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

It's probably similar to the Heart Tribulation Illusion of Master's Beloved, but her mind is too Buddhist and pure. External influences can hardly shake her inner laziness. Once some things are erased, she becomes someone who doesn't even care about herself.

Grandma Sword Emperor had a clear and intense understanding of her goals. People with such a mindset are unlikely to encounter mental tribulations. This is a kind of purity in another sense. However, once Grandma Sword Emperor achieved her goal, she would not seek anything else and would choose to leave satisfied. Even her farewell to the world was under her self-control.

But it was precisely at the point of death that she encountered a situation out of control, and now she is in a state of nihilistic depression.

"I know, but I'm not as carefree as you, Grandma. Right now, I'm just thinking about reuniting with the women around me, seeing the babies born, and taking them to see the vast mountains. If I pursue power, it will definitely be for them; I want to be their support."

My ambitions aren't as impressive as Grandma's.

"There is no distinction between high and low in pursuits; the ultimate goal is to satisfy oneself, not to compete on whose pursuit sounds more grand. I see that you are not confused by what I just said. Have you already figured out your path of pursuit?"

Chu Mingkong was a little embarrassed. He had already figured out the answer to this question during his wedding night, thanks to the guidance he received from the system a few days ago.

"Yes, to my shame, what I pursue is still limited to the long-term companionship of love and family. Occasionally, I get a sudden burst of excitement and want to do something grand and ambitious, but when I look at my elders, daughter, and baby at home, all my passion melts into tenderness for them."

Therefore, if I pursue power, it must be for the purpose of protecting them.

"That's great!"

While chatting with Chu Mingkong, Ba Sheng's brows furrowed slightly, and his attention shifted from his own annoyance to this younger man.

Her approval was not just polite encouragement; Ba Sheng could sense the firmness in Chu Mingkong's words.

Some people have truly figured out their own path, while others are opportunistic and follow the crowd. When they hear that someone's path is highly praised, they switch to learning and pursuing that path.

Chu Mingkong belongs to the former category.

The Naihe River flows on and on, and beautiful red flowers float on its surface, which seem to be the flowers of the other shore.

The two continued chatting even amidst the sound of flowing water.

"Grandma, what is the power of this divine kingdom? Because its name, 'Netherworld,' reminds me of something like reincarnation. Is it related to that?"

"Perhaps they are related, but this cycle does not involve the cycle of all things in the world. There is no power in this world that can know the fate of every mortal, and the more powerful the power, the less it cares about the life and death of mortals."

This divine kingdom originally belonged to a declining goddess faction. The meaning of reincarnation in the underworld is actually about drinking an amnesia potion, forgetting past ties and experiences, and joining the forces of the underworld.

Chu Mingkong was very interested in the "amnesia soup," which seemed to be the Meng Po soup.

However, this underworld is indeed very different from the "kingdom of the dead" he had heard about. It is simply a force, unrelated to the cycle of life in the world.

When the body dies, the spirit dissipates and returns to the spiritual energy of heaven and earth; this is the cycle recognized by this world.

But thinking about it, it's understandable. If an organization truly had the ability to control the cycle of life and death of all living beings, it would never be content to keep doing this kind of hard labor and would definitely want to appear in the world.

However, since they are both divine kingdoms, Chu Mingkong can determine that this Netherworld Divine Kingdom is of a higher level than the Lunar Eclipse Divine Kingdom.

The Lunar Eclipse Kingdom is similar to the Bodhisattva's Realm of No Thought, and it is more appropriate to describe it as an "independent private space." However, this Underworld can truly be called a "kingdom," as it is far too complete.

Even the Ox-Head and Horse-Face warriors who carried the sedan chair and led the way, as well as the Black and White Impermanence sisters, were just "plants and trees" in the underworld.

"As for the power of the Lord of the Underworld, it is somewhat related to the reincarnation you mentioned, Mingkong. Those I kill can become part of the Underworld."

If this underworld were under the control of the Empress of the Celestial Empire, it would be far more prosperous by now.

Chu Mingkong looked surprised:

"Why? Does someone you so easily killed, Grandma, really have the ability to control this underworld?"

"That's another matter. If the underworld wants to prosper, a war is absolutely necessary, whether it's an internal or external war."

"Grandma means that the Heavenly Empress planned the war back then to 'add bricks and tiles' to this underworld?"

Ba Sheng nodded.

Seeing the desolate and deserted state of the Underworld Kingdom, Chu Mingkong could feel even more strongly that the young woman grandmother was indifferent and disgusted with the place.

After fishing for a long time, the fishing rod still didn't move, and the "plants and trees" in the underworld probably wanted to make their master happy.

The fishing rod moved!

Ba Sheng cast his line, and a young female ghost with her tongue sticking out was caught on the hook.

"Damn it, you little brat!" Chu Mingkong was surprised and disappointed, thinking that fish could actually be caught in the Naihe River.

With a blank expression, Ba Sheng put the "fish" back, returned to the sedan chair, and headed deeper into the underworld.

"Grandma, do you still remember the Heavenly Realm? I want to know about the Heavenly Realm. I know so little about it."

"What about Empress Yueqi in the Heavenly Realm?" Ba Sheng asked in return.

"Hmm? There's something about Yuehe too? Grandma, I want to hear about that!"

Chapter 87 There is a Sword Overlord Mountain in the Heavenly Realm

What Chu Mingkong actually wanted to know was everything about the Heavenly Domain; the more he knew, the better.

His current understanding of the Heavenly Realm is too one-sided, and it is mostly based on his own guesses.

But he didn't expect that the Sword Emperor's grandmother seemed to know about Empress Yueqi's affairs in the Heavenly Realm, which was an unexpected surprise for Chu Mingkong.

"Many years have passed since I went to the Heavenly Realm, and it's hard to say how things have changed. I can only tell you what I knew back then."

"Well, Grandma, you're someone who experienced it firsthand, so you know more than I do."

"Before I went to the Heavenly Realm, I learned a lot about Empress Yueqi in this world. After arriving in the Heavenly Realm, I naturally checked as soon as possible whether her lineage had been left behind. Unfortunately, what she left behind was a battlefield, which the people of the Heavenly Realm called Moonlight Wasteland."

That place was originally a blessed land, but due to the residual power from her battle, it is now an area that is difficult for other forces to occupy, much like... the Abyss?

Chu Mingkong recalled what Empress Yueqi had told him in the Divine Kingdom:

"Yuehe mentioned that she comprehended her Black Tide power near the Abyss and was influenced by the power of the Abyss. Could it be that she, who once ascended to the heavens, really created an Abyss in the Heavenly Domain, so that even the strength of the Heavenly Domain could not occupy and refine that place?"

The thought that Yuehe's traces were still active somewhere made Chu Mingkong feel somewhat happy.

I wonder if that site still exists after all these years.

After crossing the long Naihe Bridge, the sedan chair traveled for a long time through the desolate wilderness, and unknowingly arrived at a steep mountain road.

They would spin around in circles from time to time, and in the blink of an eye, they would be on another mountain, as if they were using the ghost wall as a teleportation portal, and the final destination seemed to be on the mountaintop.

The mountains in the underworld are strangely shaped. From a distance, they appear as jagged rocks, and where the sky meets the mountain peaks, they look as if they have been chewed by a dog, with broken and steep cliffs. Up close, they look more like walking through a desolate graveyard.

The ox-headed and horse-faced warriors carrying the sedan chair had tried their best to keep it steady, as they had been walking on flat ground the whole way, but they could hardly maintain a steady pace on this mountain road.

The young woman's grandmother was shaking so badly that she would sometimes bump into his face. Fortunately, the rugged mountain path was not long, and it soon became smooth again, bringing them much closer to the summit.

Chu Mingkong's attention was mostly focused on his grandmother's words, but sometimes he would inadvertently focus on his grandmother.

According to her, the Celestial Realm is indeed much better than the world we live in now; it is much larger and more expansive.

The territory of the Heavenly Realm is vast and expansive, and its development is likely to be equally extensive.

Many forces coexist without conflict. Heaven and earth have given various forces the opportunity to develop. Many forces have been derived from the five elements of spiritual energy. For example, the "rare" type of water element spiritual energy, ice spiritual energy, is one such example.

However, Ba Sheng did not come into contact with much power back then. After entering the Heavenly Domain, she mainly clashed with the Sword Tyrant Mountain force.

"This is a rather strange alien race. I don't know if it is a race that evolved from the heavens and earth or formed later. Their true form is a weapon that can transform into a human. They are somewhat like... a demon race that takes a weapon as its prototype."

Chu Mingkong recalled the Yin-Yang Chaotic Soul Formation. After it was secretly altered by the people of the Heavenly Domain, they had attempted to refine Zuo Qiuchi into a "sword spirit."

"I just mentioned that their true form is a weapon, but their faction is called Sword Overlord Mountain because swords are the dominant race there, similar to what we call royalty."

"It's somewhat like a tradition of the Witchcraft Tribe. During the period when the Witchcraft Tribe was active, whoever was the strongest represented the highest level of cultivation at that time." Chu Mingkong recalled this.

Recalling everything he knew in the past, Chu Mingkong realized that the Witch Clan had pursued power with a frenzied attitude, even producing deformed beings like the Heavenly Eye Witch. He suspected that many members of the Witch Clan might have gone to the Heavenly Realm in the past.

If the Sword Tyrant Mountain race is indeed an acquired race, then it must have evolved from the strange and unusual forces of the Witch Clan.

"If the 'Halberd' clan prospers, should Sword Tyrant Mountain be renamed 'Halberd Tyrant Mountain'?" Chu Mingkong suddenly had a whimsical idea.

Jiba Mountain, how imposing!

"Yes, that's theoretically true. What's wrong? Mingkong, you seem suddenly very excited. Don't you mostly use swords?" Ba Sheng didn't catch what Chu Mingkong was concerned about.

"It's nothing." Chu Mingkong chuckled sheepishly.

After Ba Sheng ascended to the heavens, the story became simpler, since her goal in going to the celestial realm was clear and pure: to verify her swordsmanship level.

When she first arrived in the Heavenly Realm, she suffered a setback in her cultivation level, as her swordsmanship was hampered by her spiritual realm.

However, since she had already reached the Heavenly Realm, relying on her existing strength, Ba Sheng was not seriously injured. She fought and retreated, using the complete spiritual energy in the Heavenly Realm to cultivate and sustain herself through battle.

Before the one-year period given to her by the Queen Mother of the West to "leave the door open" was over, Ba Sheng had already achieved satisfactory cultivation and directly stormed into Jianba Mountain to start a battle.

Since her weapon was a bit lacking, she captured the queen there and used her true form to defeat the master of Sword Tyrant Mountain, steal the sword map, and returned from the Heavenly Gate left by the Queen Mother of the West, completely satisfied.

Chu Mingkong felt that he should at least explore the Heavenly Realm more, but it turned out that Grandma Basheng was indeed a self-disciplined person who only focused her energy and interest on the things she was interested in, and returned before the one-year period was over.

They didn't even want the captured women with swords; they used them for their pleasure and then threw them back.

"The person capable of modifying the Yin-Yang Chaos Array must most likely be from Sword Tyrant Mountain," Chu Mingkong muttered.

"Yes, that's probably it. I had almost finished researching the Two Elements Chaotic Soul Formation, intending to keep it as a trump card for the Sword Dynasty. I didn't expect it to be completed so late, and I certainly didn't expect the people from the Heavenly Domain to secretly come down and modify it."

"By the way, are there any restrictions on the people from the Heavenly Realm coming down here? The Heavenly Realm people I encountered before seemed to act furtively, both arrogant and cautious, as if they were afraid of something."

"That's right. I asked the Queen Mother of the West a similar question back then. She said that if the people of the Heavenly Realm acted in their full glory, they would be branded and assimilated into this world, making it difficult for them to return to the Heavenly Realm. I wonder if this was left by the Daoist sect. Only the Daoist sect here has always advocated for preventing contact with the Heavenly Realm."

......

Chu Mingkong's consciousness fully returned to his body, and in his field of vision was the bathtub he had entered countless times.

It was still so hot, and the pool water was still the same.

He reminisced about the conversation he had with the young woman before returning home:

"Grandma said that the people of the Heavenly Realm will not come down rashly, but they have other ways to operate indirectly here, which matches the information that the Asura King told us."

The one who had the ability to secretly tamper with the Yin-Yang Chaos Array back then must have brought down a Celestial Realm person at their peak strength. He is most likely now unable to return to the Celestial Realm, trapped in this world, operating covertly.

A subtly questioning voice interrupted his thoughts, and Balan, wrapped in a thin bath towel, appeared before him.

"Mingkong, have you run into some bad situation?"

Chapter 88 Isn't this a little too considerate?

While Balan was worried, he was also frightened.

The higher a person's level, the more confident and accepting they are of their own perception. However, she did not notice anyone when she first entered, and given the foggy environment, she did not immediately realize Chu Mingkong's presence.