"If you let me go, I'll leave right now without staying a single moment longer," Yao'er said stubbornly.
"Foolish, absolutely foolish. I've come to realize — others pretend to be foolish, but you, girl, are genuinely foolish."
"For a martial cultivator, one's cultivation is more important than anything else. Especially for a freak like you, cultivation matters even more."
"Do you have any idea how many Spirit World Masters dream of capturing a girl like you to refine medicine?"
"Without sufficient strength, what will you use to protect yourself?" Long Lin asked.
"I'm not afraid of death," Yao'er said stubbornly.
"You're not afraid of death, but are you afraid of Chu Feng dying?" Long Lin asked.
"..." Yao'er couldn't speak. Dying herself — she truly wasn't afraid of that. But the thought of Chu Feng dying was something she simply couldn't accept. Just imagining it made her heart ache. This feeling was called caring, though she didn't yet understand it.
"It's rare for this tree to help with your cultivation. That's your good fortune, and my willingness to teach you cultivation techniques — that's your opportunity. Treasure it well. If you grow stronger, you'll be able to protect that Chu Feng too," Long Lin said.
Hearing these words, Yao'er's little face shifted as if she'd suddenly realized something. She raised her small hand and vigorously wiped away the tears from her eyes, then darted over to the base of the tree, sat cross-legged, and closed her eyes to cultivate.
At that moment, the great tree swayed gently, and an invisible yet powerful force began surging toward Yao'er, drawn into her body.
"This is the first time I've seen you cultivate this seriously. If you'd trained like this earlier, you'd already be a second-rank Martial Emperor by now," Long Lin said with a hint of frustration.
But Yao'er ignored him, as if she couldn't hear a word he said, and simply continued cultivating with single-minded focus.
"It seems that kid Chu Feng has quite the charm. As for talent, though... at best he can only reign as king here. If he enters the heavens beyond, I'm afraid he'd struggle to make his mark."
"But he's no ordinary creature destined to remain in a pond. It's only a matter of time before he leaves this place. I just wonder whether, when that time comes... it will be good or bad for him."
Long Lin murmured to himself while forming hand seals with one hand, pointing toward the golden palace suspended in the sky above.
In response, the thousand golden-armored soldiers guarding outside the gates all retreated into the palace. When the palace doors shut, the structure began to shrink, ultimately returning to its original size and settling into Long Lin's palm.
"What's this?"
However, once the palace was in his hand, Long Lin froze for a moment, then his eyes flashed with shock.
On the surface of the palace, there had been a subtle change — three rune seals resembling doors had appeared. The first two were in an open state, while only the last one remained closed.
"That kid actually broke into the second hall and took the three arrows inside?" Long Lin grew even more astonished, for upon closer inspection, he had confirmed it beyond doubt.
It took a good while before Long Lin's emotions settled, after which a rather sheepish smile appeared on his face.
"Interesting. Talent strong enough to reach this degree — even in the heavens beyond, he'd likely carve out a place for himself."
"Chu Feng... it seems I underestimated you."
…………
After a lengthy journey, Chu Feng and the others finally left the ancient ruins and arrived at the most heavily guarded location within Green Wood Mountain.
This was no longer Green Wood Mountain itself, but a space that had been specially created — the Green Wood Sacred Assembly.
The Sacred Assembly was not as vast as Green Wood Mountain, yet it was a supreme place of cultivation. Due to the special array formed here, it could gather the energy of heaven and earth from the surrounding world. Over time, the concentration of spiritual energy in this place had become far denser than that of the outside.