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

He chose a prime location in the house, with a view and a breeze, making him feel completely at ease.

Zuo Qiuchi also dragged an armchair to Chu Mingkong's side, lay down comfortably, and stretched out her plump, beautiful legs, placing them on Chu Mingkong's stomach. Chu Mingkong's stomach was hit, and his body trembled slightly, but he continued to lie there like a dead fish, feeling quite uncomfortable.

"Hey, your elders are curious about these things, so please be understanding of their curiosity. Just be open and honest when it's time to change. Just now, your Aunt Gu came over and asked me if there would be any harm in changing size. Did you make up some excuse to fool those elders in the Cui family?"

Chu Mingkong watched as Zuo Qiuchi's soft feet swayed in front of him. He silently took out a pair of stockings and put them on her. He didn't bother to see what kind of stockings they were; he treated it like a blind box lottery. The result was a pair of black stockings and a pair of fishnet stockings. He had no choice but to put the black stockings on his master's one leg and then put the fishnet stockings on the other leg.

This barely managed to create a connection between black stockings and fishnet stockings... Chu Mingkong nodded in satisfaction:

"That's impossible to fool. Aunt Gu was just showing concern for me normally. How could I scare them with something like that? So, Master, what was your answer to her?"

Zuo Qiuchi pulled out a viewing stone that recorded Chu Mingkong's dark history: "I said I have one, do you want to see what Mingkong looks like when he has an attack?"

Chu Mingkong's expression froze:

"...You...you showed it to her?"

"Of course not."

Chu Mingkong breathed a sigh of relief. His master still loved him and wouldn't let him embarrass himself in such a situation.

He kissed Zuo Qiuchi's delicate foot affectionately, and then heard Zuo Qiuchi say:

"I gathered all your elders together and showed it to them, including that Miss Rong'er. She's quite pretty, isn't she?"

"...?"

Chu Mingkong suddenly realized how fragile trust between people could be, and he froze on the spot.

However, Zuo Qiuchi was just bluffing him and did not actually take out the viewing stone in front of Gu Jungui.

Chu Mingkong's grief and indignation came and went quickly. While he still had the leisure to be a couch potato, he made the most of the time to lie still and not utter any more words.

These past few days, ostensibly to recover from injuries, I've actually been trying to satisfy the curiosity of my sisters-in-law and Shangguan Rong by shrinking down and letting them hold and play with me.

Even Elder Si Chunhua came to visit him more often, ostensibly to see if these guests were used to it and if they needed any care.

Chu Mingkong was worried that Aunt Gu and the others wouldn't be used to life in the sect's holy land, so he shrunk down to accompany them. He figured the novelty would wear off after a few days.

That's understandable!

Chu Mingkong continued to hold his master's warm, jade-like feet, his heart filled with many emotions, especially during these few days of spiritual vein refractory period, when he had been thinking a lot.

Most of the people he had been thinking about in the capital had already left, and the things he had been worried about since leaving the capital were finally put to rest.

At that time, he was in Xiling and was really worried that the royal family would find out that he had run away and then directly detain Aunt Gu as a hostage, which was something he didn't want to see.

Judging from the various developments these past few days, the Emperor has been paying much more attention to the Cui family since waking up. If it had been any later, they might have really had to go and snatch Aunt Gu back.

The remaining ones are Yongzhen, who is to be married off for political reasons, Jinyu, and perhaps the Empress.

Some things weren't about his ulterior motives. If he only took Jinyu away, Jinyu would definitely worry about her mother in the future. If something really happened to the Empress in the palace, Jinyu would be even more at ease.

There was no other way but to make plans in advance and bring this mature and beautiful peach queen over to take care of her as well!

This,

It was all because Chu Mingkong, as a subject and a junior, had a deep filial piety towards his beautiful mother-in-law and a sincere love for Jinyu, not wanting her to have a day of sadness and tears!

However, it's time to give the Filial Piety System a break, as I haven't played with it in a long time.

Previously, he was worried that his income level could not keep up with the rapidly developing consumption level, so he hesitated to enter a new stage of consumption. He even hesitated to buy his elders a pair of stockings, underwear, and bellybands, fearing that the intimate clothing he bought was too simple (revealing). He was afraid that his clothes would not cover his body and that he would not be able to meet their approval.

Now that we've escaped the capital and suffered a setback, we can't tolerate this any longer.

Chu Mingkong closed his eyes, ruthlessly completing the breakthrough, temporarily refraining from checking the new consumption levels, lest he discover the terrifying fact that his filial piety income hadn't increased while the mall's prices had doubled.

"Master, would you like to go for a bath at the hot springs together? Your disciple will scrub your back for you." Chu Mingkong wanted to show some filial piety first.

"No interest. I just soaked in the hot springs this morning after leaving the Trial Tower at Xiaoxiang Qin Academy. I'll become decadent if I soak in them again. Let's soak tonight. I'll call you then."

"Okay, then I'll go to the hot springs and see if anyone needs my back-scrubbing service."

Chapter 83 Time Stop Series

This hot spring isn't laid out according to the farm's layout, because there are already two spring pools in Kefeng, so there's no need to go through another one.

The two pools of spring water are located above and below the small waterfall, respectively. The upper one is a hot spring, while the lower one becomes a cold pool after flowing down the waterfall. There is no distinction between the male and female pools, because Xiaoxiang Qin Academy is a female sect.

I heard that in the past, some male cultivators would occasionally visit, but they were all forbidden from approaching places like the guest peak caves. Some of these places resembled secular mansions, and outsiders were not allowed to enter the backyard where the women lived. After the Xiaoxiang Qin Academy closed its doors to visitors, the only male member of the sect who could move around was Chu Mingkong.

He chose to sit in the cold pool under the waterfall. People who are friendly to fire-attribute spiritual energy are not necessarily naturally hostile to water or ice. That's not the case. He had always wanted to have the girls hold a mouthful of ice water or something, which he called the "ice and fire" thing.

"Why is no one here? I seemed to sense Rong'er's presence in this area on the way here. Could it be that she just left?"

Chu Mingkong could only regret that he was a step too late, and lingered a little longer on Zuo Qiuchi's feet.

"Then we can only observe the changes in prices."

His body slowly sank into the cold pool, the icy water submerging him, leaving only his small head above the surface.

I closed my eyes, and that familiar interface appeared in my mind.

"As for speculation, the income margin can't be said to have remained unchanged, but it has only increased by a few dollars... These things are generally twice as expensive."

This thing really messes with Chu Mingkong's mentality, but to be honest, it doesn't have much of an impact. He's not the kind of person who can't hold onto filial piety. The continuous filial piety income from Xiaoxiang Qin Academy is enough to make him happy. Resting and recuperating for half a month or a month is also a good amount of savings. Now he doesn't need to keep an eye on blind boxes to draw from all the time.

Fortunately, the cap on the filial piety reward for the task of "grinding for elders" has been increased significantly, to 50,000 per ten-day period. Each injection yields about 2-3 points of filial piety reward. How many thousands of injections do we need to give our elders every ten-day period?!

Goodness, this is going to keep me busy...

But if we really have to say, the most valuable items in the entire Filial Piety Mall are undoubtedly the series of cultivation techniques from "Hehuan True Scripture" and the red-quality items that occasionally pop up in blind boxes.

"Thank goodness the new 'Hehuan True Scripture' has come out. Two hundred thousand corrupted filial piety gifts? Why don't you just rob me? If I didn't have the continuous income from Xiaoxiang Qin Academy, wouldn't I have to rob someone for a month to exchange for it? That's too much!"

Chu Mingkong tried to use a back door: "System, dear mother, can you just give this to me directly?"

【no. 】

The feminine voice seemed to be ringing in his ears, yet it also seemed to come from the depths of his mind. Just as Chu Mingkong was wondering about this, he suddenly felt a cool, jade-like foot gently stepping on his cheek.

Chu Mingkong, who was bobbing up and down in the icy pool, was directly stepped into the depths, but in his perception, there was no one nearby. He could still feel the soft feet stepping on his face, but he couldn't touch them.

This feeling is not good. It means that when a conflict occurs, someone can hurt him, but he can't even touch the other party. But... could it be that the system stepped on him?

Did you step on me?

The woman's ethereal voice drifted over, its ethereal quality seemingly not originating from her, but merely a result of the distance and the echo. She said:

【Yes. 】

Chu Mingkong recalled the changes brought about by the system's multiple breakthroughs, and couldn't help but feel curious:

"If I continue to break through, you should be able to see things more clearly, right? Maybe I'll need to break through a few more times, or keep breaking through until I can see you?"

It can be seen, but cannot be touched.

Does this skip the question of how many breakthroughs were made...?

Chu Mingkong genuinely didn't know whether the question was unanswerable or she had simply forgotten. However, he dared not press her for an answer, because the system had a very strange temperament. Once she asked him a question she couldn't answer, she would ignore him for most of the next day.

He suddenly had a new idea: if he asked several questions at once in the future, and the system was always willing to answer one of them, wouldn't that prevent the system from being silenced?

"What exactly is this collection of filial piety? I feel like you don't need this; you can already use so many methods." Chu Mingkong quickly added a question that was almost certain to be answered: "Could you give me a preview of the new 'Hehuan True Scripture'?"

You can think of this filial piety as an intangible force similar to faith and vows in Buddhism. See for yourself.

Having answered both questions, Chu Mingkong felt even luckier than winning a blind box lottery.

Is this filial piety equivalent to a vow? Isn't that something similar to the faith of believers?

So what he has done so far is actually to obtain something like the power of a wish through filial piety towards his elders. If such a power of a wish exists, there must be a corresponding deity.

Mother Goddess, Mother Goddess, Mother Goddess?

...Whoever it is, it is indeed a god worthy of his faith!

"System Mom, can you step on my heart? Your feet feel cool and soft, and it feels quite comfortable when you step on the spot that's bothering me (referring to my heart)."

The system's emotions were unpredictable, but it did not refuse this request. Chu Mingkong soon felt the foot on his face move to his heart.

"Can I step on it with both feet at the same time? It would be best to rub it up and down... Ouch!"

Chu Mingkong was stomped to the bottom of the pool and almost died.

This time, after a series of reckless actions, Chu Mingkong tried calling for his system mother again, but unfortunately, she ignored him.

It seems I need to be more careful with my words in the future.

"Now that my filial piety has been cleared up, saving 200,000 yuan is not easy. With the continuous income from Xiaoxiang Qin Academy and the daily grind every ten days, it will take about half a month. If I can spare something, I should be able to speed it up a bit."

If it can be produced before Yongzhen's marriage, it should be a great help at that time.

Filial piety is a matter that should not be neglected!

Let's quickly see what this new version of the "Hehuan True Scripture" is useful for.

"It nourishes things silently and ceaselessly, without moving or flowing. This finally seems more normal."

Chu Mingkong felt a mix of relief and disappointment. After carefully reading the instructions, he realized he didn't understand them, but thankfully, there was still a trial function! After a brief trial, Chu Mingkong happily discovered that this cultivation technique was still nothing special...

"When the mind is at peace and the body is unharmed, one can enter a state of tranquility, where the water flows until it stops and all things cease to exist. However, one must not harbor murderous thoughts that would disrupt one's state of mind."

It seems very serious and mysterious, but to put it simply, it's just a... time stop.

He can bring the state of annihilation to a certain area around him. Within this area, he can heal himself, but others cannot move. Anyone who enters will be annihilated, forcibly stopping all action and thought.

However, it has great limitations. Once his true self attacks in this space, or even just has the intention to kill, the Realm of Annihilation will be broken. He will also be unable to use any techniques other than the "True Scripture of Joyful Union". Moreover, he must be in a stable state to enter this state.

It's basically something you have to disengage from combat before you can use it.

So, according to this logic, if he sneaks into the palace to find Empress Pei, even if the Emperor is nearby...

"Is it really like a gentle rain that nourishes without making a sound?"

Chapter 84 Three's Company, Forced to Have a Wet Mosquito

Chu Mingkong pondered the uses of this technique. It was generally useless and unusable in emergencies, but in any case, buying it first was never a bad idea.

"How come even a regular blind box for filial piety costs 10,000 for a single 10-pull? Turns out, you're the one experiencing the most dramatic inflation!"