I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 337: Chapter 57: Positive and Negative, Yin and Yang, Creation of Heaven and Earth

Zhou Heng’s “inventory” was now exceedingly abundant.

Forty-seven Copper Fortune Bags, nine Silver Fortune Bags, two Gold Fortune Bags, and one Platinum Treasure Box.

All this was thanks to the special rule Du Hong had set up in Yuzhou previously, which allowed Jia Ye Temple’s disciples to resurrect infinitely, and allowed Zhou Heng to directly farm over thirty Copper Fortune Bags from Shande.

Unfortunately, it was a one-time opportunity, and once it was gone, it was gone for good.

“Open all the Fortune Bags and the Platinum Treasure Box!”

…

“Congratulations! You’ve obtained the Martial Art ‘Cihang Sword Manual’ [Secret Six Rank]!”

“Congratulations! Your luck is off the charts! You’ve obtained the Taoist Formulas ‘Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique’ [Sect Fifth Rank]!”

“Congratulations! You’ve obtained the Martial Art ‘Ten Directions Mountains and Rivers Staff’ [Secret Six Rank]”

…

“Congratulations! Your luck is off the charts! You’ve obtained a special skills card: Twist [Copper]!”

“Congratulations! Your luck is off the charts! You’ve obtained the Taoist Formulas ‘Thousand-Mile Radiance Technique’ [Sect Fifth Rank]!”

“Congratulations! Your luck is off the charts! You’ve obtained the Taoist Formulas ‘Invisible Sword Escape’ [Sect Fifth Rank]!”

…

“Congratulations! Your luck is off the charts! You’ve obtained the Martial Art ‘Eight Doors of Life and Death’ [Sect Fifth Rank]!”

“Congratulations! You’ve received a basic attribute bonus: Spiritual Root +1.”

“Congratulations! Your luck is off the charts! You’ve obtained the Taoist Formulas ‘Sword Leading Azure Dragon True Technique’ [Sect Fifth Rank]!”

…

“Congratulations! You’ve obtained a special skills card: Falling Treasure Golden Light [Copper].”

“Congratulations! You’ve obtained the Taoist Formulas ‘Samadhi True Fire Technique’ [Sect Fifth Rank].”

“Congratulations! You’ve obtained the Divine Weapon Blueprint: Time Knife [Sect Fifth Rank].”

…

“Congratulations! Your luck is off the charts! You’ve obtained the Martial Art ‘Devouring Heaven and Earth Seven Limits’ [Celestial Third Rank]!”

“Congratulations! Your luck is off the charts! You’ve obtained the Taoist Formulas ‘Yin and Yang Positive and Negative Divine Light’ [Absolute Fourth Rank]!”

…

“Congratulations! Upon opening the Platinum Treasure Box, your luck is off the charts, and you’ve gained a Move Projection Card: Heaven Opening Seal [Silver]!”

…

This series of rewards dazzled Zhou Heng; it was his first time opening so many Fortune Bags.

Although the majority were Copper Fortune Bags, comparatively, the chances of hitting the jackpot with Copper Fortune Bags were noticeably higher, and the haul was quite bountiful, particularly some of the Taoist Formulas and Martial Arts, which were an unexpected delight.

“Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique: Sect Fifth Rank Taoist Formula, heavily damages a specific body part, temporarily boosting one’s strength by two to twenty times in a short duration, the effect varies with the part and degree of damage.”

“Ten Directions Mountains and Rivers Staff: Secret Six Rank Martial Art, the staff harnesses the power of mountains and rivers, capable of damaging the enemy’s weapons, magic weapons, and clothing, the effect depends on the weapon used by the wielder.”

“Eight Doors of Life and Death: Sect Fifth Rank Martial Art, a protective secret technique, operating the qi and blood around the body, turns the limits of life and death. When newly injured, it will automatically heal the lightest existing injury on the body.”

…

The effects of Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique and Eight Doors of Life and Death gave Zhou Heng a bold idea.

When fighting against an opponent, he could begin by using the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique, inflicting a minor injury on an inconsequential body part, such as some area of his lower body.

He meant leg hair.

Getting sidetracked.

In any case, first, he would cast the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique to create a minor injury and gain a boost in strength. Then, he would use the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique again to make a slightly more serious new injury, further increasing his power, and following that, he would cast Eight Doors of Life and Death.

This way, the initial minor injury would heal, leaving him with just the slightly more severe new injury. He could then continue to use the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique to make an even more severe wound, and then cast Eight Doors of Life and Death again…

In such a cycle, he could exponentially increase his power, and it might even be possible to multiply his strength hundreds or thousands of times over.

“However, the essence of Eight Doors of Life and Death is to use my own qi and blood to heal injuries, and it’s probably not possible to obtain a power boost with too small an injury using the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique. Starting with leg hair definitely won’t work…

“With that said, a pipe dream is still a pipe dream; it’s probably not possible to keep stacking power without limit, but this approach is still worth trying. After I have trained them, I’ll give it a shot.”

Zhou Heng pondered carefully again in his heart and felt that his previous deductions might have been too idealistic. It was still necessary to train this Taoist Formula and Martial Art properly and experiment with them in a down-to-earth manner.

Besides the two exceptional combinations of Taoist Formulas and Martial Arts, other gains were also good.

“Twist [Copper]: Twists the concepts of laws, creating an environment disadvantageous to the enemy and beneficial to oneself, able to influence up to Celestial Men.”

“Falling Treasure Golden Light [Copper]: Can potentially bring down Divine Weapons of Celestial Men level, temporarily rendering them spiritless, unable to wield any power, with a great chance of them falling into one’s own hands.”

“Divine Weapon Blueprint ‘Time Knife’: Forging blueprint for a Sect Fifth Rank weapon imitating the Unique Divine Weapon ‘Time Knife’, which contains a thread of the essence of time, suitable for wielding time-related Martial Arts. Materials: …”

Zhou Heng had yet to forge the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Shield, and here was another blueprint. However, the Time Knife seemed quite appropriate for wielding the ‘Sword Technique of Conviction’.

Zhou Heng was quite satisfied in his heart.

As for using a knife to perform sword techniques, it was something he’d been doing since his Ninth Grade days; he was already used to it.

The above gains were already considered exceptionally generous, but the highlight of this Fortune Bag opening session was in the last three items.

The items that came out of the two Gold Fortune Bags and the Platinum Treasure Box.

“Devouring Heaven and Earth Seven Limits: Celestial Third Rank Martial Art, legend has it that it was created by Chi You, with a total of seven forms, each containing the boundless might of nature, strong and invincible, dominating the universe. When trained to the highest pinnacle, casual actions are as catastrophic as natural disasters, possessing the power to destroy heavens and earth.

“Note: This Martial Art has a world-destroying tenor. If cultivated, each use will incur the disdain of the laws of heaven and earth. One must offset it with virtue, or over time, continuous calamities will lead to an untimely death.”

Zhou Heng found the description of this Martial Art somewhat troubling.

He had long heard of the fame of the Seven Limits. It was strong indeed, but having to suffer the disdain of heaven and earth with each use and the need to consume virtue was a bit excessive.

For ordinary martial artists desperate for Divine Skills, this technique was a rare Divine Martial Art, but for Zhou Heng, it was somewhat superfluous.

He wasn’t lacking in Divine Skills at all.

Of course, being a Celestial Third Rank Divine Martial Art, it might still have other uses in the future and was worth keeping.

The other Taoist Formula that came out of a Gold Fortune Bag brought great joy to Zhou Heng.

“Yin and Yang Positive and Negative Divine Light: an Absolute Fourth Rank Taoist Formula, the foundational Taoist formula for the ‘Yin and Yang Seal’ among the nine seals of the ‘Primordial Golden Chapter.’ It is the basic incantation for activating the magic weapon ‘Yin and Yang Seal,’ capable of refining two divine lights, black and white. The black light annihilates upon contact, killing with a single strike; the white light revives the dead upon contact.

“It requires the collection of both Fortitude Qi and Murderous Qi to be cultivated.”

This was the second inheritance related to the Primordial Golden Chapter that Zhou Heng had acquired after the Overturning Heaven Three Palms, truly worthy of being a Daoist Technique of the Three Pure Ones, so powerful and terrifying.

Perhaps it was because of its power that, even though it was designated as an Absolute Fourth Rank, it could only be obtained through extraordinary luck with a Gold Fortune Bag.

“However, the ‘killing with a single strike’ and ‘reviving the dead’ probably have limitations; otherwise, this wouldn’t be ‘Yin and Yang Positive and Negative Divine Light’ but the real ‘Yin and Yang Seal.’ Still, the actual power of this technique must be assessed after it has been truly cultivated. The only trouble is collecting the Fortitude Qi and the Murderous Qi.”

Zhou Heng continued with his philosophy of seeking truth from facts.

The last item was the unmatched ultimate weapon that came from the silver treasure box.

“Heaven Opening Seal [Silver]: The third seal gesture projection from the primordial techniques, to open the heavens and split the earth.”

The description was very brief.

But just the four words “open the heavens and split the earth” were enough to make Zhou Heng acutely aware of the terrifying power of this ability.

If judged by the standard of the previous projection of the Ziwei Star Palace, even at its weakest, this move was probably equivalent to an attack from a Divine First Rank Daoist master.

What a powerful weapon!

But it also required caution in its use, for what if it truly did reopen the heavens and the earth? Unlikely, but better safe than sorry.

…

After opening Fortune Bags, Zhou Heng spent a day or two organizing.

Mainly, he skimmed over the newly acquired martial arts and Taoist formulas to decide on the order in which to cultivate them. This process also took into account some of the martial arts and Taoist formulas he had acquired previously.

After all, one’s energy is ultimately limited; he still had many martial arts and Taoist formulas from the last Fortune Bag opening that he hadn’t had time to cultivate yet.

At this thought, Zhou Heng suddenly remembered the two disciples he had acquired when he projected his spirit into the “Divine Soul Visualization Realm,” wondering how they were doing now.

If they were with him, he could impart to them some martial arts techniques he couldn’t use himself, which would not only prevent waste but could also spark new martial arts ideas.

—The world Zhou Heng and Cheng Jianjian projected their spirits into was a newly discovered one with no name, so this “Divine Soul Visualization Realm” was a term Zhou Heng came up with on the fly.

The flow of time in that world was ten times faster than here; it probably wouldn’t be long before they grew up. He wondered if they would be able to spread the spark of the Innate Longevity Scripture.

After letting his thoughts wander for a while, Zhou Heng began to formulate his next plan.

The Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique and the Eight Gates of Life and Death were definitely to be cultivated first, as they could most directly and quickly enhance his own strength to confront formidable enemies.

The crafting of the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover also needed to be scheduled soon; the last time, during the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer meeting, he had already approached Fangxiu and scheduled a meeting for the beginning of June, which was fast approaching.

Once the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover was crafted, then he could consider collecting Murderous Qi and Fortitude Qi. Having a magic weapon in hand and increased strength would make everything more assured.

Beyond that, he also planned to make a trip to Southern Jin to visit Jia Ye Temple.

In recent times, Jia Ye Temple truly overstepped its bounds, clogging his thoughts.

Seeking to dispel this ill fortune was the proper course.

It would also be possible to touch upon the true lineage of Jia Ye Temple and investigate whether this ancient Buddha Sect is truly related to that “Jia Ye”.

…

“Senior Brother, what is meant by fortune and virtue?” Zhou Heng came to consult with Yan Shouyi again.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Regarding fate and fortune, he had only vague concepts and was not clear on how the two should be defined in cultivation, let alone how to collect them.

“Have you completed the secret technique for collecting the qi of virtue that you needed earlier?” Yan Shouyi asked in surprise.

“Yes, I have made some gains,” Zhou Heng nodded.

“Junior Brother’s encounters are truly humbling,” Yan Shouyi exclaimed in admiration and then said, “You are already aware of virtue. Fortune, like virtue, is one of the Innate Five Virtues. Its manifestation is quite similar, both can make life smooth sailing, or lead to a certain kind of favor.

“However, their sources differ. Virtue is the positive feedback of the rules of heaven and earth, while fortune is the feedback from one’s own spirit. When one’s thoughts are clear and the spirit is transparent, fortune will naturally bless the individual.”

“By following one’s heart and achieving clear thoughts, one can collect the qi of fortune?” Zhou Heng’s expression was one of surprise, as he had not expected it to be so simple; yet he was also somewhat puzzled, “If one commits acts of burning, killing, and looting, and these also reflect clear thoughts, does that mean one can possess fortune?”

“Yes.” Yan Shouyi nodded lightly and said, “Fortune is a reflection of one’s own spiritual cultivation, and the so-called ‘fortune’ is naturally in reference to oneself.

“If acts of burning, killing, and looting truly accord with one’s heart, then naturally, fortune will be bestowed, suppressing the negative influence of fate. Such a person would find their murderous path smooth sailing—that is their own ‘fortune.’

“However, such fortune will compromise one’s own fortunes. When one’s allotted time runs out, fortune will no longer suppress fate, and fate will take its toll.”

“Fortune can be overpowered by fate?” Zhou Heng’s brow furrowed, feeling that Yan Shouyi was venturing beyond his own scope of knowledge.

“The Five Virtues and Five Fortunes nourish and counteract each other, and the principles involved are infinite,” Yan Shouyi said with a light smile. “Once you refine your Dharma Phase or achieve the Yang God’s Dharma Body and truly touch upon the rhythms of the rules of heaven and earth, you’ll come to understand without a teacher.

“However, if you are really interested, there’s a volume of the ‘Innate Five Virtues and Five Fortunes Treasure Book’ in the Dao Void Cave Sky, which you can borrow to read—naturally, there’s a condition, as usual.”

“What’s the condition?” Zhou Heng asked with a smile. “It’s not going to be to slay a Loose Immortal, right?”

“It’s not that exaggerated. As I recall, you’re required to slay five evil Sect Fifth Rank masters from the heretical paths,” Yan Shouyi said.

“Well, in that case, it seems not impossible,” Zhou Heng laughed, for once he had mastered the Nine Dragon Fire Cover, along with the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique and the Eight Gates of Life and Death, slaying a Sect Fifth Rank wouldn’t be a problem.

“Nevertheless, I still need Senior Brother to resolve my doubts now, how exactly do I collect the qi of fate?” Zhou Heng continued with his questions.

“Fate arises alongside Holy Virtue. When one acts to enlighten civilization, Holy Virtue is bestowed, and through the enlightenment of civilization, there will inevitably be contradictions and conflicts between the Way and reason, and thus fate makes its presence.” Yan Shouyi explained, “However, fortune itself suppresses fate. If one’s fortune is profound, one will not be tainted by fate. To collect both fortune and fate, you must maintain a balance between them.”

“Performing acts of enlightenment bestows Holy Virtue, and fate approaches… profound fortune prevents fate…” Zhou Heng murmured to himself and sighed, “Truly arcane; it seems I’d better get my hands on the ‘Innate Five Virtues Treasure Book’ first and then make plans.”

Indeed, he could keep asking Yan Shouyi for guidance, but he was not one to trouble others without limit and with a clear conscience, even if the other party didn’t mind. He did not want to do that.

What one can do on one’s own should be done on one’s own.

…

On the first day of June, Zhou Heng once again arrived at Jiangzhou County City, prepared to find accommodations for Lan Yingzhi.

This day also happened to be the release date of the latest human rankings.

Zhou Heng stopped in front of the Divine Martial Office, observing the crowd gathered around the nearby rankings bulletin board, feeling slightly dazed.

It had been over a year already.

————

PS: Regarding anti-piracy, I’ve tried it out these past few days. To be honest, it’s indeed excellent for increasing subscriptions, but it really affects the experience of legitimate readers, and for that, I am truly sorry. I will not be doing that anymore in the future.