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

【Benefactor Wei says we see clearly but pretend to be ignorant, but it is clearly you, Benefactor Wei, who are pretending to be ignorant. You can completely pass on the karmic consequences left by your ancestors to your own bloodline, and even to your wife's family, thus completely absolving the Wei family of the 'cost'.】

The monk standing on the right was chanting sutras with his mouth moving, and he was also shaking his head along with the two bald men next to him.

The three men were of different heights, weights, and builds, but after talking for a while, they felt dizzy, as if they were looking at three identical faces.

[The marriage between Benefactor Wei and his current wife must have been arranged by the previous clan chief. Two people with good magical talent gave birth to a daughter with exceptional magical talent. 'Balance' will favor your daughter more than you. Once your daughter Wei Qingning dies, 'Balance' will target Wei Qingning's other bloodline recipient, that is, her mother, and then transfer the marriage to their side.]

The monk in the middle started speaking again:

【Alas, why bother? Your family has gone through so many years and has long understood that this 'price' can never be paid off. Either you mix up your own bloodline and make the Wei family mediocre, or once you become mediocre, the 'price' will naturally not care about you because you have lost your value. Your Wei family has been able to continue for so many years because your ancestors must have tried all sorts of methods. They probably tried divorce, illegitimate children, adoption, and other means. They even cut off their own divine intervention.】

But this is unavoidable and inescapable; as long as fate is intertwined, the 'price' will never end!

After this barrage of words, Wei Zhong still ignored them, or rather, he had no time to pay attention to them.

His body began to twist and mutate, his hands and feet contorting into bizarre arcs, and irregular, aesthetically pleasing patterns crawling across his body. But before one could see clearly, the "image" of Wei Zhong's area was reduced to nothing but an empty void.

It seems that even this recorded illusion cannot bear the existence of that "price".

The monks glanced away, avoiding looking in Wei Zhong's direction, determined not to let that area exist in their memories.

The candlesticks were extinguished to prevent Wei Zhong's image from being reflected on the bronze figure.

The three of them suddenly sat down cross-legged. All the bronze statues in the secret realm also sat down cross-legged. Amidst the earth-shaking rumble, the huge bronze statue also sat down cross-legged.

【Wei, we apologize, but we cannot stand idly by and watch you defile this sacred Buddhist land and bring disaster upon it】

Monks, listen to my command: while there is still time, convert Wei Zhong's mind and have him send this trouble to his daughter.

Since we can't figure out Mingkong's true nature, let's send him a big gift first.

Chapter 249 "Fault"

There aren't many scenes after that.

In that state, Wei Zhong didn't even have the energy to speak. He was completely unable to resist the conversion spells cast by those bald men. He directly "enlightened" and entered the Buddhist path, using a language that sounded like ghostly screams to babble a bunch of nonsense. Then the scene began to dissipate.

In their final moments, the monks did not discuss Wei Zhong further, perhaps out of a taboo against "trouble coming from the mouth," and instead talked about other things, as if the conversion they had just experienced had never happened.

[It's time to prepare to set off. We'll go and see for ourselves whether Chu Mingkong is a mule or a horse. He destroyed the Buddha's fruit of my Blood Blade King sect, and there are even disloyal individuals within our sect who want to convert his flesh and blood body into a protector.]

[This is absolutely impossible. I've set off; who knows when the grand gift I sent will be delivered.]

All that could be heard was the conversation of those monks, but it was easy to guess what would happen to Wei Zhong afterward: the "price" had been shifted to Qingning, and whether he himself would survive was still unknown.

His condition at the time was as if he had been ravaged by illness and then transferred the disease to someone else. His own body would not recover from the departure of the disease, and some damage was irreversible.

Chu Mingkong carefully recalled the scene he had just witnessed. It seemed that when Wei Zhongyi first collapsed to the ground, he severed the connection with the Soul-Binding General, allowing it to hide elsewhere and send the recorded scenes back to Xiling.

With a "crack!" sound.

The bone totem shattered, turning into dust, and the lingering soul, having completed its mission, also vanished.

"Brother, is what they say in there true...? Grandfather saw me and my mother as... a medium to transfer the 'price'?"

Qingning couldn't accept it. She looked pleadingly at Chu Mingkong, and also at the knowledgeable Yuehe:

"Could what I just saw have been fake...? Did Buddhism convert my father and then create this scene to deceive me?"

Yuehe knows that often the truth is the most hurtful, while deception can sometimes even have a sweet taste. But she won't choose to be that kind of emotionally sensitive person. She says bluntly:

“What just happened was real; there was no sign of it being faked.”

She was concise and to the point. If it really came down to confirmation, the strange language Wei Zhong recited when he finally transferred the "price" was the most authentic evidence. This style of language was very popular in the old world, and those people in the Buddhist sect could not fake it.

Furthermore, this part of the scene doesn't hide any "traps" or ask Chu Mingkong and Qingning to do anything; it simply conveys Wei Zhong's final state before he lost consciousness.

The gist of it is to inform Chu Mingkong about the sudden situation that happened to Qing Ning.

Chu Mingkong recalled his memories of the previous head of the Wei family... almost none. He just remembered that the previous head had died a long time ago and he had never met him.

He reassured Qingning:

"Qingning, that's just the word of those Buddhist monks. You don't have to believe it easily. But even if it's true, it was a decision made by the previous generation. Your father probably only learned about these things when he inherited the position of family head."

That's why I distanced myself from you and your mother, wanting to take the 'price' passed down from our ancestors far away, and trying to sever all ties with you with the help of my godfather."

What Chu Mingkong is saying now is also only one side of the story. Based on what he knows so far, he has come up with a good idea and, through speculation, he wants to beautify his father in Qing Ning's mind as much as possible so that she won't be too sad.

When the truth is still somewhat unclear, and the truth itself is not important, thinking on the bright side can be a great help to one's mindset.

If we're really going to get to the bottom of this, Chu Mingkong guesses that Qingning's grandfather probably really did have such a plan, wanting to remove the "cost" from his own family. That's why he appointed Li Lu as the family's daughter-in-law, slowly planning to transfer the "cost" to his granddaughter, and then to his daughter-in-law's family.

The surname "Li" was not considered a prominent family in Xiling. The most famous family there seemed to be a group of silk merchants. Their business was small, and their reputation didn't extend beyond the city. Chu Mingkong had a vague recollection of them.

Under normal circumstances, it would indeed be very difficult for her to marry into the Wei family.

Considering that Aunt Li Lu has a great talent for witchcraft but not a high level of cultivation, it is estimated that her ancestors were the kind who were content with being ordinary.

They wanted their descendants to live completely ordinary lives, to avoid cultivation, and to stay away from gods and ghosts both within and outside the universe, choosing the path of finding happiness in simplicity.

Once they've given up, they won't even bother with the "cost" of it.

The Wei family, on the other hand, should be the kind that "is unwilling to fall into depravity." They are unwilling to give up cultivation and do not want to be ordinary people for eternity. Even if they have to sever their divine summoning technique, they will switch to cultivating a soul-binding technique to restore the family's glory.

Therefore, over the long years, instead of giving up, they kept trying to break free. When the previous head of the family took over, the way to break free became to transfer the internal crisis to the outside world.

Furthermore, this plan is mostly passed on only among the heads of the household; the elders probably don't even know about it.

Chu Mingkong observed that the old man of the Wei family truly treated Qingning like a granddaughter, and was happy to let Li Lu, a blood relative who had married into the family, manage all the affairs of the family.

All I can say is that if the shaman ancestors of Li Lu's family really have spirits in heaven, they would definitely want to tear Wei Zhong's father apart. Their own descendants were living in peace and prosperity, but were inexplicably dragged down by these two generations of Wei family heads, harming their great-great-great-great-granddaughter.

No matter how helpless the previous head of the Wei family was, this method was immoral and disgusting.

"Yuehe, look at Qingning's current situation. Will the 'price' take effect immediately?" Chu Mingkong suddenly asked, having some ideas in mind.

"It seems unlikely for now. Comparing it to Wei Zhong's situation just now, I estimate that when the 'cost' approaches, Qing Ning's cultivation will spontaneously increase, and then around that point..."

Yuehe didn't continue, because what she subconsciously wanted to say was, "When the time is right, Wei Zhong's situation will happen to her," which really didn't sound good. She decided to be considerate of the young girl's feelings for the time being.

"What do you want to do?" Yuehe asked in turn.

Chu Mingkong condensed a stream of extremely Yin fire spiritual energy. Compared to the past, the extremely Yin aura within it was much closer to the depths of the Extreme Abyss. This was the result of his efforts over the past few days.

"Just now, that monk said that they seem to have left the pure land of Buddhism. The tortoise has stuck its head out, and its shell can no longer protect them."

I want Nongyu to help me find out where those bald guys are right now. I need to sneak up on those three and stab them first, otherwise I won't feel at ease!

I dare not trespass into the Buddhist Pure Land, but if they come out, I should be able to withstand their formations in my Abyss Transformation state.

Yuehe glanced at his Yin Fire spiritual energy, which had indeed increased slightly. For Chu Mingkong, whose cultivation method lacked the experience of seniors, it was essential to find someone to practice with from time to time.

“Alright, then I’ll go with you again, just like last time in Chamento. You can also bring Fengying and your sister along.”

"Right now, let's go back and check where those bald guys are, and then set off immediately?"

"Yes, let's set off immediately!"

Chapter 250 Monk Santong

Songku Town.

This is a border point of the Crescent Kingdom bordering the Buddhist Pure Land. Traveling east from here, one can cross the Crescent Kingdom in the shortest distance and then head straight for the Western Mausoleum.

At the same time, this place is sparsely populated, and Taoist cultivators rarely appear in the vicinity, making it difficult to detect their whereabouts.

It can be said to be the best forward base for a direct assault on Chu Mingkong.

The three monks that Chu Mingkong saw in the illusion were currently active in Songku Town.

The tall monk walked into an abandoned Taoist temple in the town and instructed the Buddhist disciples:

"How can such a remote town have a Taoist temple but no Buddhist temple? You should move and smash the clay statues of the Three Pure Ones enshrined in this Taoist temple and replace them with Buddhist statues from my sect."

The disciples obeyed and each lifted a Taoist deity statue. These were clearly just ordinary clay statues, which would be easy for a normal cultivator to move. However, perhaps because the statues had been consecrated, the monks found it incredibly difficult to drag them.

With a grimacing expression and a wobbly gait, it staggered out, found a high slope, and threw it down. The clay statue remained intact, making a crisp "clang" sound like metal and stone. However, the monks responsible for carrying it suffered a backlash, spitting blood from their mouths.

The clay statue was difficult to destroy, and the monks were helpless. They took medicine to heal their injuries, and in any case, they completed the mission.

The young monk with earth spirit in the main hall of the Taoist temple was in a bit of a dilemma. The Buddhist temple enshrines three thousand statues, so which one should be placed on the statue?

"Abbot Yuantong, which three Buddha statues should be placed on these three lotus seats?" the young monk asked respectfully, palms up.

The high-ranking monk was taken aback, realizing that this was indeed a problem.

These people are all His Highness the Blood Blade King, so it's no surprise that they want to have the King's statue erected in the hall.

But... this operation has brought in a lot of help, so why don't we put those two Arhats and one Bodhisattva on the altar?

A monk of medium height entered. Upon seeing him, Monk Yuantong expressed his inner turmoil:

"Master Zhongtong, you've come at the perfect time!"

"Do you think these three lotus platforms are for the offerings of my Blood Blade Bright King Palace, or for the three who are here to assist us?"

"Naturally, the latter. Place the statue of Arhat Abu Nan on the left, the statue of Arhat Fa Xin Bu Dong on the right, and the Bodhisattva of Great Love in the middle. Finally, pour golden water over the statue to highlight the three deities!"

After the discussion was completed, the young monk began to work. With a surge of earth spirit energy, he quickly condensed the three Buddha statues mentioned earlier, lifelike, exquisite in detail, and without any omissions or negligence.

Immediately, the young monk reluctantly took out pieces of gold, melted them into molten gold, and spread it on the Buddha statue.

Before long, three golden Buddha statues appeared in the dilapidated Taoist temple, but the robe of the Bodhisattva statue was missing some gold trim.

"Master Zhongtong, Master Yuantong, the gold is insufficient, and this disciple has no reserves either..." the young monk said in distress, wanting to ask them for some gold.

But both monks shook their heads:

"Gold and silver are external possessions; we have none on us. Go down to the town and collect some incense money from the townspeople. This is their blessing!"

"I understand, I will do it now."

After the young monk withdrew, the remaining monk appeared.

As soon as he came in, he said:

“Master Peng Bao has left temporarily. He said that there is a great chance that the traitor in the Kunlun Taoist sect can steal the Three Flowers Medicine Classic. He went to meet him and left temporarily. He will come back later.”

Yuantong heard this and shook his head, saying: