It Turns Out, They Are the Protagonists
Chapter 504: Let’s Wrong the Jade Empress Together~p2

The Great Peng Emperor’s true form was that of an ancient race in the Northern Frontier, called the Kun Peng.

There were some vague records in the history books of the Nine Provinces, describing the enormous size of the Northern Frontier Kun Peng.

This race was incredibly powerful, but perhaps because of this, their numbers were extremely small, and it was difficult for them to reproduce.

However, every Kun Peng was born with astonishing combat power, and the Great Peng Emperor was the most outstanding among them.

Even though he had been focused on Transcendence and ascension these years, the combat power of a Kun Peng couldn’t be underestimated.

That day, the Great Peng Emperor personally set out for the north of Cloud Province, intending to suppress the Forbidden Land.

The Forbidden Land of Life was actually also part of Cloud Province. However, the rules within the Forbidden Land of Life were different from the outside world, making the great powers of the Nine Provinces wary of it.

Even the Great Peng Emperor didn’t dare enter rashly, only using immortal techniques to attack from the outside, resisting the Forbidden Land of Life’s encroaching rules.

But just as the Princess predicted, although it was impossible to stop the spread of the Forbidden Land of Life’s rules, delaying it for a few days wasn’t difficult.

After all, with so many eyes watching in Cloud Province now, if he retreated easily, the Cloud Province cultivators would be disappointed in him… And the power of faith gathered in Cloud Province would also dissipate.

This was something the Great Peng Emperor couldn’t accept.

However, even the Great Peng Emperor couldn’t do anything about the Forbidden Land of Life’s rule power. He could only delay it as much as possible, watching helplessly as the rule power emanating from the Forbidden Land of Life quietly expanded and spread.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

On this night, the Great Peng Emperor stared at the mysterious gray mist surging from the Forbidden Land of Life, his brows deeply furrowed, his heart filled with helplessness, not knowing how to resist this rule power.

However, just then, he unexpectedly discovered that the gray mist containing the rule power was actually receding strangely, as if wary of something.

“The rules within the Forbidden Land of Life are actively retreating…?”

The Great Peng Emperor looked at this scene, his eyes flickering, filled with suspicion and uncertainty.

After a while, a dazzling golden light emanated from his body, his aura incredibly powerful. Throwing caution to the wind, he charged towards the Forbidden Land of Life.

Although he didn’t know the reason, this was a great opportunity to counterattack, and also a chance to make the Cloud Province cultivators believe in him even more…

In this battle, people could only see a dazzling golden light flickering in the north of Cloud Province, but they didn’t notice that within this world, a Spiritual Energy different from the Nine Provinces was dispelling the Heavenly Dao’s erosion of these past years.

And five days later, the rule power of the Forbidden Land of Life completely retreated to its original boundaries.

Some Cloud Province cultivators praised their ruler’s strength, but only the Northern cultivators present at the time knew that although the Great Peng Emperor seemed to be fighting fiercely against the Forbidden Land of Life, in reality, the Forbidden Land of Life didn’t retreat because of the Great Peng Emperor, but because it was wary of something ‘mysterious’.

It was the Princess who had spent a great deal of effort ‘replicating’ Heavenly Court Spiritual Energy, painstakingly resisting the Heavenly Dao’s erosion, making the Forbidden Land of Life’s rule power temporarily retreat.

On the afternoon of the day the Forbidden Land of Life retreated, the Great Peng Emperor triumphantly returned to the imperial palace.

The ministers had long been waiting outside, cheering and welcoming the return of the Cloud Province ruler.

The Great Peng Emperor basked in the ministers’ praises. Amidst the lively commotion, a minister suddenly asked doubtfully, “By the way, why haven’t I seen Her Highness the Princess today?”

Having repelled the Forbidden Land of Life, the Great Peng Emperor was clearly in a good mood and said with a smile, “My beloved consort is in secluded cultivation in the palace today, saying she had some insights recently. There’s no need for you to worry, ministers.”

He paused, then continued, “Having repelled the Forbidden Land of Life today, we should celebrate. After the celebration, I’ll go and see how my beloved consort is doing.”

The ministers exchanged glances, then cupped their hands: “His Majesty the Great Peng Emperor is wise.”

…

In a certain courtyard within the imperial palace.

Mu Zhian sat by the window, looking at the spring scenery outside, and couldn’t help but sigh, “It’s so quiet around here today. It seems everyone went to welcome the Great Peng Emperor after his return.”

“Repelling the Forbidden Land of Life and saving Cloud Province from danger would naturally earn him praise.”

The Princess, wearing exquisite silver-white embroidered shoes, walked to the window and looked outside.

Even in this quiet place, she could still faintly sense the commotion within the imperial palace.

“But they probably don’t know that the true hero this time wasn’t the Great Peng Emperor, but you.”

The Princess’s gaze turned gentle as she looked at Mu Zhian, sincere gratitude in her eyes: “If it weren’t for you, Cloud Province would probably have faced a catastrophic disaster.”

“I said it before, as long as I can help you, it’s fine,” Mu Zhian shook his head and smiled.

“Besides, I only took you to the Heavenly Court. What happened afterward has nothing to do with me.”

Mu Zhian paused slightly, “Your Highness, this time, it was clearly your achievement, are you really planning to give all the credit to the Great Peng Emperor?”

The Princess said with a faint smile, “I’m not interested in taking credit. As long as Cloud Province is safe, that’s enough.”

Mu Zhian frowned, “But the Great Peng Emperor doesn’t know about this… Will he think you didn’t do anything?”

After saying that, Mu Zhian suddenly realized something and quickly added, “Sorry… This isn’t something I should be commenting on.”

“I’ve said it before, you don’t need to be so polite with me,” the Princess said softly, her eyes gentle as she gazed at Mu Zhian.

Such an important secret as the Heavenly Court, even Luo Tan might not know about it, but Mu Zhian was willing to tell her for her sake.

This alone was enough for her to trust Mu Zhian.

After all, the Heavenly Court was related to ‘ascension’. If the person who knew about this was a villain, Mu Zhian would be in danger.

“Although it’s not appropriate for me to say this, I still have to remind you… No matter what, don’t reveal the secret of the Heavenly Court to outsiders, otherwise, it will bring you immense trouble,” the Princess advised sincerely.

Mu Zhian smiled, “I know, I won’t casually reveal this to others.”

He paused, a hint of worry in his tone, “Compared to my matters, I’m more worried about Your Highness… Although Your Highness is magnanimous and doesn’t care about the credit for saving Cloud Province… I don’t know what the Great Peng Emperor will think.”

The Princess fell silent.

Mu Zhian’s words hit a sore spot in her heart.

Similar things had happened in the past. Clearly, she was the one who solved the problem, but the uninformed Great Peng Emperor thought she did nothing, even causing many unpleasant incidents.

“Let’s just leave it at that.”

The Princess sighed softly, then took out a willow branch emitting a faint cloud-like smoke from her wide sleeve and handed it to Mu Zhian.

“This is the Cloud Smoke Willow I had someone find these past few days. Young Master Mu, it’s best not to get too involved in Cloud Province’s affairs, lest you get burned. After refining this Cloud Smoke Willow, I’ll send you back to Yu State.”

“After that… with Luo Tan’s help, you should be able to reach Soul Transformation soon.”

The Princess looked at Mu Zhian with complex eyes. A few days ago, she still held quite a bit of animosity towards him, thinking he was deliberately approaching Luo Tan because he coveted her Innate Celestial Furnace.

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

Although he was somewhat of a playboy… he was still thoughtful and sincere towards women.

However, he already had the Jade Empress as his Dao Companion… And she was ultimately the Great Peng Emperor’s wife in name, so there was no way she could have any involvement with Mu Zhian.

After sending him back to Yu State this time, perhaps their next meeting would be thousands of years later.

The Princess silently looked at Mu Zhian, her heart filled with complex emotions.

Mu Zhian looked at the Cloud Smoke Willow in the Princess’s hand and suddenly sighed softly.

“What’s wrong? Do you have any other worries?” the Princess asked softly.

Before their final farewell, she wanted to see if there was anything else she could do to help Mu Zhian.

“With Empress Luo Tan’s help, I think I can indeed reach Soul Transformation Realm soon…”

Mu Zhian chuckled self-deprecatingly, “But after reaching Soul Transformation, what Dao Rhyme should I comprehend?”

The Princess was slightly stunned, then fell silent.

Indeed, Mu Zhian raised a very realistic question.

The Soul Transformation Realm, simply put, was choosing one of the three Daos of Heaven, Earth, and Human, and comprehending its Dao Rhyme.

It could be said that the Soul Transformation Realm was the foundation for the Dao Integration Realm. After choosing a Dao Rhyme at Soul Transformation Realm, it couldn’t be changed at Dao Integration Realm.

This was an important turning point for a cultivator.

Under normal circumstances, most cultivators would choose the Heavenly Dao.

Because, from ancient times until now, the Heavenly Dao had always been the strongest, while the Earth Dao and Human Dao were slightly weaker.

But the Princess, who knew some secrets about the Heavenly Dao, clearly understood that the Heavenly Dao was currently ailing, and it absolutely couldn’t be chosen for Dao Comprehension.

Otherwise, there was a possibility of becoming a puppet manipulated by the Heavenly Dao in the future.

Besides that, what else could Mu Zhian choose?

The Earth Dao or the Human Dao?

It wasn’t impossible, but it wasn’t the best choice either… At least, she could give Mu Zhian a better option.

It’s just that this method would be somewhat…

The Princess bit her alluringly red lips, her eyes filled with conflict as she looked at Mu Zhian.

She was the Princess of Cloud Province, and Mu Zhian also had a Dao Companion.

If she really let him connect with the Great Dao in that way, anyone who found out would probably despise them.

And she had just rejected Mu Zhian’s confession a few days ago. Bringing this up now… was too difficult.

“Regardless, thank you for the Cloud Smoke Willow, Your Highness, and also for chatting with me in the Heavenly Court these past few days. I… won’t disturb your life any further,” Mu Zhian forced a smile.

He looked up at the Princess and said softly, “After all, because of me, your relationship with the Great Peng Emperor has probably worsened even more these past few days.”

The Princess had been secretly using Heavenly Court power almost every day to resist the Heavenly Dao’s erosion and make the Forbidden Land of Life retreat.

But the Great Peng Emperor thought the Princess did nothing during this time and would naturally be dissatisfied with his fiancée.

But who would have thought that she was the one who paid the greatest price?

“Take care, Your Highness.”

Seeing the Princess’s silence, Mu Zhian said his final farewell and turned to leave the room.

The Princess subconsciously gripped the hem of her skirt, her beautiful eyes filled with complex emotions. She realized that after Mu Zhian left this time, they would probably be like two parallel lines, rarely intersecting again.

Was this truly what she wanted…?

At some point, the complex look in the Princess’s beautiful eyes gradually calmed down.

“Actually… comprehending the three Daos of Heaven, Earth, and Human isn’t the only way to reach Soul Transformation Realm.”

Just as Mu Zhian took a step, a gentle, calm, and sweet voice suddenly came from behind.

The Princess stood behind him, looking at him with a hint of shyness, but her beautiful eyes held a sense of relief.

Mu Zhian paused slightly, slowly turned around, and asked in surprise, “What does Your Highness mean by that?”

He saw the beautiful and gentle married woman gracefully walking towards him.

“I have a way for you to comprehend a Dao Rhyme different from the three Daos of Heaven, Earth, and Human,” the Princess arrived before Mu Zhian, looked up at his delicate and handsome face, and said softly.

A hint of doubt appeared in Mu Zhian’s eyes, but the Princess suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question, “I know you’ve been secretly looking at my body before.”

She tilted her head slightly, a strand of hair falling from beside her ear, and asked softly, “…Do you desire me?” (The censored word is likely desire/want)

Mu Zhian was momentarily silent, surprised by the Princess’s unexpected question.

To say he didn’t desire her would be a lie.

But answering like that… would it be too direct? Was she testing him?

Mu Zhian’s mind raced, secretly thinking about how to answer to please the Princess.

However, to Mu Zhian’s surprise, the Princess continued speaking on her own, “Actually, comprehending a fourth Dao Rhyme isn’t difficult… but it requires your cooperation.”

“How do I cooperate?” For some reason, Mu Zhian’s heart raced inexplicably.

“The method is actually very simple.”

The Princess gently removed her veil, her gentle eyes, as soft as water, gazing into Mu Zhian’s. She stood on tiptoes.

She gently placed a hand on Mu Zhian’s shoulder, then whispered in his ear in a seductive voice that could melt a man’s heart, “Be with me.”

“And then… let’s wrong the Jade Empress together~”