Chapter 261: Chapter 261 No Identity Background
Although she was a little princess beloved by all, she was still young, and her cultivation realm wasn’t high, so naturally, she couldn’t have much say in the imperial court.
But she had a trump card!
Within the entire Heavenly Phoenix Imperial Dynasty, only she could withstand the Heaven Tao Divine Weapon, the Phoenix Cauldron.
Lan Xiuzhi insisted on bringing her own friends, rejecting the dynasty’s arrangements, which nearly made the ministers spit blood in anger. Even the Emperor’s face turned dark as he questioned her repeatedly, yet she remained firm.
In the end, the high-ranking officials of the dynasty could only compromise temporarily.
As Lan Xiuzhi spoke, she also began to laugh. "Although this princess is young and my realm is not high, only I can withstand the Phoenix Cauldron."
"You can make requests, but why refuse your father’s arrangements?" Chen Pingping’s face was very dark.
The dynasty had planned to dispatch ten or eight imperial powerhouses, along with several powerful Divine Weapons, and some young geniuses to accompany her.
What a great lineup!
In the Heaven Martial Continent, it was enough to sweep across a large area.
Chen Pingping was envious. Just take them with you!
But the girl refused.
Lan Xiuzhi spoke righteously, "It’s too troubling to have them following along. We’d always have to mind our manners and couldn’t even drink alcohol. Why would we need them?"
Chen Pingping: "..."
...
「The Deep Palace!」
"Have you found anything?" a voice emerged from the dimly lit depths of the study.
The person entering was a handsome middle-aged man. He wasn’t a court official but rather one of the Emperor’s Dark Chess pieces, responsible for handling various clandestine matters.
For instance, investigating Chen Pingping and Liu Yeqing.
Of course, this wasn’t a major matter and didn’t require mobilizing a Dark Chess piece; the Emperor simply didn’t want the little princess to find out.
The man replied, "Nothing. Their identities, their origins—all are blank."
"Oh?"
The Emperor slowly raised his head, revealing a pair of profound eyes as he watched the man. "All blank?"
Behind this Dark Chess piece was a massive organization, an intelligence agency of sorts, specializing in gathering information on events great and small throughout the Spirit Realm.
From the Purple Gold Divine Clan down to ordinary citizens.
Almost any person mentioned by the Emperor could be traced through this organization, yielding at least some clues, if not detailed records.
But now, this Dark Chess piece couldn’t uncover the identities and origins of Chen Pingping and Liu Yeqing, which piqued the Emperor’s curiosity.
"What do you mean?" The Emperor narrowed his gaze.
"Two possibilities," the Dark Chess piece said. "First, they could come from one of the ancient families or the Spirit Palace. Second, they might not be from the Spirit Realm."
Outside the dynasty’s territories, there were many powerful sects, families, and even the legendary ancient families.
These types of families were notorious for their mystery and rarely appeared in public. With their long heritage, profound foundations, and formidable strength, they had become a fearsome existence in the eyes of the world.
They were also forces that the three great imperial dynasties were wary of.
Secondly, there was the Spirit Palace, a force with an extraordinary identity and status.
The intelligence organizations of the three great imperial dynasties could never uncover the identity of any disciple from the Spirit Palace. This seemed to be a consensus among the three dynasties.
Similarly, they had little success investigating the ancient families.
The Emperor pondered for a long time, then stood up and walked out. "Do you have anything to say?"
The man shook his head. "No."
"Go then!" said the Emperor.
’No’ means ’yes’. He has information, but he doesn’t dare to speak.
Because they couldn’t find out the identities and origins of Chen Pingping and Liu Yeqing, this meant that their identities were out of the ordinary.
「After a long while...」
A man clad in armor came here, looking at the Emperor for a long time without speaking, seemingly waiting for something.
About two minutes later, the Emperor finally gave the order, "Let them secretly protect the little princess. Unless she faces a life-or-death situation, they must not intervene."
"Yes!" The man complied and left.
...
The Undying Furnace disappeared tens of thousands of years ago. The entire Spirit Realm has been searching for it, but so far, there’s been no news.
However, there are rumors that the Undying Furnace is in some Life Prohibited Zone.
Chen Pingping, upon hearing this, swore outright, "This is bullshit, isn’t it? Are we supposed to enter every one of the seven Life Prohibited Zones in the Spirit Realm?"
Those were the real Life Prohibited Zones, not like those things in Central Continent.
Lan Xiuzhi thought about it, and realizing he was right, said, "Follow me then!"
"Where to?" Chen Pingping asked.
"To look up information!" Lan Xiuzhi said. "The academy has collected books accumulated over tens of thousands of years, and many records are available."
"Tens of thousands of years?"
"Yes!"
"Many?"
"Of course!"
"How long will it take to search?" Chen Pingping asked with a scowl.
He could almost imagine just how many books there were in the academy.
After all, they were the accumulation of tens of thousands of years.
If I really have to go through them, I’ll never manage...
Lan Xiuzhi furrowed her brows. "So what do we do now?"
Chen Pingping took a deep breath. "Let’s wait a bit longer! Didn’t they say that all three imperial dynasties are searching at the same time? Let’s wait for the other two. Once they’ve determined the direction, it won’t be too late for us to make a move."
HEH HEH!
Lan Xiuzhi smiled. "Pingping is always so clever."
You bet I am! He glanced at the Earth Chicken in Lan Xiuzhi’s arms, thinking to himself.
In fact, he had another method—he could activate the Heavenly Book and make calculations, but he didn’t want to expose too much, so he decided against it.
This matter wasn’t urgent. The priority was to let the Earth Chicken absorb the Phoenix Cauldron.
Next, there was another matter to attend to: Wen Yuqing.
Previously, when he was still in the Heaven Martial Continent, he had inadvertently sensed fluctuations in Wen Yuqing’s aura, which gave him a feeling that his Master was also in the Spirit Realm.
"Pingping, do you want to take a stroll through the academy?" Lan Xiuzhi batted her eyes. "The academy is one of the most powerful cultivation places within our Heavenly Phoenix Imperial Dynasty, and there are many Demon Beasts here too! You could choose one later."
Demon Beasts? Are they comparable to Spiritual Beasts? Chen Pingping was thinking of refusing.
However, the Saintess at his side spoke up, "Let’s go and take a look then!"
"Hmm, there are also many cultivation sites within the academy: Taoist Platforms left by Ancient Sages, Sword Arrays, and the methods of Perfection carved by Lords. Pingping, you can use this time to cultivate diligently and defeat Jinchang in a year," Lan Xiuzhi declared, waving her tiny fist with a resolute gaze.
It would have been better if she hadn’t mentioned it, but once she did, Chen Pingping immediately grew melancholic.
Ever since the news of Jinchang challenging him spread, crowds flocked daily to the outside of the princess’s residence, eager to see what Chen Pingping was really all about.
Am I even worthy of battling Jinchang?
Many people didn’t hold back their words, using quite unpleasant language.
If I were to go to the academy now, wouldn’t that be asking for trouble?
Chen Pingping felt helpless, his face taking on the look of someone suffering from constipation.
"The academy also has a Holy Pool specifically for purifying the bodies of Demon Beasts. When the time comes, we can put this chicken in for a wash," Lan Xiuzhi said with a laugh.
"Huh?"
The Earth Chicken was a bit confused, thinking, You all have your fun, but don’t you dare put me in there!
Chen Pingping looked at her and nodded. "That works." He wondered if the Holy Pool could enhance her bloodline.
Thinking this, he glanced at the system panel.
Pet 3: Descendant of the Ancient Phoenix, bloodline concentration 20%.
"Hmm!"
Not bad! Her bloodline concentration increased by 2%, and I earned quite a few rewards. I wonder what level her bloodline concentration could reach after she completely absorbs the Phoenix Cauldron?