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

At least his eyesight couldn't have done that. Who came up with this idea?

Suddenly, he noticed that in the middle of the star array, where there were no twinkling stars, there seemed to be some dim little dots that would occasionally appear.

"Senior Seeker of Medicine, could you please take a closer look at the very center of this star array?" Chu Mingkong said loudly, his voice drowning out the discussion below.

The situation inside the side room is not visible from below, so there's no need to worry about being seen even without cover.

His words interrupted some people's contemplation and meditation, and they felt a little resentful, but at the same time they were curious about what was in the center of the star array. Wasn't that a starry sky?

Although there are some specks of starlight, they are not part of the Gathering Yin Star Array.

"Senior Medicine Seeker, let's switch back to the previous view. There's clearly nothing there, so don't waste your time!"

"Exactly! Opportunities are rare, and time is precious; we can't waste it on leisure time!"

"If anyone has any further objections, please consult the senior medicine seeker privately. Don't delay everyone!"

Although these voices were not explicitly directed at anyone, they were clearly aimed at Chu Mingkong, who had just spoken.

Some of them were genuinely unhappy about their meditation being interrupted, while others were simply dissatisfied with the people in the private rooms from the ordinary seats, harboring a degree of jealousy. Normally, they dared not speak out due to their status, but now, hidden among the crowd and with so many cultivators to rely on, they naturally had to make a few sarcastic remarks.

But the old woman searching for medicine froze, her voice trembling slightly:

"Are there any fellow cultivators with higher cultivation levels in the audience? Please lend me your strength!"

The mask's vision could be further enhanced, but to see any further, it required a huge amount of spiritual energy. Even with the help of several cultivators protecting it, it was still insufficient to see any further.

The old man searching for medicine did indeed vaguely see something unusual.

Even in the ordinary seats of the auction house, there were many hidden talents. A seventh-level cultivator stepped forward to help, and the blood vessels in his eyes on his mask bulged out.

The pitch blackness in the image finally magnified a little more, and someone was about to say, "Isn't it still nothing?" but immediately fell silent.

In the deep, boundless black starry sky, the outline of an ancient coffin faintly appeared! It seemed to be drawing power from the star array!

These cultivators are still relying on the simple understanding of the star array layout, while some people are already able to directly utilize the entire Yin-time celestial phenomenon.

What was the purpose of placing the ancient coffin in the Yin-Gathering Star Array, and who did this?

The old man searching for medicine was suddenly thrown into the air by one of the Dharma protectors. The old man was already too weak to maintain the mask's energy consumption, and if this continued, something bad would happen.

Only then did the cultivators below notice that the old man's eye sockets were bleeding, with several dried blood holes. These were tentacles from behind the mask's eyeballs, which had just pierced directly into the old man's eye sockets.

Chu Mingkong wanted to keep some secrets, as the origin of some pills was difficult to explain. However, the old man had strained to look at the center of the Yin Gathering Star Array because of his words.

He took out a bottle of high-quality pills and threw it directly from the side room. The bottle landed steadily on the auction stage, and the people in Medicine King Valley were slightly surprised when they saw the white jade porcelain bottle.

"Thank you, Senior Medicine Seeker!"

After saying this, without waiting for a response from the people below, Chu Mingkong hurriedly left the auction house with Feng Ying and Qing Se.

Chapter 114 They escaped, but not completely.

The proverb "buying the casket and returning the pearl" describes how some people focus too much on outward appearances and neglect what is truly valuable.

There are many extraordinary people in the world who have an ordinary appearance but are exceptional in their inner qualities. Some cultivators are indeed a pity because of their appearance. Even the transformation brought by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth cannot save their bone structure and appearance. This is true from the lowest level to the highest level.

However, this does not apply to elixirs. From the lowest grade nine to the legendary grade one elixir, the higher the grade, the rarer they become, largely because they are difficult to store. Even the bottles used to store elixirs are classified into different grades.

"Is this a fourth-grade...or a third-grade white jade medicine bottle?" The disciple from Medicine King Valley frowned and stared at the bottle. He held a high position in the sect and, with the help of the elders, had refined pills that were close to the third grade.

Such "victories" could not be preserved because, embarrassingly, they could not buy a third-grade pill bottle, and the pills were useless to them. They could only reluctantly give them to the sect.

The person in that room just now made such a bold move, casually producing a high-grade third-rank pill bottle!

"A third-grade healing and qi-replenishing pill..." The old woman searching for the medicine felt conflicted. For a moment, she genuinely believed that a reclusive master had casually given away a divine pill; it turned out to be just an ordinary healing pill...

The type of this pill is indeed ordinary, but its superior grade makes it more than enough to heal her injuries. However, no one would refine such a pill to such a high grade, which is a real waste of herbs.

However, in terms of the quality of the pills alone, it is already quite rare. The highest level that the sect leader of Medicine King Valley can refine is only a second-grade low-level pill. It is difficult to go any higher, as the medicinal materials alone are not easy to obtain.

Several neighboring cultivators who had some knowledge of alchemy and herbal medicine realized that the generosity of the person who gave them the pills was outrageous.

"Auctioneer, who was that expert in that private room just now?" the old man seeking medicine asked the auctioneer.

"I'm sorry, that's information that cannot be disclosed." The auctioneer shook her head, equally shocked. Having handled numerous treasures, she naturally knew how rare the gift pill was!

"I wish to express my gratitude in person," the old woman insisted.

The auctioneer couldn't refuse any longer. The old man seeking medicine was sharing his stargazing results with the cultivators in the auction house, so she had to give him face. The female auctioneer was also curious about who this generous person was.

She turned around and went backstage to ask her colleagues, only to find out that Qingse had taken the private room for her use, which surprised her greatly.

"But the person is already gone. Don't reveal their identity and break the rules!" a colleague warned.

The auctioneer immediately returned to the auction hall and only informed the old man that the person in the private room had left, without revealing any further information about their identity.

"Alright then..." The old man seeking medicine was somewhat disappointed.

Among the crowd were many insightful individuals, and many cultivators recognized the extraordinary nature of the gifted pill. They inquired about it everywhere, but unfortunately, the Immortal Treasure Pavilion strictly adhered to its rules. Furthermore, since the person entering and leaving that room was one of Qing Se's own people, it meant that the secret belonged to the Immortal Treasure Pavilion, so they would not tell outsiders.

----------

Chu Mingkong returned to the Wenqing Pavilion's residence and quickly called the women to pack their things.

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry? Mingkong, didn't you say you were going to stay here for a few more days?" Jinyu asked, puzzled.

Zuo Qiuchi had just come out of Shen Xuejun's room, bringing over a pot of "Madam's" fine tea. He sipped the tea while munching on some snacks, and wondered:

"Indeed, what happened? They were just settled in Wenqing Pavilion, why did they change their minds and decide to leave? They might as well have just run away in the first place."

Chu Mingkong took the tea from his master's robes, took a sip to moisten his throat, and felt wronged:

"I didn't want this either. Things have changed too fast. I've encountered far too many problems on this trip. Everything was calm a few days ago, but today it all came rushing out at once."

"This is both a person from the underworld and the corpse of an ancient Buddha. The sea is shrouded in fog and pitch black. Just now at the auction, someone was observing the stars and even saw an ancient coffin emerging from the star array!"

Fengying confirmed for him: "Mingkong sometimes jokes, but he doesn't talk nonsense about important matters. What he just said is true. It's best to evacuate from the East China Sea first."

When you don't know what's going on, running is always the right thing to do. You have your own legs. If you don't know where to run, you should at least know where you can't stay, right?

Jin Yu listened to Chu Mingkong. Just moments ago, she was leisurely sitting by the window with her mother, looking at the oppressive coastline that resembled the calm before a storm. Now, she immediately got up and pulled Pei Mi back to the room to pack their luggage and clothes.

The disciples of Wenqing Pavilion were already planning to return home, and some were packing their things. They weren't leaving early, as they had originally planned to leave in the next few days anyway.

Yongzhen and Shangguan Rong remained motionless, watching Chu Mingkong's reaction. Yongzhen asked:

"Mingkong, what I'm getting is that you're not planning to leave?"

Chu Mingkong grinned and admitted, "Indeed, I was still thinking about whether I could try to get Maomao's mother back. I'll wait and see for a day or two, and then I'll be able to act more quickly."

Shangguan Rong looked at Zuo Qiuchi, trying to get this young lady, her master, to persuade Chu Mingkong.

Shangguan Rong knew that Chu Mingkong was incredibly skilled, but her concern for him remained unaffected. She didn't seem to be involved in anything dangerous or unknown.

Zuo Qiuchi, however, did not interfere with Chu Mingkong's wishes: "We still have to see what Mingkong himself wants. He can run away very easily. Once he activates the Domain of Annihilation, who can stop him?"

Chu Mingkong said, "I was thinking, Master, whoever is between you and Fengying, why don't you go back with Jinyu and the others? We need a protector, we can't rely entirely on Master's wife and Senior Sister Qu."

Feng Ying added, "Let's make this clear first: I don't mind secretly escorting one or two people, but I might not be able to manage more than that."

"So you mean I should go? Okay then." Zuo Qiuchi agreed readily. She was very easygoing, but she also knew that if she hesitated in this matter, it would only embarrass Yongzhen and the others.

It would make it seem like no one wants to take care of them, which would hurt feelings.

Yongzhen possessed her own strength of will. After a brief moment of thought, she proposed:

“Then we won’t stay with Sect Leader Shen and Sect Leader Qu. We’ll temporarily evacuate from Guanhai City, get a little further from the coast, and then stop to wait for Mingkong. If we encounter any problems, Senior Zuo can take care of Mingkong as quickly as possible.”

“I agree. This way, it won’t delay your search for the woman who is suspected to be the Goddess of the Moon River,” Shangguan Rong agreed.

"Alright, let's decide on this then. I'll go and talk to Senior Sister Qu and the others later."

----------

Beneath the East Sea, several cultivators who had received a huge sum of money were forging ahead in the water, determined to escort the ancient Buddha corpses to a distant place.

Their cultivation level was passable, but it was still quite difficult for them to move around in the deep sea. Their spiritual energy was consumed very quickly, and they had to take a few pills to replenish it from time to time.

"Brother, I have an idea. What do you think about us secretly sending this ancient Buddha's corpse into the Dragon King's Palace?"

"It's a bit unethical, but I like it. However, it would be troublesome if the Sea Dragon King found out. We wouldn't even know how we died. Don't think you can do it just because you saw Sect Master Shen easily defeat the Sea Dragon King. It's important to know your own limitations!"

"By the way, where's that Buddha statue? Didn't I just put it over there?" A cultivator, who was resting for a while, got up to look around, and then froze.

The dark statue had somehow appeared beside them, as if it were resting with them.

It was eerie and exuded a chilling aura.

Chapter 115 He certainly has a lot of guts.

Outside the Immortal Treasure Pavilion, Chu Mingkong considered waving goodbye to the women, but then thought it unnecessary.

This isn't really a farewell; it's just a temporary separation. Letting them move to a safe place and giving them a serious, overly formal goodbye would seem odd.

"Alright, that's all for now. You can contact me if you need anything. If you want to go back first, that's fine too. I'll only be a couple of days late in setting off. I'll catch up with you soon if I speed up."

Xiao Zhi was perceptive. A few days ago, her son said he would leave without any further news in "two or three days." Calculating the time, "two or three days" at that time would at most be tomorrow. But today he said "two or three days" again.

However, there are some things that are difficult to point out, otherwise it would only annoy or trouble him.

If Mingkong were to leave directly regarding the Moon River Goddess, he would surely be constantly on her mind. There are many things that, even if you regret doing them, you'll still think about for a long time if you don't do them, perhaps even longer than you regret it.

After all, if you don't draw a card, you get a clear result of failure, but if you don't draw, you'll always be thinking, "What if?"

"Then I'll keep reminding you with these notes, Chu Lang. You'd better respond to me immediately, or I'll come looking for you again," Jin Yu said, thinking to herself: That way, even if I talk about these notes with Chu Lang in front of Yong Zhen and the others, they won't dare say anything to me.

"Of course I'll reply. When have I ever not replied?" Chu Mingkong smiled.

We chatted briefly with each of them, and although we didn't intend to say goodbye, it all felt like we were really saying goodbye.

When it was Zhong Feihuang's turn, she said, "Mingkong, you haven't accompanied me to my hometown yet..."

Zhong Feihuang's voice wasn't loud, which wasn't in line with her fiery personality. After all, she couldn't openly discuss her relationship with Chu Mingkong. Feeling insecure, she was afraid that the louder she spoke, the more guilty she would appear, especially since there were quite a few people around.

Chu Mingkong hesitated. He had originally planned to accompany his sister-in-law Huang to her hometown for a stroll. He had intended to take this trip to the East China Sea leisurely, but he never expected things to change so drastically in just a few days.

He was still thinking about whether he should wait until things settled down here and take some time to accompany her before leaving. But now that he thought about it, when it was time to leave, he would probably just run away with his pants up, and there would be no time to come back for a stroll.

Why not go now? Anyway, we're just waiting for intelligence for the time being. It's unlikely he'll encounter the Moon River Goddess by himself wandering the streets alone; everyone's just hiding and waiting for news.