I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 257: Chapter 257: Sky-Earth Striking Method

Cheng Jianjian’s sudden appearance caused a slight change in Feng Shaoe’s expression.

Her gaze flickered, pondering briefly, and an innocuous expression appeared on her pretty face. She chuckled and said, “So it’s Sister Cheng. I certainly had no intention of challenging a celestial like you from the Jade Sky. Are you intending to challenge me instead?”

“Don’t call me sister, you’re probably older than I am.” However, Cheng Jianjian shook her head, saying, “I am simply here to fight you on behalf of my junior uncle. There’s no intention to challenge you. Should you choose to give up the challenge, feel free to leave directly.”

“It seems Master Zhou does not dare to fight with me, does he?” Feng Shaoe looked at Zhou Heng with a smile brimming in her eyes. She didn’t respond to Cheng Jianjian’s comment, instead, she taunted, “Otherwise, he wouldn’t be hiding behind Fairy Cheng now, would he?”

“Jianjian, let me do it.” Zhou Heng took a step forward.

“Junior Uncle, this is her provocation.” Cheng Jianjian gently shook her head and said, “There’s really no need for you to lay a hand on her.”

“Actually, I wasn’t planning to personally take action against her either.” Zhou Heng revealed a smile as he took out a paper figurine.

“What is this?” Cheng Jianjian was taken aback, having spent her time in the Demon Spirit World, she hadn’t seen Zhou Heng’s skill of turning paper into soldiers.

“Turning paper into soldiers.” Zhou Heng smiled, raised his hand, and flung the paper figurine into the air.

The paper figurine swelled as it met the wind, quickly growing to the size of Zhou Heng himself. It wobbled to a stand on the ground, assuming a stance ready to face Feng Shaoe.

“Such Taoist formulas?!” Cheng Jianjian’s eyes widened in astonishment, her face filled with shock. She knew what she was seeing, and was very clear about what Zhou Heng’s current move signified.

Taoist formulas!

Moreover, an incredibly profound, infinitely ingenious Taoist formula!

Apart from the miraculous Thunder Method he used, her junior uncle apparently knew other Taoist formulas. Could it be his previous life was that of a Taoist sage?

In this era, the inheritance of Taoist formulas was extremely rare. Those reaching the pinnacle as a Fourth Rank Great Grandmaster usually might only know one or two formulas, or possibly none at all.

Zhou Heng, not yet stepping into the realm of Secret Six Rank, astonishingly knew at least two Taoist formulas. It was truly shocking.

As for everyone else, they were even more flabbergasted. One by one, they stared with their mouths agape, unable to believe what was unfolding before their eyes.

Many people were desperately rubbing their eyes or slapping their own faces, trying to verify whether they were hallucinating or dreaming.

For the ordinary onlookers, as well as Lei Xiuyan, Lin Cang, and other common Martial Artists, such a feat of turning paper into soldiers, transforming with the wind, was simply unseen in their lifetime.

They had only ever heard such tales in storytelling sessions, never having imagined they might one day truly witness such a scene.

It was just too unbelievable.

Even Feng Shaoe, who had seen the ancient witchcraft, couldn’t help feeling extremely shocked when she saw the paper figurine assuming its stance, ready to unleash an attack.

“What a masterful Taoist technique. I hadn’t expected Master Zhou to have such a skill.” The smile on Feng Shaoe’s lovely face did not diminish, and her bright eyes seemed to twinkle like flowing light. “Then allow me to display a Witchcraft technique, for Master Zhou to enlighten me with.”

With these words, she wove her hands and formed a mudra, when suddenly a turquoise glow illuminated her eyes. Vines began to grow out of nowhere beneath the feet of the paper figurine, rapidly entwining to bind it.

This was a Witchcraft technique from the Youhuang Sect.

Unlike the principles of Taoist formulas, which invoke the laws of nature through special mudras or chants to draw forth power, Witchcraft uses similar techniques to harness the so-called ‘Witch Power’ contained within one’s own blood, thereby performing various extraordinary feats.

It’s difficult to say which is superior when comparing the two, but in terms of a complete heritage, the witchcraft of the Youhuang Sect is clearly better, possessing both basic and powerful witchcraft in abundance.

At this moment, the technique that Feng Shaoe was executing was a rather basic form of witchcraft, which used witch power to manipulate the growth of vines underground in the surrounding area, causing them to rapidly spread and grow.

The entire process was done in one breath, at an extremely fast speed, and the power was certainly not weak.

An ordinary Seventh Rank Warrior caught off guard could easily be entangled by these vines that “suddenly” grew out of the ground, swiftly putting them at a disadvantage.

However, the paper man possessed half of Zhou Heng’s strength and also had an incredibly powerful spiritual perception, so the growth of these vines naturally couldn’t be concealed from him.

The moment the vines appeared, the paper man leaped into the air, leaving the ground far behind. Even as the vines grew rapidly upwards trying to entangle the paper man, they were rendered useless.

“Daoist Zhou, you’ve fallen into a trap,” Feng Shaoe said with a sly smile, as her hand seal suddenly changed and a green light blossomed from her fingertips, causing the vines to rapidly withdraw.

But at the center of the paper man, a bright green glow appeared, and green saplings started to emerge from within this light.

It seemed as if the vines had taken root and sprouted upon the paper man.

Once these vines grew, they would instantly tear the paper man into shreds.

“I’ve heard that witchcraft is famous for its silent and invisible efficacy, and now that I see it, the reputation is well-deserved,” Zhou Heng said, still smiling, not at all worried about the paper man’s predicament.

This attitude caused Feng Shaoe’s smile to stiffen on her face. Her gaze shifted to the paper man, and she immediately saw a dazzling golden light burst forth from it,

A layer of golden flame enveloped the paper man, forcefully expelling the specks of green light, and the undeveloped green saplings also fell to the ground.

No longer capable of inflicting any damage to the paper man itself.

Immediately after, the paper man spread its arms, its fingers rapidly fluttering, and in an instant, a series of sharp and unparalleled Sword Qi materialized out of thin air. In the next moment, ten beams of Sword Qi launched simultaneously toward Feng Shaoe.

Clang clang!

The ten beams of Sword Qi tore through the sky as if ten exceedingly sharp longswords vibrated, emitting sword cries that sent a shock through the spirits of all those present, compelling them to watch these ten beams of Sword Qi involuntarily.

They all felt that the ten beams of Sword Qi seemed to seal all the space above and below the heavens, making it impossible to dodge or escape against such an attack; one could only face it directly.

This was—

the Innate Formless Sword Finger!

All these actions occurred in the blink of an eye. In just an instant, Zhou Heng’s paper man had broken Feng Shaoe’s witchcraft and gained an absolute advantage.

“Don’t be too pleased too soon!” Feng Shaoe’s gaze turned cold, and as the ten beams of Sword Qi rapidly approached her, she didn’t panic. The seals in her hands changed again, and the witch power within her surged violently.

Whoosh!

Snow and ice suddenly gathered in the sky from all directions, forming a massive ice wall over three zhang thick in front of Feng Shaoe, attempting to block the ten beams of Sword Qi.

At the same time, Feng Shaoe cast another spell, causing the saplings that had fallen to the ground to rise into the air and land within the clusters of snow and ice that were gathering.

And there was still much snow and ice left after forming the ice wall, appearing as if it was gathering into an ice-snow behemoth. The saplings landing on the snow and ice were like the finishing touch in a painting, instantly endowing the snow and ice with vitality.

Boom!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Simultaneously, the ten Sword Qi strikes unleashed by Zhou Heng’s paper figure using the Innate Formless Sword Technique had struck the huge ice wall. The ice wall, obviously reinforced by witchery, was even harder than ordinary steel.

Yet against the ten peerlessly sharp Sword Qi, even such a robust ice wall was of no use. It was effortlessly cleaved apart, delaying its fall for less than a breath’s time.

And in that single breath’s time, the beast previously coalescing from ice and snow had wholly formed: an Ice-Snow White Tiger, about thirty feet long and over ten feet tall, its appearance bearing an extreme likeness to the previous Secret Six Rank White Tiger.

This White Tiger, as if bestowed with life by witchery, upon seeing the ice wall in front of Feng Shaoe shattered by Zhou Heng’s Sword Qi, roared in fury, its body radiating a white light filled with murderous aura, charging at the ten Sword Qi.

The power of the Ice-Snow White Tiger was obviously formidable; it directly dispersed the Sword Qi and stood protectively in front of Feng Shaoe. Its two green eyes flared with an immense rage as it stared at the paper figure.

“Grandmaster Zhou, you should make a move personally,” Feng Shaoe said with a light chuckle, “It seems you might have been a bit too confident. This paper figure alone is probably not a match for me.”

“Is that so?” Zhou Heng gently shook his head and said with a smile, “Miss Feng, you speak too soon.”

Before the words had finished, the figure enshrouded in a golden aura had already reached in front of the Ice-Snow White Tiger, raising his right hand with the fingers spread wide, his palm dark as if gathering the power to crush the heavens and earth, to overturn the firmament.

Overturning Heaven Three Palms!

Heaven and earth inverted!!

Boom!

As if the void itself were being crushed, a roaring sound that shook the air like thunder, deafening, burst forth as the paper figure’s palm struck down.

Beneath the shadow of this palm, as if it became a vacuum zone, the air for several feet around was instantly squeezed out, creating a huge shockwave.

The Ice-Snow White Tiger roared as it fought back, but it had no chance to resist. It was instantly decapitated by the Sky-Earth Striking Method, its body disintegrating.

Furthermore, this palm strike lost none of its power as it continued downwards. After smashing the Ice-Snow White Tiger, it bore down mercilessly toward Feng Shaoe, stopping only three inches above her head.

Feng Shaoe’s face turned deathly pale. The sudden thunderous blow had completely exceeded her reaction limit, and before she could even grasp what had happened, the battle was over.

However, even so, on Feng Shaoe’s youthful, vibrant face, there was no sign of fear or dejection, but she continued to speak to Zhou Heng with a giggly smile:

“Grandmaster Zhou is truly skilled and powerful, having such strength with just a paper figure. If you personally take action, I’m afraid it would be even more formidable. I wonder if I might be fortunate enough…”

Feng Shaoe, having already been defeated by the paper figure, still refused to concede and was determinedly persistent in challenging Zhou Heng himself, wishing to engage him in combat personally.

“You are not,” Zhou Heng said, outright rejecting her, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced at Feng Shaoe.

But that single glance struck Feng Shaoe as though she had been hit by thunder; her mischievously smiling expression instantly froze, her complexion turned as pale as paper, and a look of fear surfaced in her eyes as she looked at Zhou Heng.

“Ah, I see, well, I understand…” Feng Shaoe, as if startled, hurriedly left the place, not daring to glance at Zhou Heng again.

Before long, she had mounted the White Tiger again and, after several leaps and bounds, her figure disappeared from sight, seeming to have left Huangtong Mansion City.

“What’s this…” Cheng Jianjian noticed something was amiss with the situation and looked at Zhou Heng with a hint of confusion in her eyes, and quietly said, “A Spirit Attack Technique?”

Although her Divine Soul strength and cultivation in the spirit realm were not as strong as Zhou Heng’s, she had some proficiency that surpassed most at the Peak of the Seventh Rank, and she faintly sensed something extraordinary about the way Zhou Heng had stared at Feng Shaoe.

“Hmm, something like that,” Zhou Heng nodded lightly and said, “She was being unreasonably annoying with her harassment, so I decided to give her a lesson to encourage her to leave earlier.”

Just now, when Zhou Heng glared at Feng Shaoe, he had used the “Sky-Earth Striking Method”.

It was an extremely powerful Spirit Attack Technique.

Although it was at the same level as the Secret Six Rank and had the effect of causing one to fall into an illusion, this technique was actually specialized in the mental realm, fundamentally aiming to crush the enemy’s spirit by invoking their deepest and most painful fears from within their heart.

Moreover, if this method was cultivated to a profound degree, it could even penetrate through the other person’s mental weaknesses to forcibly observe fragments of their memories.

It was truly miraculous.

In the realm of mental martial arts at the Secret Six Rank level, it was definitely considered to be at the pinnacle, with exceedingly strong effects.

Earlier, it was through that single glance that Zhou Heng directly evoked Feng Shaoe’s most fearful and painful memories from the depths of her heart, and using these vulnerabilities, he shattered her spiritual world on the spot.

Furthermore, in the process, he had inadvertently caught glimpses of fragments of memories related to him within Feng Shaoe’s mind, seeming to suggest that her challenge to him was not solely for the sake of the ranking on the people’s list.

This made Zhou Heng think of Feng Shaoe’s attitude before, the “Witch of the Snow Mountain” seemed very eager to have him take action personally.

“Could it be she wanted to test something by fighting with me, or perhaps to probe for something?” Zhou Heng mused, his brow furrowing. He then whispered to Cheng Jianjian by his side, “I’ll follow her and take a look, I’ll be right back.”

“Just by yourself?” Cheng Jianjian asked earnestly.

“Hmm, it’s easier to stay hidden that way,” Zhou Heng nodded lightly and said, “I’ll be back soon, help me explain to Master Lin and Yu He.”

“Alright, if you’re not back within an hour, I will come looking for you,” Cheng Jianjian nodded and said.

“Don’t worry about it,” Zhou Heng smiled and said, “I’ll be right back.”

Having said that, he leaped up and flipped through the air, following the direction Feng Shaoe and the White Tiger had left in, making use of the ‘Tracking Card’ he had obtained from opening the Fortune Bag previously.

For safety’s sake, he was prepared to use the Stealth Card at any moment.

Feng Shaoe hadn’t gone far; after leaving Huangtong Mansion City, she stopped in a forest ten miles away.

There was a woman dressed in the same fashion as the Emperor’s Sect, wearing scanty clothing.

She appeared to be in her thirties, was beautiful with a slender figure that was alluring, with curves in all the right places, her exposed skin smooth as jade and soft as if dripping with tenderness. Compared to Feng Shaoe, she exuded a more mature charm.

“Master,” Feng Shaoe knelt before the woman, lowering her head and said, “I was unable to make Zhou Heng take action himself, I failed to accomplish the mission.”

“What happened?” the woman’s eyebrows knitted slightly as she asked, “Your spirit seems to have been severely damaged; stand up, let me take a look.”

“Thank you, Master,” Feng Shaoe stood up and gently closed her eyes. Then she felt a coolness at her forehead, and the fear lingering in her heart promptly dissipated substantially, making her feel much more relaxed.

“Tell me, what happened?” the woman withdrew her finger from Feng Shaoe’s forehead and said in a deep voice, “The events that just took place and the situation with Zhou Heng.”

At this moment, Zhou Heng was standing beside the two, less than ten yards away, quietly observing them.

The effect of the Stealth Card was undetectable to anyone below Divine First Rank!