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

Just like in the Tianji Empire, the maids of wealthy families were sold by their parents for money before they even "joined the workforce".

Considering that there are not many human cultivators in the Heavenly Realm, and that many cultivators are of other races, the difference between these battle slaves and spirit pets may be whether they have intelligence or can take human form.

Feng Ying watched the two cultivators who had just spoken leave, and said to Chu Mingkong:

"What they meant just now was that Sword Tyrant Mountain was secretly capturing people to take back to their own holy land as slaves, and that they weren't actually buying them legitimately at all, so we should be careful."

Sword Tyrant Mountain captures slaves to become disciples? Each of them is a sword in their true form; do they have proper methods for training disciples?

Chu Mingkong was about to discuss this further, but had to stop.

Because the Jianba Mountain team appeared.

The long procession resembled a prisoner being paraded through the streets, with sword cultivators walking alongside to escort them. These sword cultivators were of considerable skill, ranging from the sixth to the seventh rank.

Chu Ming was surprised; why were the enemies he was encountering getting lower and lower level?

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Once they reach the eighth-order Sainthood realm, these cultivators naturally wouldn't do something like "recruiting disciples in bulk."

"Little Zhu Yan is in this group, she should be in those cages, but there's only Little Zhu Yan's, I haven't found Zhu Tong's." Yun Nongyu got closer and clearly caught the little guy's scent!

"How about we play the long game, see where these sword cultivators are headed? If we follow them, we can ensure the little fox's safety." Feng Ying, true to his professional instincts, thought he could use this to extract more information.

However, the situation did not allow them to discuss too much, because the sword cultivators of Sword Tyrant Mountain stopped and prepared to create a small teleportation array to teleport directly to another major city, hoping to use it as a transfer point to return to the holy land of Sword Tyrant Mountain.

Since the other side has already used a teleportation array, Chu Mingkong has no choice but to rescue the little fox first.

Otherwise, if the other party teleports away, it will be difficult to track them down. At present, we have not planned to go to the point of challenging Sword Tyrant Mountain.

"I was thinking of enduring all the way, concealing my whereabouts, and reserving my precious first attack for some big shot, at least a powerful Saint Venerable. I didn't expect that I would have to make a move openly at this time."

The independent cultivators near the street were relieved to see the sword cultivators from Sword Tyrant Mountain preparing to form an array and leave.

The two cultivators who had just spoken with Chu Mingkong also breathed a sigh of relief, with the one who spoke more confidently saying:

"You shouldn't have answered that cultivator from out of town. Wouldn't it have been enough to just say 'I don't know, I'm from out of town too'? If you had been too talkative and it had gotten back to the top talents of Sword Tyrant Mountain, I would have been implicated and killed by you!"

"This... is just a casual reply."

A sudden, startling sound was accompanied by a powerful surge of energy from the collision.

The two were immediately horrified.

"See? I told you so! Something really happened. I wonder if it was because that talkative man got a beating. Let's take a look and get out of here quickly!"

Their gazes swept over, only to find that the man who had just asked for directions had directly attacked the Sword Tyrant Mountain team!

Chapter 216 Fleeting Moments

The sword cultivator guards of Sword Tyrant Mountain died peacefully.

The leading swordsman who was the first to confront Chu Mingkong couldn't understand why, even though he wasn't careless, all his defenses were instantly annihilated when the opponent's halberd came crashing down. Not only was the circle knocked out, but the sword itself also collapsed and shattered.

Because the cultivators of the Heavenly Realm possessed powerful divine souls, the collapse of the sword cultivator's divine soul lagged slightly behind that of his sword before his death.

He saw that his sword intent and cultivation were nothing in front of this person, and it ended like a child's play.

This is a problem with my cultivation level.

Or is there something wrong somewhere?!

"What's this......?"

The remaining soul of the leading swordsman turned its attention to its companion.

His companions were fighting against two women. These companions were all quite powerful, but they were struggling to gain the upper hand against the two women. This was due to the suppression of their cultivation levels!

Immediately afterwards, the mysterious man who had been hitting people with the halberd began to support his female companion.

Like a sledgehammer striking a mole, he effortlessly leaped over and swung the halberd down.

The sword cultivators were forced out of their physical forms one after another, their swords shattering, leaving them with no ability to resist.

This is not just a crushing defeat in terms of realm, but also a terrifying suppression in terms of power system!

However, seeing his fellow disciples die so tragically, the leading sword cultivator's soul revealed a trace of relief in its final moments.

"So it wasn't me who had the problem..."

In the blink of an eye, the sword cultivators from Sword Tyrant Mountain were killed on the spot. There was no unnecessary stalemate or shouting; they simply jumped over, each of them striking once, and the battle was over.

The main street was even quieter than when the cultivators from Sword Tyrant Mountain had first passed by.

Chu Mingkong sheathed the Black Python Halberd, stroked his chin, and said nostalgically:

"When was the last time I beat someone up on the street...? It seems like it was after I came out of Yongzhen's courtyard and killed the prince. It was about the same feeling of one punch to kill someone... It's been so long in the blink of an eye."

He didn't let his emotions linger; he quickly went over to check on the little white fox's location.

The nearby independent cultivators were all stunned, and it took them a long time to come back to their senses.

"Not only did they disrupt the Sword Tyrant Mountain's disciple-recruiting team, they also killed their cultivators...?"

"Such strength must come from some major power, but his methods don't seem to be from any of the major powers we are familiar with."

"How can you tell the pattern if someone is killed with a single blow of a halberd?"

"Could he be a Saint, or even a rogue cultivator at the Saint Venerable realm? I've never heard of such a person before!"

The two cultivators who had spoken to Chu Mingkong earlier were still in a daze, and the one with the big mouth was even more belatedly frightened and broke out in a cold sweat.

"This seemingly ignorant... bah! shrewd and detached expert is actually even more terrifying than the cultivators of Sword Tyrant Mountain, killing without hesitation..."

The surrounding noises did not affect Chu Mingkong and the others' pace.

Yun Nongyu sensed Xiao Zhuyan's presence and walked gracefully to the cage where the spirit pet was kept.

The cage was very crowded, with no place for each spirit pet to stand. They were simply crammed in and pressed down like cargo. Many spirit pets that had not yet developed their intelligence had their necks twisted and pressed against the edge of the cage, which was heartbreaking to see.

This doesn't seem like they're going to take her back as a disciple; it looks more like they're going to use her as material for some other purpose.

Upon seeing Yun Nongyu and the others, these spirit pets instinctively looked at each other with pleading eyes.

"Where is Xiao Zhuyan? I can't see your white tail." Chu Mingkong walked over and called out.

After waiting for a while, the little white fox finally made a sound from inside the cage:

"Eh... Is that you, sir? It's me, Zhu Yan! I'm in the middle, squeezed into a ball, I can't see where you are!"

Why are they introducing themselves by their names now...?

Chu Mingkong smiled, then opened the cage and pulled out the few spirit pets blocking the way. He then saw the pitiful little fox in the middle.

It's likely she disguised herself when she went out; her beautiful white fur was hidden, replaced by brown fur, making her look like a raccoon.

Upon seeing Chu Mingkong, the little fox stretched, removed its disguise, and ran over to him with teary eyes.

"This is the little white fox you mentioned. Where is the big fox?" Feng Ying asked, his gaze fixed on the cage, but he didn't see any other foxes.

Upon hearing Feng Ying mention her mother, the little white fox became even more anxious, its little paws gripping and shaking Chu Mingkong's trouser leg.

"My lord... my mother... she... the demon..." The little fox made the mistake of failing to explain the information clearly again.

Chu Mingkong lifted her onto his shoulder, looked around, and said:

"Let's go, let me take you somewhere else first, and we'll talk about it after we've settled down."

Beside the beast cage was a string of battle slaves bound by restrictions, some of whom were cultivators secretly captured by Sword Tyrant Mountain.

"Sir, please save us!"

"We were arrested innocently, you can't just stand by and watch us die!"

"I am willing to become your war slave, and I beg you to save me from the clutches of Sword Tyrant Mountain!"

Yun Nongyu gently shook her head at Chu Mingkong and whispered:

"The way this restriction is set up means that releasing one of them is equivalent to releasing everyone. Among these war slaves, some are involved in gambling, mostly ambushed by cultivators from Sword Tyrant Mountain while visiting illegal gambling dens, while others have blood on their hands and are being sold cheaply as war slaves..."

Chu Mingkong understood what she meant. She was saying that helping these people indiscriminately might be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains, or even condoning these war slaves to continue committing evil deeds.

Good intentions don't necessarily lead to positive karma; they might even bring you negative consequences and karmic retribution.

"But there must be some good people among them, right?"

"Perhaps there is, but I can't be completely certain... Mingkong, I may be cold and heartless to say this, but at times like this, we should avoid getting involved in karma. Mingkong, you have already helped them get rid of the guards who were escorting them. If they are determined to escape, they will work together to break the restriction. What happens afterward is their own karma."

“Indeed, people who don’t even want to live are not worth helping.” Feng Ying remained as indifferent as ever to outsiders, making decisive decisions.

Chu Mingkong naturally listened to the women, and besides, his mind wasn't on these war slaves.

He concealed his tracks, moved to the outskirts of the city, and after some effort, finally figured out the message the little fox wanted to convey—

After news of the incident at the Spirit Palace Forbidden Area spread, several powerful forces in nearby cities offered bounties to obtain details of the situation. The outsiders who knew the most about Chu Mingkong and his companions, besides the rogue cultivators who were just watching and the Buddhist monks who suffered a great loss, were the demon tribe members who were also rescued.

Some desperate demon tribes, in order to win the bounty, revealed the detailed characteristics of Zhu Tong and her daughter. As a result, they did not receive the bounty, but were instead captured and "accepted as disciples" by Jianba Mountain on the spot.

Among the cultivators of Sword Tyrant Mountain, there was a sword intent master who could see through false pretenses and disguises. He saw through Zhu Tong's disguise and thus witnessed Zhu Tong's true white fox form.

They were arrested on the spot and interrogated directly for information about the forbidden area of ​​the Spirit Palace.

Zhu Tong probably thought that the tuberose would not open the portal anytime soon, so he used the fabricated information that "the portal will open once in a few days" as intelligence to divert the sword cultivator's attention and buy time for Xiao Zhu Yan.

As a result, little Zhu Yan ran away on her own and ended up in the beast cage of Jianba Mountain.

All of this happened a few days ago. Zhu Tong had already been sent away in the previous group, while Xiao Zhu Yan's group of "spirit pets" postponed their departure time in order to gather more people.

In short, the little white fox stumbled around and escaped danger, until Chu Mingkong and the others arrived to "protect" her, but Zhu Tong had already been sent away.

"The demon tribe is really having a good 'connection' with us, what kind of situation is this...?"

Chu Mingkong had a terrible headache.

Chapter 217 Long Hair

Many times, the starting point for helping others is simply to help them, without seeking any reward or good outcome. However, sometimes, let alone good karma, it's a blessing if we don't suffer any backlash.

Yun Nongyu comforted her, saying:

"This is because everyone has their own destiny. If you interfere with cause and effect, you will naturally be entangled in all sorts of entanglements with that cause and effect. It is by no means easy to get rid of it. Even when people die, it may affect their descendants."