Leng Xingzhi looked down, his gaze warm as he looked at his junior sister. She was the kindest.
"Senior Brother, you gave Kunwu to my maternal uncle. The Leng family..." Before dying, Kunwu admitted that he had once exterminated the Phoenix Clan with the Leng family.
This was an undeniable fact. Even if he wasn't a Leng family member, such actions would surely displease the Leng family.
"Heh."
Leng Xingzhi thought of the Leng family today and couldn't help but chuckle softly. If not for him, the Leng family would have long become stepping stones for others. Letting them live was merely his desire for a legitimate identity.
"They are not worthy."
Chu Lingwei, "..."
"Senior Brother, Kunwu's body..."
At first, Chu Lingwei had intended to make Kunwu let down his guard and weave some random tales. She hadn't expected to stumble upon the truth by accident – Kunwu's body did indeed have problems.
Even if he obtained the Sacred Tree, it wouldn't happen so suddenly.
"He was cursed. If the curse cannot be broken, he will never break through." With Kunwu's cultivation, he would never be able to break that curse.
"Curse?" The mere name sent a shiver down one's spine.
"It's an ancient evil curse that can bewilder the mind. Even cultivators cannot detect it." Leng Xingzhi took Chu Lingwei's hand. "He was just a pawn. It's fine that he died."
"To have a Dominator Realm powerhouse be his pawn, how powerful must such a person be?" Kuai Shu Ge
Chu Lingwei couldn't help but sigh in her heart. Dominator Realm powerhouses were already the strongest beings in the cultivation world. If even such a person couldn't perceive that they were someone else's pawn, what kind of identity did that person possess?
Chu Lingwei dared not imagine.
"Weiwei, in this world, it's not just cultivation." Leng Xingzhi's voice grew distant, tinged with sighs and helplessness.
"I know."
Chu Lingwei wasn't foolish. Leng Xingzhi's identity, and all the events that had transpired on the Xuanyuan Continent, all seemed to be the will of the cultivators themselves. Yet, she felt as if an invisible hand was constantly pushing these events forward.
"Senior Brother, Junior Sister."
At this moment, Su Yan arrived on his sword. Seeing them, he was very happy. "I was just about to look for you."
"Third Senior Brother, did you shake off those demon cultivators?"
If it weren't for Third Senior Brother drawing away those demon cultivators for her, she wouldn't have reached Jingliang Forest so quickly.
"Shaken off." A hint of solemnity flashed in Su Yan's eyes as he looked at his Senior Brother. "Senior Brother, those demon cultivators have the scent of human cultivators on them, making them difficult for human cultivators to detect."
Leng Xingzhi nodded. "We must report these matters to Master as soon as possible."
"Third Senior Brother, what do you mean?" Chu Lingwei was puzzled.
"I discovered that once demon cultivators enter the lake in Jingliang Forest to improve their cultivation, they acquire some aura of human cultivators. Blended in with human cultivators, they won't be easily discovered."
This was a terrifying matter. If these demon cultivators mingled among human cultivators for extended periods, stealing intelligence from major sects, it would provide an opportunity for the demon realm.
"Not only that, but the spirit beasts are also like this. Although they obey their original masters, there is a curse within their bodies that even I cannot break."
Su Yan had been in Jingliang Forest, trying to find a way to break the curse within the spirit beasts' bodies, but to no avail.
"Third Senior Brother means that all the people and spirit beasts who entered the lake to improve their cultivation have actually been controlled?" This was the same conclusion Chu Lingwei had reached about that lake.
"That's right."
Su Yan confirmed. "This matter is of great importance and must be reported back to the academy immediately."
The lake in Jingliang Forest had existed for a long time, and countless spirit beasts and demon cultivators had entered it. If these demon cultivators and spirit beasts were all simultaneously controlled, the consequences were simply unimaginable.
The matter was urgent, and Chu Lingwei and the others did not delay. Ten days later, they returned to the Cultivation Academy.
After greeting her Master, Chu Lingwei returned to her own cave dwelling.
"Junior Sister, you're back so soon?" Nangong Luo had been waiting at her cave dwelling. Seeing her return alone, his smile deepened. "Why are you back alone?"
"Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother were kept by Master."
They were to discuss the issue of the lake in Jingliang Forest. Chu Lingwei was sent back directly.
"Was the trip to Lingzhou smooth?" Nangong Luo was not concerned about the reason why his Senior Brother and Third Junior Brother were kept. Knowing that his Junior Sister had gone to Lingzhou with their Senior Brother, he knew they would return safely.
"It was relatively smooth."
Chu Lingwei nodded. Kunwu was dead, and the Phoenix Clan's crisis was temporarily resolved.
The Xiu Shui poison in her mother and other clansmen's bodies had been cleared. She only needed to find an opportunity to release them to return to the Phoenix Clan.
Her father and mother could also be reunited openly.
However, while the immediate danger was gone, in reality, their Phoenix Clan was still in a precarious situation. One Kunwu was dead, but behind him were countless others preparing for tribulation.
If they didn't abandon their covetous desire for the Phoenix Clan's Sacred Tree, similar incidents would still occur.
"Junior Sister, you seem unhappy?"
Chu Lingwei nodded and told her Second Senior Brother about the strange lake in Jingliang Forest. "No one knows who set up this lake."
"This is quite interesting." A deep interest emerged in Nangong Luo's eyes.
"Second Senior Brother, do you think this lake is very similar to the Spiritual Realm and the Cangshan Secret Realm?" Chu Lingwei always felt that there was a much larger conspiracy behind this, but they just hadn't discovered it yet.
"Second Senior Brother knows your thoughts, but it's useless to overthink." Nangong Luo tapped Chu Lingwei's head with his folding fan. This little girl was indeed intelligent.
"I'm just curious. The person who set up this lake seems to be constantly strengthening their forces."
Chu Lingwei was helpless. She didn't want to overthink, but everything pointed to someone wanting to disrupt the peace of the Xuanyuan Continent.
First, the Ghost Realm occupied the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect, and then a formation specifically targeting the demon realm appeared. If the demon realm attacked the human cultivators, wouldn't this repeat the incident of the Ghost Realm and the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect?
"If you can think of it, how could Master and the others not?" Nangong Luo chuckled.
"I hope they can catch that person soon."
Chu Lingwei sighed. Now she desperately wanted to improve her cultivation quickly so that no matter what predicament she encountered, she wouldn't need to be protected.
"Leave these matters to Master. You, on the other hand..." Nangong Luo changed the subject. "Cultivate properly."
"I will definitely cultivate properly."
One month later.
Chu Lingwei found an excuse to leave the Cultivation Academy to meet her father.
"Father, how are Grand Uncle and the others?" Chu Lingwei arrived at the small courtyard her father rented in the Cultivation Academy.
"They are very well." Kunwu was dead, and the Phoenix Clan had a chance to breathe. Lan Xingning was now forcing all clan members to cultivate diligently.