I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 298: Chapter 18: The Body of the Seven-Petaled Red Flower

Actually, before the woman outside came to the courtyard, Zhou Heng had already seen through her movements.

Her arrival was somewhat unexpected to him.

Zhou Heng had thought he would need to wait another two or three days, or perhaps roam around a bit more outside, attracting attention before he would be targeted. But to his surprise, this nefarious woman was so impatient that she came that very night.

Through divine sense, Zhou Heng could determine that the opponent was just an ordinary Secret Sixth Rank in the True Energy Realm. Judging by the true qi she displayed at the moment, her combat abilities were not very strong.

Well, that was only true for normal combat.

However, he always felt that there was something off about this woman’s aura; she didn’t seem quite human.

This was different from those Evil Sect experts Zhou Heng had encountered before.

Although Evil Sect experts give off a bizarre feeling due to practicing the heretical methods of the Evil God, they are still human after all.

But with this woman, the human aura was very faint.

“Little brother, I’m coming in~”

Just at that moment, a coquettish and soft voice came from outside.

Clearly, this Evil Sect woman didn’t care whether Zhou Heng was awake or not; she seemed to have great confidence in her ability to charm Zhou Heng.

Along with the sultry voice, a wave of pink warm breeze blew in through the gaps of the door and windows, filling Zhou Heng’s room with an ambiguous atmosphere.

Once this warm breeze blew in, it gathered together and condensed into a girlish figure, charmingly enchanting with delicate eyebrows.

She made no attempt at concealment, her jade-like body gently swaying, cheeks flushed, eyes bewitching like silk. Suddenly bending her knees and letting out a light breath, she was about to throw herself onto Zhou Heng, who was seated cross-legged on the bed.

At this moment, Zhou Heng, who had his eyes slightly closed, suddenly opened them, and a dazzling golden light burst forth from his pupils—two streams of sword qi.

After being enhanced by true qi, Zhou Heng had further improved his control over the Innate Formless Sword technique and was now able to release sword qi directly through the air.

This sword qi was pure and possessed Yang Energy—it was Pure Yang Sword Qi, extremely sharp and fast, much like a streak of light, striking with the speed of lightning, without deviation, directly cleaving onto the beautiful body that was falling toward him.

Sizzle!

The delicate girl was instantly pierced through by the two golden lights of sword qi, causing her to freeze midair, unable to even fall down as if she had been hit by a paralysis spell, motionless in that position.

But in the next instant, a line of blood slowly appeared along the vertical centerline of the beautiful girl.

Then, blood spurted forth, and her enticing body was split in half from the center, she was cleaved in two by that stroke of sword qi without any chance to resist.

Zhou Heng’s face, however, showed no joy. His eyebrows furrowed slightly, his gaze calmly fixed on the bisected corpse, pondering for a moment, he exhaled a breath of Pure Yang energy onto the body.

As soon as the body came into contact with the breath of Pure Yang energy, it ignited like dry wood meeting a flame, consuming it in less than three breaths, leaving only ashes.

Upon seeing these ashes—Zhou Heng’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The ashes were not in a pile, but rather formed a line of text on the ground.

“The little brother from Pure Yang Palace is truly extraordinary, to have broken my petal body. I look forward to the time we truly meet~”

It turns out that the woman just now was not the Evil Sect expert’s real body, but one of her ‘petal bodies.’

“Honghua Seven Petal Body,” Zhou Heng muttered in a low voice.

This is the Sect Fifth Rank Martial Arts of the Honghua Palace.

It is said to cultivate the Honghua Seven Petals Dharma Phase, where each petal represents an avatar that can act independently or be stored within the body to negate one’s own death.

In other words, a Honghua Seven Petals Dharma Phase master of the Fifth Rank has at least seven lives and can dispatch multiple avatars for various activities.

However, considering that the petal avatar from just now only had the power of the Secret Sixth Rank, this evil-doer woman from the Honghua Palace likely hasn’t fully mastered the Honghua Seven Petals Dharma Phase, meaning she is probably still at the Sixth Rank level.

The incident in Anhe Prefecture city this time is likely her attempt to reach a higher level of the Honghua Seven Petals Dharma Phase.

Because the method to cultivate this martial art is to gather Yang Energy to nourish the Yin, using Yang Energy to irrigate the petals, allowing them to slowly blossom.

“Using a petal to test me, are you so determined to get me?” Zhou Heng said with a light chuckle.

Meanwhile, he erased the ashy words on the ground.

Subsequently, after dispatching paper figurines over ten yards away to investigate the anomalies, he slightly closed his eyes again and continued to nurture his spirit and refine his Qi.

Since that evil practitioner had set her sights on him, he might as well wait for her to come to him.

Of course, taking the initiative to seek her out was also essential, and this was when his paper soldiers came in handy.

Quite useful indeed.

…

The next morning, rumors about the paper person of the night began to circulate in Anhe Prefecture city.

It was said that this paper person was the emissary sent to claim souls, and seeing the paper person meant one was not far from death, as their soul would soon be taken.

Although most people did not believe it, it still caused considerable chaos in the already uneasy Anhe Prefecture.

Zhou Heng walked out from the backyard and entered the front hall of the Yuhua Treasure Shop, intending to ask Weng Kang about some matters, only to see him arguing with two middle-aged men.

These two middle-aged men looked to be in their forties or fifties, one carrying a knife and the other wielding a sword, both with long and steady breaths and firm steps, signifying the realm of Seventh Rank Cultivation.

“What’s going on?” Zhou Heng walked over and asked Weng Kang.

“Uncle Master, how come you are here?” Seeing Zhou Heng approaching, Weng Kang became somewhat embarrassed and pointed at the two men, saying in a low voice, “Uncle Master, it’s my fault, these two men came to inquire after seeing the bounty notice I posted earlier.”

“They’re here to ask about that evil practitioner?” Zhou Heng was slightly startled at first and then smiled, “These two heroes seem quite confident.”

“Of course,” the two men slightly raised their heads, getting ready to further boast about themselves, but were interrupted by Zhou Heng.

“However, it’s good to have confidence, but overconfidence is a death sentence.” Zhou Heng shook his head lightly and smiled.

Before the two could get angry, he stretched out his right hand in front of them, displaying a small cluster of golden Sword Qi, sharp and radiant.

This was a tiny bit of the Innate Formless Sword’s Qi.

But just this little was enough to make the two men feel an impending disaster, causing them to tremble and quickly shake their heads, hastening to bid Weng Kang goodbye.

Zhou Heng thus saved the two men’s lives; with their strength, seeking out that evil master would be a suicide mission with no chance of survival.

“I’m sorry you had to witness this, Uncle Master,” Weng Kang said respectfully.

“It’s alright.” Zhou Heng waved his hand dismissively, sat down, and asked, “Manager Weng, how many people have come to take the bounty during this time?”