"Weiwei, remember the incantations of our Phoenix Clan."
Lan Yuexi stood beside Chu Lingwei, teaching her the incantations that the Phoenix Clan people used to connect with the Sacred Tree.
"Yes."
Chu Lingwei closed her eyes, repeating the incantations Lan Yuexi had taught her in her mind. Her mother had said that as long as she stayed true to her heart, she would surely be able to connect with the Sacred Tree.
Lan Yuexi stood by, watching a mark of their Lan family slowly appear on Weiwei's forehead. She sighed.
She finally understood the look in her mother's eyes when she had left all those years ago.
Her mother had spent her entire life trying to revive the Sacred Tree and rebuild their Phoenix Clan, but alas, rebuilding the Phoenix Clan was too difficult. Even sacrificing her own life could not achieve it.
When a mother knew her daughter was about to walk the same path as herself, the feeling of guilt and helplessness tore at her heart.
Perhaps her mother had wanted to protect her daughter back then, but the women of the Lan family were destined to be the Saintesses of the Phoenix Clan, and for generation after generation, they had to bear their responsibilities.
Lan Yuexi felt immense guilt. She had been unable to fulfill the mission of the Phoenix Clan and had to pass this heavy burden onto her daughter. Watching her about to walk the same path, Lan Yuexi's heart ached.
Chu Lingwei was unaware of Lan Yuexi's inner turmoil. At this moment, her body and mind were fully capable of controlling the Phoenix Clan's techniques that Lan Yuexi had taught her.
She saw a void, and then vast starlight enveloped her. This starlight felt like spiritual energy, or perhaps like a pair of gentle hands caressing her face, making her feel incredibly warm.
Chu Lingwei closed her eyes, carefully sensing this starlight. She could perceive some pain within this starlight, which she surmised were the souls of the fallen Phoenix Clan members her mother had spoken of.
At this moment, Chu Lingwei felt as if someone was calling her.
Following the voice, Chu Lingwei approached a wilting, withered tree. Its entire trunk was dry, and it felt as if a light touch would turn it to dust.
It was about to die from spiritual energy depletion.
"Are you the Sacred Tree of the Phoenix Clan?" Chu Lingwei circled the Sacred Tree, but she couldn't sense any trace of her ancestors' presence on it.
The Sacred Tree remained motionless.
Chu Lingwei knew it could understand her words, or perhaps it simply lacked the strength to respond.
Chu Lingwei's eyes flashed, and she directly sat down in front of the Sacred Tree, channeling her spiritual energy into it.
Upon contact with Chu Lingwei's spiritual energy, the entire Sacred Tree shimmered and absorbed the energy she had infused.
"Weiwei!"
Lan Yuexi sensed something unusual about her daughter, her face changing drastically. She rushed forward to stop her, "Weiwei, wake up quickly, you can't do this."
The Phoenix Clan cultivators in the cave all noticed Chu Lingwei's abnormality and rushed forward.
What Chu Lingwei was doing was something they did every ten years: they would nourish the Sacred Tree with their spiritual energy and souls.
"Weiwei, you're still young, stop quickly." Lan Yuexi wept, unable to interrupt Weiwei's connection with the Sacred Tree. She could only regret why she had told Weiwei about the secrets of their Phoenix Clan.
Spirit Cultivation Academy.
Mount Wuhui.
Leng Xingzhi suddenly opened his eyes, the spiritual sword beside him trembling with a hissing sound.
"Weiwei..."
Leng Xingzhi let out a soft hum, shaking his head. He reached out and retracted the spiritual sword into his body.
"So foolish."
Leng Xingzhi closed his eyes, and a barrier appeared around him. Chu Lingwei was continuously channeling spiritual energy into the Sacred Tree, which was laced with spatial energy.
"What's happening? Why is there no reaction?" Chu Lingwei looked at the Sacred Tree before her. Its trunk remained fragile. The spiritual energy she had poured into it had not caused the slightest change.
Impossible.
Chu Lingwei clearly sensed her spiritual energy being stored within the Sacred Tree, so why was there no change?
Suddenly, the spiritual energy she had infused into the Sacred Tree intensified, rapidly pouring into it.
"This is..." This spiritual energy was not Chu Lingwei's. It was dense and powerful, something the current Chu Lingwei could not achieve.
"Senior Disciple Brother."
Chu Lingwei quickly figured out whose spiritual energy it was. She wanted to stop what was happening, but no matter how she tried, she couldn't.
"Senior Disciple Brother, please stop quickly." Chu Lingwei was anxious. The shackles on Senior Disciple Brother required a lot of spiritual energy, and she couldn't be so selfish as to let him sacrifice for her.
"It's alright, Weiwei."
Leng Xingzhi's voice reached Chu Lingwei's ears, "The Sacred Tree of the Phoenix Clan needs spiritual energy, otherwise it won't survive ten years."
Tears streamed down Chu Lingwei's face. Ten years, for cultivators like them, was but the blink of an eye.
"Senior Disciple Brother, you mustn't waste your spiritual energy." Chu Lingwei couldn't see Senior Disciple Brother's face. Losing so much spiritual energy would damage his cultivation.
"It won't. The spiritual energy of the Xuan Tian Continent is no longer useful to me."
After a few breaths, Chu Lingwei saw the Sacred Tree's trunk change at a visible speed.
Although the change was small, it indicated that this spiritual energy played a crucial role for it.
"Senior Disciple Brother, that's enough."
Chu Lingwei shouted to stop him.
"Hmm, Weiwei, take care." Leng Xingzhi softly hummed and withdrew his spiritual energy, his voice so low it felt like an illusion to Chu Lingwei.
Chu Lingwei opened her eyes, her body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground.
"Weiwei."
Lan Yuexi tightly embraced her daughter, feeding her all the elixirs from her own body, just hoping she would live.
"Weiwei, why are you so foolish?" This offering to the Sacred Tree should have been hers.
"Mother, I'm fine." Chu Lingwei turned her body, her voice weak.
Chu Lingwei had channeled all the spiritual energy within her into the Sacred Tree, yet it had shown no change. It was Senior Disciple Brother Leng Xingzhi who had made a difference.
"Weiwei, you're alright, that's wonderful." Lan Yuexi pulled Chu Lingwei into her embrace, weeping with joy.
"I came to save you all, how could I be alright?" Chu Lingwei smiled weakly. She could sense the faint vitality of the Sacred Tree, meaning Lan Yuexi and the others wouldn't have to sacrifice themselves for the time being.
"Yes, our Weiwei is truly amazing." Lan Yuexi looked at Chu Lingwei with affection. For such a young age, she had to bear the heavy responsibility of the Phoenix Clan, it was too much for her.
Chu Lingwei meditated for a full month to recover half of her spiritual energy.
"Weiwei, the spiritual energy here is scarce, you've recovered quite quickly." For the past month, Lan Yuexi had been by Chu Lingwei's side, taking meticulous care of her.
During Chu Lingwei's recovery period, Lan Yuexi discovered with joy that their Sacred Tree was filled with abundant spiritual energy, showing signs of revival, giving them all hope.
"Mother, may I ask you, can only the spiritual energy and souls of our Phoenix Clan people revive the Sacred Tree?"