I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 374: Chapter 94: Before the Middle Ancient, the 36 Gods

“The exact reason remains unknown,” Yan Shouyi shook his head, then smiled and said, “There are plenty of speculations, but would you like to know them?”

“Let’s skip the speculation for now,” Zhou Heng asked further, “So how can we be sure that the end of the Ancient Mythological Era wasn’t due to that reason? Is there some key discovery?”

“This reason is actually something you’ve seen before,” Yan Shouyi said with a smile. “Previously, when we were in Fengzhou County City, the phenomenon that occurred as the evil god ‘Mokha Jia Ye’ attempted to descend was telling.

“It wanted to squeeze its own Dao into our world and imprint it here, which means that its Dao is not inherent to our world.”

“In that case…” Zhou Heng had an epiphany and said, “Does it mean that if the immortals and gods from the Ancient Mythological Era had all turned into evil gods, then there would be no need for their Daos to be re-imprinted, because they were originally the immortals and gods of this place?”

“Exactly,” Yan Shouyi nodded and said, “This could also serve as corroborating evidence that the extraterritorial evil gods are indeed not the ancient immortals and gods. However, why these evil gods possess almost identical Daos, powers, and even divine decrees as the ancient immortals and gods is still unknown.”

“I’m beginning to understand,” Zhou Heng furrowed his brows and said, “So, although those evil gods with divine decrees were mentioned in tales of the Ancient Mythological Era, it is highly probable that the current evil gods are not the same as the ancient immortals?”

“That’s nearly correct,” Yan Shouyi agreed and said, “After all, the events of ancient times are distant, and Grand Ancestor Master is reluctant to speak of them. There is not much information that can be confirmed as true.”

“I see,” Zhou Heng nodded and then asked, “Brother, what about the Middle Ancient Era? What kind of era was it really, and how exactly did it begin initially?

“And before that, the Dark Era—what was it like, how did it end, and how did it transition to the Middle Ancient Age of Saints? Why are there so few records about these?”

Although there are some records about the Middle Ages in this era, most are vague, especially regarding the transition from the Dark Era to the Middle Ancient Era—this process is almost never mentioned.

“The Dark Era, anyone who has personally experienced that era would not wish to speak much of it, and hence, the records in the world are extremely scarce,” Yan Shouyi sighed lightly and said, “I’ve also only heard about that period from Grand Ancestor Master occasionally.

“The sudden disappearance of the Immortals, Buddhists, and Saints of the Ancient Mythological Era led to the various sects, families, kingdoms, and other powers lacking restraint. The sects lost the protection of immortal and saintly figures, the balance of power among them was upset, and the order of bygone days plunged into collapse in a very short time.

“That was the origin of the Dark Era. Our Pure Yang Palace also suffered a nearly fatal blow during that period, and it is recorded in the ‘Pure Yang’ this book. You should be aware of that, Junior Brother.”

“Yes,” Zhou Heng nodded his head, “Our second sect leader Grand Ancestor fell during that era.”

“That era could be described as utter chaos, with countless legacies destroyed, numerous Divine Skills lost, and many Divine Artifacts damaged…” Yan Shouyi said, “So much history was buried.

“Of the information I currently possess, the only thing that can be confirmed beyond a doubt is that the ones at the very peak of that era were not the Taoist Saints, but the Thirty-Six Tao Lords.”

“Thirty-Six Tao Lords?” Zhou Heng was immediately stunned upon hearing this and exclaimed in astonishment, “Tao Lords were at the pinnacle during that era? Does it mean there were no Divine First Rank beings in the Dark Era?”

Although there is only one realm difference between Tao Second Rank and Divine First Rank, the gap is so wide that even the term ‘a world apart’ wouldn’t suffice to describe it.

In the previous battle at Fengzhou County City, even with Unique Divine Weapons in their hands, Celestials like Yan Shouyi had no power to fight back against a Tao Lord like Jade Heart.

The gap between Tao Second Rank and Divine First Rank would only be greater and even harder to bridge. Normally speaking, no matter how numerous the Tao Lords are, they would not matter in the face of a Divine First Rank being.

“At that time, the term Divine First Rank didn’t exist, yet by realm, those at the level of Divine First Rank were indeed few and far between,” Yan Shouyi explained. “However, the core reason doesn’t lie there.

“It lies in a supreme treasure. Those thirty-six Tao Lords were a mixed bunch—humans, demons, and oddities, each with a different origin and varied strengths. But they had a treasure known as the ‘Thirty-Six Heavens.’

“With this treasure, their power was infinitely close to that of a Divine First Rank. These were thirty-six beings whose might almost reached the realm of the Divine First Rank. In a certain sense, the term ‘Thirty-Six Gods’ was indeed fitting, as they completely dominated an era.”

“Thirty-Six Gods?” Zhou Heng said in surprise, questioning, “I’ve heard that in the early period of the Middle Ancient Era, before the Nine Saints were complete, there were thirty-six malevolent deities causing calamities everywhere and they were ultimately suppressed and sealed by the saints. That’s a false rumor, isn’t it?”

“That is the error that arises when true information gets distorted after being passed down many times,” Yan Shouyi said with a smile. “The Thirty-Six Gods were indeed suppressed by the first few of the Middle Ancient Nine Saints, but they were not ordinary evils spirits; they were the supreme sovereigns who dominated the entire Dark Era.

“Even now, organizations still exist in the world that aim to break the seals of the Thirty-Six Gods and reawaken their return, especially in the Eastern Sea, led mainly by Loose Cultivators and calling themselves ‘Thirty-Six Heavens.’

“The Great Saintly Merciful Immortal you killed in Yuanhe Prefecture City was a member of the Thirty-Six Heavens. That incident must have been related to one of the Thirty-Six Gods.”

“Yuanhe Prefecture City, Great Saintly Merciful Immortal…” Zhou Heng’s brows furrowed deeper at those words, as he recalled the Tao Lord reincarnation he had fooled back in Yuanhe Prefecture City—the Qingxia God.

Although he used the Fooling Card to dulled Qingxia God’s intelligence and made her swear a vow of loyalty to him, since she had not recovered much of her memory at that time, he did not ask too many questions.

Moreover, he had only considered Qingxia God as an ordinary Tao Lord reincarnation who was regaining her memories and did not pay much attention to it.

But now, according to Yan Shouyi’s words, the fact that the Great Saintly Merciful Immortal came to Yuanhe Prefecture City in an attempt to unseal one of the Thirty-Six Gods…

It meant that the Qingxia God might very well be one of the thirty-six supreme overlords who dominated the entire Dark Era before the Age of Saints in the Middle Ancient Era!

“That’s a bit over the top,” Zhou Heng clicked his tongue in wonder, hardly expecting that he had actually subdued such an incredibly significant being while he was only a Ninth Grade.

However, given Qingxia God’s impressive background, could she find a way to free herself from the constraints of the vow? He suddenly felt that such a possibility was very likely.

One of the mighty ones who had dominated an era, even if suppressed, he found it hard to believe that she hadn’t left behind some sort of contingency.

“What’s the matter?” Yan Shouyi noticed the change in Zhou Heng’s expression.

“Well, back in Yuanhe Prefecture City, I might have already subdued one of the Thirty-Six Gods, ‘Qingxia God,'” Zhou Heng said, scratching his head.

“What?!” Yan Shouyi exclaimed in shock upon hearing this.

“Is that even possible?!” He Mengqiu was also stunned.

“So that’s how it is,” Yan Shouyi suddenly clapped his hands and laughed, “No wonder Fumu Tao Lord appeared in Huangtong Mansion City. I thought he was merely looking for a disciple, but there was also this reason.”

“Ah??” This time it was Zhou Heng who was bewildered, asking in surprise, “Fumu Tao Lord? In Huangtong Mansion City??”

“Sealing Tao Lord, Jiang Tafa,” Yan Shouyi said with a smile, before telling Zhou Heng about Jiang Tafa’s job as the gatekeeper at the Pure Yang Martial Arts Hall in Huangtong Mansion City.

“Hiss, hiss, hiss, that old man is actually a Tao Lord?” Zhou Heng’s mouth hung open in shock. If this were the case, then this Sealing Tao Lord would be considered his employee.

It was truly astonishing.

“The ways of the world are strange and marvelous, beyond anything else,” Yan Shouyi laughed before asking, “Junior brother, is there anything else you’d like to ask?”

“I have some more questions about the forbidden lands of the West Wasteland, but let’s pause here for now,” Zhou Heng stood up and said, “I just thought about the Qingxia God’s situation, and I want to go back to Yuanhe Prefecture City to check on her condition.”

The questions he had asked before, whether about the Evil God, the Ancient Mythological Era, or the changes in the Middle Ancient era, were in fact all related to what he believed might contain clues about Earth.

While he had many questions about the West Wasteland as well, it didn’t seem to be greatly related to Earth. Compared to that, verifying the Qingxia God’s status seemed more important.

“Mmm, that’s a good idea,” Yan Shouyi nodded and asked, “Do you need help?”

“I can go myself,” Zhou Heng shook his head, then suddenly recalled something, “By the way, senior brother, does the Overseas Loose Cultivator organization ‘Thirty-Six Heavens’ that’s plotting to unseal the thirty-six deities have any cooperation with the heretical path?”

“Indeed, they do,” Yan Shouyi nodded and said somberly, “Some of the loose cultivators from Thirty-Six Heavens have even come from the heretical paths. Our master has investigated Thirty-Six Heavens and detected faint traces of an Evil God’s presence there.”

“In that case, confirming the status of Qingxia God is even more critical,” Zhou Heng said with a serious expression, worried that the not-yet-recovered Qingxia God might be discovered by the heretical path or people from Thirty-Six Heavens and get corrupted by the Evil God.

“Junior brother, be careful,” Yan Shouyi took out a jade talisman with a flip of his hand and passed it to Zhou Heng, “This is a Life-saving Talisman, as long as the person who kills you is not a Second Rank Tao Lord, it can save your life three times.”

“Three times?” Zhou Heng was somewhat surprised, taking the jade talisman. He glanced at He Mengqiu next to him, then back at Yan Shouyi, “Senior brother, are you going into seclusion?”

Zhou Heng’s previous Life-saving Talisman had long since been used up, and Yan Shouyi had not mentioned giving him another. Now, all of a sudden, Yan Shouyi was giving him one that could save his life three times, even raising the limit by an entire major rank.

This clearly meant that Yan Shouyi had the capacity to keep an eye on Zhou Heng’s safety previously, plus with Zhou Heng’s own strength as well as “preparation from a previous life,” he wouldn’t need to use a Life-saving Talisman.

Yan Shouyi’s current action probably meant that for the coming period, he might be unable to intervene.

Zhou Heng also recalled the scene he saw in Fengzhou County City before, one yin and one yang two paths evolving into taiji, which was far beyond the strength of a normal Celestial Man… Yan Shouyi was most likely preparing to condense his Tao seed.

“You wouldn’t think that I’m preparing to condense my Tao seed, would you?” Yan Shouyi suddenly laughed.

“Ah?” Zhou Heng was stunned and asked, “Is that not the case?”

“Of course not,” Yan Shouyi laughed, “As you know, it’s been just over four hundred years since I entrusted my Primordial Spirit to the void, and I haven’t even experienced the five decays of heaven and man. What Tao seed would I be condensing?”

“One cannot condense a Tao seed without passing the five decays of heaven and man?” Zhou Heng asked curiously, as he had always thought that the so-called decays of heaven and man were only the five instances of lifespan decay and now it seemed they were also related to cultivation progress.

“That’s not the case, theoretically, even if one has just entrusted their Primordial Spirit to the void and reached the realm of Celestial Man, they can also condense a Tao seed,” Yan Shouyi laughed lightly, “However, Tao seeds have different levels of quality, and the state in which one condenses the Tao seed can vary. Only those who have passed all five decays are in the most perfect state.”

“I see,” Zhou Heng nodded in realization, “So your first decay is coming up? Is this why you invited Senior He to come to visit Taihua Mount, for this matter?”

“There is that reason,” Yan Shouyi nodded with a smile, “The decay is difficult to overcome, so I have to rely on Senior He.”

“My cultivation method is special, and I can barely help Yan sect leader a little bit,” He Mengqiu said with a modest smile.

“Ah, this…” Zhou Heng became even more surprised upon confirmation, as he had not expected the relationship between Yan Shouyi and He Mengqiu to be so good.

So good that He Mengqiu would be allowed to assist during Yan Shouyi’s decay.

For any Celestial Man, the decay is a huge life-and-death crisis and a period of weakest strength; someone allowed to help at this time must be the most trusted by the person undergoing the decay.

“Master, Heng-er, Senior Yan, the buns are ready!” At that moment, Yun Xiu’s voice came from the kitchen in time, along with the increasingly rich aroma of steamed buns.

“Quick, bring them here, bring them here!” He Mengqiu promptly gestured with her hands.

…

Zhou Heng did not stay long on Taihua Mount. After having breakfast, he instantly traveled hundreds of thousands of miles with Yan Shouyi’s assistance and arrived outside Yuanhe Prefecture City.

Looking at the familiar city gates ahead, he felt quite sentimental.

The last time he was here, he was just a small Eighth Rank martial artist, having not joined Pure Yang Palace nor the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer, adrift like a duckweed.

“Back then I think I was ranked forty-second on the people’s list and participated in a martial contest hosted by Wang Family here,” Zhou Heng stroked his chin, lost in memories.

It had only been a year, but it felt like it had been a very long time, as if he had experienced a lot of things, and his identity and strength had completely changed from that time.

Zhou Heng stood in front of the gates of Yuanhe Prefecture City for a while, sorting out his emotions, then led his sorrel horse forward, planning to enter the city.

—These days most people who enter the city from outside have mounts. It draws attention to walk in alone; leading a horse doesn’t stand out as much.

After entering the city, Zhou Heng intended to go directly to Bai’s family to check on them, but he hadn’t taken two steps before he saw someone approaching him.

This person was initially startled upon seeing Zhou Heng, then exclaimed, “You, you are… Purple Lightning Thunder Blade, Zhou Heng?!”

“Purple Lightning Thunder Blade…” Zhou Heng’s mouth twitched slightly.