It turns out, they were the main characters.

The man remained silent.

Swearing an oath to the heavens... In the Nine Provinces, not many people dare to do that.

Because if they ultimately fail to fulfill their promise, they will be struck by lightning.

Moreover, if one reaches a new level in the future, they may even be plagued by inner demons because this promise was not fulfilled, which will seriously affect their future cultivation.

"Moreover, you should have seen how the Azure Emperor obtained the Heavenly Phoenix Fruit. Under those circumstances, would I dare to make her obediently hand over the Heavenly Phoenix Fruit to me?" Mu Zhian continued.

After a moment of silence, the man said, "Can you retrieve the second Heavenly Phoenix Fruit?"

"I'll do my best," Mu Zhian said.

The man sneered and said, "In that case, I hope Young Master Mu can fulfill his promise soon."

"How should I contact you then?" Mu Zhian asked.

"Just take it to the pilgrimage temple; there's no need to contact us." After saying this, the man prepared to leave.

At this moment, Mu Zhian suddenly asked, "Don't you have any other benefits to offer me?"

As he finished speaking, a hint of 'greed' appeared in his eyes as he gazed at the man's retreating figure.

The man paused slightly as he was about to leave, sneered, and said, "After this is done, I will give you three top-quality women marked with slave marks. Is that enough?"

This person knows me very well, knows I'm a pervert... Mu Zhian looked at the man with a 'happy' expression and said, "Is this really true?!"

“Of course,” the man sneered, “but only if you can retrieve the Heavenly Phoenix Fruit for us.”

"Now that the Yaochi Holy Land's formation is wide open, it is almost impossible to enter from the outside and obtain the Heavenly Phoenix Fruit. However, you seem to be deeply trusted by Yaochi. Whether you can fulfill your promise and gain the Demon Emperor's favor depends on yourself."

After saying that, he turned into black smoke and disappeared from sight.

Mu Zhian silently withdrew his gaze and flew away on his sword.

After a moment, he heard Wei Mengrou's cold voice: "They should know that you gave the Azure Emperor spiritual energy and helped her, so why didn't they attack you?"

The rumors that Mu Zhian was allegedly cultivating with the Azure Emperor were known to outsiders, and it was impossible for the previous generation of demon cultivators hiding in the shadows not to know them.

The fact that a former demon cultivator was hiding on the path Mu Zhi'an was leaving shows that they must have guessed something.

But from beginning to end, that previous demon cultivator never did anything to Mu Zhi'an; he simply gave some instructions and then left.

Somewhat strange.

“They don’t trust me, but they trust the oath I made before the Demon Emperor that day, because the oath was witnessed by the Heavenly Dao and cannot be changed.”

Mu Zhian turned to look at Wei Mengrou and said slowly, "I am just part of their plan. It would be best if I could get the Heavenly Phoenix Fruit, but if I can't, they will take action on their own."

"However, they still hold a sliver of hope for me."

"So...they plan to seize the Heavenly Phoenix Fruit themselves?" Wei Mengrou raised an eyebrow, deftly swatting away Mu Zhian's attempt to step behind her and fly on a sword together, and continued:

"Now that the Yaochi Formation is activated, coupled with the Azure Emperor's deterrence and the fact that previous generations of demon cultivators can break through the formation?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Zhian also fell silent.

This is a very strange thing.

His demon realm mark had no effect in either the Holy King City or the Jade Pool Holy Land until just now when it reacted to a former demon cultivator.

This also means that most of the first Demon Emperor's subordinates were not near the Yaochi Holy Land.

The Heavenly Phoenix Fruit was extremely important to the first Demon Emperor, yet this time, in order to seize the Heavenly Phoenix Fruit, the first Demon Emperor's subordinates only sent a handful of their own men.

This is probably something even the Jade Pool's formation couldn't break.

Unless... this formation is broken from the inside.

"..."

Mu Zhian suddenly paused for a moment.

“Inside…” he murmured to himself.

"What's wrong?" The woman in the yellow dress noticed her young master's unusual behavior and couldn't help but ask.

Mu Zhian slowly turned his head to look at Wei Mengrou, expressionless: "The demon realm mark on my body did not react, which also means that there is indeed no trace of the previous generation of demon cultivators in Holy King City."

"Perhaps there aren't many remnants of the first Demon Emperor's demon cultivators in the Eastern Continent at all."

"But who has ever stipulated that only demon cultivators are necessarily enemies of the Eastern Continent?"

Chapter 219 Shocking Change at Yaochi (5K)

"No one has ever stipulated that our only enemies are the demon cultivators of the past, has that been the case?"

Under Wei Mengrou's gaze, Mu Zhian slowly said, "Some interests are enough to drive people crazy."

It's not necessarily the demon cultivators who are the enemy; perhaps from the very beginning, the 'demon cultivators' were among them.

It sounds a bit fantastical, but if the benefits are right in front of you, it's not hard to be tempted.

For example... a grade eight elixir.

Since the first Demon Emperor was able to give Mu Zhi'an a Soul Nourishing Pill that day, Mu Zhi'an wouldn't be surprised if a second one were taken out now.

It may not be a Soul Nourishing Pill; it could be other kinds of pills.

It should be known that eighth-grade pills are inevitably made from imperial-level medicinal materials and contain a trace of Daoist essence.

This Daoist rhythm could be the opportunity to return to the Void and step into the Enlightenment Realm.

Even the slightest chance can make people disregard the consequences.

As for worrying that the first Demon Emperor might break his promise and refuse to give the pills in the future... that's impossible.

After all, once an oath is made in accordance with the will of Heaven, it cannot be changed.

Although it was just a guess, it was still best to be careful... Mu Zhian pondered for a moment, found an open space nearby, and then took out a paper crane from his storage ring.

This is one of Lan Mulian's magical artifacts, and its fixed location is the back mountain of Liangyi Peak.

He couldn't return to the Liangyi Sect right now, but he could use this letter to have his senior sister ask Ying Guhuan about the previous generation of demon cultivators.

After writing the letter, Mu Zhian released the paper crane and watched it disappear from sight, enveloped in a mystical aura, before turning his gaze away.

"Let's go back to Yaochi first."

This matter is of great importance. If it is really as he guessed, perhaps destroying the Heavenly Phoenix Tree directly would be the safest approach.

This method is undoubtedly like Yaochi cutting off its own wings.

He didn't know the value of the Heavenly Phoenix Tree, but through the reverence and affection the fairies of the Jade Pool Holy Land had for it during this period, he could tell what kind of status the Heavenly Phoenix Tree held in the hearts of the disciples of the Jade Pool Holy Land.

Regardless, for now we can only take it one step at a time.

The Queen Mother of the West is a beautiful and knowledgeable woman. Even if she disagrees with destroying the Heavenly Phoenix Tree, she should be able to offer other solutions.

……

Yaochi Sacred Land, the back garden.

Here, near a pond, lotus flowers bloom in the water, and nearby is a pavilion. At an octagonal table made of white jade, sits a woman of dignified and elegant appearance.

She wore no makeup, her beautiful hair was simply tied up, and her appearance was graceful and charming. Although she had a dignified appearance, she gave people a sense of infinite distance.

Not far from the Holy Maiden of Yaochi was Shi Fei, the second young master of Xuantian Pavilion.

The Queen Mother of the Jade Pool was standing not far from the pond, chatting with the two heads of ancient noble families.

Judging from their appearances, the Holy Maiden of Yaochi and the Fairy in the Green Skirt seemed to be around the same age. However, compared to the Empress, the Holy Maiden of Yaochi lacked some mystery, and her cleavage was not as unfathomable as that of the Fairy in the Green Skirt.

Apart from that, there isn't much difference.

Each generation of Yaochi Holy Maidens has been a uniquely gifted genius, and Yao Yue's generation has reached the pinnacle of this talent. Her innate Dao Embryo physique is even more outstanding than that of previous Holy Maidens.

Looking at the elders in the distance, Shi Fei sighed, "Fairy Yao Yue is exceptionally talented. She has already reached the seventh level of the Refining Spirit Realm at such a young age. It's only a matter of time before she reaches the Returning to the Void Realm."

The Holy Maiden of Yaochi smiled faintly and said, "Young Master Shi seems to have reached the fourth level of Refining Spirit. With your talent, it shouldn't be too difficult for you to refine your spirit and return to the Void in the future."

Her voice was always clear and pleasant, and her light white dress accentuated her near-perfect figure. She had a graceful posture and her eyes sparkled.

Shi Fei seemed quite pleased with what the Holy Maiden of Yaochi had said, a faint smile appearing on his face before quickly concealing it, as if he wanted to project the demeanor of a composed and unassuming noble young master.

This scene was naturally witnessed by the Holy Maiden of Yaochi, but she maintained a gentle smile on her face as if she hadn't noticed anything.

The Holy Maiden of Yaochi has seen far too many noble young men like Shi Fei.

He appears to be a refined and elegant gentleman, with an excellent family background and no shortage of cultivation resources, which makes him somewhat arrogant.

In her presence, however, they would restrain their arrogance and try to appear humble.

Almost all young noblemen have similar mindsets.

For no apparent reason, the Holy Maiden of Yaochi thought of someone again.

Mu Zhian also seems to be a young nobleman from a good family... but I have never seen him act arrogantly.

Sometimes when Mu Zhian saw her, he would steal glances at her chest and thighs.

The Holy Maiden of Yaochi was very perceptive of the gazes of others, but she never mentioned it to Mu Zhian.

Overall, though both are noble young men, chatting with Mu Zhian is much more comfortable and less awkward.

As for the reason, she couldn't explain it clearly, but she guessed that Mu Zhian was good at finding topics to make girls happy.

Looking at the stunning profile of the Holy Maiden of Yaochi, Shi Fei smiled and said, "With your beauty, you must have many suitors. Don't you have any feelings for any of them?"

The Holy Maiden of Yaochi smiled demurely: "Everything is up to fate. I have little interest in romance."

Shi Fei smiled and was about to speak again.

Just then, a boy stepped into the backyard.

He was dressed in a black robe with gold thread, exuding an extraordinary aura. Beside him was a beautiful woman in a yellow dress. Although she concealed her presence, her elegant and refined appearance was still undeniable.

At this moment, many people were chatting in the backyard, and as Mu Zhi'an stepped into Yaochi, many people turned their attention to him.

With the Azure Emperor's return to Yaochi and the condensation of the cauldron, it was impossible for her to keep a low profile. Naturally, the news of the Azure Emperor's return to Yaochi spread throughout the Eastern Continent.

The name Mu Zhian has also been mentioned by many people.

The reason is related to the rumors that circulated in the past two days.

The initial news was that the Azure Emperor needed spiritual energy to condense his cauldron. Later, the news spread that the Azure Emperor was cultivating with Mu Zhian... until today, the news has become that the Azure Emperor and the junior cultivator in the Refining God Realm are Daoist partners.