Chapter 381

"Three things!"

He Pingsheng looked at Ling Zhiwang and Huang Shen before him and said: "These three things must be done!"

"First, I'll give you a copy of the merchant guild's permit!"

"I'll keep the original. If you run into trouble in the imperial capital, go straight to the Crown Prince and say you're my people—he'll see you!"

The Ninth Imperial Prince owes He Pingsheng two favors.

The first was when he helped the Ninth Imperial Prince bring the Yin-Yang Black-and-White Lotus out of the secret realm.

The second was when he gave the Ninth Imperial Prince a supreme-grade Chao Yuan Elixir during his Tribulation Crossing.

Likewise, the imperial house owes him a great favor, because He Pingsheng gave the imperial ancestral elder the phoenix egg.

The imperial ancestral elder himself said the imperial house owed him.

He Pingsheng believed that even if he didn't go himself, letting Ling Zhiwang open the shop alone would be no problem.

"Second!" He Pingsheng said: "I don't have many assets—take these spirit stones and some of the elixirs from the pharmacy!"

"This is your startup capital. It's a bit scarce, but make do with what you've got!"

"Third!" He Pingsheng said: "Once the guild is open, also buy me one thing: Jin Dan–level 【Poison Elixirs】. Don't get too many—just a hundred will do!"

After reaching Jin Dan, He Pingsheng stopped cultivating the 【Nine Poisons Golden Body】 because he had no more poison elixirs.

"Alright!" Ling Zhiwang nodded: "Friend, rest assured. By the way… if we open the guild in the imperial capital, what should we call it?"

This was the biggest question.

He Pingsheng thought for a moment and said: "Call it the Grand Void Guild!"

He had no better name.

But "Grand Void" was good enough—it could honor his Master.

He Pingsheng gave Ling Zhiwang nearly all his spirit stones and several valuable elixirs.

He even let Ling Zhiwang take three vials of fourth-grade alchemy: one for wood, one for ice, and one for fire.

All were supreme-grade!

After Ling Zhiwang left, He Pingsheng went to the Free and Easy Immortal Sect and spent a month doting on Qiao Huizhu.

Nothing much had changed at the Free and Easy Immortal Sect—except that Qiao Xiaoqiao had successfully reached Jin Dan a few years ago.

After bidding farewell to Qiao Huizhu, He Pingsheng returned to Hongshi City and boarded a massive immortal ship headed for the northernmost region of the Liang Kingdom: 【North Pole Commandery】.

The ticket cost only five thousand low-grade spirit stones.

Once aboard, He Pingsheng's spiritual sense instantly covered the entire vessel.

The highest cultivation among those aboard was only Jin Dan sixth layer.

He had nothing to worry about. After setting up a minor Spirit-Sealing Array, he lay down and quietly tossed a medium-grade 【Fire Spirit Stone】 into the Treasure Basin.

This medium-grade spirit stone had been given to He Pingsheng years ago by Princess Wei Chuan.

He had never used it.

He'd planned to strengthen it, but later forgot about it while strengthening other items.

Now it was time to use it.

If it could be strengthened to supreme-grade, that would be even better.

Supreme-grade spirit stones are noticeably larger, but that's not the key point—the key is their immense spiritual power. When buried underground, they generate spiritual energy equivalent to a small spiritual vein.

Enough to sustain a cultivation family.

Sustaining a cultivation family didn't matter much—but if placed inside the Great Freedom Pearl, it could grow spirit herbs.

Then even growing third-grade spirit herbs might be possible.

The next morning, He Pingsheng eagerly pulled out the Treasure Basin to check.

The result disappointed him.

It had not been strengthened.

The medium-grade spirit stone remained a medium-grade spirit stone.

He had expected this.

Because if he could strengthen a medium-grade spirit stone into a supreme-grade one, he wouldn't need medium-grade stones at all.

He could just toss in a low-grade stone and get a supreme-grade one directly.

Just like a low-grade elixir can be strengthened into a supreme-grade one—there's no such thing as only strengthening to the intermediate medium-grade level.

It seemed his level was still too low.

He Pingsheng shook his head.

Wait.

Perhaps when he reached Nascent Soul, he could strengthen it.

Four days later, the immortal ship stopped at the capital of North Pole Commandery: 【North Pole City】.

Arrived!

As he stepped off the ship, a cold wind blew in.

Though inside the city, everything He Pingsheng saw was white.

The streets were white, the city was white, the towering houses and palaces were all white.

Snow continued falling from the sky.

"So cold…" He Pingsheng murmured, gazing upward.

He didn't find it unbearable—no matter how cold this place was, it couldn't compare to the icy lake water of Shuilong Gou.

But it was indeed much colder than Hongshi City.

His Five Elements Poison-Repelling Jewel rotated slightly, pushing the cold air away from his body—he no longer felt the chill.

He pulled out his map and studied it.

The 【Purgatory Abyss】 lay even farther north of North Pole City.

After leaving the city, He Pingsheng unfolded his Eight Treasures Boat and flew into the sky, battling the howling winds northward.

His Eight Treasures Boat was far slower than the immortal ship.

It took two full days of flight before he reached a lush, green mountain.

Yes—amidst the snow-covered plains stood a lush, green mountain.

The mountain resembled a giant dragon, sprawled across the snow.

Its spiritual energy was abundant, its plants thriving, its flowers in full bloom.

Clearly, a spiritual vein surfaced here.

He Pingsheng checked his map and knew this was the Ruokai Mountains.

"Hehe…" Looking down at the mountain range, He Pingsheng chuckled to himself: "So this is the Ruokai Ancestor's lair?"

Arriving at Ruokai Mountain meant the Purgatory Abyss was not far.

According to the map, the Purgatory Abyss lay right next to Ruokai Mountain.

Whoosh…

He Pingsheng's Eight Treasures Boat easily reached Ruokai Mountain.

But as soon as he entered the Ruokai Mountain range, three or four streaks of light flew toward him, surrounding him in midair.

Four people arrived—all Jin Dan cultivators.

The lowest was Jin Dan first layer; the highest, eighth layer.

"Greetings, friend!" The Jin Dan eighth-layer cultivator bowed to He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng replied: "Greetings."

The man said: "This area is under the jurisdiction of the Ruokai Mountain Sect. Flight is prohibited. Please land and speak with us."

He Pingsheng understood such demands.

After all, most sects forbade flight near their territories—it was standard practice for physical security.

To ensure the sect's safety.

"Fine!" He Pingsheng said nothing and dropped straight down from the clouds.

He landed at the foot of Ruokai Mountain.

As soon as he touched the ground, the other four Jin Dan cultivators landed beside him.