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

"Is this leading me into a dream?" Chu Mingkong murmured to himself as he returned to consciousness from his daze.

But he still didn't return to his room in the Immortal Treasure Pavilion. His master, Zuo Qiuchi, was also there, complaining about being bored, occasionally wriggling like a white silkworm.

If he had to put it into words, Chu Mingkong felt as if he had returned to the feeling he had when he touched those two original scriptures of the Daoist sect.

The body felt like a dream, and gradually...

There are mountains in the distance!

Chu Mingkong quickly approached, running for an unknown amount of time, but he confirmed that the divine mountain atop the clouds was indeed getting closer to him, and he ran tirelessly.

He knew that this was most likely the dream that the technique had led him into, and there must be an even simpler way to get there.

Thinking was exhausting, so he tried to approach the place with his mind, but failed. Since he failed, he decided to use the dumbest method to slowly get closer!

Strangely enough, although the sacred mountain was like a palace in the sky or the bright moon in the deep sky, he found himself in the sacred mountain as he ran, and stood on the top of one of its white peaks.

"It's worth it!"

Chu Mingkong hadn't felt breathless in a long time, but looking at the woman's back by the pool and her perfect, stunning curves, he instantly felt full of energy again.

"This is a dream. You have an easier way to get here than by running around like a fool. Why don't you think more and try more?" The woman spoke, her voice ethereal and sacred, with an inexplicable majestic charm, seemingly both present and otherworldly.

This wasn't the first time he'd heard this voice, but each time it still shocked him. Fortunately, the woman meant him no harm. With no hostility whatsoever, Chu Mingkong was only slightly distracted before calming himself down.

"Wanting to try more is so difficult... It's like making a melancholy plan for my future. I can't even be sure if I'm really thinking and planning, or if I'm just lost and wasting time."

Only by constantly running can I confirm that I am putting in the effort. During this time, I find it most reliable to let others help me think.

"Let's not talk about these grand principles, this must be a dream, right?"

"Yes, the Dream of the Void."

"Would you mind if I walked up to the front and looked at you?" Chu Mingkong was surprised even to himself that he was so well-behaved and polite.

Normally, after asking the question, shouldn't he have already walked to the front to look at it?

If they were bolder, they might even touch it with their hands.

It seems they were scared by the system girl's passive-aggressive behavior, so even if they're arrogant, they have to be more cautious.

Moreover, Chu Mingkong vaguely remembered asking her if he could see her while breaking through to higher levels, and the answer at the time was no.

Therefore, he is now worried that if he goes over there, she will use passive-aggressive tactics, even banishing him from his dreams.

Not worth the candle!

“Okay.” The tall, slender figure sat quietly by the pool.

Chu Mingkong walked over, his gaze slowly moving upwards from those perfect, jade-like feet, past her high, full breasts, and finally—

Hey!

"Why is there a censor? I just want a mother, not a censor!" Chu Mingkong's heart, which had been filled with longing, vanished. His expression turned serious, and he stared blankly at the woman's face, feeling utterly dejected.

This woman was flawless from head to toe, possessing an unparalleled elegance and serene grace. Yet, a ray of moonlight slanted across her face, obscuring her beautiful features. Staring at her for too long caused one's vision to blur and become dizzy.

"Didn't we agree that I'd come up and see you from the front?"

“You’re already standing on the front, and you’ve even stepped into this pool of water.”

"..."

Chu Mingkong looked around with mixed feelings.

Indeed, he had unknowingly walked into the pool and stood in front of the woman, but what he meant by "look at her from the front" was clearly not that.

He felt the woman was teasing him, and was even pretending not to understand, which was impossible for her not to understand.

Fine!

Chu Mingkong adjusted his mood quickly. Seeing the buttocks was like seeing the person, and he also confirmed that the jade feet that had stepped on his face several times were still so beautiful. This trip was still worthwhile.

The pool water was clear, and although it only reached Chu Mingkong's ankles, it seemed bottomless at first glance. When clouds drifted in from the sky, the pool water became like a mirror.

The woman's reflection in the mirror remained ethereal and beautiful, like a celestial being descended to earth. Unfortunately, the ripples shattered her reflection, and only a pair of beautiful, watery eyes could be glimpsed from time to time.

"My goodness~ Can you tell me what new tricks this time's 'Hehuan True Scripture' has?" Chu Mingkong sat down next to her.

"It's not a new trick, it's a method of cultivation. It uses the six desires to mold a demonic embryo, and takes demonic thoughts to forge a demonic god."

If we understand it using the method of intertextuality, Chu Mingkong felt that this demon god was probably not the kind of demonic deity he had imagined. This "god" corresponds to "fetus" or "fetal body," which is probably something like mind or consciousness.

They had previously given him a Domain of Annihilation, which had given him a lot of enjoyment. Now, however, they've given him nothing at all.

"Does this mean tempering the body and spirit?" Chu Mingkong asked to confirm. "Where did this demonic thought come from to retrieve it for me?"

"The first problem is yes. It's very difficult to make breakthroughs using normal cultivation methods. If you encounter opponents at your former level in the future, your spirit will be severely restrained."

Regarding the second question, didn't the first few levels of the *Hehuan Zhenjing* (True Scripture of Union) require you to plant demonic seeds? Since you've planted them, there will always be a day when you can retrieve them.

Chu Mingkong nodded, taking it as an explanation: he had bullied the woman and planted a demon in her, but now that their relationship was better, he had to appease her and help her get rid of the demon.

But since it is the "True Scripture of Union," it is estimated that the actual practice is still the same as the "drilling hole" method, which remains unchanged despite all the variations.

“I started to wonder after hearing from Yunhan. Is it true that if one cultivates normally, the path ahead is blocked? Why is that? What exactly is different about the ancient world compared to today?”

"The power and spiritual energy that help temper the spirit. Now, nothing is left, not even the demonic thoughts that must be planted by oneself, otherwise one wrong move will lead to utter destruction."

Chapter 74 Running made me quite breathless

Nothing left... This feeling really coincides with what Zuo Qiuchi discussed back then.

Chu Mingkong thought of Yongzhen again, and the soul cultivation technique she shared with Madam Zhen. This should belong to the cultivation technique of the soul and spirit.

However, we also witnessed that Yongzhen suffered a great deal during his spiritual practice.

The thought of things like "holding pearls" or "blocking the nine orifices" always made Chu Mingkong's fists hard (referring to his fists). In short, it was genuinely difficult to cultivate.

If even following existing cultivation methods is this difficult in the realm of the soul, how difficult must it have been to create this cultivation method in the first place?

Unexpectedly, the cultivation of the spirit in ancient times was different from the conditions today!

A portion of the spiritual energy nourishes the blood and flesh, while another portion nourishes the spirit and essence.

“The spiritual energy for cultivating the spirit… Actually, I can cultivate a little bit of the spirit now, but not much at all.”

What are the differences between the current cultivation system and the old one? And what ancient realm would reaching the peak of cultivation be equivalent to?

Chu Mingkong had always wanted to know this, a question he carried from the Lunar Eclipse Kingdom to the present, and no one could answer it for him.

The woman in the white dress said calmly:

“In ancient times, cultivation realms could be divided into nine parts, which could be further broken down into physical cultivation and spiritual cultivation. However, the most effective cultivation method was to keep the two together, advancing them side by side and complementing each other.”

However, everyone has their own talent. Some people are not good at cultivating their spirit and soul. Among them, there are cultivators who focus on physical cultivation and bring their bodies to the extreme. This type of person is similar to the cultivators of later generations.

"So, your current cultivation level has dropped to only half of what it was in ancient times?!" Chu Mingkong was a little unable to accept it; the difference was too great.

Although it seems that modern cultivation still retains the aspect of physical cultivation, as mentioned earlier, ancient cultivation methods were complementary in this respect.

There is spirit in flesh, and flesh in spirit.

Instead of simply separating the ninth level of physical body and the ninth level of spiritual soul, those with uneven talents will only cultivate half of it.

"The indistinguishability of spirit and flesh can only be attributed to the fact that cultivation in later generations is inferior to that of ancient times. Even if the cultivation levels are at the same level, the actual combat power can be vastly different."

Chu Mingkong nodded in response but did not speak.

What is being said now is something Chu Mingkong can understand; combat power is never just about cultivation level.

Cultivation techniques, weapon level, spiritual treasures, and even whether or not a powerful figure is protecting you are all factors in combat strength.

Compared to ancient times, the missing element in modern times is the spiritual realm, which is indeed fatal. No matter how strong the body is, if the spiritual realm is weak, it may be directly destroyed by someone from the spiritual realm.

"Demonic thoughts are bad, right? Can they be used to nourish the soul?" Chu Mingkong brought the topic back to the beginning.

"This is something that is difficult to convey in words; you will understand once you experience it."

However, one thing needs to be understood: Heaven and Earth never distinguish between good and bad; it is humans and other intelligent beings who distinguish between good and bad, right and wrong. Birth, separation, and death are the normal laws governing the operation of all things in the universe.

Chu Mingkong stared at the pool water, lost in thought.

This means that the concept and evaluation of "demonic thoughts" are things left by our ancestors.

But this is actually a way to break through constraints, only the ancestors left behind negative evaluations, while concealing its breakthrough effect?

"It's a bit hard to imagine that spiritual energy could be used up?" Chu Mingkong recalled the feeling when he sensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. It was just like an ordinary person being thrown into the ocean and witnessing its omnipresent thickness. Naturally, he could hardly imagine the day when the ocean would dry up.

"Yes, when a person dies, their essence dissipates, and everything they took from heaven and earth is ultimately returned to heaven and earth. But what about those cultivators who successfully transcend?"

----------

On the floating spaceship of Wenqing Pavilion.

After some thought, Xiao Yunhan finally decided to ask her master what was wrong with her cultivation.

Upon entering Shen Xuejun's room, Xiao Yunhan saw her looking at a copied book, the voluptuous and icy beauty slowly turning the pages.

Xiao Yunhan took a closer look at the contents of the book; the handwriting in the book looked somewhat like that of her younger brother, Chu Mingkong.

"Master, what are you looking at? There is a book that you are so engrossed in."

“Mingkong gave it to me as a gift, saying it was obtained by chance through some means, like a present from an old fisherman.” Shen Xuejun pointed to one of the sentences: “‘The way of Heaven is to take from those who have more than enough and give to those who have less than enough. The way of man is not so; it takes from those who have less than enough and gives to those who have more than enough.’ Yunhan, what do you think this sentence means?”

Xiao Yunhan pondered for a moment, then, after a brief thought, said according to her own understanding:

"The principle of the universe's operation is constant throughout eternity, with waxing and waning, while the principle of human behavior is that the strong always become stronger and the strong prey on the weak?"

“Yes, this is the crux of your problem, Yunhan. It should be the question you want to ask your teacher, right? However, this should not be your problem. Instead, it is because you have been ‘shortened’.”

----------

Chu Mingkong pondered the words of the woman beside him.

If we divide spiritual energy into two types, divine thought and demonic thought, those who transcend first take away all the divine thought, and the earlier they transcend, the more they take away.

The spiritual energy used for cultivating the physical body remains unaffected, presumably because cultivators whose path to immortality has been cut off will eventually die, thus preserving a "spiritual energy cycle."

"Is the current state of Buddhism, with its crooked and deformed members, also related to this?" Chu Mingkong thought of the group of bald men with whom he had clashed many times.

When the Crown Prince set up an ambush for Zuo Qiuchi, the bald monks secretly helped him. Later, the Xiaoxiang Qin Academy was harassed by Buddhist monks. It can be said that these troublemaking bald men were everywhere.

This already wicked force even has a strange, demonic temple like the Xingqi Temple, making it a demon among demons.