It turns out, they were the main characters.

The princess was taken aback, seemingly recalling what had happened in the palace chambers earlier. A blush quickly spread across her pretty face as she glanced at Mu Zhi'an and whispered, "Do you dare?"

Her beautiful eyes remained gentle, but her tone carried a hint of warning, or rather, pressure: "Although the Great Roc Emperor and I are not actually husband and wife, in the eyes of outsiders we are still husband and wife. If he finds out about this, even with the Azure Emperor protecting you, he will probably still demand an explanation."

Mu Zhian was taken aback: "But today at the palace, wasn't it you who first impersonated His Majesty, causing that misunderstanding?"

The princess chuckled lightly and said casually, "If I wanted to, I could even turn black into white."

Mu Zhian was suddenly rendered speechless.

He never expected that a powerful Dao-merging expert would resort to such petty tricks!

The princess raised the corner of her mouth, her tone still gentle, but with a hint of warning: "You'd better keep what happened between us tonight a secret. If Luo Tan finds out about it, it will indeed cause me some trouble."

"But if the Great Roc Emperor finds out about this, you'll probably be in a lot of trouble. You don't want to be constantly on the mind of a Dao Integration expert, do you?"

Looking at the silent boy, the princess's smile became even more captivating.

Her eyes were incredibly gentle, yet they held a condescending air.

He was just a minor cultivator after all; trying to outsmart her with these petty tricks was ultimately futile.

The princess was about to speak again to end the conversation and put the matter to rest.

But at that moment, Mu Zhian suddenly reached out and grabbed the beautiful married woman's soft little hand.

The princess's delicate body trembled, and she almost instinctively wanted to pull her hand away, but at that moment, the young man's gentle voice came from beside her:

"Your Highness, you wouldn't want His Majesty Luo Tan to find out about what happened tonight, would you?"

……

……

[A long chapter of nearly 7,000 words, full of sincerity, I'm asking for a final wave of votes and swords at the end of the month~~]

Chapter 498 The Bug of Naturally Born Furnaces Interacting with Each Other (5.5K)

On the viewing platform, the princess let Mu Zhi'an hold her hand, looking somewhat surprised.

Even she probably wouldn't have imagined that a mere cultivator who had only recently entered the Void Returning Realm would dare to threaten her.

After an unknown amount of time, the princess suddenly awoke, pulled her hand back, and glared at Mu Zhi'an: "You actually dare to threaten me?"

Mu Zhian shrugged: "It's just a matter of returning the favor. Has Your Highness forgotten how you threatened me just now?"

The princess was speechless for a moment.

"In the end, if you hadn't concealed your identity and impersonated His Majesty Luo Tan, I wouldn't have been misled," Mu Zhian continued.

The princess's rosy lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but the words stuck in her throat, and she couldn't utter a sound.

Indeed, back in the bedchamber, she had disguised herself as Luo Tan in order to trick Mu Zhi'an into revealing his secret.

Originally, Mu Zhian simply wanted to be intimate with Luo Tan and had no idea that the Great Roc Emperor's fiancée had actually transformed into Luo Tan's appearance.

“Actually, even if you tell Her Majesty Luo Tan, I don’t think she will say anything,” Mu Zhian suddenly said.

The princess glanced at Mu Zhi'an: "You mean, she discovered her man being intimate with the person she trusted most, but didn't say anything?"

She chuckled softly: "Perhaps it's as you say, but I don't want to gamble... As for what we're going to do tonight, let's leave it at that."

"But there is something I would like to ask Young Master Mu."

As the beautiful woman spoke, her gaze calmly fixed on Mu Zhi'an, her usually gentle eyes now shimmering with a moist luster.

"Please speak, Your Highness. I will answer all your questions to the best of my knowledge," Mu Zhian said with a smile.

"You are indeed a natural furnace, aren't you?" the princess asked.

"Didn't Your Highness already feel this clearly tonight?" Mu Zhi'an countered.

Even though her face was covered by a veil, one could still see a blush quickly spreading across the princess's pretty face beneath the veil as she glared at Mu Zhi'an: "Young Master Mu, in the future, do not mention this matter in front of outsiders... It will not do you or me any good."

"Or is it that Young Master Mu is deliberately flirting with me?"

Mu Zhian was taken aback: "If I had to say, wasn't it Her Highness the Princess who flirted with me first tonight...? At first, I thought the person in the bedchamber was Luo Tan."

When Mu Zhian said this, his eyes dimmed slightly: "My innocence was ruined by Her Highness the Princess, and now I am being slandered by you... Fine, after all, you are in a high position and have great power, so I will swallow this insult."

The princess glanced sideways at the frivolous fellow and said, "You clearly benefited, so why does it seem like it's all my fault?"

Mu Zhi'an remained expressionless, glancing at the foreign apostle and the academy elder who had already stepped onto the stage and were preparing to fight, and casually posed a seemingly insignificant question:

"Does Your Highness believe that men and women should be equal in this world?"

Without a second thought, the gentle and dignified princess nodded lightly: "Of course."

Mu Zhian laughed and said, "Then why do you think that if I mistook you for Luo Tan tonight and kissed you, it would be me who took advantage, instead of you?"

"..."

After a long silence, the princess glanced at Mu Zhi'an and snorted coldly, "Soliciting nonsense."

Mu Zhian smiled, but did not continue to tease the other party.

Firstly, the Great Roc Emperor's fiancée is, after all, at the Dao Integration Realm. Although she has a gentle personality, if she is truly angered and loses her temper, things could get very difficult to handle.

Secondly... because of Miss Linglong's matter, he will probably need to ask the Princess for help in the future.

Mu Zhian said, "Tonight's events will proceed as Your Highness wishes, so let's leave it at that."

"If you need any help in the future, I will do my best. Please believe in my sincerity." Mu Zhian's words were full of sincerity.

If Mu Zhian had said these words before tonight, the princess would have been disdainful and thought he was overestimating himself.

Because in her eyes, Mu Zhian was just a child, at most a little prettier and a little more talented, and he had achieved the Refinement of Spirit and Return to Emptiness earlier than his peers... but that was all.

But now... the spiritual energy brought by Mu Zhi'an still flows in her body.

Even between the lips and teeth, one could still feel the wonderful celestial energy.

Its intoxicating aroma is unmatched by any fine wine in the world.

Moreover, he understands the meaning of 'humility and modesty'.

The secret of the innate furnace cauldron—if she hadn't disguised herself as Luo Tan tonight, she probably still wouldn't know that Mu Zhi'an harbored such a huge secret.

The innate furnace was filled with the spiritual energy of the Heavenly Court...

If this matter were to get out, even with Fairy Yao Meng's protection, Mu Zhi'an would likely become the object of female cultivators' adoration.

Feeling Mu Zhian's utmost sincerity, the princess was slightly moved and asked in a melodious voice, "Why are you willing to help me?"

“It’s very simple. You are a trusted friend of His Majesty Luo Tan, and today, when Emperor Dapeng wanted to put pressure on me, it was you who protected me.” Mu Zhian revealed a gentle smile.

"Today's events were caused by me, so I will naturally protect you," the princess said, shaking her head.

"Perhaps it was just a small favor for Your Highness, but I will always remember this kindness," Mu Zhian said sincerely.

He paused, then hesitated, "However, the Great Roc Emperor is still your fiancé. You mustn't let me cause a conflict with him... that wouldn't be good, after all, he is the ruler of Yunzhou, and his power is immense..."

The princess said calmly, "No matter how powerful he is, he can't really be my enemy. You don't need to worry about things on my side."

Mu Zhian was taken aback and subconsciously looked at the princess.

"what happened?"

Seemingly feeling a little uncomfortable being stared at, the princess couldn't help but glance to the side and ask.

Mu Zhian came to her senses and said softly, "It's nothing... I just feel that Her Highness the Princess is so kind to me."

Although she had met many men in the past, she had never seen a man as alluring as Mu Zhian before. Coupled with the ambiguity between the two tonight, for some reason, the princess's heart began to beat faster.

Her gentle, beautiful eyes lingered on Mu Zhi'an for a long time before she came back to her senses: "In short, just remember not to leak out what happened tonight, and you'll benefit from it in the future."

"I will keep this in mind."

Mu Zhian quickly lowered his head, maintaining the proper demeanor of a junior.

Their casual conversation ended there, and just then, a fluctuation of spiritual energy was heard not far away.

Mu Zhian looked up and saw an old man on the white jade platform to the north, his palm transforming into a beam of light as he charged toward the alien apostles on the other side of the platform with overwhelming momentum.

"After the rules of heaven and earth were rewritten, some cultivators who were previously stuck in a bottleneck period have reached the threshold of the Enlightenment Realm, and the Void Returning Grade, which was difficult to improve even slightly in the past, is now much easier than before."

The princess's tone was tinged with a sigh as she softly said, "I just wonder how many cultivators at the Returning Void Realm will die in the Enlightenment Tribulation this time."

Mu Zhi'an's mind stirred slightly, and she asked, "From what Your Highness is saying, you have witnessed the rewriting of the rules of heaven and earth in the past?"

The princess nodded: "Every few thousand years, the rules of heaven and earth may change. This time you have just caught up with the golden age, and with Luo Tan around... as long as you successfully refine the Nine Cauldrons Refining Void Pill, it probably won't be long before you attain enlightenment."

Mu Zhian continued, "The prerequisite is that we can obtain the medicinal materials for the Refining Void Pill, especially the Cloud Mist Willow from Yunzhou."

The princess glanced at Mu Zhi'an, as if she could see through his thoughts, and said calmly, "Don't worry, after I return to Yunzhou in a couple of days, I will take you to find the Cloud Mist Willow."

"Then I thank Your Highness in advance." Mu Zhian raised his hand and bowed.

After the two sat in front of the viewing platform for a while, the battle between the alien apostle and the academy elder in the distance seemed to be nearing its end.

Just as Luo Tan had initially predicted, the elders who could teach students in this academy must be quite capable.

"That elder seems to have won," Mu Zhian said softly.

The princess nodded, then her gaze fell on Luo Tan, who had somehow returned to the vicinity of the high platform.

“Luo Tan will handle the rest. I plan to return to the palace first. Do you want to wait for her, or come with me?” she asked.

This sounds like a "choose her or me" question... For no reason, Mu Zhian recalled that when the chaotic situation broke out before, Ruoxi and the others had asked him to make a similar choice.

“I’m a little tired tonight. Since Your Highness doesn’t mind, let’s travel together,” Mu Zhi’an said with a smile.

“But it would be best to tell her beforehand,” he added.

The princess nodded gently, and looking at Mu Zhi'an who was about to leave the viewing platform, she suddenly hesitated and said, "By the way... I need a few more of the Lesser Rejuvenation Pills you refined. After you return this time, Young Master Mu, could you refine some more?"

"You mean the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill that has been infused with a little bit of Heavenly Court spiritual energy?" Mu Zhian asked.

The princess nodded slightly: "This is a favor I owe you. If you ever want anything in the future, you can tell me, and I will repay this favor."

Sister, I don't want to work hard anymore, I don't know if that's okay... Mu Zhian thought to himself, and said, "After I go back and refine the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill, I will send it to you."

……

After a bumpy journey, Mu Zhian returned to the palace.

Zunyun Academy was close to the palace, so the return trip did not take long.