It turns out, they were the main characters.

"With my upright character, I would never do such a thing. But perhaps in the old demon's eyes, I am that kind of person," Mu Zhi'an said with a smile.

The "Friend of Villains" bonus makes Mu Zhi'an naturally "favored" by villains, which is why Mu Zhi'an was approached by several "villains" in the past.

Yan Ruyu lightly tapped the table with her slender, jade-like fingers, then a faint smile appeared on her face as she said, "Alright, I'll accompany you back to Tianxuan City."

If the cultivators who have advanced to the Returning to the Void Realm in Tianxuan City this time are indeed backed by demon cultivators, then we certainly cannot sit idly by.

Even without demon cultivators, this is still a valid reason.

A reason to go down the mountain and secretly protect Mu Zhian.

"Thank you, Master!" Mu Zhian said with gratitude.

"Just call me Pavilion Master," Yan Ruyu said with a faint smile.

Calling her "master" always made her feel strange.

After all, her real reason for taking Mu Zhian as an inner disciple was actually for...

Mu Zhian thanked her again, and then took his leave of Yan Ruyu.

After returning to Tianhe Garden, Mu Zhian knocked on Linglong's door.

“Aaa?” came the lazy response from inside.

"I'm planning to go down the mountain. Would you like to come back with me, Sister Lin Ling?" Mu Zhi'an asked.

Linglong ignored him.

"Tianxuan City has a lot of delicious food," Mu Zhian continued.

crunch.

The door was quietly pushed open, revealing the delicate and sweet face of the silver-haired beauty. Lin Ling raised her head, her bright red eyes sparkling like stars, full of anticipation.

Gazing at Lin Ling's exquisite face, Mu Zhi'an revealed a gentle smile.

For Tianxuan City, the realm of terrestrial immortals was undoubtedly a devastating blow.

For most cultivators, the Returning to the Void Realm is a realm they can never reach in their lifetime.

Gongsun Xiong is now like a big fish in Tianxuan City, enough to cause huge waves.

but……

Even the biggest fish is just food for great white sharks.

Chapter 182 Spirit Dragon: Little Brother, what's wrong with you? (4K)

In fact, for Mu Zhian, the conclusion that someone wanted to frame the Liangyi Sect and make him hate them was very easy to reach.

And it's not hard to guess that the person who wanted to do this was a demon cultivator from the previous dynasty.

The intelligence gap between the two sides was simply too large.

Even if the other party racked their brains, they could never guess the relationship between Mu Zhian and Linglong, and they would never have imagined that Mu Zhian was the sect leader's pen pal a long time ago.

Ultimately, even if Mu Zhi'an said such an outrageous thing to the old demon's face, the other party would just laugh it off.

Lan Shijie is also Mu Zhian's crush, and Ying Guhuan and Mu Zhian have a close relationship. They are the kind of people who might become close friends in a month or two.

Ying Guhuan is the seventh seat in the demon realm. Without Ying Guhuan's instruction, how could the demon cultivators in the sect secretly help Gongsun Xiong?

The people who would help Gongsun Xiong deal with Mu Zhian are either from the forbidden zone or Ye Yu.

The former lacked both the courage and the ability, while the latter... Ye Yu was the chosen one, but with his current level, he couldn't help Gongsun Xiong with such a big favor either.

Besides, Ye Yu doesn't have that kind of brain.

If it wasn't the work of sect cultivators or sect demon cultivators, then who could it be?

The answer then becomes clear.

The remnants of the demonic cultivators of the previous dynasty.

Of course, this is just speculation so far. Mu Zhian doesn't know the reasons behind it, nor does he need to know them now.

From the very beginning, it didn't matter whether it was the old demon's subordinates causing trouble; what mattered was 'inviting' the chief disciple down the mountain.

The intelligence gap between the two sides already doomed this conspiracy to be nothing more than a farcical clown show.

All Mu Zhian had to do was be a spectator and watch the clown perform on stage.

Should we go straight back to the pastor's house?

On the way away from Liangyi Sect on her flying sword, Wei Mengrou suddenly asked a question.

Mu Zhian shook his head slightly and said, "Let's go to the Bai family first."

Two other chiefs followed some distance behind the two men.

The first head of Canghai Peak was Ying Guhuan, and there was another person, Yan Ruyu, the head of the library.

Because of their special identities, the two did not choose to travel with Mu Zhian, but instead kept a distance from each other.

Above Mu Zhian's head, a handsome and majestic spirit dragon floated in mid-air, looking quite lazy and comfortable.

However, he also kept a distance from Mu Zhian.

Mu Zhian didn't mind, since he had already achieved his goal.

The remaining task is to first determine whether your previous judgment was accurate.

Therefore, he needed to go to the Bai family first to consult his future mother-in-law.

……

White House.

Wearing a loose-fitting robe, the voluptuous and alluring matriarch of the Bai family sat in the side hall, gazing at the young man who had not returned for nearly half a year after abducting her daughter.

"Nephew Mu, you've come back at this time, so you must already know what happened?" Bai Yuanfeng asked with a gentle smile.

She wanted to ask about Bai Ruoxi, but she knew that the more important thing right now was the special situation on Gongsun Xiong's side.

Mu Zhian nodded slightly and said, "Gongsun Xiong's advancement to the Void Returning Realm is such a big event that even the Liangyi Sect can detect it."

"I came to see your mother about this matter."

"Are you asking me whether Gongsun Xiong has taken Tongmai Pills?" Bai Yuanfeng asked.

Dealing with smart people is so easy... Mu Zhian nodded slightly.

Bai Yuanfeng said quietly, "I saw Gongsun Xiong take the Meridian-Opening Pill with my own eyes."

"And after that, Gongsun Xiong's strength did indeed gradually decline."

Mu Zhian didn't speak, but just stared at the woman who looked quite similar to Bai Ruoxi, knowing that she hadn't finished speaking.

"Who would have thought that just three days ago, Gongsun Xiong suddenly broke through the peak of the Refining Spirit realm and entered the Returning to Emptiness realm?" Bai Yuanfeng's eyes also showed a hint of disbelief as she said this.

She must have tampered with the Meridian-Opening Pill without Gongsun Xiong noticing, and Gongsun Xiong's strength did indeed gradually weaken after taking the pill.

Under these circumstances, how could he possibly endure the severe side effects of the Meridian Unblocking Pill and forcefully break through to the Void Returning Realm?

However, Mu Zhian's eyes held a thoughtful expression.

Now that it's confirmed that Gongsun Xiong took the Tongmai Pill, it's also basically certain that his previous guess was correct.

Gongsun Xiong did not advance to the Void Returning Realm without reason; someone was secretly helping him.

The people who helped him were most likely demon cultivators from the old demon's faction.

In this way, everything makes sense.

"What does your nephew Mu plan to do now?" Bai Yuanfeng asked suddenly, looking at the thoughtful young man.

"The Return to the Void Realm is an existence that I cannot reach for the time being."

Under the gaze of the Bai family matriarch, Mu Zhian revealed a gentle smile: "However... there are many people who are better at eliminating demons and protecting the righteous path than I am."

Noticing the doubt in Bai Yuanfeng's eyes, Mu Zhian did not offer any further explanation. Instead, she turned and stood at the entrance of the side hall, appearing as a well-behaved and quiet woman.

Upon seeing this, Bai Yuanfeng followed the gaze.

The woman had silver hair, wore a simple long robe, had a beautiful and delicate face, skin as smooth as jade, and a radiant gaze.

Holding the last steamed bun she had just taken out of her storage ring, she wore a pair of small boots embroidered with faint patterns under her plain robe, revealing glimpses of her snow-white calves between the boots and the robe.

A pair of slender hands peeked out from her sleeves, holding a steamed bun and quietly munching on it.

"Who is this...?" A hint of doubt appeared in Bai Yuanfeng's eyes.

She was a cultivator at the Refining Spirit Realm, yet she couldn't see through the other person's realm; he seemed to be just an ordinary person.

Regardless of her clothes or her aura, she seemed like an ordinary girl, only with exceptional looks.

“A friend of mine, I brought her down for some snacks,” Mu Zhian said with a smile.

Bai Yuanfeng couldn't help but glance at Mu Zhian and warned, "You should know just how dangerous Tianxuan City is right now, right? If Gongsun Xiong finds something wrong with you while you're out with a girl, it'll be a real problem."

Mu Zhian was a disciple of the sect, and he even had the sect's token hanging from his waist, so Gongsun Xiong naturally dared not lay a hand on him.

But the girl outside had nothing there. If Gongsun Xiong were to target her and make a big deal out of it...

Mu Zhian silently watched the silver-haired beauty who was carefree, quietly munching on a steamed bun, and said with a faint smile, "Auntie, have you ever heard of a word?"

He turned to look at Bai Yuanfeng and laughed, "Call it 'entrapment enforcement'."

……

The Gongsun family.

Gongsun Xiong was leisurely drinking tea in the side hall when he suddenly heard a servant enter the side hall to deliver a message.

"Master, as expected, Master Ren refused."

Gongsun Xiong seemed unsurprised. He gently put down his teacup and smiled, "It seems that alchemists are alchemists after all; they still have a lot of dignity."

The servant stood respectfully to the side, glanced at Gongsun Xiong tentatively, and asked, "Master, what should we do now?"

"If he refuses to do me the honor, then I will have to go and invite him myself." Gongsun Xiong smiled calmly.

Master Ren holds an extremely high position in Tianxuan City, primarily because he is the person with the highest alchemy skills in the city.

The best way to alleviate the effects of the tampered Meridian Opening Pill is to have Elder Ren refine another Meridian Opening Pill for him.