Long Residence.
"Zi Qian, that brat, actually dared to disobey the ancestral instruction."
At this moment, standing before Lan Xingning, a middle-aged man in his thirties, seeing that his son not only hadn't replied but had also disappeared, was so angry he wanted to enter the Jingliang Forest directly to capture him.
Lan Xingyi sat on the side, drinking spirit tea, looking very calm.
If he could meet Wei Wei, perhaps he could help her. It couldn't be helped, who told him he couldn't enter the Jingliang Forest.
"Father, what do we do now?" Lan Yuntang stepped forward and knelt before Lan Xingning, "It is my failure to discipline him properly, I beg Father to punish me."
"Hmph."
Lan Xingning slammed the table heavily, "What Long Zi Qian has done today is precisely because you have indulged him too much on a daily basis."
Lan Yuntang felt wronged. He was actually the strictest with Zi Qian, holding him to much higher standards than his other children. He never expected his usually obedient son to make such a serious mistake in their family's current predicament.
"Eldest Brother, I actually think it's the right time for Zi Qian to enter the Jingliang Forest," Lan Xingyi said.
Lan Xingning glanced at his second brother and coldly refused, "If he truly intended to help us, would they even bother with a cultivator at the Rongtian realm?"
Lan Xingyi fell silent. Eldest Brother was right.
Lan Yuntang was also taken aback and said respectfully, "Father, we are already prepared."
"Wait for Wei Wei to return."
Chu Lingwei was their Phoenix Clan's Saintess. Now that she had entered the Jingliang Forest and caused such a commotion, he didn't know the situation inside.
"Have you found any trace of Leng Xingzhi?" The young master of the Leng family entered the Jingliang Forest with Chu Lingwei. With him around, Wei Wei would definitely not be in danger.
"No."
Lan Yuntang answered affirmatively. Since Leng Xingzhi entered the Jingliang Forest, he had never come out.
"Eldest Brother, will Leng Xingzhi really help Wei Wei?"
Leng Xingzhi was the young master of the Leng family. He knew Wei Wei's identity. If he helped Wei Wei at this time, it would be equivalent to helping their Phoenix Clan.
"Whether he helps Wei Wei or not, we cannot place our hopes on him," Lan Xingning never wanted to rely on others. Rather than handing over the fate of their Phoenix Clan to others, it was better for them to strive for it themselves.
"Yes."
Lan Xingyi stood up, his expression solemn, "If they truly intend to attack us at this moment, and Wei Wei is in the Jingliang Forest, I fear she will be in danger."
This was precisely what Lan Xingning was worried about. However, if they entered the Jingliang Forest, they would break the balance they had maintained for nearly a thousand years, directly pushing the Phoenix Clan into a sea of fire. They could not enter the Jingliang Forest.
"Chu Ze has already entered the Jingliang Forest. I hope he can find Wei Wei soon."
On the other side of the Jingliang Forest, Chu Ze, following Chu Lingwei's trail, arrived at the center of the Jingliang Forest.
"Wei Wei must be here."
Looking at the lake before him, Chu Ze's eyes darkened. Without thinking, he directly entered the center of the lake.
"What now?"
Song Qianshan watched his little cub's cultivation improve faster and faster. It had continuously advanced two tiers, from the original fourth tier to the sixth tier, and it was still improving, making him happy yet worried.
"This is a restriction. With our cultivation, we can't break it at all."
Chu Lingwei, using her knowledge of formations, found that she had no way to remove the restriction before her.
"I'll break it." Song Qianshan deeply regretted it. He shouldn't have listened to his fellow disciple and brought the little cub here to improve its cultivation.
Was he, a cultivator at the Tongtian realm, unable to protect a fourth-tier spirit beast?
"If you use spiritual power now, you will only trigger the restriction here, just like before. You will be directly sent out." Chu Lingwei stepped forward and reached out to touch the vortex that had trapped the little cub.
As her hand touched the water flow of the vortex, a powerful spiritual force attacked her.
Chu Lingwei dodged quickly, thus avoiding being injured.
"How can I make it stop?" Song Qianshan was going mad. The connection with the little cub in the vortex was getting weaker and weaker. If this continued, he felt their contract would dissipate.
"Fellow Daoist Song, don't worry, let's think of a way slowly." Chu Lingwei frowned. Not being able to use spiritual power here meant that someone had deliberately set up this formation, fearing that someone would break it from the outside.
"The contract between me and the little cub is slowly dissipating." Song Qianshan felt a sense of powerlessness.
Long Ziqian heard this and was greatly shocked.
The contract between a cultivator and a spirit beast, especially a life-bound contract, was not so easy to break.
No matter who tried to dissipate the contract, whether it was a cultivator or a spirit beast, they would suffer backlash and be severely injured.
Yet, Song Qianshan was standing beside them, perfectly fine, showing no signs of backlash.
"Do you feel unwell?" Long Ziqian quickly stepped forward and felt Song Qianshan's wrist, truly finding no abnormalities.
"No, I just can't feel the little cub's presence." Song Qianshan took a step back. What had happened? What had happened to his little cub?
Chu Lingwei communicated with the phantom cat in her space, asking it how to break this formation.
"Wei Wei, let me out," the phantom cat said to Chu Lingwei. Only by going out herself could she help them.
"I'm worried there's a Soul Capturing Formation here too." The reason Chu Lingwei had never let the phantom cat out to help them break the formation was this. They felt uncomfortable outside the lake, let alone here.
Chu Lingwei didn't want to risk the cat's safety.
"Soul Capturing Formation."
The phantom cat already had a method to break the formation. "Wei Wei, I'll tell you the incantation. Follow me and recite it."
Chu Lingwei signaled Long Ziqian and the others to step back, instructing them, "I have a method, let's try it for now. If there's danger, you must leave quickly, don't delay."
"Okay."
Long Ziqian and Song Qianshan stepped back. They saw Chu Lingwei drawing a talisman in front of the vortex, and golden incantations flowed towards the center of the talisman.
As the incantations continuously flowed into the talisman, the talisman slowly grew larger, engulfing the vortex.
The spiritual power in the vortex seemed to have paused. The little cub stopped cultivating, giving Song Qianshan hope.
"It stopped, the little cub stopped cultivating," Song Qianshan exclaimed, his eyes full of surprise. He quickly stepped forward, staring intently at the little cub in the vortex.
Long Ziqian was now very worried about Chu Lingwei. Sweat had begun to bead on her forehead. She was not proficient in this spell.
The incantation taught to Chu Lingwei by the phantom cat was extremely profound. To unleash it, Chu Lingwei would need to expend a great deal of mental energy.
"Wei Wei, this is the incantation to break the Soul Capturing Formation. Let me out now, and I'll help you break the formation." The phantom cat said urgently, seeing that the incantation had taken shape.