I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 389: Chapter 109: Five Virtues Complete, Mana Boundless!

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Huh!

At the moment the outline of the Jade Ruyi condensed, it was as if layers of invisible force spread out from Jade Void Peak Golden Top as the axis, causing the vast sea of clouds to surge and then ripple outwards.

Around the Jade Void Peak Golden Top, it suddenly became empty, devoid of even a wisp of cloud.

The tremendous changes in the sea of clouds naturally also alarmed the people on the other peaks, who felt the qi between heaven and earth undergoing a strange change, becoming more amiable, easier to perceive, and easier to refine.

For the Sect Fifth Rank and above martial artists, their perception was even clearer, sensing that the laws and Taoist rhymes around Taihua Mount had become much clearer, indicating signs of advancement in their Taoist practices.

This was simply inconceivable.

Normally, unless one directly witnessed a Celestial Power performing Taoist formulas with principles similar to one’s own, it was nearly impossible to achieve such an easy advancement in Taoist practice.

“What happened?”

“What’s going on, it’s coming from the direction of Jade Void Peak…”

“Could it be that the sect leader has condensed the Tao seed?”

Many people looked towards the direction of Jade Void Peak, their hearts filled with confusion.

At this time, the Jade Ruyi, which had been just an outline, gradually condensed into its True Form, turning into a palm-sized Jade Ruyi, suspended above the Golden Peak of Jade Void Peak.

The gentle and soft radiance of the Jade Ruyi illuminated the entire Ta Hua Mount in an instant.

At this moment, every creature still on Ta Hua Mount noticed the Jade Ruyi above the Golden Top of Jade Void Peak, all casting their gazes that way.

Whether it was the common disciples who had just entered the sect, Seventh Rank Warriors who had made some achievements, or the Great Grandmasters who stood at the pinnacle of the world, all stopped to watch, attracted by the brilliance of the Jade Ruyi.

Even some Celestials who lived in seclusion within their Cave Sky extended their powers to sense the intertwining Taoist Rhyme Theory on the Jade Ruyi and bask in its brilliance.

Under the watchful eyes of many disciples of the Pure Yang Palace, the Jade Ruyi began to further perfect itself.

Around it, purple qi rose, signifying the essence of virtue, and at its apex, it seemed to bloom a golden lotus of holy virtue, while the energy of Yin Virtue took the form of exquisitely unparalleled patterns, engraved upon the Jade Ruyi.

With the three treasures assembled, it ultimately condensed into a Jade Ruyi interwoven with purple, white, and golden hues, crystal clear, pure, and dignified, known as the “Three Treasures Jade Ruyi.”

This Three Treasures Jade Ruyi hovered in the air, its radiance scattering.

It gave the impression that it could suppress stray thoughts, suppress life and death, suppress the passage of time, suppress the crumbling of the void.

“What is this?”

“What kind of treasure has emerged?”

“A Celestial Divine Artifact?”

Many were confused in their hearts, but many of the pinnacle Great Grandmasters and Celestial Powers had already discerned the nature of this Jade Ruyi.

A Martial Arts phenomenon!

This Jade Ruyi was merely a phenomenon produced by practicing martial arts, and judging from the intensity of this phenomenon, it seemed it hadn’t reached the level of Dharma Phase yet.

Who was cultivating martial arts at the Golden Top of Jade Void Peak?

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What martial arts is being cultivated?

Just as everyone was puzzled, suddenly two more lights soared into the sky.

They then materialized into their true forms, one a yin-yang treasure mirror interwoven with black and white energies, and the other a thirty-three-layered Xuan Huang treasure pagoda, both emitting the charm of supreme treasures.

These three supreme treasures floated above Jade Void Peak, their Taoist Rhyme Theories interweaving with each other, seemingly merging together. Moments later, they became one, transforming into a five-colored radiance.

“Innate Five Virtues Energy—it seems someone is attempting to follow the path of integrating the Innate Five Virtues,” a Great Grandmaster of Absolute Fourth Rank exclaimed in shock, staring at the scene above with utter astonishment.

“Innate Five Virtues… what is that?” asked a disciple whose Cultivation Realm and experience were insufficient, raising a question.

“It represents the power that symbolizes the operation of the laws of heaven. Ordinary people who manage to learn one type are considered immensely fortunate. Now someone wishes to use the path of the Five Virtues to coalesce a Dharma Phase, which is truly inconceivable,” that Great Grandmaster marveled.

Similar scenes occurred all over Taihua Mount.

Anyone who recognized the power of the Five Virtues Energy and witnessed this spectacle felt shocked beyond belief, almost doubting whether they were experiencing an illusion.

Who is this saint who dares to cultivate the Dharma Phase along the path of the Five Virtues? It’s too insane!

After all, for a normal Martial Artist, the first problem faced in coalescing a Dharma Phase is whether the body can contain the interwoven laws.

If the body is not strong enough, the Taoist practice not profound enough, or the Divine Soul not resilient enough, intertwining overly powerful laws could very likely cause one to explode on the spot.

The requirements for containing just one of the Five Virtues are already extremely high, and now someone intends to manage all five, which speaks volumes about the difficulty.

And so, amidst many astonished and bewildered gazes, the five-colored light of the harmonious Five Virtues continued to spiral in the sky, becoming more and more tangible, as if an invisible force was acting as the core of the Five Virtues Energy, drawing it together.

Gradually, the Five Virtues Energy spun faster and faster until it finally condensed into a small, indistinct pill.

This pill was small and exquisite, about the size of a baby’s fist, its luster like chaos, as if it contained nothing, yet seemed to encompass everything.

Soon after, five-colored light spilled from the chaotic pill, once again highlighting the Taoist Rhyme Theory of the Five Virtues Energy.

However, unlike before, these Five Virtues Energy did not congeal into treasures, but rather intertwined with each other, outlining the silhouette of a human figure, which quickly solidified.

In the blink of an eye, the Five Virtues Energy formed a Taoist figure that stood over a hundred meters tall.

The features of this Taoist figure were indistinct, and he wore a Tai Chi Taoist Robe, holding a Jade Ruyi in his hand while exuding a charm that seemed to carry all the laws of the world, encompassing everything and accommodating all things.

In that moment, many felt an instinctive sense that this Taoist figure represented all the great dao and laws of the world, embodying the essence of both matter and illusion, the origin of all things.

Of course, this sensation was fleeting, and people quickly came to their senses. Yet, the impression created by that sensation was deeply etched into the hearts of everyone on Taihua Mount.

Without a doubt, the fellow disciple who had just attempted to coalesce a Dharma Phase with the path of the Five Virtues had succeeded, truly forming a Dharma Phase that accommodated the Five Virtues!

Unbelievable!

Who could it be?

Who has such great ability to have collected the Five Virtues Energy before reaching the rank of Sect Fifth Grade, to integrate the path of the Five Virtues so completely, forging their own path and successfully manifesting a Dharma Phase that embodies the Five Virtues?

Now, everyone on Taihua Mount only wanted to know the answer to this question.

Who is the person who coalesced the Dharma Phase?

Just then, above the Golden Peak of Jade Void Peak, a cloud of light ascended, and a figure stood upon it. He flew up into the sky and positioned himself in front of the Dharma Phase assembled by the Five Virtues path.

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It was Zhou Heng.

…

Refining the Dharma Phase, achieving the Fifth Rank, he joined the ranks of the Grandmasters.

This was the current Zhou Heng.

Every person on Taihua Mount saw this figure standing in front of the colossal Daoist Dharma Phase, and their hearts were once again filled with an unprecedented shock.

It was actually Zhou Heng.

It was him!

How much time had passed, and he had already refined his Dharma Phase!

“Two years, it seems to have been only two years, right?”

“Two years ago, this young junior uncle was just a Ninth Rank Warrior when he joined the sect!”

“Too fast! This is way too fast!”

“It’s simply inconceivable!”

“Is this the reincarnation of a great power?”

The voices of astonishment were continuous, as Zhou Heng’s cultivation speed was far too exaggerated, completely defying logic.

However, all anomalies could be explained by the reincarnation of a great power.

Zhou Heng listened to these exclamations and couldn’t help but feel somewhat emotional.

Originally using the excuse of a great power’s reincarnation to cover up the origins of his powerful and abnormal skill cards, he never expected it would unintentionally lead to such a profound impact.

“An opportunity came, and I broke through, disturbing everyone, please do not blame me,” Zhou Heng said.

Standing in the air, Zhou Heng retracted his Dharma Phase and clasped his hands in apology to the many fellow sect members on Taihua Mount. After all, the commotion he had caused was indeed disturbing the peace.

But his act of courtesy caused the many disciples of Pure Yang Palace on Taihua Mount to return the gesture.

“It is we who should be thanking the young junior uncle even more.”

“When you broke through, the light of the Laws bathed the entire Taihua Mount and allowed our own cultivation paths to advance.”

“Junior Brother Zhou, I have been stuck at Sect Fifth Rank for over a hundred years; today, I finally see a glimmer of hope. It is I who should thank you!”

“Many thanks to the young junior uncle!”

“Thank you, Junior Brother Zhou!”

Among these people were disciples of the seventh generation of Pure Yang Palace as well as those of the sixth generation, the same as Zhou Heng. They all thanked Zhou Heng profusely, as the light released during the condensing of the Jade Ruyi’s True Form had brought them a huge increase in their capabilities.

“Congratulations to the young junior uncle for refining the Dharma Phase and having mana that reaches the heavens.” At this moment, Chen Xuan also flew out from the Golden Peak of Jade Void Peak and said with a clasped hand and a smile, “Possessing all five virtues, you perform the Taoist Rhyme Theory of the heavens. Although this Dharma Phase is newly formed, within the realm of Sect Fifth Rank, there are few who can be considered your match.”

“The path ahead is still to be explored, it’s nothing much,” Zhou Heng said with a slight shake of his head and a wave of his hand to modestly downplay it. He then returned with Chen Xuan to the Golden Peak of Jade Void Peak and asked, “Has elder brother not returned yet?”

“Not yet,” Chen Xuan shook his head and said, “However, the master had said that it’s normal for him not to return for a year and a half, and told me not to worry.”

“A year and a half…” Zhou Heng frowned slightly and said, “It seems that the problem elder brother is facing is indeed quite serious. Chen Xuan, I need to isolate myself for further cultivation refinement for some time. You’ll have your hands full with matters pertaining to Pure Yang Palace.”

With Yan Shouyi’s strength as a premier Celestial Man of his time, and yet not having passed through the first Celestial Tribulation, it was likely that some secret technique was used to deceive the heavenly Dao, which means he might face an extremely powerful tribulation.

“Rest assured, young junior uncle,” Chen Xuan nodded.

…

The Dharma Phase that Zhou Heng had refined was complete with all five virtues and had formed an inner world, its power and characteristics differed from ordinary Dharma Phases.

Normally, after refining the Dharma Phase, the True Gang is transformed into mana. While obtaining the ability to further harness the power of heaven and earth, it also possesses the powerful ability to manipulate certain Laws and even influence Taoist Rhyme Theory and rules.

For any martial artist who has not refined their Dharma Phase, this represents an almost overwhelming power, which is the characteristic strength brought by mana.

But while mana is powerful, it faces a problem.

Mana, unlike True Qi and True Gang, cannot recover on its own. Instead, it requires the deliberate operation of the Dharma Phase to absorb the qi of heaven and earth and blend with the Taoist Rhyme Theory to refine and gradually recover.

This process is quite cumbersome for martial artists at the Dharma Phase level, meaning they cannot instantly recover mana.

Simply put, the mana possessed by a Sect Fifth Rank is like a reservoir. When fighting and using mana, it will deplete the water in the reservoir, and even after fighting ends, the water level won’t recover unless you actively refill it.

Many Fifth Rank Grandmasters spend most of their time in meditation, operating their Dharma Phase to accumulate mana, increasing the water volume in their reservoir for unexpected needs.

Therefore, Fifth Rank Grandmasters rarely take action. When they do, it is often a thunderous strike, aiming to avoid long battles in order to conserve mana.

For most Fifth Rank Grandmasters, mana really decreases with every use.

Among Grandmasters of the same realm, unless there is a fundamental difference in the grade of the Dharma Phase, or they possess powerful magic weapons, the most significant impact on their strength is the amount of mana they have.

“Boundless mana” is a phrase used to compliment Fifth Rank Grandmasters.

For a Sect Fifth Rank with boundless mana will have strength utterly surpassing that of ordinary Sect Fifth Rank, and even be able to negate weaknesses due to the Dharma Phase grade.

But compliments are just compliments after all.

In reality, even if different levels of martial arts cultivation result in Dharma Phases with unique characteristics, some of which accumulate mana very quickly, or even manage to recover small amounts of mana during battle, none truly reach the realm of boundless mana.

Zhou Heng was different. Thanks to the specialty of having all five virtues, his inner realm had truly formed a prototype similar to a small universe, capable of refining and accumulating mana at any time, even in the midst of battle.

Furthermore, after his realm increased, his control over the Ta Yang Cave Sky also improved, enabling him to draw on more of its energy as a supplement, enough to ensure an endless supply of mana.

As long as mana is generated faster than it’s consumed, it truly is boundless mana.

“With my current strength, even without using the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique, few at the level of Sect Fifth Rank would be my match. Against an average Absolute Fourth Rank, I could also fight,” Zhou Heng thought to himself. “If I utilize the martial arts and Taoist Formulas from the Three Purities inheritance and condense the shadow of a treasure to fight, there probably aren’t many in the Absolute Fourth Rank who could defeat me.

“It’s a pity that the grade of the Eight Gates of Life and Death isn’t high enough. At the level of Sect Fifth Rank, it’s no longer possible to use it to correct the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique, otherwise, my strength could be even greater.”

After breaking through to Sect Fifth Rank, Zhou Heng’s strength had skyrocketed, making him one of the peerless beings of his time.

“Indeed, after refining my Dharma Phase, my sensitivity to and control over the Purple Tenuity Palace has also strengthened,” Zhou Heng checked his other gains.

“However, to understand exactly what new privileges have been added, I’ll have to wait until I return to the Purple Tenuity Palace to figure it out.”