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

Chu Mingkong was silent for a while: "Actually, it's still acceptable. At least the cat didn't make Master beat me up."

After Zuo Qiuchi and Maomao made a joke last time, Maomao felt wronged by her father and wanted to ask Zuo Qiuchi to stand up for her.

Zuo Qiuchi had just finished a plate of tribute stone-ground rice noodle rolls and took a moment to say:

"Yes, the cat just told me to beat you up, but I didn't say it in public because I was afraid of embarrassing you."

Didn't you already say that?

The atmosphere at breakfast was quite nice, although the topics of conversation made Chu Mingkong feel embarrassed, but the overall harmony allowed him to enjoy it.

After they had almost finished eating, Qingse ran over.

"The auction started so early? Or did you want to mooch breakfast but you're a bit late and it's already finished?" Chu Mingkong greeted her.

But Qingse didn't come to discuss this matter; her brows were furrowed, and she came with worry in her heart.

"The auction won't start for another two hours. You can enter now, but there's no rush..."

"Let's not talk about that now. Are you aware that your bad reputation is spreading all over Senior Bao's immortal island?"

"What the heck?" Chu Mingkong raised an eyebrow, sensing from Qingse's expression that she was serious and not joking.

"I'm saying you were lustful."

"Is this considered a bad reputation? Isn't this just telling the truth? What's the problem?" Zuo Qiuchi looked at Qingse with disbelief.

This isn't meant to be sarcastic towards Chu Mingkong, it's just... there's really nothing wrong with it, right? Everyone knows who Chu Mingkong is.

On the contrary, Qingse's reaction was a bit strange. Why was she in such a hurry? The reputation of a gentleman was not worth mentioning to Chu Mingkong. If Chu Mingkong was such a person who cared about his reputation and put on airs, Zuo Qiuchi would find it difficult to get along with him.

"Let me finish. This is about what happened yesterday. His Highness outwardly refused to give medicine to a pitiful girl, but in reality, he secretly contacted her. If she wanted to save her father's life, she would have to exchange her body for the medicine. He took advantage of her vulnerability and tried to ruin her reputation!"

This kind of news is secondary; it's really not a big deal. Considering it's a life-saving medicine, even a one-night stand is a cheap price to pay. The problem is that this news seems to be spreading intentionally!

“Fake news. Mingkong didn’t do that.” Shangguan Rong said firmly. “I can testify that I was there when it happened.”

"When you were having an affair?" Jin Yu asked softly.

"..." Shangguan Rong.

Chu Mingkong didn't get angry; instead, he laughed. He didn't take the matter to heart. Compared to the extent of the rumors spread in the capital, this was like a tickle. He simply sighed:

"I'm just lustful, not blind. Do you really think I'm indiscriminate in my desires?"

Just considering the matter of exchanging one's body for medicine, you would need to have the beauty and voluptuous figure of a femme fatale like the Princess Consort of Chu or Empress Pei, right?

The target was that female swindler from yesterday. Rather than saying it was spreading rumors, Chu Mingkong felt it was an insult to his aesthetic sense!

"This shouldn't be too much trouble, right? Does this auction house have a rule that 'people with bad reputations are not allowed to enter'?"

"No, not at all. It's just that I just checked who spread these malicious rumors. It came from the Dragon King's Palace. How should I put it... it's like they deliberately let you know that the Dragon King's Palace is spreading your bad reputation, luring you there. The process of having someone trace the source of the rumors was very smooth, as smooth as..."

"The Rabbit God's eyelids—are unobstructed?" Chu Mingkong chimed in for her.

"Couldn't you have used a different way of putting it...? It's roughly the same idea, you get it, that troublesome new Dragon King has his eye on you!"

Chapter 86 Ultimate Social Death, Ultimate Experience

"That Dragon King has his eye on me?" Chu Mingkong sat down to ponder the other party's motives and the source of their conflict. "Could it be that the Dragon King found out about killing those little dragons at the border? That doesn't make sense, does it?"

Qu Wuyue hadn't expected that Chu Mingkong had killed members of the East Sea Dragon Clan, but only at his own doorstep. It was probably not because he had provoked trouble. The appearance of the Dragon Clan in Xiling, thousands of miles away, was a rare occurrence.

She mentioned some of her observations:

"It is said that there is indeed a special connection among the dragons that can tell who has the blood of their fellow dragons on their hands. The stronger the dragon bloodline, the stronger the connection. However, it usually disappears after a few months."

Those who are enemies of the dragon race will go into seclusion to cultivate for several months after eliminating their opponent, while also waiting for the aura to dissipate. There are also rumors that taking a trip near the Abyss can dissipate that aura.

"How could the stench of a mere dragon's corpse evade the extreme Yin power within Mingkong?" Xiao Yunhan said dismissively.

"That's what I think too, but those dragons died at my doorstep. Even without concrete evidence, it's understandable that the Dragon King would suspect me. Is he trying to use my reputation as bait to provoke me into going to the Dragon Palace to confront him?"

Shangguan Rong's thoughts were quite comprehensive. Seeing that Chu Mingkong was steer the conversation back to what happened before they set off, she reminded him:

"But he used the story of that woman who asked for medicine to ruin Mingkong's reputation. What is the relationship between the Dragon King and that woman?"

No one can answer this question right now, since apart from the parties involved, Chu Mingkong and Shangguan Rong, no one has ever seen what the woman looked like or what her identity was.

Shangguan Rong used her spiritual power to recreate the appearance and figure of the pure and innocent woman from yesterday.

"What a slender figure." Jin Yu's attention was a little off, but when she saw the woman seeking medicine's appearance, she felt at ease.

Jin Yu thought Chu Mingkong was going to bring a girl back again. If it was a woman like this, she probably wouldn't suit his taste.

Qingse shook her head; she didn't recognize the woman.

"I'm not familiar with people from the East China Sea, but I'm sure this isn't someone famous. I'll go ask around for him later, but it's also possible that he's just pretending."

I mentioned Sheka, the Dragon King's wife, before. Perhaps this is Sheka...

Chu Mingkong recalled the information Qingse had mentioned earlier: in order to retaliate against the Dragon King for injuring their core guard, the Immortal Treasure Pavilion had gone to great lengths to dig up information about Ao Wei.

His wife, Shejia, seemed to be a tool for Aowei to cause trouble. He needed a reason to start many things, otherwise it would damage his reputation. This is what is commonly referred to as "having a just cause," making him a villain who attacks others without cause.

The reason why Dragon King Ao Wei eliminated dissidents was much stranger: he had his wife seduce other men, then smeared them with evil names, and then launched a righteous attack.

"Forget it, I'll just see what tricks this local bully can pull. His excuse for coming after me is nothing more than wanting to open the Dragon King's Tomb because he's after Jiao'er's blood."

"It's not that I'm afraid of him; I'll focus on the auction first."

Chu Mingkong said so, but in his heart he still marked the name of Dragon King Ao Wei with a circle.

The death of the original owner of Jiao'er's mirage body may have been caused by the Prince of Jin, but the Dragon King is also involved. Let's see what tricks he can pull if he ignores Ao Wei's provocation.

Using his wife as a vanguard, this new Dragon King is quite something, and he's even paving the way for Chu himself.

It's a real shame that Ao Wei's taste is so mediocre, otherwise who knows what else might have happened... a scene where his wife is sent out as bait, only to return completely transformed.

------------

The auction has begun.

There are indeed differences between customers. Although this auction house has not yet come up with the idea of ​​using paper stickers to closely connect customers, it does offer services such as "dedicated customer service representatives." However, the practice of differentiating between private rooms and regular seats based on spending amount already exists.

Chu Mingkong asked Qingse to arrange a private room so that his girls could enjoy the atmosphere of the auction in a quiet environment, while he himself would stay in the ordinary seats and carefully observe the arrangements so that he could inspire Qingse later.

The number of people in these ordinary seats is outrageous. Each seat is shrouded in a dim, fog-like mist to conceal the identity of the guests, so all you see are clumps of black mist writhing around the seats, which is quite comical.

Some people who are unwilling to participate in the auction in person, or who have hatred on their hands and do not trust the auction's secrecy, will appear in their seats as avatars. Therefore, in those seats where the identity is not concealed by the mist, cats, paper figures, or insects sit there. These avatars are controlled by the cultivators and appear as if the person is present.

It should be said that if it weren't for this trip to the East Sea, Chu Mingkong wouldn't have realized there were so many cultivators, especially considering that many cultivators hadn't even come.

On the auction stage, the female auctioneer in charge of today's auction began to introduce the items one by one. The previous items did not catch Chu Mingkong's eye, so he did not pay much attention to them, but the cultivators around him were enthusiastically participating.

After several treasures were auctioned off, the highest transaction price so far seems to be just over 100,000 spirit stones.

"These items would be considered high-quality goods in Qingse's possession, expensive but not particularly rare. Logically, they shouldn't be put up for auction... But that makes sense. In a month-long auction, it's impossible for every item to be a rare treasure. Besides, given the senior members of the Immortal Treasure Pavilion, these guests all believe there must be some great treasures to come."

If Qingse were to hold an auction, she couldn't do it this way. She would rather have fewer but better items, and the very first item would have to be a rare and amazing treasure. Otherwise, people would lose hope after seeing the first few items and leave early.

"It would be best if Qingse, the Pavilion Master, were to act as the auctioneer, making her entrance adorned with a dazzling array of top-grade jade dildos of various attributes, her slender waist and thighs covered in medicinal pouches—that would really create the right atmosphere..."

The more Chu Mingkong pondered, the more his thoughts wandered, and the images in his mind became increasingly strange. This was the type of person who couldn't concentrate on thinking.

A clear, puzzled sound suddenly came from the nearby mist:

"What are you talking about? What's this 'medicinal film bag'? A herbal sachet? Who wears sachets all over their body for no reason?!"

Chu Mingkong looked in the direction of the sound and saw the mist dissipate, revealing a bird perched on top.

"Are you sure you don't go to such lengths? Transforming into a bird is one thing, but then you create a fog to block the view... I was just thinking off-topic, so just ignore the last part."

"You'll see how wrong you are soon enough." The bird chuckled coldly.

Qingse herself was currently sitting in a private room with Chu Mingkong's female relatives, looking at the auction items being displayed below through the exquisite carved wooden railings of the window.

Yongzhen happened to see a near-third-grade elixir being auctioned below, and out of curiosity, she asked Qingse:

"Miss Qingse, does this auction house offer any pills related to the soul?"

Qingse's attention shifted from the bird-like creature to the present moment, and she responded:

"Although it's not good to speak too definitively and it's easy to say something wrong and lose face, I can say that it's impossible for soul-binding pills to appear in auctions, even in this once-in-a-century auction event."

Why?

"Because there are so few of them, if any pills are successfully made, they will basically be kept by the major powers for their own use. Even if the Immortal Treasure Pavilion gets its hands on them, it will not be auctioned off. It will definitely be consumed internally. However, there are still herbs for sale occasionally. If you have the ability, you can buy them to refine pills yourself."

"..."

Yongzhen took out the white jade porcelain bottle that Chu Mingkong had given her. Her jade hand tightened on the bottle. He had actually given her a pill that was so precious. But could such a thing really be obtained so easily?

On the auction stage, the female auctioneer suddenly adopted a serious and mysterious tone:

"The auction of elixirs and herbs for today has ended. Although some seniors are already planning to leave, I think they can patiently look at this last item, as it is a rare treasure passed down from ancient times!"

The little bird controlled by Qingse gasped and drew up the mist again, while she thoughtfully provided cover for Chu Mingkong in the private room.

“We’ve been sitting here for a while, why don’t we go out for some fresh air and take a walk?” she suggested.

"Didn't that woman down there say there was a major event coming?" Jin Yu had no intention of buying the treasures below, but she was still interested in seeing them.

"Uh... this is just a polite way of keeping customers. The pill auction is over. We'll start with the regular auction items and gradually move on to the main attraction, saving enough for the grand finale."

"Oh, okay? Let's go shopping together then~" Jin Yu didn't hesitate.

The female auctioneer continued to build suspense, using her words to create an atmosphere. The cultivators below the stage all knew that the woman was laying the groundwork for that mysterious treasure. However, in such an auction, something worth the auctioneer's elaborate explanation must be a rare and precious item, and one that had been passed down from ancient times!

Many monks who were about to leave turned back upon hearing this, wanting to see what was going on.

Chu Mingkong belatedly realized something was wrong, but it was too late for him to leave.

Amidst the intense attention, the female auctioneer carefully lifted the headless half of the "jade artifact" with both hands!

"..."

"..."

"???"

The auction house, which had gathered tens of thousands of cultivators, fell into complete silence; a profound stillness descended upon it.

In the side room of Wenqing Pavilion, a female disciple glanced at Sect Leader Shen and Senior Sister Xiao and noticed that they were both strangely silent.