Leng Xingzhi smiled, "I know a good place where she can rapidly improve her cultivation."
"You don't mean Lingzhou, do you?" Chu Lingwei's expression stiffened at the words.
"Indeed, Jingliang Forest," Leng Xingzhi nodded.
Chu Lingwei couldn't help but sigh. She wanted to go, but she had no way to do so. "My father doesn't want me to go."
If her father hadn't insisted on her returning, how could Chu Lingwei have come back so soon?
"Uncle Chu wants you to cultivate well and improve your power," Leng Xingzhi said after a moment of silence.
"Senior Brother, do you have a way for me to go to Lingzhou openly?" Chu Lingwei knew that if her senior brother mentioned Jingliang Forest, she could go.
Chu Lingwei blinked her eyes. Senior Brother should have a way.
Leng Xingzhi: "..."
"Junior Sister, if you want to go, you can ask Master."
"I dare not."
Chu Lingwei pouted. Master hadn't punished her last time when she had privately gone to Xiushui Zhi Bin. Master had shown leniency. If she were to ask Master again, she didn't think she would be so lucky as to avoid punishment.
Leng Xingzhi chuckled and shook his head. It turned out that Junior Sister was afraid of someone.
"Senior Brother, please help me," Chu Lingwei looked at him expectantly. "Why don't you take me out?"
"Junior Sister, your unauthorized departure from Xiuling Academy has already displeased Master," Leng Xingzhi replied unhurriedly.
"Then why tell me?"
A hint of anger flashed across Chu Lingwei's face. Senior Brother was definitely doing it on purpose, knowing she couldn't leave Xiuling Academy now and yet using Jingliang Forest to tempt her. "Senior Brother, you promised me before that you would take me back to the Leng family to see the Phoenix Clan's sacred tree."
Chu Lingwei snorted softly and turned her head, reminding him that the Leng family and the Phoenix Clan had a connection.
"That might not be possible. The day before yesterday, I received a letter from the head of the Long family. He wishes to visit our Leng family." Leng Xingzhi took out an envelope bearing the Long family's insignia and handed it to Chu Lingwei.
Her maternal uncle wanted to see Leng Xingzhi.
Chu Lingwei's expression tightened. She took the letter. The contents were simple: her maternal uncle wished to meet with the young master of the Leng family to discuss an important matter.
"You want to see him?"
"Weiwei, do you think I should see him?" Leng Xingzhi countered.
Chu Lingwei quickly analyzed her maternal uncle's purpose for wanting to see Leng Xingzhi.
The Phoenix Clan was in dire straits. The sacred tree was something the Phoenix Clan had to protect, and it was also something some powerful beings coveted. Those people hadn't directly stormed the Leng family to seize the sacred tree because they lacked the Phoenix Clan's secret techniques.
Only with the Phoenix Clan's secret techniques could the sacred tree potentially be used by them.
The Phoenix Clan's whereabouts were uncertain, and yet some Phoenix Clan cultivators were still captured by those people, their fate unknown.
Now that the sacred tree had revived, the Phoenix Clan cultivators could clearly use this time to recuperate, yet they proposed to meet Leng Xingzhi. Wasn't this indirectly revealing their whereabouts?
This could easily alert those who had been coveting the Phoenix Clan's sacred tree.
Why would her maternal uncle do something so disadvantageous?
"Why would my maternal uncle want to see you?" Chu Lingwei's brows furrowed. She thought of how her father and uncles had unanimously wanted her to leave Lingzhou.
The lake located deep within Jingliang Forest, which even a powerful being like Mu Shuyang had gone to alone, might be the source of the problem.
"There should only be one purpose: the sacred tree." Leng Xingzhi flipped his fingers, and streams of spiritual energy flowed at his fingertips. "The Xuan Tian Continent, though seemingly peaceful, is actually turbulent."
Senior Brother was hinting at something.
"Senior Brother, has the Phoenix Clan encountered danger?" Her father hadn't mentioned her mother at all. He had missed his mother for over twenty years, and yet they were about to meet, and he didn't mention it.
This could only mean one thing: the Phoenix Clan was in peril.
"Deep within Jingkang Forest, there is a Grand Dominator realm great cultivator whose lifespan is nearing its end. He is a Supreme realm cultivator who, along with the Leng family, once besieged the Phoenix Clan," Leng Xingzhi replied.
Chu Lingwei gasped and stood up abruptly, leaning towards Leng Xingzhi. "Then why is my maternal uncle meeting you at this time?"
Leng Xingzhi looked up at Chu Lingwei and did not reply.
In fact, the answer was already obvious.
That Grand Dominator realm great cultivator had retired to Jingliang Forest. Being so close to Lingzhou, where the Phoenix Clan resided, was he not waiting for an opportunity to obtain the Phoenix Clan's secret techniques and help him break through to the Grand Dominator realm?
Then, her maternal uncle meeting Leng Xingzhi might be because of her.
No, Chu Lingwei could not stand by and watch the Phoenix Clan be besieged again, not even by a Grand Dominator.
"Did you agree?"
Chu Lingwei calmed down for a moment, her breathing evening out. She looked at her Senior Brother.
"Yes, in three days, at Xiuling City, Leng Family Restaurant."
"Senior Brother, take me with you." Chu Lingwei stepped forward, grabbed Leng Xingzhi's arm, and her eyes held a plea.
At this moment, she suddenly regretted her low cultivation. With her strength, she couldn't protect the entire Phoenix Clan.
"Okay."
Three days later.
Leng Xingzhi brought Chu Lingwei to the Leng Family Restaurant, and Chu Lingwei hid in a secret room.
A moment later.
Lan Xingning appeared in Leng Xingzhi's private room.
"Head of the Long family?" Leng Xingzhi stood up and looked at Lan Xingning, who was dressed in black. "Have we met before?"
"Young Master Leng, I believe you know who I am." Lan Xingning removed his mask, and his face appeared before Leng Xingzhi.
Seeing her maternal uncle's face, Chu Lingwei's heart sank.
Leng Xingzhi's eyes flickered. Weiwei bore a slight resemblance to Lan Xingning.
"Please be seated, Head of the Long family."
"May I ask what business you have for meeting me today, Head of the Long family?" Leng Xingzhi set up a barrier, completely isolating them from the outside.
"Weiwei is my niece and also the Phoenix Clan's Saintess." Lan Xingning spoke, causing Chu Lingwei, who was hiding in the secret room, to tense up. Her maternal uncle was indeed here for her.
Leng Xingzhi remained silent, waiting for Lan Xingning to continue.
"I hope you can protect her completely." Lan Xingning couldn't fathom Leng Xingzhi's thoughts. He had been following Chu Lingwei and knew Leng Xingzhi's feelings for Weiwei.
"You can rest assured, Head of the Long family. I will naturally protect Junior Sister completely."
Leng Xingzhi interrupted Lan Xingning's thoughts and shifted the topic. "Head of the Long family, Weiwei has a strong will and does not wish to live under the protection of others."
Chu Lingwei's nose felt a pang of emotion. Senior Brother understood her best.
"Weiwei is our clan's last hope." Lan Xingning stood up and cupped his hands in thanks to Leng Xingzhi. "I hope Young Master Leng keeps his word."
After saying this, Lan Xingning turned and left.
Chu Lingwei emerged from the secret room. Her maternal uncle's aura was long gone from Xiuling City.
"Do they want to perish together with that great cultivator?"
"Weiwei, there's no need to worry." Leng Xingzhi embraced Chu Lingwei and comforted her softly in her ear.