It Turns Out, They Are the Protagonists

A misty rain was falling in the late night. Mu Zhian and Lin Ling left the observation platform and made their way to the outskirts of the Lan Clan’s sacred grounds. After circling a secluded manor, Lin Ling stopped, her gaze fixed on the ancient, sacred mountain not far off.

Immortal Emperor Mountain, renowned as one of the seven sacred mountains of the Eastern Continent. Legend held that the Lan family ancestor had achieved Dao Integration here. Later, nearing her end, she bravely entered the Forbidden Zone, a feat that awed the ancient beings within. Shortly after, she passed away on this very mountain, leaving behind her legacy. Thus, Immortal Emperor Mountain became the ancestral grounds of the Lan clan, a place of pilgrimage and remembrance.

“I’ve heard the Lan family ancestor was once a powerful Empress, much like Senior Sister Lan with her Sacred Heavenly Body, able to perceive the origin of all things. Even Dao Integration experts of the same realm are wary of her. Have you heard of this, Sister Lin Ling?” Mu Zhian asked as they walked along the rain-swept path at the foot of the mountain.

“She visited the Two Polarities Sect once,” Lin Ling wrote in her notebook, revealing a little-known secret.

“The Lan family ancestor visited Two Polarities Sect before she died?” Mu Zhian’s interest piqued. “Did she go to see Sect Master Lin? What did they talk about?”

Lin Ling shook her head slightly. “I don’t know. I was in seclusion, suppressing the karmic fire, and rarely left my pocket dimension.”

Mu Zhian’s eyes flickered, recalling the ancient boat he’d seen on the lake and the Lan family ancestor within.

“Is the Lan family ancestor truly dead?” he asked suddenly.

“Her lifespan wasn’t over, but she disappeared mysteriously,” Lin Ling replied, shaking her head.

They soon reached their destination, the edge of Immortal Emperor Mountain. The path forward was blocked by dense undergrowth, the forest dark and ominous in the rainy night.

“There’s no path… Are you sure it’s here, Sister Lin Ling?” Mu Zhian asked.

Lin Ling nodded firmly. “Paths are made by walking,” she said softly, “even on Immortal Emperor Mountain.”

As if in answer, the bushes before them parted silently, and the seemingly impenetrable mountain trembled slightly.

An opening appeared on the mountainside, revealing an ancient underground palace within.

A massive stone gate blocked the entrance to the palace.

“We shouldn’t attract attention,” Mu Zhian whispered.

Lin Ling nodded, took his hand, and whispered something, her lips barely moving.

In the next instant, they vanished, reappearing deep within the palace.

Unlike Mu Zhian’s expectations of a gloomy, underground space, this palace was bathed in a brilliant, sacred light.

Lin Ling’s gaze was immediately drawn to a shimmering spatial rift not far away, pulsating with powerful spiritual energy, as if it led to another world.

“A pocket dimension,” Mu Zhian murmured. Creating pocket dimensions was a technique exclusive to Nascent Soul cultivators. The larger the space, the more resources required. Sensing the vast spiritual energy emanating from the rift, he could only imagine the resources the Lan family ancestor had expended.

Lin Ling suddenly frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Mu Zhian asked immediately.

“There’s a strong demonic aura here,” she wrote on her notebook.

“Demonic qi? In the Lan family’s ancestral grounds…?” Mu Zhian was stunned, then a feeling of foreboding washed over him. He took out the Soul Locking Bell he’d obtained from the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox. The bell in his hand vibrated intensely. He looked up towards the spatial rift, a ripple of energy distorting the air around it, emanating a captivating glow.

Lin Ling stepped forward and, with Mu Zhian, entered the pocket dimension.

The world spun around them. A powerful presence descended, like a god gazing down upon the mortal realm. Mu Zhian felt his cultivation instantly suppressed from peak Nascent Soul to Core Formation Rank 5.

“This pocket dimension suppresses cultivation…?” He was inwardly alarmed, then glanced at Lin Ling, who seemed unaffected.

“It seems the formation doesn’t affect Dao Integration experts.” Relieved, he masked his aura and followed the path deeper into the pocket dimension.

Deep within the dimension, an area shrouded in thick white mist…

Ancient trees towered, covered in moss, surrounding dilapidated palaces and crumbling pillars, withered flowers scattered across the ground.

“This is important for both of us. You know the consequences of failure, Elder,” a young man in green robes said calmly.

“Don’t worry, Holy Son. I know what to do. I’ll give my all to help the Clear Moon Holy Land,” the elder replied, his voice low and his features and aura concealed, making it difficult to see him clearly.

Mu Zhian recognized the young man. It was the Holy Son of the Clear Moon Holy Land in the Eastern Continent.

He looked up at a statue not far away, a look of infatuation in his eyes.

The statue depicted a woman with a compassionate expression, a faint, deep blue light shimmering behind her, as if embodying holiness and nobility.

“Are the preparations complete?” the Holy Son asked casually, toying with the jade slip in his hand.

This jade slip was the key to the deepest parts of the Lan family’s ancestral grounds.

The elder nodded silently.

“It’s getting late. You should return, Holy Son. Staying here too long might attract attention,” he reminded.

The Holy Son gazed at the statue for a long time, then left with the elder.

Silence returned to the palace.

After about a quarter of an hour, ripples appeared in the air, and Lin Ling and Mu Zhian materialized, their auras concealed.

“Sister Lin Ling, do you sense anything… unusual here?” Mu Zhian asked.

Lin Ling pointed at the statue, then showed him her notebook: There’s a strong demonic aura within this statue, comparable to the current Demon Empress.

Mu Zhian’s eyes widened in shock. “Demonic qi? Within the Lan family’s ancestral grounds…? And you say it’s comparable to Zixuan’s?” He murmured, lost in thought.

Lin Ling tilted her head, looking at him with puzzled red eyes.

How does he know the Demon Empress’s real name…?

Mu Zhian’s mind raced.

“I’ve felt something’s not right since entering the Lan family…”

“Why did the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox’s bell react to the Lan family? Why could the Lan family ancestor bestow divine oracles during every ancestral worship ceremony, even though she was on that ancient boat? And she said she wasn’t the one bestowing them.”

“If it wasn’t her, then who…? Could there be another Dao Integration expert in the Lan family…?”

The answer must be this statue.

Mu Zhian looked up at the alluring figure and slowly approached it, reaching out to touch it.

The statue trembled violently, and a dense pink demonic qi seeped out.

Mu Zhian looked at the vibrating bell in his hand and realized the truth. He whispered, “The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox…”

Her consciousness was within this statue!

Lin Ling gently tugged on his sleeve and held up her notebook: Someone’s coming. We have to go.

…

Shortly after Mu Zhian and Lin Ling left, the Lan family elders, who had been meditating, were awakened and sent people to investigate the ancestral grounds.

That night, many Lan clan members were awakened by the commotion, their hearts filled with fear.

…

In a warm room, incense burned, and curtains were drawn.

Lan Mulian, startled by the tremors, instantly grabbed the sword from her storage ring. The area around her and her sister’s bedchamber was quiet, with no other clan members nearby.

She quickly changed into a thin white inner robe that outlined her figure and rushed outside, looking towards the ancestral grounds, a cold, gleaming sword in her hand, her long hair cascading down, covering her bottom.

“Sister… did you hear that too?” Lan Feiying, also awakened, called out, having already changed her clothes.

“It’s quite a commotion. Something must have happened at the ancestral grounds,” Lan Mulian said softly.

“Where’s Mu Zhian?” she asked.

Lan Feiying shook her head gently. “I don’t know. He might be meditating.”

Their rooms were adjacent to Mu Zhian’s. If they could hear the commotion from the ancestral grounds, so could he.

“I’ll go to the main hall. Wait for me.”

Lan Mulian returned to her room, changed into an elegant moon-white dress, grabbed her sword, and left with Lan Feiying.

However, they were stopped at the entrance to the main hall. The Lan family’s high-ranking members were gathered inside, discussing the incident at the ancestral grounds. No one else was allowed to enter.

Lan Mulian and Lan Feiying exchanged glances and, without forcing their way in, looked past the guards at the elders inside.

Besides the elders, they also saw the two ‘living fossils’ of the Lan family and Lan Wu, the young master.

“Senior Sister, Feiying, what are you doing here?”

A familiar, gentle voice came from behind them.

Lan Mulian turned and saw Mu Zhian, who had just returned from the ancestral grounds.

“When did you arrive? I didn’t see you on my way here,” she asked with a puzzled expression.

“And… Senior Lin Ling is also here…?” She glanced at the silver-haired beauty.

“I couldn’t focus on my cultivation tonight, so I came out for a walk,” Mu Zhian chuckled.

He glanced at the main hall, understanding. “It seems the commotion at the ancestral grounds has also disturbed them.”

Lan Feiying narrowed her eyes and transmitted her voice, “You know something about what happened, don’t you?”

Mu Zhian’s eyes flickered, and he transmitted his voice playfully, “I do, but what will Sister Feiying offer in exchange?”

Lan Feiying gave him a seductive look. “What do you want in exchange for your information?”

Mu Zhian pondered for a moment and transmitted his voice, “For example, I’ll leave the information in my room, and you can sneak in wearing… tight clothes later. If I don’t notice you, the information is yours.”

“And if you do notice me?” Lan Feiying asked, a playful glint in her eyes.

Mu Zhian smiled. “Then I’ll have to… punish the thief.”

“In your dreams.”

Lan Feiying glared at him playfully, then glanced at her sister.

Lan Mulian, her expression a mix of amusement and curiosity, looked at Mu Zhian, as if she had heard something interesting.

Lin Ling also frowned slightly. Her white dress was slightly dusty from their trip to the mountain, her long, fair legs revealed beneath her skirt, her feet encased in deerskin boots, her demeanor innocent and obedient.

No one would have guessed that the Spiritual Dragon of the Two Polarities Sect was openly present at the Lan family… and no one had recognized her.

Lin Ling glanced at Mu Zhian and tugged on his sleeve gently.

As he turned around, she showed him her notebook: Bad boy. Don’t be a playboy.

Mu Zhian’s eyes flickered with surprise as he transmitted his voice, “You can hear our voice transmission, Sister Lin Ling?”

Lin Ling glanced at him, puzzled, and wrote in her notebook: Voice transmission isn’t a very powerful technique. Many know how to intercept it.

Then, she added: Your Senior Sister also knows how to intercept voice transmissions.

“?”

Mu Zhian froze, staring at the beautiful woman standing before him.

S-Senior Sister also knows how to intercept voice transmissions?

The cold beauty in the white dress, her long hair cascading down, smiled faintly, her lips full and sensual. “Do you have something to say, Junior Brother?”

“Or do you want me to wear… tight clothes and… play games with you in your room?”

Mu Zhian’s face froze.

What the… So, she heard everything I said to Feiying before?!

I’m so embarrassed!

He wanted to cover his face and run, but maintaining his composure, he forced a smile. “I was just joking with Feiying.”

Lan Mulian scoffed. “Whether you were joking or not, you know it yourself.”

Mu Zhian sighed helplessly.

He hadn’t expected to be caught flirting with her younger sister… How embarrassing…

I have to find a way to embarrass Senior Sister too… Mu Zhian thought to himself.

Lin Ling, listening to their conversation, glanced at the two women, frowned slightly, tugged on Mu Zhian’s sleeve, and wrote in her notebook: Let’s go back.

Mu Zhian collected his thoughts, nodded gently, and said, “I’ll take Sister Lin Ling back then.”

Lan Mulian glanced at the obedient Lin Ling and suddenly said, “Senior Lin Ling seems much closer to you lately, even coming out for a walk with you at night.”

Before Mu Zhian could speak, Lan Feiying walked over, putting her arm around his, and smiled. “Leaving so soon? Didn’t you want to play… dress-up? Sister will play with you tonight.”

Lan Mulian also smiled brightly, her thoughts in sync with her sister’s. “I can also play with you.”

“Whether it’s… dress-up, or… something else.”

Mu Zhian’s heart stirred, then, sensing Lin Ling’s gaze, he panicked.

Oh no, Senior Sister… Feiying… please stop…

I was just teasing you. Don’t make me expose myself!

The Lan sisters’ seemingly flirtatious words were actually a test, probing his relationship with the Spiritual Dragon.

Although Sister Lin Ling was usually gentle and docile, there was no guarantee she would tolerate this.

“What’s wrong? Your heart is racing,” Lan Feiying raised an eyebrow, placing her hand on his chest and smiling gently.

“I-It’s nothing. I’m just… a little excited by your offer,” Mu Zhian forced a smile.

He quickly changed the subject. “There was a commotion at the ancestral grounds tonight. It’s not convenient… Maybe another time.”

Seeing that the sisters, although suspicious, didn’t press him further, Mu Zhian breathed a sigh of relief. “Let’s go back, Sister Lin Ling.”

Lin Ling glanced at the two beauties, then nodded obediently.

As Mu Zhian took her hand, she suddenly asked, “Are you and they… Dao Companions, Mu Lang?”

Her clear, melodious voice echoed through the quiet night, and the atmosphere instantly froze.

Mu Zhian froze, his expression stiffening.

“Mu Lang…?”

Lan Mulian almost doubted her own ears, staring at Mu Zhian.

Lan Feiying, who was about to leave with her sister, also stopped and looked at Mu Zhian, tilting her head slightly.

…