I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 321: Chapter 41: Treading on Dragons and Elephants, Body Cloaked in Golden Light

“Demons?!”

Yu Jianghe and his apprentice were somewhat puzzled, and asked uncertainly, “Senior, do you mean to slay demons?”

“That’s right.” Zhou Heng nodded lightly, smiling. “Subduing demons and eliminating evil is beneficial to cultivation.”Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“Ah?” Yu Jianghe was confused upon hearing this, and exclaimed, “Is that so?”

In his understanding, demons and ghosts were ruthless and powerful, with the weakest among them equivalent to the level of controlling objects.

Ordinary loose cultivators would avoid these demons and ghosts at all costs, unless there was a hefty reward offered; very few would actively seek out demons.

After all, slaying demons didn’t offer any substantial benefits. It was a thankless task that required great effort, and if one encountered a powerful demon or a group of demons, it could even be life-threatening.

In reality, those who would take action against demons and ghosts were typically cultivators at the True Form Realm or even more powerful realms—they had the strength to handle most demons.

However, those powerful cultivators usually acted only when their own territories were invaded by demons and ghosts or when a country that provided for them asked for aid, not out of genuine kindness.

Yu Jianghe had never heard that subduing demons and eliminating evil was beneficial to cultivation.

However, the senior before him was likely a reincarnated great being from the ancient Heavenly Heart Realm, and probably knew some secrets not known to others, or that were now lost…

Could it be true?

Is subduing demons and eliminating evil genuinely beneficial to cultivation?

“Actions that are beneficial to heaven and earth will naturally be beneficial to cultivation,” Zhou Heng said with a smile, but did not explain further.

Most methods of cultivation emphasize the unity of Heaven and Man, learning from heaven and earth, so naturally, receiving positive feedback from the rules of heaven and earth would be beneficial to one’s cultivation.

“Thank you, senior, for clearing my doubt.” Yu Jianghe did not ask further, respectfully bid farewell, “We’ll take our leave now, and come back to report to you once we have news about the demons.”

“Alright.” Zhou Heng nodded lightly.

After that, the master and apprentice left, and only Zhou Heng and the Jiang siblings remained in the small courtyard.

“Teacher, who were those people just now?” Jiang Houli asked curiously. “Are they good or bad people?”

“People cannot be simply divided into good and bad,” Zhou Heng said with a smile, then shook his head. “But for you right now, the two who just left are good people, while those I defeated earlier are bad people.”

“Woo, that’s a bit difficult to understand.” Jiang Houli tilted her little head, her cute puzzled face showing she found it too difficult to grasp such a profound issue at the tender age of five.

“I get it, I get it, anyone who wants to bully my sister is a bad person, and those who are nice to her are good people!” Jiang Xianchu stepped forward towards Zhou Heng, saying, “Teacher, am I right?”

“Haha, if you want to understand it that way, you can,” Zhou Heng laughed, then said, “Alright, continue with your practice. Don’t be lazy.”

“Yes!” The siblings replied in unison, then resumed practicing the familiar moves of the Longevity Technique.

…

In the half month that followed, Zhou Heng further perfected the improved version of the Longevity Technique.

During this period, Yu Jianghe and his apprentice visited three times, reporting to him the news they had gathered about the demons, and naturally, they also gradually learned this new version of the Longevity Technique.

With the accumulation of this period of time, Yu Jianghe should be close to breaking through his current realm and about to condense his True Form, becoming a powerhouse of the True Form Realm.

Zhou Heng could clearly feel that, as Yu Jianghe’s cultivation deepened, his own sensitivity to the natural principles of this world also became increasingly clear.

This meant that the positive feedback from the laws of heaven and earth had begun to take effect, bestowing subtle influences on him, although it was not yet sufficient to warrant merit.

He estimated that he would have to wait until Yu Jianghe truly broke through his realm to truly obtain some merit.

Or, by slaying some great demons.

The news provided by Yu Jianghe and his apprentice was quite reliable. In this half month, they had found out about six places where demons were causing trouble.

However, of these six places, only four were relatively confirmed; the other two were more like rumors. Moreover, of these four, two had already been taken care of by the Holy Sect of Mercy.

In other words, Zhou Heng essentially had only two places left to choose from.

“In the northwestern part of Liang Country’s Wushan Town, a tiger demon is causing chaos; in Liang Country to the southeast, at Dacheng Town, there are nightly hauntings by spirits, all at the True Form Realm level. Tsk, even though Liang Country isn’t large, only about half the size of Pingzhou, it’s teeming with troublesome demons,” Zhou Heng said as he looked through the information provided by Yu Jianghe and his apprentice. He truly felt for the common folk living in such dire straits, while also considering which place to go to first.

The distances to both of these places from Qingxiang Town were about the same, and in terms of the length of the journey, it didn’t really matter which direction he chose. However, Wushan Town was closer to a branch temple of the Holy Sect of Mercy, while Dacheng Town was closer to the Capital, which would make it convenient for Zhou Heng to keep his appointment and meet with Cheng Jianjian.

“Since there are still more than three months before the meeting, and Bei Dou might not have passed by yet, there’s no rush to go to the Capital,” Zhou Heng mused. “On the Holy Sect of Mercy’s side, perhaps it’s better to strike first.”

Jing Yanhua was a Wrathful King of the Holy Sect of Mercy, a high-level expert of the True Form Realm, and held a high position. Zhou Heng did not believe that, after killing such a person, the Holy Sect of Mercy would let bygones be bygones.

Rather than waiting for the Holy Sect of Mercy to come knocking, it was better to go there himself and take the initiative.

“Speaking of which, this body I’m in is a prince of Liang Country,” Zhou Heng thought to himself with a sudden idea, chuckling inwardly, “Perhaps there will be some interesting experiences when I later go to the Capital for the appointment.”

There was no need to rush to the Capital; the Holy Sect of Mercy was a priority to deal with first. After pondering for a while, he came to a decision.

The target, Wushan Town.

…

The flight method of cultivators who practice visualization techniques is very flashy.

Just like Zhou Heng now, he was flying with the power of the Great Majestic Dragon Bodhisattva’s visualized form, forming a dragon and an elephant beneath his feet, soaring through the sky.

It looked quite stylish.

In Da Qi, Zhou Heng wouldn’t dare to be so unrestrained; this manner of flying was arguably more grand than the displays of Absolute Fourth Rank powerhouses.

However, in this world, it was completely normal and would not draw trouble from anyone.

Moreover, such a flamboyant way of flying should effectively avoid some misunderstandings, to avoid having to go through an act of showing off and face-slapping.

Clearing the air and commandeering the winds, he crossed thousands of miles.

Zhou Heng gazed into the distance.

Through the layers of clouds and fog, the mountain ranges ahead stretched on, indicating they had arrived at the northwestern borders of Liang Country.

…

Wushan Town, relatively speaking, was a rather secluded township.

This was due to the fact that there were many mountains in the northwestern part of Liang Country, making transportation extremely inconvenient, especially because Wushan Town was flanked by mountains on two sides and water on one, with only one direction leading to the outside world, and even then there was a hill after thirty li.

Such geography had caused Wushan Town to form a closed and xenophobic environment, to the extent that even officials sent by the Liang Country’s Imperial Court found it difficult to establish governance there.

At last, having no other choice, they had to select a few larger clans from the local area, rotating the position of town chief among them.

Thus, the small Wushan Town was effectively a closed nation within a nation.

Normally, in such a place, external communication should be poor and the people impoverished.

However, the local forests abounded with wildlife, producing various furs that were beloved by wealthy families in large cities, with merchants often coming here, spending generously to purchase them.

This allowed the power holders of Wushan Town to earn overflowing wealth, and even the ordinary citizens were fairly well off.

But in the past two months, Wushan Town hadn’t been able to sell even a little bit of fur; a tiger demon was causing havoc in the mountains, preventing the townspeople from hunting and consequently leaving them without any goods to trade.

This had greatly distressed the rulers of Wushan Town, who began to frantically send people out, desperately seeking to bring back an Immortal Master from outside.

That is, a cultivator endowed with magical techniques.

On this day, the son of the town chief, Lin Shi, had once again spent a hefty sum to invite two cultivators from the outside.

It was said that each was an Immortal Master capable of commanding wind and thunder, manipulating water and fire.

After settling the three guests in the best inn in town, Lin Shi returned home to report to his father, “Lin Yan”.

“Shi’er, are you certain that the two Immortal Masters you have invited this time can definitely subdue the tiger demon in the mountains?” Lin Yan, in his fifties with grizzled hair and beard, spoke with a face full of worry.

“Father, please be at ease, there will definitely be no problems this time,” Lin Shi, a man in his twenties, said confidently, “The previous three batches of ‘Immortal Masters’ that were eaten by the tiger demon were all swindlers.

“This time, I personally went out and carefully inquired; these two Immortal Masters have widespread fame and have subdued many demons. They surely won’t have any problems.”

“That’s good, that’s very good,” Lin Yan, having heard this, breathed a sigh of relief. “We must deal with that tiger demon before the officials contact an Immortal Master to come here; otherwise, our fur business will end up being devoured by the officials.”

Actually, under normal circumstances, when a town encounters harassment by demons and ghosts, it should report to the prefecture, which then contacts the Imperial Court, which in turn requests protection from Sect Cultivators.

However, sects usually would not take action for free; instead, they would demand a considerable fee for protection from the Imperial Court, on top of the regular offerings.

As a result, the Imperial Court, exploited by the sects, would naturally transfer this loss to the prefectures, which in turn would pass it on to the towns.

If they really were to contact the prefecture, or if the prefecture itself took initiative and alerted the Imperial Court, bringing in an Immortal Master from the sect, even if the tiger demon were eliminated, the fur trade of Wushan Town would probably be jeopardized.

For the people of Wushan Town, this was unacceptable.

“Son understands!” Lin Shi nodded solemnly, saying, “Tomorrow, I will take the two Immortal Masters into the mountains to subdue the demon, skin that tiger demon, and make you a bedspread!”

“`

“Hahaha! Wonderful! Marvelous!” Lin Yan laughed heartily, brimming with joy.

Tat tat tat!

Just then, urgent footsteps sounded from outside the house.

Immediately after, a servant hurried in, and after respectfully bowing, said, “Great Master, Young Master, an Immortal Master has arrived outside the town, claiming to be here to help us vanquish the demon.”

“Did he come alone?” Lin Shi frowned slightly and said, “He must be after the ten thousand taels of silver reward. Give him ten taels of silver and send him away. Tell him we’ve already hired a powerful Immortal Master and ask him to leave.”

Wushan Town was quite anxious to eliminate the Tiger Demon, not only sending people out to look for Immortal Masters capable of slaying demons but also offering a high bounty of ten thousand taels of silver.

Therefore, it was common for self-proclaimed Immortal Masters to come forward claiming they wanted to slay the demon. Most of these people were frauds, boasting and deceiving without any real abilities. Upon learning of the Tiger Demon’s terror, they would sneak away on their own.

“But, but this Immortal Master flew, flew here,” the servant said in a low voice. “I saw with my own eyes this Immortal Master, standing on a dragon-elephant, draped in golden light, descending from the clouds, just like a true immortal or Buddha.”

“What?!” Lin Shi exclaimed in shock.

“Standing on a dragon-elephant, draped in golden light?!” Lin Yan stood up immediately, his face filled with amazement, “It’s said that even among Immortal Masters, those who can fly and traverse ethereal skies are extremely powerful, far beyond the ordinary.”

In this world, information about cultivators was relatively closed-off. Ordinary people hardly had any way to understand the divisions of cultivators’ realms and could only speculate based on rumors.

“Invite him quickly, quickly invite him!” Lin Shi also became excited. Such a powerful, flying Immortal Master was clearly much more formidable than the two he had invited.

…

The news of the new Immortal Master’s arrival quickly spread throughout Wushan Town.

Especially since this was an Immortal Master who could ride a dragon-elephant and fly; the townspeople of Wushan Town, having experienced several failures, were suddenly filled with hope.

The previous groups of Immortal Masters, none were seen to fly. Such a mighty Immortal Master would surely subdue the Tiger Demon in the mountains and return the town’s fur business to normal.

In contrast to the jubilant townspeople of Wushan Town, the two Immortal Masters that Lin Shi had previously invited looked gloomy.

Yuelai Inn.

This was the best inn in Wushan Town.

Zhu Xiao and Kong Qing were staying here. They were the two Immortal Masters that Lin Shi had paid thirty thousand taels of silver to summon for the demon-slaying task.

Of course, they had only received a deposit of five thousand taels so far. The remaining twenty-five thousand taels would be paid only after the demon was truly vanquished, which also contributed to their current displeasure.

“Kong Qing, what is going on?” Zhu Xiao looked out the window and said in a deep voice, “I just heard that Lin Shi went out to greet a flying cultivator. Anyone who can fly is at least in the True Form Realm, right?”

“I went out and asked about it, and it’s true. But from Lin Shi’s attitude, the newcomer is certainly not a Sect Cultivator,” Kong Qing nodded, his face darkening, “That fool Lin Shi must have been deceived. How could a Loose Cultivator of great truth voluntarily come here to slay the demon? Ridiculous!”

“That’s right. Slaying demons is just a way to collect some mortal gold and silver. Not to mention a great truth-seeker, even cultivators of the Sun Roaming Realm wouldn’t bother with it!” Zhu Xiao said, “It’s only us Loose Cultivators who have just reached the level of material manipulation who would do this.”

“That so-called flying Immortal Master is most likely a swindler.” Kong Qing said fiercely, “He’s here to steal our business. Rarely do we encounter a lone demon causing trouble, not eating people much, probably not even at the Sun Roaming level. This is prime prey; we absolutely cannot let it be snatched away.”

“That’s right,” Zhu Xiao nodded in agreement, but he hesitated, “But what if this truly is a great truth-seeker of the True Form Realm?”

“`