Many children, many blessings: Stealing the offspring of powerful figures to cultivate immortality.

The clouds in the sky seemed to be stirred by an invisible hand, and the righteous energy that was originally used to block Jiang City was now uncontrollably swirling back.

The source lies in Jiang Yining's prominently protruding belly.

Chu Jinglan stood in mid-air, and his usually composed and unflappable face finally showed a crack.

His blue robe, symbolizing the highest realm of Confucianism and Taoism, was now fluttering in the wind, not because of the wind, but because the power within his body was leaking out wildly.

That feeling was so eerie.

It was like encountering a natural enemy, or like meeting... a debt-collecting ancestor.

"What kind of sorcery is this?"

Chu Jinglan attempted to sever the connection, his fingers forming a hand seal, and he uttered the Heavenly Mandate: "Sever!"

Words become law.

A golden barrier appeared out of thin air, attempting to block the greedy suction force.

But the next second, something happened that made him question his existence.

As soon as the golden barrier took shape, Jiang Yining's belly swelled up suddenly. The unborn little one seemed to be angered, or perhaps it felt that this "dish" was tougher and chewier.

Gurgle.

Even from a great distance, Chu Jinglan seemed to hear the sound of swallowing.

The golden barrier shattered into countless points of light, which then disappeared into the belly of the creature like a whale sucking in water!

Jiang Yining felt a warm sensation all over her body, and the muscles that had been tense from the tension instantly relaxed.

Even the energy and spirit that had been depleted to protect Da Bao were fully replenished at this moment.

"Burp~"

She couldn't help but let out a burp.

The sound was particularly jarring amidst the tense atmosphere of the two armies facing off.

Chu Jinglan's face darkened.

Just as he was about to use his real killer move to forcibly take the woman away, Jiang Yining's expression suddenly changed.

That familiar feeling of heaviness is a sign that the fruit is ripe and ready to fall.

Cover your ears!

Jiang Yining suddenly shouted something to Wang Mazi next to her.

Wang Mazi was taken aback: "Huh?"

"Just cover it up! Stop talking nonsense!"

Jiang Yining cursed, then held her stomach with both hands, leaned back, and rested against the crenellations of the city wall.

She's about to give birth!

This time there were no warning signs, not even the amniotic sac had broken; this child was simply "impatient."

Perhaps it was because they tasted Chu Jinglan's pure and righteous energy that they found the food outside to be more delicious and didn't want it to stay in their stomachs any longer.

"ah--!"

Jiang Yining cried out, but there was little pain in her cry; it was more of a release.

Boom!

With her shout, the world changed color.

The purple-blue clouds that were originally under Chu Jinglan's control suddenly seemed to boil.

Immediately afterwards, a purple aura, a hundred times thicker than when Da Bao was establishing his foundation, rolled in from the eastern horizon!

Auspicious purple clouds travel 30,000 miles eastward!

This is not over yet.

The purple aura did not dissipate, but instead rapidly condensed in the sky above Jiangcheng.

First, it transformed into a huge auspicious cloud, enveloping the entire Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range in a blessed purple light.

Then, the churning clouds slowly outlined a tall and majestic figure.

The figure wore a flat-topped crown and a nine-dragon robe. Although his face was not visible, his aura of supreme authority and absolute dominance made everyone present, including those with high cultivation levels, involuntarily weak in the knees.

Pfft!Pfft!

The displaced people below the city knelt on the ground.

In the direction of Zhenyao Pass, those powerful figures who were originally observing were now forced to descend from the clouds by this oppressive force, and some even knelt down in worship before the illusory figure.

"An ancient holy emperor's phantom?!"

"This... how is this possible? Even the birth of a crown prince is merely a dragon coiling around a beam, but this directly manifests the holy emperor's Dharma form—this is the birth of a great emperor!"

"God bless humanity! This is a sign of humanity's impending prosperity!"

The murmurs rose and fell, and everyone's face was filled with fervor and fear.

Chu Jinglan, who was at the center of the storm, froze completely.

He stared intently at the phantom of the Holy Emperor descending from the sky, then looked down at Jiang Yining's glowing belly.

For the first time, his phoenix eyes, hidden behind his glasses, revealed an emotion called "horrified".

As a Confucian and Taoist semi-saint, he was well-read and knowledgeable about both ancient and modern times, so he naturally knew what this meant.

Purple clouds rise from the east, revealing the holy emperor's divine form, and all beasts pay homage to the heavens.

This is the legendary, long-extinct Purple Star Emperor Body!

Only those with the purest and most elite royal bloodlines, and with an extremely low probability of atavism, could possibly possess this constitution.

Once this physique is fully developed, one becomes a born emperor, impervious to all laws, with all evils retreating, and able to set the law of the world with a single word.

Among all the human dynasties, apart from that incompetent old emperor, only the Chu family possesses this bloodline.

"That's...my seed."

Chu Jinglan muttered to himself, his voice somewhat dry.

It's not a question, it's an affirmative sentence.

The woman he hated so much, who made his resolve waver, and whom he relentlessly pursued across thousands of miles, was indeed pregnant with his child.

Moreover, he is a peerless prodigy who can inherit his mantle and even surpass him!

"roar--!"

From the depths of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains, the roar of beasts echoed once more.

But there was no murderous intent in that roar, only submission.

Countless demonic beasts emerged from their hiding places. Whether they were grass-eating rabbits or mountain-ruling demon kings, they all bowed their heads and knelt on their front legs in the direction of Jiang Cheng, as if they were paying homage to their new ruler.

In Jiangcheng.

No loud cry was heard.

Instead, a strange buzzing sound was heard.

The sound was like the grand hymns of Taoism, or like the tolling of ancient chimes.

Jiang Yining felt a lightness beneath her, followed by a force several times greater than before returning to her!

Her cultivation level skyrocketed as if she had taken a rocket.

Late Foundation Establishment... Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment...

Click!

The bottleneck to the Golden Core stage that had plagued countless cultivators was like a thin sheet of paper, easily pierced by this force.

Early stage of Golden Core!

Moreover, it was a top-grade golden pill, purple-gold in color, with nine dragon patterns wrapped around it!

"call……"

Jiang Yining let out a long breath, feeling as if she had been elevated.

She looked down.

A tiny, exquisitely beautiful baby was floating in mid-air.

That's right, it's levitation.

This child could fly right after it was born!

Unlike ordinary babies, he didn't have wrinkled skin and bloodstains on his body. Instead, he was fair and clean, as if he had been carved from the finest mutton fat jade.

Most importantly, he didn't cry.

Not only did he not cry, but he also opened his eyes wide, looking around at the world with his eyes darting about.

What kind of eyes were those?

It is distinctly black and white, as deep as a cold pool, within which shimmers a light called "wisdom".

There was even a tiny bit of... disdain?

He first glanced at Jiang Yining, who was covered in sweat, and pouted as if to say: "With such poor taste, how could Mother settle down in such a remote and impoverished place?"

Then, he turned his head, his gaze piercing through layers of space, and landed precisely on Chu Jinglan in mid-air.

One big, one small, two men.

They looked at each other from a distance of several dozen meters.

Chu Jinglan looked at the miniature version of himself.

Those eyebrows, those noses, even that aloof expression that looks like everyone else is an idiot—they're practically identical to him.

At that moment, Chu Jinglan's heart, which was as firm as a rock, softened completely.

Is this what it feels like to be connected by blood?

The urge to present him with the best of everything in the world, to teach him to read and write, and to watch him reign supreme overwhelmed all his reason in an instant.

"son……"

Chu Jinglan subconsciously reached out his hand, even forgetting his current position and the grudges from before.

He just wanted to hug the child.

however.

The baby, suspended in mid-air, looked at the "cheap dad" with a lecherous grin and outstretched hand, but suddenly did something that no one expected.

He stretched out his chubby little hand and raised a middle finger in Chu Jinglan's direction.

Then, a cunning and wicked smile curled at the corner of his mouth.