As morning dew still clung to the leaves of the Starleaf Tree, the Youth Guardian Camp had already crossed the border of the Fallen Star Woodland. A Mu carried the New Sprout Sword, its scabbard adorned with Ice-Fire Entwining Pattern that shimmered in the morning light—before setting off, Lei Lin had specially replenished his " Elemental Resonance Technique " spell with Ice-Fire Communication Crystal, instructing him that the trees in the forest possessed spirits and needed to be communicated with using gentle power. In A Ya's bag, besides the usual purifying plant seeds, there were now " Star Dew Grass " seeds cultivated by Liya based on meteorite energy—the roots of this grass could absorb residual Evil Energy from meteorites, and its leaves could refract starlight to nourish the trees. On A Shi's patrol log, two new columns, "Starleaf Luster" and "Meteorite Crystal Evil Energy Index," had been added. A purplish-edged starleaf specimen was tucked into the corner, a "marker" sent by the Forest Dwellers after Loran had communicated with them beforehand.
"Follow the light trails of the Starleaf Tree, and you'll find the Forest Dwellers ' treehouse!" Loran rode ahead on his Cloudhorn Beast, the golden silhouette of the Icefield Wolf exceptionally agile through the forest. It sniffed the woody scent in the air, and whenever it approached a fragment of a meteorite shimmering with a pale purple light, it would lightly scratch the ground with its paws as a warning. The Starleaf Tree deep in the forest were particularly special—their trunks were thick, their leaves pale green, and their veins were studded with tiny silver lights. When the wind blew, the leaves swayed like scattered stars. However, the deeper they went into the forest, the dimmer the silver light of the Starleaf Tree became. Some trees near the large meteorite fragments even had gray spots on their leaves, and the sap that seeped out was tinged with very faint black threads.
Having just passed through a Starleaf Tree, they saw a treehouse suspended in mid-air— the Forest Dwellers had entwined tree trunks with vines to form the house, the roof covered with dried star-leaf leaves. Forest Dwellers dressed in bark-woven clothing sat on the edge of the treehouse, holding a wooden bowl in his hands, whispering softly to the tree trunk. Hearing footsteps, he slid down the vines, a gentle smile on his face, "Lord Loran, you've finally arrived! For the past two weeks, the Starleaf Tree near the Fallen Star Crater have become increasingly listless, the silver sheen on their leaves has almost faded, and even the sap we use for food has a slightly astringent taste—the old chieftain said it's the Evil Energy from the meteorite seeping out."
A Mu immediately followed the Forest Dwellers to a gray-spotted Starleaf Tree, his fingertips lightly touching a leaf—a chill colder than the decaying moss of the swamp, the lingering Evil Energy unique to meteorites, spreading along the veins into the trunk. "It's the Evil Energy from the meteorite fragments that wasn't completely cleared!" A Mu looked up at Loran, his tone certain. "I learned this at the mines; the Evil Energy in ores slowly seeps into the surrounding soil. The Evil Energy from these meteorite fragments is more unique than that of the Holy Iron. We need a power that resonates with trees to 'draw' the Evil Energy of the leaf veins."
The Forest Dwellers nodded, pointing to the Fallen Star Crater in the center of the forest. "At the bottom of the crater is the largest meteorite fragment, glowing with a purplish-blue light. The Evil Energy is seeping out from there. We tried to soothe the Starleaf Tree with ' Tree Speech,' but the Evil Energy was too strong; the trees could only barely resist and couldn't purify themselves."
Loran looked towards the Fallen Star Crater, where a faint purple light pierced through the tree canopy. " A Mu, try using Elemental Resonance Technique!" His fingertips glowed with a pale green light as he lightly touched the trunk of the Starleaf Tree. "First, establish resonance with the tree, then use the power of ice and fire to flow along the veins of the leaves. This will both protect the tree and precisely purify the Evil Energy —remember, the power of fire should be gentle, so as not to burn the trunk, and the power of ice mist should be subtle, flowing along the veins of the leaves."
A Mu took a deep breath, gently resting the New Sprout Sword against the Starleaf Tree. Following the incantation taught by Lei Lin, he closed his eyes and sensed the tree's aura. Soon, he could faintly "hear" the tree's weak "whispers," a signal that the Starleaf Tree was conveying its weariness. A Mu slowly infused the tree trunk with the power of ice and fire. The power of fire transformed into a warm stream, spreading along the wood grain to protect the heartwood, which was about to be corrupted by Evil Energy. The power of ice mist transformed into delicate threads, wrapping around the gray spots along the veins of the leaves, gradually "peeling" the Evil Energy from the leaves, turning it into tiny white smoke that was dispersed by the wind.