Morning light filtered through the gaps in the Eastern Realm Bamboo Sea, weaving a dappled net of light across the ground. As the Youth Camp packed up their tents, A Shi suddenly noticed that the purple patterns on the crystal pattern record book were clearer than the night before—the previously faint lines now seemed to come alive, extending along the edges of the pages and ultimately pointing in a certain direction deep within the bamboo forest. "The purple patterns are 'guiding' us." He rubbed the pages with his fingertips, feeling a faint vibration of energy. "It must be the Crystal Vein Mother Stone that healed yesterday, transmitting a signal from the depths of the bamboo domain."
Lei Lin remained in human form, his black hair tied back with a simple bamboo hairpin, the golden velvet at his ear tips shimmering in the sunlight. He walked to A Shi's side, his fingertips lightly touching the purple markings on the notebook, his golden pupils slightly narrowing. "There's a 'dormant aura' inside, very similar to the spiritual core fluctuations I sensed before transforming." Loran stood beside him, her Origin Key suddenly emitting a pale blue glow, echoing the purple markings on the notebook. She whispered, "It's not danger, it's 'asking for help'—it's like something is trapped."
Following the direction indicated by the purple markings, the group walked deeper into the bamboo forest. The green bamboo along the way gradually changed: the pale green crystalline light between the bamboo joints turned into a deep purple, and the surface of the bamboo was covered with a very thin layer of crystalline frost. When the fingertips touched it, a slight cool tremor would be felt, as if touching the skin of a living creature; the bamboo fragrance in the air also became richer, mixed with a faint, sweet scent, which could make people's Divine Spark clear when inhaled - this was the edge of the " Amethyst Bamboo Domain ".
"Watch your step." Lei Lin suddenly grabbed Loran's wrist as she was about to step on a patch of moss that glowed with a purple light. "This is ' Spirit-Guiding Moss,' it absorbs energy. If you step on the wrong one, it will entangle you." He bent down and picked up a fallen Amethyst Bamboo, which glowed with a faint golden light in his palm. "Follow the light of the bamboo branch, it will help you avoid dangerous areas." As he spoke, he handed the bamboo branch to Loran, their fingertips inadvertently touching hers. They both paused slightly, their ears turning slightly red—ever since Lei Lin had taken human form, such physical contact always reminded them of that night on the Permafrost Icefield: when Lei Lin was still in wolf form, he curled up on Loran's lap, gently wrapping his tail around her wrist to protect her from the icy winds.
A Mu walked at the front of the group, holding the fragment of the Crystal-Word Ruins in his hands, pausing from time to time to compare it with the surrounding Amethyst Bamboo: "The fragment says, 'The bamboo soul gathers in the Amethyst core, requiring the crystal vein to guide it, the Spirit Core Summoning, and United Heart Response ' -- it seems that awakening the bamboo soul requires three steps, the first step being to find the 'spirit-guiding point' of the crystal vein." A Ya followed beside him, the Symbiotic Fiber in her bag having been modified; she had mixed fragments of Amethyst Bamboo frost into the fibers. "I've made the fibers into a ' Spirit-Guiding Rope,' so once we find the spirit-guiding point, we can use it to channel energy in."
After walking for about an hour, the Amethyst Bamboo ahead suddenly became denser, forming a circular bamboo wall. In the center of this wall stood a " Amethyst Bamboo Core Stone " taller than a person—its surface covered with fine veins, like the veins of bamboo joints, but without any energy flow, appearing exceptionally still. A Shi immediately took out paper and pen and began drawing a three-dimensional Crystal Vein Map: "The veins on the stone match the cracks in the Crystal Vein Mother Stone; this is the spirit-attracting point!"
The first step, "Crystal Vein Guidance," began. A Ya Spirit-Guiding Rope to the Amethyst Bamboo Core Stone and distributed the other end to everyone, letting each person hold a section. " The Spirit-Guiding Rope can gather our energy together and then guide it into the stone— Lei Lin, your spiritual core energy is the purest, so we need you to lead the way." Lei Lin nodded, placing his palm on the Bamboo Core Stone. The Golden Crystal Power spread along the Spirit-Guiding Rope, and soon, pale golden light flowed along the rope to the hands of Loran, A Mu, and the others, before being injected into the patterns on the stone's surface.