Chapter 368: He Asks, He Thinks

"This is..."

Princess Wei Chuan took a sip of the wine and exclaimed in shock: "I know—this is the hundred-year immortal liquor from Chunyu Workshop in Nanlong County, but your version seems even richer than Chunyu's!"

He Pingsheng smiled slightly: "About the same—I just added a few extra ingredients."

"By the way, how is the Ninth Imperial Prince doing now?"

He Pingsheng looked at Wei Chuan.

Princess Wei Chuan said: "You can't call him Ninth Imperial Prince anymore—he's been formally named Crown Prince!"

"And he's become our Ancestor's direct disciple—he's got serious clout now!"

"When he heard I was coming here, he insisted on sneaking along to chat with you, but halfway there, our Ancestor grabbed him by the ear and dragged him back!"

"Our Ancestor is truly ruthless—he dragged him back by the ear; the Crown Prince was screaming in pain, and you could hear him from miles away!"

He Pingsheng heard this story and couldn't help but smile.

How to put it?

The Ninth Imperial Prince isn't a good man, but he's not a cruel or treacherous villain either.

Just an ordinary playboy.

He got the Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation only because he was tainted by my He Pingsheng's fortune—otherwise, where would there even be a Crown Prince?

"Anything else you want to ask?" Princess Wei Chuan said. "This princess knows everything and will tell you all!"

"The Thirteenth Imperial Prince, right? Don't worry—he's already been sidelined and will never be your enemy!"

Before He Pingsheng could speak, Princess Wei Chuan had already spoken up.

But in truth, He Pingsheng had no interest in the Thirteenth Imperial Prince.

He felt the Thirteenth Imperial Prince wasn't even worthy to be his opponent.

"That... the phoenix egg the imperial family took from me—how is it doing now?" He Pingsheng cared about this.

"The phoenix egg!" Wei Chuan smiled, revealing a row of clean, even teeth: "It hatched over ten years ago—out came a Bloodline Phoenix!"

"This Bloodline Phoenix is no ordinary thing—it already had a Golden Core cultivation base the moment it hatched!"

"Though it's only at Golden Core Level One, it can already speak human language!"

He Pingsheng nodded.

Whether beast or divine beast, at Qi Refining stage they can understand human speech; at Foundation Establishment they can communicate via spiritual sense; at Golden Core they can speak human language.

Beyond that, they can take human form—but exactly at what realm they can transform varies.

The myriad races of the Spirit Realm are all different.

"So fast?" He Pingsheng whistled.

Princess Wei Chuan said: "Actually, it's not that fast—according to our Ancestor, if this egg hadn't been taken out by you, it would've hatched soon anyway!"

He Pingsheng asked: "How was it hatched, then?"

Princess Wei Chuan said: "I don't know the details, but I heard our Ancestor threw the phoenix egg into our royal earthfire and roasted it for ten years—then the little phoenix was born!"

"It must've been stimulated by the intense fire!"

He Pingsheng nodded.

That must be it.

The phoenix is inherently the embodiment of fire.

Since the imperial family could throw their phoenix egg into fire, mine should be able to as well.

The only problem is finding such earthfire.

"He Daoist, I actually have another matter to ask you," Princess Wei Chuan said. "The Nine Nations' Grand Competition is about to begin—will you sign up?"

"The Crown Prince—he means, the Crown Prince—said your combat strength is unparalleled, and it would be better if you joined!"

"The Nine Nations' Grand Competition?"

He Pingsheng blinked: "What's that?"

He'd never heard of it.

"Hehe..." Princess Wei Chuan said. "You've never heard of the Nine Nations' Grand Competition, but do you know the Spirit Realm is divided into nine nations?"

He Pingsheng did know this.

The entire Spirit Realm's territory is divided among nine nations.

These nine nations are: Great Liang, Great Qi, Great Yan, Great Qin, Chu, Great Tang, Shinv, Great Gan, and Pilo.

He Pingsheng nodded.

Princess Wei Chuan said: "Then He Daoist, do you know which is the top spiritual sect in the Spirit Realm?"

This time, He Pingsheng fell silent.

Top spiritual sect?

Meaning the largest sect among the nine nations?

Could it be one of the imperial families?

He Pingsheng shook his head, puzzled: "I don't know. Where is this top spiritual sect, Your Highness?"

Princess Wei Chuan said: "Naturally, it's in the Spirit Realm's first blessed land, the first sacred spiritual sect: Ta Wen Ta Nian Mountain!"

He Pingsheng frowned, thinking Princess Wei Chuan had stammered, so he asked again: "What place? I didn't catch that—please repeat it."

Princess Wei Chuan said: "Heheh... Ta Wen Ta Nian Mountain!"

He Pingsheng repeated in astonishment: "Ta Wen Ta Nian Mountain?"

"Which nation is it in?"

"Not in Liang?"

He'd never heard of it!

Princess Wei Chuan said: "It's not in Liang—Ta Wen Ta Nian Mountain belongs to no nation. It sits on a vast stretch of land right at the center of the nine nations—a territory equivalent to a single county—and that's where Ta Wen Ta Nian Mountain lies!"

As she spoke, Princess Wei Chuan unfolded a paper map: "Here—look for yourself!"

He Pingsheng's gaze fell on the map.

Indeed, nine massive nations formed a circle around the map's center, where a blank area the size of a county lay.

This land belonged to no nation, and upon it stood a vast mountain range—no doubt, this was Ta Wen Ta Nian Mountain.

"What kind of place is this Ta Wen Ta Nian Mountain?" He Pingsheng couldn't help asking.

He'd never heard of this place before.

Logically, the top spiritual sect of the world shouldn't be so obscure—it should be known to every cultivator.

Princess Wei Chuan said: "First, Ta Wen Ta Nian Mountain is a sacred cultivation ground with nine supreme spiritual veins!"

"The spiritual energy on the mountain is at its peak!"

"And atop the mountain is a sect called the Ta Wen Ta Nian Sect, which has two Soul Transformation experts!"

"And reportedly, both have reached the peak of Soul Transformation—just one step away from Void Refinement!"

"These two are twin brothers; one's Dao name is 'Ta Wen,' the other's is 'Ta Nian.'"

"Together, they can sweep aside all Soul Transformation experts across the nine nations—that's the foundation of Ta Wen Ta Nian Mountain's status as the top spiritual sect!"

He Pingsheng nodded.

At any time, at any level, strength is always the foundation of everything.

"Legends say the brothers Ta Wen and Ta Nian are tranquil, unambitious, and supremely compassionate!"

"So they've never sought to dominate the Spirit Realm!"

"But every hundred years, the nine nations send Golden Core disciples to compete in the Grand Competition, to resolve disputes between nations!"

"And this competition is held at Ta Wen Ta Nian Mountain!"