It turns out, they were the main characters.

That's why the princess never paid attention to other people's declarations of love.

Either they were lusting after her body, or they were after the grand scheme behind her.

But Mu Zhian was just a minor cultivator in the Void Returning Realm; he couldn't possibly be considering all that...

Perhaps he did desire her body, but that was because he liked her as a person, not because he was attracted to her past.

Besides, his confession wasn't really a love confession; it was more like stating a fact.

But it is precisely this calm recounting of a fact that is most moving.

However, before the princess could recover, Mu Zhian's eyes quickly dimmed, and he lowered his head sadly, saying softly, "But don't worry, no matter what, in the eyes of the cultivators of Yunzhou, you are still the wife of the Great Peng Emperor. I will not make things difficult for you."

"I only hope that years from now, you will still remember that there was once a little cultivator who secretly admired you." He looked up and revealed a sunny and well-behaved smile.

"Although he and I are husband and wife, we are not husband and wife in reality..." The princess didn't know why she was explaining this, she just said it for no reason.

Mu Zhian was surprised at first, then sighed softly, "You have silently contributed so much to Yunzhou in the past, but the Great Peng Emperor has taken almost all the credit for himself. It's really a bit too much."

“If you were my Daoist partner, I would probably cherish you and protect you, instead of arguing with you like I have these past two days, and even dumping all the big and small matters of Yunzhou on you.”

The princess remained silent.

Mu Zhian gave a wry smile: "I'm sorry... This is, after all, a family matter between you and the Great Peng Emperor. It seems inappropriate for me, as an outsider, to interfere in this matter."

"...It's alright. You are someone Luo Tan trusts, and you're practically one of his own. There's no need to be so formal."

The princess's feelings were already complicated, but upon hearing Mu Zhian's words, she felt a surge of warmth in her heart.

The frustration caused by the inaction of the officials in Yunzhou also dissipated somewhat.

Mu Zhian's words were like a warm current flowing slowly through her body, bringing her a sense of comfort.

If this person were not the Azure Emperor's Daoist partner, perhaps she would indeed become close to him for no reason? The princess suddenly thought.

After all, Mu Zhian is the only man who understands her so far.

He also has a gentle personality and is quite handsome...

Moreover... the wonder of the Heavenly Court's spiritual energy, once experienced, makes one want to experience it a second time.

Looking at the dazed princess, Mu Zhian took two steps forward and gently embraced the beautiful and sexy woman.

The warm atmosphere made the princess's eyes glaze over slightly, until she felt a strange hand wrap around her waist. Only then did the princess snap out of her daze and gently push Mu Zhi'an away.

She tried to remain calm, but when she saw Mu Zhian's anxious and uncertain appearance, she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.

"In any case, let's go inside first and talk about it. Whatever it is, it's better to wait until the erosion of the Heavenly Dao is resolved before discussing it."

Mu Zhian gave her a complicated look, forced a smile, and said, "Well... that's true. The matter of Yunzhou is more important. Let's go, I'll take you deep into the Heavenly Court."

The princess bit her lip lightly, gazing at the boy's somewhat lonely and desolate figure with a complicated expression, but remained silent for a long time.

……

The Great Roc Emperor's true form is an ancient race from the Northern Realm called the Kunpeng.

There are some vague records in the history books of Kyushu in the past, describing the Kunpeng in the northern border as having a huge size.

This race is too powerful, but perhaps because of this, the number of Kunpeng is extremely small, and they have difficulty reproducing.

However, every Kunpeng is born with amazing combat power, and the Great Peng Emperor is the best among them.

Even though he has been focused on ascension to immortality all these years, the combat power of the Kunpeng is still not to be underestimated.

That very day, Emperor Dapeng personally led an expedition to the north of Yunzhou, intending to suppress the forbidden land.

The Forbidden Land of Life is actually part of Yunzhou. However, the rules within the Forbidden Land of Life are different from those outside, which makes the powerful figures of the Nine Provinces somewhat wary of it.

Even the Great Roc Emperor dared not set foot there easily, but only activated his immortal techniques to attack from the outside, resisting the progress of the rules of the forbidden land of life encroaching outward.

But just as the princess had predicted, while it was impossible to stop the spread of the rules of the forbidden zone, it was not difficult to delay it for a few days.

After all, so many eyes in Yunzhou are watching. If he were to leave so hastily, it would disappoint the cultivators of Yunzhou... In that case, the faith power gathered in Yunzhou would also dissipate.

This is something that the Great Roc Emperor cannot accept.

However, even the Great Roc Emperor was completely powerless against the power of the rules of the Forbidden Land of Life. He could only delay as much as possible and watch helplessly as the power of the rules emanating from the Forbidden Land of Life quietly expanded and spread outward.

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

That night, the Great Roc Emperor stared intently at the mysterious gray mist surging from the forbidden land of life, his brows furrowed, his heart filled with a sense of powerlessness, unsure how to resist this power of the rules.

However, at that moment, he unexpectedly discovered that the gray mist containing the power of rules was inexplicably shrinking back, as if it was wary of something.

"Are the rules within the forbidden zone of life retreating on their own...?"

The Great Roc Emperor watched this scene, his eyes flickering with surprise and uncertainty.

A moment later, a dazzling golden light emanated from his body, his aura becoming incredibly powerful. Without hesitation, he charged towards the forbidden area of ​​life.

Although the reason is unknown, this is a golden opportunity for a counterattack, and also a chance to make the cultivators of Yunzhou believe in him even more...

During this battle, people could only see a dazzling golden light flashing in the north of Yunzhou, but they did not realize that in this world, there seemed to be a spiritual energy different from that of the Nine Provinces that was dispelling the erosion of the Heavenly Dao over the years.

Five days later, the power of the rules of the forbidden zone of life completely shrank back to its original range.

Some cultivators in Yunzhou admired the power of their Lord of Yunzhou, but only the northern cultivators present at the time knew that although the Great Peng Emperor seemed to be fighting fiercely with the Forbidden Land of Life, in reality, the Forbidden Land of Life did not seem to have retreated because of the Great Peng Emperor, but rather because it was wary of some 'mystery'.

That was because the princess spent a lot of effort to 'copy' the spiritual energy of the Heavenly Court, and only then did she manage to resist the erosion of the Heavenly Dao in the dark, and temporarily make the power of the rules of the forbidden land of life retreat.

On the afternoon of the same day that the forbidden land of life was breached, the Great Roc Emperor returned in triumph, returning to the palace in unparalleled glory.

The courtiers were already waiting outside the palace, cheering and welcoming the return of the ruler of Yunzhou.

Emperor Dapeng enjoyed the praise from his ministers, but amidst the lively clamor, a minister suddenly asked in confusion, "By the way, why haven't we seen Her Highness the Princess today?"

Having repelled the forbidden zone of life, Emperor Dapeng was clearly in a very good mood. He smiled and said, "My beloved concubine is in seclusion in the palace today, saying that she has recently gained some insights. Ministers, please don't worry about it."

He paused, then continued, "Today we have repelled the forbidden zone of life, and we should celebrate properly. After the celebration, I will go and check on how my beloved concubine is doing."

The assembled officials looked at each other, then raised their hands in a gesture of respect: "The Great Peng Emperor is wise."

……

In a courtyard of the palace.

Mu Zhian sat by the window, looking at the spring scenery of the courtyard outside, and couldn't help but sigh, "It's so quiet around here today. It seems that everyone has gone to welcome the Great Roc Emperor after his return."

"By repelling the forbidden zone of life and turning the danger into safety in Yunzhou, we will naturally be praised."

The princess walked to the window in a pair of delicate, small, silver-white embroidered shoes and looked up at the outside.

Even though she was in a quiet place, she could still vaguely sense the liveliness in the palace.

"However, they probably don't know that the real hero this time is not the Great Roc Emperor, but you."

The princess looked at Mu Zhian with tenderness, her eyes filled with sincere gratitude: "If it weren't for you this time, Yunzhou would probably have faced annihilation."

"I've already said, I'll do anything to help you," Mu Zhian said with a shake of his head and a smile.

"Besides, I only took you to the Heavenly Court; what happened after that has nothing to do with me."

Mu Zhian paused slightly: "Your Highness, this was clearly your achievement. Are you really going to just give all the credit to Emperor Dapeng?"

The princess said with a faint smile, "I have never been interested in showing my face in public. As long as Yunzhou is at peace, that's enough for me."

Mu Zhian frowned and said, "But the Great Peng Emperor doesn't know about this... Won't he think you've done nothing this time?"

After Mu Zhian finished speaking, he suddenly realized something and quickly added, "Sorry... this doesn't seem to be something I should interrupt about."

"I've already said it, you don't need to treat yourself as an outsider anymore," the princess said gently, gazing at Mu Zhi'an with tender eyes.

Such an important secret of the Heavenly Court is probably unknown even to Luo Tan, but Mu Zhi'an is willing to tell her such an important secret in order to help her.

That alone was enough for her to trust Mu Zhian.

After all, the Heavenly Court is involved in the matter of 'ascension,' and if the person who knows about this is an evil person, then Mu Zhian will be in danger.

"Although it's not appropriate for me to say this, I still have to give you a reminder... No matter what, never easily reveal the secrets of the Heavenly Court to outsiders, otherwise it will bring you enormous trouble," the princess sincerely advised.

Mu Zhian smiled and said, "I know, and I won't just tell anyone else about this."

He paused, his tone tinged with worry: "I'm more worried about you than about me... Although Her Highness the Princess is magnanimous and doesn't care about the credit for saving Yunzhou... I wonder what Emperor Dapeng thinks of her."

The princess fell silent for a moment.

Mu Zhian's words hit a nerve with her.

Similar things have happened before. Even though she solved the problem, the unsuspecting Great Roc Emperor thought she had done nothing, which even caused a lot of unpleasantness.

Let's leave it at that.

The princess sighed softly, then took out a willow branch emitting a faint wisp of smoke from under her wide sleeves and handed it to Mu Zhian.

"This is the Cloud Willow that I asked someone to find for me these past few days. Young friend Mu, it's best not to get too involved in the affairs of Yunzhou, lest you get yourself into trouble. After you refine this Cloud Willow, I will send you back to Yuzhou."

"After that... with Luo Tan's help, you should be able to comprehend the Dao smoothly very soon."

The princess's gaze toward Mu Zhi'an was filled with complex emotions. A few days ago, she harbored considerable hostility toward Mu Zhi'an, believing that he deliberately approached Luo Tan because he coveted Luo Tan's innate furnace.

But now, her opinion of Mu Zhian has completely changed.

Although he is somewhat fickle... he is still very attentive and sincere towards women.

However, he already has the Azure Emperor as his Daoist partner... and she is, after all, the Great Roc Emperor's nominal wife, so there's no way she could have any connection with Mu Zhi'an.

This time, we sent him back to Yuzhou. Perhaps the next time we meet will be hundreds or thousands of years later.

The princess gazed silently at Mu Zhi'an, her mind filled with a myriad of thoughts.

Mu Zhian looked at the cloud and smoke willow in the princess's hand, and suddenly sighed softly.

"What's wrong? Is there something bothering you?" the princess asked softly.

Before saying goodbye, she wanted to see if there was anything she could do to help Mu Zhian.

"With His Majesty Luo Tan's assistance, I believe I will indeed be able to quickly enter the Enlightenment Realm..."

Mu Zhian chuckled self-deprecatingly: "But after attaining enlightenment, what exactly should I comprehend as the essence of the Dao?"

The princess paused slightly, then fell silent.

Indeed, Mu Zhian is pointing out a very real problem.

The Enlightenment Realm, simply put, is about choosing one of the three paths—Heaven, Earth, and Man—and comprehending its essence.

It can be said that the Enlightenment Realm is the foundation of the Harmony Realm. Once one has chosen a Daoist essence after entering the Enlightenment Realm, it is impossible to change it in the Harmony Realm.