"It's truly beautiful here."
Looking at the mountains, forests, flowers, plants, pools, and waterfalls, Lu Li couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Jing Yuan, standing beside her, also nodded. Such beautiful scenery was rare, even among the numerous scenic spots outside.
Since the destruction of the Cloud Sea Sect, over a thousand years have passed without any trace of human interference, allowing every location to flourish with natural beauty.
This was truly a place of spiritual beauty.
After a brief moment of appreciation, Lu Li and Jing Yuan continued toward the core area of the forest.
"It's over there."
As soon as she entered the Forest of Life, Lu Li had used the power of gemini to sense the core location of this forest.
As the two advanced, the surrounding tree species began to change until the area was completely filled with ash trees.
All the leaves were a vibrant, dripping green, emitting a faint Life Energy.
If you casually plucked a leaf here and gave it to an ordinary person suffering from a minor illness to carry close to their body, the Life Energy on the leaf could dispel the Illness Energy from the patient.
The two walked through the vibrant ash tree forest and finally arrived in front of a giant ash tree.
Jing Yuan estimated that it would take over a hundred people holding hands to encircle its trunk. The trunk was not the usual brown, but revealed a faint green hue, with speckles of Spiritual Light shimmering on it.
The canopy pierced through the clouds, the leaves were lush and verdant, emitting a rich Life Energy. Looking up, it resembled a green firmament.
Just standing in front of the ancient tree, Jing Yuan felt refreshed and invigorated, as if his entire body had been cleansed.
The Meridians, which had felt swollen due to his recent breakthrough, also calmed down. Jing Yuan no longer needed to worry that continuing his breakthrough would strain his Meridians.
This massive tree was the core of the entire Forest of Life, the ancient tree of life.
It is worth mentioning that the surrounding ash tree forest grew directly from the root system of this ancient tree of life.
Beside Jing Yuan, Lu Li stared blankly at the ancient tree of life before her.
She could feel an extremely friendly aura emanating from the ancient tree of life in front of her.
Gu Xiao once joked that when Lu Li transformed into gemini, her appearance resembled that of an Elf.
Although Lu Li initially thought it was just her ears becoming pointed, the extremely high Natural Affinity she possessed in her gemini form made her suspect whether she truly transformed into an Elf when using the ability.
After all, Xiao Xiao turned into a Fox-Eared Girl when using her Professional ability, so it wouldn't be strange for her to turn into an Elf Girl when using hers, right?
"Rustle."
Just as the two were stunned by the ancient tree of life before them, several Vines quietly slid across the ground, approaching where Lu Li stood.
"Hmm."
Sensing something amiss behind him, Jing Yuan immediately materialized his formation blade, gripped the knife with both hands, and turned to strike behind him.
"Clang!"
Just as Jing Yuan made his move, the Vines that had been slowly approaching on the ground suddenly lashed out, whipping toward Jing Yuan.
The forearm-thick Vine slammed heavily onto the blade. A massive force transmitted through the formation blade, sending Jing Yuan staggering back several steps.
After repelling Jing Yuan, the Vines accelerated, rushing toward Lu Li.
Lu Li had realized the presence of danger as soon as Jing Yuan made his move.
She wanted to turn and fight back, but her cultivation was much weaker than Jing Yuan's, leaving her no chance to resist these Vines.
She was immediately wrapped around her limbs by the Vines and then hoisted directly off the ground.
With Lu Li in danger, a fierce aura erupted from Jing Yuan's body. Golden Lightning flashed, enveloping Jing Yuan like a suit of golden armor.
Stepping forward to gather strength, Jing Yuan raised his formation blade high with both hands. Two Golden Thunder Dragons snaked upward from the hilt to the blade, finally merging into one, crackling and emitting an overbearing might.
"Wait a moment."
Just as Jing Yuan was about to cut the Vines, Lu Li's voice suddenly interrupted his movement.
He looked up toward Lu Li and saw that although she was bound, the Vines were not causing her any further harm.
Instead, faint strands of energy were flowing along the Vines toward Lu Li, nourishing her body.
"They don't seem to be malicious toward me."
Although being suddenly hoisted up startled Lu Li, once she calmed down, she realized the Vines were not hurting her.
On the contrary, a feeling of intimate goodwill was conveyed through the Vines—a feeling like meeting a fellow countryman in a foreign land, treating her as a friend.
After confirming that Lu Li would not be harmed, the imposing aura around Jing Yuan dissipated.
But he still held his formation blade, watching the Vines wrapped around Lu Li with vigilance.
The Vines that were originally wrapped around Lu Li continued to move, gradually enveloping Lu Li into a sphere.
"Lu Li, are you alright?"
Looking at the tightly wrapped Vines Green Sphere enclosing Lu Li, Jing Yuan frowned slightly and called out into the air.
However, Lu Li did not respond to him.
Receiving no response, Jing Yuan gripped his formation blade, intending to strike immediately and rescue Lu Li first.
But just before Jing Yuan could act, the ball of Vines surrounding Lu Li suddenly burst forth with emerald green light.
Immediately afterward, under Jing Yuan's gaze, the vine sphere began to turn transparent.
Finally, the vine sphere transformed into a transparent, Emerald Orb, which from a distance looked like a small ball condensed from green liquid.
At this moment, Lu Li's eyes were tightly closed, and a peaceful expression rested on her face.
"This is... nourishment?"
Using one's own Life Essence to nourish another is a method typically only used between the closest kin.
After all, Life Essence is an extremely precious existence for anyone; it is like the Natal Essence Blood in those cultivation novels, and losing too much will affect one's lifespan.
After confirming that the ancient tree of life was not intending to harm Lu Li, Jing Yuan felt relieved.
Seeing that this wouldn't end anytime soon, Jing Yuan decided to head to the Startling Thunder Pool first.
Before leaving, Jing Yuan took out an exquisite Jade Token from his storage ring.
Tossing the Jade Token upward, the token suspended above the Emerald Orb emitted a soft light, ultimately forming another barrier outside the Emerald Orb.
The reason there was no one here right now was that they were the first group to enter the ruins, and they possessed a map.
Once enough time passed, a large number of Professionals would inevitably gather here.
The Jade Token was the backup measure Jing Yuan left behind to protect Lu Li, preventing her breakthrough from being disturbed, and simultaneously monitoring the ancient tree of life.
If the ancient tree of life were to harbor malicious intentions later, the Jade Token could protect Lu Li in time.
Having completed all this, Jing Yuan turned and walked toward the outer area of the Forest of Life.
After leaving the Life Main Peak, Jing Yuan also saw quite a few people rushing in this direction.