I Cheated While Cultivating - Chapter 423

Chapter 423: Chapter 142: The Dark Era, The End Time

“`

“Who are you?”

The young man was suddenly stopped and immediately showed a displeased look on his face, frowning as he said, “I don’t have time to chat with an old man like you, get out of my way!”

“Ah, young people are always so hot-tempered,” Jiang Er didn’t get angry, still smiling cheerfully. He took a step forward and grabbed the young man’s wrist, “Come with me, I’ll help you cool down.”

“You?!” The young man was about to shake off Jiang Er’s hand but found that this seemingly lean palm held infinite strength, tightly restricting his wrist, rendering him unable to move, “Who are you, daring to oppose me?”

At this moment, the young man realized that the other party was no ordinary person.

Although he hadn’t yet displayed his true strength, just the fact that this little old man could restrain his wrist and prevent him from breaking free was enough to determine that this was at least a Great Grandmaster.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to possess such formidable power.

“But even if you are a Celestial Man, you won’t be able to stop me this time!” sneered the young man inwardly, while keeping a calm face, he even looked at Jiang Er with a scornful gaze.

In the young man’s eyes, the only trouble in Huangtong Mansion City had already been occupied by the foolish Yu Que Tao Lord, allowing him to unseal this place unhindered, which would let the endless glory of ancient times shine upon the world once again.

As for Zhou Heng, he knew quite a lot about him, understanding that he was an incredibly powerful being reincarnated, with endless measures from his previous life, and even a Tao Lord had perished at his hands.

This was undoubtedly a major problem, and if he could solve or detain this issue, everything else could proceed smoothly.

It was just unexpected that in this small prefectural city, aside from Zhou Heng, there was still another mysterious powerhouse, which surprised him greatly.

However, at this point, success was just before his eyes, and not even a Celestial Man’s descent could stop him now.

“Old man, I’m no Celestial Man,” Jiang Er kept shaking his head with a smile, but his steps didn’t stop for a moment, still pulling the young man toward the deeper streets and alleys.

“You old bastard, courting death!” Unable to bear it any longer, the young man immediately circulated the Loose Immortal mana, intending to shatter the old man’s palm.

However, he immediately felt as if his Loose Immortal mana had entered the sea like a mudfish, causing no disturbance and completely failing to affect the old man’s lean palm.

Peak Celestial Man?!

The young man was shocked, despite believing his strength to be on par with any Celestial Man, and due to his special physique and secretive inheritance, he stood among the strongest in the Celestial Man realm.

But if faced with those who had transcended the five declines of a Celestial Man, whose Dao bodies were refined, and Primordial Spirits were beginning to congeal the embryonic form of Dao seeds, he knew he was mostly no match for them.

At this time, this gaunt old man appeared to effortlessly crush his mana burst, and his strength had probably reached the level of a peak Celestial Man!

“Damn it, how could there be another peak Celestial Man in such a small place besides Zhou Heng?!” The young man’s complexion turned extremely ugly, never having expected his perfect plan to come to this.

Where did things go wrong?

Why did this happen?

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.” Jiang Er seemed completely unaware of the young man’s release of Loose Immortal mana, still dragging him toward the deeper streets and alleys.

“This old man is not ordinary; I can’t just let him catch me, I should leave while I can,” the young man quickly made a new decision in his heart.

Although his purpose for coming to Huangtong Mansion City was very important, what mattered most was to preserve his own life first; if he could not save his life, then everything else was just empty talk.

“`

“`

With this thought, the young man’s figure wavered slightly, and he was about to turn into a wisp of transparent smoke then and there.

This was his unique escape skill, rooted in the laws, which transformed his Dharma body into intangible smoke, and allowed him to recondense his spirit and form millions of miles away, essentially escaping instantly over such an immense distance.

Moreover, this escape skill relied solely on the laws, temporarily turning himself into a secret law, so that even when a Celestial Man exerted the power of laws, they could not affect this escape method, unable to intercept him.

However, this time he was not successful.

His body only maintained its smoky state for a fleeting moment, and before he even had a chance to flee, he was wrapped up by an incomprehensibly powerful and arcane force of restraint that he could not understand.

It forcibly severed his connection with the laws and kept his Dharma body in its normal humanoid form, rendering him utterly unable to escape.

This time, the young man was completely dumbfounded, with eyes wide open in disbelief, looking at the skinny, small old man, filled with horror, his body like a walking corpse, being dragged along by the old man.

He profoundly felt how his own Loose Immortal mana, in front of this small old man, seemed as if mere decoration, as if it did not exist at all, rendering him as weak as an infant, entirely incapable of resisting.

“How is this possible, how can it be, who is he, from where did this mighty figure emerge?!” The young man’s mind was in turmoil, finding it impossible to believe what was happening before his eyes.

“Old Jiang, what’s wrong?”

At this moment, Zhou Heng’s voice reached the young man’s ears again, instantly pushing his already tense spirit to the brink of collapse.

Zhou Heng had already finished the battle?

Damn, even if that trash from Yu Que is just a Loose Immortal, how could he be so useless?!

“Nothing much, just caught a young man who likes to run around.” Jiang Er shook the fan in his other hand and smiled, “This young man is full of fiery energy, I’ll take him to cool down a bit.”

“Indeed, cooling down is needed,” Zhou Heng glanced at the young man, nodded lightly, and smiled, “The times are not peaceful now, it’s better not to run around.”

In fact, he had noticed this Loose Immortal long ago.

Under the Celestial Man’s aura observation technique, the aura pillar of this Loose Immortal was utterly visible, with nowhere to hide.

Even if Jiang Tafa had not made a move, should this Loose Immortal truly have intended anything, he had the spare strength to intervene personally.

“What exactly do you want to do?” The young man had already given up on escaping and looked at Zhou Heng and Jiang Er with a sullen expression, speaking in a deep voice, “I am merely traveling here and have never thought of doing anything. Why strike against me?”

He put on an innocent facade.

“The Loose Immortal from the Eastern Sea ‘Thirty-Six Heavens’ organization, Gonghua, stealthily coming to the central lands, and you claim you weren’t intending to do anything?” Zhou Heng chuckled, “Do you believe that yourself?”

As Zhou Heng dispatched the True Immortal of Yu Que, he gathered some memory fragments from the collapsing and disintegrating Divine Soul by a rudimentary application of the True Spirit Yuan’s Heart Sutra.

Among them was the memory of this Gonghua Immortal enticing him to come to Huangtong Mansion City to seek out the half demon lord’s finger bone.

A Loose Immortal affiliated with the ‘Thirty-Six Heavens’ stirring up the True Immortal of Yu Que to come to Huangtong Mansion City, and following suit, clearly was no simple matter.

It very likely involved the Thirty-Six Gods of the Dark Era before the Middle Ancient period.

After all, the organization of the ‘Thirty-Six Heavens’ has set the goal of pursuing the revival of the Thirty-Six Gods.

“`

Zhou Heng had sufficient reason to harbor such suspicions.

“If they want to accuse me of a crime, won’t they find an excuse?” Gong Hua, the Immortal, said with a cold sneer on his face, “Central Plains cultivators are all the same, always ganging up and slandering without evidence.”

He intended to remain defiant to the end.

This might give him a glimmer of hope for survival.

After all, the other party had no evidence.

“Old man, I am not just any Central Plains cultivator,” Jiang Er shook his head and sighed, “You youngsters really don’t know what you’re doing. It’d be best for you to be locked up and come to your senses.”

As he spoke, his palm shook slightly, without any visible anomalies, yet Gong Hua, the Immortal, rapidly shrank, turning into a tiny figure the size of a fingertip, which he placed on his palm.

“You?!” Gong Hua, the Immortal, looked terrified, only to see Jiang Er cover him with another hand wielding a fan. The Loose Immortal from the Thirty-Six Heavens immediately felt his vision darken and then lost all consciousness.

“Old Jiang, did you just seal him?” Zhou Heng watched the fan in Jiang Er’s hand, only now realizing that the fan was also a treasure. Moreover, it was no ordinary item; it was likely a Divine Artifact of Tao Lord level.

“Young people’s minds are not clear; they want to revive the Thirty-Six Gods of Darkness and return the times to that dark and despairing era. They should be locked away to clear their minds,” Jiang Er returned to his usual demeanor, lazily waving the fan in his hand.

The methods of a Tao Lord are profound and inscrutable; to seal a Loose Immortal was as easy as turning over one’s hand, effortlessly done.

It didn’t even qualify as a skirmish.

The gap was too great.

“Senior, how much do you know about that Dark Era?” Zhou Heng did not inquire further about Gong Hua, the Immortal. Instead, he was more concerned about the information regarding the Dark Era.

“It was an extraordinarily chaotic and despairing time. In fact, the Thirty-Six Gods came into being as a response to it…” Jiang Er paused, then said, “Come to the old man’s house for a cup of tea tonight.”

“Thank you, senior.” Zhou Heng bowed and thanked him with a gesture.

This was a disciple of a Saint from the Middle Ancient times, a Tao Lord who had lived for thousands of years; he must know many ancient secrets.

…

At nightfall, the bright moon was hung high, veiling the starlight with mist.

Zhou Heng arrived at the small courtyard where Jiang Er lived and knocked on the door.

Xie Chong was the one to answer.

As Jiang Er’s disciple, he had already moved in with his family to live here, also taking care of Jiang Er’s daily needs.

Of course, Xie Chong had no idea of Jiang Er’s true identity, believing him to be a martial arts master with superb skills who had chosen to retire from the world of heroes in his later years.

He thought of doing his utmost to support Jiang Er and ensure a comfortable life in his old age.

“Master, you have arrived, please come in,” Xie Chong greeted Zhou Heng with great respect, as he saw Zhou Heng as his benefactor too, “The teacher is already waiting for you in the guest room.”

Zhou Heng’s visit was something Jiang Er had already told Xie Chong about, so he was not surprised.

“Hmm,” Zhou Heng nodded lightly and made his way to the guest room.

At this time, Jiang Er still appeared leisurely. In the guest room, there was a rocking chair upon which he lay, swaying back and forth, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan.

The teapot on the side was bubbling, and the tea was just perfectly brewed.

“It seems I’ve arrived at just the right moment,” Zhou Heng remarked with a smile as he entered the guest room and saw the teapot.

“Timing is better than haste,” Jiang Er said as he rose from the rocking chair. He casually picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Zhou Heng, then one for himself.

However, despite being brewed from the same pot, the two cups of tea looked quite different.

Zhou Heng’s cup of tea was clearer, while Jiang Er’s was somewhat murky.

“You wish to ask about the Dark Era; that’s quite normal,” Jiang Er said as he set down the teapot and sat opposite Zhou Heng, smiling. “Anyone with accomplished cultivation is curious about that lost segment of history.”

“Are you implying something, senior?” Zhou Heng caught the hint in Jiang Er’s words.

“Pure Yang Palace is an ancient sect that has been handed down since the ancient times. The third-generation leader even lived through the Dark Era. In theory, they should know quite a lot about the Dark Era,” Jiang Er said with a smile. “But it seems that you haven’t learned about the Dark Era from your own sect.”

“Hmm, it’s said the Dark Era was too tragic. Even the Grand Ancestor Master preferred not to mention it much,” Zhou Heng nodded lightly–an acknowledgment that this wasn’t much of a secret.

“That’s understandable,” Jiang Er nodded and sighed. “Actually, if you hadn’t asked me, and I hadn’t come across someone from the Thirty-Six Heavens, I wouldn’t want to talk about it either.”

“What does the appearance of someone from the Thirty-Six Heavens mean?” Zhou Heng frowned.

“It means that the Thirty-Six Gods of Darkness are about to truly awaken and return,” Jiang Er said gravely. “On the surface, it seems that the people of the Thirty-Six Heavens are trying to unseal the Thirty-Six Gods. In reality, it’s the will of the Thirty-Six Gods guiding the Loose Immortals of the Thirty-Six Heavens.”

“Is that so?” Zhou Heng exclaimed in surprise. “Doesn’t that mean the Thirty-Six Gods have already awakened to the extent that they can influence the outside world with their spirit?”

“Not exactly,” Jiang Er lightly shook his head and replied. “It’s because of the ancient divine artifact ‘Thirty-Six Heavens.’ The Thirty-Six Gods are bonded with it, and even while sealed, they maintain a faint connection.

“Now that the seal is loosening, the power of the Thirty-Six Gods is reviving, and they can use this obscure connection to influence the ancient divine artifact, thus guiding those Loose Immortals.”

“Can’t we prevent them from breaking the seal?” Zhou Heng frowned. “Like fortifying the seal?”

The person before him was a Tao Lord who had cultivated the sealing Dao seed and was especially proficient in seals and prohibitions conferred by the Saint of Laws; yet, from his tone, it seemed he had no intention of fortifying the seal.

“Unless the Nine Saints are resurrected, no one can strengthen the seal,” Jiang Er shook his head and said. “The Thirty-Six Gods are inseparable from the Thirty-Six Heavens. No one in this era can stop the power of the Thirty-Six Heavens.”

“What exactly are the Thirty-Six Heavens?” Zhou Heng asked in confusion. “It’s said that the Thirty-Six Gods are only at the Tao Lord level and can rival the Saints with the help of this ancient artifact. What kind of treasure possesses such power that it can sustain the force of thirty-six Saints?”

“The Thirty-Six Heavens are said to be the Heavenly Court of the Ancient Mythological Era,” Jiang Er said calmly, delivering an earth-shattering statement.

“What?!” Zhou Heng was taken aback.

“When the Heavenly Court fell, it became the Thirty-Six Heavens,” Jiang Er explained slowly. “With the fall of the Heavenly Court, the Immortals vanished, the heavens collapsed, the inheritances were severed, and the world plunged into chaos, as if the final apocalypse had arrived.

“Therefore, the Dark Era was also considered the last era before total destruction, known as the Era of Final Calamity.”