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

He was just about to talk to Wan Xiangyu about this when he heard her message in his mind.

[Tuberose: An outsider has appeared in the forbidden area.]

Chu Mingkong sat up as if he had risen from the dead, amidst the warm embrace of Yongzhen and Madam Zhen, but then, as if remembering something, he immediately lay back down.

[Chu Mingkong: Is Donglu farming monsters for equipment?]

[Tuberose: She didn't come through a teleportation portal, but directly from the entrance to the forbidden area. None of the spiritual plants in the forbidden area attacked the woman.]

Chu Mingkong sat up as if he were doing a sit-up.

He finished explaining things to Yongzhen and Madam Zhen, then reluctantly left the boudoir. After changing his clothes, he immediately rushed to the outside of the Spirit Palace.

Not long after he left, Chu Mingkong saw the woman who had entered the forbidden area.

At a glance, Chu Mingkong was certain that she was a female cultivator from the Snow River Divine City.

Her long hair was as white as snow, her figure was slender and graceful, and her clothes were very light and cool, like a dancer's light gauze. When she walked, the light gauze fluttered and the semi-transparent fabric swayed like a dream.

At first glance, the woman appears to be barefoot, but she is actually wearing shoes made of transparent ice crystals, with the beauty of her jade-like feet faintly visible within the ice crystals.

As she walked, snowflakes drifted around her like willow catkins, exuding an impressive aura.

Chu Mingkong quickly made a judgment about the woman's strength—a Saint Venerable.

Zuo Donglu, who was meditating in front of the teleportation gate, looked at the teleportation gate in front of her with surprise, and then looked at the mysterious woman who appeared on Chu Mingkong's side. A look of doubt appeared on her calm expression.

It seems to be thinking, "How did my monsters spawn there?"

Just as Zuo Donglu was about to use her flying sword to fight, Chu Mingkong quickly stopped her.

"I am Chu Mingkong. May I ask what business this senior from Xuechuan Divine City has with you?" Chu Mingkong introduced himself politely.

This woman possessed a familiar aloofness, a quality that could be sensed by her master's wife, Yunhan, and most of the female cultivators in the Wenqing Pavilion.

"You may call me Binglan. Are you here to deal with Jianba Mountain?"

Why did you ask that so directly...?

Chu Mingkong was still pondering whether it was related to his master's wife's matter when he realized that the other party's purpose was this.

"Correct."

"I have been entrusted by the Lord of Xuechuan to deliver something to you to help you deal with Jianba Mountain."

A great sword of ice and snow appeared in the hands of the Ice Orchid Saint Venerable. The moment the sword appeared, the celestial phenomena in the forbidden area changed drastically, with light snow falling and spiritual plants covered with a layer of frost.

"This sword is formed from the power of the Lord of Snow River. It can unleash the full force of one of her attacks, but only one attack."

As the woman finished speaking, the sword's power receded, the celestial phenomena disappeared, and the ice and snow slowly melted away under the power of the forbidden area.

Chu Mingkong was puzzled:

"Why would someone offer me a helpful idea? There must be some other requirement or deal involved?"

Chapter 227 Her Kindness?

In Chu Mingkong's imagination, what was happening now involved a negotiation and game of rhetoric.

If you make a careless move, others will realize that you don't know much, and then your influence will plummet, or you might even be tricked out of your information.

However, to his surprise, the Holy Venerable from Snow River Divine City spoke much more bluntly than he had imagined.

"A transaction can indeed be understood in this way. You can even use this sword as a life-saving charm. It is enough to help you escape smoothly and protect your own safety after failing to deal with the Heavenly Sword God."

If you truly cannot escape, the Lord of Snow River will come to your rescue.

"It's frighteningly enthusiastic." Chu Mingkong shrugged, indicating that the other person could continue.

"And the Lord of Snow River hopes that after receiving this assistance, you will do something for him."

While conquering Sword Tyrant Mountain, they also gained the assistance of a powerful being of the same realm, and that being from Snow River Divine City no less...

This would undoubtedly be a great help to Chu Mingkong, but considering his master's wife and the other party's uninvited intention, Chu Mingkong felt he had to be cautious.

"Although I know you'll definitely keep me in suspense about this, I've spent a long time with a certain woman, so I'm asking anyway, just to see what happens."

What is this matter?

When his wife encountered such a situation, she would usually tell him everything directly. Of course, if there was something she couldn't say, she would clearly say that she couldn't say it for the time being.

They are straightforward and simple, and their conversations are direct and to the heart, without showing off any "experienced wisdom."

After a brief silence, seemingly in communication with the Snow River Divine City, Ice Orchid Saintess spoke:

"We can tell you that the Lord of Snow River wants you to take away the extreme Yin power from a certain item, which is equivalent to returning it to its rightful owner. This is very easy for you. Apart from that, we have no other requirements."

A single blow from a powerful being even includes "after-sales service"—if someone is unable to escape danger, the Lord of Snow River will personally intervene.

The bargaining chip was simply helping her remove the extreme yin energy from something...

This is an incredibly good deal, and Chu Mingkong even got a huge advantage!

However, Chu Mingkong noticed the phrase "returning things to their rightful owner" mentioned by the Ice Orchid Saint Venerable.

Returning the item to its rightful owner means that the wisp of extreme Yin energy originated from him. In that case, it seems that the Lord of Snow River wants him to remove the extreme Yin energy from the so-called Dao Fruit of his master's wife.

Chu Mingkong took a deep breath, his expression serious as he looked at the Xuechuan female cultivator before him. The words that had been accumulating in his heart were stuck in his throat for a long time before he finally spoke:

"Let me make my stance clear first: I do not agree to this deal. You can take the ice sword back."

When the Ice Orchid Saintess saw Chu Mingkong push the sword back, she didn't reach out to take it, but simply shook her head slightly.

"Don't think of this as a contract. You can think of this sword as a friendly opportunity for us to stand here and talk. You are free to use the power in this sword. However, in your time of crisis, it can also give you a chance to be rescued, and even save the women around you. This deal will only take effect when the Lord of Snow River takes action."

"It's incredibly generous, but if you mind if I ask one more question, why did this deal happen? What was the Lord of Snow River thinking?"

"Although you can easily defeat cultivators at the Saint Venerable level, those beings at the peak have reached an unimaginable level. Even if all the cultivators in the world were to be transformed into Saint Venerable cultivators to face these beings, it would still be difficult to confront them."

However, seeing your determination to go to Sword Tyrant Mountain, persuasion might not be effective. Therefore, considering certain karmic connections, the Lord of Snow River, as an observer, proposed this deal.

This straightforwardness really did have a bit of a "master's wife" feel to it, making Chu Mingkong feel a little nostalgic.

She can judge a matter without being influenced by emotions, and then tell you directly what she thinks.

From the perspective of the Snow River Lord, she must have known what level the others of the same realm had reached, which is why she approached Chu Mingkong in this way, giving him the option to retreat unscathed.

But this escape route comes at the cost of the master's wife...

"I'll say it again, I won't accept it. Since you're all so open about your intentions, I'll also share my own thoughts."

Chu Mingkong exhaled a breath of stale air, looked firmly at the Ice Orchid Saint, and said:

"Judging from your words, the Lord of Snow River already knows who I am and what my relationship is with her dream body, right? That wisp of extremely Yin power must have brought some trouble to the Lord of Snow River, such as erasing her dream body consciousness?"

That's something I don't want to do; it would be tantamount to me erasing all of my teacher's wife's efforts.

Perhaps the Lord of Snow River had anticipated his response, and the Ice Orchid Saintess had a follow-up message. She calmly stated:

"That was the dream form of the Lord of Snow River. The encounter was an accident, and the return of her Dao Fruit to its origin was inevitable."

“The encounter was naturally an accident. How could there be so many premeditated encounters? However, that wisp of extremely Yin power was a choice made by my master’s wife after careful consideration. It was not an accident, but only an accident for the Lord of Snow River.”

Upon hearing Chu Mingkong's words, the Ice Orchid Saintess was neither angered nor threatened with force; she simply nodded.

"Understood, I will pass on your message. Also, if you feel that the forbidden area of ​​the Spirit Palace is not safe enough, you can settle your female relatives in the Snow River Divine City. This is out of consideration for Xiao Yunhan's karma, so there is no need to worry about them being taken hostage."

Having said what needed to be said, Saint Venerable Binglan departed, leaving the sword behind for Chu Mingkong.

He stood there, lost in thought, lost in reverie.

"call--"

Zuo Donglu watched the figure of the Holy Venerable female cultivator disappear before saying:

"His actions are very similar to those of Pavilion Master Shen, somewhat...unconventional and upright?"

"Indeed, he is upright. The Lord of Xuechuan judged that we could not deal with that great being from Jianba Mountain, so he extended an olive branch in advance, asking me to help remove the 'rules' set by his master's wife, and even told me his plans openly."

"They could have easily said something else, like if we didn't help her remove the extreme yin power, they would join forces with Sword Tyrant Mountain to suppress me..."

The other party's neutral yet friendly attitude left Chu Mingkong feeling inexplicably lost and sad.

In this unfamiliar world, how can one not feel disappointed when encountering someone with a similar style of doing things, but who is not the person one is familiar with?

However, the arrival of this Ice Orchid Saint Venerable also indirectly told Chu Mingkong that his master's wife had indeed succeeded in a certain sense, at least for the time being.

Even the Lord of Snow River was stumped by her scheme and had no choice but to make contact with him, Chu Mingkong.

"The Lord of Snow River judged that I couldn't deal with the Heavenly Sword God, so I can only show it to her. Not only can I not use this sword to escape, but I also have to use this sword to kill the Heavenly Sword God!"

We really need to hurry up and "smuggle" back to our hometown. The more strength we accumulate, the bigger the surprise we can give to the Heavenly Sword God!

Chapter 228 Tuberose Petals

Chu Mingkong quickly found the tuberose.

For some reason, Jin Yu was also looking for her, but judging from Jin Yu's expression, her attempt to harass her had failed.

It was much easier for Chu Mingkong to find Wan Xiangyu. He avoided Jin Yu to prevent them from ending up in a room while chatting.

Through the mark of the demon, Chu Mingkong gave a command to the tuberose jade. The flower-bearing beauty quickly emerged from the flower bushes, her dress brushing past the flowerbed without harming a single leaf.

"What is it?" Wan Xiangyu asked curtly, her tone indifferent.

Chu Mingkong and this girl actually had very little emotional interaction. Now that she had taken human form, Chu Mingkong really couldn't be as ruthless and crude as before.

"...to cultivate with you."

"Cultivation?"

Tuberose instinctively pulled the flower from her lips. The petals didn't disappear; instead, they curled up into buds to prevent him from doing anything reckless.

During this time, she had been in contact with Ke Qing and learned a lot about Chu Mingkong through Ke Qing. Naturally, she also knew what the word "cultivation" meant to Chu Mingkong.

However, she was still somewhat surprised. This guy had always been forceful before, but now he was... asking for her opinion?!

Chu Mingkong, on the other hand, appeared refined and cultured, yet spoke in a gentle tone, uttering the most domineering words:

"Yes, but Tulip, you have to forgive me. I didn't come here to discuss this with you; I'm just forcing you to accept this because I feel guilty. I'm truly sorry..."