The Dragon Son's Aid

In the following days, Winged Human Island was shrouded in gloom and despair.

The fact that the sacred tree has not yet recovered indicates that the problem is not due to excessive absorption leading to a shortage of supply. Otherwise, a naturally occurring wonder like the Jianmu tree, which is evergreen throughout the four seasons, would never wither. If it was merely temporarily weakened by being absorbed too quickly, it would surely recover once the normal circulation resumes.

If it remains in this semi-withered state, it must be "sick". Simply absorbing too much nutrients too quickly is at most one factor, but it is definitely not the main cause.

Yu Feiling, having achieved the Perfection of the Qian Yuan realm, was no ordinary mother-in-law. Her understanding of such matters far surpassed that of the average person. She personally divided her soul to investigate the tree trunk and arrived at the conclusion that Liusu had previously mentioned: the energy within the tree trunk was only about one-third of normal.

And that's it, the root cause of the problem couldn't be found at all.

Even Liusu couldn't figure out the real reason. She could only determine that the energy transmission had been interrupted. Liusu didn't know how it was interrupted or what caused it, so Yu Feiling certainly couldn't know either.

This interception isn't a complete severance; it maintains about one-third of the energy circulation. It's like adding a sieve to a previously unobstructed pipe, reducing the amount of energy passing through. This leaves the branch neither fully dead nor fully dies; it's half-withered, half-dead, neither fully alive nor dead.

People couldn't even determine whether the Jianmu tree itself was "sick" or whether it was caused by external forces.

Without finding the root cause, the problem cannot be solved, nor can Qin Yi be cleared of suspicion.

If an ordinary force were to encounter this situation, it would be time to interrogate Qin Yi. However, Qin Yi, so spending a lot of effort interrogating him would be a complete mistake, a waste of time, and would only create a false case.

The fact that the winged people were too shy to directly confront their Husband -law actually allowed them to get straight to the point and not waste time on Qin Yi. Yu Shang Chang led the group to divide the work: some winged people who knew Wood Element Cultivation Method surrounded the branches, forming an array to prevent the condition from worsening; some were dispatched to various places to borrow treasures that could maintain the wood energy to alleviate the situation; and some went deep into the sea to study the cause of the illness inch by inch along the veins.

Even the High Priest and others who were in charge of the work in Xun Wood City received orders to go to Bodhi Temple to borrow the Bodhi Treasure.

The Feathered People mobilized collectively and threw themselves into this matter, like casting a net of war, acting swiftly and decisively.

Yu Feiling went to the main trunk of the Jianmu tree to seek help from the Dragon Son.

Feathered people do not usually seek Dragon Son.

The branches of the Jianmu tree were not bestowed upon the Feathered People by the Dragon Son; they had lived here for generations. The Feathered People were not the true subjects of the Dragon Son; they obeyed his orders out of gratitude. They were equal in terms of personality. Half of the Nine Sons of the Dragon had not yet reached the Qian Yuan Perfection and were not as strong as Yu Feiling.

Therefore, the winged people scoff at any attempts by the Sea Clan to curry favor, such as concerts. They have no need to participate, nor will they. Maintaining order at the event is already a favor for them; in their minds, the winged people look down on many Sea Clan.

They have always been proud, and they have the ability to be proud.

This is why they don't ask the Dragon Son for help; if they do, their attitude will become humble. The winged people are too principled; if they continue to receive favors, they will eventually have to kneel, slowly degenerating from equal superiors and subordinates into vassals.

Just like the main trunk of the Jianmu tree, Yu Shang told Qin Yi that she had never been there. It wasn't that she couldn't go, but that she didn't want to ask for help. Once she had to ask for something, things would be different. Yu people would rather not go to the main trunk to cultivate than not want to lose their pride and independence.

But this time the situation was urgent, Yu Feiling couldn't afford to worry about it.

The sacred tree has encountered a problem, causing many special phenomena to degenerate. The island's grand formations have weakened and cultivation energy has declined, but these are minor issues. Even the Spiritual Qi of the Mother-Child Spring has gone wrong, which is a huge problem that will disrupt even the reproduction of the Feathered People!

Survival and reproduction are the most important matters for a race. Yu Feiling could no longer worry about future troubles and personally went to the main trunk of the Jianmu tree to seek a Qiu Niu.

Qiu Niu has the highest level of cultivation and the gentlest temperament; aside from its love of music, it's very easy to talk to. If it can help, the winged man will simply owe it another favor.

But before they even saw Qiu Niu, they first saw Pixiu.

"Clan Leader the Feather Clan," the Pixiu said with a smile, "I heard that the Winged Human Holy Wood has recently encountered problems, and the Feather Clan is seeking help everywhere?"

"Yes." Yu Feiling knew there was no point in hiding it, so she said directly, "The kings have lived on the main trunk of the Jianmu tree for generations, so they must have some insights into this. If the Nine Great Kings could offer some guidance, the entire Yu people would be extremely grateful."

"To be honest, the Jianmu tree is a creation of heaven and earth. If it possesses a spirit, its cultivation far surpasses all of ours. Perhaps it was born of supreme purity? What profound insights could we possibly have about this thing?" Pixiu said quite honestly, then added, "We are quite curious. The Winged Human Holy Wood has remained untouched for tens of thousands of years. This problem must be due to some unforeseen event. Has anything new appeared on Winged Human Island recently?"

Yu Feiling's first thought was Qin Yi.

If there's been anything new on Winged Human Island recently, what else could it be besides Qin Yi? Even the black cloud that resembles a Taotie was brought by Qin Yi.

Even Yu Feiling couldn't help but waver, secretly thinking that this matter really seemed to be related to Qin Yi, otherwise there was no way to explain it.

"Nine Great Kings, are you perhaps referring to my son-in-law?" Yu Feiling still tried to cover up the family scandal, saying, "He is merely Huiyang, and could not possibly cause even the slightest damage to Jianmu."

"A mere Huiyang cultivator is indeed unlikely," the Pixiu frowned. "Isn't there something else?"

Other things, like the Taotie? Even the Taotie couldn't do that. Yu Feiling shook her head, returning to her original point. The Taotie's absorption at most accelerated the exhaustion, but it couldn't be the main cause. The same went for that unknown white cyclone.

Pixiu pondered, "It might not be a person, but perhaps an object? Has anything been added to the island recently?"

Yu Feiling was deeply shocked.

Thing?

Phoenix feathers!

The temple where the Phoenix Feather is enshrined is located beneath the sacred tree.

If we're talking about the level that can influence a wondrous object like the Jianmu tree, then the Phoenix certainly qualifies!

The intense Fire Essence contained within the phoenix feathers somewhat restrained and disrupted the normal operation of wood and water elements. Furthermore, the Phoenix Fire also signifies the cycle of life, which may conflict with the life force of the Jianmu tree. These combined effects resulted in an obstructed energy circulation.

But the power of a single phoenix feather is ultimately limited, so it cannot truly wither, but only causes a certain impact leading to a decline? One phoenix feather corresponds to one branch of the Jianmu tree, which makes sense.

No one had ever considered that their sacred objects might clash with the sacred wood, but once you think about it from this perspective, it's very possible! The more you think about it, the more plausible it becomes.

The only thing that doesn't quite fit is that it's too fast. If that's the case, the effects should accumulate over time.

So Qin Yi's absorption unexpectedly accelerated this process?

Yu Feiling took a deep breath and bowed. "Nine Great Kings is undoubtedly more familiar with the workings of the Jianmu than we are. Would it be so kind of Nine Great Kings to conduct an on-site investigation?"

Pixiu hesitated, "It's not good for me to speak carelessly about your sacred object and sacred wood. You should consider it yourselves."

Yu Feiling shook her head. "Precisely because they are our sacred objects and sacred wood, everyone is so concerned that they are confused and unable to make an objective judgment."

Pixiu sighed, "Then I'll go take a look. Don't blame me if I don't come to any conclusions."

"I am already extremely grateful."

Qin Yi had been teaching An'an music theory for several days.

From learning to read and write music, we finally started teaching the basics of playing the flute, explaining what note each hole corresponds to, how to match fingerings, and whether to open, close, or half-open holes. An'an's eyes were filled with stars as we explained.

It's too difficult...

"No, don't stiffen your fingers, relax! You're a boneless clam, don't make them look like chicken claws, okay?"

"Clams, clams have no claws."

"Damn it, that's not what we're discussing. Relax your hands, relax..." Qin Yi couldn't help but reach out to pry her fingers open, but he hesitated for a moment before withdrawing his hand and demonstrating himself. "Watch my movements carefully, like this..."

An'an glanced at his expression and could tell that he had initially wanted to hold her hand and teach her, but he clearly remembered that men and women should not touch each other, so he forcibly held back.

This gentleman is a true gentleman.

Qin Yi retorted angrily, "I told you to look at my hands, why are you looking at my face?"

"Oh, oh." An'an hurriedly lowered her eyes. "S-Sir, you actually didn't have to... take it back..."

Qin Yi glared at her, annoyed. "You're quite confident, aren't you? Believe me, if I touch you a couple of times, you won't be able to learn anything!"

An'an: "..."

Just then, the voices of the winged female guards outside came over. "I heard the Nine Great Kings has arrived?"

"Yes, yes, hopefully the Nine Great Kings can find the root cause of the problem."

"They have lived on the main trunk for generations and know more about Jianmu than anyone else, so they can definitely do it."

"But I'll owe the Dragon Son a favor again..."

Qin Yi slowly put down the flute, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.