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

[The lower realm, but it should really be called a region.]

Chu Mingkong raised an eyebrow.

This "lower realm" is probably the term that people in the celestial realm are currently accustomed to using. Goodness, even the realm has been stripped away, and apart from "celestial realm," all that's left is the "lower" meaning "inferior."

"Then, System Girl, you can continue."

Many things happened during this time. As time passed, the goddess gradually disappeared, and the era of the witchcraft tribes gradually came to pass, and then came the Moon River as you know it.

...Your statement, "Time has passed, and countless stories have been omitted," has been overlooked.

But since the system girl was unusually willing to reveal so many things he'd never heard of before, he dared not express his dissatisfaction. Instead, he inquired about the more trivial details:

"May I ask if I may ask, System Girl, are you one of the goddesses?"

[Goddess is just a title; the meaning of "goddess" varies across different periods. If you ask me, Yun Nongyu, whom you know, could also have become a goddess. I'm telling you this precisely because it's irrelevant; it's too far removed from your life. You haven't even seen the gates of the Heavenly Realm yet.]

Chu Mingkong grinned. That's true.

We haven't even been to the Heavenly Realm yet, and you're already asking about something so far away. That's taking too big a step and getting carried away.

While a way to enter the Heavenly Realm has indeed not yet been found, Yuehe's decision to skip the matter suggests that she is confident she will find the solution. Chu Mingkong can only turn around and trust Yuehe.

Or find another opportunity to ask the system.

"Can I ask you one more question?"

"You're much better now," the system said with a smile, giving a reproachful look.

Chu Mingkong breathed a sigh of relief. Not afraid of her scolding, he patted her without saying a word.

"What I want to ask is, is there still a way for me to see you, and not too long?" He asked two questions slyly.

【should.】

After that sentence, the system girl fell silent.

Chu Mingkong was in a dilemma. Had he answered both questions in one go, or had he only answered the former and skipped the latter?

"This familiar silence probably means they're not giving me a chance to ask any further questions."

The soft hand I had just held for a while vanished without me noticing, and I could hardly find the feeling of touching it anymore.

After careful consideration, the system girl must be a master of witty banter. Although she said a lot, the content she mentioned was not very important to Chu Mingkong.

Whether she was a goddess, which goddess she was, and why she would possess him in this way—none of this was mentioned.

However, the fact that the world is divided into two domains may be related to why the Celestial Domain despises this domain.

Are Xuan Nu and Su Nu, these two old friends, members of the goddesses?

Chu Mingkong composed himself and stopped dwelling on the matter.

"The system has given me another small goal: to establish the 'path' in my heart."

He pondered quietly for a while, but couldn't figure it out, so he got up to check on Donglu, a guest who had recently arrived.

--------

dong dong dong-

"Aunt Donglu, it's me."

"Please come in," came a woman's voice from inside the house.

After checking into her room, Zuo Donglu hardly touched anything inside, even leaving the teacup full without drinking half of it.

Chu Mingkong glanced around; anyone who didn't know better would think the guests were dissatisfied.

"Aunt Donglu, why aren't you touching the tea and snacks? Are you not to your liking, or are you being too polite?"

The woman with gray hair in a bun stood up. Her clothes were impeccable, and one could find traces of Rong'er in them. The hairpin in her bun added a touch of gentle, married womanly charm to her temperament.

She was wearing what appeared to be the robe of a female swordsman from Wufeng Cliff, with an outer skirt and inner trousers. The clothes were form-fitting, with black patterns on a white background, neat and capable, and somewhat similar to the one-piece "heavenly garments" worn by Xuan Nu and the others.

Zuo Donglu shook her head:

“After I learned to breathe and exhale, I rarely ate or drank. I drank mostly the morning dew when the sun was high in spiritual energy, and my diet consisted mainly of herbs and pills. It’s not that I didn’t like the food you sent me, Mingkong.”

Hey!

This is a fasting practitioner!

However, in a sense, cultivators like Zuo Donglu are actually on the "right path"? Those like Chu Mingkong and Zuo Qiuchi, who do not abstain from meat or alcohol, are somewhat unconventional.

"So Aunt Donglu's habit shouldn't be a taboo, right? It should be okay to treat her to a little bit every now and then, right?"

Zuo Donglu recalled the various rules her master had mentioned before his death:

"Master didn't say it was impossible, so it should be possible."

It has to be said that this somewhat eccentric aunt is completely different from Zuo Qiuchi in personality.

Chu Mingkong was speechless for a moment. Aunt Donglu wasn't very talkative, so he pondered how to start a new conversation.

The slender, gray-haired woman, seeing Chu Mingkong's hesitant and conflicted expression, asked softly:

"Is chatting with me a little uncomfortable? I'll go ask Qiu Chi to come and talk to you..."

Aunt Donglu is quite caring, but by bringing Master over to chat, isn't Aunt Donglu being left out in the cold?

"Aunt Donglu, what did you do all day when you were cultivating on Wufeng Cliff? Did you ever chat with people?"

Zuo Donglu shook her head, her delicate and beautiful face still expressionless. She recalled every day and night of the past ten years and said:

“I cultivate all day long. When my master is around, I receive his guidance. After my master leaves, I cultivate alone and watch the sunrise and sunset.”

She didn't mention the part about finding someone to chat with because she didn't have that experience.

At most, when there are major events or ceremonies in the Sword Dynasty, other disciples will come over cautiously to inform them, and then quickly leave, for fear that their sword intent might be tainted by something bad.

No one from her family visited her. At first, they viewed her as an ominous sign and dared not visit her, but gradually they forgot about her, since she had become a nun anyway.

To become a monk and cultivate oneself is to sever all worldly ties; this is a rule of some Sword Peaks.

Chu Mingkong sighed. He couldn't imagine living such a life; how lonely and isolated it would be.

"Since Aunt Donglu is so focused on cultivation, may I ask you some questions?"

"please say."

"Has Aunt Donglu cultivated her own path? What is her own path?"

Chu Mingkong reminded himself that this was a serious matter concerning cultivation, not some "path" for safe passage.

Incidentally, it would be good if we could get closer to my aunt.

Chapter Nineteen: Where Will Donglu Sit?

"I believe that one's own path already exists; it just needs to be discovered by oneself."

Zuo Donglu probably thought that she finally had a topic that she was somewhat good at, so she was quite enthusiastic in explaining it to Chu Mingkong.

Because she felt that this was all she could talk about, and that she couldn't offer any more help. She didn't know anything else, and felt somewhat useless...

The woman pulled out a hairpin, and a strand of her smooth, beautiful gray hair fell out slightly. Although it was just a simple change, it added a touch of everyday life, and the ethereal loneliness of her solitary life faded a bit.

The hairpin transformed into a sword in Zuo Donglu's hand, and she gently gestured as if to swing it.

The movements were simple, yet crisp and clean, imbued with a natural spirit and energy, a skill honed through countless years of solitary guarding of the sword peak.

“Mingkong, generally speaking, your Dao is like swinging a sword, or a powerful strike. Why do you swing this sword?”

This motivation doesn't need to be learned; it's deeply ingrained in everyone's character. Why draw the sword? The motivation behind drawing the sword—that is the Way of drawing the sword.

Chu Mingkong pondered for a moment, but not wanting to remain silent for too long, he quickly nodded to indicate that he was listening.

Aunt Donglu's answer should be very clear, but it is difficult to truly understand.

If it were so easy to understand, then the concept of self-discovery would be commonplace.

Zuo Donglu then said:

"However, Mingkong, it will be somewhat difficult for you to comprehend your own path."

"Why?" Chu Mingkong frowned.

Her tone was as calm as a still lake in a winter valley, without wind or ripples, conveying a sense of very little emotion.

"To understand the Way, one needs to see oneself clearly. However, the more ties one has, the more obstacles one will have. The worldly ties and karma on one's body will bind you. This is why some spiritual sects require severing worldly ties."

"I see... damn it." Chu Mingkong scratched his head.

He seeks enlightenment not to abandon his female relatives, but to strengthen himself so that he can protect them.

"Is there a way to protect one's family?"

Zuo Donglu recalled for a moment, then shook her head and said:

“I feel that it is possible, but very few people actually achieve it. Master said that the more people you care about, the more hesitant you will become, and the less decisive you will be. Master once encouraged me to guard my heart and keep quiet.”

Does having more people on your mind make it harder to act decisively?

Chu Mingkong found it difficult to refute this point, because he seemed to have indeed become so.

Now, not to mention that he has Bai Niang's help, his understanding of the environment in the depths of the Abyss alone makes him much stronger than he was in the capital!

However, he is now more mindful of his actions and will not act rashly or impulsively. The temper that once raged in his personality has dissipated for a long time, and he acts impulsively less often.

These are all facts.

But he doesn't regret any of it!

Chu Mingkong and Zuo Qiuchi are really similar; in fact, he also has a lazy streak.

The path of cultivation is so vast and uncertain. If he were alone, he would have given up long ago. He simply couldn't endure the loneliness like Aunt Donglu.

It was because of these concerns that Chu Mingkong was able to rack his brains at this moment, pondering what the Dao is.

Zuo Donglu looked at him and continued:

“Mingkong, if you’re not in a hurry, you can wait until a hundred years later, when your worldly ties have returned to dust and your attachments have gradually subsided, before pondering it. Some great cultivators have done just that.”

When worldly ties return to dust...?