I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 334: Chapter 54 Hostility from All Things in Heaven and Earth

Zhou Heng once sent a strand of his divine soul thought to that world, which was based on the divine soul visualization technique. After returning, he not only brought back virtue but also the techniques he learned in that world.

Although most of the techniques were incompatible with the rules of Da Qi and therefore unusable, the Ghost Puppet Technique, the Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva Visualization Technique, and those he adapted for martial arts could be used.

Moreover, since the strand of divine soul thought that descended into that world had become extremely powerful by the time it returned, its fusion with his main body almost instantly brought his divine soul power to the brink of the Sect Fifth Rank.

With such divine soul power, even if Shan Hui was a secretive martial artist at the pinnacle of the Secret Six Rank, he could not escape the fate of being refined into a puppet by Zhou Heng.

After a moment, the light in Shan Hui’s eyes completely dimmed, but in the next instant, it returned to normal, and his face showed an expression of sudden repentance as he knelt down in front of Zhou Heng with a thud.

Utter silence filled the space, not a sound to be heard.

What’s going on?

Everyone present was dumbstruck, watching the scene unfold in disbelief.

The shock of this scene was greater than when they had seen Shan Hui slain by Zhou Heng and then resurrected.

Shan Hui, the monk, had just been locked in a do-or-die struggle with Zhou Heng, so why was he suddenly kneeling?

No matter how hard people racked their brains, they couldn’t make sense of the situation.

But then, something even more shocking happened.

After kneeling, Shan Hui bowed to Zhou Heng with extreme reverence and cried out loudly, “Taoist Master, I have awakened, I was wrong, I spread teachings using spirit secret techniques to bewitch the hearts of people, my sins deserve death!”

He actually admitted his wrongs to Zhou Heng, even declaring his previous actions deserved death.

The people around were utterly flabbergasted.

On a distant tavern rooftop.

Pei Luoling and others were also stunned. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, not understanding what was happening with Shan Hui, who was now on the ground.

Just a moment ago, Shan Hui displayed an undying characteristic, seemingly leaving Zhou Heng with no way to counter, so why was he suddenly apologizing and admitting his faults?

This was beyond any normal reason.

In actuality, Shan Hui had become Zhou Heng’s puppet, and all his actions were controlled by Zhou Heng. However, the bystanders were unaware of this and naturally could not comprehend.

“Please rise,” Zhou Heng said with a smile, helping the monk Shan Hui to his feet.

He was simply playing along with his own puppet’s act.

At that moment, Zhou Heng and the monk Shan Hui looked like they had become friends through a fight, presenting a scene of harmony.

This left everyone present very confused.

Especially those who were previously influenced by Shan Hui’s sermons felt as if their worldviews had collapsed.

Although the influence of the spirit secret technique used by Monk Shan Hui had already dissipated when he was first killed by Zhou Heng, he was indeed a Buddhist monk of a certain level who truly preached Buddhist teachings. Given the large crowds that came to listen, naturally, some agreed with his Buddhist teachings.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

In their minds, Shan Hui was a genuine high monk with noble virtue and boundless merit who guided people out of suffering. Such a great monk should have had an incredibly firm mind, so how could he suddenly become harmonious with his former enemy?

Can high monks be so fickle?

By now, the Buddhist teachings that Shan Hui had labored to spread in the Prefectural City of Upper South had completely collapsed.

No one believed anymore.

Often, breaking a faith is that simple.

It only takes dethroning the leading figurehead, and everything else follows naturally.

After that, Zhou Heng, controlling puppet Shan Hui, said to the crowd, “Fellow townsfolk, it was all my fault earlier, influencing you with spirit secret techniques. Fortunately, this Taoist Master has enlightened me. However, I no longer have a place here, so I will take my leave.”

Having said this, Zhou Heng, still controlling puppet Shan Hui, soared into the sky, enveloped in golden light, sweeping across the sky and directly leaving the Prefectural City of Upper South.

After a moment of being flabbergasted, the people’s gazes turned to Zhou Heng, gratitude written all over their faces.

They wanted to rush over to thank him, but as they moved, they saw Zhou Heng turn into a purple sword light that soared into the sky, passing through layers of white mist, piercing the clouds, to the highest heavens above.

“This is truly a great virtuous person!”

“Look at his Taoist robe, he must be a disciple of the Pure Yang Palace, right? Could it be that the immortals of Pure Yang Palace have come to save us?”

“Our entire Yuzhou is shrouded in white mist, the immortals of Pure Yang Palace must know about it.”

“Yuzhou is the hometown of Immortal Yan Shouyi. Pure Yang Palace will definitely take care of us.”

“We’re about to be saved, that’s great, so great!”

The entire Prefectural City of Upper South fell into unparalleled joy. People watched the purple sword light streaking through the air and became excited.

On the rooftop of the tavern.

Pei Luoling waved to the sword light passing in the sky, wanting to greet Zhou Heng.

But the sword light was moving too fast. She had only waved her hand a couple of times when it had already vanished without a trace.

“Oh…” Pei Luoling lowered her hand, feeling a bit disappointed.

Just at that moment, she suddenly heard Zhou Heng’s voice, “Miss Luoling, your father and brother are waiting outside the mist. Please take care of yourself and wait for the mist to disperse.”

“Ah? Father, brother?” Pei Luoling paused at the words, looking up instinctively, “Master Zhou, are you going to try to disperse this white mist? But…”

Having stayed in the Prefectural City of Upper South for a while, she had gathered information about the mist from various sources. This was something that even a Great Grandmaster at the pinnacle of the Fourth Rank was powerless against.

Zhou Heng was only at the level of Secret Six Rank. Could he really do it?

“No, that’s wrong. Master Zhou is no ordinary Secret Six Rank. He is a powerful transmigrated being with many inconceivable methods.” Recalling this, Pei Luoling’s eyes suddenly lit up, “Perhaps, there’s really hope. Thank you, Master Zhou!”

Her heart filled with gratitude, she planned to find Zhou Heng to properly thank him for his life-saving grace once the mist dispersed and she regained her freedom.

…

After leaving the Prefectural City of Upper South, Zhou Heng, with puppet Shan Hui, went to another neighboring prefectural city.

Yang Song Prefecture.

The situation here is similar to that at Prefectural City in the south; there is also a monk in the True Gang Realm preaching and covertly using spiritual secret techniques to influence the minds of the listeners.

However, the monk preaching in Yangsong Prefectural City’s cultivation realm is somewhat inferior to that of Shan Hui, and the congregation attracted to his sermons is much smaller in number, lacking the impressive scale of the gatherings in the south.

Yet even so, as Zhou Heng hovered above Yangsong Prefectural City, he could still clearly see a sea of people surrounding the sermon stage in the center of the city; at least fifty thousand people were listening.

Such a large number would inevitably lead to a dramatic increase in the spread of influence; perhaps in just three or five days, the number of listeners would swell to a hundred thousand or even more.

However, this time Zhou Heng did not descend in person, instead controlling the puppet Shan Hui and having him land there.

At that moment, in the middle of Yangsong Prefectural City, atop the sermon stage.

Shan Kong, a disciple of Jia Ye Temple, was preaching, and the audience below was listening with rapt attention.

Suddenly, a figure enveloped in a golden light descended from the sky and plummeted heavily next to Shan Kong, shaking the void with a loud boom and whipping up a gust of wind, causing the sermon stage itself to dip slightly.

Shan Kong’s preaching came to an abrupt halt as he looked at the person who had appeared beside him with a startled expression.

The people below who were listening also looked up at the stage in surprise, many of them even with anger in their eyes, wanting to see who was so bold as to dare disturb Master Shan Kong’s preaching.

But when they saw the figure on the stage, they were all stunned, including Shan Kong who was interrupted, staring at this person with wide eyes.

“Shan, Brother Shan Hui, why have you come?” Shan Kong was both shocked and fearful; he had not anticipated Shan Hui’s return, and he was also afraid that Shan Hui had come to compete with him for converts.

Among the Secret Six Rank martial artists of Jia Ye Temple, Shan Hui’s strength was unquestionably one of the very best and hard to contend with.

In Shan Kong’s eyes, Shan Hui’s sudden arrival likely meant that he had already completed his conversion mission in the southern Prefectural City and had come to his side to snatch away the converts.

This was swooping in to snatch the fruits of his labor and steal the credit!

Shan Kong made such a judgment about Shan Hui in his mind.

But considering Shan Hui’s superior strength and the fact they were from the same sect, he dared not confront him directly, and could only outwardly speak with reverence while internally trying to figure out how to expel Shan Hui from Yangsong Prefectural City soon.

However, before he could even speak, Shan Hui had already stepped forward, standing on the edge of the sermon platform, facing the many citizens, and shouted loudly, “Fellow villagers, the Buddhist Law harms people; you must not heed it carelessly!”

Shan Kong was dumbfounded on the spot, looking at Shan Hui in disbelief; what was he doing?

We are all members of the Buddha Sect, disciples of Jia Ye Temple, why suddenly claim that the Buddhist Law harms people?

Aren’t you afraid of being punished by the founding patriarch?

The citizens below the sermon stage were even more bewildered, all staring at Shan Hui with wide-eyed confusion.

What’s going on?

Another high monk from Jia Ye Temple was denying the Buddhist Law?

— Shan Hui’s robes were identical to Shan Kong’s, and their style was roughly the same, such that even the common folk could tell they were from the same temple.

This abrupt turn of events caused an uproar among the people beneath the sermon platform, which further weakened Shan Kong’s already precarious spiritual secret technique interference; soon, some of the crowd began to regain their clarity.

Shan Hui’s sudden appearance, proclaiming that the Buddhist Law harms people—

To many who had just been converted by Shan Kong, this situation was utterly unimaginable; it as if their worldview was collapsing.

Those originally enraptured by the true essence of Buddhist Law, after experiencing a moment of stunned silence and shock, suddenly came to their senses with astonishment, looking around incredulously.

Even some among them had awakenings that were particularly profound, promptly standing up and intending to leave.

Above the heavens, Zhou Heng quietly observed the scene below, gently nodding in approval.

It proved that letting members of the Buddha Sect demolish their own stage was far more effective than taking matter into his own hands.

The effect was instant.

Just now, the mere few words spoken by the puppet of Shan Hui, without a sword drawn or blood shed, had destroyed a sermon attended by tens of thousands and had also preserved the subsequent peace of the city.

“However, should I kill this monk a few dozen more times to rack up some Copper Fortune Bags?” a thought suddenly flashed through Zhou Heng’s mind.

The previous encounter with Shan Hui had been quite beneficial for him, although once the monk neared a state of mental collapse, no more Fortune Bags could be obtained, but he still managed to secure thirty-three Copper Fortune Bags.

Now, the monk in Yangsong Prefectural City was slightly less capable than Shan Hui, and probably had a weaker mental resolve, but he should still yield over twenty Copper Fortune Bags.

This was a significant temptation.

Zhou Heng’s eyes glittered as he gazed down at Shan Kong below, as if looking upon a vast treasure, but he then regained his composure, shaking his head and muttered to himself, “I can’t do this.”

If immersed in the acquisition of Fortune Bags, endlessly killing, it was easy to lose oneself; this was also why he hadn’t challenged others everywhere for the sake of Fortune Bags before.

Besides, Yan Shouyi was still engaged in a tough battle with the Second Rank powerhouse from Jia Ye Temple, and he should be focusing on dissolving the influence of Jia Ye Temple in Yuzhou as swiftly as possible.

Thus, Zhou Heng ceased his hesitation and began to employ the Puppetry Technique once again.

At that moment, on the sermon stage, Shan Kong, who was about to question monk Shan Hui, suddenly stiffened, the light in his eyes dimming before brightening again, and he nodded in agreement to Shan Hui, saying, “Brother is right, Buddhist Law indeed harms people, leading them to abandon family and discard children, to be disloyal and unfilial, one should not study it.”

Zhou Heng didn’t understand Buddhist Law, but his current goal was to dismantle the influence of Jia Ye Temple in Yuzhou, so he resorted to spouting nonsense and disparagement.

The sudden reversal of Shan Kong shocked the crowd even more than the unexpected appearance of Shan Hui, and those who had come to their senses immediately left with a sweep of their sleeves. Those who had not awakened before, upon seeing this turn of events, also came to their senses one by one.

Before long, everyone who had been listening intently under the sermon stage stood up and left with expressions of disdain.

In an instant, the vast Prefectural City of Yangsong, once teeming with followers of the Buddha Sect, was left with but a mere few, and all of Shan Kong’s “efforts” over the past half-month vanished into nothingness, his work wasted.

Afterwards, Zhou Heng manipulated the two puppets to take flight, moving on to another prefectural city, where he repeated his trick and easily dismantled the local Jia Ye Temple’s influence, all the while acquiring another monk puppet.

Following that, he went forth with his three monk puppets “slaughtering in all directions,” and wherever he went, the influence of Jia Ye Temple crumbled; no one could withstand the self-deprecating sabotage from three “insiders.”

In just three short days, the influence of Jia Ye Temple within the entire region of Yuzhou had largely collapsed.

This was only because Zhou Heng’s flying speed wasn’t fast enough, spending much of the time on the move; otherwise, the influence of Jia Ye Temple in Yuzhou might have been completely eradicated by now.

However, as the number of cleared Jia Ye Temples increased, Zhou Heng felt an increasingly heavy sensation in his heart, as if a supremely powerful will had fixed its gaze upon him, and his sense of crisis deepened.

Finally, as he arrived at County City of Yuzhou, aiming to purge the Jia Ye Temple influence there, the green sun hanging high in the sky suddenly expanded, and the chant of Buddhist hymns resounded through heaven and earth.

Suddenly, the space around Zhou Heng changed dramatically; whether it was the elemental energy of the world, the Taoist Rhyme Theory, or even material reality itself seemed to come to life, unleashing an intense hostility towards him.

In that moment, under the radiance of the green sun, Zhou Heng felt as though he were targeted by all things in the world, rejected by the rules of heaven and earth, and about to face divine punishment!