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

The strength gained from cultivation varies from person to person, but the increase in lifespan is perfectly fair.

If Zuo Donglu continues to stagnate, her lifespan may end at any time, and Zuo Qiuchi doesn't want to lose a loved one.

"If all else fails, I'll use my extreme Yin power to prick Aunt Donglu and disrupt her destiny." Chu Mingkong tightened his fingers slightly, and the warmth seemed to overflow from between his fingers.

He made it sound so easy, but when it actually happens, the pressure will be immense. Zuo Donglu's cultivation level isn't high enough to handle too many powerful opponents at once, but her overall strength is considerable; ordinary minor injuries might not be enough to overcome her.

It might need to be drilled deeper...

"As long as it works," Zuo Qiuchi replied.

After a long silence, Chu Mingkong stopped eating the pig's trotter, and Zuo Qiuchi breathed a sigh of relief. Then he heard this daring traitor say:

“My dear Master, are you thirsty? I’m a little thirsty.”

"...I want to kick you out."

Soon, after a dizzying spin and a switch of positions, the two began to engage in a fierce exchange.

Chu Mingkong held Zuo Qiuchi's two plump and white legs, seeking water to quench his thirst like rain after a storm, but in his mind, he could still catch the feeling of his master's stubbornness.

Of course, even the toughest tongue has a soft side, and a touch of mystery.

Perhaps out of concern for the embarrassment of being discovered by Donglu, Chu Mingkong noticed that his master had given him more water than usual this time.

----------

A hidden corner of the Sword Dynasty.

An eerie fragrance of elixirs filled the air, and a dark figure suddenly leaped out, taking a deep breath that sucked away the surrounding fragrance and spiritual energy, creating a vacuum.

After a long while, Master Peng Bao inhaled until his nostrils were bulging into two large black pits, completely satisfied that he hadn't wasted a single wisp of the medicinal power of the elixir.

"The aura of heaven and earth in the Sword Dynasty is indeed quite special. The pills refined here have a unique flavor, but they are still not as fragrant as those made with demonic energy."

He grabbed a handful of strangely shaped pills from the alchemy furnace as if they were candy, and popped them into his mouth to chew.

Suddenly, he slapped his forehead:

"I feel like my brain is about to grow out... I can see that I'm about to break through and undergo a complete brain transformation!"

With his cloudy eyes fixed on the weakened sword domain, Peng Bao Daoist's figure flickered several times as he stared at a group of sword cultivators.

They were dealing with the remains of the Sword Immortal, and the remaining half of Li Tairan's corpse.

In Peng Bao Dao Ren's eyes, the corpse of such a powerful person was a rare and precious treasure.

Divine medicines are formed by absorbing the essence of heaven and earth and the precious energy of the sun and moon. Aren't cultivators also a kind of great medicine? It's just that the medicinal properties of each are difficult to distinguish, and it's completely unknown what kind of pills will be refined from them.

"The Yin-Yang Chaos Soul Formation is related to the Heavenly Realm. Perhaps it can open up a new medicinal field for our sect. Even if it only attracts a few people from the Heavenly Realm, it would be good. I wonder what kind of great pills the people from the Heavenly Realm can refine!"

Having figured out the temptation, Peng Bao Daoist smacked his lips, his greed evident.

"Li Tairan, what are you doing here to harass me? Wouldn't it be better to work together to achieve great things!"

A belated annual report?

According to the book's publication date, it should have been published at the end of last year (just a few days ago), which was exactly the first anniversary of its publication, so it was appropriate to release this annual report then.

However, since it was a wedding night scene at the time, I didn't want to interrupt it and affect the viewing experience, so I left it until now to post it.

Over the course of a year, I wrote nearly 2.7 million words, and the number of days I consulted with others was very few. One instance was probably in July when I had diarrhea, which led to a chapter featuring me spitting out poop.

At that time, Chu had only recently arrived in the Crescent Moon Kingdom with Aunt Gu and Madam Zhen, but the day of the Venerable Mother's assassination of the Emperor was not far off.

After killing the dog emperor, the plot should have moved on to the Heavenly Realm in a grand and exciting way. However, the plot related to the Heavenly Realm is almost 100 million words late.

The main reason for this situation is that when I got closer to the Heavenly Realm storyline, I noticed something amiss—

The plot is getting more and more interesting!

This is not a good sign. The expansion of the plot does not mean something good, because with the appearance of the Heavenly Domain forces, Aunt Gu and Jin Yu will find it increasingly difficult to appear.

Just like the two sisters-in-law who are now semi-reclusive, the essence is that it is difficult for them to participate in the plot. If they are forced to participate in the plot, the only way is to divide the plot of Madam Zhen and the others among the two sisters-in-law.

Unless characters like Aunt Gu, who are clearly portrayed as sheltered and beautiful ladies, suddenly gain superhuman strength and start fighting alongside the male lead, their character designs are basically ruined.

This is the first time the author has seriously written about the upgrade map plot, and it was only when he actually got to this stage that he realized something was wrong.

With the arrival of the Heavenly Realm, many characters may no longer be able to appear, which has troubled me for a long time, and I have been thinking about how to deal with it.

I used to despise books that abandoned the female lead after changing the setting, but now I realize that those authors may have had no choice, because once the plot expands, it becomes difficult for some characters to participate.

But I'm not someone who likes to abandon female leads; I've written these characters with genuine emotion.

Therefore, the arrival of the daughter was set up to solve the problem of Aunt Gu and the others' sense of presence.

The cat arrived a little early, but it had to come; otherwise, Aunt Gu would have had a hard time showing up.

Then, in the 100 million words following the assassination of the emperor, many everyday scenes unfolded; I'll only pick the ones that left a deep impression:

Ji Yuan murdered his father, and incidentally also... well, you know.

In an attempt to save Qingning, Mi'er and Wanhua took turns risking their lives in the Abyss, making a complete fool of themselves.

Jin Yu's haphazard handling of the herbal medicine caused a collective "food poisoning" among the women of Qingxin Mansion, and the baby overate.

and many more......

During this period, the plot that could truly be considered the main storyline was the patricide.

However, this actually brings forward the future plot. In the original plan, the Heavenly Realm map would arrive relatively quickly, and the old King of Chu would be able to live until he was killed in the Heavenly Realm.

Overall, after the assassination of the emperor, the plot of this book gradually shifts towards everyday life.

This is a rhythm I quite like, because girls like Jinyu, whose names evoke a sense of joy and carefree spirit, appear frequently.

The world is constantly changing, whether it's the world in books or the world outside of books, but being able to see those lovely people from time to time makes me feel like I'm still in a familiar place, surrounded by those old friends.

However, the increased amount of daily life scenes in the second half of the book does deviate from the main storyline rhythm established in the first half, so it can be said that there are both gains and losses.

......

If the author were to comment on it, this book would probably be considered an unexpected work.

The initial sales were terrible (worse than any previous sales, with no pre-orders or recommendations). Although I did write the later parts of the story seriously, my mindset at the time was one of self-abandonment and recklessness.

This led to many controversial plot points, such as the part where he fiercely attacked the baby pheasant right after returning to Xiling.

But the book just happened in a muddle. I had put so much effort into writing so many books before, and they all flopped. But this one actually got the cover!

This is probably what is meant by "the flowers you plant with care may not bloom, while the willows you plant without care may thrive".

However, to be honest, the results weren't actually that good; it was mostly supported by the 270 million words of updates per year.

If the writer had been as creative as this when writing about the photographer, they probably could have secured a cover for the photographer and seen what kind of image the SF artists could bring to the character.

But there are no "what ifs," because the photographer's subjects are purely everyday life, so the update frequency can't be increased.

......

In conclusion, this year's writing has been filled with surprises and anxieties, but it has still accompanied everyone into the new year!

I also need to encourage myself to continue bringing you good content, so that when you see updates during your leisure time, you can enjoy a more relaxing and happy experience.

This book brought the author an unexpected surprise, and he hopes that readers will also encounter more unexpected surprises in life. However, "surprise" is secondary; the most important thing is to have "joy"!

Wishing all my book lovers good luck and good health, and a happy new year!

Chapter 41: Dragging the Aunt Down?

After the master and apprentice finished their fooling around, they both drank something. One drank more and more happily, while the other drank more and more until his throat felt sticky. Afterwards, they sneaked off to the bathhouse to soak in the water.

Otherwise, after all the fooling around, you'll be in a mess, and activities will become very inconvenient.

But it was still daytime, so entering and leaving the bathhouse would seem very suspicious. Even with their Annihilation Domain activated, Chu Mingkong and Zuo Qiuchi still acted furtively until they were completely at ease once they were immersed in the bathwater, which was at the perfect temperature.

Chu Mingkong took advantage of the situation and hugged his beloved master tightly. Her body was smooth and fragrant, her skin soft, elastic, and firm. She lay diagonally by the pool, and it felt as if he would slip out of his arms at any moment if he didn't hold her tighter.

But he wouldn't actually glide away, because Chu Mingkong had erected a barrier, and Zuo Qiuchi, afraid he would move around, had his thighs locked tightly around him, which invisibly helped to fix his position.

Taking advantage of the opportunity and the atmosphere, Chu Mingkong asked:

"My dear Master, when are we going to settle things between us? It's been dragging on for so long~"

Zuo Qiuchi paused for a moment, her biggest concern still being her younger sister:

"Hiding from the winter dew?"

If Zuo Qiuchi and Zuo Donglu didn't get along, it wouldn't matter. The key point is that the two sisters have a pretty good relationship, which makes things quite delicate.

This is also a case of plans not keeping up with changes. Zuo Qiuchi initially felt that the binding effect of the marriage contract was not very good, and after several generations, no one took it seriously anymore. When she took the marriage contract out to pick up people, it was partly to relax.

While I was in Xiling, I was thinking that since Donglu didn't care anyway, and I had already done this and that with this traitor, I should just talk to Donglu and get it over with.

However, the situation was not as simple as imagined. Donglu did support the lifting of the ban, as she did not want to bring a bad influence to the people around Chu Mingkong. However, Zuo Qiuchi found that he could not be as decisive as he had planned.

Zuo Qiuchi had secretly slipped away during the previous pretend wedding ceremony, partly because he was worried about this.

Chu Mingkong gently pushed off the bottom of the pool with his feet, and the two bodies floated in the water like light boats. Chu Mingkong's body carried Zuo Qiuchi's full and graceful body, feeling her warm and slippery skin, as they floated in the water.

However, it naturally needs spiritual power to support it, otherwise it would have sunk long ago, as the buoyancy of the bath water is limited.

The predicament Zuo Qiuchi was currently facing inexplicably made Chu Mingkong feel as if he had returned to Xiling, discussing with Madam Zhen and Pei Mi how to handle Yongzhen's matter.

Although the circumstances are different, the emotional dilemma and embarrassment are similar.

"Master, if you say that, then this isn't a solution. Didn't you say you wanted Aunt Donglu to stay by your side? Does that mean... or are you suggesting we'll continue to do this sneaky thing all the time?"

"Who's the chicken and who's the dog!"

Zuo Qiuchi gave a light scolding, shifted her plump buttocks, twisted her tight waist, turned around and slapped him lightly. The two of them sank into the water together, embracing each other as they floated.

The water level in the pool rose and sloshed over onto the shore.

Once he resurfaced, Chu Mingkong replied:

"My chicken, my dog~ Master, you stole my chicken, and you're petting my big dog too~"

Zuo Qiuchi had no choice but to give up on this shameless guy. The two big salted fish stuck together floated back into the pond with the slight ripples in the water.