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

"What are you doing? I'm going to ask them where they're taking my mother. She's seriously ill and can't be jostled around; it'll make her uncomfortable!" The little white fox, being held by the scruff of its neck, swung its four legs wildly, as if it were punching the air.

Chu Mingkong said wearily:

"This situation looks like something bad is about to happen. Let's see what they're up to. It won't harm your mother. We've already got the withered grass; it'll heal her in a bit."

Yun Nongyu's opinion was similar to Chu Mingkong's. Since they were unfamiliar with the area, they decided to listen to what was going on in secret before making any further decisions.

However, it seems that these demon men are plotting against the little fox's mother.

"Little Zhu Yan, who are these demons? Do you recognize them?"

“I know them. Two of them are our demon chief’s personal guards, and the other two are his personal guards.”

As he spoke, the little fox held his breath, his dark eyes filled with astonishment.

Because Chu Mingkong had already brought her close to the demon guards, almost touching their backs, but these people were completely unaware. Among these guards was one who was known for his keen senses, and the demons relied on him to avoid danger during their migrations.

Only a complete and overwhelming advantage in cultivation level can achieve such a level!

Who exactly are these people? From the moment we met them, their origins seemed incredibly mysterious; they appeared to have emerged from the forbidden area of ​​the Illusionary Palace.

Xiao Zhuyan's wild thoughts quickly came to an end as the guards began to talk.

"Songhua, who among you will take action and dig out her demon core? The leader said that as long as we dig out her demon core and hand it over, we won't have to hand over any demon cores to the monks as incense offerings for a long time to come. Whatever we cultivate will be ours!"

It was unclear whether the speaker was from the bee or fly tribe; its eyes were a solid black with no pupils, its body was covered in fine hairs, and its body was quite slender.

The person who responded was much more normal. He was a werewolf with distinctive features—a wolf's head, but fur like a large yellow dog. The yellow wolf said:

“I’m not good at this, you do it yourself. But I don’t quite understand why Zhu Tong’s cultivation is progressing so well, and she doesn’t usually disobey the leader. Why release demonic miasma to harm her? Wouldn’t it be better for the demon tribe to have another capable fighter? They’ll have a better chance of winning when they encounter other tribes in the future.”

Beside the black-eyed bee-man was a red-eyed fly-man, who sneered:

"You don't understand at all. Zhu Tong hasn't disobeyed the leader much, but she hasn't tried to please him either. Besides, she's only been in our demon tribe for about thirty years and hasn't gotten to know the place yet. Her cultivation level has unknowingly risen to almost surpass the leader's, threatening the leader's position. How can we not get rid of her?"

"Huh? Does that mean I'll be in danger too?"

"I'll have to teach you. When you feel your cultivation is about to collapse, either leave early, or offer the leader more demon core essence on ordinary days to show that you're on his side. Ultimately, it's because you haven't mastered interpersonal skills. How can you be so aloof? If you're so aloof, then we'll deal with you!"

The configuration of these four guards is roughly two insect demons and two werewolves. The other werewolf's fur also has a bit of a mongrel dog feel to it, giving it a very rustic vibe.

He rubbed his hands together, looked at Zhu Tong's delicate body, and said:

"Now that we've extracted her demon core, can we devour her body? Zhu Tong possesses a rare, flawless cultivation level, and her delicate skin and flesh would be a great tonic!"

"Eat if you miss! Her spiritual veins have been corroded by demonic miasma, and her whole body is poisonous!"

Listening to the demon guards' conversation, Zhu Yan's face turned ashen, filled with disbelief.

Chu Mingkong felt that it was not urgent to confirm whether the little white fox's mother was good or bad, but these guards did not need to be spared.

He dispelled the Domain of Annihilation, and the four demons suddenly felt a chill run down their spines, realizing that a stranger's aura had suddenly appeared behind them.

"Who goes there!" Before anyone could answer, they immediately prepared to retaliate, each unleashing their deadly moves and summoning their magical treasures.

Chu Mingkong had already fought against the people of the Heavenly Domain when he was in the Lower Domain. This time, his opponents were not as formidable as the Smiling Buddha and his group, but given the unfamiliar environment, Chu Mingkong dared not underestimate them.

The black flames in her palms surrounded the four of them like fiery pincers. The sword intent phantom formed by the Xuan Nu's sword intent quietly appeared and swept across the demon guards' attention mercilessly while they were focused on the black flames.

"What kind of flame is this? Something's not right. My senses can't detect what it is... Ah!!"

As the group guarded against the flames, a sneak attack from the sword severed them in half at the waist. They had no strength left to resist the extreme yin flames, and their bodies were instantly reduced to nothing, leaving not even ashes.

However, the soul realm of these guards was indeed remarkable. Despite such a merciless annihilation, the soul of the fly-man among them actually survived and attempted to escape completely unharmed.

"Don't even think about escaping." Yun Nongyu raised her slender hand, her skin as smooth as jade, and a golden lightning bolt flew from her fingertip.

Under her control, the raging thunderbolts interlocked into chains, vaguely revealing some of the divine essence of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. It was similar to the shackles of Heaven and Earth that the Smiling Buddha had summoned when he counterattacked that day, as if it were a deduction of those shackles of Heaven and Earth.

The fly-man's soul fell to the ground, unable to move. Where the soul touched the chains, black char appeared, and occasionally a "sizzling" sound of roasting meat could be heard.

In the blink of an eye, almost all of the demon's personal guards were wiped out, leaving only one survivor.

The little white fox was so frightened that it couldn't speak. What kind of beings were these people it had encountered in the forbidden area of ​​the Illusion Palace? Could they be cultivators from those powerful forces?

Otherwise, how could he be so powerful!

Chu Mingkong ignored the little fox's surprise. He activated his Annihilation Domain, trapping the prisoner within to prevent him from using any strange methods to tip off the enemy and alert them.

Chu Mingkong remained cautious in areas where temple complexes were located.

Yun Nongyu, the clumsy little white fox, was comforted by the side, and then, with the help of Su Nu's medical skills, she began to treat the big white fox.

She crushed the withered grass and squeezed the juice onto the white fox's skin, dripping it onto the fox's meridians. As she squeezed out the juice, the herb cried incessantly, which was quite annoying to hear.

With the help of Su Nu's power, the medicine took effect more quickly, and soon the white fox Zhu Tong showed signs of waking up.

"Mother! You're finally all better! Is there anything else that's bothering you?" Little Zhu Yan was always on her own; she had just been terrified by the purpose of Chu Mingkong and his mysterious group, but now she was only concerned about her mother.

Chu Mingkong breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the patient wake up. Although he already had a prisoner, having another person to ask for information was always a good thing!

Chapter 142 Not Enough Time

Chu Mingkong was surprised by the fly-man's soul. The current situation was actually somewhat similar to the soul-searching technique he had used a long time ago.

But when the soul was searched back then, it was basically a remnant soul, only unconsciously recounting the remaining memories. But this fly-man clearly retained consciousness and even knew how to escape.

Is this the difference between cultivating one's spirit and not cultivating it?

Chu Mingkong's attention was temporarily focused on the little white fox's mother. After a brief negotiation and explanation, Zhu Tong learned the reason for the matter, with the little white fox Zhu Yan assisting in the explanation.

However, Zhu Tong had just regained consciousness and needed some time to sort out her thoughts, so Chu Mingkong had no choice but to join Zuo Qiuchi and the others in dealing with that fly-man.

"The Heavenly Realm is indeed vast and full of wonders. I've never heard of a fly race before. Is it possible for any creature to cultivate?" Zuo Qiuchi sighed, then thought of mosquitoes, cockroaches, rats, maggots...

She was disgusted by her own imagination, shuddered, and rubbed the goosebumps that had risen on her arms.

Because they were afraid the flies might make some noise and attack them, or send messages to the temple, the fly-man's mouth was sealed.

Chu Mingkong asked:

“Nongyu, he’s conscious now, so he might get false information from us. Is there any way to kill his soul and then search it out for more reliable information?”

Hearing these treacherous words, the little white fox was so frightened that it hid in its mother's arms, burying its small body completely in the soft and crowded crevice.

Yun Nongyu shook her head: "If the soul is scattered, then it is completely gone. We can only ask first, and the information obtained should only be used as a reference and not completely trusted."

Knowing he was doomed to die anyway, the fly-man chose to remain silent as a final act of resistance, determined not to let his opponent obtain the information to his satisfaction before killing him.

Chu Mingkong and the others expressed their full understanding and affirmation of him, so they let Yun Nongyu practice on him, using the lightning shackles they had deduced to punish the fly's soul.

Before long, the demon guard who had miraculously survived was completely annihilated.

“Nongyu, these shackles don’t seem to be any kind of skill from a martial arts technique, do they? They look like the Heaven and Earth Shackles that the Smiling Buddha used when he led people to fight the Sword Dynasty.”

“Yes.” Yun Nongyu nodded in affirmation. “After returning that day, I thought about those shackles and felt that they were infinitely mysterious and extremely powerful. I also used the Daoist principles to help me comprehend them.”

"Your Daoist charm is really excessive. You have an innate affinity for everything, which makes me love holding you so much that I can't put you down and sleep exceptionally soundly..." Zuo Qiuchi said as if she wouldn't be able to sleep in late without Yun Nongyu.

In this discussion, Zuo Donglu's focus was relatively normal; she analyzed the cultivation levels of those people from earlier:

"These guards are all at the late stage of the sixth level of the Divine Soul Realm, but their physical bodies are at most at the fifth level. Zhu Tong's cultivation level is at the mid stage of the sixth level without any flaws... The leader of that demon tribe can't be that strong."

"Hey, Donglu, how can you talk about someone's cultivation level in front of them? At least talk about it behind their back! That's impolite!" Zuo Qiuchi reminded his sister to be careful.

Zuo Donglu's analysis was indeed correct. Judging from the few people they had encountered so far, the demon tribe as a whole was not very strong. These guards did not have much ability to fight back, and the leader's abilities were unlikely to pose a threat to Chu Mingkong and his group.

If the elders of the sects in the lower realms were to come and fight against these cultivators from the demon tribe, they would probably be evenly matched, it would just depend on who makes the first move.

These cultivators from the Demon Clan couldn't defend against a slap from pure physical strength, but the sect elders from the lower realms couldn't defend against the Demon Clan's soul attack either. Whoever encountered the other first would win.

The discussion here naturally did not escape the ears of the white fox mother and daughter.

Xiao Zhuyan became even more worried. Her two fluffy ears peeked out from under the ditch, and her eyes darted around furtively towards Chu Mingkong.

"Mother, what should we do? They don't sound like good people!"

"These are the people you brought. In fact, they not only rescued you from the forbidden area of ​​the Illusionary Palace, but also saved me from the demonic miasma that had entered my body..." Zhu Tong sighed deeply, but she was sighing at Zhu Yan's head.

"Then the person I brought must be a good one, Mother. Aren't I good at recognizing talent?" The little white fox seemed to have lost a screw, and now she only remembered the happy things.

Zhu Tong was even more helpless, but that's just how this little one is. Every time she looks silly, she always manages to stumble upon something, and you can't find a reason to scold her.

However, Zhu Tong really liked this silly Lefu's daughter, and instead praised her:

"Awesome!"

"Hee hee~"

Chu Mingkong figured that Zhu Tong should be mostly awake by now, so he went to stand in front of her.

The most distinctive feature of this white-furred fox mother is her pair of white fox ears; otherwise, she is almost identical to a human, even hiding her fox tail.

She has a beautiful oval face, with fair skin that matches her fur color. Her overall appearance is also slightly youthful, with crescent-shaped eyebrows and eyes. What seems out of place with her childlike face is the deep ravine hidden beneath the little white fox's skin.

Chu Mingkong is mostly surrounded by girls with a strong, domineering presence; someone like Zhu Tong is truly a rare find.

"My name is Chu Mingkong. It's not convenient to explain my background. I have a few questions for you, consider it as you repaying the debt of saving my life." Chu Mingkong stated his purpose directly, skipping the pleasantries.

Time is very important to him.

Zhu Tong understood the other party's attitude and, without being tactless, replied simply, "Please speak."

Do you know about the Jianmu tree?

"I've heard of it, but I've never actually been there. I heard that a long time ago, the Heavenly Demon Clan occupied that place and turned it into a temporary settlement for them, preventing others from getting close."

Jianmu seems to be a secret realm, a passage connecting the celestial realm with the lower realm.

They know quite a lot, more than those in the lower realms. In fact, even Yun Nongyu only knew that there was a Jade Pool inside the Heavenly Gate, a sacred place of the Daoist sect, but knew very little about the Jianmu.

Chu Mingkong was afraid that the people of the Heavenly Domain would not know Jianmu, or that Jianmu was called differently here, which would make it difficult to find out.

"A map, a map of this world, would be best if it could mark the location of Jianmu... By the way, how far is Jianmu from here?"

Faced with this question, the white fox mother, with her youthful face and large breasts, looked troubled:

"It's not that I'm unwilling to give you a map, but that I don't have one. This world is vast, and there isn't a single map that truly fits together. If you only want to know about local cities and factions, you can only buy them from information brokers, and they're very expensive... But I do know the general location of Jianmu."

As for the distance, if we don't encounter anyone blocking the way, at this speed it would take about four months to reach the location of Jianmu.

Zhu Tong used her movement technique, becoming very fast. She circled around several times, leaving several afterimages in her wake, indicating that this was the speed she had just mentioned.

"This is troublesome. We don't have that much time. It will take at least a month and more to travel..." Chu Mingkong suddenly said, "Is there any other way to shorten the journey?"