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

Countless golden swords emerged from the sky and on the ground, wherever the sword domain covered, their blades trembling. Finally, under Li Tairan's control, the sword tips all pointed at Zuo Qiuchi and his group.

Several elegantly dressed women of high status flew over. Looking at the sky filled with golden swords, the old sword immortal seemed to have been resurrected. One of the women shouted:

"stop!"

Chu Mingkong didn't know who the woman was telling to stop, but he couldn't be bothered to pay attention. The sword intent emanating from the old sword immortal's remains had a certain oppressive force, but this sword domain was rather ordinary.

After a long hiatus, he once again unleashed the Mysterious Maiden Sword Scripture. The Dao of Guarding that he had comprehended a few days ago gave him a natural and effortless feeling when he made his move.

What was originally just a sword phantom was amplified by Chu Mingkong, as if he had returned to the state of mind he had when he looked up at the "Great Mystic Maiden" that day. The Mystic Maiden sat on the mountaintop amidst the clouds, slashing down with her sword as if she were looking down on all things!

"Chasing after Donglu is already going too far, and now you've even set your sights on my master, trying to force her to be sacrificed? No matter how much you try to act like an old senior, it won't work!"

Countless golden swords flew towards them, but a huge Xuan Nu sword, shrouded in extremely yin energy, fell from the sky. The golden flying swords struck the Xuan Nu sword, like raindrops hitting a solid city wall.

The biggest ripple is the splashing of a few raindrops.

The Mysterious Maiden Sword slashed down from the sky to the earth, splitting the towering Zhengjian Peak in two with a single strike!

The sword mark marked the spot where Li Tairan had just stood.

The place was now empty. Tracing its aura, half of its body fell to the ground like mud, crashing into the crowd of sword cultivators.

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Zuo Family Affairs

"Ah, it really is Peak Master... Peak Master Li has been killed!"

The disciples who gathered around the corpses stared in disbelief at the face amidst the blood, confirming it was indeed Li Tairan from Zhengjian Peak. His body was dead, his soul extinguished, yet his remains still emanated a powerful aura.

However, the sword intent had been broken, and the extremely yin flames, like maggots clinging to bones, slowly eroded the powerful body.

"It can't be faked. No one can impersonate Peak Master Li. Who could have done this? Peak Master is a Sword Immortal!"

Some speculated it was the work of demonic cultivators, others guessed it was an internal power struggle among several powerful figures in the Sword Emperor Dynasty, but regardless of the speculation, the disciples' first reaction was to get away from this place of trouble as far as possible.

However, they also knew that if something really bad happened, they wouldn't be able to escape. So, the disciples kept their distance and hid to the side, watching the situation on Zhengjian Peak.

"That's Senior Lan from Queen Ba's lineage. Was she there to check on the situation? I wonder what exactly happened on the peak..."

Chu Mingkong stood on the edge of the cliff at the summit, glanced down at the corpse, and reached out to extinguish the flames on its body.

If it's not taken back, it'll probably be burned to ashes in a while, leaving only a half-corpse. Maybe it can be reused later.

However, it's not surprising that such a large-scale event would attract people.

Chu Mingkong looked at the women who had shouted "Stop!" earlier. Two of them were female attendants dressed in sword cultivator robes, which could be ignored. The woman in the middle, dressed in fine clothes, was as strong as Li Tairan.

Under normal circumstances, they would probably be surrounded and attacked as assassins right now.

Chu Mingkong didn't mind, but he still took a step back and brought Zuo Donglu out. She should be considered a familiar face in the Sword Emperor Dynasty, and it would be easier to talk to someone familiar.

"Aunt Donglu, who is this?"

Zuo Donglu looked up and met the gaze of the woman in the air, then introduced her:

"Another sword immortal in the Sword Emperor Dynasty, Ba Lan, is a relative of the current Empress Ba. Her strength is comparable to Li Tairan's, but Ba Lan is the type with slightly weaker sword intent but more profound cultivation of the five elements."

After all, he was one of the top figures in the Sword Dynasty. Even though Zuo Donglu was a homebody, she still knew his identity.

Chu Mingkong estimated that Li Tairan was a quasi-sword immortal at the early stage of the eighth rank, while this Balan was a quasi-quasi-sword immortal close to the middle stage of the eighth rank.

Seeing that the other party didn't intend to attack immediately, Chu Mingkong cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards them.

"My name is Chu Mingkong. I have come to demand an explanation because someone close to me was offended by Senior Li. If Sword Immortal Ba has something to say, you may come down and we can talk later?"

Zuo Qiuchi and Feng Ying came out, with the former bringing out a chair to indicate that I had no objection and had already taken my seat.

The woman in gorgeous clothes flew down with her maid. She had a beautiful oval face, eyes as clear as autumn water, and a lovely appearance. Her tight-fitting clothes accentuated her figure, making it difficult to judge her true curves.

But having witnessed the direct slaying of a powerful figure from his own country, Balan's expression turned grim, and he dared not relax.

The two beautiful female servants behind her were even more vigilant, as if they were ready to draw their swords and fight to the death at any moment.

"Balan." She introduced herself simply, then her gaze fell on Zuo Qiuchi. "You are... Donglu's older sister, Zuo Qiuchi?"

Zuo Qiuchi was reluctant to accept the challenge repeatedly. She explained the situation in more detail and then waited for Balan's reaction.

Balan showed little outward reaction, but his heart was in turmoil.

This was indeed Li Tairan's doing, but for a powerful figure who had been stationed at Zhengjian Peak for so long in the Sword Emperor Dynasty to suddenly die at someone's hands, even though Balan and Li Tairan were not on good terms, what came first was definitely shock rather than surprise.

She didn't know how to handle the situation.

"I'll go report the situation to the Queen, gentlemen..."

Chu Mingkong said, "I have no strong hostility towards the Sword Dynasty. This is also my master's hometown. My reckless actions today were only to demand an explanation. If there is nothing else, I will not resort to violence."

Balan simply left; there was no way to stop this person anyway.

Fengying looked in the direction they had left and asked:

"Is that Yin-Yang Chaos Soul Formation real or fake? So, is the Sword Dynasty plotting something big, or what?"

Chu Mingkong looked at Zuo Donglu again, but Zuo Donglu turned her gaze to Zuo Qiuchi, who looked back at Feng Ying with a blank expression.

It's like a wonderful closed loop of questions and answers.

But thinking about it, the situation of the Sword Dynasty is really strange.

If Li Tairan had not completely distorted the truth before, and there was some truth in his words, then the current empress would be going against the will of the late emperor and belong to the "coward" faction.

Li Tairan was aligned with the late emperor, even if he might have had plans to seek personal gain and belonged to the radical faction.

What kind of mess is this...?

Judging solely from their positions, Chu Mingkong should actually be on the side of the late emperor. His marriage to his beloved master... ah, I mean, his marriage to Aunt Donglu was a match made up by the late emperor.

The current Empress Ba was on the opposite side, but the first thing Chu Mingkong did upon arriving was to kill the "loyal ministers of the late emperor."

Group of willows san8 umbrellas Ling64 leeks ⑦

Chu Mingkong sighed:

"Let's wait until that guy named Balan has confirmed the situation before we talk about it. How about we discuss how to settle Xianzhen Pavilion?"

Fengying thought it best to let Xianzhen Pavilion stay in Jiuxiang Town, since taking the Jiyuan Shortcut would be as convenient as taking a walk after a meal.

"Let's not touch the Immortal Treasure Pavilion. If you really want to bring the women over, Mingkong, you can just take them through the Abyss. The Immortal Treasure Pavilion can't withstand the erosion from the depths of the Abyss."

"That's true. Then let's wait and see what Balan's attitude is. If they are nice, I'll bring the women over to stay. I think we could stay at Aunt Donglu's Wufeng Cliff. Are there any vacant rooms?"

Zuo Donglu nodded: "Yes."

Feng Ying nudged Zuo Qiuchi: "Don't you need to visit your family or something?"

Zuo Qiuchi patted Feng Ying's round, plump buttocks with displeasure and said:

"Go away, why worry about so much? It's not too late to understand the situation clearly."

What she was worried about was her younger sister Donglu's feelings. Although Donglu was part of the group that had left home to cultivate, in a sense, she was the one who had been abandoned. Fearing that Donglu would implicate the cultivation of the family's descendants, she sent her to become a disciple.

Going back to visit relatives now would make Donglu feel a little disappointed. Besides, Zuo Qiuchi also knew that the eldest and second eldest brothers of the Zuo family, who were quite talented, had all separated from their families. Visiting relatives would be awkward, and at most, they would go back to the family ancestral hall to pay respects to their ancestors.

As for the sisters' parents, their mother had a difficult life. She was too impatient in her early years of cultivation, which caused her to fall ill, and she passed away not long after giving birth. After their daughter, Zuo Donglu, went into seclusion to cultivate, their father took his wife's ashes and traveled far away in sorrow.

After a few more years, Zuo Qiuchi took on the task of "arranging a wedding" and left the Sword Dynasty alone to meet a boy she had never met before in a foreign land.

Their mothers' illnesses had absolutely nothing to do with Donglu; those things happened before Donglu was born. The young disciples were all afraid of being eliminated, so they cultivated with all their might. But cultivation is not something that can be rushed; rushing can easily lead to problems. Their mothers were such unfortunate people.

Those family cultivators who have good talent but unfortunately can no longer continue their cultivation mostly go through marriage alliances. After all, even if your own person can no longer cultivate, the excellent bloodline for carrying on the family line is still useful.

The Zuo sisters' parents married under these circumstances.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Lying Down~ [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

The four returned to Wufeng Cliff, only to find that it was no longer habitable.

The houses on the mountaintop had been turned upside down, the inside was in complete disarray, and even the roof tiles had been shaken. It was clear that even a dilapidated house in the middle of nowhere wouldn't be in such a mess.

It's hard to say that Li Tairan's men weren't looking for the girl with the intention of rummaging through her personal belongings.

After all the tidying up, only one room was usable.

So the four of them lay down together to rest.

Anyway, since people from Balan might come at any time, Chu Mingkong couldn't do anything bad, so he lay down with Zuo Donglu.

The matter of Zuo Qiuchi's parents, which had been mentioned before they arrived, was brought up again. Chu Mingkong, who roughly knew the situation, pondered for a while.

Judging from the talent of these two sisters, their parents must have been quite talented as well.

In such a situation, if the illness left behind by practicing too hastily makes it difficult to further improve one's cultivation, it would be an absolute regret for life. Just like a person who makes a living by singing suddenly loses their voice, the blow to their heart is indescribable.

If we really have to find the reason, it seems we should blame the rather high-pressure training environment of the Sword Dynasty. But no matter how we blame it, it's all in vain, and no one offers a single word of comfort.

They might even turn around and say things like, "Others can cultivate to perfection, why can't you?", "Everyone else is fine, why are you in trouble?", or "The Empress has already given you excellent cultivation resources, so it's one thing to be ungrateful, but why blame the Sword Dynasty for your own problems?"

Could it be that Master's precious slacking-off nature came from this?

He seemed to understand Zuo Qiuchi's subtle resistance and drowsy state when they were almost at the Sword Emperor Dynasty.

With her mother passing away, her father traveling far away to clear his mind, and her younger sister becoming a nun due to her destiny, all her closest relatives suddenly disappeared... What was Zuo Qiuchi's mindset when she embarked on her journey that would last for several years?

Zuo Qiuchi briefly mentioned his childhood with Donglu, and the conversation in the room fell silent for a moment.

Chu Mingkong quietly grasped his master's precious hand and asked in a relaxed tone:

"Speaking of which, after going through countless hardships and traversing mountains and rivers to reach Xiling, did you have a good time during those days?"

Zuo Qiuchi complained:

"What 'eighty-one tribulations' and all that nonsense... it's alright, after all, it's a new place and new people, but sometimes I still think, it would have been so much fun if I had brought Donglu with me~"

"I want to cultivate," Zuo Donglu replied after a long pause.

Zuo Qiuchi shamelessly shared (showed off) his current achievements:

"You've been staying in one place for too long, and your brain has become dull and lifeless. You need to go out and have some fun. Sleep when you're tired, play when you're awake, eat when you're hungry, and cultivate again when you have time!"

"..."

Zuo Donglu found it difficult to refute her. In terms of swordsmanship alone, this seemingly unreliable older sister had indeed gone much further than her, who had devoted herself to cultivation for many years.