Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

"Now that we're closer, we don't need to be so formal with 'Your Excellency,' how about we address each other as Senior Sister and Junior Brother?"

"Then we'll listen to Junior Brother Chu." Qu Wuyue agreed, then remembered something and said seriously, "There's something I don't understand. Did Junior Brother Chu expose his whereabouts to the royal family in Xiling? When the rumors started circulating outside that you had sneaked back to Xiling, we investigated everywhere and found that some of them were spread by Buddhist monks on their way to beg for alms, while others were suspected to be spread by Emperor Tianji's henchmen. These rumors were spread around the same time."

"...Perhaps, the royal family just stumbled upon this by sheer luck? My whereabouts must not be revealed, so it can only be their guess. It is indeed strange that this information was spread at the same time."

Chapter Six: Beware of the Shattered Dream Blade

It's not surprising that the royal family would do this, because it's a win-win situation for them. If Chu Mingkong is still in the Stone Bamboo Forest Secret Realm, nothing will happen. But if he really runs away, it's just a lucky coincidence that he's put some pressure on them.

But no matter what, it doesn't matter anymore, because whatever happens here only concerns him, and he's alive and kicking, so no matter how many rumors there are, they're nothing to worry about.

The key is to reduce the pressure on Xiaoxiang Qin Academy first. Once the pressure on Xiaoxiang Qin Academy is reduced, it will be much easier for Chu Mingkong to secretly transport people here and send the Cui family out of the capital. Wenqing Pavilion is actually not bad, but it is a bit far away.

Chu Mingkong asked:

"By the way, what's the deal with that Sword Profound Sect? Did they deliberately use the Heavenly Extreme Empire as an excuse to suppress you?"

Qu Wuyue slowly shook her head and said gently and slowly:

"Not entirely. The Heavenly Pole Empire has long harbored ambitions to break the secular empire's suppression by sects. In fact, the Heavenly Pole Academy was just one attempt, but it was rather unsuccessful. The sons of kings and nobles are used to enjoying life, and most of them do not have the determination to endure hardship and cultivate. Even if they do, it is relatively rare."

Moreover, the Tianji Empire also faces some problems in sending people to various sects for training. If the people sent out really achieve success in their cultivation, they will gradually regard the dynasty and secular families as their burdens and will not care about secular matters.

The old master of the Cui family was like that. He couldn't let go of his family, but he definitely regarded his family as a burden. Those with a weaker sense of clan would not care how the dynasty changed emperors.

Chu Mingkong nodded in agreement, then asked further:

"What does this have to do with the Sword Profound Sect?"

Qu Wuyue continued:

"Yes, there are. In the previous generation of the Tianji royal family, there was an uncle who competed with the late emperor for the favor of the most beautiful woman of that generation. At that time, the late emperor had not yet ascended the throne and was not even the crown prince. However, this kind of competition for favor was actually nothing more than a contest of fists."

Chu Mingkong vaguely guessed the reason. He took a sip of tea with a strange expression to calm his groin pain, but he had already finished his tea. He could only say helplessly:

"Judging from the final result, the late emperor must have won, right?"

The young and beautiful acting sect leader picked up the teapot, poured him some tea, and nodded, saying:

"Yes, since then, this royal uncle has gone far away to cultivate at the Sword Profound Sect. He has achieved great success in his cultivation and no longer cares about the affairs of the Heavenly Extreme Empire. He came out of seclusion a few days ago, and it is said that his cultivation level has broken through a lot. I don't know why, but he started to miss the woman he once longed for."

Before she could finish speaking, Chu Mingkong said:

"He proposed taking Madam Zhen to live at the Sword Profound Sect, and then putting pressure on you on behalf of the Heavenly Extreme Royal Family?!"

"That's right," Qu Wuyue replied affirmatively.

"Whose idea was this? Was it the opinion of the royal family? Although Lady Zhen has been stripped of her title as Empress Dowager, she still holds a senior position over those royal family members due to her connection with Princess Yongzhen. How did this turn around and offend the late Emperor?"

"It seems to be the Emperor's opinion. After the news of Princess Yongzhen's preparation for a marriage alliance spread, it may have reached the Sword Profound Sect, making this royal uncle aware of it. He then remembered the woman he once admired and took the initiative to contact the royal family... These are relatively easy pieces of information to gather. Further details are unknown. We didn't pay much attention to the movements of the Tianji royal family before."

So, does this mean that it was the emperor's own decision to let that imperial uncle take Lady Zhen to live with him? Ordinary members of the royal family wouldn't dare to cause trouble for Lady Zhen.

What is this nonsense? According to seniority, Madam Zhen is the Emperor's mother. Does this mean that the Emperor's elder sister Yongzhen will be sent first, and then the mother?

Chu Mingkong was considering whether to go and negotiate with the dog emperor in person, asking him to take care of his wife, Empress Pei, and daughter, Princess Jinyu. Chu Mingkong promised to leave the Tianji Empire without hesitation and would never hold a grudge against him again, nor would he cause him any trouble.

That's outrageous!

After a moment of silence, Chu Mingkong asked:

"Do you have any information about this royal uncle?"

"Venerable Wenxin has cultivated both sword and saber, and seems to have mastered a technique for cultivating both. Unfortunately, no one knows the technique. It is said that he obtained it from the Immortal Treasure Pavilion at auction many years ago. His sword and saber realm had already reached the Saint Realm a long time ago, but it is unclear now. His strength is quite remarkable!"

Judging from Qu Wuyue's attitude, Chu Mingkong sensed her recognition of this person's strength, even though his title had a somewhat familiar feel to it.

"Is the 'Questioning the Heart' in this 'Venerable Questioner of the Heart' related to the Questioning Love Pavilion, or is it just a coincidence?"

"Yes, after Venerable Wenxin left the secular dynasty, he was amazed by the beauty of the Pavilion Master of Wenqing Pavilion. He tried to become her Daoist partner after diligently cultivating, but was repelled by the Pavilion Master of Wenqing Pavilion with a single finger. Later, to express his feelings, this royal uncle named himself 'Wenxin'."

Good grief, after asking your heart, you're going to go find your first love, right?

"Very well, I'll go and meet this Venerable Wenxin. Senior Sister Qu, could you help me find out his whereabouts?"

"It's nothing, I'll let you know as soon as I have any news."

After expressing his gratitude, Chu Mingkong gave Qu Wuyue some local specialties from Xiling. The specialties ranged from high-end jade and famous teas to salted fish and dried vegetables, all with a strong local flavor.

Chu Mingkong returned to the room Qu Wuyue had arranged for him, quickly took out a note and contacted Qingse, urgently asking her for information.

[Did Venerable Wenxin purchase any cultivation manuals from your Immortal Treasure Pavilion before? Can you check this?]

Qingse responded quickly, presumably having been in her Immortal Treasure Pavilion the whole time. This kind of client information is usually confidential; Chu Mingkong was already figuring out how to negotiate the price, but Qingse had told him directly.

[I just checked, and yes, I've bought quite a few sword and saber manuals. They're mostly sect manuals that were accidentally leaked, but the rank isn't high. I also bought a fragment of a manual before called "Shattered Dream Sword Manual," but I don't know what the full version is like. Anyway, it's a sword and saber manual that isn't well-known.]

Why are you asking this?

We haven't even entered the era of price discrimination based on big data yet, and consumers already have no privacy at all?

Chu Mingkong replied to the past:

I plan to find out more about his cultivation techniques and then eliminate this Venerable Questioner; he's overstepped his bounds.

It took Qingse a long time to reply, probably because she was startled by Chu Mingkong's response and didn't expect to become an accomplice. Qingse had always communicated with Chu Mingkong about business matters, so she assumed this was another business opportunity and handed him the information without hesitation.

[Then if anyone asks you about it in the future, don't say it was me who told you, especially if someone from the Sword Profound Sect asks you. Just say you heard it at the Xiling Teahouse...]

Putting away the note, Chu Mingkong pondered that there was nothing at Xiaoxiang Qin Academy that he could immediately address. He decided to take advantage of this time to secretly go to the capital to see Yongzhen and the others.

------

P.S.: By the way, does anyone know the "Shattered Dream Blade" meme...?

Chapter Seven: Don't talk nonsense, I haven't touched this woman!

Chu Mingkong explained his itinerary to Zuo Qiuchi and Feng Ying, expressing his intention to meet with the Venerable Wenxin later.

Zuo Qiuchi and Feng Ying had no objections. They would resolve the conflict wherever it arose, especially since they didn't have any power to worry about. If they really encountered a tough opponent, they could easily run away.

Zuo Qiuchi asked his apprentice for a basket of desserts to go with his drinks, and then chugged them down with strong liquor, saying:

"The sect leader of the Sword Profound Sect is quite powerful. Both the previous and current generations are excellent. The elders in the sect are also quite strong. Their ability to form a sword formation to fight is even more impressive. It is said that it was created by their very, very, very old sect leader, using his own Sword Immortal realm as a hypothetical enemy, and that he created a sword formation that can trap Sword Immortal realm cultivators."

So, Mingkong, it's fine if you go looking for trouble with the Sword Profound Sect, but don't cause trouble in their sacred grounds.

This was the first time Feng Ying had heard of the Sword Profound Sect having a Trapping Immortal Sword Formation, so he asked:

"No matter what kind of formation it is, it's almost the same as a so-called barrier. But Zuo Qiuchi, can this sword formation you mentioned really contain the full power of the War God's attack?"

Chu Mingkong could understand Feng Ying's feelings at this moment. Having been used to coming and going in heavily guarded places, he wanted to test the waters of a place where it was impossible to escape once he heard about it, to see if he would be unable to extricate himself once he went in.

Although this idea is incredibly risky, it actually exists.

Zuo Qiuchi sensed the two's reckless and suicidal mentality. The rice wine in her mouth was already burning her throat, and she almost spat it out.

"Just don't make me go and rescue you two. Do you even know how the Sword Profound Sect's former sect master, who created this sword formation, died?"

Feng Ying didn't want to answer, but she wanted to say it quickly, so she followed up by asking:

"How did you die? Tell me quickly."

"His eldest disciple wanted to inherit the position of sect leader as soon as possible, so he joined forces with several elders who had rebellious intentions and used that sword formation to kill that sword immortal. This proves that the sword formation is indeed powerful. There are so many sects that cultivate the way of the sword, so why does the Sword Profound Sect sit in the top position?"

They've produced sword immortals, and they've even killed one. No other sect has achieved such results!

Chu Mingkong and Feng Ying were speechless, but their eagerness had indeed diminished considerably.

Halfway through their chat, he gave his two good sisters another instruction: to take good care of Xiaoxiang Qin Academy during this time. He told them to just help with odd jobs and handle sect assignments, but if anyone infiltrated or caused trouble, they should still step in.

Otherwise, these two might really just sit idly by and do nothing, purely based on their mood.

"Then you should ask the acting sect leader for an elder's token or something like that, otherwise your movements here will be restricted everywhere," Feng Ying said.

Elder's Token, do I need to ask someone else for this?

Chu Mingkong immediately took out two elder tokens and gave them to the two of them, saying readily:

"If anyone asks you how you got this brand, just say my name!"

Zuo Qiuchi looked at the token in his hand suspiciously, wondering if it was fake, and said:

"Where did all these come from? What kind of sect gives away three Elder Tokens at once?"

Chu Mingkong coughed awkwardly:

"The elders of Xiaoxiang Qin Academy were impressed by my magnanimity and personal charm, and they gave it to me voluntarily. Don't ask, because they won't give you a straight answer anyway."

"By the way, Fengying, are you sure I won't be questioned if I run into the capital now?"

Regarding the extreme yin energy, we can temporarily rely on applying something like Golden Crow Jade Essence, which can be considered as using perfume to mask his masculine scent. However, there's no way to make him take off his clothes for an examination.

Feng Ying wouldn't make such a guarantee, so she shrugged and said:

"All I can do is reduce the chances of being suspected. If you really do run away, just do it."

There was a sudden knock on the door. Zuo Qiuchi straightened her unladylike posture, and Chu Mingkong responded:

"The door is unlocked, please come in."

The one who entered the room was Elder Si Chunhua of the Punishment Hall.

Perhaps because of what happened last time, when I saw this voluptuous and beautiful elder again, her clothes were more conservative than before, but her elegant demeanor and intellectual charm remained unchanged.

However, her conservative attire only stirred up Chu Mingkong's memories of that time, as if her delicate, white, and virgin-like beautiful body was right before his eyes.

He was looking at Si Chunhua, and the other person was looking at him.

This period of separation could hardly be called a long farewell, but his brand-new outfit did catch Si Chunhua's eye. Just as men love to look at beautiful women, women also like to look at handsome men.

As the saying goes, customs vary from place to place, even within a few miles. Chu Mingkong had spent a long time in the capital, so his clothing inevitably followed the prevailing literary style of the city. Although there was nothing wrong with his attire, the styles were still somewhat incompatible.

The outfit he's wearing now combines the primitive wildness of the tribes' beliefs from the Crescent Kingdom with the gold ornaments on his arms and the white highlights in his hair, giving him an air of nobility.

Fengying said it was just a casual outfit, but deep down she still preferred her man to look good, so she would definitely dress him up however he looked good.

"Elder Si, what brings you here?"

Elder Si Chunhua snapped out of her reverie, glanced away, then looked back at Chu Mingkong and said naturally: