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

Just as Zhong Da stepped out the door, intending to store the medicinal plant in the treasure vault, feeling uneasy about keeping it in his personal storage ring, the old man in charge came over, making some sarcastic remarks.

"Chief, this young lady returned without a single gift, she's probably living in poverty. The previous young ladies all brought back quite a lot of things."

In terms of etiquette, giving a gift is similar to giving money as a wedding gift; you should have someone hand it over to the housekeeper when you enter the house.

Only when it comes to rewards, he will personally deliver them to the recipient, announce what was given, and accept the recipient's gratitude.

"How utterly foolish! Whether it was sent or not, it wouldn't have ended up in your hands anyway. Why would you care about a gift when your clansmen are coming back to visit?" Chief Zhong glared and scolded, then opened a corner of the box, revealing the fragrance of a thousand-year-old medicinal plant: "This was sent by Fei Huang and the others. Did you try to switch the medicinal plant with theirs first?"

Chapter 117 Chu Mingkong, the Big Mouth!

Cultivation level has nothing to do with personal fortuitous encounters. However, normally, people with cultivation levels of four or five can usually come into contact with top-grade spiritual herbs that are about five hundred years old, excluding the situation of taking a look at the auction house.

The butler couldn't examine the medicinal plant closely, but by simply smelling its fragrance, he could determine that it was over a thousand years old, possibly even two thousand to three years ago!

"This...this is what Miss Feihuang brought for the clan elder?!" The old man was incredulous. In the brief moment he had walked away, he had asked someone to inquire about Zhong Feihuang's marriage. Her husband's family had clearly fallen into ruin!

Sometimes, malice towards someone doesn't need a reason; it's simply the schadenfreude of seeing the offspring of those from privileged backgrounds do worse and worse off that's enough to make one gloat for a long time.

Having just discovered this news, the old man in charge chuckled to himself, thinking that even the most outstanding children in their childhood would eventually fade into obscurity after marriage.

Such situations are common, but each time he sees one, he finds solace in the fact that few of his descendants are born with exceptional talent.

After all, what can comfort the disheartened is not the most heartwarming words, but the presence of others in similar misfortune sharing their own experiences.

The misfortunes of others are the best medicine to comfort oneself.

"Get out of here! Go and call those two money-grubbing idiots to the front hall. Tell them to tell their elders and that young master about the stupid things they've done!" Zhong Da, the clan chief, was too lazy to waste words with the steward. He couldn't feel at ease until he had stored this nearly three-thousand-year-old medicinal plant in the family treasury.

He had taken the medicinal herb in his early years, which extended his life by three hundred years. It would only become more and more difficult for him to prolong his life in the future. This is his future life-saving treasure!

In the front hall, Chu Mingkong and Zhong Feihuang sat down in the guest seats. Servants served them tea and water. Chu Mingkong did not stand on ceremony and sipped his tea while looking at the decor.

The tea from this family of cultivators isn't anything special, but it's likely grown in places rich in the five elements' spiritual energy, giving it a natural fragrance that appeals to cultivators.

"The decor of these houses all seems pretty much the same. I thought there would be a big difference," Chu Mingkong said.

"What difference could there be between houses? They are all human. Even if there are differences, they are only minor differences in decorations. The Cui family's previous wealth was enough to afford them. If we really want to talk about differences, this immortal island doesn't count."

However, the differences might be greater among the demon race.

The demon race... get lost! I've never been there. I've heard that the snake spirits, fox spirits, cat spirits, rabbit spirits, spider spirits, and caterpillar spirits there are quite powerful.

Gundan was indeed bought by Yunhan back then, but Chu Mingkong, seeing that Gundan had grown up enough, asked someone to send him back to the demon race. Chu Mingkong himself had no time to take care of him and had been staying at the border of the Abyss, which was not suitable for Gundan's living habits.

"I should still go and see the decorations of the demon race when I have the chance..." Chu Mingkong began to look forward.

"Why do I feel like Mingkong isn't really interested in looking at the interior design? Don't say you want to look at interior design, but then one day you'll be off wandering around those brothels in the demon realm!" Zhong Feihuang was very perceptive, and her tone unconsciously rose, returning to her usual self. It seemed she was gradually adjusting from the tension of returning home.

"It's mainly because my master wants to go, and I can't stop her, sigh!" Chu Mingkong was heartbroken and helpless.

"......"

Zhong Feihuang was too embarrassed to expose him. After spending so much time together, she didn't know why this guy would try to smear Miss Zuo and renege on his promises.

However, she did somewhat enjoy watching the young women play music and dance...

She was just about to complain and tell Chu Mingkong, as his disciple, to be more considerate and not to blame Zuo Qiuchi for everything, since he was, after all, their master, when the two juniors who had been scolded by the clan leader earlier came out.

There's not much to say about those two people. They have normal builds and normal looks, with two eyes and two hands. But whether it's to gain sympathy through a self-inflicted injury or something else, they're still soaking wet, just like when they first went into the sea.

A faint, strange stench suddenly filled the front hall, as if the stench had been somewhat suppressed by the salty smell of the sea.

Because they weren't familiar with each other, Zhong Feihuang didn't greet them and waited for her great-grandfather, the clan chief, to return.

The clan leader, who had "won the grand prize," returned shortly afterward, his face beaming with joy, still basking in the happiness of the generous gift. Upon seeing the two scoundrels, his expression immediately turned serious, and he berated them to confess what had happened.

Although Chu Mingkong felt it was unnecessary and knew the whole story quite well, he still smelled the faint, strange odor and listened to the situation for a while.

According to them, the two were initially hesitant when they heard about the commission, but the other party offered an extremely high price: 100,000 spirit stones for a single trip to the sea, which was equivalent to money lying on the ground waiting for them to pick up for free. So they boldly accepted the commission.

They were to escort six ancient Buddha corpses to the place of exile beneath the East Sea, which was essentially a deep abyss. If they encountered anything ominous, throwing it into that place would be the surest solution!

Could there be anything more ominous than the power of extreme Yin?

However, the journey from Guanhai City to the place of exile is long. For human cultivators without the Water-Avoiding Pearl, it would take at least seven or eight days to get there, and that's assuming they don't slack off. Those who received the full payment directly naturally planned to abandon their responsibilities halfway through.

After a day and a half of effort, just throw it into the water and run, not caring what anyone thinks!

But as they ran, a problem arose: these six ancient Buddha corpses would occasionally move stealthily. The cultivators were paying close attention, but they couldn't figure out how the ancient Buddha corpses moved. In a daze, they would appear right next to where they were resting.

They couldn't even shake them off; it was as if they had come back with them!

"And then what did you do?" Chu Mingkong heard about the 100,000 spirit stones and felt it was understandable. If he didn't have Qingse's way of making money, he would definitely be tempted too!

"We threw the ancient Buddha's corpse into the East Sea Dragon King's Palace and ran away!" The young man who spoke was quite proud, feeling that he was incredibly clever.

"..."

Chu Mingkong really couldn't judge whether this was good or bad, but it was certainly very clever.

The Dragon King's Palace contains the heavily injured Ao Wei and the Asura King, who seems to be waiting for something. It is indeed a good place to throw mud at them, provided that the mud is actually thrown out and doesn't fly into the air only to come back and follow them around.

"I have something to tell you that you need to know," Chu Mingkong said solemnly, his eyes fixed on a secluded spot, as if he were seeing something that even these cultivators couldn't see.

The two younger members, including Zhong Da, swallowed hard, stunned by his expression, and almost simultaneously said, "Please speak..."

"Did you notice that when you came in, there were two extra footprints behind you, and now there's a slight smell of seawater mixed in?"

The two men's hearts skipped a beat. They slowly turned around and, sure enough, saw two almost identical footprints on the path they had taken when they entered the front hall. The stench was coming from these wet footprints.

These are footprints from a corpse, mixed with seawater!

"This damn thing has been following me. Could it be eyeing my back door?!" One of the younger members angrily clutched the back garden entrance.

Chu Mingkong instantly activated his Annihilation Domain and discovered that behind the two people stood two ancient Buddha corpses reeking of decay!

That's not a statue at all, it's clearly a swollen corpse covered in a layer of ash!

Chu Mingkong bit his tongue, and his extremely Yin blood saliva sprayed out of his mouth like a machine gun!

"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!"

Chapter 118 I've let it go, so it has nothing to do with me.

This was a strange question, and Chu Mingkong couldn't quite understand why the ancient Buddha's corpse would appear in the Realm of Annihilation.

He had just activated his Annihilation Domain, purely for self-defense, when he smelled the stench getting closer and closer, like a blood-stained blade approaching him.

The result was that the two ancient Buddha corpses were revealed, which was considered a lucky break.

A series of bloody spittle shot out like flying nails. The Buddha statues were not completely still; they were also reacting. However, their movement was not accompanied by the movement of their feet, but simply by the horizontal movement of their bodies, which looked extremely strange.

However, the five spits per second were so fast that the ancient Buddha corpse could not completely dodge them. Several mouthfuls of bloody phlegm were spat on them, and the extremely yin power began to erode the statue's body like maggots clinging to bones. Their response was exceptionally decisive. The flesh that was stained with bloody spit fell off directly. This was cutting off their own flesh to stop the injury!

"Strange. Logically speaking, spitting would be considered murderous, but I'm completely unharmed. The Annihilation Domain didn't even tremble. Is it because these enemies can move within the Annihilation Domain?" Chu Mingkong analyzed in his mind. "Also, why are they hiding within the Annihilation Domain? My domain doesn't have the ability to reveal invisibility spells!"

It's one thing to not understand, but it didn't stop Chu Mingkong from releasing the Zhong family members from the restrictions in the Annihilation Domain. They had just been frozen in this gray world, and suddenly regained their mobility. They were a little confused and didn't know what had happened.

"What's going on? I was just frozen in place. The world around me is gray. Is this some kind of domain?"

Zhong Da was the quickest to calm down the clan chief and, based on his knowledge, made a fairly accurate assessment of the situation, but it was of no use in addressing the immediate trouble.

The two younger ones were also confused, but the incredibly foul smell drew their attention away from their inner doubts and towards the commotion behind them.

Turning around, I saw that the ancient Buddha's corpse, which had clearly been sunk to the bottom of the East China Sea, had reappeared behind me!

The "statue shell" that was previously on their bodies has been worn away and is now almost completely gone, leaving only a layer of mud and ash stuck to their skin. Their appearance is no longer that of statues, but rather of rotting, black, and smelly corpses!

Some of the skin tissue was bubbling, with yellowish and turbid pus inside, and worms could be vaguely seen swimming in it. The body was eroded and swollen, and the only "lively" part of the face was the pair of pale, bulging eyes.

"Go to hell, what is this thing?!" One of the younger ones was so frightened that his hair stood on end.

"What are you still standing there for? Jade Fist!" The other junior was terrified, but seeing the enemy's physical form, his fear subsided considerably.

His fist instantly solidified into a jade-blue color, as clear as jade. With a "boom!", he punched out, aiming at the egg. The punch reverberated with a heavy, muffled burst of internal energy, its power undeniable, but it only managed to push the ancient Buddha corpse back half a step.

However, the punch still had some power; it punched a hole directly into the male part of the ancient Buddha corpse!

"What kind of move is this?" Chu Mingkong felt that this was even less classy than spitting.

"My buddy taught me the Jade Fist, which is used to fight big bad guys."

Breaking an egg with a single punch—that's definitely a move specifically designed to take down big bad guys...

However, after that punch, the two ancient Buddha corpses also went berserk, and the gray world instantly transformed into a scene of raging blood, with everything shrouded in a crimson hue.

Aside from Chu Mingkong, everyone else felt a surge of killing intent, not directed at others, but rather at themselves.

"What's going on? It feels like my body is being controlled!" The disciple who had just used the groin-grabbing punch was desperately trying to stop himself from strangling himself. The veins on his forehead and arms were bulging. He was filled with fear of death, and his eyes were pleading for help.

Knowing she wasn't good at fighting, Zhong Feihuang didn't try to be brave. After regaining her mobility, she immediately used all her strength to create a shield to defend herself and try not to cause trouble. However, her shield was slapped with one bright red palm print after another by the invisible attacks.

"You beast, how dare you commit such evil deeds on my clan's territory! You've rebelled!" Zhong Da unleashed the old man's dense spiritual power into a fist strike, activating the protective array on Penghu Island and displaying lightning to punish evil.

The two ancient Buddha corpses suddenly withdrew their bloody killing intent and transformed back into statues, cowering in defense with decaying shields. The island's protective array continued to activate, but it was unable to lock onto the aura of these two evil creatures.

The decaying shield allowed the two ancient Buddha corpses to remain unharmed behind it. Even when Zhong Da launched a full-scale attack on the clan leader, he could only barely budge them and could not do anything to them.

"This humble monk has awakened, laid down the butcher's knife, and attained enlightenment. What does the debt of killing have to do with me? I have already turned back; you must not blame this humble monk any further," the ancient Buddha corpse said in a hoarse voice.

"What kind of trick is this? Is the Ancient Buddha Corpse really this difficult to deal with?!" Clan Chief Zhong was incredulous. He felt that the Ancient Buddha Corpse was only at the late stage of the sixth rank. Even if it was special, he shouldn't be unable to break through its shield at all!

"What nonsense! You think you can get away with anything just because you've laid down your butcher's knife?" Chu Mingkong said disdainfully, then pulled out his Dragon King Bone Spear and lightly pointed it at the target.

In the eyes of the Zhong family, Chu Mingkong merely raised his spear and lightly stabbed at it. However, when the tip of the bone spear touched the surface of the decaying shield, the power of the spear penetrated through the shield and delayed the movement for a moment. The ancient Buddha's corpse exploded within the decaying shield, leaving only its head.

Chu Mingkong didn't want this pool of corpse water to scatter and explode randomly, so he used his extreme Yin Fire spiritual energy to envelop the filth and make it float in the air.

"Could that be the Buddhist state of Nirvana? This ancient Buddha corpse actually possesses the intent of Nirvana?!" Zhong Da stared solemnly at the pool of filth. "If something like this can comprehend its own domain, then Mo Jiu must have been hiding in that state of Nirvana all along, secretly following my two juniors back?"

After he finished speaking, the old man secretly glanced at Chu Mingkong. It was this boy who forced the ancient Buddha corpse out of the ground. He had also cultivated to that level of Buddhist cultivation.

Chu Mingkong ignored the old man's doubts and looked at the two younger men:

How many ancient Buddha corpses did you move?

"Six, I think... I heard that at first, someone tried their luck and opened one ancient Buddha corpse, and then other pottery jars broke, and several other ancient Buddha corpses fell out on their own."

The speaker was extremely wary, fearing that there might be some ancient Buddha corpse or some kind of madman following them back to the Penghu Island tribe's territory.