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

Xiao Yunhan stopped and turned to look at her younger brother: "What is it?"

He looked at his sister with a complicated expression, unsure whether she was doing it on purpose or had genuinely forgotten.

"Would you mind giving me back the cat you're holding? The little girl is shy."

Chu Mingkong had just thought that Xiao Yunhan would return his daughter to him after leaving, but instead she just grabbed her and flew away.

Xiao Yunhan glanced at Chu Mingkong, then at the little girl in her arms, and asked:

"Kitty, are you afraid of me?"

Between acquaintances and strangers, Maomao is definitely closer to acquaintances. After being in Tianya City for so long, Maomao is not close to either of her two mothers in the City Lord's Pavilion. For now, she is only close to Chu Mingkong, her troublesome father, and then Feng Ying, Shangguan Rong, Zuo Qiuchi, and her little playmate Jiao'er. These are the people she is closest to.

But Maomao remembered her father's instructions to get close to this woman named Yunhan, and she felt that now was the test.

Although the cat felt that the woman's face was terribly cold, it kept touching her head, so she must be quite gentle.

"Not afraid!"

Xiao Yunhan glanced at Chu Mingkong:

"The cat said she's not afraid. I took her to see Mother. You can come pick her up tonight."

...Does this sound like a hostage exchange?

I shrink down to be a hostage and go to you so you can take the cat away, right?

Cat Cat, unaware of the treacherous world her father was about to face, rested her face on Xiao Yunhan's shoulder and waved goodbye to Chu Mingkong.

"Kitty?" Jiao'er stretched out her pink little hand, pointed at her little friend who had flown away, and looked at Chu Mingkong in confusion.

Zuo Qiuchi patted his traitorous disciple on the shoulder and gave him a profound strategic suggestion:

"Why don't you let Yunhan take Jiao'er with you too? That way, the little ones will have a companion. When you shrink down tonight and go to exchange hostages, you can get two back by yourself. It's a win no matter how you look at it, and Yunhan, who seems to have the upper hand, will even lose one."

"..." Chu Mingkong.

He looked at Zuo Qiuchi with a wise gaze, thinking that Rong'er really had to handle the family education, and Zuo Qiuchi absolutely could not be allowed to interfere. It would be terrible if both girls learned to be as mean as her.

We'll talk about tonight's events later; it was just getting a beating from my sister.

He carried his daughter back to the house with Zuo Qiuchi and lay down. He wanted to retaliate by asking Zuo Qiuchi for some water, but then he thought that it wouldn't be appropriate to have his daughter there.

Perhaps Master's suggestion was correct.

By having Yunhan bring Jiao'er along, not only could the little ones team up to play, but he would also be temporarily at ease, able to directly give his gloating master a good drink as revenge.

Great!

With nothing else to do while lying down, Chu Mingkong brought up the topic from earlier:

"Master, you really don't know what the strange bottleneck Yunhan mentioned just now is?"

"I really don't know, but I can't say I have no idea."

"How to say?"

"There are only two possibilities. The first possibility is that it's a problem with the cultivation method. It's possible that Shen Xuejun blocked her path, but she probably didn't want Yunhan to follow her path completely. After guiding her through the first part, she left the rest for Yunhan to develop on her own. Yunhan just happened to be stuck at a stage that is about the same level she is at now."

Another possibility is an environmental issue. As long as one's talent is not lacking, the higher one's cultivation level, the more one will gradually discover that the problem of slowed cultivation progress doesn't seem to lie with oneself, but rather with something lacking in the world. This problem is especially pronounced for rare individuals like Yun Han, who possesses a rare affinity for spiritual energy.

When Chu Mingkong and Zuo Qiuchi's conversation reached Jiao'er's ears, it sounded like they were just chatting and teasing her. Every time they said something, Jiao'er would chime in with her own words.

The two adults would cooperate and let the little girl finish speaking before they continued.

With Jiao'er now publishing her discourse on infant language, Chu Mingkong pondered Zuo Qiuchi's words.

In the past, Chu Mingkong would have been completely confused, but in the Moon Eclipse Divine Kingdom, the Moon River Goddess had clearly told him that there were more and fiercer powerful people in ancient times.

This doesn't mean that the descendants have a problem with their talent. The bloodline left by our predecessors has been tempered and passed down from generation to generation, so it should be stronger. Even if there are cases of decline and decay, it shouldn't be a collective decline, right?

If it's not a problem with people, then it's most likely a problem with the universe.

"Master, do you mean that different stages require different amounts of spiritual energy, but the spiritual energy for higher levels is gone?"

Zuo Qiuchi looked at Jiao'er and waited for her to finish speaking before replying:

"I suspect that's the case, but so far there are no similar ancient records, nor has anyone at a higher level pointed out this problem."

The prevailing view, and the long-held belief among powerful individuals that the problem lies with them, is that they need to reflect on their own actions.

It's strange that I always start by reflecting on myself.

While there's nothing wrong with doing this, sometimes such honesty can lead to being taken advantage of, making one feel the need to reflect on their own problems.

"Then who are the strongest people who are above our level now?" Chu Mingkong suddenly felt that he really needed to broaden his horizons.

He has already stirred up the entire worldly fishpond that is the Heavenly Pole Empire.

"Jiao'er, do you have something to say? I'm about to speak." Zuo Qiuchi gently stroked Jiao'er's horns.

Jiao'er was probably entertaining herself. When she got tired of talking, she nestled in Chu Mingkong's arms and rubbed her eyes, but she also gently responded to Zuo Qiuchi.

"There's your master's wife, Shen Xuejun, and the head of Xiaoxiang Qin Academy who's traveling. The patriarch of Jianxuan Sect is not to be underestimated either. As for Medicine King Valley, forget about it. It's famous for its good reputation, but its combat ability is still lacking. However, recently there's been someone who's really good at using medicine needles, and he always says, 'Studying medicine can't save the weak.'"

This sounds a bit familiar.

However, such realizations are not surprising. Life is full of different kinds of people, and similar things happen everywhere. Saving more injured people is not as practical as killing those who harm innocent people in time.

The disciples of these sects may have a promising future and do not need to be paid too much attention for the time being, but the core figures in these sects are indeed powerful figures in their respective fields.

The struggles between secluded sects can sometimes be more intense than those between secular dynasties. Short-term setbacks may result in the loss of trump cards and resources of new disciples, and too many such short-term setbacks may damage the foundation.

Even the most secure sect or sacred ground cannot prevent internal decline and setbacks.

Like so many old men, they still have the heart of a carefree young man until death, but alas, the eggplant softens first, and they are powerless to do so.

"Then how did these few powerful individuals break through this limitation?" Chu Mingkong asked.

"This falls under the category of 'various opportunities.' It is precisely because a few people are still able to break through by taking advantage of opportunities in various ruins that they say to look for problems within themselves, reflect on themselves more, and not blame others or fate."

Zuo Qiuchi didn't say much; saying more would only make it seem like he was making excuses for his incompetence.

She had pondered this question before: if people today can still rely on the opportunities in the ruins to achieve breakthroughs, what will happen when all the graves of our ancestors are dug up?

How did our ancestors refine the treasures left in these graves?

No matter how you look at it, the environment has changed.

"Of course, there are similar powerful figures in the East Sea. Every major region has its share of such individuals, but the Crescent Kingdom has declined quite thoroughly."

"Who are you talking badly about?"

Feng Ying appeared out of nowhere, silently entering the room. She stepped on Chu Mingkong's shoulder, her movements as light as a feather.

With a swift movement, Feng Ying straddled Chu Mingkong's neck, her two round, plump thighs, encased in black stockings, pinching Chu Mingkong's cheeks as a warning to Zuo Qiuchi not to speak recklessly.

Even if you hate your hometown, you'll still feel unhappy if you hear others say bad things about it.

Zuo Qiuchi was very frank: "I didn't say anything bad about you, I just talked about your hometown."

“The Crescent Moon Kingdom may not have such powerful sects, but it still has its lineage. Moon River Cat’s future growth will be much easier than ours,” Feng Ying retorted logically.

Zuo Qiuchi thought about it and realized that it was true. He only remembered how soft and cuddly the cat was and almost forgot how illustrious her background was.

Even disregarding how much Chu Mingkong, the father who made up for the karmic debt, could help the cat's bloodline, the legacy left to this youngest daughter by the Moon River Goddess was enough for her to start from a very high point.

"I'm so envious. If Cat keeps pestering me to practice swordsmanship for her, I'll tell her to come find you."

Zuo Qiuchi tugged at Feng Ying's black stockings, and with a flick of her finger, she made a hole, revealing her fair and firm legs.

"Tsk, I just changed my stockings."

Feng Ying clicked her tongue, and a black silk-clad foot slid down Zuo Qiuchi's plump thigh, the heel gently rubbing against Zuo Qiuchi's water-drawing spot.

"Hey, you guys be mindful of your behavior, Jiao'er's here!"

Chu Mingkong covered Jiao'er's eyes while widening his own, ostensibly to supervise them. If the two of them crossed the line any further, he would have to intervene.

----------

night.

Zuo Qiuchi and Chu Mingkong found Xiao Yunhan together to pick up the kitten. Chu Mingkong had not yet transformed because he wanted to see the kitten.

The hostage exchange went very smoothly. Chu Mingkong picked up the cat and placed it in Zuo Qiuchi's arms, and later asked Zuo Qiuchi to take the cat back to Feng Ying to sleep.

The cat seemed to have adapted quite well to spending half a day with "sister" Xiao Yunhan, and its eyes sparkled with curiosity when it jumped into Zuo Qiuchi's arms.

She asked quietly in a soft voice, "Master, where are we going?"

Zuo Qiuchi held her small hand: "I'll take you to find Fengying's mother. It's getting late, it's time to go to sleep."

"Didn't you say you wanted to see Daddy make a fool of himself?" Cat was a little reluctant, secretly glancing at Chu Mingkong, her whispers carrying a hint of coquetry, hoping that Zuo Qiuchi would take her to stay.

"..." Chu Mingkong fell silent on the spot, and could only painfully bring up Feng Ying: "Your Feng Ying mother wants to sleep with a cat. Master was just joking with you."

How did my daughter turn into such a heartless little darling?

Chapter Fifty-Two: The Searchers for the Mirage Woman

In the night sky, a dark rain cloud carrying lightning arrived in Jin.

As they passed through, thunder rumbled, and many people in the bandit villages along the way ran out to check the sky, uttering puzzled sounds.

"That's strange. Tonight was supposed to be a clear night, so why is it thundering all of a sudden?"

"Huh? The night is so bright. Just now there was clearly thunder and lightning, making it seem like daytime. Is it an illusion?"

"It's not an illusion. Look over there at the window over here. The thunderclouds just darted away."

"Your upward gaze is really scary; anyone who didn't know better would think a pretty girl is rolling her eyes with a rolling pin! Look ahead, there's a thundercloud up there; it'll be gone in a flash!"

"Grandpa, I'm a man, who are you implying is a woman! But what's up with this thundercloud, how can it run so fast?"

Above the churning, lightning-streaked thundercloud, a handsome man with dragon horns stood, the sounds of discussion and astonishment from the common people below echoing in his ears.

Those voices reached his ears like an ant facing a thunder god, so ignorant that it could not even worship, only knowing horror.

"Ha!" He scoffed, ignoring the vulgar words of the mortals.

Behind the handsome man, a servant holding a strange pearl stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said:

"Lord Chi Wen, the mirage pearl pointed to this Jin region. According to the results of the soul-binding, the little princess should have fled in this direction, and her whereabouts are unknown."