I Cheated While Cultivating

The invitation from Zhou Tian Boundary Officer… it wasn’t the first time Zhou Heng had received one, but he hadn’t expected that such a prominent figure of Fourth Rank from within the Five Emperors would be so impatient as to directly intercept him in the sky.

It meant that the other party valued him highly.

As for this somewhat mysterious organization, Zhou Heng actually had a rather favorable impression, especially after the battle at Yuanhe Prefecture City.

During the “restart,” the situation within a hundred li was reflected in his perception, and everything Xuan Ge and Heavenly Spear did on the hills outside the city was seen by him.

Those who sacrifice themselves for others, without regards for life or death, always command respect.

In addition, his previous interactions with Cheng Jianjian were quite harmonious, and now with a high-ranking personage from the Five Emperors showing such a significant attitude of importance.

The power of the organization was also evident.

Another thing was, Zhou Heng found the codenames of the members of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer very intriguing; he wanted to figure out what they were all about.

Therefore, he was inclined to accept the invitation.

It was just unclear whether joining the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer would conflict with entering the Pure Yang Palace.

Although Cheng Jianjian had two identities, she was the direct disciple of the Fourth Rank peak master of Pure Yang Palace, and he had not even truly entered the sect; the gap was quite significant.

“Whether to accept the invitation is for you to decide,” said You Ziheng. “Zhou Tian Boundary Officer is a very large organization, basically equivalent to a joint establishment by numerous sects, noble families, and even imperial families; Pure Yang Palace does not forbid its disciples from joining.

“Hmm, there’s a nice orchard nearby in the mountains. I’ll go pick some fruit to make wine, I’ll be right back,” he added.

Having said that, he suddenly soared into the sky, flying through the dense clouds at an extremely fast speed, heading southwest towards the mountains before descending, leaving Zhou Heng alone sitting on the white crane.

“What is your decision, young friend?” asked the figure from the Five Emperors again.

“May I ask a few questions?” Zhou Heng said.

“By all means, ask,” the figure from the Five Emperors nodded.

“What exactly is the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer, what responsibilities will I need to assume after joining, what will I need to do, and what benefits will I receive?” Zhou Heng asked several critical questions.

“I can answer all of those for you,” the figure from the Five Emperors said. “Simply put, the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer is a secret organization responsible for concealing the existence of demon entities, tracking their whereabouts, and eliminating them, which you should already know.

“To elaborate, the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer was established primarily by the royal families of Da Qi, Da Jin, and Da Zhou, as well as by top-tier sects and noble families, based on a unique divine weapon; it is an organization aimed at maintaining world stability and investigating certain matters.

“Actions against demon entities and evil creatures are indeed manifestations of maintaining world stability. Additionally, resisting demon entities emerging from the forbidden lands of the West Wasteland is also what Zhou Tian Boundary Officer needs to do.

“If you accept the invitation, I will take you to a place where you can choose your codename within the organization and be allocated a corresponding mask. When acting as a member of Zhou Tian Boundary Officer, it is best to use the codename.

“At the Lower Third Rank stage, you will be assigned some moderately sized tasks, such as tracking down demon entities, eliminating specific ones, and investigating suspicious incidents.

“Once your cultivation reaches the Middle Third Rank, the tasks against demon entities will continue but on a higher level. In addition, you will also need to eliminate evildoers causing havoc, defend against demon entities in Xi Liang, and investigate high-level secretive incidents.

“As for the benefits, the most direct one is once you have chosen your codename and mask, you will be granted a divine skill that corresponds to the codename—at least Upper Third Rank in strength—and a Taoist formula that can leverage the power of that unique divine weapon to eliminate demon entities.

“Beyond that, there are benefits naturally brought about by the connections within the organization, such as trading and exchanging items or seeking help.

I won’t go into detail about these. I will only mention the core benefit provided by the organization, which is of the utmost concern to most members.

“And that is—fulfilling wishes.”

“Fulfilling wishes?” Zhou Heng was taken aback and asked incredulously, “Any wish can be granted?”

“Not exactly; outlandish wishes won’t have any effect, like wishing to become the master of the universe or something like that,” the figure from the Five Emperors joked before continuing:

“As long as the wish is relatively normal, it will be proposed, and the required number of virtuous deeds will be given. So far, what we have seen is that once enough virtuous deeds are accumulated, the wish is sure to be fulfilled.

“Virtuous deeds are one of the rewards you receive after completing tasks assigned by the organization, of course, there will be other rewards, and you will find out after completing tasks.”

“Accumulating virtuous deeds through completed tasks to make a wish,” Zhou Heng marveled in astonishment. “This is truly miraculous.”

“Indeed, it is miraculous,” the figure from the Five Emperors agreed with some nostalgia, seemingly lost in thought. “At first, I was even doubtful when I heard about it.

“After all, how could there be something in this world that can fulfill people’s wishes? Yet, when I had accumulated enough virtuous deeds, my wish actually came true.”

“Such a miraculous thing, it must be something many dream of joining,” Zhou Heng frowned slightly and said in puzzlement. “Normally, Zhou Tian Boundary Officer should already be bursting at the seams with members.”

But why did it seem like many strong individuals showed no inclination to join Zhou Tian Boundary Officer? And from previous events, it appeared as though the organization might still be short-staffed.

“Good question,” the figure from the Five Emperors laughed. “Noticing this issue means you haven’t been blinded by the miraculous benefits and your thoughts remain clear, which is very important.

“Actually, the reason is quite simple. Whether one is eligible to join the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer is not for us to decide, but rather, it is determined by the judgment of that Unique Divine Weapon.”

“The identity mask we wear is part of that Unique Divine Weapon; it has a function that can preliminarily assess if a person might be accepted by it.”

“Only those who attain the acceptance of the Unique Divine Weapon can obtain the organization code and mask, as well as many corresponding benefits, including making a wish with good deeds.”

“However, such individuals are exceedingly rare and extremely scarce.”

“It is said that when the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer was first established, many people applied to join on their own accord, but as time went by, everyone came to recognize the reality. Eventually, unwritten rules began to form.” “Generally speaking, if we do not extend an invitation, it means that there is no hope of gaining recognition from the Unique Divine Weapon, and even if one wishes to join, it would be futile.”

“Does that mean I have a chance of being recognized?” Zhou Heng said with a smile.

“Of course.” The Fifth Emperor’s Inner Seat nodded slightly, then added, “But there are also many who reject our invitation. Because once you join the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer, you must often walk the path of chasing after ghostly and evil spirits, constantly accompanied by the threat of death.”

“All investigative tasks can entail unexpected dangers, and if one doesn’t respond appropriately, it could lead to instant death. The most dangerous missions are those going to Xi Liang to defend against Demon Entities, where even Upper Third Rank individuals could perish.”

“Besides, members of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer are seen as thorns in the side by ghostly and evil spirits. If one carelessly exposes their true identity, it could even bring calamity upon their relatives, which is another reason why many refuse.”

“These ghostly and evil spirits would attack the relatives of Zhou Tian Boundary Officer members in revenge?” Zhou Heng exclaimed in surprise, something he had not considered before.

“Yes,” the Fifth Emperor’s Inner Seat nodded and said, “But most ghostly and evil spirits would not recklessly retaliate against unrelated members of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer, as that would expose their whereabouts and bring fatal trouble upon themselves.”

“However, if it is a spirit that you are currently investigating or one that you have wounded but managed to escape, once it learns of your true identity, it is very likely to take revenge by attacking your relatives.”

“Nevertheless, for such wounded and escaped spirits, we notify all members in the nearby regions to kill it as swiftly as possible to avoid actual reprisals against our members.”

“Can I give my response after I’ve been home to see my parents?” Zhou Heng asked.

“Of course, you can.” The Fifth Emperor’s Inner Seat nodded, then handed Zhou Heng a talisman drawn with cinnabar, saying with a smile, “Once you have made up your mind, burn this talisman, and I will come to meet you.”

“Thank you,” Zhou Heng said with a bow.

“There’s no need for thanks,” the Fifth Emperor’s Inner Seat replied with a smile. “I awaityour response.”

With that, he transformed into a streak of multi-colored light flying off into the distance, cutting through the air and rapidly disappearing like a bolt of lightning.

At this juncture, You Ziheng just happened to have returned with a plentiful harvest of fruit, his face full of joy.

“How did the talk go?” he asked.

“I said I would give them an answer after I return home,” Zhou Heng replied.

“That’s the right thing to do,” You Ziheng nodded and said with a smile.

Clearly, he knew about the situation of the members of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer and appeared to be quite well-informed.

You Ziheng increased the speed of the White Crane’s flight, quickly bringing Zhou Heng to a deep mountain forest. This was the place where Zhou Heng had lived for half a year after he had traversed to this world.

This was also the first time Zhou Heng looked down upon this place from high above.

“Hmm?” He suddenly uttered a soft exclamation, looking down at the scene below, then suddenly stood up, his face showing an expression of disbelief as he said, “Howis that possible?!”

“Are you sure this is the place?” You Ziheng looked down with some confusion, then turned to Zhou Heng, saying, “There’s no trace of human habitation here, where is the village?”

“It’s definitely here,” Zhou Heng replied with a furrowed brow, pointing in a direction, and said, “You Ziheng, land over there.”

“Alright,” You Ziheng nodded, guiding the White Crane to descend.

After dismounting from the White Crane, Zhou Heng stared at the lush, leafy forest in front of him, dumbfounded and sinking into deep bewilderment.

This was clearly the place where he had lived, the place he returned to every couple of months, the place he would come back to every year for the New Year.

There should be parents of his in this world, there should be some of the first people he met after arriving in this world, there should be a peaceful and serene little mountain village.

But why was there nothing here now?

“When was the last time you came back here?” You Ziheng first inquired while also observing the surroundings and even extending his Divine Sense to discern whether there were human-made changes affecting the environment.

After a moment of silence, he then looked at Zhou Heng with a complicated expression and said, “Unless a powerful being beyond my perceptive range has changed the environment, this place has been uninhabited for at least a hundred years.”

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