The Ancestor Festival is an annual celebration for the Forest Clan.

On this day, every member of the Forest Clan from the Southern Forest will unanimously return to the ancestral tree space, wearing the ancestral tree floral wreaths. Under the leadership of the priests, they will pray to the ancestral tree. They celebrate the members born that year and mourn those who have passed away.

On the eve of the Ancestor Festival, Su Wanyi was still kneeling in front of the altar.

So much time had passed, and Shu Han had not yet descended from the ancestral tree, making her somewhat disheartened. Shu Han was the hope for their tribe's salvation she had found, and she was not willing to give up waiting.

Priest Xi Gu returned to the ancestral tree space in advance to oversee the celebration arrangements.

She approached Su Wanyi, looking at her haggard face, and gently said, "It's been four months already. The ancestral tree will not let down your sincerity. Clean yourself up and come with me to welcome the return of our tribespeople. Fulfill your duty as the sacred maiden."

Su Wanyi, with her tired eyes, looked at Priest Xi Gu in confusion. "Mother, if the ancestral tree doesn't show its spirit, will there be another Ancestor Festival for the Forest Clan?"

Xi Gu caressed her face comfortingly and said, "If this truly is our last Ancestor Festival, then we must make it grand. It's our centuries-old tradition. Believe in it, believe that the ancestral tree will not abandon our tribe."

Taking a deep breath, Su Wanyi shakily stood up. After kneeling for four months, her knees were in excruciating pain.

Suppressing the pain, she followed Priest Xi Gu, leading a group of guards out of the ancestral tree space.

Zhuo Chun, watching from a corner, discreetly followed them.

Trailing behind, Zhuo Chun schemed, "Every Ancestor Festival, the priests change the entrance to the ancestral tree space. Once all the tribespeople are gathered at the entrance, I will secretly activate the Earth Dragon Fire Seal. By then, all the ignorance of the Forest Clan will be burned to ashes! The Forest Clan will be thoroughly purified!"

Following Priest Xi Gu through the spatial barrier of the ancestral tree space, amidst a whirl of space-time distortions, Su Wanyi found herself in a strange open space.

She perked up and directed the tribespeople to hang the prepared ancestral tree flower bells on the surrounding trees.

Under the moonlight, the trees around the clearing were adorned with ancestral tree flower bells emitting a white glow. With the gentle breeze, the surroundings echoed with the crisp sounds of chimes.

The sound of the wind chimes was like a call to come home, beckoning the wandering Forest Clan members in the Southern Forest.

As time went on, many Forest Clan members emerged from the forest.

By midnight, six hundred members of the Forest Clan had gathered in the clearing, each with a solemn expression, gathering around Priest Xi Gu.

Eventually, the other two priests who were escorting the tribespeople also arrived.

Looking at the gathered members, Xi Gu asked, "Is this all that remains?"

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The other two priests responded, "There should be no more. This year's battles were particularly challenging, and many of our tribe members were sacrificed."

Seeing only these few members left, Su Wanyi's heart was filled with intense sadness, almost bringing her to tears.

She realized that unless a miracle occurred, this might truly be the Forest Clan's last Ancestor Festival.

Xi Gu sighed and said, "Very well, prepare yourselves. We will enter the ancestral tree space and begin the ancestral ceremony!"

Su Wanyi stepped forward, leading the chant of the Forest Clan's ancestral hymn. The members joined in one by one. The melodious singing complemented the chanting of the priests as they opened the ancestral tree space, resonating throughout the forest.

But suddenly, a massive flame descended from the sky, shattering the peaceful scene.

The eyes of Su Wanyi and the rest of the Forest Clan reflected despair upon seeing the colossal flame.

"It's the Earth Dragon Fire!"

"We are under attack!"

The three priests immediately took action, sending out three beams of blue light that surged upwards, shattering the descending Earth Dragon Fire.

The shattered Earth Dragon Fire sent sparks flying, instantly setting the surrounding forest ablaze.

Zhuo Chun pretended to look terrified, but inside, he was smirking.

It's finally happening!

In an instant, countless fireballs came from all directions. The sky above the Forest Clan's transportation ground was filled with cultivators from the Fiery Cloud Instant Sect.

Without any blind spots, they completely surrounded the Forest Clan.

Five elders from the Fiery Cloud Instant Sect, each at the initial phase of the Core Formation stage, descended from the sky, blocking off any potential escape routes for the Forest Clan from five directions.

Zhong Erle looked down at the panicked Forest Clan below and sneered, "Every year you have this Ancestor Festival, how naive! Isn't this giving us from the Fiery Cloud Instant Sect the perfect opportunity to capture you all at once?"

"Do you surrender willingly, or do you wish to foolishly resist?"

Elder Yang Xu coldly interjected, "Old Zhong, and the other three elders, stop wasting words with these Forest Clan folks. Over these years, how many of them have you seen surrender willingly? We should attack them swiftly, capture as many alive as possible, and then find the passage to their ancestral tree space!"

Su Wanyi's face turned pale with despair. Was her Forest Clan even going to lose this Ancestor Festival?

Suddenly, the demeanor of Priest Xi Gu changed entirely. She burst into unrestrained laughter.

"Ahahaha!"

Her laughter was so intense and wild that it not only stunned the cultivators from Fiery Cloud Instant Sect but also left her own tribe members in shock.

Zhong Erle frowned, "What's this foolish woman laughing at?"

"Why the delay? Old Zhong, let's go!"

Suddenly, a fierce light flashed in Xi Gu's eyes. She coldly declared, "Did you think that by bribing and planting a few spies you could annihilate the Forest Clan?" She stamped her foot, and instantly, green array patterns spread rapidly from her feet, encompassing every Forest Clan member.

Hearing this, Zhuo Chun was terrified.

Su Wanyi, however, looked at her mother figure with amazement and joy.

Within the glow of the green patterns, every Forest Clan member became interconnected, their spiritual power linked.

"You wanted to capture us all at once? Did you think we, the Forest Clan, wouldn't feel the same? Tonight, all the cultivators from Fiery Cloud Instant Sect will stay here and become offerings for our Ancestor Festival! Forest Clan members! Activate the array and fend off the enemy!"

Following Xi Gu's shout, all members poured their spiritual power into the large green array.

Suddenly, countless vibrant green vines burst from the ground, quickly transforming the world into a vast realm of trees. Hundreds of unsuspecting Fiery Cloud Instant Sect cultivators were caught off guard and bound tightly by these flower-bearing vines.

"Ahh!"

"These vines are draining my life!"

Unable to resist, the Fiery Cloud Instant Sect cultivators screamed in pain.

The five elders from Fiery Cloud Instant Sect quickly summoned their Earth Dragon Fire and their personal magic treasures to fend off the rapidly growing vines.

However, the array that harnessed the combined spiritual power of the entire Forest Clan was immensely powerful. No matter how much they tried to burn or cut the advancing vines, they couldn't keep up with the vines' regrowth rate.

The ordinary cultivators were subdued almost instantly, with only the Core Formation elders managing to resist by relying on the Earth Dragon Fire.

At this moment, another priest from within the formation, Zhang Feng, stepped forward. Approaching Xi Gu, he smiled and said, "Sister Xi Gu, I'll go first. May life persist, and the forest remains undying!"

Xi Gu looked at him solemnly and responded, "May life persist! May the forest remain undying!"

Suddenly, a blazing flame of life ignited around him.