I Cheated While Cultivating

The words of the Taiwei Monarch were like a massive stone thrown into a calm lake, creating thousands of ripples.

They startled the numerous Star Officers standing below the jade steps.

No one expected the Taiwei Monarch to suddenly make such a statement, nor to give such a high appraisal of the Ziwei Master from Northern Qi.

Indeed, before the appearance of the Taiwei Monarch, the Zhou Tian Boundary Officers of Southern Jin also considered the position of the Ziwei Master as the master of the Three Enclosures and the Twenty-Eight Mansions.

However, with the emergence of the Taiwei Monarch, this power, far superior to the normal position of a Star Officer, deeply shocked all the Star Officers of Southern Jin.

Consequently, it became only natural for everyone to regard the Ziwei Master of Da Qi as no different from the core of a single enclosure, the Ziwei Monarch, and no longer considered Da Qi’s “Ziwei Monarch” to be of higher rank than their “Taiwei Monarch.”

Much to their surprise, the Taiwei Monarch now suddenly refuted this view.

“What do you mean by this, Taiwei Monarch?”

A Star Officer stood out, his mask bearing the images of five figures, each with distinctive shapes.

This was the Star Officer known as “Five Feudal Lords,” representing a high-ranking Star Officer position, symbolizing five lords: the Emperor’s Teacher, the Emperor’s Friend, the Three Public Officers, the Scholars, and the Historians.

Moreover, he was a Celestial Man, holding a not insignificant status within the Zhou Tian Boundary Officers of Southern Jin.

Yet even such a high-standing Celestial Man Star Officer seemed wary of the Taiwei Monarch, who held only the Absolute Fourth Rank, noticeably adopting a lower stance.

“Has the Five Feudal Lords not understood?” The Taiwei Monarch laughed again, slowly descending the jade steps, his body enveloped in increasingly dense starlight, “A Ziwei Emperor of the Secret Sixth Rank, the master of Three Enclosures and the Twenty-Eight Mansions, don’t you find that laughable?”

“Please enlighten us, Taiwei Monarch,” the Five Feudal Lords said, their spirits trembling slightly under an immense pressure.

This was the oppressive feeling inherent to their starry positions, which was not as noticeable in the outside world. Yet, before the Taiwei Palace, within the enclosure of Taiwei, this pressure was amplified to the extreme.

“Then I shall make it clear to you, and to everyone here,” the Taiwei Monarch spread his arms wide, starlight scattering and filling the enclosure of Taiwei, his voice echoing throughout this vast world.

“The Emperor Star is dimmed, and I shall replace it!”

…

Jin State.

It is one of the four eastern coastal states of Da Qi, thriving in fisheries, but also engaging in trade with the nations of the Eastern Sea, bustling with activity.

On any given day, one could see a constant stream of merchants coming and going from any coastal prefectural city.

But now it has become quite desolate. Never mind foreign merchants, even many locals hardly ever leave their homes, keeping their doors and windows firmly shut.

In the past, one could often see exotic races from the nations of the Eastern Sea on the streets, but now their traces have vanished.

—Exotic races are also part of the Human Race, only they have distinctly different physical features compared to ordinary humans.

For instance, the winged people with wings on their ribs, the shadow people who can turn into shadows, giants reaching over three meters in height upon maturity, the diminutive people who never grow taller than a foot, and the Sunlight Tribe, who can absorb sunlight to enlarge their bodies…

Actually, all these exotic races were once humans. The reason for their distinct abnormal physical features, it is said, is due to some taboo magic from before the Middle Ancient era, during the Dark Age, which experimented on and altered human bodies.

During the Middle Ancient period, with the fall of the Dark Era, these initially considered mere war machines or slaves were, with the support of the Nine Saints, once again granted the rights of humans.

However, due to the large differences in physical appearance and ideologies from ordinary humans, most of these exotic races migrated overseas and gradually formed the nations of the Eastern Sea, as they are known today.

…

Jin State, Tongyun Prefectural City.

Originally the most prosperous among the nine prefectural cities along the coast of Jin State, it now seemed quite desolate. The once bustling streets had become extremely quiet, with hardly any pedestrians in sight.

At this time, only two young women dressed in Daoist robes were walking side by side. They moved at a stop-and-go pace, pausing from time to time to observe their surroundings, as if they were investigating something.

It was Qi Rui and her disciple, Cheng Jianjian.

“Master, it seems that there is no trace of demon entities’ aura here,” said Cheng Jianjian, frowning.

“Demon entities exist between reality and void, adept in concealing their tracks. We must not take this lightly,” Qi Rui replied with a serious expression and admonished in a deep voice, “Let’s keep looking.”

They had come here to slay demon entities.

A month ago, Qi Rui received reports that many of the properties owned by the Pure Yang Palace in the eastern coastal states had suffered unexplained attacks, and some had even been exterminated, with the Grandmasters dispatched to investigate having gone missing.

Therefore, she took Cheng Jianjian down the mountain to Jin State, intending to investigate the truth while also giving Cheng Jianjian the opportunity to gain experience and, when appropriate, to enhance her combat skills.

At first, things went quite smoothly. The two soon uncovered the truth—it was the doing of a sinister Grandmaster from the Yunxiao Heavenly Palace.

However, when this sinister Grandmaster was on the verge of being defeated, he employed some unknown method that attracted a Sect Fifth Rank demon entity. This demon put the entire town’s population to sleep on the spot and escaped through their dreams.

Now, Qi Rui and Cheng Jianjian were in pursuit of this demon entity.

Wherever this demon passed, it not only caused a large number of people to fall into a deep sleep but also devoured the vitality of the surrounding area, causing flowers, grass, and trees to wither and even people to be drained of their essence.

Qi Rui and her disciple, Cheng Jianjian, were following these traces.

“Master, I’ve thought of a problem,” Cheng Jianjian suddenly stopped and said in a grave tone, “We’ve been chasing the traces of that demon all this time, haven’t we?”

“Yes,” Qi Rui looked at her disciple, puzzled, “Is there a problem?”

“What if we look at it from a different angle?” Cheng Jianjian observed their surroundings and continued gravely, “Is it possible that, in fact, the demon has been leading us all along?”

“…” Qi Rui fell silent upon hearing this, then nodded, “Indeed, that’s possible.” Yet she gave a bitter smile and added, “But that would be a transparent stratagem. Can we really just ignore it and allow it to harm living beings?”

“This…” Cheng Jianjian also felt somewhat helpless and could only shake her head lightly, “No, Master, let’s continue our pursuit. There’s probably nothing here, let’s move ahead.”

“Ahead is Ningyu Town. A year ago, it was a quite prosperous town, but after a great disaster, the whole town turned into mummified corpses overnight,” Qi Rui said gravely, “Perhaps that demon is trying to lead us there. Be very careful.”

“Understood, rest assured, Master,” Cheng Jianjian nodded.

…

On Taihua Mount, atop the Jade Vacuity Golden Peak.

The previously calm sea of clouds suddenly began to churn violently, like the waves of the sea.

Simultaneously, a burst of pure Qi rushed out of a side hall on the Golden Peak, filled with the true intent of Holy Virtue.

This was followed by a burst of white Qi, the light of Yin Virtue.

Lastly, a stream of Daoist Virtue Qi that merged black and white spiraled into the air, gathering the pure Qi and white Qi together.

Holy Virtue, Yin Virtue, Daoist Virtue!

These three extraordinary types of Qi intertwined with each other, fused into one, and gradually began to outline the form of a Jade Ruyi.

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