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

Chu Mingkong closed his eyes in thought, then nodded and said, "What about the Bodhisattva of the Collarbone? They say he practices the Joyful Meditation."

"This news is strange, without any basis or source. No one can be found to have actually received the 'universal salvation' teachings from the Bodhisattva of Collarbone, but this news has spread throughout the capital. It's a bit like... a story that a storyteller has mistakenly spread."

Chu Mingkong sensed something was wrong; a bad premonition suddenly enveloped his heart, turning into a dark cloud between his brows.

The storyteller's misrepresentation of the story is just like the self-deprecating and self-serving things he has been doing all along.

These rumors are all done with a purpose. Chu Mingkong's purpose was to let the royal family know that he had fallen from grace and was no longer a threat, so that they could focus on recovering from his injuries.

So what is the purpose of those who spread rumors that a "Bodhisattva with Collarbone" uses the Joyful Meditation to save suffering people and remove the extreme karmic fire from their bodies?

No matter how you look at it, it seems like they're trying to seduce someone into practicing that blissful meditation together. So, who is the easiest person to seduce?

Isn't that Chu Mingkong, whose life is full of misfortune and who is constantly searching for ways to survive? And it seems that he is more interested in attracting Zuo Qiuchi, because she has been helping Chu Mingkong find a way to save his life.

"You mean, the rumored Bodhisattva of the Collarbone is saving all sentient beings, but in reality, not a single person has received the benefits of that dual cultivation?"

Baili Mi quickly nodded in response, "Yes."

I was wondering why it was so strange. The Buddhist temple kept saying it was looking for someone with a predestined connection, but Zuo Qiuchi had tried several times to invite that female bodhisattva to the palace as a guest so that she could discuss Buddhist scriptures with Chu Mingkong.

However, no matter what they did, they couldn't invite them. The Eighteen Bronze Men Formation protected them so well that Zuo Qiuchi had to release his self-imposed restrictions.

What's this called? It burns so badly, but you won't let it get to you. The female bodhisattva in this Buddhist temple is not even as good as a prostitute in a brothel!

More clues came to mind.

Last time, Wei Qingning told him that powerful figures had been frequently entering and leaving the capital recently, which was not normal.

This is probably a troop deployment to focus fire on Zuo Qiuchi!

Chu Mingkong no longer indulged in the delicate and warm beauty of the woman's paradise. He pushed her aside, stood up, and said in a cold voice:

"Come collect your reward next time as a thank you for the information. I'm busy right now."

After leaving his message, he departed the palace and headed straight for the outskirts of the city.

Baili Mi slowly propped herself up from the couch, her graceful body rising gracefully. She looked down at the handprint on her heart, a mark left by the man's forceful grip.

She had never been treated so rudely and disrespectfully by a man, let alone been pushed to such an extreme by a man.

Even though she was only lightly brushed a few times, for some reason, her legs felt weak and numb.

He was probably scared.

She was so frightened that her legs were covered in a glistening sweat, which trickled down her thighs.

When she was treated like that, Baili Mi thought that everything was over. When she was so frivolous, with the key rubbed against the keyhole, Chu Mingkong would most likely not be able to resist going all the way. Otherwise, why would the emperor not dare to touch her even once?

At most, when the couple attends court together, they sit side by side, playing the role of a loving and devoted couple.

Even so, people sitting side by side should keep a few spaces between them to avoid physical contact that might lead to unwanted romantic thoughts.

Baili Mi glanced deeply in the direction Chu Mingkong had left, thinking about how she had been frivolously treated and then abandoned.

There was a sense of relief at surviving the ordeal, but also a more complex mix of emotions.

After tidying her clothes, the woman, her graceful and fair body hidden again under a coarse cloth robe, put on a veil and disappeared from the palace.

------

PS: A point mentioned by a reader in the previous chapter has been corrected. It seems the author confused himself. Let's see when the editor approves it.

Chapter Sixty: Balancing All Things

Chu Mingkong exhaled a breath of stale air, his temper flaring up, and he felt a surge of impotent rage.

A barrier confined him to the capital region, allowing him to travel only to the near suburbs and preventing him from approaching the outer suburbs.

After asking around, he learned that the Buddhist temple Baili Mi mentioned was just outside the capital's defenses, but he couldn't get out!

I had heard before that after entering the capital, the emperor placed a restriction on the princes and nobles' sons to prevent them from being bewitched by sorcerers and leaving the capital.

It sounds nice, but in reality, it's just being kept in a cage.

Chu Mingkong had never paid attention to this barrier before, because approaching it rashly would be tantamount to telling the emperor that he was planning to flee. He was so prudent that he would not make such a reckless attempt.

Now, the barrier that faintly echoed in Chu Mingkong's ears was right in front of him, invisible yet palpable.

Even a forced breakthrough would hardly shake the sway.

"I don't understand. What kind of power is this? Isn't it said that the most ferocious power in this world is the extreme yin and yang? Why can't my extreme yin fire spiritual energy break through this barrier?"

Chu Mingkong was extremely anxious, but there was nothing he could do. He took a deep breath to calm himself down.

This shouldn't be the case.

Last time, when Gao Nanben surrounded his palace to show off, Chu Mingkong used an arrow imbued with extremely yin spiritual energy to break through Gao Nanben's spiritual energy shield.

Just now, Chu Mingkong noticed that a certain part of Baili Mi's body was also protected by a seal. Her sect leader husband probably feared that he couldn't resist and that others might take advantage of Baili Mi, so he "locked" her with an extremely yang seal.

But Chu Mingkong found that even a simple rub against the seal had worn away a lot of it.

Then why can't this barrier be shaken?

"Why is this happening?" Chu Mingkong frowned, looking down as he stood there asking himself repeatedly.

Right next to him was an official road, with merchants and carriages coming and going, and farmers and tourists entering and leaving the city glancing at the noble young man who stood motionless.

But sensing that the atmosphere on his end was not good, no one dared to go over and ask what was going on.

Ordinary people simply walked through the barrier that Chu Mingkong could not cross, without even knowing that there was a barrier there, but he could only watch helplessly.

Suddenly, Chu Mingkong saw a group of people dressed in uniform, both men and women, who looked like disciples from some sect.

He composed himself, walked over with a friendly smile, took out a few spirit stones from his storage ring, and handed them to the man leading the group as a tip for directions.

"Hello, I'd like to ask you about something."

A few spirit stones may not seem like much, but they are enough to show sincerity in asking for directions.

The man leading the group accepted the spirit stones and responded enthusiastically, "Please speak, young master!"

"Do you know if there's any activity at that Buddhist temple outside?"

"Oh, you mean that dilapidated ancient Buddhist temple? We don't know either. No one is allowed to get close. There are many Buddhist disciples there, as well as some people who wear the uniforms of other sects. My spatial perception is still shallow, but I can vaguely sense... a hidden space has been created there!"

One of the young men in their group complained:

"Yes, when we passed by, we saw people wearing our sect's attire and thought they were our fellow disciples. We wanted to go over and greet them, but those Buddhist martial monks chased us away, telling us not to meddle."

Wearing someone else's sect's clothes is, frankly, a way of framing someone and not wanting others to know their true identity.

"You've come from outside, have you heard of the matter of the Collarbone Bodhisattva? Is there any sign of fighting at that ancient Buddhist temple?"

In his haste, Chu Mingkong asked two questions in a row, leaving the man in charge breathless with his imposing manner.

"I've never heard of any 'Clavicle Bodhisattva.' There were no signs of a fight near that Buddhist temple, and the bald monks guarding the area didn't seem to have been in a fight either; they all looked quite relaxed."

"Okay, thank you everyone!"

Since there hasn't been a fight, it seems the situation is relatively stable, and they probably haven't completely broken off relations yet.

Zuo Qiuchi possesses the strength of a Sword Immortal. Once a fight breaks out, even if they are inside a secret cave, his power can be transmitted to the outside world, which these people can sense.

After saying goodbye to the group, Chu Mingkong found a large tree to sit under.

"Is the system still around? Could there be a power in this world that is even higher than the extremes of Yin and Yang?"

This time the system didn't freeze and quickly responded.

"It doesn't exist yet, at least not now."

Upon learning that Zuo Qiuchi's condition was relatively good, Chu Mingkong calmed down a bit and was no longer so anxious.

"Then what's with this cover? At my age, I can easily make a hole in the brick floor by doing push-ups, so why is there something I can't break?"

The system said, "Even if you don't have a complete understanding of Yin and Yang during this time, you should have a general idea. These two are mutually reinforcing and mutually restraining, not completely incompatible."

Chu Mingkong nodded. It wasn't just extreme yin and yang; even water and fire spiritual energies weren't completely incompatible.

The Abyss Wound is a knife hanging over his life, but recently he has been cheating quite a few times by relying on the power of extreme yin. Apart from the fact that it is not friendly to kill him, everything else is fine.

It's so useful!

He spits out bloody phlegm, and anyone who comes near has to give him a wide berth, otherwise being spat on will result in serious injury.

The system continued, "You cannot shake this barrier because it is a perfect balance of Yin and Yang, and the power and resources of successive Heavenly Emperors are concentrated within it."

If you strike with extreme Yin power, the barrier will naturally generate a portion of extreme Yang power to offset it. In fact, the force of your strike will merge with the extreme Yin portion of the barrier, like a river flowing into the sea; at most, it will create some ripples, but it cannot shake the ocean.

What's this called? Balance exists between all things.

The accumulated skill and foundation of emperors throughout history

Is there a balance between the cathode and anode?

A thought flashed through Chu Mingkong's mind, but it was irrelevant to the current situation, so he didn't dwell on it.

"What should I do?"

The system has spoken more times today than ever before:

"You are not able to achieve true balance between the two poles for the time being, but as long as you can store a trace of extreme yang energy in your body, you can easily pass through this barrier."

Chu Mingkong took out a bottle of Golden Crow Jade Marrow, dripped a few drops into his mouth, and his internal injuries quickly rebounded, causing his heart to convulse as if it were about to burst. He immediately stopped his reckless act.

If he were to switch to cultivating the extreme Yang path in his current condition, wouldn't that be courting death?

Does this mean he should find a girl who practices the extreme yang technique for dual cultivation?

"System, give me a suggestion."

"Upgrade the system."

Chu Mingkong muttered to himself, "I haven't bought much stuff, but my system level has already increased several times."

The thousands of corrupted filial piety points I had accumulated over the past two days were quickly swallowed up by the system, leaving only a mere 300 points.

"So?" Chu Mingkong asked.

"You can find a suitable person to practice dual cultivation with."

"I already guessed it before you said it. I thought you meant that once you broke through, you could refresh the product and directly achieve yin-yang balance!"