It turns out, they were the main characters.

She actually knew Yao Meng's purpose? Mu Zhian was somewhat surprised.

Seemingly guessing what Mu Zhian was thinking, the princess said in a calm tone, "No matter what, I am still the princess of Yunzhou. I know a little about whatever the Azure Emperor is up to."

The princess paused, then glanced at Mu Zhian with a wistful look: "I just didn't expect that the person who would ultimately cultivate with her would be you."

"However, since she has made up her mind, I cannot stop her."

"I hope you can cherish this opportunity and successfully comprehend the Dao," the princess said again.

In the princess's view, given the current intimacy between Mu Zhian and Luo Tan, and the fact that the Azure Emperor is not in Yuzhou, it's only a matter of time before their relationship progresses further.

Mu Zhian nodded reservedly, then quickly showed a troubled expression, saying, "But if I go to Yunzhou with Her Highness the Princess, the Great Peng Emperor will probably find out about this immediately, right? What if he does what he did today?"

"Today, with His Majesty Luo Tan present and this being Yuzhou, and with Emperor Dapeng having a request of His Majesty, I was able to leave reluctantly. But if I were to go to Yunzhou with you in the future... Emperor Dapeng would surely be angry if he found out that I was traveling with you, wouldn't he?"

"The Great Roc Emperor is terrifying."

The princess of Yunzhou gently shook her head and said tenderly, "You have the Azure Emperor behind you. He won't offend the Azure Emperor for your sake."

"Besides, with me here, he won't do anything to you."

Upon hearing this, Mu Zhian was taken aback at first, then a look of gratitude appeared on his face: "Your Highness, are you willing to protect me?"

Looking at the expression of emotion and relief on Mu Zhian's handsome face, the princess couldn't help but smile: "I promised you that as long as you refine the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill, I would take you to find Yunyan Willow. During this time, I should naturally be responsible for your safety."

"It's just a pity..." She paused, sighed inwardly, but didn't continue.

Unfortunately, she guessed the wrong person.

Judging from the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill that Mu Zhian refined today, he probably has no connection with the Heavenly Court.

"What does Your Highness mean by 'what a pity'?" Mu Zhian asked.

The princess came to her senses and smiled gently: "It's nothing."

After saying that, he took one last look at Mu Zhian.

For some reason, she always felt an inexplicable urge to be drawn to this child's eyes.

If even a powerful being like her, who is connected to the Great Dao, is like this, it's no wonder that Luo Tan would be attracted to him.

There is no doubt that Mu Zhian does possess some secret, but this secret has nothing to do with the Heavenly Court...

The princess gently stroked her full breasts with her slender hand, feeling her initially pounding emotions gradually calming down.

She thought she was getting close to the secret of ascension, but it seems she was overthinking things...

It's just unclear what Luo Tan meant when she said she had discovered the secret of 'ascension to immortality'.

Lotan should still be reviewing memorials. After all, due to the Sabbath, all the states have been quite busy lately, so it's likely that we won't see Lotan until nightfall.

I'll go see her tonight...

Logically speaking, a single Lesser Rejuvenation Pill containing the spiritual energy of Heaven is far from sufficient for someone to ascend to immortality.

What exactly does Luo Tan want to do?

Not only was she curious, but she was also worried that Luo Tan might go astray.

After all, in recent years, the Great Roc Emperor has become somewhat obsessed with ascending to immortality.

Although she was almost there herself... The princess smiled self-deprecatingly to herself, stared at Mu Zhi'an for a moment, then pursed her full, creamy red lips and smiled, "Since Young Master Mu is still refining pills, then I won't disturb you today."

"Respectfully seeing off Her Highness the Princess."

Mu Zhian watched the princess's slender figure disappear from sight before letting out a long sigh of relief.

Why not tell her?

Just then, a mocking voice came from beside him: "If she knew you were a natural furnace, she would probably treat you much better."

Mu Zhian turned his head in the direction of the sound and saw Wei Mengrou in the shadows.

Today she wore a slightly loose, pale yellow dress paired with a dark, pleated long skirt. Her beautiful hair was neatly styled in a bun, and she seemed to exude an ominous, mysterious black mist, making her extremely cold and beautiful.

Of course, those familiar with Wei Mengrou would know that this aloof beauty is easily embarrassed if teased, no matter how much she tries to pretend.

“Not everyone is interested in a natural furnace, and besides, she was born connected to the Great Dao, so my natural furnace might not be able to help her... Moreover, Luo Tan doesn’t seem to want the princess to know about this so soon.”

Mu Zhian naturally took Wei Mengrou's hand, pulled her to his side, and said with a smile, "It's not too late to tell her when we go to Yunzhou later."

"Speaking of which, seeing me getting close to other girls... won't Sister Mengrou get jealous?" Mu Zhian suddenly asked abruptly.

Wei Mengrou snorted and raised her snow-white chin condescendingly: "You overestimate yourself."

It's just a tiny insect, why be so jealous?

"Then I'm relieved." Mu Zhian seemed to breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

"What do you mean by that?" Wei Mengrou frowned, sensing that something was amiss.

"Luo Tan summoned me to her bedchamber today... so I might have to go there in a bit," Mu Zhian explained.

Seeing the young master's actions so undisguised, Wei Mengrou's eyes flickered slightly at first, but then she noticed the young master's teasing gaze and snorted coldly: "Do as you please. I feel much more relaxed now that I don't have to stay by your side every day."

After she finished speaking, she turned around, and a phantom black mist seemed to emanate from her body, disappearing into the darkness. In an instant, she returned to her room.

Mu Zhian was in the courtyard, slowly tidying up the cauldron, refining pills and medicinal herbs, and then silently counting down in his mind.

After a stick of incense had burned, he arrived at Wei Mengrou's room and knocked on the maid's door.

"Didn't Luo Tan have something to discuss with you? Is there something else, young master?"

An extremely cold response came from inside.

Mu Zhian said calmly, "Sister Mengrou, may I come in?"

There was no response from inside. Mu Zhian pushed open the door and saw a beautiful woman sitting expressionlessly on the soft couch. Her elaborate and exquisite dress accentuated her cold and aloof demeanor.

Upon seeing Mu Zhian, Wei Mengrou turned her face away and said coldly, "Weren't you going to see Luo Tan soon? How come you have the leisure to come here? Are you here to kill time?"

Mu Zhian closed the door behind him and shook his head, saying, "After thinking about it, I've decided to spend some time with Sister Mengrou first... Let Luo Tan wait here for now."

After speaking, Mu Zhian walked to the soft couch and reached out to take Wei Mengrou's cold little hand.

Wei Mengrou immediately pushed his hand away, but Mu Zhian did not give up and went further, holding her small hand tightly.

This time, Wei Mengrou did not struggle again, which clearly meant she acquiesced.

Mu Zhian lifted her chin, then slowly brought his face closer to Wei Mengrou, stopping just as his lips were about to touch the girl's lips. He suddenly whispered, "Sister Mengrou, let me give you a gift."

At this point, he took out a beautiful little box from his storage ring.

Wei Mengrou was jolted awake from her daze. She glanced at Mu Zhian with suspicion, then opened the small box and took a look.

They were black fishnet stockings I'd never seen before.

Noticing Mu Zhian's expectant gaze, Wei Mengrou's eyes gradually turned cold, and she glanced at the young master with disdain: "Is this a gift? It's clearly..."

It's obvious that he wanted to see it himself.

"Please, Sister Mengrou, this is one of my dreams," Mu Zhian pleaded earnestly.

Wei Mengrou stared at the young master with some suspicion: "What exactly do you want me to do?"

"I'd like to ask Sister Mengrou to wear this..."

Wei Mengrou: "And then?"

"Then look at your master with a disgusted expression... The rest is up to you. I believe Sister Mengrou will definitely be fine," Mu Zhian said.

After all, Wei Mengrou possesses maid-related attributes such as being sharp-tongued, aloof, and arrogant. Although she herself may not be aware of this, for Mu Zhian, this is an attribute that is irresistible.

As Wei Mengrou took the small box, she glared at the young master and said, "Are you a pervert?"

Mu Zhian grunted and looked at Wei Mengrou, saying sincerely, "That's right, Sister Mengrou can scold me a little more, it's fine."

Wei Mengrou: "???"

……

Government Affairs Hall.

"Your Majesty, Her Highness the Princess Consort visited Young Master Mu again today."

In front of the main hall where Luo Tan was reviewing memorials, a maid was kneeling respectfully on the soft lichen, reporting in detail what had happened at Mu Zhi'an's place that day.

If you look closely, it's not hard to see that this maid is one of the maids responsible for serving Mu Zhian.

Luo Tan, leaning over the mountain of memorials on the table, asked with a light laugh, "Do you know what the Princess Consort is going to do?"

"She asked Young Master Mu to refine a second-grade elixir..."

Luo Tan gave a soft "hmm," shifting his gaze from the memorial to the maidservant in front of the main hall: "The Lesser Rejuvenating Pill?"

"Yes, Your Majesty is wise," the maid replied respectfully.

"Should we investigate her motives?" she continued.

Luo Tan slowly shook his head: "No need. The princess has an exceptionally high level of perception. Even a powerful expert of the same level would not be able to get close to her without being detected. Besides, she would not do anything to harm Mu Zhian."

"You may leave."

"Yes."

Luo Tan glanced at the bronze bell hanging in the corner, then whispered, "By the way, I need to go into seclusion tonight. Without my orders, no one is allowed to enter my bedchamber to disturb me."

After she finished speaking, she got up to leave.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded in the distance, followed by the arrival of a secret agent: "Your Majesty, I have just received a report that it seems there has been a conflict between the apostles of the Sabbath and the students of Zunyun Academy, and there is quite a disturbance there."

Luo Tan paused slightly, her delicate brows furrowing: "I understand, I will go there myself later."

In Yuzhou, Zunyun Academy holds a position equivalent to that of Liangyi Sect in Dongzhou. When the apostles of Ansha caused trouble there... even Luo Tan couldn't just stand by and watch; he needed to at least understand the details.

She walked gracefully to the entrance of the hall in her snow-white jade boots, looked up at the hazy moonlight, touched her fingertips to her red lips, and sighed softly.

Looks like I won't be able to go back until later.

……

That night.

With the moon and stars shining brightly, Mu Zhian took a shower and left the villa feeling refreshed.

The spiritual energy within the innate furnace seemed to have diminished considerably.

Because Luo Tan had given the order beforehand, Mu Zhi'an passed through the front hall without any hindrance and walked along a luxurious avenue into the rear hall. The maids and servants along the way all bowed slightly, and only after Mu Zhi'an left did they gather in twos and threes to discuss the identity of the young man in hushed tones.