"Don't worry, Mother. These aren't from Big Brother; I obtained them through my own trials," Chu Lingwei said, her voice laced with a hint of childish complaint as she held Lan Yuexi's hand. "Mother, don't you trust me?"
Lan Yuexi chuckled, stroking Chu Lingwei's hair. "How could Mother not trust you? Mother simply doesn't want you to get hurt."
The Phoenix clan held a deep-seated enmity with the Leng family. Lan Yuexi did not wish for her daughter to become too close to the Leng family, fearing she would be hurt if they ever found themselves on opposing sides.
"Mother, I won't let myself get hurt," Chu Lingwei smiled knowingly. After Lan Yuexi learned of her and Leng Xingzhi's senior-disciple relationship, she had only gently reminded her to keep her distance. Lan Yuexi was showing her daughter the love of a mother.
"Weiwei, our Phoenix clan..." Lan Yuexi hesitated, finding it difficult to voice her thoughts. Burdening her daughter with the responsibility of their entire clan would mean sacrifices, something she, as a mother, desperately wished to avoid.
"Mother, I am the Phoenix clan's Saintess. I will use all my strength to protect it," Chu Lingwei interrupted, offering her mother a reassuring smile. "Mother, don't think about anything else now. Cultivate well. We still have to rebuild the Phoenix clan together."
Hearing her daughter's words, a spark ignited within Lan Yuexi's heart, stirring a sense of hope. One day, their Phoenix clan would live openly and honorably on the Xuan Tian Continent.
"Alright, we will rebuild the Phoenix clan together."
After entrusting Lan Yuexi and the Phoenix clan cultivators to cultivate diligently, Chu Lingwei left the spatial realm.
"Weiwei, someone tried to probe this place just now but was blocked by the barrier," Feng Ming reported immediately upon Chu Lingwei's exit.
"Big Brother is accompanying me to Ling Zhou. Someone is bound to know. We don't need to concern ourselves with it." For now, they only needed to wait for Big Brother. If he didn't arrive within two days, it would mean he was detained by the Leng family, and she would have to proceed to Ling Zhou alone.
Two days later.
Big Brother's figure had not appeared, and there was no message even through the communication talisman.
"Let's go," Chu Lingwei decided without hesitation. She summoned her flying artifact and, accompanied by Feng Ming and the Phantom Cat, continued their journey. She needed to reach Ling Zhou with all possible speed.
"Weiwei, aren't we waiting for Big Brother?" Feng Ming stood beside Chu Lingwei, holding her hand and glancing back. How could Big Brother break his promise to Weiwei?
"Yes, Big Brother said that if he didn't return within two days, we would meet in Ling Zhou."
Ten days later.
Chu Lingwei finally arrived outside Ling Zhou City. Disguised as a male cultivator, with a young attendant and a spirit beast, she did not enter the city but headed directly for Jing Liang Forest. That powerful being had been in seclusion in Jing Liang Forest, and any movement from them would originate from there.
"So many cultivators." Feng Ming's small face tensed. In the span of just fifteen minutes, over a dozen cultivators with their spirit beasts had passed them, all hurrying towards Jing Liang Forest.
"More than that, there are also demons," the Phantom Cat added. Demonic cultivators, disguised as human cultivators, shared the same destination: Jing Liang Forest.
"I have a feeling something big is about to happen," Feng Ming couldn't help but sigh. So many demon and human cultivators gathered in one place – it sounded incredibly strange.
Chu Lingwei pursed her lips. She knew that within Jing Liang Forest was an old monster, Mu Shuyang. Chu Lingwei's eyes darkened. If Mu Shuyang were to make a move this time, even if it meant exposing her spatial realm, she would capture him and give him no chance to recover.
Soon, they reached the outskirts of Jing Liang Forest. The air here was thick with the presence of cultivators, and not a single spirit beast could be seen. One could practically hear the chatter of cultivators by cupping their ears; it was bustling with activity. This was the first time Chu Lingwei had encountered such a lively scene in a place of trials.
"Weiwei, they are all flying on their swords." As they approached Jing Liang Forest, Chu Lingwei noticed that while some had used flying artifacts to get here, everyone now switched to sword flight upon arrival.
"Then let's fly on our swords too." Chu Lingwei put away her flying artifact, summoned her Ice Jade Frost Sword, and took to the sky.
Jing Liang Forest was vast. The outer areas teemed with cultivators. As they ventured deeper, the cultivators thinned out, with only occasional signs of spirit beasts. The inner regions, however, were rife with dangerous areas and spirit beasts, with no cultivators in sight.
"Weiwei, we need to be careful," Feng Ming, with two balls of flame beneath her feet, flew just ahead of the spirit sword. The place was eerily quiet, so quiet that the flames beneath her feet seemed to dim slightly. They had entered a perilous zone.
"There are no formations here," the Phantom Cat said, perched on Chu Lingwei's shoulder, its incantations lashing out into the surroundings. Chu Lingwei remained highly vigilant, her spiritual power already circulating in her hand.
Suddenly, the clear, sunny sky became overcast. Chu Lingwei felt a darkness descend and instinctively dodged, pulling the Phantom Cat with her. Immediately after, the clash of spiritual energies, the flash of fire and spiritual power, allowed Chu Lingwei to see a figure standing precisely where she had been moments before – a humanoid dragonfly.
An eighth-tier Azure-Eyed Dragonfly. Its body had already taken on a human form, a sign of its impending transformation.
"Hmph, a mere spirit beast, acting so brazenly before me," Feng Ming stood defiantly against the Azure-Eyed Dragonfly, her cute face contorted with anger as she scolded it. The Azure-Eyed Dragonfly's target was clearly Chu Lingwei. It ignored Feng Ming's taunts and lunged towards Chu Lingwei. Its speed was lightning-fast, and Chu Lingwei, channeling her spiritual power, barely managed to block its attack.
With a moment's reprieve, she unleashed the Xuan Tian Burning Fire towards the Azure-Eyed Dragonfly.
"Weiwei, I'm going to burn it to death!" Seeing the spirit beast dare to harm Weiwei, Feng Ming spewed a mouthful of Netherworld Fire at the Azure-Eyed Dragonfly. Her form enlarged, and she quickly engaged the dragonfly in battle.
"Feng Ming, be careful." The Azure-Eyed Dragonfly was no weakling. Even Chu Lingwei's Xuan Tian Burning Fire, powered by her Heaven Transformation realm spiritual energy, had failed to injure it. She warned Feng Ming.
"Don't worry, Weiwei. This little dragonfly is no match for me." Feng Ming threw her head back. The Azure-Eyed Dragonfly's body had already caught fire, and it tried to escape by flapping its wings, only to be kicked to the ground by Feng Ming, creating a massive crater.
"Cat Cat, set up the formation." Chu Lingwei did not relax her guard. High-tier spirit beasts were encircling them from all directions. Chu Lingwei's expression turned grim. Gripping her bronze ancient sword, she prepared to fight. She inwardly chided herself for her carelessness; so many spirit beasts attacking simultaneously clearly indicated she had walked into a trap set without her knowledge.
"They are..." As the Phantom Cat finished setting up the formation, over a dozen seventh and eighth-tier spirit beasts surged towards them, their target unmistakably Chu Lingwei.
"Heh heh." Chu Lingwei leaped into the air, swinging her bronze ancient sword down at the spirit beasts. The spiritual energy unleashed by the divine artifact suppressed the beasts, rendering them immobile before they were swiftly cleaved in two.