Chu Lingwei quickly caught the Illusory Cat.
"There's a barrier here."
"Let me try." The Illusory Cat began chanting, attempting to break the barrier blocking their path.
Chu Lingwei's hand instinctively tightened around the bronze stone sword in her grasp. All barriers in the world, besides finding their core, could also be broken by sheer force.
An hour later, the Illusory Cat, drenched, shook its head at Chu Lingwei. "Weiwei, I'm sorry, I can't break this barrier."
"It's alright, I'll try."
Chu Lingwei injected spiritual energy into the ancient bronze sword and struck it towards the barrier before her.
"Stop."
Suddenly, an urgent voice called out from behind. Chu Lingwei immediately halted, just managing to control the bronze stone sword in her hand.
Turning around, she saw a male cultivator standing behind her.
He was in a sorry state, his clothes tattered and stained dark with blood. His face was smeared with dirt.
Cultivators could cast spells. In his current condition, a simple cleansing spell would suffice, yet he hadn't used one.
"Who are you?"
"Who are you? Why are you here?" the male cultivator retorted, examining Chu Lingwei from head to toe. His gaze then fell on her bronze ancient sword. "So it's a divine artifact. No wonder it caused such a commotion."
Chu Lingwei detected a hint of disapproval in the male cultivator's voice.
"Why did you stop me?" Chu Lingwei looked sideways at the barrier before her. She must have come to the right place.
"If I hadn't stopped you, everyone inside would die by your divine artifact." The male cultivator took a step forward, directly blocking Chu Lingwei.
Chu Lingwei's heart skipped a beat, her expression turning grim and her lips paling. "They..."
"They are trapped inside, unable to leave." Helplessness flashed in the male cultivator's eyes. He had tried countless methods to rescue them, all in vain.
"Why are they trapped here, and is there a way to get in?" Chu Lingwei's voice was tinged with urgency. According to the Phoenix Clan Elder, her mother only had a month left to live. She had to rescue them within this month.
The male cultivator shook his head. "I don't know."
Chu Lingwei was exasperated, giving him a speechless look. "If you don't know how to save them, you should at least know about the changes in this barrier, right?"
"Those inside are now life-linked to this barrier. If the barrier is broken, their lives will also end." Pain flashed in the male cultivator's eyes. He slowly extended his hand and placed it on the barrier. The series of agonizing screams startled Chu Lingwei.
This was the sound.
Chu Lingwei, startled, took a step back. These screams were exactly the same as the ones she had heard by the Xiushui River.
"How could this be?"
"You can hear their voices?"
Chu Lingwei and the male cultivator spoke at the same time, both showing incredulity and shock on their faces.
"You can hear their voices?" the male cultivator asked, somewhat agitated. He stepped forward, and just as he reached Chu Lingwei, the Illusory Cat kicked him away.
The Illusory Cat let out a growl, its warning clear: dare to approach Weiwei, and see how it would deal with him.
The male cultivator quickly got up from the ground, unoffended. His entire attention was focused on Chu Lingwei. "Tell me, why can you hear their voices?"
"Do you think I should know?" Chu Lingwei retorted. She also wanted to know why she could hear the screams of those trapped.
The male cultivator paused, opened his mouth, and found himself unable to reply.
"Then... how did you get in here?" the male cultivator asked again.
"I stumbled in here accidentally." Chu Lingwei found the male cultivator before her to be erratically behaving, one moment normal, the next not. "You said all cultivators here are trapped, so why aren't you trapped?"
Chu Lingwei crossed her arms, staring at the male cultivator. He seemed far too familiar with this place.
"I wish I were one of those trapped inside," the male cultivator said bitterly. Those inside endured endless torment, while he could only watch, helpless.
Chu Lingwei's expression darkened. She hadn't heard a word of what he said.
"Is there really no way to save those inside?" Chu Lingwei frowned, caught in a dead end. She couldn't even confirm if her birth mother was among them.
The male cultivator shook his head. "I've been here for fifty years, trying countless methods, but none could break this barrier."
"Fifty years?"
Chu Lingwei's eyes lit up. "You've been here for fifty years?"
"Yes." The male cultivator lowered his head. He was about to enter the Supreme Realm, yet even a Supreme Realm expert couldn't break this barrier.
"Twenty years ago, did a... Huatian Realm female cultivator enter here?"
Chu Lingwei looked helpless. Her father had never told her her mother's name. She hoped her mother would tell her herself. Chu Lingwei truly couldn't understand her father's reasoning.
The male cultivator looked at Chu Lingwei vigilantly. He finally understood the reason for the commotion she had caused. She had come here to find someone.
"What was her name?" Not many could enter this place.
"..." Could she say she didn't know?
"I don't know her name, only that she should have entered here within the last twenty years."
The male cultivator stared at Chu Lingwei's face, trying to glean the answer he sought. "You don't know her name?"
"Yes, please tell me, senior, in the last twenty years, has any female cultivator entered here?" Chu Lingwei bowed to the male cultivator. Seeking help was always a bit troublesome.
"Yes."
The male cultivator was silent for a long time, a flicker of hope beginning to stir in his heart. "What is your name?"
"Junior Chu Lingwei."
Chu Lingwei stated her name without concealment.
"You are Chu Lingwei." Upon hearing her name, the male cultivator's pupils widened, his eyes filled with joy. He stepped forward, tightly gripping Chu Lingwei's arms. "You are Chu Lingwei."
"..."
Seeing the man's extreme agitation, Chu Lingwei struck him away. This man had been here for fifty years. She hadn't even been born before he entered here. How could he know her name?
"Who are you?"
"Weiwei, I am your uncle."
The male cultivator was extremely excited, his eyes shining with red streaks. He wanted to step forward but hesitated.
Chu Lingwei and the Illusory Cat were stunned.
What?!
Uncle.
"You're talking nonsense."
The Illusory Cat transformed into human form, hands on its hips, pointing at the male cultivator. "We don't believe you."
Chu Lingwei's heart began to pound. She was certain her mother was from the Phoenix Clan. If her mother had relatives, they would naturally be from the Phoenix Clan. She had come here on the advice of the Phoenix Clan leader.
It was possible this person was from the Phoenix Clan.
"Weiwei, I am truly your uncle, Lan Xingyi." Lan Xingyi knew he had a niece named Chu Lingwei and never expected to meet her here.