As Yi Yun looked at the elegant man, he did as what Fairy Black Bamboo did and gave a salute. “Greetings to the prince.”

Prince Pingnan glanced at Yi Yun and he did not think too much about him as he continued speaking to Fairy Black Bamboo.

“Fairy, you don’t have to be so polite. I happened to be free enough to come to the Fire Cloud State, so I took the opportunity to drop by and meet you. Your bamboo wine here is extremely fragrant and it is a rare gourmet wine. Ordinary people can’t even get a taste of it, so I wonder if a person like me has the chance to take a sip?” Prince Pingnan said with a smile.

His attitude towards Fairy Black Bamboo was extremely humble, surprising Yi Yun slightly.

As an Earth Fire Hall Elder, Fairy Black Bamboo’s status was naturally far inferior to Prince Pingnan. For her to be thought of so highly by him impressed the talent she had.

Yi Yun knew that Fairy Black Bamboo had only cultivated for a relatively short period of time and that she had only recently become an Elder of the Earth Fire Hall. Having been recognized by the upper echelons, she would be quickly promoted in the future.

Fairy Black Bamboo had a promising future, yet Elder Heaven Scorpio dared to target Fairy Black Bamboo. There was no other reason than because they were from different factions. They were destined to fight. Furthermore, the day that Prince Crimson Firmament inherited the throne, it would greatly affect Fairy Black Bamboo’s future in the Luo clan.

Fairy Black Bamboo smiled slightly and said, “It has already been prepared for the prince.”

“That’s great.” Prince Pingnan clapped his hands once and said with a laugh.

He spoke very casually and he did not have the airs of a prince. It was as though he was speaking to an old friend when he spoke to Fairy Black Bamboo.

As Prince Pingnan and Fairy Black Bamboo were speaking, the dragon-turtle behind Prince Pingnan suddenly flashed a golden brilliance, and following that, the gigantic dragon-turtle as large as an island shrunk in size rapidly. Its shape also began changing, and eventually, it transformed into a middle-aged man dressed in dark gold robes.

The middle-aged man was stubby, with a genial smile on his face, and by the ends of his mouth, there were two long dragon whiskers.

As for the immortal mountain that the dragon-turtle was carrying, it had flown off the turtle’s back and transformed into an enchanted treasure the size of a fist and then kept inside the stubby middle-aged man’s body!

Yi Yun drew a gasp seeing this. First, a large dragon-turtle was able to transform into a person, and secondly, even the immortal palace it carried was an enchanted treasure. If any of these were placed in the Tian Yuan world, they would have been simply incredible.

“Uncle Dragon also likes drinking wine, so let’s all enjoy it together!”

Although the dragon-turtle was Prince Pingnan’s mount, Prince Pingnan was still very respectful to his ‘Uncle Dragon’.

“Haha, I love drinking wine.” The stubby middle-aged man said as he followed Fairy Black Bamboo into the palace. As for Yi Yun, he followed them by the side. Be it Prince Pingnan or the stubby middle-aged man, none of them paid any attention to Yi Yun.

This was understandable. They only treated Yi Yun as Fairy Black Bamboo’s disciple or follower. Indeed, the duo did not need to pay any attention to his identity.

…

Moments later, in Fairy Black Bamboo’s bamboo building, Prince Pingnan, the stubby middle-aged man and Fairy Black Bamboo sat around an antique round table.

Fairy Black Bamboo sat carefully at the position meant for subordinates in a very upright manner. However, the stubby middle-aged man had already begun gulping down wine from the jug he held in his hands.

“Haha, the flavor is really good.” The stubby middle-aged man praised with a chuckle.

As for Yi Yun, he was naturally standing behind Fairy Black Bamboo and he listened to the trio’s conversation.

“I wonder what Your Highness Pingnan is here in the Black Bamboo Palace for?” Fairy Black Bamboo asked.

Previously, Prince Pingnan had mentioned that he happened to drop by since he was on the way, but Black Bamboo knew that with his status, he definitely did not come to the Fire Cloud State on a whim but because he had work to do.

“I came here under the orders of Her Majesty Empress Xuan.” Prince Pingnan drank a mouthful of bamboo wine and he said slowly.

“Her Majesty Empress Xuan?”

Fairy Black Bamboo faltered momentarily. Empress Xuan was Princess Purple Spirit’s birth mother.

“Haha, there’s nothing I can do. Princess Purple Spirit is capricious by nature. From the looks of it, she doesn’t have her mind set on inheriting the throne, so the person who is really anxious is Her Majesty Empress Xuan.”

There was a saying that a mother’s worth was determined by her children, so Empress Xuan was naturally anxious when it came to Princess Purple Spirit’s struggle for the throne.

Fairy Black Bamboo said, “Princess Purple Spirit is still young, so her disinterest in power struggles is considered normal. In the future, when Princess Purple Spirit grows up, she will naturally turn for the better. Speaking of which, what decree did Her Majesty Empress Xuan give?”

“I wouldn’t call it a decree, but for the upcoming Luo Divine Hall trial, Her Majesty Empress Xuan is paying great attention to it. As you should know, our Luo clan had fought with the sinkhole, and suffered great losses, with many Luo Divine Hall disciples falling! Now, our Luo clan needs to nurture large numbers of the younger generation to slowly recover our strength. For this upcoming Luo Divine Hall trial, His Majesty has even given the sacred decree that he will take out a few precious artifacts from the Divine Treasure Palace and heavily reward the Luo clan disciples with excellent results!”

“As you know, His Majesty is about to abdicate the throne and the fight for the throne between Princess Purple Spirit and my elder brother, Crimson Firmament, is getting more intense. His Majesty would make his decision based on various small details. Besides, the upcoming Luo Divine Hall trial is no trivial matter. Since His Majesty places so much importance in it, Her Majesty Empress Xuan naturally does not want to lose!”

“So that’s the way it is… ” Fairy Black Bamboo understood. For the upcoming Luo Divine Hall trial, Emperor Luo had personally decreed it and even offered treasures from the Divine Treasure Palace. That was not something to be scoffed at. Anything that was placed in the Divine Treasure Palace was the best out of the best supreme-grade items. Ignoring the disciples from the various states, even princes needed to have sufficient talent and be outstanding enough to enjoy a minor portion of the resources held in Divine Treasure Palace.

After the huge war, the Luo clan had suffered heavy losses, so using a portion of the Luo clan’s accumulated resources to develop its strength was reasonable. This was indeed an opportunity for the younger Luo clan generation, one that came less than once in a hundred thousand years. If they managed to grasp it, they could really enjoy a great deal of valuable resources and enjoy a meteoric rise and have a bright future ahead of them.

Prince Pingnan then said, “Black Bamboo, as you know, my elder brother, Crimson Firmament, is already 3500 years old. His subordinates have already been around for about 3000 years. And his birth mother, Her Majesty Empress Luo entered the harem tens of thousands of years earlier than Her Majesty Empress Xuan. Furthermore, Her Majesty Empress Luo’s family possesses an ancient Fey bloodline, so her faction is equally large!

“As for Princess Purple Spirit, although her talent is equal or even better than my elder brother, Crimson Firmament, she is still young. Princess Purple Spirit nearly lacks any power herself, and she relies fully on Her Majesty Empress Xuan. At the upcoming Luo Divine Hall trial, it is indeed the best opportunity for my elder brother, Crimson Firmament, to exhibit his prowess. If his men were to account for a majority of the spots, Princess Purple Spirit and Her Majesty Empress Xuan would look bad regardless of the reason. It might even affect His Majesty’s decision about the heir.

Fairy Black Bamboo nodded in response to what Prince Pingnan said. She said, “Your Highness Pingnan, you are right. However for the upcoming Luo Divine Hall trial, I too am limited and I won’t be of much use. I can only do my best to nurture the disciples under me and send them to give it a try.”

“Alright, we just need to do our best. For this trip, I have gone to three states and I have brought some resources to do a last-minute push. Let’s hope it will be a little effective. Black Bamboo, tell me. Who in the Fire Cloud State is up to it?”

Prince Pingnan placed his cup of wine down and began to cut to the chase.