I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 354: Chapter 74: Unobstructed Jia Ye Temple

“Oh?”

Zhou Heng’s eyebrows slightly raised as he chuckled, “And how did you come to that conclusion?”

The date-red horse shook its head, glanced at the monk, snorted loudly, and immediately, snot sprayed out, landing on the monk’s clothing.

However, the monk did not get angry. He put his hands together in a gesture of respect and smiled, “I am a true disciple of Jia Ye Temple, my dharma name is Shan Yuan. Observing this horse, its movements are like a dragon, its vitality like the seas and rivers, truly not of the ordinary, thus it is predestined with our Buddha Sect.”

Zhou Heng chuckled slightly, patted the date-red horse beside him, “You’ve said so much, Master, but what exactly do you wish to do? You might as well speak plainly.”

“Then I shall speak directly,” Shan Yuan monk replied with his hands together, his attitude very humble, “A few days ago, I unfortunately lost my horse, which caused me great pain. I could not eat, nor could I sleep at night.

“Today, when I saw the excellent horse of the benefactor, I felt as if destiny had arrived and my spirit had recovered. Please, benefactor, bestow this excellent horse upon me to ease my heart’s ailment.”

“…” Zhou Heng fell silent for a moment and looked at Shan Yuan monk again, then laughed, “I really didn’t see it, Master, you’ve lost your horse?”

“Yes, I’ve lost my horse,” Shan Yuan monk nodded happily, “After my horse was lost, I was in such agony. Please, benefactor, be kind and gift me this spirited horse, how about it?”

“How can you be so thick-skinned and shameless, yet speak so confidently? You’re trying to steal my mount,” Zhou Heng was almost laughing from anger. Do monks from Jia Ye Temple have no sense? Who asks for a mount outright in the street?

This is outright robbery.

At first, Zhou Heng thought that even if Shan Yuan monk was being unreasonable, at most he would just want to forcefully buy the date-red horse, but he didn’t expect the monk to have the shamelessness to directly attempt to rob it.

Is it the monk’s own problem, or the practice of Jia Ye Temple?

“The benefactor jests; I’m not a bandit. How could I steal your mount?” Shan Yuan monk continued with a smile, “I’ve lost my horse, so I’m out begging. It just so happens that the benefactor’s horse is predestined with our Buddha, that’s all.”

“What if I said I do not wish to give this horse to you, Master?” Zhou Heng said in a serious tone.

“Then I shall seek other predestined horses,” Shan Yuan monk put his hands together, made a slight bow, “Farewell.”

With that, he actually turned and walked away.

It seemed as if he truly no longer held any expectations for the date-red horse.

“Good Jia Ye Temple, good Shan Yuan monk,” Zhou Heng’s eyes narrowed as he watched the monk’s retreating figure, a cold smile appearing on his face.

Shan Yuan monk appeared to have given up and left, but in fact, he had secretly left a backup plan.

While bowing farewell just now, he left a wisp of his divine soul imprinted on the date-red horse.

As long as this mark remained, no matter where the date-red horse went, he would be able to sense it.

Clearly, he hadn’t given up his thieving intentions towards the date-red horse.

“Knowing full well that I have the cultivation of Secret Six Rank and still acting so unbridled, it seems they are used to being arrogant,” Zhou Heng thought to himself.

He had not hidden his cultivation aura on purpose. With Shan Yuan monk’s True Gang Realm cultivation, he should be able to easily discern his cultivation realm.

Although Shan Yuan monk appeared very humble on the surface, his actions and words carried an unquestionable tone, completely disregarding Zhou Heng, and he had already regarded the date-red horse as his own.

Normally, no matter how arrogant a martial artist might be, they wouldn’t, like Shan Yuan monk, shamelessly demand things from other martial artists of the same realm.

It was clear robbery and could easily lead to conflict.

Shan Yuan monk dared to act this way essentially because he felt that Zhou Heng would absolutely not dare to conflict with him.

And his own cultivation realm certainly wasn’t sufficient to underpin such bravado.

Clearly, it was Jia Ye Temple, the sect he belonged to, that gave him the capital to be arrogant.

“First, I will find Jiang Jian and see how she is doing, then inquire about news on the Hundred Halls Diagram of Yao Palace,” Zhou Heng led the date-red horse away from the dock, thinking to himself, “At the same time, I’ll find out about the influence of Jia Ye Temple within Yujian Mansion City.”

Originally, he had planned to wait until he reached the core area of Jia Ye Temple’s influence before taking action, but now that a monk from Jia Ye Temple had delivered himself to his doorstep, he wasn’t going to be polite.

…

Walking on the streets of Yujian Mansion City, Zhou Heng drew quite a bit of attention.

Many young girls kept turning back to look at him, their faces blushing.

With his exceptional handsomeness, and having stepped onto Secret Six Rank, Zhou Heng had undergone a transformation, gaining an even more elegant and carefree air.

Such charm was irresistible to ordinary young girls.

However, for such situations, Zhou Heng had long grown accustomed. He led the date-red horse slowly, his expression as usual.

At this moment, he was passing through a street market where stalls on both sides were selling a wide variety of goods, offering everything imaginable, with many citizens strolling and shopping.

This indeed showed how prosperous and wealthy Yujian Mansion City was.

“Hey, take a look! Top-quality fruit candies, a complete range of flavors, sweet as honey!”

A hawker’s voice came from not far away.

Zhou Heng felt a slight impulse and led the date-red horse over, looked at the colorful blocks of sugar on the stall, and grinned, “Shopkeeper, how do you sell these candies?”

“One piece of copper for one, you can choose the flavor, honey peach, honeydew, honey fruit…” Seeing that Zhou Heng looked distinguished and no ordinary person, the stall owner was very enthusiastic and detailed in his introduction.

Such customers often had no experience with ordinary fruit candies and were likely to buy a lot.

“Then give me candies worth two pieces of silver,” Zhou Heng took out a piece of broken silver and placed it on the stall, smiling, “As for the flavors, give me a bit of each kind.”

“Alright!!” The stall owner was overjoyed, his smile nearly overflowing. He hurriedly took the silver and filled up a large bag of fruit candies for Zhou Heng.

Two pieces of silver were more than what he could usually earn in three to five days of hawking. Now, in a single deal, he made this much, a true windfall.

Indeed, to get rich in business, one must rely on big customers.

Zhou Heng, watching the stall owner’s happy demeanor, couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sentiment.

More than a year ago, he was just like this stall owner, frequently overjoyed at earning an extra piece or two of silver.

The time had changed, and it was no longer as it once was.

Zhou Heng left with a bag of candied fruit, making his way toward the Yujian Inn in the southern district of the city.

That was the most luxurious inn within Yujian Mansion City, and if his guess was right, Cheng Jianjian should be staying there.

Cheng Jianjian was certainly not short of money, so naturally, she would stay in the best possible environment.

As expected, as soon as Zhou Heng arrived outside the Yujian Inn, he caught sight of a familiar graceful figure.

Cheng Jianjian was still radiant, exceptionally bright and beautiful.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

As soon as she stepped out of the inn, she attracted the attention of nearly everyone on the street, captivating both men and women alike.

“Ah?” Cheng Jianjian also spotted Zhou Heng, first startled, then smiling gently, “Young Master, it’s been a long time, what brings you to Yujian Mansion as well?”

Outside of Taihua Mount, she didn’t call Zhou Heng “little uncle master.”

“I have business in Luozhou, and just happened to be passing by. To think I would have such a fortuitous encounter, this is Zhou Wei’s good fortune,” Zhou Heng smiled back, “Jiang… uh, Miss, are you well?”

“Cheng Bei is indeed well,” Cheng Jianjian smiled, announcing her alias in Southern Jin, the same she used in the Divine Soul World, “It’s inconvenient to talk here, shall we go upstairs and sit for a while, Young Master?”

“Sure,” Zhou Heng nodded.

Afterward, the two entered the inn, and Zhou Heng reserved one of the top-tier Heaven rooms and had the innkeeper take his red date horse to the stables.

The people on the street, witnessing Zhou Heng and Cheng Jianjian entering the inn side by side, beat their chests and stamped their feet in regret, but after a second thought, it seemed rather normal.

These two were a perfect match, standing together!

…

In the inn room, Zhou Heng and Cheng Jianjian sat opposite each other.

“How’s the matter with Ning Clan of Yujian going?” Zhou Heng asked with concern.

Cheng Jianjian’s purpose for coming here was to fulfill an appointment to challenge Ning Zeyu, the “Jade Palace Heavenly Maiden” of the Ning Clan of Yujian.

By now, considering the time, she should have been here for a while.

“We haven’t crossed hands yet; in fact, I haven’t even seen her,” Cheng Jianjian shook her head slightly and pointed at the sky, “Because of this, Ning Zeyu has been preparing and avoiding the battle.”

“Jade Palace Hundred Halls Map?” Zhou Heng understood Cheng Jianjian’s meaning.

“Yes, that’s right,” Cheng Jianjian nodded lightly, “This Jade Palace Hundred Halls Map is said to be a Tao Lord-level Divine Artifact, and it’s also said to contain countless precious treasures and divine skills.

“Now that the treasure map is about to be unsealed, both Secret Sixth Rank and Sect Fifth Rank martial artists within Yujian Mansion City are preparing. Those with Star Tear Stones are preparing to explore, and those without are preparing to seize the Star Tear Stones from others.”

“Then it seems Yujian Mansion City won’t be very peaceful for a while,” Zhou Heng said gravely, “There must already be many martial artists from outside who have come here, huh, I guess I’m one of them.”

“Yes, quite a few have already arrived,” Cheng Jianjian nodded, “There are thirty-six Star Tear Stones, which means at least thirty-six martial artists of at least Secret Sixth Rank to Sect Fifth Rank will be congregating here.”

“For a prefectural city, the number of Middle Third Rank martial artists has already exceeded the limits of what it can accommodate,” Zhou Heng pondered aloud. “If anything unexpected happens, I fear there might be serious trouble.”

“It is said that the lord of the city has already sought reinforcements from Kunzhou’s Prefectural Governor, but it remains to be seen what will eventually be done,” Jiang Jian noted. “However, it seems certain that the opening of the Hundred Halls Map of the Yao Palace is set in stone…”

As she spoke, she suddenly laughed, “Actually, I’m somewhat looking forward to it. I have a slight feeling that the situation inside the Hundred Halls Map of the Yao Palace might be beneficial to my cultivation of the ‘Jade Sky Lingxu Sutra’.”

“Do you have a star tear stone?” Zhou Heng asked in surprise, knowing that there were only thirty-six star tear stones in total, scattered all over the world, making them incredibly rare.

“Yes, I have one,” Jiang Jian nodded, taking out a star tear stone. “Are you interested, young master? I can give you mine.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Zhou Heng also produced a star tear stone, smiling. “I’ve got one as well.”

“That’s great, then we can go in together,” Jiang Jian’s smile bloomed like a flower, visibly delighted. “Working together, we should reap much greater rewards.”

“Together, we should surpass everyone else!” Zhou Heng laughed as well, saying, “What are your plans after we come out from the Yao Palace’s Hundred Halls Map?”

“To continue challenging Ning Zeyu,” Jiang Jian said earnestly. “She trapped me in the past; that’s a knot in my heart that I must untie by defeating her. What about you, what are your plans?”

“Of course, to find trouble for Jia Ye Temple,” Zhou Heng said with a laugh. “Back then, Jia Ye Temple brazenly invaded Yuzhou, so arrogantly. Now, naturally, I plan to repay them in kind, with interest!”

“Hmm, good idea! If by then I’ve finished battling Ning Zeyu, I’ll join you,” Jiang Jian said, quite moved by the notion and then she changed the subject. “Actually, there are quite a few forces of Jia Ye Temple inside Yujian Mansion City; there are six martial arts halls.”

“Oh?” Zhou Heng raised his eyebrows in slight surprise, not expecting Jia Ye Temple’s influence to reach so far.

The monastic quarters of Jia Ye Temple were near the center of Southern Jin, in Luozhou, far from Kunzhou, with both Suizhou and Ganzhou lying in between.

Though it’s only two weeks apart, in reality, it spans hundreds of thousands of miles, which is quite a distance indeed. Under normal circumstances, such a vast distance would presumably already border other sects or noble families’ sphere of influence.

In Da Qi, the sphere of influence of a top-tier sect or noble family usually encompasses the neighboring provinces and counties, with very little impact on places two or three provinces away.

Even for Pure Yang Palace, the strongest sect in Da Qi, their influence is quite limited three or four provinces away, let alone setting up a large number of martial arts halls.

The fact that Huangtong Mansion City has established a Pure Yang Martial Arts Hall at all is completely an outlier.

“Jia Ye Temple is different from us,” Jiang Jian explained. “When they establish martial arts halls, they also hold public sermons to gather followers. Essentially, they are proselytizing, which naturally leads to rapid expansion.”

“Has this always been their practice, or is it a recent development?” Zhou Heng asked, puzzled. Logically speaking, for a top Martial Dao sect, their range of influence shouldn’t be that significant.

Normally, top Martial Dao sects care about Upper Third Rank powers, divine artifacts, and divine skill inheritances. Having their own nearby provinces and counties as a base should be more than enough in terms of territory.”

“I’ve inquired about Jia Ye Temple after arriving in Southern Jin, and it seems that they started expanding aggressively only in the past two or three years,” Jiang Jian said with a grave voice. “But what is strange is that the local powers of Southern Jin don’t seem to want to stop Jia Ye Temple’s expansion.”

“Even those whose sphere of influence is encroached upon have not stopped them?” Zhou Heng asked, surprised. “Is it because they’re all minor sects and families?”

“No,” Jiang Jian shook her head lightly. “Among them are some of the current world’s top Martial Dao Sects and noble families, such as Tianyi Sect and the Liu Family of Wuzhou. They have all conceded territory to Jia Ye Temple.”

“That is indeed strange,” Zhou Heng frowned slightly, saying, “Considering such aggressive expansion by Jia Ye Temple, there must be something else at play. If I really go to cause them trouble, the obstacles may be significant.”

“So, what do you intend to do?” Jiang Jian asked with a light smile.

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