I Cheated While Cultivating - Chapter 422

Chapter 422: Chapter 141: The Sparrow Stalks Behind

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“My purpose has already been made clear,” said the Tao Lord Yu Que, casting a casual glance at Huo Qingyun. “Why ask again?”

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“It seems that you are not a native of the Central Plains?” Huo Qingyun remained in front of Tao Lord Yu Que, smiling politely, and said, “With such a great power as yourself coming here, you should have notified the County City first.”

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“Ha, little thing, are you trying to teach me how to do things?” Tao Lord Yu Que’s eyebrows twitched slightly, as he coldly chuckled, “I know what you’re thinking: you’re simply afraid I’ll do as I please once I enter the city. But make it clear to yourself, with your little strength, can you stop me?”

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“I am of humble strength and naturally cannot stop you,” Huo Qingyun gently shook his head yet remained resolute and firm, saying solemnly, “However, if you truly were to wreak havoc, even if I died, there are still the strong ones in the County City, and the Upper Third Rank powers of the Imperial Court.”

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“Are you threatening me?” Tao Lord Yu Que watched Huo Qingyun with interest, smiling as he said, “An ant-like creature like you, do you think that just because you’re backed by the Qi Country Imperial Court, I wouldn’t dare touch you?”

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“Even though I am overseas, I am well aware that your country’s royal family is in disarray, the court and the political landscape are in turmoil, and they simply can’t afford to look after the localities. Even if I killed you right now, there would be no Upper Third Rank powers coming after me for trouble.”

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“…” Huo Qingyun fell into silence. As a serving official of the Imperial Court, he was acutely aware of Da Qi’s current state of government affairs, which were exactly as Tao Lord Yu Que described.

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Utter chaos!

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Da Qi at present didn’t even have the extra energy to pay attention to the covert erosion of its borders by Southern Jin and Northern Zhou, let alone to concern itself with a minor Sixth Rank Prefect like him.

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His earlier words were nothing but a bluff.

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Now that his bluff had been called, Huo Qingyun was left speechless, yet he did not retreat, still blocking Tao Lord Yu Que’s path, trying to bar his way.

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Regardless of the state of the Imperial Court, he had his own principles to uphold.

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Being in charge of a region meant that he had to do his utmost to ensure the safety of its people.

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“You’re truly seeking your own death,” said Tao Lord Yu Que, his face showing anger; yet he refrained from actually making a move.

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He did not wish to kill an official of Da Qi’s Imperial Court outright.

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As a Loose Immortal of the Eastern Sea, he had always been wary of the Celestial Men and even Tao Lords of the Central Plains.

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Although he was convinced that the Da Qi Imperial Court would unlikely concern itself with the death of a Secret Sixth Rank Prefect, he could not be sure whether someone powerful was backing Huo Qingyun with such a strong stance.

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What if Huo Qingyun had a mentor in the Heavenly Human Realm behind him?

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Even if the likelihood was extremely low, it was enough to cause a trace of hesitation in Tao Lord Yu Que’s heart.

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However, Tao Lord Yu Que’s intense longing for the demon lord’s half-finger bone was so strong that he could not possibly give it up.

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Thus, even a slight moment of hesitation was immediately crushed by his resolve.

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“To refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit,” Tao Lord Yu Que’s gaze chilled as he allowed the powerful and terrifying force of his Primordial Spirit to spread out, preparing to burst into Huo Qingyun’s mind directly.

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He planned to use the overwhelming power of his Divine Soul to twist Huo Qingyun’s thoughts, to directly change his mind so that Huo Qingyun would clear the way on his own and cease his obstruction.

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For a Loose Immortal to alter the thoughts of a Secret Sixth Rank Martial Artist was a task effortless, requiring no more force than it would take to blow away dust.

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But at that moment–

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Dong!

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The bell tolled, and an intangible force spread forth, sending chills down the spine.

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Although a Loose Immortal might possess a Law Body, its essence still existed in the form of a Primordial Spirit, bereft of the protection of a physical body, and thus highly susceptible to attacks on the Divine Soul.

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Under the peel of that bell, Tao Lord Yu Que’s movements abruptly halted; his Divine Soul Power dissipated instantly, and even his Mana began to show signs of slipping out of control, preventing him from making a move against Huo Qingyun.

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“A Celestial Man’s Divine Artifact?!” Tao Lord Yu Que was shocked inwardly.

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He could feel that the bell’s toll contained an immensely powerful force of Laws, not merely a sonic attack, but rather something that touched on the level of Laws themselves; all who heard the bell were sure to suffer damage to their Divine Soul.

Such a Divine Artifact was practically the bane of Loose Immortals.

Of course, as the controller of the artifact, one could also steer the bell’s Law-infused toll to target specifically, releasing it only upon certain individuals or having it ring only within a designated area.

Just as the current situation was, Real Person Yu Que could clearly sense that the insignificant Secret Sixth Rank standing before him was perfectly fine, completely unaffected by the toll of the bell.

“Who’s there?!” Real Person Yu Que bellowed sharply, his Divine Sense spreading out in an attempt to detect anyone in the vicinity who might be a problem.

A Celestial Man-level Divine Artifact, aimed specifically at Divine Souls to inhibit Loose Immortals, also limited to a certain range, had left this Secret Sixth Rank Martial Artist untouched.

This was obviously a premeditated move.

It was meant for him!

Who could it be?

Which Celestial Man powerhouse?

Many thoughts flashed through Real Person Yu Que’s mind before he saw a figure riding the clouds swiftly approaching.

It was a young Taoist who appeared to be around twenty, holding a small bell in his hand.

It was Zhou Heng.

“You?” Real Person Yu Que’s brows furrowed as he said sternly, “A mere Grandmaster, and you wish to stand against me?”

“Real Person Yu Que, what is your purpose in coming to Huangtong Mansion City?” Zhou Heng cut to the chase, directly questioning the Loose Immortal’s intentions and bracing himself to take action at any moment.

“My mount disappeared here; as its master, of course I must search for it,” Real Person Yu Que replied with an unchanged expression, calmly saying, “It’s just that the Lord of the Mansion has been uncooperative, making me anxious, so I acted a bit impulsively.”

“So, it’s about a missing mount; that indeed requires a search,” Zhou Heng nodded in agreement, smiling, “Then how about I accompany Real Person in the search? How does that sound?”

“If fellow Taoist is familiar with this place, that would indeed be most beneficial,” Real Person Yu Que agreed with a rich smile on his face, seemingly truly convinced by Zhou Heng’s proposition and happy to have obtained help.

“But…” Huo Qingyun hesitated, on the verge of speaking.

“Lord Huo need not worry,” Zhou Heng reassured with a smile, then said to Real Person Yu Que, “Since fellow Taoist trusts me, let us enter the city together, and you may leave as soon as you find your mount.”

“Alright,” Real Person Yu Que’s attitude became surprisingly amicable as he nodded and followed beside Zhou Heng.

Huo Qingyun watched the two of them slowly descend together with astonishment and confusion written all over his face.

What was going on?

Yet, while he was still puzzled about this situation, a sudden surge of foreboding overwhelmed him, as though a great disaster was imminent.

The very next moment, Huo Qingyun saw Real Person Yu Que make his move, reaching out a finger towards Zhou Heng, causing the Laws in the surrounding void to undergo a drastic upheaval.

The once freely circulating air instantly solidified, and the omnipresent natural energies of heaven and earth were dispersed in an instant, leaving a radius of dozens of miles devoid of any heavenly energy.

At the same time, the endless edicts derived from the Laws seemed to be constrained by a force of extremely profound essence, resulting in Middle Third Rank Martial Artists losing their ability to communicate with the natural Laws and wield the powers of nature.

Their strength would plummet dramatically!

“Ant-like creatures, daring to point fingers at me, how ludicrous!” Real Person Yu Que revealed a ferocious glare.

In fact, he had no intention of reconciling; while flying towards Huangtong Mansion City with Zhou Heng, he had brazenly attacked, intending to kill Zhou Heng on the spot.

However, Real Person Yu Que was not the only one with this thought.

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Zhou Heng thought so too.

“What a coincidence, you’re thinking of making a move too?” Zhou Heng said with a light laugh, clearly perceiving the variations of the laws around him and the changes in the Qi of the heaven and earth, yet he was not flustered at all.

In fact, right from the start, he had activated a special privilege he had acquired before.

And the effect of this privilege was undetectable by Yu Que unless he took action.

“No, my mana?!” Yu Que, who was about to kill Zhou Heng, suddenly exclaimed in shock, his face showing disbelief. He instantly retreated, looking at Zhou Heng with bewilderment. “Kid, what, what did you just do?!”

At the same time, the various phenomenon that he had just created with his “Loose Immortal mana” also began to dissipate; the dispersed Qi of heaven and earth quickly returned, and the Dao Laws that had been changed also returned to normal.

It was as though a Loose Immortal of the same level was “turning chaos into order,” undoing everything Yu Que had done before.

Preventing Yu Que from once again entrapping and restraining Zhou Heng.

And the person doing this was Zhou Heng himself.

Zhou Heng now also possessed the strength of a Loose Immortal, exactly the same as the current Yu Que, without the slightest difference.

This was the effect of the special privilege he had activated earlier.

“Balance Once: Designate a target, add the target’s strength to your own and then split it evenly, balancing the strength of both sides, lasting fifteen minutes.”

Yu Que held a rank among the seventy-two Celestials from the Eastern Sea, one of the strongest among Loose Immortals, whose strength could even be on par with a true Celestial Man. Even half would still be at the level of a Loose Immortal.

Zhou Heng, after activating this special privilege, acquired half of Yu Que’s strength through “Balance,” which gave him Loose Immortal-level strength for fifteen minutes.

“How does it feel?” Zhou Heng said with a light laugh.

“What wicked sorcery is this?!” Yu Que was deeply shocked in his heart.

At the same time, he began to think about retreating.

And, after his strength severely declined, he suddenly felt that his recent actions seemed somewhat reckless and impetuous.

In particular, the desire to come to the Central Plains to acquire that half piece of the Demon Lord’s bone finger seemed too intense, like a burning blaze, as if some invisible force was pushing him to come.

In the whole affair, he had thought things too simple and had failed to conduct a thorough investigation of a place as densely populated by Heavenly Humans as the Central Plains… He came directly.

It was not at all like his usual style of conduct.

When had it started?

Even if his Dharma body was decaying and occasionally his consciousness became confused, it should not have become like this.

It seemed… to have started after making contact with that Loose Immortal from the Thirty-Six Heavens?

Damn it!

Yu Que suddenly realized that he might have been used!

While the affair of the Demon Lord’s bone finger might not be false, that Loose Immortal from the Thirty-Six Heavens was definitely not just helping him, there had to be another agenda!

“Hold on a moment!” Yu Que tried to parley with Zhou Heng, feeling that there was no need for him to fight to the death with his opponent.

But at that moment, Zhou Heng had already made his move.

With the strength of a Loose Immortal, Zhou Heng’s mastery of the various peerless Divine Skills and the supreme celestial methods made their might immediately swell to an unprecedented level.

Techniques that were originally impossible to perform were now effortless.

This state made Zhou Heng feel incredibly comfortable.

He couldn’t help but want to take action directly.

“Yu Que, take my three palms!” Zhou Heng, with intense fighting spirit in his eyes, circulated the mana within his body, spread his arms, raised his hands, and slapped them towards Yu Que.

The two palms came one after the other, each carrying different formidable laws.

The first palm’s center was dark, as if to overturn all things in the heavens and the earth, to reverse the cosmos, while the second seemed to contain all the realms and the endless void, leaving no place to hide.

These were the first two styles of the Overturning Heaven Three Palms.

Heaven and Earth Inversion!

Palms Covering Three Realms!

These two palms, one following the other, sealed off all of Yu Que’s possible movements, covered everything within thousands of miles, and left him no chance to escape.

Moreover, the terrifying power of the Heaven and Earth Inversion was just so overwhelming that it was unknown whether Yu Que’s current decaying Dharma body could withstand it.

So, the moment Zhou Heng’s palms landed on Yu Que, the long-standing Loose Immortal and top contender from the Eastern Sea exploded on the spot, his Dharma body disintegrated, leaving only his Immortal Yuan Spirit.

“You?!” Yu Que couldn’t believe what was happening to him.

He had been blown apart by two palms?!

Even if this person had used some cunning method to have the same strength as him, how could he dominate him so effortlessly with similar strength?

And, what martial arts were those just now that gave him a sense of facing the terrifying collapse of the heavens and the overturning of the earth?

Was the Central Plains so terrifying?

Yu Que regretted again and again, why hadn’t he conducted a careful investigation before coming?

It was as if he had been enchanted!

It must be the doings of that Loose Immortal from the Thirty-Six Heavens!

“It must have been his scheme!!”

Zhou Heng, unaware of Yu Que’s inner turmoil, saw that his opponent’s Dharma body was shattered, leaving only the Primordial Spirit, and immediately pursued the victory, slapping down with the third palm.

This palm contained an extremely intense destruction power, with layers of laws in the palm seemingly propelling the advent of the end, shattering the upside-down cosmos, disintegrating all realms, and turning everything in this world to dust!

The third style of the Overturning Heaven Three Palms!

Cosmos Completely Shattered!!

…

At the same time, within Huangtong Mansion City.

A young master in a white brocade robe was strolling leisurely on the street, his gaze sweeping over the terrified citizens due to the battle in the sky. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, revealing a mocking smile.

“It’s time,” he thought to himself.

“Hey, young man.” Just at this moment, a skinny old man swinging a fan walked over, looking at him with a smile.