"Pfft!"
Chu Lingwei felt her heart being crushed by a powerful force, her entire body contorting.
"Weiwei, don't be afraid."
Lan Yuexi saw her daughter collapse onto the ground. Supporting herself, she ran to Chu Lingwei's side, pulled her into her embrace, and sent a surge of spiritual energy into her body to shield her from the oppressive pressure.
"Mother, please stop quickly." Chu Lingwei saw Lan Yuexi's face turn pale as she continued to channel spiritual energy from her own body into her daughter's. A deep emotion stirred within her.
Despite her own suffering, she was willing to shield her daughter from the pressure.
This kind of concern was something Chu Lingwei had never experienced before.
"Weiwei, Mother is fine." Lan Yuexi shook her head weakly. She had endured this kind of pressure countless times and was accustomed to it. However, her daughter was only in the Rongtian realm and surely could not withstand it.
A quarter of an hour later.
The oppressive pressure receded like a receding tide, and the cultivators in the cave breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Mother, take the pill quickly." Lan Yuexi was on the verge of losing consciousness. Chu Lingwei retrieved an eighth-tier pill and fed it to her.
Feeling her body rapidly recovering, Chu Lingwei finally felt at ease.
Chu Lingwei looked at the Phoenix tribe cultivators within the cave. The recent pressure had left most of them injured and scarred once more.
"Weiwei, don't give Mother any more pills." Lan Yuexi opened her eyes and felt her body returning to its Huatian realm state. She strongly disapproved of her daughter's actions. "Weiwei, listen to Mother, you must find a way to leave here."
"Mother, I still have pills." Chu Lingwei took out another pill and offered it to Lan Yuexi. "Mother, I brought plenty of pills from Xiushui Shore, these are specifically for all of you."
Lan Yuexi was touched but shook her head. "Weiwei, don't lie to Mother. Your eldest uncle could never have told you about the Phoenix tribe."
Lan Yuexi knew her eldest brother well. His entire life was dedicated to the salvation of the Phoenix tribe, and he would never easily reveal such a great secret of their tribe to Chu Lingwei.
Therefore, the spiritual medicine she was giving them now was definitely not something prepared in advance.
"Mother, my second senior brother is an eighth-tier alchemist. I was fortunate to obtain some spiritual herbs and immortal medicines in the Hengtian Secret Realm and the Cangshan Secret Realm. I can still produce pills."
Chu Lingwei gave Lan Yuexi over a thousand pills this time, enough for the cultivators in the cave to recover to their peak condition.
"Mother, even if we are in dire straits, we cannot give up hope of survival."
"Thank you, Weiwei."
Lan Yuexi was deeply moved. She had never considered giving up hope of survival. She had a lover she had yet to see, a daughter she had yet to care for; how could she possibly give up hope?
All these decisions were things she had to do.
"Mother, you all should heal your wounds first, then we can think of other ways." Chu Lingwei felt slightly reassured as Uncle Lichen and Grandpa Yu in her spatial artifact had begun attempting to concoct an antidote.
Even if they couldn't find a cure for the Xiushui poison, as long as they stayed here, she could nourish them daily with spirit energy condensed into pearls, which she believed would have some effect.
The biggest challenge facing her now was the sacred tree.
Lan Yuexi felt her daughter was right. Until the very last moment, she had to strive to survive, if only for her daughter's sake.
Seeing Lan Yuexi distributing the pills she had given her to the Phoenix tribe cultivators, Chu Lingwei took her hand and sat down. "Mother, how do you usually sense the sacred tree?"
If they were to nourish the sacred tree with their spiritual energy or other means, they must have their own methods.
Chu Lingwei had never seen the sacred tree and did not know how to approach it, so she could only ask Lan Yuexi.
"Weiwei, what do you intend to do?" Lan Yuexi exclaimed in shock upon hearing Chu Lingwei's words. "Weiwei, you are our Phoenix tribe's saintess, you cannot get into trouble again."
"Mother." Chu Lingwei chuckled and pulled Lan Yuexi to sit beside her. "Mother, don't worry, I won't easily go to my death. I just want to understand our sacred tree better. After all, I am the saintess of the Phoenix tribe, and I must know these things."
Lan Yuexi was stunned. Yes, she had almost forgotten. Her daughter was the saintess of the Phoenix tribe, and in the future, she would be the one to guard her. She had to teach her these things.
"Weiwei, you are the only hope for our Phoenix tribe. Mother hopes you can carry the last hope of our tribe." Lan Yuexi still felt uneasy, holding Chu Lingwei's hand and repeating herself.
"Mother, don't worry, I will definitely help my uncle and the others rebuild the Phoenix tribe." Chu Lingwei's voice was firm. Since her identity had been revealed, she, Chu Lingwei, could certainly bear the responsibilities that came with it.
"Weiwei, it's all Mother's fault." Lan Yuexi felt both relieved and touched. If she, the saintess, had not been so useless, her daughter would not have had to bear such a heavy responsibility.
"Mother, don't say that. You are very good. I know, Father knows, and the entire Phoenix tribe knows." Chu Lingwei patted Lan Yuexi's shoulder. As the saintess of the Phoenix tribe, she had already done a very good job.
Lan Yuexi suddenly heard Chu Ze's name, and her body trembled violently. Her lover, whom she had been afraid to mention.
"Weiwei, your father, is he well?" Lan Yuexi's voice trembled with caution.
"He is very well. He is currently searching for you across the entire Xuanyuan Continent." Chu Lingwei's eyes flickered. She thought of how her father kept appearing in different places on the Xuanyuan Continent, not only searching for her mother but possibly doing other things as well.
Lan Yuexi thought of Chu Ze. His abrupt departure back then was all her fault. She had been afraid to say goodbye to him face-to-face, fearing she would be unable to bear leaving.
"I wronged him."
"Mother, don't say such things. Father knows you had your reasons; he has never blamed you." Chu Lingwei comforted her and sighed softly. She wondered when this pair of ill-fated lovers, her mother and father, would finally meet.
"I lied to him." Lan Yuexi's tears fell in large drops. She had never been able to let go. During the time she loved Chu Ze, she had not even told him her real name.
"Father knows."
Just as Chu Lingwei had thought, the reason her father hadn't told her mother everything was perhaps because he had long suspected it and wanted her mother to reveal her true identity herself.
"He..." Lan Yuexi couldn't continue. Chu Ze was so intelligent; he must have known everything.
"Mother, let's find a way to leave here. That way, you can see Father, and our family can be reunited." Chu Lingwei persuaded her. Only by breaking through their current predicament could their family be reunited.
Lan Yuexi gave a wry smile. This place had trapped countless cultivators of the Phoenix tribe; how could it be broken through so easily?
"Alright." Lan Yuexi did not want to make Weiwei sad, so she forced a smile and agreed.