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

In the current situation, Chu Mingkong could only pin his hopes on the map his master's wife had given him. He recalled the map in his mind, identified the closest point to him, and quickly headed there.

That place was very close to here. When Chu Mingkong arrived there, he found a stone lion placed in that spot.

"Smashing a stone lion can't be considered killing a living being, can it?"

Chu Mingkong suspiciously took out the Asura Heavy Sword and observed the situation in the Annihilation Domain. Above his head, a dragon head was "watching" him intently. Chu Mingkong felt that once he left the Annihilation Domain, his whereabouts would be instantly locked.

At that point, even the colorless shadow of the wind shadow might not be able to conceal his tracks.

Fortunately, the Realm of Annihilation is not as pretentious as the Colorless Shadow; attacking the stone lion does not affect one's state of mind.

Chu Mingkong cleaved the stone lion in two with his sword, and the fierce sword energy scraped the ground, creating a deep crack. Black blood gushed out from the ground like a spring!

The giant dragon surrounding the palace suddenly began to tremble, letting out a painful roar. The power of the sound waves was even more ferocious than the full-force attack of a high-level cultivator. Buildings in the capital collapsed and city walls cracked, and this was only the aftermath.

The center of the sound wave was aimed at the spot where Chu Mingkong had just slashed, its power condensed into a single point, and it crashed in at an unimaginable speed. In an instant, the space almost fell silent.

Then, with a loud "BOOM!", a huge energy explosion resounded.

The terrifying impact swept out like a tsunami, shattering large sections of the palace buildings, only to have them instantly return to their original state—a truly bizarre sight.

Chu Mingkong ran fast enough, and with a single swing of his sword, he quickly ran away, almost missing the chance to dodge.

However, how strong the dragon vein's counterattack was was secondary; the key point was that Chu Mingkong almost felt locked down in that instant.

Looking at the direction of the palace gate, where is there any indication of "opening the gate"?

Attacking the "weak point" marked on the map brought no positive feedback other than nearly exposing his whereabouts!

"Could this weakness that Master's wife gave me be fake?!"

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P.S.: A correction to the previous chapter: Regarding the Emperor and Yongzhen's generational relationship, I meant their ages but typed their generational order instead. Thanks to the young man for pointing it out. Authors of SF (Self-Fiction) cannot modify chapters; they can only have an editor overwrite them (usually when they're arrested). Therefore, I'm mentioning this here.

P.S.: I still remember when I took the college entrance exam, I couldn't sleep the night I got home; I spent the whole night studying...

There will be another update later, but don't wait, check it out in the morning.

Chapter 130 The Darkest Thing Is Under the Lamp (6.2/18)

"Is there anything else you want to say now? Surely nothing. Go now, no one will blame you," Empress Pei sighed gently.

"Are you aware that your words are intended to provoke and provoke? Women with hidden agendas and scheming minds often use such words to stir up a man's competitive spirit," Chu Mingkong shrugged and smiled.

That's not what I meant!

"Of course I know, I just suddenly felt compelled to say it."

Chu Mingkong looked at the beautiful woman in his arms. The close proximity prevented him from appreciating her curves, but though he couldn't see her, he could touch her. Although the commotion earlier had no actual conflict, it had frightened Empress Pei. She had been holding her breath and concentrating, and now that she had calmed down, her breathing was rapid. Chu Mingkong felt as if he were surrounded by the fragrance of flowers, and her sweet breath was soothing to his heart.

In her haste to dodge, Empress Pei's palace dress was disheveled, her bodice had slipped down considerably, revealing her snow-white breasts in a high, prominent position. The hem of her skirt had slid down to her abdomen, revealing a pair of alluring jade legs, round and smooth, with glimpses of the mysterious depths within.

Empress Pei noticed Chu Mingkong's frivolous gaze. She bit her red lips, her phoenix eyes filled with anger, and glared at him. She silently pulled her skirt back, knowing that arguing with him would be pointless, so she ignored him.

Her expression, which seemed somewhat sullen, accentuated her mature sexiness, and her entire body seemed to radiate a charming and alluring allure.

Chu Mingkong calmed himself down a bit. It was easy to get distracted when he was with such a beautiful young woman, but he was distracted because he had already thought of a place to hide.

Right now, the giant dragon has stopped its noisy attack with its roar. It must be highly intelligent and has already confirmed that the "phoenix" is still in the palace, but is being hidden by someone using some means, and is trying to leave.

The towering shadows outside the palace still coiled around it. Every bolt of lightning that struck down from the thick clouds transformed into phantom dragon veins the size of giant pythons, moving along the palace roads and searching for the location of Chu Mingkong and the others in every corner.

However, there is one place that these dragon vein phantoms will definitely not go.

Empress Pei noticed that Chu Mingkong wasn't trying to leave, but instead heading deeper into the palace. She couldn't help but ask:

Where do you want to go now?

"See these dragon vein phantoms? They can even sneak into the courtyards and houses of the palace. If they continue to hide outside, they will be discovered sooner or later. My domain can't make me completely disappear. Now I need to find a place where the dragon vein phantoms won't go."

Empress Pei paused, her delicate hands gripping the hem of her skirt revealing a sudden surge of tension within her. She shielded her eyes from the light and questioned:

"You're not thinking of going back to the Emperor's palace, are you? The Golden Throne Hall? Such a major event has happened in the palace; all the officials will surely gather for court to inquire about the situation, and in front of so many people..."

"How about in front of so many people?" Chu Mingkong leaped onto the roof and, taking advantage of the relatively quiet place, quickly headed towards the emperor's bedroom. He added, "This is your own idea; I never said anything about it!"

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking all day with that petty, narrow-minded thought. Hide wherever you want, life and death don't matter to you anymore, but don't try to drag me into that kind of thing. I've said it before, only once!" Empress Pei snorted coldly, her expression displaying the authority of a wife and mother.

"Shh, we've arrived at the palace, don't speak!"

As soon as Chu Mingkong finished speaking, Empress Pei's complaints immediately stopped, as if she was afraid that her voice would be discovered. She completely forgot how she had been in this black and white realm last time, beside her sleeping husband, how she had been moaning and crying with such joy and abandon.

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Let's turn back time a little.

The emperor returned to the palace at top speed, awakening the will within the dragon vein to seal off the palace.

He returned to his palace, where the imperial guards had already surrounded the area, with shields and bows raised in a state of alert, making it impossible for even a bird to fly away.

The emperor himself could already sense the domineering power of the extreme yin energy in concealing his aura, but he could not hide his figure. If he were to face such a formation of imperial guards surrounding him, he could easily fight his way out, but he could not leave silently.

In response to the characteristics of extreme yin energy, the emperor, using himself as an example, has tried many different methods to detect extreme yin power. Currently, even he himself cannot completely conceal his aura by relying entirely on extreme yin power.

When the commander of the Imperial Guards saw the emperor return, he led his adjutant forward to greet him. Although the Imperial Guards did not leave their positions to kneel before the emperor, they knelt on one knee while keeping their shield formation intact.

The emperor felt heavy-hearted. This series of events had put immense pressure on him. One moment he thought it was a false alarm on Jin Yu's side, and the next moment such a big change had occurred in his own palace!

The fact that the Imperial Guard Commander's hands were empty indicated that no one had left his palace.

He strode into his bedchamber and went straight to the small room where the Empress was imprisoned. The barrier blocking the doorway of the room remained unmoved. Unlike ordinary barriers designed to block the outside world, this barrier was the opposite, making it extremely easy to break. If it broke, it would alert him to an intrusion.

But in the small room, the wall that was secured with chains and shackles was smashed by a punch, the shackles broke, and Empress Pei's body lay there quietly.

Her snow-white, towering breasts were pierced, and bright red blood flowed on the ground, still warm!

As if to give him one last look, the beautiful woman's body quickly decayed and turned to ashes in the extreme yin flames.

Bad news followed one after another. The guard he had sent to bring Jinyu into the palace quickly arrived outside the palace and, through the personal messenger eunuch, reported on the execution of the order. The eunuch, surnamed Cheng, was pale.

"...Your Majesty, the captain of the guards says that Princess Jinyu committed suicide by swallowing an extremely yin substance..."

The emperor's eyes were bloodshot, and the veins on his forehead bulged menacingly. Under the influence of the extreme yin energy, his emotions instantly spiraled out of control, and his bloodshot eyes were filled with nothing but rage.

The wood-attribute spiritual energy, corrupted by extreme yin power, surged forth. Tree roots, resembling ugly poisonous insects, wriggled and coiled around his arm. The emperor unleashed a punch, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, causing half of the palace to collapse and the imperial guards outside to tremble with fear.

Caught in the emperor's rage, the eunuch Cheng Gao died on the spot. His body flew through the air and fell into the ruins. Ugly tree branches pierced through his body, sucking out his blood and nutrients, causing him to wither like a plant.

In the blink of an eye, the palace was restored to its original state, but the eunuch's corpse remained outside, resembling a dried-up corpse that had been withered for thousands of years.

After venting his anger, the emperor gradually calmed down.

Something's not right! The corpse of that empress just now didn't seem to have the aura of the Extreme Yang Technique; it was more like an ordinary person who had never practiced it!

Meanwhile, another unusual activity in the palace caught the emperor's attention. He received feedback that the dragon vein had detected the presence of outsiders, and that the dragon vein's absorption of the Golden Crow Phoenix Body's spiritual essence had not yet ceased.

The Empress is still in the palace!

Outside the palace, Chu Mingkong watched as the emperor ran off to check the location of the "weak point" he had just encountered, then slipped into the palace with his empress in his arms.

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P.S.: I was planning to post this around 1 or 2 PM, but I was editing the text and forgot about a chapter I was supposed to be posting. Then a notification popped up... ORZ

Chapter 131 The Matter of Evasion (6.7/18)

Empress Pei watched everything that was happening in the palace, her feelings a complex mix of emotions.

Within this Heavenly Palace resides the most prestigious power and status in the entire empire. Countless people strive tirelessly to climb the ladder, stepping on the heads of others to reach the emperor and bow before him, exchanging loyalty for favor in exchange for power and wealth.

She had been here for many years and felt nothing but disgust and loathing for the place. All the glory and splendor were nothing more than ugly skulls adorned with gold.

The more she saw, the more she felt there was nothing in this world worth cherishing. But if she had to say, her daughter Jinyu was the one she couldn't bear to part with.

No one is born cynical. The malice released towards the outside world will only make one sink deeper into a quagmire of ugliness. On the contrary, giving kindness and trust to others can sometimes bring one comfort.

Within this palace, the only person Empress Pei could truly trust was Jin Yu. Although the relationship between the Empress and her daughter in the Tianji Empire was complicated, and it was clearly a forced arrangement by the Emperor, none of this concerned Jin Yu.

Now, looking at the palace turned upside down, Empress Pei felt a sense of satisfaction. Looking at the emperor, who had always been high above them and treated them like cattle and sheep offerings, she saw his useless anger and panic. That feeling was indescribable.

Originally, all of this was part of Empress Pei's plan, which was to happen after she and the emperor were destroyed. Once she, the last Golden Crow Phoenix Body that the Heavenly Empire could find, died, the royal family would be thrown into chaos, and the emperor would face his end.

Just thinking about it makes me happy, but it's a scene she can't see, unless people really have spirits in heaven.

Although the royal family is not yet in complete chaos, Empress Pei has witnessed firsthand the impending collapse of the palace and the prelude to the coming storm, which is much better than expected.

Moreover, having already witnessed the wonders and wonders of the world, good and evil, in the palace, she now sees and experiences many new things under Chu Mingkong's control.

For example, the power of extreme yin, the domain of annihilation, the true form of the dragon vein, and the exhilarating feeling of taking revenge beside one's husband...

The palace is now in complete chaos, and the emperor himself is as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. Yet, Chu Mingkong is still able to lead her back to the emperor's bedroom for temporary refuge.

Only the emperor's bedroom...

Empress Pei always felt that Chu Mingkong, that scoundrel, had bad intentions...

"Hey, you can't leave the palace now. Has Jinyu been settled?"

"Don't you have a name to call me? Just call me by the name you used last time, otherwise I won't respond. If that doesn't work, you can call me 'husband'."

Although I don't know what "husband" means, I know from his words that it has a similar meaning to "husband".

Mentioning the previous incident, Empress Pei's jade-like face flushed with embarrassment. She desperately wanted to forget what had happened, and she couldn't understand why she had acted as if under a spell, letting him persuade her to call him that way...

Empress Pei spat at him, turned away and ignored him, leaving only the outline of her round, plump buttocks facing him. Chu Mingkong didn't make things difficult for her.

"My master should have taken Jinyu out of the capital, so don't worry. My lazy master is a bit unreliable, but he's still reliable when it matters."

Chu Mingkong had informed Zuo Qiuchi in advance, so she wouldn't forget. Even if the time was too short to leave the area around the capital, as long as Jinyu was taken out of the capital, the danger wouldn't be too great.

Looking at it this way, leaving Jin Yu there to impersonate Fan Le seems a bit redundant. However, if Fan Le suddenly disappears, the emperor's suspicions will rise even faster. It's possible that before Chu Mingkong can even help Empress Pei break the curse, the emperor will already be suspicious and rush back to catch them red-handed.

This statement is somewhat hindsight, but Chu Mingkong's initial thought was indeed to buy as much time as possible for this diversionary tactic, even if it was just a little bit.

Chu Mingkong was more inclined to believe that if the emperor took Empress Pei away from the palace, he would simply rob the emperor openly to draw attention away from the main force, while Zuo Qiuchi would steal Jin Yu out and come back to support him if necessary. In any case, what he wanted was to take the person away, which was easier than killing the emperor whose strength was currently unknown. He would activate the Annihilation Domain, carry the person, and run away.

Of all the information we have so far, the most dangerous place is the palace, which is like a dragon's den or a tiger's lair. Once we leave the palace, we should be able to handle the difficulties in the capital.

I never expected that Chu Mingkong's biggest trump card, the map of his master's wife, would turn out to be a trap...