So, They Were the Protagonists All Along

The night in the restricted area is always like this. On the surface, it is as calm as a pool of stagnant water, but in fact, there are always powerful monsters passing by in the dark night.

Near the bonfire, this team of ten people secretly looked at the direction of the young man with a vague look.

He seemed to be unprepared when he entered the restricted area. He just took out a golden talisman from the Najie and placed it beside him. Then he closed his eyes and began to meditate.

For some reason, Princess Yongning always felt that this boy looked familiar. Although she couldn't see his face clearly, she always felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Protector Zhu Cheng looked at the young man in front of the bonfire and said, "This should be a disciple sent by a certain ancient family for training. Judging from his generous move just now, he should have some status in the family."

The young man Ding Hou asked softly: "Do I need to keep an eye on him?"

He found that this young man was particularly focused on meditating and practicing. Normally this would be a good thing, but in a restricted area like this, it might not be a good thing to be so focused on meditating and practicing... After all, if you don't pay more attention, The outside world doesn't know when it was attacked by monsters in the restricted area.

This is enough to prove that this young man must be a kid from a wealthy family, and he has never suffered anything outside in the past.

Zhu Cheng shook his head and said, "Just pay a little attention, but I don't think anything will happen tonight."

Ding Hou still couldn't help but look at him a few more times and said: "His skin is even fairer than ours. He probably rarely leaves his family. But as soon as he left the family, he came to a dangerous place like a restricted area. I always felt a little... suspicious."

As soon as these words came out, several people near the bonfire couldn't help but look at the young man in the distance.

As Ding Hou said, fair and delicate young men like this are so rare that they are almost impossible to see even in places like the palace.

Compared with the noble temperament of this handsome young man, even they, the heirs of powerful people in the palace, seemed a bit dim.

Lin Keyu just hugged his knees and sat by the campfire, staring at him silently, as if his eyes were involuntarily attracted and refused to move away.

However, his body was always shrouded in hazy black mist, making it impossible to see his true appearance. Under the reflection of the bonfire in the dark night, he seemed to have a bit more mystery.

"Brother, what do you think he looks like?" A girl walking beside her gently pulled the sleeve of a man in the team and asked in a low voice.

"Why are you thinking so much? No matter how good-looking you are, how can he be as good-looking as the son of Duke Qingguo that our father arranged for you before? You don't even have a crush on him, so there's no need to think about this person." The young man said earnestly, "Besides, Even if he is a descendant of the Huanggu family, his status in the family will definitely not be high if he is sent to a place like the restricted area. "

"I'm just asking out of curiosity, I don't really like him." The girl curled her lips dismissively.

But his eyes were involuntarily attracted to the young man.

At the same time, a female cultivator from the Daqian Dynasty in the team also looked at her silently. In the past, she always thought that no matter how good-looking the men in this world were, they were just that, but when she saw the boy, she moved a little bit. Don't look away.

Several male cultivators present felt that something was a little strange. A young man who had just arrived here not long ago actually attracted the attention of several members of the opposite sex inexplicably?

"The black mist on his body should be some kind of rare secret technique, and he doesn't seem to travel far away often, and he seems to have a lot of treasures with him..." Ding Hou suddenly said in a low voice.

As the cold wind blew by in the night and the bonfire swayed, Zhu Cheng suddenly warned in a low voice: "No matter whether the other person is from the ancient family or not, don't have any ideas about him, and don't be greedy. In a place like the restricted area, you must know There are people outside the world.”

There was one more thing Zhu Cheng didn't say.

He couldn't see the young man's state.

At first, when he saw that the boy was so young, he thought that he was simply using secret techniques to cover up his own realm.

But now that he saw that the other party concentrated on meditating and practicing so quickly, he suddenly felt that he couldn't see through the other party.

After all, to concentrate entirely on meditation in a dangerous place like a restricted area is either a fool, or someone who has enough confidence in his own strength.

Maybe it's not because of the secret technique, but maybe it's because the young man's realm is higher than his, so he can't see through the other person.

Although this possibility is relatively small, their mission on this trip is extremely heavy and they cannot take any risks on other things.

Ding Hou nodded lightly: "Don't worry, I know that our purpose of this trip is to find the elixir of longevity, and the other point is to ensure that Princess Yongning is escorted back to the palace smoothly."

When he said this, he stood up and walked to the side of the peerless emperor's eldest daughter, and said respectfully: "Your Highness, can the aurora crystal given by the young master just now be inspected by your subordinates?"

As if he was worried about Princess Yongning's overthinking, he added again: "Just to ensure the safety of Your Highness."

Yongning smiled and nodded, with a pleasant voice: "That's troublesome."

Ding Hou took the jade box and took out the Aurora Crystal in the jade box and flipped it up and down a few times.

This aurora crystal is translucent and prism-shaped, and it seems to be intertwined with thousands of golden threads, shining brightly in the dark night.

After examining it for a long time, Ding Hou put the Aurora Crystal back into the jade box and said, "No problem, this is indeed the Aurora Crystal, and there was no tampering inside."

"This young man is really generous to give such a rare treasure as soon as they met." He couldn't help but sigh again.

"Huh? Miss Lin, do you know him? Why did you take the initiative to talk to him?"

At this time, someone hesitated and couldn't help but say.

You know, this saint of Xuanyin Palace rarely communicated with others along the way. In everyone's impression, she was a very shy and arrogant girl, but no one expected that she would take the initiative to talk to a boy who ventured into the restricted area.

Princess Yongning looked at this scene and said calmly: "Don't discuss what you shouldn't discuss."

Lin Keyu walked slowly towards Mu Zhian, then took out a jade bottle from the ring and handed it to him: "Even if you follow the rules in the restricted area, you will still be affected by the curse to a certain extent. When you feel unwell, take this pill, it will purify the curse on you."

Mu Zhian slowly opened his eyes, glanced at the girl, and smiled: "I won't stay in the restricted area for a long time, so you should keep this pill."

Lin Keyu looked at the boy closely. Although he deliberately lowered his voice, she recognized the owner of the voice at the first time and said: "Since it is not needed, forget it. I wonder what your name is?"

Mu Zhian said: "Niu Shi."

Lin Keyu couldn't help laughing out loud, glanced at the boy, and chuckled and said: "Mr. Mu, how long are you going to pretend?"

Niu Shi... Is this a temporary name that is directly separated from Mu and Zhi?

The girl stared at him straight from beginning to end. Her frail appearance and weak eyes made people feel pity for her.

"How did you get into the restricted area?" Mu Zhian asked helplessly.

He had clearly used the secret technique of the Southern Wilderness to cover up his own aura and even his face, but Lin Keyu still noticed it directly.

His acting skills should be at the level of an actor, how could this girl be so sharp... Mu Zhian thought.

"When the saint of Xuanyin Palace reaches adulthood, she will receive a task. Only after completing the task can she officially inherit the position of the saint." Lin Keyu said in a voice transmission.

"And my mission this time is in the restricted area."

Mu Zhian showed a look of realization, and asked in a voice transmission: "Have you completed your mission?"

Lin Keyu smiled and nodded: "Completed, I originally wanted to leave, but I happened to meet the team of the Dagan Dynasty on the way. I had met Princess Yongning several times at the Ascension Conference before, so I went with her."

"Is that so..." Mu Zhian looked thoughtful.

"Why did Mr. Mu deliberately conceal his identity? Are you hiding from me?" Lin Keyu's weak tone suddenly became a little more uneasy, peeking at Mu Zhian's expression.

But unfortunately, because of the black fog, she couldn't see Mu Zhian's expression at all.

"My concealment of my identity has nothing to do with Miss Lin."

Mu Zhian shook his head and said in a voice transmission: "I just want to see what tricks the Dagan Dynasty is playing."

"By the way, Miss Lin, do you know why Princess Yongning appeared here?"

Lin Keyu thought for a while and replied: "According to them, it was the crown prince who framed other party members to prevent future troubles and wait for the death of the Dagan Emperor to succeed to the throne smoothly."

"As for Princess Yongning... she couldn't bear to see these important officials in the court being killed, so she went with them. I tried it yesterday. Princess Yongning looks like an ordinary person to the outside world, but there is spiritual energy flowing in her body, at least in the realm of refining spirits."

Mu Zhian thought for a while and suddenly chuckled.

Thanks to Lin Keyu, some of the problems that had troubled him before gradually became clear.

"Mr. Mu, what are you laughing at?" Lin Keyu asked.

Mu Zhian shook his head, took out a nourishing pill from his ring and put it into his mouth, then sat down next to a big rock and said softly: "If nothing unexpected happens, you will know soon."

Lin Keyu looked at Mu Zhian, a little puzzled.

She was about to speak, but at this moment, a sound like breaking wind suddenly came from the distance, accompanied by a surge of spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy was so amazing that even at a long distance, people couldn't help but feel a little palpitating.

"There are cultivators coming towards us, everyone be careful!" Zhu Cheng reacted and shouted loudly immediately.

As soon as the voice fell, several cultivators in black robes in the distance had turned into long rainbows, surrounding the team in front of the campfire.

Zhu Cheng's eyes changed slightly, and he immediately warned everyone: "They are people from the restricted area, don't have any conflict with them, let's see what they are going to do first."

Everyone heard this and suppressed the idea of ​​escaping from here.

Lin Keyu whispered, "Mr. Mu, wait, stay with me. They won't hurt you."

Mu Zhian glanced at Lin Keyu subconsciously and hummed softly.

There were nearly thirty imperial guards in the sight of everyone, of which Mu Zhian felt that there were more than six people in the Return to Void Realm, and the other cultivators held black chains, emitting a biting cold.

Mu Zhian could feel that the chains seemed to have the effect of sealing spiritual energy.

This should be the 'imperial guards' that Sister Lingxuan mentioned before...Mu Zhian remembered some things that Ye Lingxuan had told him about the forbidden area before.

'Imperial Guards', this name is also very famous in the ears of cultivators outside, because this imperial guard has killed countless people and is one of the most effective forces in the forbidden area.

From the past to the present, there have been many monks exploring the 'gold panning' in the restricted area, and for most monks, the restricted area will not pay attention to it.

But if some monks violate the rules of the forbidden area... they may be surrounded and suppressed by the 'Forbidden Army'.

This time the Imperial Guard came to visit late at night, and I am afraid that the visitor is not a good person.

Zhu Cheng looked at the deputy commander of the Forbidden Army who was leading him, cupped his hands, and said humbly: "I don't know if this commander is here tonight, but what's the matter?"

The deputy commander of the Forbidden Army said coldly: "We received news not long ago that someone violated the 'rules' in the southern part of the restricted area, so we were ordered to come and investigate."

Zhu Cheng was startled: "Is there some misunderstanding? We and Her Royal Highness have always abided by the rules of the forbidden area and have never violated them... Moreover, if we really violated the rules, we would have been punished by the forbidden area long ago, and we would not be able to wait for you. Come here, right?"

The deputy commander of the imperial army did not look at Zhu Cheng again, but walked straight to Princess Yongning, raised his hand and grabbed it, and the jade box was sucked into his hand the next moment.

After opening the jade box and taking a look at the items inside, the deputy commander of the Forbidden Army sneered: "These people are very suspicious, take them away together!"

"We are from the Daqian Dynasty. You have to tell us clearly what crime we have committed, right?!" Ding Hou was detained by two monks, but he raised his head unconvinced and stared at the deputy commander of the Forbidden Army with anger in his eyes.

The deputy commander of the Forbidden Army raised the Aurora Crystal in his hand and snorted coldly: "This Aurora Crystal is naturally produced, and it has always been divided into two types, one has not been contaminated by the curse, and the other , it looks like an Aurora Crystal, but it’s actually a cursed crystal.”

"If you take this cursed crystal out of the restricted area, it will probably affect the lives of tens of thousands of creatures in Dongzhou. I suspect that you are undercover agents sent by the demon world to cause trouble in Dongzhou, and I decided to take it back for review. Do you understand?"

Aurora Crystal...?

Ding Hou subconsciously looked at Mu Zhian and said: "This Aurora Crystal was given to Her Royal Highness the Princess! Was it you... was you the one who designed to frame us?!"

For a moment, everyone looked at Mu Zhian, with expressions of surprise, anger, or disbelief.

"If the Aurora Crystal I gave you is really a cursed crystal, there is no way I wouldn't be able to detect it." Mu Zhian replied calmly.

Although his natural spirit body is a pseudo-physique, how could he not be able to distinguish between cursed crystals and aurora crystals?

The deputy commander of the Forbidden Army glanced at Mu Zhian, and soon his eyes fell on Lin Keyu. His tone softened a bit and said: "You are the saint of Xuanyin Temple, right? This matter has nothing to do with you. After this, we will personally escort you out of the restricted area.”

Lin Keyu looked at Mu Zhian and said, "He is my friend and a monk from Dongzhou. He has nothing to do with the demon world."

The deputy commander of the Forbidden Army glanced at Mu Zhian without leaving a trace, and quickly glanced at Ding Hou again, smiling: "Xuanyin Temple is an ally of the Forbidden City, so we believe in the Saint, but the Saint's friends... Sorry for the disrespect, we will investigate as soon as possible to clear his name.”

"take away!"

The deputy commander of the forbidden army raised his hand, and a group of teams from the restricted area behind him stepped forward to shackle everyone's hands.

Mu Zhian stretched out his hand and let the shackles restrain him, but deliberately slowed down a bit, glanced at Ding Hou, who was being held at the end, and the other monk next to him, and asked through a message: "Are you here?" Are you kidding?"

Ding Hou frowned slightly and said, "You designed to frame us, and now you want to shift the blame onto me?"

"The Aurora Crystal I gave to Princess Yongning was found in the forbidden area. If there is a curse, I would have noticed it already. I'm afraid you secretly switched the package. If I were not here during this trip, you would have changed the way to get the cursed crystal." Give it to Princess Yongning, right?"

Ding Hou was silent for a long time, then the corner of his mouth curled up with a hint of success, and he said through his voice: "You are right, the Aurora Crystal you gave me was secretly replaced by me."

"But I can only blame you for being so unlucky that you have to follow Her Highness the Princess. So, let's go on the road with this secret."

So what if the other party knows? At that time, so many people watched Mu Zhian give the Aurora Crystal to Princess Yongning, and the other party could not argue.

Originally, he was still thinking about how to put the cursed crystal into the princess's ring along the way, but the appearance of this young man solved his troubles.

Therefore, it can only be said that the other party is too unlucky.

"Let me guess who ordered you to do this."

Mu Zhian thought for a while and asked: "Are you from the prince's side? But why would you attack a princess? Is it possible that the prince is still worried that his throne will be threatened by the eldest daughter of the emperor?"

Ding Hou said nothing, but a coldness flashed in his eyes.

"For the mission of the prince, you even risked your own life? If you are captured by the people in the restricted area, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave in a short time." Mu Zhian continued.

Ding Hou said calmly: "You don't need to worry about this."

"Compared to me, you should worry about yourself first."

"Thanks to you, I was originally thinking about how to give the cursed crystal to Her Highness the Princess without being suspected. I didn't expect you to come and help me with this big favor." Ding Hou showed a smile.

Mu Zhian looked at him calmly and said nothing.

…

There are a total of eighteen areas in the restricted area, and each area is governed by a different 'forbidden army'.

At this moment, Ye Xiuyuan, the commander of the forbidden army in Area 3, was looking down at the case file when he suddenly heard the voice of a secret agent coming from outside the door: "Sir, according to the original plan, Princess Yongning and others have been captured."

"However, among the people they were traveling with at that time was the Saint from the Xuanyin Temple. The younger one has temporarily placed her in area No. 3."

Ye Xiuyuan nodded with satisfaction and said, "You did a good job. Please step back now. I will handle the rest."

After speaking, he took out a storage bag from the ring and threw it to the secret agent: "Take it to reward the brothers in charge of this operation. Think of it as an extra reward."

The secret agent took the storage bag respectfully, said yes, and then left the place.

Then, he immediately ordered: "Go and prepare. Tonight I will personally interrogate these people who plan to cause trouble in Dongzhou."

"Are you going tonight?" The servant on the side hesitated.

"When you accept people's money, you have to do it neatly." Ye Xiuyuan said calmly.

Thirty million spiritual stones, this is the reward received from the Daqian Dynasty.

For a behemoth like the restricted area, 30 million spiritual stones are nothing, but for a small commander of the forbidden army in the restricted area, it is a reward that cannot be refused.

Therefore, when Ye Xiuyuan received the transaction letter before, he immediately accepted it happily.

After all, with the existence of a restricted area, even if the Daqian Dynasty knew about the matter afterwards, it would be impossible for them to come to investigate.

These 30 million spirit stones are no different from being given away for free.

After finishing cleaning up, Ye Xiuyuan immediately took the people away and went to the prison in Area 3.

At this moment, two bright and moving figures suddenly flashed before his eyes.

"Lord Ye Siyu, Lord Saint."

Ye Xiuyuan reacted immediately, stopped immediately, raised his hands and bowed.

Ye Siyu held Ye Lingxuan's arm, looked at the big man with a pair of bright peach blossom eyes, and said with a smile: "Do you want to go out so late, Commander-in-Chief?"

Ye Xiuyuan said respectfully: "It's like this. Today, several monks who planned to use the cursed crystal to cause trouble in Dongzhou were captured near the restricted area, so I plan to go and interrogate them personally."

"The last time someone came up with the idea of ​​a cursed crystal was two hundred years ago, right? There are actually people who are not afraid of death who come to the restricted area to look for this thing?"

Ye Siyu blinked her beautiful eyes and said, "How about I go take a look with the commander? I want to see who is so brave."

"this……"

Ye Xiuyuan hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and said, "Yes, that humble duty will lead the way for you."

Everyone in the restricted area knows that Ye Siyu is eccentric. If she rejects her, she might go there by herself... In this way, there will be more variables.

Ye Siyu looked at Ye Lingxuan and asked, "Do you want to go shopping with your sister? Just think of it as a way to relax."

It has to be said that when viewed up close, the beauty of this forbidden saint is really stunning, and the complicated and gorgeous purple dress adds a bit of classical beauty to her.

The pure and classical girl in the past has gradually become a beauty that will captivate the whole country.

"Go on your own. The recent inheritance ceremony has been tiring enough. I want to go back and rest." Ye Lingxuan said lightly.

She paused and continued: "Besides, I have no interest in the evil people who cause trouble in Dongzhou."

Ye Siyu curled his lips: "It's boring, then I'll go by myself."

She turned around and walked toward Prison No. 3 with brisk steps.

Ye Xiuyuan came to his senses, bowed respectfully to Ye Lingxuan, then lowered his head and led the way.

After Ye Lingxuan watched the two people leave, she raised her right hand, and a golden chain quietly came out of the cuff along the white wrist.

She was about to leave on the mount woven by the Locks of Desolation, but as if she thought of something, she suddenly asked: "Let me see what Mu Zhian is doing now."

The Lock of Desolate Time immediately turned into a painting floating in the air.

In fact, Ye Lingxuan doesn't like to peek into other people's private lives... And seeing that the inheritance ceremony in the restricted area is about to begin, it will be useless even if she sees the scene. After all, she can only see but not touch, which will only make people feel lonelier.

Especially the thought of her beloved brother Mu being intimate with other women... This would make her feel jealous and powerless.

I wonder which vixen Brother Mu is with this time...

Ye Lingxuan sighed softly and looked at the picture scroll presented by the Lock of Desolate Time casually.

What appeared in the scroll was a dim scene. Ye Lingxuan narrowed her eyes and stared at it for a long time, feeling a little hesitant in her heart.

This is...a prison?

Was Brother Mu locked up in a small dark room by Yao Meng or someone?

At this time, the thoughts in Ye Lingxuan's mind suddenly stopped, and she stared doubtfully at the prison shown in the scroll.

Why does this place... look so familiar?