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

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Mingkong, do you have a part-time job?

Tea room.

Qingse was somewhat surprised to see that the Princess of Chu had also come along.

"Your Highness, why didn't you tell me yesterday that Princess Chu was also coming? The maid didn't even tell me which room Princess Chu was in."

"It's alright, it's nothing serious. I just found out myself... We'll make arrangements later. Let's get down to business now." Chu Mingkong wiped his sweat and led Xiao Zhi's mother to sit down near the bed.

Even if she's not interested in the topic, she can still look at the cloudscape outside the window and appreciate what it's like to see a house flying in the sky.

After entering the Immortal Treasure Pavilion, Chu Mingkong was busy tilling the land and did not pay attention to the changes in the scenery outside. The scenery outside the window came into view, as if he had entered a different world.

The snow in Xiling had not yet dissipated, and from high above, the earth was covered in a blanket of white, with occasional drifting white mist making everything within sight appear even whiter. But beyond some unknown boundary, the snow and wind could not reach, and outside the window, the sky was clear and blue, the forests lush and green.

I can't say the scenery there is better; I'm not used to seeing it in the snowy season yet, but both are pretty good.

After all, with the blessing of cultivation, even in the dead of winter, the girls will not wear particularly thick clothes, and conversely, in summer, those who should wear light clothing will never change.

"So, Your Highness, Princess Consort Chu, would you like to discuss first what's on at the East Sea Auction, or whether it concerns the East Sea Dragon Clan and the power dynamics here?"

Chu Mingkong glanced at Xiao Zhi's mother and found that she was indeed not interested in this topic. Instead, she was looking at the scenery outside the window, perhaps still not recovered from Jin Yu's "feat".

As expected, although Jin Yu is a master of empty words, she is still very lethal!

Chu Mingkong took the lead in making the decision: "Let's talk about the auction details first, but shouldn't this be kept secret? Do you have inside information?"

"It can only be said that some of the auction items, although they are all from the same industry within the Immortal Treasure Pavilion, are also competitors. If the list of auction items were leaked, others might not want to come after just one look."

In most cases, even if the auction list is fixed, the unknown is always more attractive.

"That makes a lot of sense. It's the same principle as a lottery. If you know in advance what you can win, your interest drops by 20%. If you know in advance how many times you have to draw before you win, your interest drops by half. The remaining interest is just to buy it at the fixed price." Chu Mingkong wholeheartedly agreed.

Besides auctions, there is another type of market among cultivators. Whenever a secret realm opens in a certain place, many cultivators in the nearby villages and towns will set up stalls to sell things. People who visit these stalls always have the mentality of finding bargains and cheap treasures.

Auctions are a more sophisticated form of finding bargains, only at much higher prices, and they also offer a sense of gamble.

The amount of money you bring is fixed, but if you spend too much money at the beginning of the auction, you won't be able to afford to spend any more later. Sometimes giving up earlier may mean gaining later.

Of course, it is also possible to gain nothing at all.

Any activity that involves a gambler's mentality will always attract people's attention. For example, when you have diarrhea and fart, there are always people who like to wonder if the fart will "leak out".

"Indeed, that's why the seniors of the Immortal Treasure Pavilion don't reveal too much inside information to the juniors. They have to gather intelligence themselves. Here I've listed some things that Your Highness might be interested in."

But please allow me to emphasize again, this information was gathered from unofficial sources, and its accuracy is only about 80%.

Qingse didn't want Chu Mingkong to have his eye on anything, so she ran over full of anticipation, only to find nothing.

"I understand."

Chu Mingkong nodded, took the booklet from Qingse, then gently patted Xiao Zhi's mother's hand and pulled her to look at it together.

To avoid leaving her standing there alone for too long, even the most beautiful view from the window can't withstand looking at it for too long.

Qingse looked troubled and tried to stop it, but it seemed too late, so she gave up.

Chu Mingkong turned to the first page and frowned.

[VIP tickets for exclusive entertainment venues in various locations]

"What is this?" Chu Mingkong quickly asked, indicating that this was not something he was interested in and that he had no idea about it!

“To satisfy the needs of Daoist partners…” Qingse said calmly, but inwardly she explained with a forced smile, “However, this was from the beginning of the auction, and it should all be gone by the time we arrived.”

"Among cultivators, there are female cultivators who engage in such things?" Princess Chu looked at her son with suspicion.

"I have no idea about any of this, and I'm quite curious... puzzled, Qingse, please explain quickly!"

"This is different from ordinary romantic affairs. Some cultivators need certain treasures, but lack the means to obtain them. So they tell those brothels about their needs, and the brothels then entrust an auction house to auction off this information. Whether it goes through or not depends on whether the two parties can reach an agreement. The auction house is only responsible for auctioning off an opportunity for each other to get to know each other."

Oh, so you're just using auctions as a platform with a wide range of information sources. Although it depends on whether the two parties can get along, it's mostly just a transaction where one party exchanges treasures and the other completes a deal.

They've already specified that these are VIPs in the inner circle of the entertainment industry, so how could they really just chat and not do anything?

It is estimated that most of these transactions are made by independent cultivators or lower-level disciples of sects out of necessity, ultimately it is still a resource issue.

Chu Mingkong glanced at these so-called VIP tickets. They didn't specify who the woman was; they only indicated what treasure she needed. Only those who could provide the treasure could compete for the spot.

If it had happened earlier, and he had known that the auction house would be auctioning these kinds of items, he might have actually made the purchase.

He inquired to find out which girls had cultivated the Extreme Yang Technique and were quite skilled. He then relied on various resources provided by the system to pay for it, and summoned female cultivators to the capital to assist him in his cultivation.

But let's forget about it now.

"I'm not interested in this kind of thing. From childhood to adulthood, the most I've ever gone in to watch talent shows is," Chu Mingkong said, sounding a bit like he was trying to cover something up, but he could still say he had a clear conscience.

[Medicinal Herbs] This is the second part of the list.

There's even less reason to pay attention to this. It's better to browse the shop that the system gave him. Besides, the medicinal herbs auctioned at the auction are mostly century-old ones, which are already considered top-tier. So there's no need to look at them at all.

However, some of the "information on ancient medicinal herbs" is quite intriguing.

"Qingse, does such a ten-thousand-year-old medicinal plant really exist? At the once-in-a-century East Sea Auction, the most top-tier plant is only four thousand years old. Below that, there's a significant gap; they're mostly around one thousand years old. What kind of medicinal plant can remain unpicked for ten thousand years?"

"So it's intelligence. And it's already not easy for the auction house to be able to sell a 4,000-year-old medicinal plant. These kinds of things are used by those cultivation families and sects to extend the lifespan of their reclusive elders. It's not the auction house's fault if they can't find a 10,000-year-old medicinal plant, but they can usually find some that are a few hundred years old."

"What's the difference between this and swindling money?" Chu Mingkong's expectations for the East China Sea Auction plummeted, and he was already thinking about going back to play with his cat, Jiao'er.

But never mind, the main thing is to go there to broaden my horizons, gain some experience for Qingse's future auctions of sex toys, and also to find out some information about the Day of Flourishing Yin.

"The more I look at it, the less reliable it seems. This once-in-a-century grand event for cultivators is not as impressive as that white jade-infused twin lotus that you brought out back then, Mingkong." Princess Chu shook her head slightly.

"White jade-infused twin lotus? Isn't this a rare medicinal herb that has been extinct for a long time? Your Highness, you've even acquired such a treasure before." Qingse didn't remember clearly, but she had seen the illustrations more or less.

"Extinct for a long time. By the way, Mingkong, I've noticed you never seem to lack cultivation resources, and you always seem to have some treasures to offer. You've never stopped providing treats for the cats and the little one. Some cultivators are so desperate that they secretly sell themselves for cultivation resources!"

Xiao Zhi thought of Qing Se's sudden statement that the list was prepared based on Chu Mingkong's preferences. In addition, Chu Mingkong has been cultivating alone all these years, unlike Yun Han who has the support of the sect master. There are always times when he is short of cultivation resources. Could it be that the previous "VIP voucher for romance" had another meaning...?

The beautiful woman's expression turned serious.

Female cultivators have needs, and male cultivators will have needs too!

"Mingkong, you haven't been doing side jobs on the side all these years, have you? And you've met a bunch of powerful figures from various sects who have been giving you their best resources to support your cultivation, and that's how you've managed all these years?"

Qingse found this statement quite amusing, but if it was asked by the Princess of Chu, then it was truly questionable!

Princess Chu must know perfectly well what's in the Xiling Treasury. If even she suspects her son is unusually well-off, then there's definitely a big problem.

Chu Mingkong had no sect support and was trapped in the capital when he was a hostage, yet he was never seen to be short of money.

Each time, it was like selling junk; they would pull out a bunch of strange yet precious "junk" to sell to her.

For example, those Five Elements Spirit Jade pieces shaped like oxen, no matter how strange their appearance, are undeniably rare, and their performance reviews have been overwhelmingly positive to this day.

Even if you dig up an entire spirit jade mine, you might not be able to find a single piece of spirit jade of this rarity!

"What are you thinking? All my medicines... I picked them up in the Abyss. Few people go to the Abyss, so isn't that a good place for me to find treasures? Besides, my cultivation focuses on weapon mastery, which relies on comprehension, not resources," Chu Mingkong explained irritably.

"Where did you get so many rare jade dildos?" Qingse asked in a low voice that all three of them could hear.

If it weren't for some wealthy sect leader or elder from a major sect, would anyone really be interested in carving his ox?

It's even less likely that the ferocious beasts of the Abyss would drop this thing.

"A jade dildo?!" Princess Chu exclaimed in surprise, looking at the woman in the cheongsam.

Qingse noticed Chu Mingkong's threatening gaze and quickly explained:

"Jade, what I just said was jade. The jade that cultivators often talk about is actually the Five Elements Spirit Jade, it just sounds better..."

Chu Mingkong didn't want to dwell on this topic anymore. He really couldn't understand how, as they were chatting, Xiao Zhi's mother would suspect that he was secretly working as a gigolo!

He glanced at the list of cultivation techniques and his right eyelid twitched.

"What is this 'Tianji Jinwang Jiyuanhua Manuscript Copy Scroll'?"

Qingse shrugged her shoulders, knowing that Chu Mingkong would react to this, since Chu Mingkong had personally killed the Prince of Jin.

"I told you before, Your Highness, if you don't take that position, more people will be eyeing it. The information about the Emperor and Prince Jin's use of the Extreme Yin Power and the use of the Extreme Abyss Beast's body to complete their own Extreme Abyss transformation is now being snatched up as a treasure."

In the past, auction items related to martial arts techniques mostly focused on missing ancient books and combat skills. Now, however, the Prince of Jin's manuscript has become highly sought after, especially since it's a copy. Although it's already being sold illegally in many places, it's still in high demand.

After that, many people will probably start poaching the ferocious beasts of the Abyss. If it gets to the point where "no buying, no killing" happens, it might be a good thing for the people.

However, this is only one aspect. What is worrying is that some places may continue to treat ordinary people as guinea pigs and disregard human life.

It's too late to stop it now; it's already spread...

"At the time, I had people search the emperor's private treasury, but we didn't find it. I never expected that these people would find it later. I just hope that it contains complete records."

If the manuscript is the final version, then those who acquire it will no longer have to test it on ordinary people.

Chu Mingkong didn't care whether a second "King of Jin" with the Extreme Abyss transformation would appear. He could kill him the first time he met him, and he could kill him again if he came back. He just wanted to prevent the tragedies in Jin from happening again.

Some ideas began to form in his mind.

"Perhaps I should buy a decent Extreme Yang weapon."

Chu Mingkong flipped through the subsequent [Weapon Catalog] list and immediately spotted a "Purple Fire Dragon Bone Spear," which noted that the dragon bone material it contained possessed an extremely yang aura.

I'll buy this one then. As for the other weapons... there are many with outstanding appearances, but they're basically trash. I might as well ask the system to give me a weapon blank to make do with temporarily.

He glanced at the auction list, then handed it back to Qingse, saying:

"If there are no other treasures, then this auction seems rather ordinary, not as good as what I gave you."

"It's mainly about pills. Your Highness, you skipped over the pills altogether. How many cultivators are stuck at a certain level because of pills?"

Qingse didn't say much, but started talking about the East China Sea forces.

"There are many immortal islands in the East Sea, and basically each island has its own sect. There are many of them, but the one we should pay the most attention to is the East Sea Dragon Palace. After the turmoil, the East Sea Dragon Palace has now stabilized, but this new branch... how should I put it?"

"Tell me who it is first, even just a name would be helpful."

Qingse's expression was quite serious, with no hint of a joke in it:

"Ao Wei is quite good at causing trouble and conflict. People from our Immortal Treasure Pavilion have all suffered at the hands of this new East Sea Dragon King. However, he is indeed quite strong. I wonder if he had an epiphany when he was exiled by the old Dragon King. After wandering for more than seventy years, he even defeated the ancient fossils under the old Dragon King's command one by one after returning to the Dragon Palace. It's really exaggerated!"

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The Dragon Palace of the East Sea.

A handsome man with long, slender horns stood in the Dragon Palace armory, gazing at a weapon rack.

There were two dragonbone weapons on the weapon rack, but one was missing.