I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 349: Chapter 69: The Five Virtues and the Five Fortunes, Mutual Accompaniment and Overcoming

“Dream Saint…” Zhou Heng’s gaze flickered slightly, and he nodded, saying, “Please continue.”

“In the Yunjiang Prefecture of Kunzhou in Southern Jin, recently, some have seen the illusory shadows of a palace in the clouds, partially hidden and partially visible. It is rumored to be an ancient treasure left by a mighty figure of old.” Xin Su spoke with a serious expression, her voice grave:

“However, this is just the common folk’s understanding. I have reliable information that it should be a treasure left by the Dream Saint of the Middle Ancient era that is about to appear in this world, known as the ‘Yao Palace Hundred Halls Illustration’, a Divine Artifact of the Second Rank Taoist Formulas.

“It is said that this treasure represents the ultimate expression of one direction of the Dream Paths, and its very existence is comparable to a perfectly refined Taoist seed. Inside the illustration, there is a universe hidden, almost like a world unto itself, filled with countless extraordinary treasures and divine skills and Taoist formulas.”

“Such a supreme treasure will surely be fought over by many, right?” Zhou Heng said with a smile, seemingly unconcerned.

Although he was indeed quite interested in the Dream Saint, upon hearing that it was a Divine Artifact of the Second Rank Taoist Formulas, he lost interest. Such a high-level treasure was not something he could currently aspire to.

“You misunderstand, Star Lord,” Xin Su quickly explained, “This Yao Palace Hundred Halls Illustration has actually already begun to appear in this world. From what we have come to understand now, it is likely that the will of the Dream Saint still lingers within this treasure.

“This also means that before the will of the Dream Saint completely dissipates, even a Divine First Rank Dao Master cannot forcibly refine this Divine Artifact. In fact, all one can do is enter the Yao Palace Hundred Halls Illustration to explore.”

“Isn’t it also true that not just anyone can enter the Yao Palace Hundred Halls Illustration?” Zhou Heng asked with a light chuckle, as he had quite some research and understanding of the characteristics of mysterious realms left by ancient powerhouses.

“Star Lord is indeed well-learned,” Xin Su admired before speaking: “As the Star Lord said, indeed, not all martial artists can enter the Yao Palace Hundred Halls Illustration.

“Firstly, there is a restriction on the level of cultivation: only those at the Secret Sixth Rank and Sect Fifth Rank are able to enter. Additionally, one must possess Stars Tears Stones that were scattered when the Yao Palace first began to manifest in this world.”

As she spoke, she took out a tear-shaped, crystal-clear stone the size of a fingernail and handed it to Zhou Heng, “Star Lord, this is a Stars Tears Stone, there are a total of thirty-six, and I happened to come across one by a stroke of fortune.”

“You don’t want to go in and explore yourself?” Zhou Heng did not immediately accept the Stars Tears Stone, but instead smiled and said, “According to you, the treasures contained within the Yao Palace Hundred Halls Illustration are immensely abundant, which should be quite beneficial to you as well.”

“To tell you the truth, Star Lord, thanks to the previous dream realm, the shadows deep in my heart were resolved by you, and now there are no more obstacles before me, with my Dharma Body almost refined and my cultivation on the verge of a breakthrough.” Xin Su smiled faintly and said, “From now on, I only want to focus on my closed-door cultivation, hence this Stars Tears Stone is best suited for you.”

“To have such an attainment, I must congratulate you,” Zhou Heng laughed, “With this, our Ziwei realm will be gaining a new Absolute Fourth Rank expert.”

“It’s all thanks to the grace you’ve shown me, Star Lord” Xin Su sincerely said, “In the future, wherever you need me, whatever you ask of me, I shall undertake without hesitation.”

For her, Zhou Heng was not just a lifesaver, but also a bringer of enlightenment, resolving the childhood trauma that lurked in the depths of her heart by chance, granting her the opportunity to advance further.

This was an enormous favor, and no repayment could be too great.

“Let’s talk about affairs of the future another time,” Zhou Heng waved his hand, not minding it.

The act of saving Xin Su was just part of a mission, and any other occurrences were merely coincidental.

To unexpectedly receive a Stars Tears Stone, as well as an opportunity to explore the legacy of the Dream Saint, was more than a windfall.

And furthermore, the Yunjiang Prefecture of Kunzhou in Southern Jin…

This seemed to be the very place Cheng Jianjian had gone.

…

According to the information provided by Xin Su, the White Hall Map of Yao Palace would not likely open until July.

Therefore, Zhou Heng was not in a hurry to go to Southern Jin.

Instead, he continued to eliminate the remaining four “targets”, which took nearly half a month, and finally met the requirements to borrow the “Innate Five Virtues and Five Motions Treasure Book”.

“Junior brother seems very eager to understand the ways of the Five Virtues and Cycles,” Yan Shouyi said with a smile.

“After all, it is the cultivation path I have chosen for myself, and the sooner I start studying it, the better,” Zhou Heng smiled.

This “Innate Five Virtues and Five Fortunes” treasure book was indeed extremely important to him at present, and he was very eager to read its contents.

Firstly, the path he had set for himself in the future involved encompassing the Five Virtues and incorporating everything. If he did not even understand what the Five Virtues and Cycles specifically entailed, this path would obviously be impassable.

Besides, the two Absolute Fourth Rank Taoist Formulas he possessed—the Yin Yang Mirror Light and the Three Treasures Ruyi Fist—all required him to have some understanding of the Five Virtues and Five Fortunes.

It could basically be considered as the core philosophy of Zhou Heng’s subsequent cultivation path.

…

“So the strand of plain white Qi I obtained previously in the Prefectural city of Ansui Prefecture is Yin Virtue Energy,” Zhou Heng thought as he closed the thick treasure book; by now, he had gained a deeper understanding of the principles of the Five Virtues and Five Fortunes, allowing him to have more insight into his future cultivation path.

Innate Five Fortunes, born alongside the Five Virtues, one Fortune suppresses one Virtue, but is also suppressed by one Virtue in turn.

If he could master the generating and overcoming relationships within, the benefits would be immense, whether it was collecting Qi of the Five Virtues and Five Fortunes or practicing Martial Arts Techniques related to them.

“Now I have the Xuan Huang Virtue within me, and my fortune naturally rises, yet fortune suppresses the Virtue of Welfare, because when one’s fortune is too good, one is likely to lose oneself, leading to absurd actions that harm one’s own welfare.

“However, practicing the Yin Yang Mirror Light requires gathering Welfare Virtue and Killer Fortune. In this case, I must be mindful of my own thoughts and accumulate Welfare Virtue, while trying as much as possible to avoid being influenced by fortune.

“Fortune is suppressed by virtue. When fortune is strong, I can use a virtuous heart to keep my mind unchanged, and when my predestined fortune is exhausted, I can use a virtuous heart to perform virtuous acts, avoiding the influence of fortune. I need to cultivate a heart of virtue.

“Additionally, I need to gather the Qi of Killer Fortune. Killer Fortune accompanies Holy Virtue; if one acts in accordance with Holy Virtue, conforms to the way of Heaven, educates living beings, then one is likely to foster a tribulation of killing, and Killer Fortune naturally arises.”

Zhou Heng’s thoughts were clear as he arranged his targets.

First, he would cultivate a heart of virtue to stabilize his own will and gather Virtue Qi, then understand his own thoughts, cultivate a heart of Welfare Virtue, gather Welfare Virtue Qi, and then cultivate Holy Virtue to induce tribulations of killing and gather Killer Fortune Qi.

With this, four of the Five Virtues would be complete, the Three Treasures Ruyi Fist could be perfected, Killer Fortune could be gathered, and the Yin Yang Mirror Light could be practiced. Then, by gathering Yin Virtue Energy, he could attempt to truly explore the path ahead and create his own unique Inner Strength.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“The essence of cultivating a heart of virtue is having sufficiently firm willpower. I have already forged the ‘Supreme Riding Ox Dharma Body’, so my heart of virtue is nearly complete. Although due to the short time, Virtue Qi has not yet condensed, it should be enough to restrain fortune and not harm Welfare Virtue.

“Then, my next step is to go to Southern Jin, cultivate a heart of Welfare Virtue, and attain a thorough understanding!”