I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 209: Did I Ruin His Highness’s Arrangement?

Under the “protection” of the Qingxia God, Zhou Heng’s disguise was flawless.

Chen Xingjiang and the others did not spot any flaws at all and thus respectfully welcomed him as the true sixteenth prince into the County City yamen.

Afterwards, all the officials, including Lin He, withdrew, leaving only Zhou Heng and the maid transformed by the Qingxia God in the main hall, along with Chen Xingjiang kneeling on the ground with his head lowered, not daring to speak.

Zhou Heng did not speak, merely sitting there with an indifferent expression, while the Qingxia God was also cold and silent, not uttering a word.

It was as if the air itself had quieted down.

Chen Xingjiang knelt on the ground, cold sweat beginning to break out on his forehead.

The situation he feared most had nonetheless occurred.

If the sixteenth prince directly pointed out his faults, clarifying how he would be punished, even if the consequences were extremely severe, at least there would be a clear outcome.

What he truly feared was that the prince would say nothing at all, leaving everything for him to guess.

Moreover, such silence likely meant that the prince was indeed furious to the extreme and had no intention of wasting words on him.

At that moment, Zhou Heng’s brows slightly furrowed.

This very subtle change immediately made Chen Xingjiang feel a chill down his spine.

A Great Grandmaster who had cultivated the Yang God’s Dharma Body to the Fourth Rank, in that instant, his back was soaked with cold sweat.

He sympathized with heaven and earth, reflecting the external scenery, even the sky over Fangzhou County City darkened, heavy clouds accumulating as if they might press down at any time.

Many households, seeing the sky, quickly brought in their clothes hung outside, believing that it was about to rain.

Zhou Heng also sensed the changes in the weather outside and naturally speculated about the general shift in Chen Xingjiang’s mindset.

In fact, his frown was merely because Chen Xingjiang had been silent for so long, he was contemplating how to start the conversation and had no other thoughts.

Heaven knows what Chen Xingjiang had just conjured up in his own mind.

Yet as Zhou Heng speculated about the changes in Chen Xingjiang’s mindset, a slight variation appeared on his face, which once again shocked Chen Xingjiang.

“The prince is a great grandmaster who has achieved success for over two hundred years. Unless there is a drastic change in his emotions, it is almost impossible for any facial expression to reveal any information.

“But now, the prince has done so consecutively. Could it be that he is making a major decision in his heart? What kind of decision would be considered major for the prince?”

At this thought, Chen Xingjiang’s face turned pale and he secretly thought, “Could it be that the prince wants to kill me? How is that possible? How could he want to kill me over the extermination of the Medicine God Sect?”

Before, he had also contemplated the possible punishments he might face, but the most severe consequences he could imagine were being demoted and stripped of some of his cultivation.

His crimes did not warrant death!

“Could it be that the Medicine God Sect has some other use to the prince?” Chen Xingjiang suddenly speculated, feeling ever more terrified.

“Yes, although the prince has always presented himself to the world as a young master and acted with the demeanor of a youth, he is after all a formidable being who has reached the pinnacle for over two centuries.

“With such a cultivation realm, he is certainly no weaker than those grandmasters listed on the earth rankings and can be considered as one of the few closest to the Celestial Man in the entire Da Qi.

“How could such a person build such a massive palace complex merely for pleasure? The usual activities of the Medicine God Sect involved developing various medicines and using people as test subjects, could it be that the prince wanted to use them to explore further mysteries of the human body?”

The human body is indeed exceedingly mysterious.

Although martial artists can already begin rudimentary introspection when they reach the Ninth Grade, this does not mean that they can quickly probe all the mysteries of the human body.

After reaching the Secret Six Rank, martial artists can use their Divine Soul to scrutinize every minute detail of their bodies, yet there are still many unknowns, akin to glimpsing a leopard through a tube, able to see but a fraction.

Once they attain the Yang God’s Dharma Body at the pinnacle of the Fourth Rank, martial artists will discover that the human body is like a treasure trove filled with endless mysteries, no less rich than the universe itself.

It is said that the mystery of ascending from the pinnacle of the Fourth Rank to the realm of a Celestial Man lies hidden within this infinite treasure trove.

Chen Xingjiang swiftly recalled all his knowledge about the human body’s mysteries, as well as some of the recent behaviors and actions of Prince Sixteen.

This made the speculation that had just arisen in his heart clearer and also filled him with even greater dread.

With that thought,

Chen Xingjiang couldn’t help but break out in cold sweat, his body even shaking, he placed his hands on the ground, feeling utterly despondent, his mind filled with fear as he thought to himself:

“For His Highness, who has already reached the pinnacle of the mortal world for more than two hundred years, the most important and concerning matter undoubtedly should be ascending to the realm of Celestial Man!

“Although the Medicine God Sect doesn’t seem high-level, could it be that it was secretly set up by His Highness to explore the mysteries of the human body, seeking a way to peer into the realm of Celestial Man?

“Previously His Highness indeed urged me to keep a close watch on the Medicine God Sect, to prevent any mishaps, which also verifies that the Medicine God Sect must be very important to His Highness.

“Damnation, damnation! How did I not think of this before and only found the Medicine God Sect an eyesore in Fangzhou, and even thought of eliminating it by borrowing someone else’s hand.

“It’s all because the sector of this Medicine God Sect is too low, with their highest battle power being only at the Seventh Rank, who would think that such an Evil Sect could possibly be related to the realm of Celestial Man!”

Chen Xingjiang was tormented internally, he started to console himself, “No, no, this is just my speculation, the truth may not necessarily be this way, perhaps I’m just overthinking it?”

At this moment, Zhou Heng, however, was solemn, slightly surprised; he could see that Chen Xingjiang had fallen into extreme fear.

But from beginning to end, he had not said a word.

That is to say, the reason Chen Xingjiang was like this was mostly due to the various guesses in his mind based on his fear of that “Prince Sixteen.”

He had frightened himself into this state in the end.

It also signified just how terrifying a figure Prince Sixteen of Da Qi, Zhao Qin, must be, to cause a Great Grandmaster at the pinnacle of the Fourth Rank to be terrified without uttering a word.

Even facing a Celestial Man would hardly be any different, would it?

—Before, although Zhou Heng had carefully looked into the circumstances surrounding Prince Sixteen Zhao Qin, much of it remained superficial, knowing at most that this prince often assumed a juvenile demeanor, was violently temperamental, becoming extremely gloomy when angry, without a deeper understanding.

Looking at it now, this Prince Sixteen was not simple.

Eventually, after some consideration, Zhou Heng decided to speak directly, and label Chen Xingjiang with a few accusations, making Chen Xingjiang willing to confess his guilt and accept punishment, facilitating his subsequent death.

“Minister Chen…” Zhou Heng said in a deep voice.

Yet as soon as Zhou Heng had uttered three words, Chen Xingjiang, who was comforting himself, suddenly widened his eyes, and the fear in his heart swelled up like never before.

The desolate roar inside Chen Xingjiang’s heart cried, “His Highness has spoken, His Highness has uttered words, His Highness has been silent for so long, and now suddenly he speaks, calling me Minister Chen… Could it be that he can no longer suppress his emotions?

“It’s over, I’m done for, have I truly ruined His Highness’ arrangement for attaining the realm of Celestial Man? This, this… now might be my last chance to preserve my life!”

Thus, making a quick decision, Chen Xingjiang bowed down to the ground, and with a voice full of regret and guilt said, “Your Highness! I, your servant, am guilty, am willing to destroy my own cultivation, I only ask that Your Highness spares my life!”

“…” Zhou Heng immediately fell silent, swallowing the words that had reached his lips.