That old bald monk hasn’t gotten the better of me. Junior brother, I can’t talk much lest that old bald monk notices, so I’ll make it brief.

“There are two things you can do to help me. The first is to teach ordinary people the martial arts of the Taoist path, and the second is to drive away, suppress, or directly kill the monks of Jia Ye Temple to prevent them from continuing to spread their teachings.”

“Okay,” Zhou Heng nodded and said, “Don’t worry, senior brother.”

“Then thank you, junior brother,” Yan Shouyi smiled, and then his voice disappeared.

“It seems that senior brother is under a lot of pressure now,” Zhou Heng frowned slightly. It was the first time he recalled Yan Shouyi asking for help, “But that’s normal, after all, he hasn’t yet reached the Second Rank of the Tao.”

Given what he understood of the situation, theoretically, there should be no comparison between the Third Rank Celestial Man and the Second Rank Tao Lord—it was a difference in the essence of life itself.

No number of Third Rank Celestial Men could match a Second Rank Tao Lord.

Yan Shouyi had somehow withstood the power of the Second Rank Buddha Sect powerhouse, and even if he was now on the losing end, it was still an earth-shattering feat.

Of course, it was also possible that this Second Rank Buddha Sect powerhouse was not in a normal state.

“Teaching martial arts would take too long; the second option is more convenient and quicker.” Zhou Heng quickly made up his mind and immediately flew up into the sky on his sword, trying to locate the towns.

However, after flying high, he realized that Yuzhou was also enveloped in white mist from within, and flying in the sky only gave him a view of the vast mist, not even the mountains and rivers were distinguishable, making it impossible to find towns by looking down from high above.

“It seems I have to fly low at the fastest speed to find the towns,” Zhou Heng lowered his altitude but increased his sword’s speed, the sword light zipping across the sky of Yuzhou like purple lightning.

…

Prefectural city of Upper Southern.

This place was once a bustling commercial city, considered the trade center in the southwestern part of Yuzhou, with merchants from all over selling their goods every day, extremely prosperous.

But since the white mist descended over half a month ago, the entire city was sealed off. No one dared to leave the city, and no outsiders came in.

The mist inside the city was relatively sparse; at least people could see each other within twenty steps. Outside the city, however, the mist was extremely thick, and one might struggle to see even their own hand in front of their face.

This sudden natural phenomenon caused panic among countless people.

At first, there were no lack of Secret Sixth Rank and even Sect Fifth Rank martial arts experts who flew up to investigate, but all to no avail. Some flew to the border of Yuzhou only to find it cut off by a curtain-like white mist.

When such news came back, everybody understood that the whole of Yuzhou was sealed off, and this white mist was the barrier between inside and out, immensely powerful, even Great Grandmasters of Absolute Fourth Rank could not break through.

Under these circumstances, no one knew what would happen next, nor when the white mist would dissipate, let alone if they would survive to see that day.

Thus, fear began to spread among the people, emotions spiraled out of control, and there was rampant indulgence, throwing Upper South Prefecture into chaos.

It wasn’t until three days ago that a monk claiming to be from the Southern Jin’s Jia Ye Temple, “Shan Hui,” arrived in Upper South Prefecture. He possessed a compassionate and miraculous appearance, simply looking at him brought peace of mind to others.

Furthermore, after settling down in Upper South Prefecture, Monk Shan Hui preached daily at the center of the city, expounding on Buddhist teachings and principles, and soothing people’s minds at the same time.

In just a few days, Shan Hui had gathered nearly a hundred thousand followers. Before his daily sermon, the area below his high platform would be tightly packed with an impenetrable crowd.

In the past, the prefectural government would never have allowed such a situation to arise, with Buddhist monks preaching openly and gathering more than a hundred thousand people so easily—it was too prone to accidents.

However, now, the prefectural government did not intervene in this matter, regardless of Shan Hui’s purpose, at least it brought a long-lost peace to the chaotic Upper South Prefecture.

Just this alone, to the prefectural government, was a good thing.

Still, there were quite a few martial artists in Upper South Prefecture with considerable cultivation or certain backgrounds. They were well-traveled and could see through Shan Hui’s intentions at a glance.

It was clear that he wanted to take the opportunity to preach and let Jia Ye Temple gain entry into Da Qi’s territory to attract more followers.

Pei Luoling was among these martial artists.

But even though they saw through him, they did not know what to do. Shan Hui’s arrival had brought peace to the chaotic Upper South Prefecture, which was indisputable.

If they confronted Shan Hui and threw Upper South Prefecture back into chaos, what then?

And even if they truly intended to deal with this Shan Hui, they were powerless to do so.

Shan Hui was a monk from Jia Ye Temple who had already cultivated true inner strength, reaching the pinnacle of the Secret Sixth Rank, his power was extraordinary.

——The martial artists from Upper South Prefecture who saw through the truth were at most at the peak of the Seventh Rank.

On this day, in the early morning, it was time for Shan Hui’s sermon again. More people had gone to listen than before, and the number of people gathered in the city center might have already surpassed a hundred and thirty thousand.

Many houses had even been leveled to make room for more people to gather here to hear Shan Hui’s teachings.

In a tavern far away from the center of Upper South Prefecture.

Pei Luoling’s brows were tightly knit as she gazed at the dense crowd in the distance and sighed, “If this continues, I’m afraid the whole Upper South Prefecture will turn into this monk’s ‘Buddha Country’.”

Three people were by her side, two women and one man, all with grave expressions.

One of the women said somberly, “That’s right, if this continues, there’s bound to be trouble. We don’t know where the mist comes from, but at least it’s harmless.

“But Shan Hui’s preaching is different. I’ve interacted with those who listened, their minds seem to be influenced, fixated only on Jia Ye Temple, it’s too insane.”

The other woman nodded and said, “Indeed, we can’t go on like this. This monk’s intentions are definitely not pure, we must do something.”

“But what can we do?” the man shook his head and dejectedly said, “That monk is too strong.”

Clang!

Just then, a sword cry suddenly rang out, resonating like a crane calling through the heavens, piercing through all directions, a streak of azure sword light descended from the sky and instantly pierced through the vast mist above.

It was aimed directly at the preaching Monk Shan Hui.