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

Upon hearing that Chu Mingkong intended to include Yongzhen, Madam Zhen was immediately terrified and anxiously tried to dissuade him:

"...No, no, Yongzhen's personality is such that she'd turn against me, let alone Mingkong!"

Chu Mingkong wouldn't dare bring them over immediately; this is just... a hypothetical scenario, isn't it?

"Then let's take Jinyu first. Jinyu isn't afraid; she enjoys being close to Madam Zhen."

This time it was Pei Mi's turn to stare with her beautiful eyes wide open.

Two mature and beautiful noblewomen chased after him, repeatedly punching him until he was driven out of the courtyard.

Before being kicked out, Chu Mingkong reminded him:

"Then I'll go find Yongzhen. Madam Zhen, you should prepare yourself later. Once the paper slip shows any movement, you can try the soul transfer."

......

In Madam Zhen's courtyard, Yongzhen left her true form behind to accompany her mother, Madam Zhen.

However, Madam Zhen went out of the courtyard to chat and relax with someone, so Yongzhen stayed in the room alone to cultivate.

Chu Mingkong didn't even knock on the door; he appeared directly on Yongzhen's bed and pulled the beautiful princess's body into his arms.

Yongzhen slowly finished her practice, looking helplessly at the man holding her:

"Mingkong, I don't even expect you to knock on the door anymore. You always use knocking as an excuse to get in anyway. But at least wait until I've finished my training before hugging me..."

Chu Mingkong still felt somewhat guilty about scheming against Yongzhen, and could only find an opportunity to confess as soon as possible afterward.

Otherwise, directly revealing the matter with Madam Zhen would likely strain the relationship, at least in the short term.

"Isn't it because you couldn't resist seeing Yongzhen? Why are you the only one here?" Chu Mingkong asked knowingly.

"You're looking for my mother? She's out." Yongzhen's deep, clear eyes stared at the man, wondering why he wanted to see his mother.

"No, I'm looking for another Yongzhen. I need two Yongzhens with me! Otherwise, I always feel like something's missing, sigh~"

"My puppet body is with Bai Niang, and it's almost at the point of a breakthrough. I'll bring the puppet body back to accompany Mingkong in a few days."

"Well, how's your cultivation progressing?" Chu Mingkong reached out and gently twirled Yongzhen's forked tongue.

"Is it alright? It's just that these past few days, I've had this strange feeling of instability in my soul..." Yongzhen frowned in thought, somewhat troubled and confused.

Chu Mingkong tensed up. It seemed that Madam Zhen had almost been discovered by Yongzhen. The girl had already become aware of it!

He said to Yongzhen with concern and seriousness:

"I think I know what the problem is?"

Yongzhen was surprised. She hadn't even explained the situation in detail, how did you know?

"What's the problem?"

"Yongzhen, you should cultivate with me and improve your cultivation. While you're at it, I'll also give you some treasures to aid your cultivation!"

Chu Mingkong pulled out a fox tail... no, it was an Ice and Fire Soul Nourishing Bead Chain decorated as a fox tail.

He solemnly placed it in Yongzhen's hands.

Yongzhen: "......"

Chapter 393 Substitute Injury!

"This... it's completely unusable by humans, right? Only those demons who are taller and bigger can use it...?"

Yongzhen looked at Chu Mingkong with disdain, her words aimed at the fox tail that Chu Mingkong had taken out.

The tail was indeed, as Chu Mingkong had said, the Nine Aperture Soul Nourishing Bead Chain she had used before, except that one end was decorated with a shiny and smooth fox tail.

But that's not the point. The point is actually the beaded chain. Each bead is bigger than her fist. Who could stand something like that?!

"How can you achieve the desired training effect if you don't do it this way?"

Okay, just kidding, Yongzhen, don't take it seriously~

Chu Mingkong touched the beaded chain, and the beads on it immediately shrank to a normal size, which was also the size that Yongzhen was used to, slightly smaller than the candied hawthorns that children often eat.

Although Chu Mingkong had said it was a joke, Yongzhen still didn't give him a good look. Jokes about such an inhuman size were not funny at all!

Chu Mingkong held Yongzhen in his arms and gently soothed her acupoints, which had been neglected for a long time, to help her relax.

The timing was just right, and Yongzhen understood perfectly. Without Chu Mingkong needing to pat her full moon to remind her, the princess turned her back to Chu Mingkong and lay on all fours like a cat.

“…Mingkong, hmm, is there some purpose behind this fox tail?”

"Are you implying that when I change my lineage later, I should choose a fox-like lineage?"

Yongzhen adapted relatively quickly. Although she hadn't used the Nine Aperture Soul Nourishing Bead Chain to cultivate for a long time, the memories were still there.

She turned around, looked at the fluffy creature behind her, her face flushed, and felt a little strange.

But what's even stranger is this beaded necklace... Ice and fire intertwine, coldness and heat merge, these two completely opposite forces, it's completely unknown why they were made into a beaded necklace.

Just restraining the stimulation of this temperature difference took a lot of effort from Yongzhen to avoid losing her composure.

Chu Mingkong pulled her to sit in his arms, but avoided touching the beaded chain to prevent Yongzhen from feeling uncomfortable. However, he still reached out and gently stroked the fluffy tail himself.

The tail had no life force, but as Yongzhen's internal muscles exerted their power, the tail was also moved to sway slightly.

"This isn't an implication, it was just a sudden whim!"

"On a whim... I still have a snake's tongue in my mouth, but my tail has become a fox. How can you have such a whim? Can't I just... can't I just change it to a snake's tail?"

Yongzhen spoke with great effort, using a lot of strength to suppress the baptism of ice and fire. The temperature difference was gentle and soothing, but after reaching a certain critical point, it would suddenly turn into an unbearable stimulus.

No one, from body to soul, can escape the influence of this intertwined ice and fire unless it is removed.

"We can't go for the snake's tail!" Chu Mingkong said solemnly, shaking his head wildly, clearly not wanting to make this choice.

"Why? Because you're afraid Bai Niang will misunderstand and think you killed some snake's tail to use as decoration?"

While taking a deep breath to calm herself, Yongzhen looked at Chu Mingkong with curiosity.

Chu Mingkong shook his head again:

"No, think about it yourself. You're still a 'four-legged beast'~ Suddenly you have a round snake tail, does it look like a gecko or a lizard~?"

Yongzhen was taken aback. She imagined it for a moment, and it really was true; it was indeed very strange from an aesthetic point of view...

Thinking about it this way, fluffy things like cat tails and fox tails might indeed be the most suitable decoration choices.

Chu Mingkong's current dialogue with Yongzhen was purely a delaying tactic, gradually eroding Yongzhen's soul, slowly weakening and exhausting her.

This way, the success rate of "possession" on Madam Zhen's side can be increased.

He thought about the topic and decided to bring up the old matter again, to delay things a little longer before getting back on track. He took out a pair of fox ear headdresses and put them on Yongzhen, making her look cute and charming.

"By the way, Yongzhen, you said you're close to a breakthrough over there. Now you're just one step away from it. Have you decided which direction of inheritance you want to follow?"

Yongzhen hasn't even seen what options she has yet to have, she shook her head and said:

"No, we can't see it yet. We'll let you know as soon as we know what choices we have."

As I said before, the puppet's body will continue to follow Bai Niang's teachings, while my main body will follow Ming Kong's wishes..."

Since Yongzhen had spoken up like that, Chu Mingkong didn't know how to make a joke, so he could only respond seriously:

"You don't have to listen to me completely. Passing on the tradition is your own business. Choose what suits you best!"

"But you seem to really like these demonic features? First the snake's forked tongue, then the fox tail and stuff..."

Anyway, my original body has been ruined by you, Mingkong~ You've given me all sorts of strange cultivation artifacts, so I might as well let this body become whatever you like, Mingkong..."

This is a difficult situation!

Yongzhen's sudden display of trust plunged Chu Mingkong into deep self-reproach for his scheming.

But Chu Mingkong could only tell himself to proceed according to the plan for now, and to discuss with Pei Mi and the others a new plan to tell Yongzhen about the matter later.

When the time was almost up, Chu Mingkong quietly infused a wisp of spiritual energy into the paper slips in his storage ring, which then gathered towards Madam Zhen.

Since there was no specific information, Chu Mingkong didn't need to take it out and write or draw it. It simply served as a reminder, like a bell, to let Madam Zhen know that she could start working on it.

Having done all this silently, Chu Mingkong supported the beautiful woman's cool yet alluring body and laid her down on the bedding.

"Don't always start kissing me from my feet... it's a bit strange."

"Then this time I'll nibble my way from somewhere else all the way to your toes~"

He cupped Yongzhen's cheeks, seeking and feeling the dexterity of her forked tongue, letting their breaths gradually merge into one.

......

While waiting patiently, Madam Zhen and Pei Mi did not waste any time.

Madam Zhen has been using the puppet left behind by Chu Mingkong as a practice subject to warm up and hone her control skills, while Pei Mi is more of a sparring partner, cheering her on.

There was nothing more she could do to help Madam Zhen, and her attention would occasionally drift curiously to the doll.

Previously... it seems that when Chu Mingkong was in the capital, he also took out Pei Mi's doll body, but he used it as a substitute for faking death to cover up the truth.

This doll is just too realistic. I only glanced at my own doll before and thought I hadn't seen it clearly, which is why I thought it was so lifelike and vivid. But after seeing Yongzhen's doll and this one in front of me, it's really hard to tell the difference between the real and the fake!

Pei Mi had just secretly checked the "realism" of the doll when Madam Zhen wasn't paying attention. It was indeed very realistic, exactly the same as the Peach Blossom Spring Secret Realm that Madam Zhen had seen during her cultivation.

“...How did they manage to do it so meticulously?” she murmured.

In that moment of distraction, the paper suddenly moved!

Madam Zhen immediately tensed up. She exchanged a glance with Pei Mi, then quickly closed her beautiful eyes, her invisible spiritual attention gradually converging on her daughter.

The thread connecting her and Yongzhen reappeared, but Madam Zhen still couldn't figure out its true origin or purpose. She was focused on one thing.

Her power struck Yongzhen's soul, feeling as if it had hit a boulder—extremely heavy and unshakeable...

　 Is this the result of Yongzhen's hard work over the past few days?

Madam Zhen felt somewhat discouraged, but she still tried to move the heavy boulder before she could exert all her strength.

at least,

She was facing boulders, not majestic mountains!

Little by little, Madam Zhen felt herself tapping the boulder, and the presence of the silk thread became clearer and clearer, like a bridge with its own suction, pulling her soul toward her daughter.

Pei Mi was oblivious to all these changes, but she knew what she needed to do.