I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 343: 63: There must be limits to his Secret Technique!

Chapter 343: Chapter 63: There must be limits to his Secret Technique!

Bright and dazzling golden light condensed in the sky above the Eight-sided Mountain’s artifact refining furnace, where nine fire dragons soared and spiraled, guarding Zhou Heng as they slowly descended.

At this moment, whether it was Lan Ying and Lan Yingzhi, or the other Secret Six Rank experts from the Lan Family who came to help, everyone was stunned when they saw the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover and Zhou Heng emerge from the refining furnace.

Is this really a Secret Six Rank martial artist, a Secret Six Rank magic weapon?

Why does its might and aura not fall short in the slightest compared to a Sect Fifth Rank?

Could this be the reincarnation of a great power?

Zhou Heng’s attention at this time was focused on himself.

Now, he truly felt the strength of his physical body.

Although his True Qi hadn’t improved much, his physique had undergone earth-shattering changes, his blood flowing like a mighty river within him, overwhelming and powerful in every movement, as if divine strength was bestowed upon him.

Each inch of muscle, every bone, shone with a faint luminescence, even the marrow sparkling clear and translucent.

His body was like glaze, a Vajra Unbreakable!

Previously inside the refining furnace, using the scorching of the heavenly true fire to constantly temper his blood and qi, the Golden Bell Cover had reached the tenth layer of Perfection halfway through the refinement of the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover. Following that, naturally, he cultivated the Vajra Unbreakable Divine Technique.

The moment he burst out of the refining furnace, he even had the illusion that his body now possessed the ability to bear mountains and wield the power to span seas, purely from physical strength alone without counting the enhancement from True Qi controlling the natural Qi of the world.

Of course, illusions were just illusions.

After sobering up a bit, Zhou Heng knew that with his current level it was impossible to reach that extent, but he was also very clear that the strength of his body now easily supported a thirtyfold increase in power, and could even continue to rise.

If he were to encounter a peak Grandmaster like He Yanghui, he could go full throttle and rush forward for a frontal battle, without the need to barely withstand with the Xuanhuang Pagoda Art.

That also meant that he now possessed the strength to defeat the vast majority of Fifth Rank Grandmasters in a frontal battle!

No need for trickery, no need to exploit the enemy’s underestimation.

It was direct, frontal combat.

Such battle prowess was unprecedented.

A myriad of mysterious and powerful martial techniques and Taoist formulas converged, creating a Secret Six Rank True Energy Realm individual like Zhou Heng, whose strength was incredibly formidable.

It was truly a marvel.

A regular Secret Six Rank martial artist would almost never reach his level.

No, it was absolutely impossible.

Putting aside whether a regular Secret Six Rank could learn so many Fourth Rank ultimate techniques by the age of eighteen, just obtaining these secret techniques that could increase strength by tens of times in combination was almost an impossible feat.

Breaking the game, after all, was different from the norm.

…

While Zhou Heng was cultivating the Vajra Unbreakable Divine Technique, emerging from the Eight-sided Mountain’s artifact refining furnace, a thousand miles away within the territory of Southern Jin, atop a mountain peak.

Qiu Yu stood with her sword, her gaze cold as she watched the North.

Behind her stood three young people, two men and one woman, all looking heroic and extraordinary; they were the three most outstanding disciples of the same generation as He Yanghui.

Chen Tianpeng, Wang Su, Ji Hong.

All three possessed the cultivation of peak Sect Fifth Rank Dharma Phase Realm, just a hair’s breadth away from condensing the Dharma Body, their strength even greater than that of He Yanghui.

“On our northward journey, we have only two objectives,” Qiu Yu said solemnly. “Have you all remembered them?”

“We have remembered!” the three people said in unison, loudly declaring, “The first, defeat Zhou Heng, and at the very least, we must severely wound him; the second, retrieve the Divine Artifact, the Splendorous Sunlight Mirror!”

“Correct!” Qiu Yu nodded and declared, “The time has come, let’s go!”

Subsequently, the four of them soared into the sky, transforming into streaks of light, piercing through clouds and mist, crossing the firmament, flying towards the Jiangjin Mountains within Da Qi, three hundred miles away.

Qiu Yu now harbored a deep hatred for Zhou Heng.

In the previous battle at the Jiangjin Mountains, He Yanghui’s life-bound sword weapon was nearly destroyed, his decades of cultivation dissipated like water, even his foundation was damaged, and he also lost a Celestial Man’s Divine Skill Magic Weapon.

Such a loss was unprecedented for the Heaven Sword Sect in a thousand years.

As the strongest cultivator among the disciples present from the Heaven Sword Sect at that time, Qiu Yu’s failure to prevent this incident naturally led to a punishment from the Sect, temporarily being stripped of the right to view the Heavenly Sword and engage in contemplation.

The Heavenly Sword is the treasured legacy of the Heaven Sword Sect, a divine sword of Tao Lord level. It’s said to have been left by the ancestor of the Heaven Sword Sect, interwoven with the essence of the Sword Dao, incredibly profound, and the source of all the Sect’s cultivation methods, considered the foundational pillar of the Heaven Sword Sect.

Under normal circumstances, the Great Grandmasters of the Heaven Sword Sect who have reached Absolute Fourth Rank each have the opportunity to view the Heavenly Sword and contemplate it for a certain period once a year, using it to enhance their understanding of the Sword Dao, and to sooner have their Primordial Spirits venture into the void and step into the Celestial Man realm.

Therefore, for the people of the Heaven Sword Sect, being deprived of the right to view the Heavenly Sword is almost equivalent to severing their path to becoming a Celestial Man, and this made her hatred for Zhou Heng extreme.

This trip to Da Qi was Qiu Yu’s own initiative, wishing to redeem herself by leading others to defeat or even cripple Zhou Heng, while also retrieving the Splendorous Sunlight Mirror.

She wanted to take this opportunity to regain the right to view and contemplate the Heavenly Sword.

Moreover, Qiu Yu had also received news that today, Zhou Heng was at the Eight-sided Mountain refining an artifact in the casting furnace.

As a result, they would not need to truly cross the national border and would not face attacks from the Prefecture Head, making it more convenient to move against Zhou Heng.

“Zhou Heng! I’ll be there soon!”

…

The anomaly on the Eight-sided Mountain’s casting furnace began to subside, and the nine fire dragons had coalesced into a fiery red copper shield.

On it were fiery patterns, with nine dragons entwined, exquisitely incomparable.

Zhou Heng also gradually retracted the golden light from his body, stepping through the void, with lotuses blooming beneath every step, slowly descending from above the casting furnace.

With each step he took, the air around him vibrated as if a huge stone had suddenly been thrown into a calm river, causing the water to part on either side.

That was the power of pure physical strength, having completely surpassed the limits of the Secret Sixth Rank.

“Such a formidable physique is just like the scorching sun; I’ve never seen such a powerful Secret Sixth Rank,” remarked Lan Ying, unable to contain her admiration.

She had lived for over a thousand years, yet this was the first time she’d seen a Secret Sixth Rank individual with such a physique, and the first time witnessing such a powerful body refinement technique.

Although she had already witnessed Zhou Heng’s prowess earlier, where with True Energy Realm cultivation, he repelled a peak Grandmaster causing severe injuries, which in itself was unprecedented and awe-inspiring, she regarded that more as the result of powerful secret techniques, not greatly related to physical constitution.

This was also why she disagreed with Zhou Heng using the casting furnace for body refinement previously.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Heng truly possessed such powerful body refinement supreme skills, capable of forging such a formidable physique.

This level of robust vitality and vigor could be comparable to that of most Sect Fifth Ranks, right?

When did Pure Yang Palace obtain such powerful body refinement supreme skills?

“Hmm, what an impressive physique,” Lan Yingzhi also nodded her head, staring at Zhou Heng enwrapped in golden and fiery light, slightly entranced, “Mr. Zhou often manages to create miracles.”

“`

The level of a Secret Sixth Rank to possess such a formidable physique, it truly qualifies as a miracle.

As for the numerous Secret Sixth Rank martial artists standing by in a daze, they were already flabbergasted, even beginning to question their lives, why is this person also of the Secret Sixth Rank?

What does that make their own Secret Sixth Rank?

“The two seniors flatter me,” Zhou Heng approached the two, cupping his hands and saying, “Thank you.”

No sooner had his voice faded…

Boom!

The forging furnace suddenly erupted with a deafening explosion, causing the entire Eight-sided Mountain to shake violently, clearly under extremely powerful external attack.

“Lan Ying, do you dare to bring out Zhou Heng!” Qiu Yu’s voice came from outside.

This Great Grandmaster of the Heaven Sword Sect had returned with a vengeance.

However, this time Lan Ying was not worried in the slightest, a mere Great Grandmaster of the Heaven Sword Sect, she could handle, as for those other three Sect Fifth Ranks, the Mountain Protection Array of Eight-sided Mountain could also hold them off.

The reason why they had lost Eight-sided Mountain to the Heaven Sword Sect before was purely because of the Divine Artifact brought by He Yanghui.

“These people have come just at the right time,” Zhou Heng said with a smile, “Seniors, shall we go meet them?”

“Sir, you can’t mean…” Lan Yingzhi widened her eyes in surprise upon hearing this.

“You intend to face the three Sect Fifth Ranks from Heaven Sword Sect to test the results of your new martial arts?” Lan Ying saw through Zhou Heng’s intention.

“Exactly,” Zhou Heng nodded lightly, saying, “I can hardly refuse opponents who come knocking at my door.”

“This… Your secret technique doesn’t have any limitations?” Lan Ying asked in amazement.

In her view, whether it was the sudden tenfold increase in Zhou Heng’s strength or the rebounding of He Yanghui’s Xuanhuang Pagoda, it should all be some secret technique with great limitations.

Although they could greatly enhance strength within a short period of time, the conditions for deployment and side effects should be considerable, and it might even be a “forbidden technique” of the Pure Yang Palace, only to be used when fighting for one’s life.

That would make sense.

But looking at Zhou Heng’s expression now, it seemed… not the case?

“Limitations?” Zhou Heng shook his head and smiled, “Indeed, there are some, but the problem is not big, and recovery is quite easy, the seniors need not worry.”

In fact, under normal circumstances, explosive secret techniques like the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique would require sacrificing nearly eighty percent of one’s life to achieve a twentyfold increase in strength.

But when combined with the Eight Gates of Life and Death, it’s different, as the technique can be layered repeatedly, forcibly ratcheting up the boost in strength while also reducing the final damage incurred.

With Zhou Heng’s current condition, a thirtyfold increase in strength would result in self-inflicted damage comparable to just a burst appendix.

This kind of inconsequential organ only needs to be nourished with Longevity True Energy for a quarter of an hour to regrow.

It’s no big deal.

After receiving Zhou Heng’s definitive answer, both Lan Ying and Lan Yingzhi couldn’t help but be momentarily stunned.

The others present also fell silent.

Outside the heated forge, the atmosphere suddenly became quiet.

People instinctively looked up at the sky.

Good Lord, is it time for you to check on this person in front of us??

“`

Thorough Investigation!

…

Outside Eight-sided Mountain, even from the high skies, the fire from the Lan Family’s forging furnace could be seen.

Chen Tianpeng, looking down, asked Qiu Yu, “Sister Qiu, is Zhou Heng really that formidable? That he could send He Yanghui flying with a rebound without moving an inch, is he truly just at the Secret Six Rank?”

As one of the few within the Heaven Sword Sect who were as famous as He Yanghui, he was very clear that even if his strength were a little superior to He Yanghui, it was very limited and absolutely impossible to do something so inconceivable.

It was too exaggerated.

If he hadn’t seen He Yanghui’s miserable state and the huge crack on the Taoguang Sword with his own eyes, as well as heard the account from Qiu Yu herself, he would not dare believe such an incident.

A mere Secret Six Rank, how could it be possible!

“Yes, Sister Qiu,” Wang Su also inquired, “Even if Zhou Heng is the reincarnation of a great being, surely he cannot possess such an exaggerated strength, it’s too preposterous.”

“Since he’s the reincarnation of a great being, could the technique he used to defeat Brother He be a contingency from his former life?” Ji Hong speculated with slightly furrowed brows, “If that’s the case, it would make sense for him to be able to defeat Brother He while only at the Secret Six Rank.”

“Indeed, it’s possible.”

Both Chen Tianpeng and Wang Su agreed with this statement; if it was a contingency left behind by the reincarnation of a great being, then it would be a power far exceeding the limits of the Sect Fifth Rank, and it would be normal for He Yanghui to lose.

“Are you comforting yourselves?” Qiu Yu said gravely, “I can tell you clearly that it wasn’t any contingency left by the reincarnation of a great being, but a Taoist Formula, a pure Taoist Formula deployed using Xuanhuang Merit Energy.”

Xuanhuang Merit Energy?!

Upon hearing this, Chen Tianpeng, Wang Su, and Ji Hong were all greatly shocked. Xuanhuang Merit Energy was one of the Innate Five Virtues, extremely difficult to refine, and related skills were at the very least at the Fourth Rank Absolute level.

Moreover, in their understanding, even the Divine Skills and Secret Techniques related to the Innate Five Virtues only touched upon them slightly at best, adding a mere accent to the original Martial Arts or Taoist Formulas.

However, according to Qiu Yu, the Taoist Formula that Zhou Heng used was one purely deployed using Xuanhuang Merit Energy, which was beyond belief. Were there such Taoist Formulas in the world?

“Even so, with his cultivation at the True Energy Realm, it still doesn’t make sense that he could rebound Brother He with just a Taoist Formula to such an extent, does it?” Chen Tianpeng still found it somewhat unbelievable.

“Have you forgotten? I mentioned that Zhou Heng has a strange secret technique that can instantly boost his strength by thirty times,” Qiu Yu intoned deeply, “No matter what, we must not take him lightly.

“However, you must not be fearful. Although the secret technique Zhou Heng used to boost his strength is astonishing, it definitely has its limitations, and it might even consume the essence. It’s been only a few days now; he shouldn’t be able to deploy it with full power again.”

She added the last sentence as if worried that her portrayal of Zhou Heng’s strength might frighten her junior nephews.

“Understood, Sister. Don’t worry; we got it,” Chen Tianpeng nodded.

Wang Su and Ji Hong also concurred with this viewpoint.

It was a secret technique that could instantly enhance strength by thirty times; how could it possibly be used casually? It was utterly impossible.

“They’re coming out,” Ji Hong’s eyes lit up, noticing Zhou Heng, Lan Ying, and Lan Yingzhi flying out from inside Eight-sided Mountain.

“Prepare for battle!” Qiu Yu commanded in a deep voice.

“Yes!” The three responded in unison, readying themselves for the confrontation.

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Heng and his companions arrived above the clouds, facing Qiu Yu and her group.

“Qiu Yu, what are your intentions?” Lan Ying asked.

“I won’t waste words with you,” Qiu Yu responded directly, “Hand over our sect’s Divine Artifact, the ‘Dazzling Yang Brilliance Mirror’. If you comply, the Heaven Sword Sect can let bygones be bygones; otherwise…”