It turns out, they were the main characters.

For both the Liangyi Sect and the demon realm, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

……

The Gongsun family.

Gongsun Cheng sat absentmindedly in the hall, waiting for his father's return.

He had just returned to Tianxuan City not long ago, expecting to be greeted by the Gongsun family, but when he returned, there was nothing there, and his father, who had recently advanced to the Returning to the Void Realm, was nowhere to be seen.

According to the clan elders, he seemed to have left for some reason.

Just then, a servant hurried in, cupped his fists, and said, "Fourth Young Master, Master has returned!"

Gongsun Cheng's face lit up with joy. He couldn't wait to help his father reclaim everything that had been taken over by the Mu family!

However, just as he got up, he saw a familiar figure walk into the hall.

"Mu Zhian?"

Gongsun Cheng's face immediately darkened, and he said coldly, "What are you doing here?"

"You'll have to ask your father about that." Mu Zhian's expression was also not very good.

"Nephew Mu is a guest I invited to our Gongsun family. Cheng'er, spend these next few days getting along well with him," Gongsun Xiong said with a faint smile.

Then, he raised his hand and waved it, and a silver-haired beauty appeared in the hall.

The food in Lin Ling's hands had changed from pastries to sugarcane. After eating her fill, she naturally needed to eat some fruit.

She ate while tossing the sugarcane peel onto the table beside her, which seemed quite polite.

“Nephew Mu, as agreed, I have released your little girlfriend.”

After Gongsun Xiong finished speaking, he gestured to the servants beside him and said, "Go and arrange their accommodation for the next two days. Don't neglect my nephew."

The servant immediately bowed his head and replied, "Yes."

Mu Zhian hesitated for a moment, still looking unwilling, and tried to make a final struggle:

“Uncle, the main reason I brought my friend back to Tianxuan City this time was because I promised to treat her to the local delicacies. Besides, she also likes to eat some pills and the like when she has nothing to do... I think it would be better to take her back to the Mu family so that you don’t have to spend money.”

Gongsun Xiong's eyes held a hint of coldness, but his smile remained warm and friendly as he said, "Nephew Mu, there's no need to be so polite. Just tell the servants what you'd like to eat."

"If the Mu family can afford it, so can my Gongsun family."

Ultimately, how much money could it cost to treat them to some snacks?

As for his fondness for elixirs... he wasn't worried about such trivial matters.

Could it be that Mu Zhian would dare to give up on himself and indulge in excessive eating and drinking?

The side effects of taking pills indiscriminately can be significant.

If wasting some pills could cripple Mu Zhian's talent and cultivation, then it wouldn't be a loss.

Mu Zhian's eyes still held a hint of resentment, his fists clenched tightly.

Under Gongsun Xiong's gentle gaze, he could only sigh resignedly and cup his hands in greeting: "I cannot refuse your hospitality. Since you are so hospitable, Uncle, then so be it. I will stay at the Gongsun family for the next two days."

As she spoke, Mu Zhian lowered her eyes slightly, bit her lip, and after gathering her emotions for a moment, she looked up at Lin Ling, who was standing in the hall as if nothing had happened.

"Sister Lin Ling, let me take you back to your room first."

After saying that, he grabbed Lin Ling's wrist, turned around, and walked out of the hall led by a servant.

After Mu Zhian and the other person left, Gongsun Cheng looked up at the Gongsun clan chief and asked, "Father, why did you bring them to my Gongsun family?"

Gongsun Xiong smiled and picked up the teacup beside him, took a sip of tea, and said slowly, "I cannot make a move against the disciples of the Liangyi Sect, because that would attract the attention of the sect's elders."

"But not being able to take action does not mean that we cannot invite them to visit my Gongsun family."

"Mu Zhian is cunning by nature. Letting him leave Tianxuan City might cause unforeseen changes. Keeping him in the Gongsun family will also isolate him from the outside world. Only in this way can we feel at ease annexing the Mu family."

"Moreover, how do you think Mu Zhi'an would feel if he were to stand here and watch the Mu family be slowly swallowed up?" Gongsun Xiong said with a smile.

Gongsun Cheng's eyes brightened slightly, and a hint of excitement appeared in them.

Inviting Mu Zhi'an to the Gongsun family would not only restrain Mu Zhi'an, the biggest unstable factor, but also allow Mu Zhi'an to watch the once powerful Mu family slowly decline, thus avenging his past grievances.

Gongsun Xiong's move can be described as truly killing someone by destroying their spirit!

"In short, don't make any rash moves these next two days. I'll handle things with Mu Zhian."

After speaking to his fourth son, Gongsun Xiong left the hall with his hands behind his back and walked towards a secluded secret room in the backyard.

He needed to inform the mysterious middle-aged monk about this matter, and at the same time let the other party see his sincerity.

……

At this moment, Mu Zhian and Lin Ling were sitting in a pavilion, waiting for the servants to prepare snacks and food.

The layout of the Gongsun family's courtyard is quite different from that of the Mu family, but it can still be described as quiet and peaceful.

The silver-haired beauty sat quietly in front of the pavilion. Under her plain robe, a pair of small boots covering her delicate white feet dangled idly. Her red eyes casually scanned the surroundings as she waited for the snacks to be served.

Miss Linglong, the rice eater, didn't even know what was going on, or rather, she didn't care at all. In any case, she went wherever Mu Zhian took her, as long as she could eat local delicacies.

Seemingly noticing Mu Zhian's gaze, Lin Ling turned her head slightly to look at him, her red eyes showing a hint of confusion. She poured some tea on the table and wrote, "What's wrong?"

Mu Zhian shook his head and smiled, "It's nothing, I just wanted to ask if you're getting used to it here."

Lin Ling lowered her head and wrote: There's no difference.

For her, it doesn't matter where she lives, as long as there's food to eat.

Upon hearing this, Mu Zhian nodded in relief and said, "That's good."

After sitting in the courtyard for a while, Lin Ling seemed to sense something and looked up at the outside of the courtyard, a glimmer of light quietly appearing in her red eyes.

Several servants from the Gongsun family arrived in the courtyard carrying a feast bought from three different inns.

"Just leave it here. If there's nothing else, you may leave," Mu Zhian said with a smile.

After he finished speaking, he placed all the delicacies on the stone table and then slowly took out a large lobster and began to peel it.

Several servants from the Gongsun family couldn't help but cast sympathetic glances at Mu Zhian before quietly retreating.

These past few days, there has been a calm before the storm in Tianxuan City. Everyone knows that after Gongsun Xiong advances to the Returning Void Realm, the Mu family will be the first to suffer.

The fact that Young Master Mu is now at the Gongsun family is the best proof of this.

Gongsun Xiong said he was inviting Mu Zhian to the Gongsun family as a guest, but anyone with eyes could see that this young master Mu was actually being held under house arrest at the Gongsun family.

Even his young girlfriend was placed under house arrest here.

Of course, while they might think about it, the servants naturally knew what they should and shouldn't get involved in; they just needed to do their jobs properly.

After Mu Zhian peeled a large lobster, he suddenly noticed a gaze staring straight at him, and he couldn't help but turn his head to look.

Lin Ling's bright red eyes were looking at him with a hint of anticipation. Although she didn't speak, Mu Zhi'an could still read the expectation in her eyes.

"This was originally prepared for you." Mu Zhian smiled and handed the lobster to Lin Ling.

"What should we do next?" Lin Ling wrote on the table.

"Eat up," Mu Zhian said with a smile. "Didn't I tell you before that bringing you down the mountain was to treat you to all kinds of delicious food from Tianxuan City?"

“Uncle Gongsun is a very hospitable person, so please eat whatever you like and don’t be shy with him.” Mu Zhian tossed the peeled lobster shells onto the table and continued, “Consider it my treat.”

"You can eat any kind of pill or rare treasure you want."

Lin Ling looked thoughtful, biting into the lobster with only the tail sticking out. She nodded "Aaa" after finally feeding the tender lobster meat into her mouth.

In the shadows of the courtyard, a spy watched this scene, then quietly turned and left the courtyard.

Before long, he arrived at a secluded room in the backyard, clasped his hands and said, "Master, Mu Zhian doesn't seem to have any intention of escaping. He is currently having snacks with the woman he brought in the courtyard."

"I understand. You may leave now," came Gongsun Xiong's calm reply from the secret chamber.

After the spies left, Gongsun Xiong looked up at the middle-aged cultivator in white before him and smiled, "Fellow Daoist, am I right?"

"Mu Zhian is indeed currently in my Gongsun family."

When he came to this secret room to find this mysterious cultivator and mentioned that Mu Zhian had been "invited" to the Gongsun family, the other party was somewhat skeptical.

But now that the facts are in front of them, how can the other party not believe them?

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged cultivator couldn't help but smile with satisfaction, nodding and saying, "It seems I underestimated you before."

He had heard a lot about Mu Zhian in the sect before. This boy was so cunning, so he shouldn't have been brought back and put under house arrest by Gongsun Xiong so easily.

But now that he'd heard what the spy said, he had no choice but to believe it.

"Next, all we need to do is let Mu Zhian watch how the Mu family is devoured by my Gongsun family." Gongsun Xiong also revealed a faint smile.

He paused for a moment, then continued, "After that, it will be time for you to make your appearance, fellow Daoist."

The middle-aged cultivator smiled gently and said, "That's excellent!"

Then, he casually added, "Could you take me to see Mu Zhi'an now? I'm still a little worried."

This person is indeed cautious... Gongsun Xiong stood up and raised his hand in a gesture of invitation: "Fellow Daoist, please."

The two left the secret room and walked along a quiet path toward the courtyard where Mu Zhi'an was being held captive.

They were all experts at the Returning to the Void Realm, so they naturally weren't worried about being noticed by Mu Zhi'an.

After walking along the path for a while, the two soon arrived at a courtyard.

"Mu Zhian and his Daoist partner are right in front of that pavilion," Gongsun Xiong said, pointing to the pavilion not far ahead.

The middle-aged cultivator followed the gaze and indeed saw Mu Zhi'an and the silver-haired beauty beside him.

"This Mu Zhian may not be good at much else, but he certainly knows how to please women," the middle-aged cultivator commented casually, his smile growing even wider.

He has already completed more than half of the task secretly assigned by the Demon Emperor.

The next step is simply to annex the Mu family and let Mu Zhian know that it was the Liangyi Sect that was behind this.

After that, this "righteous man" appeared before the desperate Mu Zhian, and once he guided him to rescue the Demon Emperor, the plan was successfully completed.

"Fellow Daoist, there is still one thing I don't understand."

Gongsun Xiong looked at the middle-aged cultivator with a smile on his face and suddenly asked, "What exactly does Fellow Daoist want to get from Mu Zhian?"

The middle-aged cultivator did not answer, but simply shook his head and smiled faintly: "You don't need to know so much."

Mu Zhi'an must have some extraordinary qualities to be chosen by the Demon Emperor.