My best friend asked me if I was still doing system tasks.

Tao Xian and Mu Hua discussed in hushed tones for a moment. Tao Xian then asked Lu Xizhou, who looked grief-stricken, "The place where the Golden Leaf Wutong grows should be rich in spiritual energy, right? Why do I feel that the spiritual energy in the soil on this mountain is not as rich as that in the Lu family compound?"

Tao Xian is Liao Qing's disciple and has some experience in planting, so she is more sensitive to the spiritual energy content of the soil.

Lu Xizhou was indeed confused when he heard this. Although he had known about the Golden Leaf Wutong since childhood, he was not clear about the spiritual energy content of the soil. So he called the steward over to answer and ask what was going on.

The manager was a middle-aged woman with a very auspicious appearance, named Lu Yanlei.

She stated that there was indeed a loss of spiritual energy here, which occurred simultaneously with the withering and death of the golden-leaved parasol trees. They had investigated but could not find the cause.

Lu Xizhou was so angry that he lost his temper and scolded them for their incompetence, saying that they knew nothing about anything. It was only because Lin Zhuzui had a good relationship with him that she stepped forward and comforted him, which calmed him down a bit.

Lu Xizhou's third sister, Lu Xiwan, arrived late. Apart from Lu Xizhou, all four of the Lu family's siblings were responsible for household affairs, with Lu Xiwan in charge of the propagation of the Golden Leaf Wutong tree.

Lu Xiwan's voice was full of apology as she explained that she was busy digging out the golden-leafed parasol trees that could still be saved and replacing the soil, which was why she was late in coming.

"Did you manage to save the tree you dug up?" Nan Huachao picked up a dead branch and threw it out. Si Yan excitedly wagged its tail and rushed out to retrieve the branch. It barked twice and stared longingly at the branch in Nan Huachao's hand. Then she threw it out again.

Lu Xiwan's face was grim: "No, even if we changed the growing environment for the Golden Leaf Sycamores, they still withered and died, just at a slower pace."

“A golden sycamore tree should not die like this normally. Even if the tree has insects or diseases or the fertilizer contains substances that are harmful to it, its spiritual energy should not be completely lost.”

Ji Daoyun knew the Golden Leaf Wutong better than his disciples, so he raised his doubts: "Only the bark of this tree still has a faint spiritual energy, and the heartwood doesn't even have the spiritual energy content of an ordinary tree in the Central Han Divine Continent."

The disappearance of spiritual energy is probably the reason why the Golden Leaf Wutong has become what it is now.

We now need to know where the spiritual energy has gone. Whether it's in the soil or in the phoenix tree, the spiritual energy won't disappear without a reason.

I remember there's a spiritual vein at the foot of this mountain. Your Lu family should have a passage to it, right? Shall we go check if the spiritual vein is damaged?

Lu Xiwan ordered someone to take Ji Daoyun and several others to examine the spiritual vein.

As Tao Xian listened to Ji Daoyun's words, a thought lingered in her mind—

Does the nutrient solution contain harmful substances?

Tao Xian walked up to the steward and asked, "Have you checked the fertilizer used on the Golden Leaf Sycamore?"

Lu Yanlei answered cautiously, "It's been checked, and there are no problems."

The fertilizer we apply to our golden sycamore trees is determined based on the tree's growth each year, so we formulate the most suitable fertilizer for them.

"How about this, you take me to see it. I know a little about these things, maybe I can spot something wrong?"

Tao Xian felt that the Lu family's workers weren't as reliable as they seemed, so she gave Mu Hua a look, signaling him to follow her.

Luo Hanying glanced at the backs of Ji Daoyun and the others who were going to check on the spiritual vein, then at the backs of Tao Xian and the others who were going to check on the fertilizer storage site, and finally met Lu Xizhou's tired eyes.

She thought about it and realized she was tongue-tied and couldn't say anything nice or comforting, so she decided to just stay quietly to the side.

Lu Xizhou stepped forward and said, "You are very capable. Can you use your mirror to look around here?"

"You saw what was wrapped around my second sister, so can you also see what happened here?"

"Uh... I really hadn't thought of that. Your idea is good."

Luo Hanying thought to herself that her mirror wasn't omnipotent, so how could it possibly see everything?

However, upon hearing this, she still took out her brush and said, "I'll give it a try, but I don't know if I can find anything. Be prepared."

Lu Xizhou nodded, looking at Luo Hanying with anticipation.

Luo Hanying used the same trick again, writing poems. The huge bronze mirror flipped and reflected the ground. She looked up at the image in the mirror, surprised and uncertain: "It seems like there's something there..."

"What is it?!" Lu Yanlei seemed even more excited than her two masters. "You can see the problem here?!"

Luo Hanying rose up on her sword, and the bronze mirror followed suit, taking in most of the mountain range.

Do you set up any formations when you plant trees?

Luo Hanying gathered her spiritual power in her throat and shouted, "I see a formation here! But I can't see it all, the area here is just too big! The ground is still steaming!"

Lu Xiwan and Lu Xizhou subconsciously stared at Lu Yanlei.

Lu Xiwan's voice held a hint of murderous intent: "Lu Yanlei, explain why there is an array within your jurisdiction."

The golden-leaved sycamore is so precious; there are people patrolling the forest every day. Didn't you report any suspicious individuals appearing in the forest?! How are you doing your job?!

Lu Yanlei's legs immediately gave way and she collapsed to the ground, frantically kowtowing: "I don't know, Third Miss! I don't know anything!"

I don't know why there's a formation! The patrols have never reported any suspicious individuals loitering around!

Lu Xiwan pointed at Lu Yanlei and lost her temper: "That's your dereliction of duty!"

"You! Go and fetch the commander of the guard!"

"Yes!"

Lu Xizhou gritted his teeth and said, "Lu Yanlei, you'd better not have anything to do with your family matters, or you'll regret it! I won't let you get away with this!"

Lu Yanlei's face turned deathly pale, and she trembled: "Fourth Master, this old servant truly does not know what happened. This old servant has devoted herself to the Lu family for so many years, and heaven and earth can attest to her sincerity!"

"Shut up!" Lu Xiwan took a deep breath and said to the commander who rushed over and knelt down to pay his respects, "Lu Zhongyuan, we are now standing inside the formation. Let me ask you, did you see any suspicious persons during your patrol? Did you see who set up the formation in my Lu family's forest?"

Lu Zhongyuan insisted that he had never seen any outsiders come to the forest farm, and that not even a pest could get close to the Golden Leaf Wutong. They patrolled every day without ever letting up. In the end, he even turned his attention to Luo Hanying: "Master, where exactly did you hear this news? If there were any formations in the forest farm, how could you not sense them at all with your cultivation level?"

Is someone deliberately misleading you, using a fabricated formation to disrupt our investigation?

Luo Hanying's eyes widened, and she pointed at herself with her index finger: "Are you trying to say that everything that happened to your Lu family is my fault? That I'm an accomplice of the mastermind behind it all?"

Lu Zhongyuan sneered: "I didn't say that, but we never know."

Lu Xizhou kicked Lu Zhongyuan to the ground and said coldly, "Who gave you the audacity to make baseless accusations here?"

Since you all claim you haven't seen any suspicious people, it seems one of you is a traitor. Come with me to the Lu family's torture chamber and see if the instruments of torture can pry your mouths open.