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

At the end is a circular plaza with a roof that appears sealed from the outside, but from there one can look up and see the lunar eclipse directly.

The graceful statue of the Moon River Goddess stands here, the moonlight shining into the temple like a long river flowing down, turning into long ribbons that flow in the Moon River Goddess's outstretched hands. The moonlight ribbons solidify and float in front of the three people.

"Aunt Gu, Madam Zhen, this should be where you lie down." Chu Mingkong pressed down on the moonlight silk to make sure it was stable enough not to suddenly fall. "Why don't you lie down first? What if the medicine suddenly takes effect and you fall to the ground?"

Gu Jun Gui and Madam Zhen remained silent. It wasn't that they didn't want to respond, but rather that they were both wary of the colorless and tasteless "medicine" they had swallowed. What if they chatted with Chu Ming Kong for a few minutes and then let their guard down?

They were all completely focused and on high alert, not daring to relax for even a moment!

In silence, they lay down and closed their eyes, but their long eyelashes trembled slightly from time to time.

The moonlight silk fabric, while steady, possesses a rhythmic swaying quality reminiscent of ocean waves, with the two stunningly beautiful women's high, soft breasts undulating with the rhythm.

Aunt Gu gently bit her lip, while Madam Zhen poked her finger with her nail, both trying to maintain their lucidity in their own ways, even as they risked losing it at any moment.

Chu Mingkong waited a while, assuming they had fallen asleep. He hid a smile and deliberately muttered to himself:

"They're probably all unconscious by now. I wouldn't dare say it normally, but now's the perfect time to settle accounts with you. If I don't take this opportunity to clear things up, I won't even be able to get started. Let's settle Aunt Gu's accounts first!"

"...?"

Gu Jungui closed her eyes, filled with doubt. Although it sounded like she had started it, why did it turn into settling scores?

"Tell me about my childhood. Even though he knew I had just established my authority at the border of the extreme abyss, he still insisted on having someone bring me a bucket of water, pulling me out of my armor and taking me to the room to bathe together. Whenever he came to the border, he would pick me up from my armor and shower me with kisses. How could I maintain my dignity in front of the soldiers after that? This should be worth ten lashes of the filial piety whip, right?"

Gu Jungui heard the metallic clanging sound of Chu Mingkong loosening his cast steel belt, the sound of clothes falling to the ground, and the sound of the child swallowing. Her heart raced, and then she heard him continue speaking.

"And when I was little, my relationship with Consort Xiao Zhi was definitely terrible. I can understand her suspicions, anyway, I can be strong on my own, I don't need to rely on the connections in the Chu Prince's mansion, and I don't need too much care. But Aunt Gu, why do you suddenly come to care for me when you see me, this kid in the corner, with no one to love me? And you care for me so much that I can't bear to refuse you, I can't even be tough enough to say anything harsh to you..."

I'd gotten so used to you always being there for me, caring for me, and then you suddenly announced you were getting married, and to such a faraway place... At that time, Yunhan was just growing up, going out to train with her master, and I had even fewer people to talk to. How was I supposed to get used to this change?

"Later, when I was recuperating in the capital, although I knew that Aunt Gu, due to your husband's family's position, you couldn't choose your actions freely and were afraid of causing me additional trouble, what did it mean that you always lingered outside the Prince's mansion and looked inside...? I knew that you wanted to come in but didn't dare, but I could sense your presence nearby, yet you hesitated to come in and see me. Every time my expectations were dashed and I became depressed, you would come to linger outside the mansion again. Do you know how helpless I felt...?"

Gu Jun Gui listened blankly to what his precious darling was saying. At first, he said he was settling accounts, but now it sounded like he was venting his childhood grievances in a spoiled way... or perhaps some kind of unconventional confession. Every word he uttered was like a child throwing a tantrum, but to Gu Jun Gui, it sounded like Chu Mingkong was expressing his dependence on and longing for her.

Gu Jun Gui looked back on the past, his eyes still closed, but when reflecting on his life so far, the man whose image was clearest and most vivid in his mind was Chu Ming Kong...

When he was little, he was small, sensible and cute. His little bit of stubbornness and acting like an adult was also very endearing... After a long time apart, when they met again, he suddenly became a familiar yet unfamiliar figure. He was handsome, beautiful and good-looking, tall and strong. He had grown up to be exactly the kind of person she liked.

Gu Jun Gui had to confront his own heart, and the deliberate act of following the carriage and arguing with Madam Zhen these past two days. In his unwillingly admitted true thoughts, where was the great righteousness of Xiling?

It was just a matter of not paying attention, and before you knew it, your precious child had grown into the person you love...

Gu Jun Gui's delicate body was embraced by Chu Ming Kong, and the strength and heat of the man's chest were transmitted to her round, perky, and elastic soft body.

As if to avenge the loneliness she brought him after she left after getting married, Gu Jungui sensed that he was determined this time and fiercely broke into her heart!

Like the dark and long corridor when you first enter the Moon River Temple, Chu Mingkong slowly walked in, from the past when they were together and then separated many years ago, to the present when they met and reunited many years later, from Xiling to the capital and then back to Xiling, back and forth, entering and returning, occupying every place in this long corridor, even forcibly widening the winding corridor so that he could walk more comfortably in the future, and finally occupying the sacred temple square in her heart.

Chu Mingkong also settled many accounts with Gu Jungui, but Gu Jungui gradually forgot herself and didn't know what he was saying. That bowl of medicine was real and would make her unable to resist until she lost consciousness.

But the medicine didn't seem to work very well. She said she wouldn't remember anything after taking it, but she clearly remembered her beloved child even more deeply and clearly.

Chu Mingkong's voice rang in my ears again, and just by listening to his voice, I could tell that it carried a relieved smile after a long period of melancholy:

"Then there's the issue of preaching. When I was little, you said I was putting on airs to establish authority, saying things like 'establishing authority requires leading by example,' and advising me not to demand things of others that I can't do myself. But what about Sister-in-law Keqing recently? How could you force her to have children like that? Shouldn't someone set an example in this kind of thing?"

Chu Mingkong withdrew, leaving Aunt Gu with lingering affection, and then went to Madam Zhen's side.

He suddenly felt a bit out of place. If he had only brought Aunt Gu with him, it might have been much more perfect. But if it weren't for this unexpected incident from the Baiyue Sect, and if Madam Zhen hadn't provoked Aunt Gu, who knows how long it would have been before.

Chu Mingkong also had a lot to say to Madam Zhen, but the light overhead seemed to be changing. He looked up and found that the night had faded considerably; it was almost dawn!

He could only apologetically whisper to Madam Zhen, "I'll tell Madam Zhen secretly next time. As for now... I'm coming."

Outside the temple, the high priest couldn't sleep all night, and the two twin girls were even more resentful. The temple was filled with long-lost divine power, indicating that the Moonfall Ritual had been going on all along, but had been delayed due to some unexpected circumstances.

Finally, a young girl couldn't hold back any longer: "His Highness, are you so engrossed in honoring Mother that you've forgotten about the Moon-Defeating Ceremony? It's almost dawn!"

The fact that the emperor wanted to search for the Moon Goddess to replace the Golden Crow Phoenix Body indicates that the two are equivalent, or at least not too different. Therefore, no matter how demanding the requirements of the ritual inherited from the ancient Moon Goddess Empire are, the Golden Crow Phoenix Body can definitely meet them.

The fading moonlight suddenly brightened again in the temple. The Moon-Defeating Ceremony was complete, and Chu Mingkong felt the surrounding atmosphere become ancient and profound...

Chapter 246 The Divine Child is Sent to His Death!

In the Moon Worship Cult.

A group of priests and believers looked at the fading night and the sliver of moonlight hanging down from the direction of the snow-capped mountains, and couldn't help but smile knowingly.

If the Moonfall Cult ritual at the Snow Mountain Tribe is successful, this aura won't just fade away.

Although the two sides are opposing sects, they share many things with each other. Baiyue's side did indeed successfully start the ritual, which surprised Baiyue Sect.

Unfortunately, the ceremony was only successfully started. The Moon Worship Cult stayed up all night in fear, but the moonlight never shone brightly. They were finally able to relax.

"It was really a false alarm. I thought the Defeat Moon Cult could complete the ritual even with such dilapidated conditions. But why is the White Tiger power they possess so strong?"

"I don't know, but they are indeed quite strong. The aura they released at the beginning was only slightly weaker than ours, which means they collected only a little less White Tiger Totem Jade than we did."

Silence fell over everyone. Did this mean there was a traitor within the Moon Worship Cult? What kind of brainless traitor would act like this? With such a powerful Moon Worship Cult, why didn't they firmly establish their position instead of secretly supporting the Defeat Moon Cult?!

"It's not necessarily an inside job. It could be due to the snowstorm. Nida was supposed to hand over ten White Tiger Totem Jade pieces, but the escorting carriage encountered a snowstorm, and the people who went to search for them only found half of them. The other half may have been obtained by the Defeat Moon Cult."

Nida's family is a prominent and wealthy family in Wild Horse Ridge, and they provide considerable support to the Moon Worship Cult. They have been collecting a lot of White Tiger Totem Jade for the cult, and the priests would not doubt this.

"Hmph! A bunch of scavengers! But it's alright, we'll wait a little longer. Once the lunar eclipse is completely over, the Defeat of the Moon Cult will be out of luck, and we can go and laugh at them ahead of time~"

“Speaking of which…” a priest gazed at the silver moon that flowed from the heavens down to the snow-capped mountains, “the moonlight over there has been hanging all night. What does that mean? How far has the ceremony progressed?”

Fazan recalled various related pieces of knowledge and, with a hint of conjecture, explained:

"The initial aura of the White Tiger's power indicates that the ritual has started smoothly. The moonlight falling indicates that the ritual for the Venerable Mother has begun. If it had failed completely, it would have meant that the candidate's qualifications were completely inadequate. The fact that this ritual has lasted all night... may mean that the candidate's qualifications are barely suitable, but they are still lacking. The Defeat Moon Sect has most likely really found outsiders, and the requirements for the ritual have become more stringent. The people in the ritual are still working hard."

Another priest asked with a strange expression, "You mean, in the temple on the other side of Baiyue, a stranger and his elders steamed for an entire night? The water must have dried up by now?"

In Moonstone City, Nida listened to the scholar her family had invited explain the strange phenomena in the direction of the snow mountain, and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement:

"The reason the ceremony over there is stuck and hasn't failed yet is because the people involved have been going on for a whole night?! Good heavens, Your Highness actually used your elders..."

It's really quite beastly, like a wild stallion, I love it!

Nida said helplessly:

"It's alright if you fail, Your Highness. If you want the Moon Goddess, I'll bribe the Moon Worship Cult to steal her away. Your Highness, you've tried so hard but failed, you must be full of anger and want to vent, right?"

She was just about to ask someone to plan the arrangements when the moonlight from the direction of the snow mountain suddenly burst into a dazzling silver glow at the last moment, holy and sacred, with a wisp of black intertwined in the glow, like a shadow that devoured the full moon.

That powerful aura was comparable to the silver beam of light in the Moon Worship Temple in the plains!

"What does this mean?" Nida, a popular young woman, asked the scholar with dissatisfaction.

The scholar assumed that Mrs. Nida's discontent was directed at the Church of the Destroyer of the Moon, and he also displayed a resentful expression:

"Damn it! I don't know what happened with the ritual from the Defeat Moon Cult. At the last moment, it failed... There's no record of this in the ancient books. If it could succeed, it should have succeeded long ago. How could it take all night to succeed? It's inhuman. Where did the Defeat Moon Cult find such a person!"

Nida was shocked and sighed inwardly:

"Could it be that the elders Your Highness brought along were originally unwilling, but were forced to be steamed by Your Highness all night until they succumbed?! Goddess above, I wish I could suffer like that! Even just once!"

The priests outside the Moon Worship Temple were furious!

The scene before them was completely beyond their comprehension. How could a ceremony that was on the verge of failure succeed?

What right does the impoverished and destitute Baiyue Sect have?

But no matter what, success is success, and it's pointless to dwell on how the Defeat Moon Cult did it.

Fazan hurriedly ordered, "Someone, quickly introduce the power of the Moon God into the Moon Wheel Mirror and check the situation inside! Our White Tiger power is much stronger! We don't need to be afraid of the Defeated Moon Cult."

Her words made her colleagues realize what she meant, and they exclaimed, "That's right! According to the teachings of the Defeat Moon Cult, those people from their side will most likely be very weak after entering the Divine Kingdom. They need to grow stronger before they can master the power of the White Tiger! Communicate with the Divine Son and have him quickly find the envoy sent into the Divine Kingdom by the Defeat Moon Cult. Before he actually arrives in the Divine Kingdom, it will be easy to confirm his location!"

----------

Chu Mingkong looked at the surrounding chaos and felt a strange sense of bewilderment.

The surrounding environment was blurry and rapidly passing by, too fast to see clearly, as if I were in a tunnel or standing on a river flowing backwards, with everything receding into an unstable state.

The only thing that was clear to him was his consciousness, Chu Mingkong muttered to himself:

"Did I enter here in a dreamlike state, or was my body teleported in? Damn it, I only managed to hit Madam Zhen a few times at the last minute. I feel like I'll have to coax her a bit when I get out. I hope the journey to the Moonlit Divine Kingdom won't take too long."

"...Huh? Why is my body starting to shrink? The primordial spiritual energy my master's wife gave me has disappeared, and the extreme yin and extreme yang energies are shrinking in my heart. The fire spiritual energy, on the other hand, has returned to its unpolluted state. What's going on?!"

Suddenly, the surrounding chaos cleared up, and a scene appeared ahead.

A group of tribesmen, under the starry night, brought a little girl to a dark, lush forest and abandoned the sleeping girl at the altar.

Chu Mingkong was surprised to find that this scene seemed somewhat familiar, and the subsequent development of the scene confirmed his guess.

In the scene, the girl wakes up in a daze, and suddenly a group of skeletal ghosts emerge from the ground around her. The girl covers her eyes and cries in fear.

"This is the scene I saw outside the White Tiger Altar when I first went to White Tiger Plain! Could it be a remnant image related to the Goddess of the Moon River?"

Chu Mingkong was just about to see what would happen next when the skeletons and monsters in the scene he had seen earlier inexplicably disappeared, and the scene was fragmented.

Unfortunately, the scene before Chu Mingkong suddenly blurred as a palpable killing intent surged toward him, disturbing the tranquility of the scene.

Amidst the ripples in space, a man with long, slender limbs broke through the ripples, the dagger in his hand radiating confidence that he could kill with a single blow.

His power was extraordinary and complex; the multiple forces gathered in the dagger unleashed a powerful energy fluctuation.

The moon-worshipping priests who were watching the situation in the moon mirror from outside breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming that their divine son had found the location of the defeated moon messenger.

"Found them! Then eliminating them before reaching the Moonlit Divine Kingdom won't be a problem! Our carefully nurtured divine child possesses extraordinary cultivation talent and an extremely high affinity for fire elemental energy, perfectly aligning with the fire-worshiping tradition of the ancient Moonlit era. Now, with the added blessing of the Moon Worship Power and the White Tiger's power, he is invincible!"

"Who is this child that the Divine Child found? He looks a bit like Chu Mingkong when he was a child. Ha! He really went to cooperate with the people of the Defeat Moon Cult. It seems that the young prince's fate is destined to be to die in the Moonlit Divine Kingdom! Since that's the case, why doesn't he die in place of our Divine Child, causing the Divine Child to end up staying inside with him!" Fazan's face was twisted with anger.

Inside the tunnel, the Moon Worshiping God, with the orthodox appearance of a Crescent Moon person, suddenly stabbed at the child. The dagger pierced the child's chest. The God was neither surprised nor happy, feeling that he had merely dealt with a third-rate person from the Defeat Moon Cult.

"Those hypocrites sent by the Defeat Moon Cult dare to set foot in the Moonlit Divine Kingdom? Although it is a great pity that I will die in the Divine Kingdom, I will have no regrets if I can spend a wonderful night with the Goddess of the Moon River! As for you, you shall not defile the Divine Kingdom even a single step!"

"What are you talking about all by yourself? Didn't you realize that what you just stabbed was just an afterimage?"

Chu Mingkong's figure emerged from the spot where the Moon Worshiping Child had just rushed out. The boy looked regretfully at the scene blurred by the spatial ripples. It seemed there was no way to restore it. He really wanted to see what happened to that girl.

The Moon Worshiping God was stunned and looked at his hand. He had clearly felt the sensation of stabbing the target, and how had he suddenly moved to that position?!

Although Chu Mingkong was not wearing clothes, his youthful physique exuded an unspoken pressure.

He had actually been in a bit of a mess just now. He had wanted to freeze the person in place with the Annihilation Domain, but he found that he couldn't use it. Fortunately, the Colorless Shadow Technique that Feng Ying gave him was working properly.

"I don't quite understand who taught you to assassinate like this. Didn't the Moon Worship Cult ever arrange for you to fight against strong enemies? Have they just been making you kill some kittens and puppies all this time? You didn't even bother to conceal your presence before coming to assassinate me? But I'm very interested in what you just said about 'spending the night together.' I'll go and experience it for you!"

Lightning flashed across Chu Mingkong's arm, and a majestic, sacred white tiger emerged from him, roaring so loudly that the entire space trembled.