It Turns Out, They Are the Protagonists
Chapter 499: Princess, You’re So Kind to Me~ p1

That night, the moon was bright and the stars sparse.

The dignified and mature Princess opened her eyes, as if sensing something, and left her room, lifting her skirt.

“Your Highness, do you have any instructions?” The sweet and respectful voice of her personal maid, who had accompanied her on this trip, came from the doorway.

The Princess slightly raised her chin, an unusual glint in her gentle eyes beneath the veil, and said, “That direction is Luo Tan’s bedchamber, right?”

The maid looked up and said, “Yes, Her Majesty the Pill Emperor usually rests in that bedchamber.”

“Did Your Highness notice something?” the maid continued to ask.

The Princess blinked her beautiful eyes, gazing in that direction. After a while, she gently exhaled.

At this moment, above Luo Tan’s bedchamber, faint phantoms of fox tails could be seen, seductive and alluring.

And within those fox tails, besides Demonic Qi, there was also a sacred Heavenly Court Spiritual Energy.

However, most cultivators couldn’t sense what was happening in Luo Tan’s palace at this moment, not even the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox’s aura, let alone the Heavenly Court’s Spiritual Energy.

But the Princess was innately connected to the Great Dao, meaning her perception was astonishing. In other words, her ability to catch someone cheating was maxed out.

As long as Mu Zhian was still within the imperial palace, she could sense even the slightest leakage of Heavenly Court Spiritual Energy from him.

Moreover, his Heavenly Court Spiritual Energy was rapidly dissipating at this moment…

“She’s really impatient,” the Princess raised a delicate eyebrow and murmured to herself.

The Nine Cauldrons Nascent Soul Pill hadn’t even been refined yet. Luo Tan devouring that ‘cake’ so quickly wouldn’t affect her, but it would have quite an impact on Mu Zhian.

Luo Tan possessed the Innate Celestial Furnace, and so did Mu Zhian. If the two performed the ritual of exchanging Spiritual Energy, Mu Zhian would likely comprehend the Dao Rhyme immediately afterward.

A normal Innate Celestial Furnace naturally couldn’t have such an exaggerated supplementary effect, but Luo Tan was at Dao Integration Realm, and also possessed the Pill Immortal Physique, innately favored by heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

The benefits of dual cultivating with her were tempting even to Dao Integration Realm experts of the same realm.

And if a cultivator of lower realm than Luo Tan were fortunate enough to receive her favor… it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they would be completely reborn.

Usually, the moment after Mu Zhian comprehended the Dao Rhyme was when his chances of reaching Soul Transformation were highest.

In other words, if he could wait until the Nine Cauldrons Nascent Soul Pill was refined before performing the Spiritual Energy exchange ritual with Luo Tan… Mu Zhian’s success rate of reaching Soul Transformation could be increased by another ten to twenty percent.

It was no wonder the Princess thought Luo Tan was being impatient.

“What does Your Highness mean?” the personal maid asked softly.

“Nothing, you may withdraw. I want to take a walk alone,” the Princess said.

The night wind, carrying a slight chill, blew against her dress, outlining her alluring, sexy, and voluptuous curves.

The Princess strolled through the imperial garden, and in a daze, she found herself before a palace.

Last night, in this very bedchamber, she was… by that little cultivator who had just recently reached Nascent Soul Realm.

However, that was purely a misunderstanding caused by her disguising herself as Luo Tan.

Now that the misunderstanding was cleared, the person with Mu Zhian was Luo Tan.

Thinking of this, recalling the Heavenly Court Spiritual Energy she felt earlier and the young man’s gentle kiss… the Princess’s heart filled with complex emotions.

“Her Majesty has ordered that no one is allowed to enter tonight. Please return, Your Highness.”

Just as she was about to enter the bedchamber, a guard’s respectful voice came from the doorway, stopping the Princess.

The Princess raised a delicate eyebrow: “Didn’t she tell you that I don’t need to be stopped no matter where I go?”

The guard showed a troubled expression and said, “Her Majesty did say that, but she also said no one is allowed to enter tonight…”

The Princess nodded, “Alright, then I won’t disturb her tonight…”

She paused, then continued, “Just pretend I wasn’t here tonight, understand?”

Although her eyes were still gentle, her words carried an undeniable authority.

The guard’s heart trembled, and he said, “Yes.”

The Princess turned and left the bedchamber.

Then, the next moment, her figure vanished from the guard’s sight like a ghost.

Soon, the woman appeared inside the bedchamber.

The Princess was a gentle woman and wouldn’t make things difficult for a guard, after all, he had his difficulties.

But there was nowhere she couldn’t go if she wanted to.

The bedchamber was quiet, without a sound.

Usually, at this time, there would be servants attending to her, but tonight, not a single figure could be seen.

Just then, the Princess faintly heard a sweet and seductive voice. She followed the sound, concealing her aura, and gracefully approached the bedchamber door.

For some reason, although she wasn’t the one involved, the Princess’s heart couldn’t help but race.

She subconsciously held her breath and peeked through the crack in the door.

“Your Majesty, according to what you said earlier, third to fourth-grade pills, as long as one’s mental focus is sufficient, even alchemists close to the third grade can refine them?” Mu Zhian’s voice came from inside the room.

Not seeing the scene she imagined, the Princess couldn’t help but be stunned.

Because at this moment, Mu Zhian was sitting at a square table, holding an alchemy manual, asking Luo Tan for guidance.

And the Empress sat opposite Mu Zhian, patiently teaching him.

They weren’t… but simply discussing alchemy?

But if that was the case, what was with the dense Spiritual Energy above the bedchamber earlier…?

At this moment, countless question marks seemed to pop up above the Princess’s head, her charming face beneath the veil filled with disbelief.

The Heavenly Court Spiritual Energy was clearly filling the entire bedchamber, and faint phantoms of nine fox tails could be seen within the room, as if endless charm was emanating.

But they didn’t seem to be engaging in any intimate acts…

What was going on?

The Princess looked at the harmonious scene in the room, her eyes flickering slightly, momentarily dazed.

Heavenly Court Spiritual Energy filled the air… This Heavenly Court Spiritual Energy was countless times denser than that in the Minor Rejuvenation Pill Mu Zhian refined.

If she could completely absorb this Heavenly Court Spiritual Energy, perhaps she could truly touch the threshold of the Transcendence Realm… This absurd thought couldn’t help but arise in the Princess’s mind.

Just then, Luo Tan inside the room seemed to sense the presence outside, her hair cascading lazily down, and casually looked up.

Their gazes met, and a hint of surprise appeared in Luo Tan’s eyes. Then, she smiled and said, “Why didn’t you have someone announce your arrival? My discussion with him is almost over, come in if you have something to say.”

The Princess collected her thoughts and said in her gentle and pleasant voice, “Since Young Master Mu is here tonight, I’ll come back tomorrow. I originally came to see you tonight just to play a game of Go with you.”

“Alright, then I’ll come find you tomorrow,” Luo Tan smiled faintly.

After giving Mu Zhian one last look, the Princess turned and left the bedchamber, the confusion in her heart finally dissipating.

She came to the bedchamber tonight simply wanting to know if her close friend was planning to be intimate with Mu Zhian, this Innate Celestial Furnace… But the scene inside the room proved she was just overthinking.

However, if the Princess had fully opened the bedchamber door, she would have seen a completely different scene.

For example, the Pill Emperor, sitting opposite Mu Zhian, one of her snow-white jade boots casually resting on Mu Zhian’s leg under the table.

Even Mu Zhian, who had experienced countless storms, was almost shocked by Luo Tan’s move. He wasn’t silent just now because he didn’t want to speak, but because he was busy signaling Luo Tan with his eyes.

However, Luo Tan simply rested her cheek on her hand, gazing at Mu Zhian with charming eyes, while elegantly and calmly explaining the key points of alchemy, her boot rubbing against his leg. At the same time, she was also casually chatting with her best friend… even planning to invite her in for a game of Go.

Only at this moment did Mu Zhian understand why Dao Integration Realm experts were Dao Integration Realm experts… This mentality wasn’t something ordinary people could possess.

…

“Aren’t you worried she’ll really come in?”

After the sound of footsteps gradually faded away, Mu Zhian looked at Luo Tan, who was sitting opposite him, and said helplessly.

“I’m not worried, what are you worried about?”

Luo Tan smiled brightly, toying with a strand of hair, and said calmly, “Besides, nothing happened between you and me tonight… Even if she came in, she wouldn’t say anything.”

Of course nothing happened to you if she came in, but if she came in and saw you stepping on the Lord of the Heavenly Court… wouldn’t I die of embarrassment on the spot?

But thankfully, everything turned out fine.

“The Princess probably won’t come again. Aren’t you planning to stay a while longer?”

Luo Tan looked at Mu Zhian, who had stood up and was about to leave, and couldn’t help asking softly.

“According to what you said earlier, waiting until the Nine Cauldrons Nascent Soul Pill is refined before performing the Spiritual Energy exchange ritual would be most beneficial to me… Then what am I still doing here?” Mu Zhian countered lazily.

Luo Tan tilted her head slightly, her tone elegant and charming, “Just as you said before, there’s more than one way to exchange Spiritual Energy, isn’t there?”

She removed one of her snow-white jade boots, faintly revealing her tender white feet, rested her cheek on her hand, and looked at Mu Zhian with a smile: “Of course, if you want to go back and focus on cultivation, I won’t stop you.”

“What’s your choice~?”

…

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

During these three days, besides visiting Luo Tan’s bedchamber every night to ask about alchemy, Mu Zhian spent most of his time cultivating in his courtyard.

At this moment, in a courtyard within the imperial palace, Luo Tan sat under a pavilion, sipping tea, a Go piece in her hand.

The sexy Princess sat opposite her, her beautiful eyes quietly gazing at the Go board, seemingly pondering the game.

“With the Great Peng Emperor’s personality, he probably won’t wait seven days before coming to find you. What do you plan to tell him then?” The Princess suddenly brought up an irrelevant topic.

“The Myriad Transformations Qi Cauldron is a sacred artifact of Yu State. No one can take it out of Yu State… I’ll naturally tell him the truth.”

“As for offending the Great Peng Emperor… it doesn’t really matter. After all, he probably also knows that borrowing the Myriad Transformations Qi Cauldron isn’t realistic. He didn’t have much hope from the start.”

Luo Tan placed a white Go piece on the board, taking several surrounded black pieces, and looked at the Princess with a smile, “What about you? Aren’t you planning to persuade me on his behalf?”

“If you were the one asking, I would seriously consider it.”

The Princess slowly shook her head: “Not to mention whether the Great Peng Emperor can truly refine immortal-grade pills after borrowing the Myriad Transformations Qi Cauldron, even if he can, it doesn’t have much to do with me.”

She paused, then casually asked, “If Mu Zhian asked to borrow the cauldron, would you lend it to him?”

“No,” Luo Tan answered decisively.

“But I would help him refine pills,” she added.

“Because he’s your lover?” The Princess emphasized the word “lover”.

Luo Tan smiled without speaking.

“The Jade Empress will probably be back in a day or two. You should restrain yourself a little then,” the Princess reminded her close friend.