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

Luo Hanying wanted to find someone to chat with, but she wasn't familiar with any of her fellow disciples here and had no idea what to talk about.

She idly picked at the bark of the golden-leaved sycamore tree, muttering, "If it had spiritual energy, would it still have turned out like this...?"

Ji Daoyun struck up a conversation, saying kindly, "Maybe not? Do you have any thoughts?"

Luo Hanying turned around and shook her head, thinking to herself that Ji Daoyun could always chime in and say a few words to anyone who was talking. He looked at everyone like an elder looking after a child, which made her feel very uncomfortable, as if someone was forcing them to act as her father or mother.

Moreover, he always spoke in a way that guided his junior disciples, telling them to use their brains to solve problems. It was hard to say whether it was good or bad; it was just strange.

However, since they were over three hundred years old, the age of an ancestor, she could barely understand it.

Luo Hanying's thoughts wandered, going from one thing to another. As she listened to the hushed conversations around her, an idea suddenly popped into her head.

"仄平平仄..." Luo Hanying took up her brush and wrote a few words in the air, "梧桐花...枯木逢春..."

She raised her hand and waved away the characters formed by spiritual energy, then threw a spirit-gathering array plate at her feet to gather the spiritual energy flowing on the surface of the mountain. As she wrote, she said, "Weary from resting on the ridge of the spiritual mountain, smoke and dust illuminate the fallen flowers."

Ashamed of the spring rain and mist, even withered trees sprout new life.

Everyone then saw the spiritual energy gather around the spirit-gathering array at Luo Hanying's feet. As her voice fell, words floated in the air, and a tall, blurry female phantom lay on the mountaintop.

She was dressed in a colorful robe, her body so enormous that it blotted out the sky, and the plants in the forest seemed to lose all their vitality in that instant.

The crowd had various expressions; they didn't understand what Luo Hanying was doing, and now they didn't know whether they should stop her.

In a few breaths, the woman's illusory figure moved. She leaned against the mountain peak, propped herself up, and seemed to stretch, looking down at everything below.

In an instant, the illusory image vanished, rain and mist poured down, and spiritual energy spread, seeping into the withered trees and grass. New green shoots emerged in the forest, showcasing the unique vitality of spring.

Everyone was stunned speechless by the scene. Lu Xiwan excitedly walked towards Luo Hanying, only to find her sitting cross-legged on the ground with a pale face. As the rain and mist stopped, she suddenly advanced to a higher realm.

Luo Hanying was both surprised and delighted. She thought to herself with a wry smile, "Could it be that all I need to do to improve my cultivation in the future is write poems? Then I'll definitely rack my brains every day to make up some nonsense."

When Ji Daoyun saw Luo Hanying's condition, he emptied the spiritual energy in his dantian and handed her a water pouch, saying, "Drink this. It will relieve the pain in your dantian and help you recover your spiritual power as soon as possible. The pills given by the sect are not as effective as this."

Luo Hanying didn't stand on ceremony, took the bottle and drank two mouthfuls, finally relaxing her furrowed brows.

"How did you do that?!" Lu Xiwan couldn't hide her surprise. "You have a way to revive the Golden Leaf Sycamore?!"

Luo Hanying took a breath and said, "There's nothing I can do. I just had a little idea and then I tried it out."

You know it's useless without me saying it; the spiritual energy is still dissipating. Because the spiritual energy suddenly becomes dense, the loss of spiritual energy is actually easier to perceive.

It's either because of the formation here, or it could be because of the fertilizer. Anyway, if these two things aren't resolved, this tree won't survive even if I come back a few more times.

"If you can find and break the formation here, and also find out what's wrong with the fertilizer, I can try the same method again to help your Lu family."

Luo Hanying stood up, wanting to return the water pouch to Ji Daoyun, but Ji Daoyun said gently, "You need it, so take it. Consider it a gift for us when we meet. After all, I am your junior uncle."

Luo Hanying touched her forehead and wiped away the cold sweat: "Thank you, Junior Uncle."

Ji Daoyun said, "You're too kind."

Having traveled extensively for many years and having Master Yuchen as his master, Ji Daoyun was not lacking in such rare and precious materials.

Luo Hanying discovered the formation in the forest farm, but they had no idea how to resolve it.

The extra substances in the fertilizer are also being investigated. As Ji Daoyun said, all they can do now is wait.

They waited until nightfall, and the members of the Shiren Sect rested under the arrangement of the Lu family.

After hearing the Lu family's arrangements, Ji Daoyun instructed the disciples of Xinglin Peak, Nizong Peak, and Wendao Peak to stay behind and observe Lu Xiyan's condition, and to record Lu Xiyan's reaction at midnight using a recording stone.

He then took the rest of the men to explore the surrounding towns and villages of Jinwu County.

Even at night, we should split into two teams to try our luck; what if we find out the reason for the disappearance?

Thus they split up. The disciples of Wuyue Peak, whose attack power was weak, all stayed with Ji Daoyun, along with Luo Hanying. The remaining disciples of Renming Peak and Xunqi Peak were led by Nan Huachao.

During the first half of the night, everyone learned through the communication jade slip that the person who went to Taibai Pavilion to buy information had reported back, and the disciples of Taibai Pavilion said that they had no information about the missing person.

They said it was beyond their knowledge, but they would investigate and would exchange information with the Lu family if they found anything.

In addition, the disciples of Taibai Pavilion said that they had been tracking the shadowy figure all along. They said that the shadowy figure last appeared near Tonghua Village in Tongshui County, and then they lost track of it.

After discussing with the others, Ji Daoyun decided to make a trip to Tonghua Town in Tongshui County. However, they could not rush into it, as there were still many unresolved issues and their personnel were scattered, making it unsuitable for them to take action.

The head of the Lu family then ordered his subordinates to lead a group to investigate the location of the shadowy figure.

Luo Hanying followed behind Ji Daoyun and the others, and they circled around the town several times, but they found nothing, whether they were investigating demonic energy or monsters.

Ji Daoyun inquired with the Lu family members who were assisting with the investigation and learned that Jinye Town, where they were currently located, was the closest place to the Lu family's main residence, and therefore had the fewest missing persons. If anyone were to go missing, it would likely be here.

The remaining population in other towns and villages is very small, and since none of them disappeared in the early stages, they probably do not meet the criteria for disappearance.

"You've found the commonalities among the missing people?" Luo Hanying thought to herself, "You all know what kind of people go missing, why didn't you take preventative measures earlier?"

However, it seems that protection doesn't necessarily guarantee success. Despite patrolling day and night, people are still going missing. I really don't know what's going on.

"No."

The Lu family said with a wry smile, "The disappearances have no pattern, no characteristics, and can happen anytime, anywhere."

A perfectly healthy person can vanish into thin air at any moment; men, women, young and old are all included, and it's impossible to find any common ground.

Luo Hanying remained outwardly calm, but inwardly cursed the Lu family: were they all useless? How come they couldn't find anything out? If this was Lu Ze's scheme, then Lu Ze must have connections to the heavens!