It Turns Out, They Are the Protagonists
Chapter 536: He Must Have His Reasons

Mu Zhian didn’t know what was happening in that celestial palace.

He and Ye Lingxuan sat in the palanquin, having unknowingly reached the outer edge of the Forbidden Zone.

“If I remember correctly, before every hunting event, there’s an intelligence war between the major factions in the Forbidden Zone. Only by locating the Forbidden Demonic Beasts in advance can you hunt them in the shortest time, right?” Mu Zhian glanced at the countless towering peaks and asked, “Didn’t you have anyone prepare the intel beforehand?”

Ye Lingxuan’s face flushed slightly, and she looked at the young man with alluring eyes, “Brother Mu has been meditating and cultivating in the bedchamber these past few days, so my mind has been preoccupied with you.”

“…But it’s fine, with the Innate Spiritual Body, I can easily locate the Forbidden Demonic Beasts.”

Mu Zhian gently shook his head, “Although the Innate Spiritual Body’s perception is powerful, you’re still at Nascent Soul Realm, your perception is limited… And if I remember correctly, the victor of this hunting event is determined by the level of the Forbidden Demonic Beasts hunted, right?”

Ye Lingxuan was stunned: “Brother Mu even knows this?”

She thought Mu Zhian had been in the bedchamber all this time and wouldn’t know anything about the hunting event… she didn’t expect him to know so much.

“After all, this is related to whether you can inherit the position of Forbidden Zone Empress, so I learned about it beforehand.”

“Sometimes, you should prioritize important matters. As for what’s between us… we can take it slow,” he said, looking at Ye Lingxuan with a hint of guidance in his tone.

He could naturally see that the young girl only invited him to help her so she could spend more time with him.

However… completely disregarding such an important event as the Forbidden Zone’s hunting event wasn’t good.

Ye Lingxuan snorted softly, “You say we can take it slow, but after the hunting event, Sister Ruoxi and the Jade Empress will probably steal your soul away, Brother Mu.”

Mu Zhian slowly shook his head, “Do you think I’m that kind of person?”

“Brother Mu isn’t, but the Jade Empress and Sister Ruoxi are.”

Ye Lingxuan’s eyes dimmed slightly, “They’re both at Transcendence Realm now. Sister Ruoxi has big breasts, and the Jade Empress has a perfect figure. I can’t compare to them in terms of strength, or even figure. You’re probably thinking about them constantly even when you’re with me, right?”

“And after the hunting event, will you leave the Forbidden Zone? Just thinking about it scares me…”

“With your talent, reaching Transcendence is only a matter of time.”

Hearing this, Mu Zhian couldn’t help but wrap his arms around Ye Lingxuan’s waist and whisper, “Although I have some matters to attend to after this, I’ll come back to you after I’m done.”

Embraced by Brother Mu, Ye Lingxuan no longer felt so helpless. Nestled against his warm chest, the helplessness on her beautiful face gradually faded, replaced by a rare coldness.

Although Brother Mu said that, he still had too many women around him.

Perhaps after inheriting the Reincarnated Empress’s memories, she should find a way to keep him in the Forbidden Zone.

Ye Lingxuan closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, and when she opened them again, she had transformed back into the sweet and obedient little sister.

Mu Zhian silently watched the change in the young girl’s eyes and sighed inwardly.

So even my Sister Lingxuan has become a bit scheming…

“Are you feeling okay now?” Mu Zhian asked.

“Mmm…” The young woman in the purple dress nestled in Mu Zhian’s embrace and said obediently, “I just really want some of that Innate Celestial Furnace Spiritual Energy…”

As she spoke, she looked at him with shy and alluring eyes.

Mu Zhian’s heart stirred.

I wonder if it’s the Charm Immortal Flower’s effect, she seems to be getting more and more seductive.

It was a pity they were in the palanquin, and the carriages of the other teams were nearby, so it wasn’t very convenient…

Just as Mu Zhian thought of this, Ye Lingxuan shyly lowered her eyelids, held onto Mu Zhian’s clothes with her small hand, and whispered, “Can’t we do it now?”

Mu Zhian stared intently at the Forbidden Zone imperial daughter in his arms. After a long while, he forced himself to look away.

No… If this continued, he might not be able to resist taking her before the hunting event even started.

“You really didn’t prepare the coordinates of the Forbidden Demonic Beasts for this hunt?” Mu Zhian tried to change the subject.

Ye Lingxuan studied Mu Zhian, seemingly understanding something. A playful smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, and she said obediently, “Brother Mu, Lingxuan really doesn’t mind doing it here.”

“As long as Brother Mu likes it…”

Mu Zhian gently pinched the young woman’s soft waist, “You might not mind, but if your clan members find out and tell your parents, I might not be able to leave the Forbidden Zone alive.”

“And we’re almost at our destination, do you really want to lose this competition?” Mu Zhian reminded her again.

He didn’t know if Ye Lingxuan had made any preparations, but just in case, he wanted to help her prepare a backup plan.

“I didn’t prepare the coordinates of the Forbidden Demonic Beasts,” Ye Lingxuan admitted frankly. “But Brother Mu, do you know what a Forbidden Demonic Beast is?”

“The so-called forbidden, are monsters born under the harsh conditions of the Forbidden Zone’s rules. Every Forbidden Demonic Beast is incredibly powerful. At least, no one of the same realm is their match.”

“And these Forbidden Demonic Beasts, even searching for half a month in advance, you might not find any trace of them.”

Hearing this, Mu Zhian was somewhat doubtful, “Then what were the other candidates preparing for all this time?”

“Powerful Forbidden Demonic Beasts are difficult to find, but low-level ones aren’t,” Ye Lingxuan said. “Simply put, they’re planning to win by numbers.”

“So you’re so confident because your Innate Spiritual Body can sense all low-level Forbidden Demonic Beasts within a certain range?” Mu Zhian said.

Ye Lingxuan nodded slightly, “This hunting event is actually a test of the candidates’ adaptability and observation skills. High-level Forbidden Demonic Beasts aren’t easy to find, so we just need to go with the flow.”

No wonder she was so calm. The other candidates didn’t have the powerful perception of the Innate Spiritual Body, so they needed to prepare in advance, but Ye Lingxuan was different.

Her Innate Spiritual Body was the most perfect among all the Forbidden Zone Holy Maidens in history.

So, although high-level demonic beasts might be difficult for her to find in a short time, low-level ones… she could easily sense.

Just as Mu Zhian thought of this, he suddenly heard a cold, emotionless voice in his mind, “A trade? I’ll give you the coordinates of all the demonic beasts in the Forbidden Zone, and you give me the Spiritual Energy from your Innate Celestial Furnace next time.”

The Heavenly Dao’s will!

She hadn’t left?!

“Don’t be so surprised. The very ground you walk on belongs to the Heavenly Dao. I can sense your every move, wherever you are, if I wish.”

The Heavenly Dao was omnipresent. Only now did Mu Zhian truly realize its terrifying power.

Thank goodness the Heavenly Dao is emotionless. If it were one of the fish in my pond, I would be caught cheating every other day… Mu Zhian sighed inwardly.

“You can sense the coordinates of the demonic beasts in the Forbidden Zone?” Mu Zhian asked tentatively in his mind.

A voice seemed to echo in his ear, “I can access the information of any being, anywhere in the Nine Provinces.”

“A trade?” she asked again.

“A trade.” After pondering for a moment, Mu Zhian readily agreed.

“But aren’t the rules in the Forbidden Zone different from the rules of the Nine Provinces? Why are they also under the Heavenly Dao’s jurisdiction?” Mu Zhian then asked.

The Heavenly Dao’s will was silent for a moment, “That’s classified information. If you want to know, you’ll need to offer something more in exchange.”

“The most valuable thing I have is myself… How about I give myself to you?” Mu Zhian joked via voice transmission.

“Are you sure?” the Heavenly Dao’s will asked.

“Just kidding… Forget it, just tell me the coordinates of the demonic beasts in the Forbidden Zone first,” Mu Zhian didn’t dare joke anymore, afraid the Heavenly Dao’s will would take him seriously.

“Please wait a moment,” the Heavenly Dao’s will’s cold voice echoed in Mu Zhian’s mind.

…

“Brother Mu, what’s wrong?”

The palanquin was heading towards the outer edge of the Forbidden Zone. As Mu Zhian sat with his eyes closed, silently receiving the information from the Heavenly Dao’s will, Ye Lingxuan beside him couldn’t help but ask softly.

However, Mu Zhian remained silent, as if his spiritual sense had retreated into the void.

Ye Lingxuan observed Mu Zhian’s expression, then, as if thinking of something amusing, a faint smile appeared in her eyes. She leaned her face against his thigh, like a cat cuddling in its owner’s lap.

After about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Mu Zhian abruptly opened his eyes.

He gently stroked the young girl’s hair and, before she could speak, said, “I now know the coordinates of most of the Forbidden Demonic Beasts in this Forbidden Zone.”

…

What would happen in a supposedly fair hunting competition if someone obtained the coordinates of the targets in advance?

Ye Lingxuan now provided a perfect answer.

That evening, all the Forbidden Zone disciples and elders in charge of the hunting event saw a commotion coming from a certain direction in the outer area of the Forbidden Zone.

At this moment, within the pavilion in mid-air, it was completely silent, only the faint, captivating, and sweet voice from the Shadow Stone echoing.

“When did this happen?”

Looking at the scene displayed in the Shadow Stone, a dangerous glint, along with confusion, appeared in Yao Meng’s smile.

That night, she clearly had her spiritual sense completely enveloping Mu Zhian’s bedchamber. Logically, if the Primordial Witch had secretly sneaked in, she shouldn’t have missed it…

As if knowing Yao Meng’s thoughts, the Primordial Witch chuckled softly, “A Transcendence Realm’s spiritual sense is indeed powerful, but if I’m willing, no one in this world can detect my aura.”

Wei Mengrou from the past possessed the technique of ‘concealment’. After using this technique, even cultivators of the same realm couldn’t sense her presence.

Now, strengthened by the Primordial Witch’s two spiritual senses, even a Transcendence Realm expert would find it difficult to detect her aura, unless they meticulously scanned the area with their spiritual sense.

But that was too time-consuming and laborious. And who would have thought the Primordial Witch would secretly sneak into Mu Zhian’s room that night?

Just then, a sarcastic smile appeared at the corner of Gong Lianyue’s mouth, and she said faintly, “Mu Lang’s spirit was severely depleted after his tribulation that day. As his maid, I thought you would be considerate of your master.”

The implication in her words was: You don’t know how to care for your master, only thinking about your young master’s body.

However, the Primordial Witch wasn’t annoyed at all, but a playful glint appeared in her eyes, “I only went to see him this morning.”

“But someone else was with him that night after his tribulation ended.”

Gong Lianyue frowned slightly, almost immediately dismissing the possibility, “Impossible. If anyone else approached him that night, I would have sensed it immediately.”

Yao Meng looked at the seemingly frail silver-haired beauty, “You mean, besides you, there’s someone else who can sneak into the bedchamber and see him without my noticing, without even being detected?”

The Primordial Witch smiled and nodded, then gently shook her head, “Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a ‘person’.”

Yao Meng’s green eyes flickered, and she immediately thought of something, “A demonic cultivator?”

Could it be the Demon Empress… ?

However, the Primordial Witch shook her head again, “Not a demonic cultivator either. If that ruler of the Demon Realm entered the Forbidden Zone, the people here would have sensed her long ago.”

Gong Lianyue raised a delicate eyebrow, “Not a human, not a demonic cultivator, then what?”

“Don’t tell me you’re talking about the Heavenly Dao?”

She had intended this as sarcasm, but after saying it, she noticed the Primordial Witch’s prolonged silence.

Gong Lianyue couldn’t help but be stunned, then she abruptly stood up, “Impossible… Absolutely impossible!”

“The Heavenly Dao’s will’s embodiment was indeed in his room that night, but what exactly they did, or what kind of deal they made, is unknown,” the Primordial Witch said with a smile.

Yao Meng’s beautiful eyes, as clear as a cold pool, remained emotionless, but her mind was racing.

She recalled Mu Zhian’s tribulation that day, and how the Soul Transformation Heavenly Tribulation mysteriously vanished.

And the Heavenly Dao’s will’s embodiment also acted intimately with Mu Zhian at the time.

Could it be that…

“Roar…”

Just then, a demonic beast’s roar came from the outer area of the Forbidden Zone, breaking the silence in the pavilion.

Yao Meng casually glanced over, a puzzled look in her eyes.

“It’s a Heaven-rank Forbidden Demonic Beast,” the Reincarnated Empress, who had been silently watching from the corner, suddenly said calmly. “The demonic beasts in the Forbidden Zone are more or less affected by the ‘rules’, some evolving to Heaven-rank… These demonic beasts’ combat power is almost close to the peak of Nascent Soul Realm, but they are extremely rare in the Forbidden Zone.”

“If I remember correctly, these Forbidden Demonic Beasts are also targets for the Forbidden Zone Lord candidates this time, right? Someone found one so quickly?”

Gong Lianyue’s eyes flickered, and she murmured softly, “Even with the Innate Spiritual Body, she shouldn’t be able to find a Heaven-rank demonic beast so quickly… Is it a coincidence?”

Logically, even Ye Lingxuan, whose innate talent made her incredibly close to the world’s Spiritual Energy, couldn’t find a Heaven-rank demonic beast so quickly.

Unless…

Someone was helping her.

“Is he helping her…?” Yao Meng murmured softly, immediately thinking of Mu Zhian.

“Although Mu Lang also possesses the Innate Spiritual Body, it’s ultimately a pseudo-constitution. He shouldn’t be able to find a Heaven-rank demonic beast so quickly either…”

This time, the speaker was Bai Ruoxi, easily identifiable by her ample bosom straining against her palace dress.

Gong Lianyue’s spiritual sense had just retreated into the World of the Heart, clearly needing time to process the information revealed by the Primordial Witch.

After all, that was the Heavenly Dao. Who in the Nine Provinces didn’t hold some reverence for it?

Yet, after descending upon the Nine Provinces, the Heavenly Dao’s will’s embodiment actually went to a young man’s room that night?

Although it was still unclear what exactly happened, the Heavenly Dao’s will’s embodiment was a woman…

And that Heavenly Dao’s will actually spent the entire night in Mu Lang’s room…

The rest was simply too scandalous to imagine.

If this matter were to spread, it would probably damage the Heavenly Dao’s authority.

More importantly, on the day of the Soul Transformation Heavenly Tribulation, she, the Jade Empress, and Ye Qingxin had a tacit understanding, none of them disturbing Mu Zhian’s meditation and recovery.

It wasn’t that they didn’t care; on the contrary, they all wanted to be the first to experience what a Transcendence Realm Innate Celestial Furnace was like.

Yet while all three of them were waiting, the Heavenly Dao’s will had unknowingly sneaked into the bedchamber that night and probably did everything she should and shouldn’t have done…

Perhaps there wasn’t even a drop of Spiritual Energy left in Mu Zhian’s Innate Celestial Furnace now.

This felt like a husband letting his wife rest because she was tired from work, while he slept in the living room…

Then, that night, a young punk climbed through the window into his wife’s room…

And this punk was very likely the Heavenly Dao!

Bai Ruoxi lowered her eyelids slightly, a darkness appearing in her usually gentle eyes. Her slender hands subconsciously tightened around her white palace dress, clearly unable to accept this.

The Reincarnated Empress was also somewhat stunned. Although she wasn’t interested in tasting the Innate Celestial Furnace, someone had actually sneaked into Mu Zhian’s room right under her nose, and she hadn’t even noticed…

This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to her usually proud self.

The Primordial Witch looked at the silent Yao Meng and said softly, “Don’t you have anything to say?”

Yao Meng casually glanced at the Primordial Witch, “I do mind, but the thought of you makes me feel much better.”

The Primordial Witch frowned slightly, staring at Yao Meng, waiting for her to continue.

“If, that night, the Heavenly Dao shamelessly had its embodiment taste his Spiritual Energy, how much would be left for you the next day?”

Yao Meng slowly toyed with a strand of hair and said softly, “For this meager amount of Spiritual Energy, you waited outside the door all night. Perhaps he was being intimate with the Heavenly Dao’s will inside the room that entire time… And the next day, after he came out, you were intimate with him, even secretly using the Shadow Stone, just to get back at me…”

Before the Primordial Witch could speak, Yao Meng tucked a strand of silver hair behind her ear and said with a smile, “You’re truly adorable.”

The Primordial Witch was slightly stunned.

That’s right… That night, when she was outside the door, she clearly heard strange sounds coming from Mu Zhian’s room, but those sounds disappeared after the Heavenly Dao’s will used a shielding technique.

Then why did she wait outside the door all night?

Perhaps he was being… by the Heavenly Dao’s will inside the room at that time.

Just then, Bai Ruoxi raised her dark eyes and said softly, “What does Jade Empress Sister think?”

“The Heavenly Dao has targeted him more than once. Even if he really did something with the Heavenly Dao’s will’s embodiment, he must have his reasons,” Yao Meng said understandingly.

A green vine silently wrapped around her jade-white foot, and Yao Meng gently traced it with her fingertip.

Then, her holy and ethereal voice echoed faintly through the celestial palace:

“So, we should ask him about his reasons after the hunt, shouldn’t we?”