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

As for size, there is a hill about five or six meters high undulating nearby. This hill looks like a small treasure in front of the halo. Even if the group of cultivators just entered side by side, they would not feel crowded.

Chu Mingkong was equally astonished:

“This is indeed quite large. At first, I thought it was about the size of a bedroom door, and that it was probably located in some hidden place. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have gone unnoticed for so long.”

This thing is so big now, anyone with eyes can see it, right?

Fengying shook his head:

“No, this celestial phenomenon is rather unusual. We didn’t see it along the way, and we only saw it when we were almost up close. It’s probably something that you can’t see from a distance. I’ve been trying to recall the distance, and it’s only visible when you’re within a hundred meters.”

That seems to be the case. I was so startled by the appearance of this door that I completely forgot about this...

Although Zuo Qiuchi only noticed this after being reminded, it didn't stop her from criticizing her rebellious disciple:

"Listen carefully and study hard. Can't you use your brain?"

Yuehe didn't join in their banter, but observed silently, finally shaking her head and chuckling softly.

"I can't believe such a thing could happen..."

"What's wrong, Yuehe? Isn't this door fake? What did you find?" Chu Mingkong asked with concern.

"It is indeed fake, and I don't know how to explain it to you. The Yin Time does indeed accompany the appearance of the Yin Time Gate, but this Yin Time Gate belongs to the past, not this current Yin Time..."

Chu Mingkong was stunned for a moment, then took some time to figure out the reason—this door to the underworld was a nested doll.

The shadows of the past will reappear during the Yin time, and although this door was also created in response to the Yin time, strictly speaking, it is not the door of the Yin time, but rather the Yin time itself reappearing its own past.

The Yin Time Gate appeared during the last Yin Time, or the time before that, and this time the Yin Time has reproduced the Yin Time that appeared before.

This discovery may seem insignificant, but its biggest impact on Yuehe is that, as a woman with a strong sense of self, she used to be able to argue with Chu Mingkong that "she has only entered the gate of the underworld, which does not mean that she is a shadow of the past. You may be the fake ones."

However, the celestial phenomena of Yin Shi created a nested doll-like situation for themselves, directly presenting the evidence to Yuehe and letting her know that she was truly just a shadow in the river of time.

It is not a good thing to make a conscious being believe that they are a false illusion.

"What's the use of this Gate of the Underworld? Can I go in and out for a bit?" Chu Mingkong asked jokingly.

“No… My abilities are severely limited here, so the same applies to this recreated Gate of Yin Time.” Yuehe stared intently at the Gate of Yin Time.

She is now an illusion, so what happened to her when she entered the gate of the underworld?

Fengying put it to the test with her actions. She threw a flying needle, which passed through the Yin Time Gate and stuck in a tree behind the halo.

It seems this door really is useless. No wonder the demon egg maid didn't linger and went straight after those Heavenly Eye witches...

Zuo Qiuchi stared at the door, bewildered. She dared not utter a sound, and instead looked at Feng Ying for confirmation.

"Is this door really useless?"

Fengying spoke more calmly, exchanging a silent glance in response:

"It's probably not as useful as your butt; at least you can be used as a wooden fish."

Zuo Qiuchi grew anxious, her bright eyes glaring back angrily, silently fuming:

"Get lost! If you're so eager to liven things up, then say it out loud, don't rub salt in my wounds!"

......

After confirming the information about the Gate of Yin Time, the matter was dropped, but Chu Mingkong always felt... it would have been better not to come at all.

Not only did they gain nothing, but Yuehe also found himself in a complicated emotional state.

He wanted to ask about the demon egg and the old woman, but he had to put that aside for the time being.

Originally, Yuehe thought the Gate of Yin Time was fake, which was a stroke of luck after discovering this, but he never expected that some outcomes would be as if they were predetermined.

Regardless of whether a piece of news is true or false, it should not have any connection with Yuehe.

On the way back, all the cultivators had disappeared. Chu Mingkong led the women back.

Bai Niang, who was quietly guarding her "lair," immediately climbed onto Chu Mingkong's body after he appeared. Her forked tongue licked him, allowing Bai Niang to confirm his general condition.

"Did we encounter some unexpected enemies?"

"Well, Bai Niang, please wait a moment. Yuehe has run into some trouble. I'll go and talk to her."

Chu Mingkong carried Bai Niang to the babies, letting them cling to her, and then quickly followed Yuehe into her room in the Immortal Treasure Pavilion.

Chapter 429 Practicing Comfort

Yuehe is now...

It must be a feeling of sadness and depression, right?

Chu Mingkong looked at Yuehe in the room and wondered what was going on.

When Yuehe is in seclusion, it's similar to when she's meditating: she places her weapon in front of her, kneels on the bed, closes her eyes, and falls into deep thought, without uttering a sound.

If a statue of a deity were placed in front of him, he would certainly appear to be a devout and solitary monk.

Chu Mingkong pondered how to start the conversation and how to approach the situation, but after entering the room, closing the door, and standing there for a long time, he made no progress.

Finally, in despair, he climbed onto her bed and foolishly went straight to the point, asking her directly.

Even the most foolish approach is better than standing still and doing nothing. When faced with a problem, acting rashly is an age-old truth.

"Yuehe, I've come... to comfort you."

Yuehe sat motionless, the muscles in her arms and abdomen twitching slightly, seemingly hinting at the intense internal struggle she was experiencing.

She exhaled a long breath, her smooth abdominal skin contracting slightly before rising and falling again.

"What are you trying to comfort me about?"

"Only you know this, so I was planning to come over and talk to you about it..." Chu Mingkong's level of nonsense continued to maintain a fairly high quality.

Even though Yuehe was in turmoil, she was still somewhat weary and sighed at his foolishness:

"Do you remember the debates we had when we first came back from the East China Sea, about which side was the truth?"

At the time, I felt that what you were saying was a genuine illusion, deceiving my mind and misleading my heart. The conclusion to this topic was left unresolved because there was no good way to confirm it, so it was shelved, and the answer didn't really matter.

Perhaps not knowing is the best approach.

In that uncertain state, the cat could be real, Chu Mingkong could be real, and Yuehe could be real; their thoughts and feelings could be felt through simple touch.

But now, the "illusionary world" that Yuehe once thought she knew has shown her in the most direct way who the illusion really is.

This inevitably made Yuehe question his own existence.

This is probably the first of those three philosophical questions:

who am I?

Adhering to the principle of seeking truth from facts, Chu Mingkong honestly asked:

"I can sense your disappointment right now, but I can't quite empathize with the reason for it. Yuehe, do you have any way to explain it to me?"

He roughly knew what Yuehe was struggling with, but knowing didn't mean he could empathize, and not being able to empathize didn't mean he didn't care.

Hearing his words, Yuehe's lifeless heart was stirred by his anger, and she retorted with mixed feelings:

"You really know how to make someone like me, who's already feeling down, explain what's wrong with me? It's no different from showing you my wounds."

Chu Mingkong knew it was inappropriate, but he could only bite the bullet and say:

"I won't laugh at your wounds, but I have to give you a way to feel for and comfort you, right?"

Yuehe looked up, staring at the ceiling. After a moment of thought, she explained in the simplest terms:

"One day, you wake up and find that you are still yourself, but everything around you, even the world around you, is telling you that you are fake, just a clone of someone else. How should you deal with this?"

If you and Qiu Chi are as carefree and indifferent as they are, then it probably isn't really a big deal.

Chu Mingkong gently tugged at her leg, freeing her from the bent-leg kneeling position. He grasped her powerful and beautiful ankle, slowly dragged her to his side, and gave Yuehe a bear hug.

"I wouldn't call myself particularly carefree. Sometimes I do have moments of delicate sadness, like when I was first trapped by the wounds of the Abyss."

Yuehe hadn't arrived yet, but Chu Mingkong had told her about those events as a story, to increase her understanding of the world at that time.

"That must have been a time when I was deeply hurt. I couldn't even listen to my sister Yunhan's concern for me. I felt ironic and couldn't accept that I was going to become weak like this."

Even the negative emotions I experienced during that period, including irritability, rage, and loss of control, were perhaps, in a sense, an outpouring of my inner feelings...

Thinking about it this way, this culprit has been helping me ever since they harmed me once.

Chu Mingkong pondered Yuehe's words: What if one day, his self was negated by everything around him? He said haltingly:

"I think if I were in your situation, Yuehe, I would find it hard to accept. So many good butts are real, but mine is fake. Who could stand that?"

But I hope that when the time comes, someone will come to comfort me, just like my master did back then, and also because of this wound in the Abyss!

Yuehe felt that this answer was indeed his style, very honest.

If he were to say something like, "I will pull myself together with my own will," then Yuehe could only praise him as "truly amazing."

"So you're showing up here now to accumulate some merit for yourself, hoping that if you really encounter something like this in the future, you'll have a karmic connection to comfort you?"

Chu Mingkong nodded repeatedly, cradling Yuehe's head in his hands, and they rested their arms on each other's shoulders.

Although Yuehe's figure is quite perfect among women, her frame is not exactly petite and delicate. When she hugs Chu Mingkong like this, she doesn't appear particularly slender or weak.

He smelled Yuehe's scent, confirming her presence, and said:

"Pretty much. I've been making wooden fish drums to accumulate merit lately, so I should have a good karmic result."

But how is this fake? I can smell your scent, feel the warmth within you, and experience your dryness and moisture, no matter what that Yin Shi says!

You accept your own authenticity, and I believe you are authentic too. That's enough.

Yuehe took a deep breath to calm the anger that had suddenly risen in his heart:

"You dare bring up the dryness again, huh?!"

Chu Mingkong grinned shamelessly and said:

"It's not exactly something shameful, but it was definitely a bit stiff and dry; it almost chafed my skin raw..."

He said a couple more words, then realized that Yuehe was about to deliver a fatal blow, so he quickly stopped talking, admitted his mistake, and dared not say anything more.

"How is it? Are you feeling even a little bit more comforted?" Chu Mingkong asked to confirm.