It turns out, they were the main characters.

But after the Heavenly Dao Qi appeared... everything changed.

No one can be indifferent to such a rare treasure.

Seeing the treasure that was so close vanish into thin air, he was already quite restrained not to unleash his power immediately.

Gongsun Xiong flew through the air on his sword, turned to look at the old master of the Mu family and Wei Mengrou, and said in a cold voice, "Old Master Ren, Miss Wei, can you explain where Young Master Mu went with the girl from the Bai family while we were besieging the black-robed man?"

Old Ren didn't even bother to lift his eyelids, sitting leisurely on his flying sword, and said indifferently, "The two young people have a good relationship, so it's inevitable that some sparks will fly. Perhaps they couldn't resist going deep into the forest to resolve something."

Gongsun Xiong squinted: "Do you even believe that yourself?"

"The aura of Heaven disappeared shortly after Mu Zhian and Bai Ruoxi left, which is indeed unreasonable. The Mu family is powerful in Tianxuan City, but we still hope they can give us an explanation." Elder Tian of the Morning Dawn Chamber of Commerce also sided with the Gongsun family.

Ye Yu, with the help of the old man in his body, barely managed to control the sword. Upon hearing this, he immediately said coldly, "I just said that Mu Zhian is definitely suspicious. He only led me to the Dragon Head Forest because he knew that I had the Qi of Heavenly Dao in my body."

"All that talk about bandit suppression and friendly sparring is just a smokescreen. His true aim from the start was the Qi of Heaven!"

Old Ren said calmly, "We must not speak carelessly before the truth comes out."

He raised his hand and conjured a small birdcage out of thin air. Inside the birdcage was none other than the black-robed man's accomplice who had just been killed.

That was his primordial spirit, which was now imprisoned within it by Elder Ren using a special secret technique.

"Perhaps the man in black robes stole the Qi of Heaven?" Elder Ren continued.

Gongsun Xiong sneered: "The man in black robes has just died a violent death. Could it be that he had accomplices?"

"If he had had accomplices, he wouldn't have ended up like that."

"That's not necessarily true," Old Ren said with a slight smile.

But as he looked away, his pale brows furrowed slightly.

If it really was the young master who took away the Heavenly Dao Qi, it would be a good thing, but not entirely a good thing.

For the sake of the Heavenly Dao's energy, the Gongsun family and the Dawn Merchant Guild, and even the Mu family might dare to pounce and take a bite... that could cause some trouble.

"They're there."

At this moment, the guest advisor of the Gongsun family suddenly pointed to the cave entrance ahead.

Behind a large, lush tree, the leaves slightly obscured the view, but sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves, casting dappled patterns of light across the ground.

At the entrance of the cave, Mu Zhian and Bai Ruoxi were standing there, and they had obviously noticed that someone was approaching from mid-air.

Mu Zhian raised his head slightly and saw Gongsun Xiong and the others falling from mid-air. The men had gloomy faces and were staring at him intently.

Mu Zhian gave a warm smile and said, "Uncle Gongsun, it seems you've resolved things on your end?"

Gongsun Xiong was clearly not in the mood to play the "uncle and nephew" game with Mu Zhian. He simply nodded and went straight to the point, saying in a deep voice, "The Qi of Heaven has disappeared."

Mu Zhian was slightly taken aback.

After a moment of stunned silence, he opened his mouth slightly, his eyes showing a hint of surprise, fully demonstrating what it means to be a professional actor.

"Who stole the Qi of Heaven?" Mu Zhian asked in surprise.

Gongsun Xiong squinted at Mu Zhi'an and asked, "Where did Nephew Mu just go?"

"The aura of Heaven disappeared shortly after you left. Isn't that too much of a coincidence?" Old Tian, ​​who was standing to the side, also stared at Mu Zhi'an.

“We’re going to chase after the black-robed man’s clone,” Mu Zhian said.

Gongsun Xiong clearly didn't believe it and said, "The man in black robes has already been killed by us."

Mu Zhian slowly shook his head: "Uncle, you don't know, the black-robed man's true form is a snake demon. He used the method of 'shedding skin' to deceive everyone. At that time, the situation was urgent, and Ruoxi and I discovered this and went to chase after the black-robed man."

"Running away right under the noses of several Refining Spirit Realm cultivators, do you think your uncle and everyone else here are fools, Nephew Mu?" Gongsun Xiong's tone was unfriendly.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, but since his accomplice’s soul is trapped in a cage by Elder Ren, Uncle can find out by asking.” Mu Zhian looked at the birdcage in Elder Ren’s hand.

Gongsun Xiong stared at Mu Zhian's eyes with suspicion. To be honest, he didn't believe Mu Zhian's words, but the other party's frankness made him suspicious.

Ultimately, the disappearance of the Heavenly Dao Qi makes Mu Zhian a prime suspect, but the question is... how could a mere Qi Refining cultivator possibly control the Heavenly Dao Qi?

Gongsun Xiong turned to look at the old man and said, "Elder Ren, then I'll trouble you to release the demon cultivator's primordial spirit and question him."

Old Ren nodded slightly and opened the birdcage.

The demon cultivator's primordial spirit floated in mid-air, its pupils dull and lifeless, seemingly devoid of its own consciousness.

Ren Lao glanced at Mu Zhi'an casually, and only after confirming that there was no panic on Mu Zhi'an's face did he withdraw his gaze and look at the demon cultivator's primordial spirit, and asked, "Does your companion know how to fake his death?"

“When he is seriously injured, he can shed his skin and fake his death once.” The demon cultivator’s emotionless voice reached everyone’s ears.

The area in front of the cave suddenly fell silent.

"What is your purpose?" Mu Zhian suddenly asked.

"Join up with our companions in Tianxuan City and assist them in using Tianxuan City as one of their strongholds to seize the Qi of Heavenly Dao," the demon cultivator replied in a completely emotionless voice.

The people present looked at each other in bewilderment.

This demon cultivator meant that he had other companions in Tianxuan City.

Gongsun Xiong asked in a deep voice, "Who is it?"

However, this time, the demon cultivator's primordial spirit did not answer; it merely floated in mid-air with a blank stare.

He slowly opened his mouth, but never uttered a single syllable.

After a long while, the body slowly became ethereal, until finally it disappeared into the air.

The area in front of the cave suddenly became quiet.

Mu Zhian said solemnly, "It seems that there are other demon cultivators lurking in Tianxuan City... The Heavenly Dao Qi was stolen by them."

Gongsun Xiong's expression was somewhat unpleasant, but he didn't say anything more.

Despite remaining skeptical, pressing Mu Zhian further would only provoke the Mu family's displeasure.

Moreover, rather than believing that Mu Zhian could manipulate the Heavenly Dao Qi, Gongsun Xiong believed that the Heavenly Dao Qi was stolen by that mysterious demon cultivator in Tianxuan City.

At this moment, Ye Yu suddenly stared at Mu Zhian and said, "Young Master Mu, you keep saying that the Heavenly Dao Qi might have been stolen by demon cultivators, but how do you explain your disappearance from Miss Bai for such a long time?"

Mu Zhian shook his head and smiled, "As I just said, Ruoxi and I went to chase after the man in black robes. It's just a pity that even though he was seriously injured, he was still a cultivator in the Refining Spirit Realm, so we didn't dare to pursue him too far. Ruoxi was even injured because of this."

Ye Yu was still not giving up and said, "You are also suspected of stealing the Qi of Heaven."

Mu Zhian shook his head and laughed, "Young Master Ye, even if I did steal the Heavenly Dao Qi, so what?"

Ye Yu paused slightly, but with Wei Mengrou and Elder Ren beside him, he suppressed his anger and said, "Those are mine!"

"Since it was yours, why didn't it choose you in the end and instead left?" Mu Zhian asked rhetorically.

"And you picked this up from outside, right? Things you find should be handed over," Mu Zhian said seriously.

Ye Yu was clearly taken aback. Although he knew that Mu Zhian's argument was fallacious, he didn't know how to refute it.

It was indeed something he had picked up, and later the Heavenly Dao Qi did not choose him, but disappeared... Even so, Ye Yu still clenched his fists unwillingly, staring intently into Mu Zhi'an's eyes.

Mu Zhian ignored Ye Yu and turned to Gongsun Xiong, smiling, "Uncle Gongsun, are you still questioning me?"

Gongsun Xiong's eyes flickered slightly, then he laughed heartily and said, "It's good that the misunderstanding has been cleared up. Actually, I have always believed in my nephew Mu. It's just that I couldn't help but be a little anxious after seeing the Heavenly Dao Qi disappear. I was a bit harsh just now. I hope you won't blame your uncle."

Then, he changed the subject and asked, "Where did that man in black go afterward? Do you have any clues, Nephew Mu?"

"He was killed by disciples of the Liangyi Sect," Mu Zhian said.

"Disciples of the Two Elements Sect..."

Gongsun Xiong repeated it, then, as if he had thought of something, his eyes suddenly lit up with a burning desire, and he pressed on with the question:

"Is he one of the examiners for this sect assessment?"

In less than half a month, the sect assessment of the Liangyi Sect will begin. With so many descendants of the Gongsun family, if they can receive the examiner in advance and build a good relationship with him, they might be able to get in through the back door later.

Normally, the examiners of the Liangyi Sect would not descend the mountain early. This time, the other party descended the mountain early, probably because of the man in black robes.

...This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Not only Gongsun Xiong, but also Elder Tian of the Chenxi Chamber of Commerce and even the old man of the Mu family became interested.

The Mu family has one spot that can be guaranteed admission to the Liangyi Sect, but if they could be on good terms with them, it would be even better to get one or two more spots...

We must seize this opportunity to receive the examiners.

Although the whereabouts of the Heavenly Dao Qi were not found in the end, Gongsun Xiong was clearly a person who knew how to maximize his interests. He immediately made up his mind and said, "Gentlemen, I have some things to attend to. Since those two demon cultivators are dead, I will go back first."

Go back now and tell your servants to wait outside Tianxuan City. Maybe they can wait until the examiner enters the city.

Old Tian also cupped his hands in farewell and said, "I also have things to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

Mu Zhian smiled and nodded: "Take care, Elder Tian."

He glanced at Gongsun Xiong, who was about to leave, and continued, "Uncle Gongsun, I'm afraid you can't leave yet."

Gongsun Xiong paused slightly, turned around and looked over, smiling, "Nephew Mu, is there anything else you want to say?"

“I’ve cleared my name, but my uncle hasn’t,” Mu Zhian said.

Gongsun Xiong frowned slightly and asked, "What do you mean?"

“These are some personal issues that my uncle needs to resolve himself,” Mu Zhian said with a smile.

He pulled Bai Ruoxi back.

At this moment, a terrifying killing intent suddenly came from afar. Gongsun Xiong's body tensed slightly. He could feel that this killing intent was coming towards him!

He turned his head and saw a burly cultivator charging fiercely at the edge of his field of vision, riding a sword. One second he was still far away, but the next second he was right next to him.

It is Father Bai, who is in full condition after recuperating.

The terrifying aura of the brute completely enveloped Gongsun Xiong, causing the smile on the face of this man from the Gongsun family, who was always a master strategist, to freeze slightly.

He was in poor condition after fighting the man in black robes, and facing Bai Fu, a peak Refinement God, was indeed a bit difficult.

"Ruoxi, let's go back first," Mu Zhian said softly.

Bai Ruoxi's eyes were filled with worry as she whispered, "But Father..."

"Don't worry, he's fine."

Mu Zhian glanced at Gongsun Xiong indifferently and said softly:

"But that's not necessarily true for him."

These cultivators at the Refining Spirit Realm had just fought the man in black robes, and their condition was somewhat poor. Faced with a raging Bai father and his two guards, the Gongsun family's guest elders naturally wouldn't risk their lives.