"Daoist Chu, is this true?"
Lan Xingning's eyes were scrutinizing, Weiwei was trying to protect Zi Qian.
Chu Lingwei gritted her teeth and, under pressure, said, "Yes, this is indeed true."
She had already cursed Long Ziqian a thousand times in her heart. This brat, knowing full well why she had come to Jingliang Forest, was forcing her to lie with her eyes wide open.
Lan Xingning was almost amused to tears by Chu Lingwei's words.
"Oh, then tell me, why must you take him with you to Jingliang Forest?"
"Replying to Patriarch Long, I stayed at the Long residence for a few days last month and found myself very compatible with Young Master Long. Moreover, I was very curious about Jingliang Forest and wanted him to take me there for some training."
Chu Lingwei dared not look at her maternal uncle's murderous gaze. At this moment, did he want to kill her?
"Grandfather, Daoist Chu is our guest. I misspoke at the time..." Long Ziqian followed Chu Lingwei's lead, explaining with a troubled expression, "Grandfather, your grandson knows his fault and begs for your punishment."
"Your grandson is willing to accept any punishment, please do not send me to the forbidden grounds," Long Ziqian said loudly, his attitude resolute. He did not want to go to the forbidden grounds.
"Patriarch Long, this is all my fault. I was unaware of the Long family's rules. If the family head intends to punish, please punish me as well." The words had already been spoken, and anything else was not difficult to say.
"Since that is the case, you will both go to the back mountain for a month of training."
Lan Xingning suddenly changed his mind. It was time for them to grow up. He waved his hand and said.
Long Ziqian's face lit up with joy, "Thank you, Grandfather."
Chu Lingwei's face instantly darkened. How could her maternal uncle do this? Was he really going to punish her?
Her current identity was that of a disciple of the Xiuling Academy. Would it be too inappropriate for him to punish her like this?
"Maternal Uncle, I know I was wrong. Please don't send me for training. Eldest Brother is waiting for me to return." Chu Lingwei immediately sent a telepathic message to Lan Xingning. If her Eldest Brother returned and couldn't find her, she would be in serious trouble.
"Weiwei, didn't you ask me to punish you?"
"Maternal Uncle, I was wrong, I was really wrong." Chu Lingwei was on the verge of tears. She didn't want to go for training.
Lan Xingyi sat on the side, listening to Weiwei's pleas, and couldn't help but purse his lips and chuckle. So she knew she was wrong now?
"Weiwei, you said this in front of everyone here," Lan Xingning said again.
Weiwei had been too impulsive returning to Lingzhou this time. Her temperament needed to be tempered.
"Maternal Uncle, I have something very important to tell you." Chu Lingwei had a flash of inspiration and spoke quickly.
Lan Xingning's heart skipped a beat. He glanced at Long Ziqian and waved his hand. Long Ziqian's eyes opened again, and he was already in the back mountain of their Dragon clan, in the most dangerous area.
Chu Lingwei was nowhere to be seen. Long Ziqian knew Chu Lingwei would not appear. Facing the spiritual beasts charging towards him, he drew his sword and met them.
"Weiwei, what did you want to tell me?"
In the secret chamber, Lan Xingning looked at Chu Lingwei with a grave expression, a hint of reproach in his eyes. "You shouldn't have returned."
"Maternal Uncle, it seems you have something to hide from me?" Chu Lingwei asked. "What exactly happened in Lingzhou that made you send me back to the Xiuling Academy?"
Lan Xingyi heard his niece's questioning and turned his face away, choosing to remain silent in protection.
"Weiwei!"
"Maternal Uncle, you know me best. If I want to know something, I will definitely find out." Chu Lingwei met her maternal uncle's gaze. "Maternal Uncle, tell me, who is the Domain Master realm expert in Jingliang Forest? Why can't you enter Jingliang Forest?"
Lan Xingyi heard Weiwei's question and looked at his elder brother. Weiwei had likely guessed it.
"Weiwei, who told you these things?" Lan Xingning's first thought was Leng Xingzhi, and his brow furrowed even tighter. What had he said to Weiwei?
"No one told me. I guessed it myself."
These things were not difficult to guess. Even if Leng Xingzhi hadn't told her, combining her maternal uncle's actions, Chu Lingwei could deduce some of it.
"Maternal Uncle, even now, you're still unwilling to tell me?" Chu Lingwei pressed again.
"Brother, why don't we tell Weiwei?" Lan Xingyi sighed. Their Phoenix clan was at a point of life and death. If they didn't tell Weiwei now, they might never have the chance again. "Weiwei, your second maternal uncle will tell you."
Lan Xingning did not object. He sat down on a chair, his entire being shrouded in gloom.
"He is a rogue cultivator named Kunwu. He has been in the Domain Master realm for two thousand years and will die in another hundred years."
As expected, it was related to the breakthrough of the Domain Master realm.
"When he was still a Heaven Transformation realm cultivator, he fell in love with a female cultivator of our Phoenix clan and learned about the secret of our Phoenix clan's sacred tree, believing that our sacred tree could help him achieve eternal life."
"He once joined forces with the Leng family to encircle and suppress our Phoenix clan?" Perhaps this person named Kunwu participated in the extermination of their Phoenix clan.
"Yes."
Lan Xingyi nodded. "He has been following our Phoenix clan. As his cultivation grew stronger, he no longer concealed his intentions."
"Kunwu."
Chu Lingwei silently repeated the name in her heart. Their Phoenix clan's first enemy had finally appeared.
"As long as our clansmen appeared in Jingliang Forest, he would kill them as a warning." Lan Xingyi spoke of the cultivators who died at his hands, all of whom had suffered terrible torments.
He wanted to obtain the secrets of their Phoenix clan from the mouths of their Phoenix clan cultivators, and his methods were extremely cruel.
"What about now? He wants to..." With only a hundred years of lifespan left, he must be fighting a desperate battle.
Lan Xingyi did not answer. Domain Master realm experts could move mountains and overturn seas. All they could do was to do their best to protect the next generation of the Phoenix clan so that they could continue their legacy.
"Second Maternal Uncle, Maternal Uncle, you should have told us sooner."
Chu Lingwei's expression was resolute. Facing such a powerful individual, they had to confront him together.
"Weiwei, you are the Saintess of our Phoenix clan. The resurrection of the sacred tree depends on you." Lan Xingning stood up and walked towards Chu Lingwei, his eyes brimming with infinite expectation. "Weiwei, your maternal uncle hopes you will consider our Phoenix clan."
"Maternal Uncle, even if he is in the Domain Master realm, so what?"
Chu Lingwei was determined to meet Kunwu. The idea of him using the blood of their Phoenix clan to help him break through was impossible.
"Weiwei, it's not just Kunwu now." The light in Lan Xingyi's eyes slowly dimmed. "You should know that for the past ten thousand years, no one on the entire Xuantian Continent has been able to break through to the Domain Master realm, not even demons, devils, or ghosts. No matter how exceptionally talented they are, they will eventually die of old age..."
Chu Lingwei had long known about the problem her second maternal uncle mentioned. Her Eldest Brother had told her.
"In the past, they placed their hopes on the Spiritual Realm. Now that the Spiritual Realm is destroyed..." Lan Xingyi did not continue. Those people were searching for a path to breakthrough. As long as they didn't find one, they would try everything one by one.
And their Phoenix clan was also one of the paths they would try.