I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 429: Chapter 148: The Ancient Apocalypse Mythology

Huo Qingyun’s sudden action startled Zhai Gang and the other two mansion lords, prompting them to look at the paper effigy with astonishment and queer expressions.

“Lord Huo, have you really lost your mind?” Zhai Gang mocked, “It’s just a paper effigy, who can you possibly summon with that? A senior immortal from the Pure Yang Palace? Stop joking around!”

“Brother Zhai, why don’t you try cutting out a paper figure too, and see if you can summon experts from the Five Elements Sect or Heavenly Fire Manor?” The other two mansion lords burst into laughter as well, clearly disbelieving that Huo Qingyun could really call someone from the Pure Yang Palace with just a paper figure.

In fact, Huo Qingyun himself felt somewhat nervous.

After all, creating soldiers from paper was a Taoist Formula, a method scarcely understood by the world, and even though he was a lord of a mansion, a martial expert of the Secret Six Rank, he knew very little about Taoist Formulas and was uncertain whether he could really use the paper effigy to summon Zhou Heng.

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At that moment, a trembling sound came out of nowhere.

The space ripples like the surface of water, bringing with it an extremely powerful pressure that left Zhai Gang and the other two mansion lords gasping for air.

“Greetings to Immortal Zhou Heng!” Huo Qingyun immediately rejoiced, promptly bowing in salute.

The paper effigy then lightly trembled, shining a blinding bright light, and swiftly transformed into a human figure the size of an ordinary person.

After a brief moment, the light dissipated, revealing a handsome young Taoist.

It was indeed Zhou Heng.

“This, this is…”

“Truly an immortal from the Pure Yang Palace?!”

“How is this possible?!”

Huo Qingyun and the other two mansion lords were dumbfounded, staring incredulously at the young Taoist who had just appeared, a magical method they had never seen before.

“I presume you three are the mansion lords neighboring Huangtong Mansion,” Zhou Heng spoke with a smile, seemingly without hostility, his demeanor affable.

“That’s correct, it is indeed us,” Zhai Gang and the other two mansion lords nodded, their voices trembling.

Even though Zhou Heng appeared very friendly and did not seem ready to make a move, the tremendous pressure he emanated from the moment of his arrival put the three mansion lords under immense strain, feeling like they could collapse at any moment.

“I heard from Lord Huo earlier that you had occupied three counties of my homeland?” Zhou Heng’s inquiry seemed as casual as any other question as he smiled, “Is this true?”

“No, no, no! There has been no such thing, absolutely not!”

Zhai Gang immediately shook his head, vehemently denying it, “Our Qingyu Prefecture was merely borrowing the land, just borrowing, with no intention of occupying it. Now that we have alarmed the immortal, we will leave at once.”

“We feel the same, we also had no intention of occupying it, and we will leave immediately!”

“Yes, yes, yes, we had no such intention, please excuse us, Immortal, we will withdraw from your homeland as swiftly as possible.”

The other two mansion lords also quickly clarified their positions.

Not daring any delay.

“Hold on,” Zhou Heng stopped the three, shaking his head with a smile, “Does borrowing land mean you do not need to pay a price? Where in the world is there such a good deal? What do you think?”

“This…” Zhai Gang and the other two assistants glanced at each other, their faces displaying smiles uglier than crying, “We, we’ll negotiate proper compensation with Lord Huo.”

“That would be best,” Zhou Heng nodded slightly, and the incarnated paper figure lightly shook again, returning to its normal paper effigy form and fluttering in the air.

“Thank you, Immortal!” Huo Qingyun expressed his gratitude while carefully storing away the paper figure, then turned to Zhai Gang and the others, smiling, “Lords, do you believe me now?”

“…” Zhai Gang and the other two were at a loss for words, only able to hang their heads and sigh, until Zhai Gang finally spoke, “Lord Huo, how do you wish to proceed?”

They were now regretting deeply, never expecting such an outcome.

Not only had they failed to seize the territory of Huangtong Mansion, but now they might also have to give up a lot in return.

“I, Huo, believe in repaying tooth for tooth, eye for eye,” Huo Qingyun said gravely, “Since you lords once sought to take my three counties, why not now give up three of your counties each and cede them to Huangtong Mansion, how about that?”

“You…”

“This…”

“Huo…”

All three wanted to curse out loud, but they stopped after uttering just one syllable, swallowing the rest of their words.

They dared not speak out.

The severity of Zhou Heng’s presence was truly terrifying; they never wanted to experience it a second time.

“Fine!”

In the end, they could only grit their teeth and agree.

They had no choice; the circumstances overpowered them, as the other side had the backing of a powerful figure, and their own side did not. The balance of power had reversed in an instant.

“Good, I hope you lords will keep your word,” Huo Qingyun said with a smile.

He had not anticipated that the matter would be resolved so easily; initially, he thought that even if Zhou Heng’s incarnation arrived through the paper effigy, there would likely need to be a show of force.

But Zhou Heng had merely spoken a few words, and completely suppressed Zhai Gang and the other two, obliterating their will to resist.

Such power was terrifying indeed, worthy of one capable of directly slaying a Loose Immortal.

Impressive indeed!

…

At this point, Zhou Heng had already left the Central Continent, boarding a merchant ship bound for the Jade Pearl Kingdom in the Eastern Sea.

Admittedly, he could have flown to the Eastern Sea alone and conducted the investigation about the Thirty-Six Heavens and the Demon Entities of the Evil God by himself, but such an approach would be too detached from everyday life and ordinary people.

It would be easy to overlook many details.

Prior to this, Zhou Heng had thoroughly reviewed information about the Eastern Sea at the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer and the Pure Yang Palace, gaining considerable understanding of the entire Eastern Sea, including its nations, Loose Immortal forces, and more.

Yet, the things he was searching for could not be found through these superficial pieces of information.

Neither the Evil God nor the Demon Entities, nor any clues about the fallen Ancient Heavenly Court, were hinted at in these superficial records, devoid of even the faintest lead.

If he were to search directly without a plan, it would be like exploring everywhere without any strategy, akin to a headless fly bumping around, with low efficiency and unlikely to yield any results.

In the absence of clues from conventional sources, Zhou Heng naturally turned his attention to some traditional myths and folk tales from the Eastern Sea kingdoms.

These stories, often passed down orally, might have been around for a long time; some might even be traced back to the distant Ancient Era, potentially holding the clues Zhou Heng was looking for.

Therefore, he chose a merchant ship traveling from the shore of the Eastern Sea to a sea kingdom to board for his journey.

This would help him fully understand the local residents’ perspectives on the Eastern Sea kingdoms, as well as some of the folk tales that were circulated there.

…

The merchant ship wasn’t fast, taking five days to travel from the shore of the Eastern Sea to the Jade Pearl Kingdom.

Consequently, the ship was equipped with a dedicated living area and stocked with an abundance of meals, providing sustenance for the sailors and passengers.

Zhou Heng had planned to ask the sailors for information about the Eastern Sea kingdoms, but unexpectedly encountered a foreigner from overseas on the ship.

A woman from the Winged-people Tribe, with wings growing from her ribs and delicate, beautiful features.

——Though they are also part of the Human Race, these foreigners are distinguished by physical traits markedly different from the common populace, arising from various reasons tied to their ancestors in ancient times.

For instance, the winged people with wings sprouting from their ribs, the shadow people who can transform into shadows, the giants who grow over three meters tall upon reaching adulthood, the dwarfs who at their tallest never exceed one foot, and the Sunlight Tribe who can absorb sunlight to magnify their stature…

All of these are actually part of the Human Race.

Foreigners are rarely seen in the Central Plains, but in coastal regions like Jin State, they are not so uncommon.

Nonetheless, this was Zhou Heng’s first encounter with a foreigner, and he couldn’t help but take a few more glances.

“Are you curious about me?” The Winged-woman turned her head and glared at Zhou Heng before saying, “If you dare stare like that at others when you reach the Eastern Sea kingdoms, be careful or someone might gouge out your eyeballs!”

“Oh?” Zhou Heng walked over with a light laugh, “It seems the lady is quite familiar with the Eastern Sea kingdoms?”

“Not exactly familiar, just a little bit.” The Winged-woman glanced at Zhou Heng aloofly and said indifferently, “What is it, you want to come to me for information?”

“You’ve seen right through me,” Zhou Heng nodded lightly with a smile, “Indeed, I have matters to attend to in the Eastern Sea kingdoms and I want to understand the local situation, please inform me.”

He could tell that despite her unkind tone, her intention was good; she was reminding him to watch his behavior upon reaching the Eastern Sea kingdoms, to avoid bringing trouble upon himself.

In the Central Plains, it is the foreigners who appear unusual compared to the common Human Race, but in the Eastern Sea kingdoms, the standard Human Race appearance becomes ‘foreign’. Furthermore, being far from home and separated from one’s kin, any trouble could have dire consequences, even leading to the loss of life.

Therefore, the lady must have a decent nature, and it would be okay to ask her some questions.

“So, what do you want to ask?”

The Winged-woman found a bench to sit down, casually looking at Zhou Heng. She said, “But looking at you, you are quite young, newly adult by your Human Race’s standards. What could make you leave your homeland for overseas?”

“Because I have something very important to investigate,” Zhou Heng replied with complete honesty, and inquired, “I would like to ask, are there any legends about world-ending destruction and doomsday that circulate in the Eastern Sea kingdoms?”

According to Jiang Er, at the end of the Ancient Era, the Heavenly Court fell, the heavens collapsed, and the world looked like a scene from the apocalypse. This must have caused an incredibly deep fear in the ancients, and if any descriptions survived, they would likely be related to legends of world destruction.

Thus, starting the investigation from apocalyptic legends should be a promising direction.

“Oh, I get it,” the Winged-woman looked at Zhou Heng as if she had an epiphany, her smile tinged with mockery, “So you want to go preach in the Eastern Sea kingdoms?”

“Preach?” Zhou Heng was momentarily taken aback, then smiled and said, “If the lady prefers to think of it that way, then so be it.”

About the preacher, he had some understanding.

Hidden sects were not few in the states of the Central Continent, not only secretly spreading and developing followers within the Central Continent but sometimes also venturing overseas, attempting to preach abroad and gather a group of overseas devotees.

These hidden sects were both righteous and evil, with diverse objectives, making it hard to distinguish good from bad.

Thus, except for some overly conspicuous sects, the Great Sects and noble families generally turned a blind eye, hardly interfering.

This winged girl worked on merchant ships, commuting between the Central Continent and the countries of the Eastern Sea, and must have seen many such preachers, so it was actually quite normal for her to mistake him as one too.

“I don’t have a bad impression of preachers, so I’ll tell you about it,” the winged girl said with a much friendlier attitude and a smile, “Let’s start with the apocalyptic myth of our Winged-people tribe.

“It is said that a long, long time ago, the sky was divided into thirty-six layers, and each layer had a Divine King who ruled everything, holding sway over all the laws between heaven and earth, as well as over all living beings.

“Then one day, black lightning appeared in the sky, and huge red fireballs fell, plunging the world into darkness, shattering the thirty-six-layered sky, and the Divine Kings died one after the other.

“Since then, everything on earth would also turn to ashes, eventually becoming nothing, and the world would return to silence. A True God would awaken from the void and create a brand new world, bringing to life new beings.

“It’s roughly like that.”

“Everything on earth will also turn to ashes, eventually becoming nothing, and the world will return to silence?” Zhou Heng squinted his eyes slightly upon hearing this and chuckled, “But isn’t the world still fine as it is now?”

“Think about it, ‘everything on earth will turn to ashes,’ which means that the world we live in now is in the process of turning into ashes,” explained the winged girl, “However, I don’t really believe it. A myth is just a myth after all.”

“Then who exactly is the True God who will create the new world in the end?” Zhou Heng continued to ask.

The information he had obtained earlier in Jiang Tafa did not mention this point about creating a new world.

At that time, Jiang Tafa only mentioned that after the Ancient Era, all creatures believed the end of days was imminent, and never discussed anything about a presence restarting everything after total destruction.

However, it could also not be excluded that this might just be the Winged-people’s modification to the apocalyptic myth, adding a glimmer of hope to an ultimately desperate conclusion.

“Who knows?” the winged girl shook her head and said, “Do you want to hear something else?”

“Please continue, miss,” Zhou Heng nodded and said.

“Then you have to pay the price,” the winged girl giggled, saying, “You don’t think I’ve been talking to you for so long because I think you’re good-looking, do you? I need to make a living.”

“…” Zhou Heng nodded, took out some gold pieces, and handed them to the winged girl, chuckling, “Miss is quite humorous.”

“If a storyteller isn’t interesting, who would listen, and where would they earn money, right?” The winged girl counted the gold pieces and praised, “They’re quite heavy! Fair enough, then I will tell you about the apocalyptic myth of the Sunlight Tribe…”

This winged girl, who had traveled on merchant ships across the Eastern Sea countries for many years and had a broad range of knowledge, went on to tell Zhou Heng seven apocalyptic myths in succession.

However, the descriptions of the flourishing scenes from the Ancient Era were actually not much different, generally speaking of the Thirty-Six Heavens, a gathering of gods and immortals, and the like.

The difference lay in the depiction of the scenes at the time of the end-time apocalypse in each myth.

For instance, the Winged-people’s description was “black lightning appeared in the sky, huge red fireballs fell, plunging the world into darkness, the thirty-six-layered sky shattered, and the Divine Kings died one after the other…”

While the Sunlight Tribe’s description was “above the thirty-six layers of the Heavenly Realm, the eternal sun suddenly extinguished one day, and the earth and the sky fell into perpetual night, the Heavenly Realm collapsed silently, and the earth too was about to break apart…”

The giants’ description was, “One by one, giant deities taller than mountain peaks fell from the sky, piercing through the barriers laid by the thirty-six-layered sky, crashing onto the earth, bleeding profusely, leaving scorched earth wherever they went, and eventually, the corpses of the gods would destroy the human world…”

“Could these be the different sights witnessed by the ancestors from different places when the Heavenly Court fell?” Zhou Heng fell into deep thought.