"Vivienne, shall we become cultivation partners?"
Leng Xingzhi shielded Chu Lingwei in his embrace, his seductive voice whispering in her ear.
Chu Lingwei felt a violent tremor in her heart, as if something exploded in her mind, leaving her frozen in place.
Was she being proposed to?
There was no warning, no preparation.
"Big... Senior Brother..." Chu Lingwei found herself stammering, her heart in utter disarray, unsure how to respond.
She had never imagined that Senior Brother would want to become cultivation partners so soon.
"Vivienne, you don't wish to?" Leng Xingzhi turned his head, lowering it to gently brush his lips against Chu Lingwei's ear, causing her to tremble.
"Senior Brother..."
Chu Lingwei couldn't control her thoughts. Startled, she quickly pushed Leng Xingzhi away, stepping back. Blushing, she dared not meet his eyes. "Senior Brother, isn't this too... soon?"
A flicker of hurt flashed in Leng Xingzhi's eyes, quickly masked. He then offered a gentle smile, "Alright, if Vivienne says it's too soon, then it's too soon."
"Senior Brother... I'm not ready yet." Chu Lingwei's heart ached.
"Then I will wait until Vivienne is ready." Leng Xingzhi's laughter, like a spring breeze, soothed Chu Lingwei's discomfort, and he drew her into his arms again. "However, Vivienne cannot make Senior Brother wait too long."
A surge of sweetness immediately filled Chu Lingwei's heart, and she felt an impulse to accept Senior Brother's proposal right then and there.
"Vivienne, in my heart, you are already my cultivation partner." Leng Xingzhi's voice continued to reach Chu Lingwei's ears, making her swallow back the words that were about to escape her lips.
"Senior Brother, don't talk nonsense, I haven't agreed yet." Chu Lingwei's heart began to beat irregularly again. Being with Senior Brother always made her heart race, her face flush, and her mind go blank.
"Heh heh."
Leng Xingzhi's chuckle echoed around Chu Lingwei. "Vivienne, you are destined to be my wife."
The Leng Family.
"Is this the Leng Family?"
Chu Lingwei stood before an ordinary courtyard. The words "Leng Family" were written plainly and casually. The gate was merely a thick, heavy wooden plank, perhaps so old that it was already beginning to rot.
There wasn't even a guard at the entrance.
This place looked like an ordinary cultivation family, and one that was on the decline at that.
"Yes, it is, absolutely."
Leng Xingzhi smiled and waved his hand, and a magnificent, golden gate appeared before Chu Lingwei. At the same time, two cultivators in the Tongtian realm appeared silently.
"Welcome, Young Master."
Now, this was more like it.
This was how the Leng Family should truly reveal itself.
"Mm."
Leng Xingzhi nodded casually and led Chu Lingwei through the gate. Every ten steps they took, a barrier would open, revealing a completely new scene.
A new scene every five steps, and a hundred miles covered in ten steps.
Chu Lingwei couldn't help but marvel at the Leng Family's extravagance. Such an arrangement would likely require even a Dominator realm expert some effort to decipher.
"Senior Brother, your Leng Family is truly... luxurious."
Chu Lingwei searched for a word to describe the current scene of the Leng Family.
"This is just ordinary, Junior Sister hasn't seen the true Leng Family yet." Leng Xingzhi reached out and took Chu Lingwei's hand. The scenery around them instantly changed. Within a single breath, Chu Lingwei found herself in what looked like an immortal mountain.
Terraced pavilions, ethereal music, and high-level spirit beasts flying everywhere – this was simply a fairyland from a novel.
"This is the true Leng Family."
Chu Lingwei gasped. No wonder the Leng Family held some sway on the Xuan Tian Continent. Their very home was comparable to the spirit peaks with the densest spiritual energy in any sect.
And by no means inferior.
"As expected of the Leng Family," Chu Lingwei mused, thinking of Senior Brother's generous spending.
"Everything here belongs to you."
Leng Xingzhi swept his gaze, and the spirit beasts that had been flying freely in the sky immediately retreated. A patch of auspicious clouds landed before them. "Let's go, I'll take you to the back mountain."
Chu Lingwei stepped onto the soft auspicious clouds and realized that they were actually a magical artifact, capable of both offense and defense.
Looking up at this immortal realm, there seemed to be at least a thousand such auspicious clouds. The sheer number of these magical artifacts alone indicated the Leng Family's immense power.
Then there were the readily available thousand-year and ten-thousand-year-old spirit grasses and immortal medicines, high-level spirit beasts...
Chu Lingwei's senses were overwhelmed. She had once thought of herself as a little rich woman, but compared to Senior Brother's Leng Family, she felt utterly inadequate.
"This is my own domain; those people from the Leng Family cannot enter," Leng Xingzhi said with a smile, finding Chu Lingwei's changing expressions amusing.
"Everything here is Senior Brother's?" If it belonged to the Leng Family, it would be one thing, but now it was all Senior Brother's. Chu Lingwei's heart wailed even louder. Comparing oneself to others was truly maddening.
"Yes, all of this is mine, unrelated to the Leng Family."
Chu Lingwei offered a smile in return. "Alright, my shock has been exhausted."
Leng Xingzhi led Chu Lingwei to a barrier, and a hand seal appeared in his palm, opening the barrier.
"You've come."
Before they could enter the barrier, an ancient voice sounded from within, startling Chu Lingwei.
The voice carried a hint of ferocity yet was incredibly calm. These two extreme emotions fused together, instantly pulling Chu Lingwei back to reality.
Senior Brother had brought her here today to see the Phoenix Clan's Sacred Tree. Senior Brother had mentioned that the Phoenix Clan's Sacred Tree was guarded by an ancestor of the Leng Family. It seemed the owner of this voice was that Leng Family ancestor.
The Leng family were enemies of their Phoenix Clan. Chu Lingwei pursed her lips, a cold glint in her eyes.
"Yes."
Leng Xingzhi led Chu Lingwei into the barrier, and a teleportation array transported them to a courtyard.
Before them stood a lifeless tree in the center of the courtyard. In front of the tree sat an elder with white hair. He faced the tree, his back to Chu Lingwei, motionless, as if he had merged with the tree.
"Phoenix Clan?"
As Chu Lingwei observed the elder, the voice spoke again. "I never expected to see someone from the Phoenix Clan again."
"You should have considered this day would come when you stole the Sacred Tree."
Chu Lingwei retorted sharply. Their stealing of the Sacred Tree was merely for the spiritual energy within its body, and only someone from the Phoenix Clan could activate the Sacred Tree's spiritual energy.
Their words made Chu Lingwei feel disgusted.
"This old one believed he would never live to see another person from the Phoenix Clan." The Leng Family ancestor shifted his body, facing Chu Lingwei.
When Chu Lingwei saw the Leng Family ancestor's face, she was slightly taken aback. What kind of face was this? It was gaunt and withered, much like the Sacred Tree before her, its trunk dried and devoid of any vitality.