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

It's like a solemn occasion where an old monk is giving a sermon, but he accidentally picks up the wrong book, turning "Subduing Demons Kung Fu" into "Subduing Membrane Kung Fu".

Before that, they all thought that the three blurry figures were engaged in some kind of secret combat.

The memory fragments were incomplete, the images were still blurry, and when the three people stood close together, it was impossible to distinguish between men and women, and then the memory was interrupted.

The life lamp went out again.

"Ahem... Then it's undoubtedly Chu Mingkong. So this means that the old King Chu is weak and is using the area around him as a self-defense mechanism to protect himself, while Chu Mingkong is using the cold mist as a screen to directly engage in intimate relations with women?"

"If Chu Mingkong is so magnanimous as to suppress the old King Chu to the side, and does something like this again, he is probably capable of defeating the old King Chu. No wonder he can make the old King Chu feel so humiliated by this memory."

"Before the old King of Chu set off, he said, 'It is the father's fault if the son is not taught.' How could he have died so suddenly just a few days later, and in such a shameful manner before his death...?"

In any case, the only result at the moment is... they've had a pointless discussion.

All that is known is that the old King of Chu did fight his best before he died, but he died a humiliating death—other than that, he gained nothing.

It can't be said that there was no gain at all. At least we learned that the old King of Chu was not killed by a scheme. It seems that he was defeated by Chu Mingkong in a head-on confrontation. Because he could not break the image of the Thousand Lamps Reflecting the Buddha, he spent his time exchanging feelings with his female relatives while suppressing the image, waiting for it to break.

Chu Mingkong, who should not have been able to reach the Divine Soul Realm, actually killed the old King Chu head-on without relying on that Yin Shi Ren!

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

Chu Mingkong returned to Qingxin Mansion and passed by the mansion in the middle of the lake again.

It was now a ruin; the walls had collapsed, the mansion was gone, and only ruins remained. Only the beautiful lake remained untouched.

Chu Mingkong said to the beautiful Queen Mother, "My little Zhi'er, now that this mansion has collapsed, should we rebuild it for you? You can decide what kind of structure you want it to look like."

"Mingkong, would you like this lake as a view of your residence?" Xiao Zhi asked in return.

"I don't care, but I prefer Qingxin Prefecture because there are more people there."

Chu Mingkong stroked her conscience; it was a weight too heavy to grasp, delicate and smooth like freshly ground tofu. Yet his movements were still careful, not daring to be rough, lest he ruin her clothes and have to use his cultivation techniques to fix them.

"After that, we just had people clear away the ruins. This lake wasn't originally a private residence, so it's good for the people of the city to enjoy the scenery here in the future."

Although these people were once citizens of the Tianji Empire, they probably never had the chance to leave Xiling in their entire lives. Let alone seeing the outside of Tianji, they probably hadn't even seen much outside of Xiling. Xiling was probably their world.

It would be good to let them see one or two more scenic spots in Xiling.

Xiao Yunhan sat to the side meditating and circulating her inner energy, refining the demonic essence that her younger brother had given her. Upon hearing her mother's words, she stopped cultivating, opened her eyes, and glanced at her again.

...She really seems like a different person; my mother wasn't like this before.

He is calculating, mean, and indifferent, but not in the kind of indifference that a hermit would show to others; rather, he is indifferent with a hint of malice.

It's hard to imagine that the image of her mother in her daughter's heart, which had lasted for so many years, changed so suddenly.

Previously, the focus was on competition—competing for power, influence, and treasures. Now, the fact that he could say such things really surprised Xiao Yunhan.

But thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem so strange. My mother must have been very insecure back then, right?

Does she really need many things? No, she doesn't. She's not actually that greedy for money or treasures, because she wouldn't need them anyway.

However, her position and background create a sense of crisis... If you don't fight for certain things, others will, and eventually push you out of the picture.

What put the greatest pressure on Empress Xiao Zhi was probably that the position of heir apparent was not given to her own legitimate son, but to an adopted son she had taken in.

Women like her, who are married out of the family through marriage, either have everything in their husband's family or nothing at all. If she, as the Princess of Xiling, falls out of favor and is sent back to the Xiao family...

Will the Xiao family take good care of this clan girl? No, they will definitely arrange another marriage for her. But with her status as a "second-time bride," how good a partner can she find? Her status will definitely plummet.

So you either fight for everything or lose everything; there is no other choice. This is determined by your position.

Now her relationship with Chu Mingkong is a bit delicate, but she doesn't need to bear so much pressure or worry so much when she's with Chu Mingkong, she can just enjoy it.

Even if there were occasional apprehensions and frictions with Pei Mi and those women, it certainly wouldn't have been as difficult or precarious as it had been back then.

When the heart truly finds peace, even the most calculating person can still think of the good deeds of those who are unrelated to them.

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

Back at Qingxin Mansion, Chu Mingkong briefly said he was safe and sound, realizing that he still had a lot to do afterward.

For example, the matter of confessing his sins to his master's wife, Shen Xuejun, was put on hold because of the old King Chu's "smuggling" incident, and it can no longer be delayed.

I also need to thank Yun Nongyu and ask her if she can "see" the reaction from the Buddhist side. Afterwards, I need to practice the "Su Nu Jing" with her. Su Nu should be better-tempered, right?

"I'll go to Nongyu first to express my gratitude and inquire about the situation at the Buddhist temple, and then I'll go to my master's wife..." Chu Mingkong made his decision.

--------

(PS: After looking at the comments section, I can only say that I increasingly find it hard to understand what triggers readers' defenses these days. I don't know if it was the old King of Chu's scolding that broke their defenses, or the bull's head in front of the screen; to me, both are quite unbelievable.)

Being verbally abused by the villain shouldn't break his spirit, so the screen is the way to go. When I was writing it, I considered that even if the old King Chu was preparing for death, he would still see that the female lead was indeed in poor health before he died, so I added a fog screen. It's like having a closed door, where he can only listen to the sounds of his wife and daughter's pleasure from outside the door, and then slowly wait for death.

But this is not the readers' fault. There are always some things that are hard to accept. Just like when the baby pheasant was pounded with medicine, some readers couldn't accept it when they got to that point. It's all quite normal.

But this happened again after 200 million words, so I really have to say something to the readers who are still following the story: readers' triggers are changing rapidly, and authors don't have that much energy to pay attention to those triggers that suddenly spread from somewhere during serialization. For example, the ambiguous relationship between the three women and the man at the beginning of this book has now become a toxic point. Anyway, I didn't have these problems when I was writing "The Photographer", otherwise Xi Shi and Shi Yuan would have been criticized to death.

I still have to sigh; I wonder how many more readers will be lost in the end.

Chapter 226 Zuo Qiuchi: I watched the whole thing.

As expected, after taking Yun Nongyu sandwich cookies a few days ago, Master's beloved has started thinking about her beautiful Daoist pillow again.

Chu Mingkong had been "busy" these past few days accompanying his sister in her cultivation and dealing with his adoptive father. Just as he arrived at Yun Nongyu's courtyard, he found Zuo Qiuchi giving Yun Nongyu a bear hug.

The elegant and refined female Taoist sat cross-legged in meditation, her delicate body upright. Even in her simple stillness, she could make onlookers feel that this woman possessed an extraordinary aura.

However, when Yun Nongyu, who naturally possesses an ethereal and otherworldly style, encounters the casual and lazy Zuo Qiuchi, her style also becomes quite unique.

No matter how dignified Yun Nongyu sat there, Zuo Qiuchi hugged her tightly, rested his chin on her fragrant shoulder, crossed his shapely legs in front of her, and occasionally sniffed out the fragrance of the beauty. A series of "zzzzz~" floated above his head as he slept soundly.

Upon Chu Mingkong's arrival, he naturally "detached" his beloved master from Yun Nongyu's body and hugged him himself. He then greeted Yun Nongyu:

"Nongyu, my godfather's matter is finally over. I really owe you a lot for your help these past few days."

If you hadn't accurately predicted his movements and used a paper effigy to lure him to that 'lakeside mansion,' things probably wouldn't have gone so smoothly.

"Your Highness is too kind. This is nothing. Even without my scheme, Your Highness would have no problem dealing with the old King Chu. The difference in combat strength can never be made up for by trickery."

After saying that, Yun Nongyu tilted her head slightly toward Zuo Qiuchi, her "gaze" seemingly falling on her.

In the past, whenever Chu Mingkong came over and carried Zuo Qiuchi away, Yun Nongyu felt more relieved than anything else. It wasn't that she disliked Zuo Qiuchi, but she just wasn't used to being hugged all day long.

Seeing Zuo Qiuchi being embraced by Chu Mingkong like this now, I feel a little...envious.

Chu Mingkong still didn't have X-ray vision and couldn't see what Yun Nongyu was looking at. He only vaguely sensed that she seemed to be looking at his beloved master, and asked curiously:

"What's wrong with Nongyu? Has my master caused you any trouble these past two days?"

“That’s not true,” Yun Nongyu replied calmly, shaking her head gently.

Zuo Qiuchi, whose good sleep had been disturbed by the talking, had no choice but to wake up.

She straightened her back and stretched her body, yawning contentedly. Her full, firm breasts almost bumped into Chu Mingkong's face, and the silk trousers under her skirt were stretched by her fleshy buttocks, making a slight cracking sound from the threads.

What a voluptuous and fit beauty!

After stretching and feeling refreshed, Zuo Qiuchi finally complained:

"You rascal, you not only disturbed my sleep the moment you arrived, but you also spoke ill of me! How have I caused Nongyu any trouble?"

"No, no, I was just asking. By the way, Master, how long did you sleep this time? You stretched really hard with that yawn, your pants almost burst."

"Then it can only be that the silk pants are too small. But I have been sleeping more comfortably lately. The cat hasn't been coming over to me to practice swordsmanship and play as much as before. After Nongyu was seduced by you, her spiritual cultivation has also been affected by Dao Yun. I've been sleeping even better."

Zuo Qiuchi rated the quality of her sleep as very good!

However, Chu Mingkong took a closer look and estimated that the change in Daoist aura that Zuo Qiuchi mentioned was probably not due to the monstrous demon losing control. If the monstrous demon had indeed lost control, Chu Mingkong would have no choice but to painfully remove the membrane from his precious master!

It's likely that Yun Nongyu truly broke through to the Divine Soul Realm, and combined with the slight improvement she gained from previously associating with Se Nie, her Daoist aura has been further sublimated.

Zuo Qiuchi also benefited from this, being able to experience the high-quality sleep that only a cultivator of the Divine Soul could enjoy.

Chu Mingkong didn't pay much attention to her sleep problem and continued talking to Yun Nongyu:

"Nongyu, I'm a little worried that my sending my godfather to the depths of the Abyss to ascend to immortality might alert the Buddhist sect. Have you observed their reaction?"

Yun Nongyu had anticipated his question before he entered the room and had prepared an answer in advance, but she neither confirmed nor denied it:

"There is no conclusion yet. What we do know is that they learned of the old King Chu's death immediately through the Buddhist life lamp, but the complete cause of death has not yet been determined. We do not know how Your Highness dealt with the old King Chu... They originally seemed to think that only Yuehe in Xiling posed a threat to the old King Chu."

That's a reasonable thought, isn't it? Chu Mingkong now knows how significant the improvement brought about by the Divine Soul Realm is.

However, he noticed a detail in Yun Nongyu's words just now.

"Nongyu, you just said 'the complete cause of death'? Does that mean the Buddhist sect knows part of it?"

Yun Nongyu pondered how to give him a proper answer, and ultimately decided to be honest:

"In Buddhism, there is an abbot who is in charge of the life lamp. They have collected fragments of the old King Chu's memories before he was born. They probably know that Your Highness, in front of the old King Chu, you... They could not see any details because the fragments of memory were too incomplete."

But this alone was enough for them to guess that His Highness had defeated the old King of Chu in a direct confrontation.

Spying like this?

Compared to learning this information, Chu Mingkong's feelings towards Yun Nongyu are now the deepest:

"Nongyu, I feel your ability to divine and observe is almost otherworldly; you can even see this..."

"You're getting ahead of yourself." Master suddenly chuckled, pouring cold water on Chu Mingkong's enthusiasm. "Nongyu won't be able to keep observing the Buddhist sect for long either. The Pure Land is a mysterious place, and her repeated attempts to spy on it have already been noticed. I estimate that after one or two more times, she won't be able to look over there anymore. Perhaps she'll have another chance if she breaks through her current level."

"Master, how did you know?"

Zuo Qiuchi said expressionlessly:

“When you were in front of your father, you were hugging Yunhan’s waist and thrusting into her repeatedly. Nongyu and I were watching. I took the opportunity to discuss her ability and see if there were any other crazy or strange temples in Buddhism.”

Yun Nongyu paused for a moment, then added:

"At the time, we were worried that His Highness might have encountered an accident, so we observed him for a while. After confirming that he was unharmed, Qiu Chi called for a halt..."

So you guys were actually watching from the manor back then? You were just sleeping for two days straight!

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Back then, being inside Yun Nongyu's talisman array, it would have been relatively easy for Yun Nongyu to see it. It wouldn't have been reasonable for them to be so carefree as to let him "fight to the death" with the old King of Chu inside.

Seeing that things are not going well, they will definitely call Yuehe over for support.

"...So when was it confirmed that there were no problems?" Chu Mingkong really wanted to know this.

"When you set off for the Abyss, I never would have guessed that Yunhan was like this in bed~" Zuo Qiuchi recalled, clicking his tongue in amazement.