It turns out, they were the main characters.

He is the chosen one, a chosen one with great fortune; Tianxuan City is merely his starting point.

Give him some time, and in the future, no one in the entire Tianxuan City will be stronger than him.

Ye Yu has this kind of confidence.

Because recently, he received an incredible opportunity...

"Three months? You can reach the Qi Refining Realm in three months?" Bai Ruoxi clearly didn't believe it.

Ye Yu gave a confident smile and said, "Shall we make a bet?"

Bai Ruoxi frowned slightly and said coldly, "No need. Whether it's true or false, what does it have to do with me?"

Ye Yu was taken aback, then forced a smile and said, "What are you saying, Ruoxi? You're my fiancée—"

"That was an arranged marriage by my parents. If you want to get married, go find them."

The Ye family was quite wealthy and powerful back then, and they also had trade dealings with the Bai family. The two families hit it off and arranged a marriage between their two children.

Unexpectedly, the Ye family later declined, falling from a first-tier family to a second-tier one. Due to face-saving concerns, the Bai family patriarch never mentioned annulment of the engagement. However, both Bai's mother and Bai Ruoxi were dissatisfied with the marriage. The former believed that Ye Yu was not good enough for Bai Ruoxi and wanted to find a better candidate for her.

The latter, on the other hand, was simply dissatisfied with being betrothed to someone right after birth.

Bai Ruoxi ignored Ye Yu and strode into the rain.

"Miss Bai!"

Just then, the voice of a maid came from behind.

Bai Ruoxi turned around and saw a maid from the Mu family running up to her with an umbrella. She said, "Young Master said it's raining heavily tonight, so he asked me to bring you an umbrella. Miss Bai, please return the umbrella to him in the next couple of days."

Bai Ruoxi paused for a moment, then as if she had thought of something, a hint of joy flickered in her beautiful eyes, and she took the umbrella handed to her by the maid.

"Please thank your young master for me. I will return the umbrella to the Mu family in the next couple of days."

The maid smiled and nodded in acknowledgment, then turned and returned to the Mu residence, holding up her umbrella.

Bai Ruoxi didn't even glance at Ye Yu, and stepped into the rain while holding her umbrella.

As Ye Yu watched Bai Ruoxi's departing figure, he subconsciously reached out his hand, as if trying to stop her.

But slowly, the hand fell limply to its side.

Now is not the time. Let him cultivate for a while longer. After some time, when he discovers that his talent has returned, Ruoxi will definitely change her mind.

At that time, I will amaze everyone in Tianxuan City!

Ye Yu clenched his fists instinctively.

The only thing he can do now is to endure it.

……

Bai Ruoxi returned to the Bai family mansion with an umbrella. It was already late at night, and there was not a single person in the mansion.

As Bai Ruoxi walked down the corridor and passed her mother's room, a gentle and pleasant voice came from inside: "Ruoxi, you're back so soon?"

"Come in and chat with your mother."

She just wanted to ask about what I gained from my trip to the Mu family, right...? Bai Ruoxi gave a cold smile and said softly, "I understand, Mother."

Pushing open the door, I saw a beautiful woman in her pajamas. She sat down in a chair, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to my daughter, saying, "Have some hot tea, don't catch a cold."

"Thank you, Mother," Bai Ruoxi said gently as she accepted the tea.

"Young Master Mu, did you finish so quickly?" Bai Yuanfeng asked in a suggestive tone.

As expected, they were asking me about this... A hint of coldness flashed in Bai Ruoxi's beautiful eyes as she said softly, "He didn't do anything to me."

Bai Yuanfeng's expression changed slightly, and she asked urgently, "He still refused?"

“He didn’t refuse… He asked me to find some time in the next couple of days to return the umbrella,” Bai Ruoxi said softly.

Bai Yuanfeng was slightly taken aback, and said with some worry, "Does this mean giving him two more days to think it over... what exactly does Young Master Mu want?"

“I think it should be the Meridian-Clearing Pill.” Bai Ruoxi’s eyes were filled with complex emotions as she said this.

She finally realized that she had made a serious mistake. Mu Zhian did like her in the past... and maybe he still does now, but he was considering the overall interests of the Mu family and believed that if he wanted to help, he needed to offer the Meridian Opening Pill as an exchange, not her as an exchange.

Just as Mu Zhian just said, she only moved him, not the Mu family.

Recalling Mu Zhian's words in the hall and the hand that gently squeezed her slender hand, Bai Ruoxi's cheeks inexplicably flushed, and her eyes flickered slightly.

"Ruoxi...?" Bai Yuanfeng tentatively called out to her daughter, who seemed to be lost in thought.

Bai Ruoxi then snapped out of her daze and, regaining her senses, suddenly asked:

"By the way, has Dad come back?"

A few days ago, the Bai family patriarch went to the auction house in Lincheng. It has been almost three days since then. Logically speaking, even if there were some delays on the way, he should have arrived home by now.

Bai Yuanfeng was taken aback, then looked at her daughter with a complicated expression, as if she found it difficult to speak.

Bai Ruoxi seemed to understand something, her expression changed slightly, and she asked, "Has something happened to Father?"

The beautiful woman sighed softly and said, "Your father was attacked on his way back and is now seriously injured. He has been secretly sent to a very safe place to recuperate."

"However, even if he recovers this time, he will probably never have a chance to break through to the Void Returning Realm in his lifetime."

The Bai family patriarch is at the peak of the Refining Spirit Realm, only one step away from refining spirit to return to emptiness and step into the Returning Void Realm.

However, he was trapped by this barrier for six whole years. This time, he had to spend a lot of money and resources of the Bai family to barely collect enough materials to refine a Meridian Opening Pill.

He intended to use the Meridian Opening Pill to advance to the Returning to the Void Realm, but unexpectedly, he was attacked and seriously injured on his way back to his clan.

Even if the Bai family patriarch recovers this time, he will be left with a chronic illness and will have no hope of refining his spirit and returning to emptiness.

Bai Ruoxi was initially worried about her father, but then she suddenly remembered something and looked up at Bai Yuanfeng: "Then the Meridian-Opening Pill is currently useless?"

The Meridian Opening Pill is a pill that can only be used when refining the spirit to return to the void. With the help of the Meridian Opening Pill, there is at least a 70% chance of being able to enter the Void Returning Realm. It can even withstand several heavenly tribulations during the duration of the pill's effects.

However, if the cultivator is not at the peak of the Refining Spirit Realm, the Meridian Opening Pill will have no effect.

Bai Yuanfeng sighed softly and said, "I know what you mean, but the Meridian Opening Pill is priceless and cannot be given to the Mu family."

The Mu family was already very powerful. If they obtained the Meridian Opening Pill, and someone in the Mu family used it to enter the Void Returning Realm, the other families in Tianxuan City would be completely suppressed and would live in the shadow of the Mu family forever.

This is not what Bai Yuanfeng wanted to see.

The Meridian-Opening Pill is priceless, but is your daughter priceless...? Bai Ruoxi said softly, "Mother, it's getting late, I'll go back to sleep now."

After saying that, Bai Ruoxi got up and went back to her room.

The next morning.

After Bai Ruoxi woke up, she glanced at the maid beside her and said softly:

"Go and find out if Young Master Ye was attacked last night or anything like that."

Last night, Mu Zhian was splashed with tea by Ye Yu, but she remained calm and composed. She wondered if Mu Zhian was just putting on an act in front of her, or if she had secretly sent someone to teach Ye Yu a lesson afterward.

In the past, Mu Zhian was known for his strong sense of revenge, the kind of person who would take revenge overnight. In addition, he had an extremely strong personal maid, so almost no one dared to disrespect Mu Zhian, for fear of being taught a lesson by his maid Wei Mengrou.

Not long after, the maid returned to Bai Ruoxi's boudoir, gently knocked on the door, and said in a clear voice, "Miss, Young Master Ye is alright."

Bai Ruoxi sat in front of the bronze mirror, looking at her own beautiful and delicate face in the mirror. She parted her lips slightly and said calmly, "I understand. You may leave now."

After she finished speaking, Bai Ruoxi's beautiful eyes gleamed slightly. She gently placed her hand on her high, firm breasts, took a shallow breath, and slowly exhaled.

It seems that Mu Zhian is really different from before.

Chapter 9 Ye Yu's Secret

Shepherd family.

In a bright and spacious study, Mu Zhian leaned back in his chair, holding a thin booklet and reading.

These days, cultivating immortality requires not only physical practice but also the support of theoretical knowledge.

The Mu family has abundant resources and detailed records on refining essence and qi, and even refining spirit and returning to emptiness. Mu Zhian is currently at the third level of Qi Refining, and there is still a considerable distance to go before refining spirit. However, reading the insights left by his predecessors in advance will be helpful for his future cultivation.

After quickly flipping through the booklet in his hand, Mu Zhian sighed with emotion: "I wasn't very bright before, but luckily I wasn't too stupid. I knew I had to advance to the Qi Refining stage before messing around."

The formal journey into the path of cultivation begins with the Refining Essence stage.

The best age for refining essence is generally between ten and fifteen years old, because children's fantasies about the opposite sex are not so exaggerated during this period, and they don't think about girls all the time, so it is the most suitable age for cultivation.

Because the most important requirement during the refinement of essence is that one must not lose one's virginity, and this applies to both men and women.

Even if Mu Zhian was indulging in pleasure in the past, that only started after he advanced to the Qi Refining stage.

After all, once one loses their virginity, their essence and energy can no longer condense into a cauldron within their body, making it harder than ascending to heaven to enter the Qi Refining stage.

As Mu Zhian was flipping through the booklet in his hand, he suddenly vaguely saw a streak of seven-colored light flash past the window.

Mu Zhian's gaze narrowed slightly as he muttered to himself, "Paper cranes again...?"

He stretched out his fingertip, and the paper crane, enveloped in a rainbow of light, flew into the window and landed on Mu Zhian's fingertip.

"The ethereal aura on this paper crane... is the same as yesterday's." Mu Zhi'an's eyes flickered slightly, and he muttered to himself with some surprise, "This speed of message delivery... could the person who wrote the letter also be in Tianxuan City?"

Sending messages by paper crane is something usually done among cultivators. They can have a fixed recipient or let the paper cranes fly aimlessly everywhere, like a message in a bottle.

The speed at which paper cranes can transmit messages is naturally determined by the distance.

The other party replied so quickly, they are most likely someone from Tianxuan City... or perhaps one of those powerful cultivators.

However, the latter is unlikely.

After all, how could such a powerful person have such worries as a lovesick young girl?

As Mu Zhian pondered this, he unwrapped the paper crane, and the contents of the letter came into view.

"This handwriting... it really is the same person as yesterday," Mu Zhian muttered to himself.

He glanced at the contents of the letter; it was mostly about emotional advice.

For example, what should one prepare when leaving the family for the first time, whether to leave a letter, or to inform the elders in the family in advance.

With the intention of helping others, Mu Zhian thought for a moment, picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote down his suggestions in the letter.

After doing all this, Mu Zhian refolded the letter into a paper crane and threw it out the window.

The paper crane flapped its paper wings and gradually flew away from the sky.

"Hopefully this will be of some help to that 'caged bird' young lady," Mu Zhian muttered to himself as he looked up at the paper cranes disappearing from view outside the window.