"Senior Brother, you flatter me."
Chu Lingwei bowed to her Master, Bei Chen, who nodded slightly and turned to leave.
"Let's go, we'll have a good celebration for you."
Seeing their Master depart, Nangong Luo led Chu Lingwei back to her cave dwelling. They sat in her courtyard, with fine wine and delicacies laid out. "Junior Sister, you are the most likely cultivator in our Xiuling Academy to enter the Supreme Realm within a hundred years."
"That's too difficult," Chu Lingwei shook her head. Reaching the Heaven-Piercing Realm had taken her ten years of seclusion. Moving from the Heaven-Piercing Realm to the Supreme Realm was more than just a level up; it was like crossing an insurmountable chasm. She doubted she could break through even with another hundred years of seclusion.
"Junior Sister, you absolutely can. Senior Brother here wishes you an early entry into the Supreme Realm," Nangong Luo congratulated her with a smile. In his heart, Junior Sister's ascent to the Supreme Realm was only a matter of time.
"Senior Brother, how is the Demon race now?"
After the war between humans, gods, and demons ended, and their Senior Brother departed, Chu Lingwei was brought back to Xiuling Academy by Nangong Luo. Their Master ordered her to go into seclusion and break through to the Heaven-Piercing Realm.
She remained in seclusion for an entire year. Aside from knowing the war had subsided, she knew nothing of the outside world.
"The Demon race has suffered heavy losses and has retreated back to the Demon Realm, sealing their passage. No demon will be able to step foot out of the Demon Realm for the next thousand years."
The Demon race's magic power had been drained by Xuan Shang. The cultivation of all demons had plummeted. With their current strength, they were incapable of fighting any other race.
Therefore, after the ascension passage closed, all the demons immediately retreated to the Demon Realm.
"So, the newly appointed Demon Lord of the Demon race is Xuan Shang," Chu Lingwei mused. It was during the rise of a new Demon Lord that she and her Senior Brother had entered the Demon Realm years ago.
Her Senior Brother must have known that Xuan Shang was the new lord of the Demon Realm back then.
Thinking of her Senior Brother, Chu Lingwei's heart ached fiercely. For an entire year, he hadn't appeared, nor had any news of him reached her.
Previously, she could freely use his magical artifacts and spiritual power, but now...
Seeing the gloom in his Junior Sister's eyes, Nangong Luo knew she was thinking of their Senior Brother. He smiled and spoke, "Junior Sister, I have some good news for you."
"What news?" Chu Lingwei looked up, her interest slightly piqued.
"Our Old Ancestor is preparing to break through to the Sovereign Realm and ascend to the God Realm," Nangong Luo looked up at the blue sky. The entire Xuanyuan Continent had several cultivators stuck at the Sovereign Realm.
Two of them were nearing the end of their lifespans. With the ascension passage now open, it was a miracle for these individuals. If they could break through to the Sovereign Realm and ascend, they would overcome the fate of dying of old age.
"Really?" Chu Lingwei finally showed some enthusiasm. "When?"
This was an ascension! No cultivator had ascended from the Xuanyuan Continent in ten thousand years. This should be a joyous occasion for the entire Xuanyuan Continent.
"In five years." Ascending from the Sovereign Realm was not a simple matter. They needed to prepare many things and find a place that could provide them with abundant spiritual energy.
Chu Lingwei nodded.
"Junior Sister, would you like Senior Brother to take you to Xiuling City for a stroll?" Nangong Luo had been staying by Chu Lingwei's side, concerned that she couldn't let go of their Senior Brother.
"No, I want to see Master and then return to Lingzhou."
Back then, she had hastily joined Xiuling Academy to participate in the war between humans, demons, ghosts, and monsters, without properly saying goodbye to her father and the others. Upon returning, she had gone straight into seclusion to cultivate. She wanted to see how they were.
Nangong Luo heard Chu Lingwei's words and was not surprised. He coughed lightly. "Junior Sister, there's something you need to be prepared for."
"What is it?" Chu Lingwei's heart leaped into her throat. Could it be something about Senior Brother?
"It's about your Phoenix clan," Nangong Luo had long known Junior Sister's identity. Nowadays, no one would covet the Phoenix clan's Sacred Tree, so mentioning it would not bring Chu Lingwei any danger.
"The Phoenix clan?" Chu Lingwei's heart trembled, and she became anxious. She thought that after the war, their Phoenix clan would be much safer. "Senior Brother, what happened to the Phoenix clan?"
Seeing Chu Lingwei's worry, Nangong Luo smiled and explained, "It's not bad news."
"Then what happened?" Hearing this, Chu Lingwei breathed a sigh of relief. Senior Brother really liked to keep her in suspense. If something had happened to the Phoenix clan, she would have regretted it immensely.
"The Phoenix clan's Sacred Tree has withered."
Chu Lingwei was utterly shocked. "What?!" Senior Brother had told her that their Sacred Tree was an item from the God Realm and could not possibly die before her ascension.
"It's true. The entire Xuanyuan Continent knows about it," Nangong Luo said with a complex look in his eyes.
"Then what about the Phoenix clan?" Chu Lingwei felt her heart rise and fall. Her mother had told her that the Phoenix clan lived by relying on the Sacred Tree. Without the Sacred Tree, none of the Phoenix clan members could survive.
"Your Phoenix clan is fine. They are all alive and well." Nangong Luo had always believed that the connection between the Sacred Tree and the lives of the Phoenix clan members was a rumor deliberately spread by some powerful being.
"Really?" Chu Lingwei immediately took out a communication talisman and sent messages to her father, mother, eldest uncle, second uncle, and Long Ziqian.
Within a few breaths, Chu Lingwei received their replies. Her father and the others expressed their joy at her emergence from seclusion and her entry into the Heaven-Piercing Realm.
"Now you believe me, don't you? They are fine," Nangong Luo smiled. "The Phoenix clan's Sacred Tree has withered, so no one will covet the Phoenix clan anymore. You won't have to worry about being hunted in the future."
"Yes, if that's truly the case, then it's wonderful." Chu Lingwei nodded. If the Phoenix clan's Sacred Tree was destroyed but the clan was unharmed, then the Phoenix clan would be like other aristocratic cultivating families, able to freely seek knowledge, join sects, and no longer need to hide their identities.
"Senior Brother, I'm going to see Master." Chu Lingwei was now eager to return and see her relatives. She needed to see them with her own eyes to feel at ease.
"Disciple pays respects to Master."
"Very good." Bei Chen raised his hand and used his spiritual power to help Chu Lingwei up. Her ability to reach the Heaven-Piercing Realm in such a short time was beyond his expectations.
"Master, this is what Senior Brother asked me to give to you and Old Ancestor." Chu Lingwei took out two storage bags from her spatial realm and handed them to her Master. After Senior Brother left, Grandpa Yu had given her the storage bag Senior Brother had left behind. This was what Leng Xingzhi had left in his spatial realm after breaking his shackles. At that time, Senior Brother must have already known he was leaving.
"Good." Bei Chen took the items Chu Lingwei handed him. Everyone in the Xuanyuan Continent knew that Leng Xingzhi, the Senior Disciple of Xiuling Academy, was originally from the God Realm. It was only natural for him to return to the God Realm now.
"Master, I wish to go out and train to consolidate my cultivation." All cultivators who had advanced their cultivation would choose to go down the mountain to train.