On the morning of the third day after leaving the Amethyst Bamboo Domain, the Youth Camp finally entered the area of Southern Realm Ancient Tree Array. Unlike the crisp air of the Eastern Realm Bamboo Sea, the wind here carried the scent of damp, decaying leaves. Sunlight filtered through the layers of tree canopies, casting dappled patterns of light on the ground. Every inch of air was filled with a faint green glow—the "spiritual energy" released by the ancient trees. However, at this moment, the spiritual energy carried a slight stagnation, like an old man struggling to breathe.
"Something's wrong, the spiritual energy is 'trembling'." Lei Lin stopped, maintaining his human form, the golden velvet on his earlobes trembling slightly, allowing him to perceive the emotions of the plants more clearly. "The ancient tree ahead seems to be afraid of something." Loran grasped his hand, the Origin Key emitting a faint blue light, spreading along their touching fingertips, connecting her perception with Lei Lin's spiritual core—instantly, countless fragmented emotions flooded her mind: anxiety, pain, and a trace of despair, like the ancient tree deep within crying for help.
The group followed the direction where the spiritual energy was most stagnant, and the scenery along the way gradually became somber: the ancient trees that should have been lush and verdant had mottled brown marks on their branches, some even withered and half-dead, their bark cracked like an old man's palm; the moss on the ground had lost its luster, and only a few scattered " Spirit-Summoning Flower " that shimmered with a faint light were still blooming stubbornly, their petals like tiny green crystals, gently trembling and releasing weak spiritual energy.
"Look over there!" A Shi suddenly pointed forward, and everyone followed his gaze. In the center of the Ancient Wood Formation stood a " Array Eye Tree " three times thicker than the surrounding ancient trees. It should have been the energy core of the entire Ancient Wood Formation, but now it had completely lost its vitality. A huge crack had split open in the center of the trunk, and black vines were wrapped around the crack. The vines glowed with an eerie gray light and were slowly absorbing the remaining spiritual energy of the Array Eye Tree. What was even more worrying was that deep in the crack, a pale green ball of light could be vaguely seen struggling. That was the " Ancient Tree Spirit," which was being trapped by the black vines.
"It's the ' Spirit-Devouring Vine '!" A Mu quickly flipped through the Crystal Words Fragment, his fingertips gliding rapidly across the yellowed pages. "The fragment records that this is a malevolent vine that survives by absorbing the spiritual energy of plants. Once it entangles the Array Eye Tree, it will break the energy cycle of the entire Ancient Wood Formation!" A Ya crouched down and carefully picked a Spirit-Summoning Flower, its petals trembling gently in her palm. " The Spirit-Summoning Flower is the 'spiritual energy sensor' of the Ancient Wood Formation. The weaker its light, the more spiritual energy the Array Eye Tree is losing—now it only has 30% of its spiritual energy left. If this drags on any longer, the tree spirit will completely dissipate."
Lei Lin walked to the Array Eye Tree, his palm pressed against the black vine, channeling Golden Crystal Power into his fingertips—but the moment he touched the vine, he was repelled by a chilling energy, a sharp pain shooting through his fingertips. "There's foreign 'turbid energy' within the vine, not the energy of this continent. My spiritual core power can't break through it for now." Loran immediately stepped forward, placing the Origin Key against Lei Lin's palm. Pale blue light fused with Golden Crystal Power, forming an even stronger light shield, which struck the black vine again—this time, a crack appeared in the black vine's gray light, and the tree spirit orb within the array's Array Eye Tree brightened slightly.
"It takes three steps to save the tree spirit!" Loran stared at the cracks in the black vine and quickly analyzed, "First, unlock the 'vine lock' of the black vine and cut off the supply of turbid energy; second, collect the spiritual energy of the Spirit-Summoning Flower to replenish the tree spirit's power; third, use the primordial spiritual energy of the Array Eye Tree to completely expel the turbid energy from the Ancient Wood Formation!"