I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 133: Bottleneck, Accident

“You just started and you already want to descend the mountain?” Yan Shouyi looked at Zhou Heng.

“Is there such a restriction in Pure Yang Palace?” Zhou Heng asked. If there were restrictions on descending the mountain, how would he farm Fortune Bags or improve his mastery of Martial Arts?

If it really was as Yan Shouyi had said, the life of seclusion in the mountains would mean that most of those who stayed in the various peaks of Pure Yang Palace were hermit Taoists, and their lives were devoted to wholehearted cultivation.

It would be somewhat inappropriate to disturb them rashly.

Moreover, most of those at the Lower Third Rank level were the seventh­generation disciples.

As a sixth-generation True Disciple, the former sect leader’s disciple and the younger martial brother of the current sect leader, visiting as a junior uncle master to challenge them would be bullying the weak; it wouldn’t sound good if word got out.

“There is no such restriction,” Yan Shouyi shook his head slightly and smiled. “In fact, we even encourage disciples of the Lower Third Rank to leave the mountain to make their mark. Those who can enter the top ten of the Celestial Ranking will receive substantial rewards.”

“Really?” Zhou Heng’s eyes lit up upon hearing this.

His main goal in joining Pure Yang Palace was to gain access to information that was rare for ordinary people to see, but that was not something that he could achieve overnight.

The books “Pure Yang” and “The World” were pretty much the limit towhat he could learn right now, and if he wanted to delve deeper, he would mostly likely have to approach it from other angles.

Besides that, he wanted to find a strong support to back him up, and now that goal had also been achieved, with the unexpected joy of not only becoming a True Disciple of Pure Yang Palace but unexpectedly becoming the junior uncle master to all seventh-generation disciples.

His goal was almost reached, and it seemed like there was nothing left to do on Mount Ta Hua except meditate and cultivate Qi, which would be less appealing than descending the mountain.

Additionally, he still had unopened Fortune Bags and a promise to keep with the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer.

Descending the mountain was imperative.

“Of course, making a name on the Celestial Ranking, and becoming famous all over the world benefits our Pure Yang Palace in recruiting outstanding disciples. It’s quite normal to offer rewards; there’s no need for doubt,” Yan Shouyi said with a smile. “I think junior brother has the potential to be in the top ten of the Celestial Ranking. If you wish to descend the mountain, I won’t stop you, but I still advise you to wait another month or two before leaving.”

“Are you worried that my leaving shortly after becoming a disciple will cause dissatisfaction among our peers?” Zhou Heng said with a smile.

“That’s not it. Pure Yang Palace doesn’t have that many rules. Whether one chooses to stay in the mountains or leave is all a matter of the heart, and those who cultivate in solitude don’t have so many complicated thoughts,” Yan Shouyi shook his head and smiled. “In one or two months’ time, you should be able to cultivate your Inner Qi to the peak of the Eighth Rank, and by then, descending the mountain, you will have a different understanding.”

“Is that so?” Zhou Heng was surprised.

“You’ll understand when your skills advance,” said Yan Shouyi with a smile.

Over the following period,

Zhou Heng cultivated at the halfway up the mountain retreat at night and absorbed the elemental energy at the golden summit of Jade Void Peak during the day.

Although he had already learned the more advanced Pure Yang Dan Scripture, he did not neglect the cultivation of Innate Skill since he was only a little more than one hundred proficiency points from achieving Perfection.

Reaching Perfection in Innate Skill meant a complete transformation, which was also known as the Seventh Rank of the Martial Path.

During this time, Cheng Jianjian returned to the mountain once. Upon hearing that Zhou Heng had become a sixth-generation True Disciple, she came to stay at Jade Void Peak for a few days, eating together with Zhou Heng, cultivating together, and playfully teasing him by calling him junior uncle master.

However, she did not stay long, leaving after just three days to temper her swordsmanship and other martial arts while also continuing her tasks for the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer.

Besides Cheng Jianjian, You Ziheng also visited him once. Seeing that he had entered a stable state of cultivation, You Ziheng was put at ease before the wine-loving Taoist went out again to collect various spiritual materials for brewing.

The one who visited the most was the young girl Zhu Zhenzhen.

And that water Kylin.

Taking the excuse of visiting Zhou Heng, she stole quite a few spiritual fruits from the halfway up the mountain retreat on Jade Void Peak.

– Behind the mountain retreat was an orchard with twelve spiritual fruit trees planted in it. It is said that they were left behind by a True Disciple hundreds of years ago. The medicinal effects were not strong, but the taste was excellent, sweet and delicious, making them perfect snacks.

A month flew by in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Heng found there was a problem with his cultivation; his Innate Skill’s proficiency was not moving.

[Seventh Rank] Innate Skill: Advanced (3000/3000)

Even though his proficiency had reached the limit, there was no sign of breakthrough.

While he could still increase his Inner Qi strength and cultivation level by practicing Innate Skill as usual, his realm seemed to be stuck at the peak of the Eighth Rank of the Martial Path.

If he practiced the Pure Yang Dan Scripture, his proficiency could continue to grow, but still, there was no sign of breaking through the realm, as if he had encountered some invisible barrier.

“A bottleneck?”

Zhou Heng considered this concept, suspecting that he might be facing the bottleneck between the Eighth and Seventh Ranks and would need some special methods or approaches to break through.

This was actually quite normal.

Being known as “a transformation beyond the birth,” the Seventh Rank of the Martial Path marks the stage where a martial artist’s life essence truly begins to evolve. Naturally, stepping into this level would not be easy.

After carefully revisiting the “Innate Skill” and the “Pure Yang Elixir Scripture” for methods to break through to the Seventh Rank, Zhou Heng had nearly figured out the necessary conditions to step onto the Seventh Rank level.

After achieving Perfection in his Inner Qi, he needed to use his own will as the core, integrate the Inner Qi spread throughout his body, and based on the fundamental organs and nine orifices, construct a small inner world capable of initially resonating with the outer world. Ultimately, he would leverage this resonance of inner and outer forces to complete the muscle-flushing and marrow-cleansing stage of his cultivation, transforming his body through a process akin to shedding an old body and growing a new one.

This transformation leads to a further strengthening of the physical body, nourishment of the mystical ancestor orifices, enhancement of the spirit, and the Inner Qi begins to possess divine capabilities due to the characteristics of the small inner world.

This is the Martial Path of the Seventh Rank, a comprehensive elevation of the essence, qi, and spirit.

But the problem lies in how to use one’s own will to construct a small inner world, and what exactly should the inner world he wants to build look like?

Zhou Heng was completely puzzled by this.

In the past, when he had no sect or fellow disciples, he could have only relied on his own meditation to find a way to overcome the bottleneck, or perhaps try to break through forcibly with the help of the System.

But neither of these methods was stable for cultivation.

Now it’s different.

He has a sect, fellow disciples, and people to give him guidance.

So when Zhou Heng realized that he might have encountered a bottleneck, he went directly to the Golden Peak of the Jade Void Peak and asked Yan Shouyi for advice.

Yan Shouyi laughed as if he had expected this, saying, “Junior brother, do you now understand why I asked you to truly cultivate to the peak of the Eighth Rank before talking about descending the mountain?”

“Does the bottleneck have something to do with descending the mountain?” Zhou Heng asked in confusion.

“Irrelevant,” Yan Shouyi shook his head and smiled. “Just who would you go to for advice if you encounter this bottleneck down the mountain? Would you want to return to the mountain shortly after leaving it?”

“…” Zhou Heng was taken aback. Could this actually work??

He had always thought that Yan Shouyi had some important matter to remind him of.

“Your main confusion is about how to integrate everything with your own will, and what kind of inner world you want to build. Actually, the solution is very simple,” Yan Shouyi smiled and said. “Fight more, summarize more, hone your martial arts in battle, draw on your experience, and finally create a unique Seventh Rank martial arts of your own.”

“Create a unique Seventh Rank martial arts of my own?” Zhou Hengwas initially stunned, then suddenly realized and smiled, saying, “The martial arts I create will certainly contain my own martial philosophy, which is also a manifestation of my will in my martial path.

“Therefore, as long as this martial art takes shape, my will naturally integrates everything inside the body, and the small inner world that I build will also possess a prototype. This is indeed a very good method, thank you, elder brother!”

“It’s just a small trick,” Yan Shouyi waved his hand and laughed. “With your insight, junior brother, even if you figured it out by yourself, at most it would only be a waste of a few months. You would’ve understood it sooner or later.”

“Many times, all one lacks is such a trick,” Zhou Heng valued this highly and thanked Yan Shouyi with a serious bow.

It’s said, “A few words can enlighten profound mysteries, what’s the need for a thousand pages of elixirs?” Many profound and complex things that are hard to understand and grasp, in fact, just require someone to point out a way to knock on the door.

“Hahaha, junior brother, since you’ve enlightened on your path ahead, it’s time to descend the mountain,” Yan Shouyi laughed. “Where do you want to go? I can send you there directly.”

“Send me directly?” Zhou Heng looked at the undulating sea of clouds before him and smiled, “Pingzhou County, Huangtong Mansion City, can elder brother send me there?”

He planned to first go to Huangtong Mansion City to retrieve his brown-red horse, which was his good companion on his wanderings in the jianghu. Moreover, he hadn’t even had the chance to use the Red Lotus Horse Tack on it yet.

-Previously, when he was in Yuanhe Prefecture City, he had come directly to the Pure Yang Palace of Taihua Mount with You Ziheng, and the brown-red horse was then entrusted to Bai’s family to be sent back to Huangtong Mansion City.

However, Taihua Mount was tens of thousands of miles away from Huangtong Mansion City, spanning over a dozen counties. Even with the vast divine abilities of a Celestial Man, sending him back would surely take some time.

“It’s a minor matter. Haven’t you heard the storyteller say? A Celestial Power traverses the universe, reaching a hundred thousand miles in a moment,” Yan Shouyi laughed heartily. “Stand firm!”

Immediately after, Zhou Heng saw a flash of golden light before his eyes, and the next instant when he came to, he saw the coming and going of passersby in his view, with the Golden Peak of the Jade Void Peak and the rolling sea of clouds nowhere to be seen.

Glancing around, when he looked up, he found himself standing at the gates of Huangtong Mansion City.

“This is Celestial…” Zhou Heng couldn’t help but marvel, exclaiming, “That was fast!”

He then confidently strode into the city.

But he had barely taken a few steps when he noticed that something seemed off.

Passersby who saw him would panic and lower their heads to avoid him, keeping their distance as if they were avoiding a plague.

Zhou Heng was well-known in Huangtong Mansion City; almost everyone was familiar with him. The people who were avoiding him likely recognized him, which meant these people were very clearly avoiding “Zhou Heng” himself.

“What has happened in Huangtong Mansion City during this time?” Zhou Heng’s brows furrowed, and just as he was about to ask someone, he suddenly saw a young girl approaching from not far away.

She appeared to be fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in a light blue dress with simple accessories, but her features were delicate and lovely, clearly a great beauty in the making.

This was Yu He’ s sister, Yu Yingying.

In Zhou Heng’s recollection, she was always cheerful and lively, loving to play and jump around, but now her face was filled with worries, her complexion pale, and even a bit dusty.

Yu He usually wouldn’t tolerate his sister suffering even a bit of injustice. Now, seeing Yu Yingying in such a state… had something happened to Yu He?

Zhou Heng’s eyebrows shot up.

At that moment, Yu Yingying also noticed Zhou Heng. She first froze, then covered her cheek and burst into tears.