It turns out, they were the main characters.

This princess... perhaps she has some ideas?

After all, her furnace cauldron itself is connected to the Great Dao.

As Mu Zhian thought of this, the image of the princess inexplicably appeared in his mind.

Then, he quickly shook his head and sighed softly in secret.

This concerns the secrets of the Great Dao. Even the Great Peng Emperor probably never managed to extract any secrets about the Great Dao from the Queen Consort, let alone an outsider like him.

Unless... you can first get on good terms with that princess.

Moreover, the Cloud Willow needed for the Nine Cauldrons Refining Void Pill will also have to be obtained from Yunzhou...

"Looking back, I shouldn't have teased her, I should have licked her instead..." Mu Zhian suddenly realized this.

If it were a normal beautiful woman, Mu Zhian would naturally not like to offend her.

But the princess had previously stated that she did not want him to be close to Luo Tan... and even offered to give him a royal herb to keep him away from Luo Tan.

Although it is known that the princess is considering Luo Tan's well-being, it is still difficult to avoid causing dissatisfaction.

I never imagined that I would now have to find a way to befriend her...

"Never mind, I'd better not think about these things for now."

Mu Zhian shook his head to clear his mind, then walked out of the guest room and took out a dark-colored cauldron in the courtyard.

A Xuan-grade cauldron isn't particularly valuable, but it's sufficient for refining fourth or fifth-grade pills.

Rather, given Mu Zhian's current level, which isn't even that of a second-grade alchemist, using a cauldron of the Xuan grade or higher would be too extravagant.

While recalling the Empress's teachings during his conversation with Luo Tan earlier that day, Mu Zhian took out the medicinal materials needed for the Grade 3 pill.

According to Luo Tan, the higher the grade of the elixir, the greater the amount of spiritual energy it can contain from the Heavenly Court. He wanted to verify whether what Luo Tan said was true.

"You may all step back now. No one is to approach this place without my order," Mu Zhian instructed the two maids in the courtyard.

After the maids withdrew, Mu Zhian activated his spiritual energy and placed the ingredients for the Grade Three Heart-Concentrating Pill into the cauldron one by one.

"Willow branch, star-shaped ginseng, and then add ancient lingzhi..."

Mu Zhian looked at the alchemy book in his hand while taking out medicinal herbs from his storage ring and putting them into the cauldron.

These medicinal herbs are part of the monthly stipend issued by the Liangyi Sect. The herbs themselves are not particularly rare, but they can still fetch a considerable price on the market.

Now, however, they have all been used by Mu Zhian to try his hand at alchemy.

The flames in the cauldron began to burn fiercely, and Mu Zhian's mental energy was completely concentrated in front of the cauldron.

In the distance, two maids looked on with curiosity, wondering why anyone would still be refining such low-level pills.

At that moment, a maid seemed to sense something and subconsciously turned her head to look at the courtyard gate. When she saw a woman with a pink veil, a slender figure, and gentle eyes appear in her field of vision, she almost blurted out, "Your Highness—"

Before she could finish speaking, the princess put a finger to her lips and shushed her.

As she approached, two maids came forward and asked in a low voice, "Why is Your Highness here...? This is where Young Master Mu rests. Have you come to the wrong place?"

The gentle and beautiful princess glanced sideways, her lovely eyes sparkling, and said softly, "I came here to see him."

"You may all step back now. I will protect him here; nothing will happen," she instructed again.

The two maids exchanged a glance, hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded slightly: "Yes."

……

"I failed again... It's still quite difficult for me to make a third-grade pill."

Looking at the medicinal herbs in the cauldron that had long since turned to dust, Mu Zhian couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, feeling a pang of heartache for his herbs.

If first and second-grade pills are still at the level that laymen can refine, then from the third grade onwards, it is a realm that only alchemists can enter.

Although Mu Zhian possessed the aptitude of an alchemist, he had been largely obsessed with women in the past, neglecting his cultivation for a long time, let alone alchemy.

"Fortunately, I am now in Yuzhou. If I have any questions about pills, I can go directly to ask Luo Tan, which will save me a lot of trouble."

Mu Zhian comforted himself and then prepared to put away the cauldron.

Just then, a clear, pleasant, and gentle voice came from behind him: "Judging from the spiritual energy you just gathered, you seem to have good alchemy aptitude, but you can't even be considered a second-grade alchemist. It's such a waste of such good talent."

Mu Zhian turned his head and saw the princess standing behind him at some point.

She changed into a dress embroidered with crabapple blossoms, paired with a plain-colored long skirt. Her hair was carefully styled and adorned with a valuable jade hairpin. She looked dignified and beautiful, with a touch of domesticity befitting a married woman.

Of course, those who know her well will know that this princess, though seemingly gentle, is not as simple as she appears.

"Your Highness, is there something important that you have to visit my residence without any apparent reason?"

Mu Zhian asked with a hint of mockery, "Could it be that you've come to persuade me to leave Luotan again? If you could give me five Emperor-grade herbs, I might consider it."

The princess glanced at Mu Zhi'an with her beautiful eyes and gave him a charmingly disdainful look.

Five imperial medicinal herbs? Why doesn't he just rob them?

Even looking at the entire Yunzhou, it is unlikely that more than three Emperor-level medicinal herbs can be found. Among the Nine Provinces, only the Eastern Province is known to have more than five Emperor-level medicinal herbs. The Emperor-level medicinal herbs that other forces have spent several lifetimes cultivating are now almost gone.

"I didn't come to persuade you to leave Luotan. I just smelled an unpleasant odor when I came out for a walk, so I came in to take a look. I didn't expect it to be Young Master Mu refining pills here," the princess said calmly.

"If you don't usually refine pills, suddenly trying to refine pills of a higher grade than yourself is simply a waste of medicinal materials."

"Is this mocking me for overestimating my abilities, trying to refine third-grade pills when I'm not even a second-grade alchemist?"

Mu Zhian smiled and said, "Although Your Highness is a Dao-Merging Great Power, you are surprisingly vengeful."

The princess pursed her rosy lips beneath her veil and said calmly, "I'm not holding a grudge, I'm just stating the facts."

Mu Zhian sighed softly, "Actually, if I had to say, it should be me who holds a grudge."

"This time I have suffered an undeserved disaster... I have been targeted by the Great Peng Emperor for no reason. I am afraid I will not even dare to go to Yunzhou in the future."

"That was Emperor Dapeng acting on his own initiative; I have no relation to him." The princess frowned slightly, her tone gentle but revealing her coldness towards Emperor Dapeng.

“I know that, of course, but…” Mu Zhian hesitated slightly.

"But what is it? Young Master Mu, please speak frankly," the princess said.

"However... judging from the Great Peng Emperor's attitude today, he seems to care quite a bit about Your Highness the Princess. I'm afraid he doesn't think you have nothing to do with him."

Upon hearing this, the princess frowned slightly.

Mu Zhian glanced at the stunningly beautiful woman without showing any emotion, and continued, "Did Your Highness come here today simply to make fun of me?"

Princess Consort snapped out of her reverie and said, "I know why the Azure Emperor went to the Southern Wilderness; Luo Tan already told me."

Therefore, I also know what you want.

Mu Zhian's eyes flickered slightly, but he remained silent, wanting to hear what the princess had to say next.

The princess smiled and said, "As long as you agree to one condition, I can give you anything you want."

"Is this for real? Does that mean you can do it too...?" Mu Zhian thought to himself, but didn't immediately agree: "What do you want me to do? Why don't you tell me first?"

"With your current strength, there's nothing you can do to help me."

The princess gazed at him tenderly with her beautiful eyes, and said softly, "But I want to make sure she has good judgment in people."

"So... I would like to ask you to refine a pill."

Mu Zhian raised an eyebrow and asked, "What kind of pill?"

The princess took out a pill she had recently obtained from Luo Tan from her storage ring and gazed at Mu Zhi'an:

"A second-grade elixir, the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill."

Chapter 495 The Great Roc Emperor knows? He won't beat me up, will he?

A second-grade pill, the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill... Logically speaking, anyone with even a little experience in alchemy could refine this pill. Why would the princess possibly want him to refine it for no reason?

Her Highness is a bit too straightforward and the bait is too salty...

Mu Zhian glanced at the princess without showing any emotion and said, "As long as we can refine the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill, that will be enough?"

The woman was also looking at him, her eyes clear as a deep autumn pool, with a hint of gentleness. She nodded and said, "That's right, as long as we can refine the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill, that will suffice."

"Then I, Mu, will respectfully comply... I hope that Your Highness will keep your promise today."

Mu Zhian raised his hand in a bow, then took out the materials for refining the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill from his storage ring.

Although he couldn't refine a third-grade pill, he had already refined the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill countless times when he was at the Two Elements Sect, so refining the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill wouldn't be difficult for him.

The princess stood not far to her side, quietly gazing at Mu Zhian's alchemy techniques.

...Although she knew nothing about alchemy, as long as the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill that Mu Zhi'an refined was the same as the one in her hand, it would be enough to prove something.

For example... why did Luo Tan choose him?

Is it simply that he wants to refine that thing, or... does Luo Tan have other ideas?

Based on her understanding of Luo Tan, she was more inclined to believe the latter.

After nearly a quarter of an hour, the princess could faintly smell a delicate medicinal fragrance, and her gaze naturally fell on the cauldron in front of Mu Zhi'an.

Mu Zhian took out six round pills from the cauldron, put them into a jade bottle, and handed them to the princess.

"Your Highness, here is the Lesser Rejuvenating Pill you requested."

The princess uncorked the jade bottle and took out one of the small elixir pills.

Although she didn't know anything about alchemy, what kind of pills hadn't she seen before? She could tell at a glance whether the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill in her hand was the same as the one made by Mu Zhi'an.

After comparing the two Lesser Rejuvenation Pills, the princess subconsciously looked up and stared at Mu Zhi'an.

These are pills refined using different methods, and the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill that Mu Zhi'an just refined did not contain a trace of the Heavenly Court's spiritual energy...

It seems I guessed wrong...

"Your Highness...?" Mu Zhian called out tentatively.

"Hmm... Go ahead and say it." The princess snapped out of her reverie. Although her face was veiled, Mu Zhian could still sense the disappointment in her eyes.

"Is there anything else?" Mu Zhian asked.

Princess quickly regained her composure, gently shook her head, and smiled demurely: "Thank you for troubling Young Master Mu today. These few Lesser Rejuvenation Pills are more than enough."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "I know what the Azure Emperor's purpose is in coming to Yuzhou. I will find a way to take you to retrieve the Cloud Willow, but you will probably have to come to Yunzhou with me then."

"The Cloud Willow can only be preserved for seven days. It's best to wait until you've found most of the other rare and precious materials before retrieving the Cloud Willow and having Luo Tan refine the Nine Cauldrons Refining Void Pill for you."