It turns out, they were the main characters.

"I am fine."

Mu Zhian was about to breathe a sigh of relief as the atmosphere calmed down smoothly.

At this moment, he saw Lin Ling continue writing: "He has helped me a lot these past few days, so the karmic fire has been suppressed."

Sister Lin Ling, are you sure you didn't do this on purpose?!

Mu Zhian's heart, which had just been at ease, suddenly jumped again. The little soul inside her body roared in a low voice, as if she were on a roller coaster.

"Oh?"

Lan Mulian became somewhat interested, her cool voice softened a bit, and she said softly, "Thinking back carefully, Junior Brother has helped many women in the past, but I didn't expect that he could even help Senior Linglong today... I wonder what exactly he did?"

Mu Zhian glanced at Lin Ling subconsciously.

Lin Ling glanced at him and held up her notebook: "This is our secret."

Mu Zhian was in despair.

It may seem like they haven't said anything, but in reality, they've said everything.

If he said this, even if he had never actually cultivated with Lin Ling, the two of them would misunderstand him.

A cold laugh came from beside him, and Mu Zhian immediately looked at the aloof and elegant woman in white beside him.

She stared blankly at the fickle man with cold eyes.

Lan Feiying's face was icy, and she turned her face away as well, too lazy to look at him.

There was no other way; he had to accept the beating... Mu Zhian sighed inwardly and had no choice but to leave with Lin Ling first.

"Although Senior Linglong is at the Dao Integration Realm, he is still inexperienced in the ways of the world. Junior Brother, please take good care of yourself."

Just then, a cold and arrogant voice suddenly came from behind.

Lan Mulian's cold face remained expressionless, revealing an even colder look than usual.

Mu Zhian remained silent for a moment, then transmitted his voice to the two sisters, saying, "Today, Sister Lin Ling and I went to the ancestral land of the Blue Clan."

Lan Mulian's clear, bright eyes flickered slightly. She opened her mouth slightly and subconsciously looked at Mu Zhian, her curiosity being successfully aroused.

Today's events are related to him... Lan Feiying also realized something, and glanced at Mu Zhian without leaving a trace.

Very well, they're curious now. My 'out-of-context' was a success... Mu Zhian didn't explain further. Seeing that both of them looked like they wanted to know the reason but were too embarrassed to ask, he finally felt relieved and left with Lin Ling.

As they left the vicinity of the main hall, a hint of unease suddenly appeared on Lin Lingqing's beautiful face, and she subconsciously glanced at Mu Zhian.

“Aaa…” She gently tugged at Mu Zhian’s sleeve.

"What is it?" Mu Zhian asked irritably.

Then, seeing her looking as pitiful as a kitten abandoned by its owner, he felt a little sorry for her and said, "Sister Lin Ling, you've made me suffer so much today."

"Sorry." Lin Ling immediately held up her notebook.

"I'll be unhappy to see you being affectionate with other people."

“You told me that sometimes I need to do whatever I want and not have to consider you in everything I do.”

"But it seems like it might cause you trouble?"

"It definitely will..."

As soon as Mu Zhian finished speaking, he saw Lin Ling's dim eyes, his eyes twitched slightly, and he reached out to touch her silver hair again: "But you did a great job."

"You made me unhappy, but you did a great job?" Lin Ling tilted her head.

Mu Zhian tilted his head and said, "Why do you have to make me happy? Isn't it enough as long as you're happy?"

"Did you call me that on purpose today?" Mu Zhian suddenly asked.

Lin Ling nodded gently.

Do you know what "牧郎" means?

"I don't know, but I can guess," Lin Ling wrote.

She wasn't stupid after all; she just looked adorably naive on the surface... Mu Zhi'an stood in the rain, looking at her, speechless for a long time.

……

As night deepened, Mu Zhian returned to his room, lit a candle, and sat by the window watching the rain outside.

The darkness was so deep that looking out the window gave one a sense of calm, even the most anxious heart.

Mu Zhian reached out and took out the ancient bell in his hand, his eyes filled with a thoughtful look, and began to sort out the information he had obtained in the past few days.

Without a doubt, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox's past contingency plan in the Eastern Continent was definitely related to the Blue Clan.

It can even be said with certainty that the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox's spiritual consciousness resides within the Blue Clan's ancestral land.

The question now is, do the higher-ups of the Blue Clan know about this?

If they knew, why didn't they get rid of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox's spirit sooner, instead leaving her in the ancestral land and even worshipping her?

During the ancestral worship ceremony, a divine decree would descend upon the ancestral land each time... and the one who wielded this divine power was not an ancestor of the Lan family, but most likely the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox.

This is not only colluding with demon cultivators, but is even a demon cultivator at the Dao Integration Realm!

If this secret were exposed, the Blue Clan would be more than just universally hated.

This involves the issue of stance.

"It seems that the Qingyue Holy Land probably knows some secrets, which is why it secretly colluded with the Blue Clan's Grand Elder, planning to cause a big disturbance during the Ancestral Worship Ceremony...?"

After all, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox's demonic energy is so immense that even with an array to suppress it, they will surely find a way to let the demonic energy spill out.

Once everyone in Dongzhou knows about this, the Lan Clan will likely be attacked by a host of ancient aristocratic families...

Mu Zhian sighed softly, barely managing to gather his thoughts.

He can't think of a solution right now, so he can only take a long-term approach.

Mu Zhian raised his fingertip, and the next moment, a ruler emitting a soft halo appeared in his field of vision.

The Measuring Ruler, the ancestral artifact of the former Heavenly Court ruler, contains special divinity and has now become Mu Zhian's weapon.

"If we use the power of the Measuring Ruler to block the demonic energy emanating from the Blue Clan's ancestral land, I wonder if we can do so..." Mu Zhi'an murmured to himself.

He then quickly shook his head, rejecting the idea.

If he were at the Returning to the Void Realm, he might be able to do it with the Measuring Ruler, but he is only one step away from Refining the Spirit and Returning to Cultivation.

But it's unclear how long it will take to reach that step.

Just as he was about to put away the measuring ruler, Mu Zhian's attention was suddenly drawn to the ruler itself.

The ruler, which emitted a faint white light, had nine marks on it, and at this moment, ancient characters appeared on four of the marks.

"This script seems to be from a certain dynasty. Although I am not illiterate, I cannot understand what is written on it..."

A question flashed through Mu Zhian's mind, and he tried to inject a wisp of spiritual energy into the Measuring Ruler.

hum!

The next moment, a tremor resounded throughout the space, and Mu Zhian could feel that the first rune on the Measuring Ruler lit up with a cyan halo.

The rain outside suddenly disappeared. Mu Zhian's mind stirred slightly. He looked up and found that the raindrops outside were frozen in mid-air, like a painting, and no longer dripped down.

The surroundings were completely quiet, without a sound.

"This rune involves the power of time, and can be used by me?"

Mu Zhian was both surprised and delighted. Just then, he suddenly felt a strong sense of dizziness. The spiritual energy in the furnace was drained in an instant, as if he had been cultivating with someone for three days and three nights. He suddenly felt like vomiting.

Mu Zhian hurriedly put away the measuring ruler, and time began to flow again, but he was already covered in sweat.

A clear and melodious voice rang out beside me: "Aaa?"

Lin Ling handed the teacup to Mu Zhian, her eyes filled with concern.

"Thank you," Mu Zhian said with a forced smile, taking the teacup.

My fingers were trembling slightly.

"Are you okay?"

Lin Ling half-squatted beside him, poking at the chain on Mu Zhi'an's hand with her finger, and continued writing in her notebook: "Were you practicing your cultivation technique just now? Why has your weapon deteriorated?"

Mu Zhian looked down and saw that the measuring ruler in his hand had become exhausted, just like its owner, and had turned back into its original chain form.

"It's nothing serious, I was just too focused on my cultivation," Mu Zhian said with a smile.

Lin Ling nodded, her fingers gently tracing the smooth surface of the Heavenly Lock.

“It looks like a necklace,” she wrote in her notebook.

Mu Zhian unlocked the Heavenly Lock and then hung it around Lin Ling's jade neck.

"It really does look like a necklace..." Mu Zhian was somewhat surprised. He reached out and gently stroked the smooth surface of the Wentian Lock. With a gentle tug on the necklace, Lin Ling's face immediately moved a few steps closer to him.

Seeing this, Mu Zhian couldn't help but glance a few more times at the silver-haired beauty who was half-squatting beside him.

As if trying to cover it up, he coughed lightly and said, "Let me help you untie it."

Lin Ling looked up at him, blinking her clear red eyes, and tilted her head to write in her notebook: "Was it exciting for you to hold my hand like that just now?"

Mu Zhian asked calmly, "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

Your heart was beating very fast just now.

Lin Ling looked at Mu Zhi'an with her innocent red eyes: "Do you like me wearing a necklace?"

That's not a necklace... Mu Zhian silently looked at her pure and beautiful face, silently complaining in his heart.

No, I need to calm down... If the sect leader knew I was bullying Sister Lin Ling like this, she might just kill me... He quickly suppressed the many thoughts that were rising in his mind and silently put the Heavenly Lock back into his storage ring.

"I wouldn't say I like it, I just think Lin Ling looks good in anything," he quickly replied with a smile.

Lin Ling blushed, lowered her head shyly, and then buried her face in Mu Zhi'an's arms, kneeling beside him.

This isn't a spirit dragon at all, it's clearly a docile cat... Mu Zhian thought to himself.

Many cats are like this; they love to stick close to their owners and will occasionally lick their faces or knead their legs.

After a moment, Lin Ling looked up at him and asked, "You seem to have something on your mind. Is it because of what happened at the ancestral land tonight?"

Mu Zhi'an gave a soft "hmm": "The affairs of the Lan Clan are originally none of my business, but Senior Sister and Sister Fei Ying are members of the Lan Clan after all. If something happens to the Lan Clan, I'm afraid it will implicate them—"