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

"Dowry? Child support?" Jiang Yining looked at the man standing on the cloud chariot, who had regained his calm and collected demeanor, and almost laughed. "Chu Jinglan, the way you're talking makes it sound like you're not here to capture me, but to offer me some comfort."

She understood that this man was giving her a way out. She had just been humiliated in public by her own son and had some of her power drained; if she were to forcefully take others with her, her posture would be unsightly. Leaving a clone behind in this way served both as surveillance and a form of indirect protection.

This man is very shrewd.

Chu Jinglan didn't answer her question. He simply adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, which had been straightened, revealing a deep and unfathomable gaze behind the lenses. "Three months. I'm only giving you three months. If you still can't show me your so-called 'confidence' after three months, don't blame me for disregarding our father-son relationship."

His voice carried an air of authority, clearly resonating throughout the entire city of Jiang.

Hearing this, Wang Mazi and the others below the city felt their legs go weak. Fatherly love? Could it be that the little guy who had cleaved a Golden Core cultivator into charcoal at birth was...this Regent's child?

The moment this thought crossed their minds, the way they looked at Jiang Yining changed. It was no longer just simple awe, but rather a kind of reverence for a legendary figure.

Who exactly is this Lord Jiang? How could she make the son of the sword master recognize her as his mother, and also make the current imperial tutor the father of her second child?

Jiang Yining was about to retort, telling him that she wouldn't go with him even for three days, let alone three months.

However, a sudden change occurred.

The sky, which had been overcast, was suddenly stained blood red without warning.

The crimson color, as thick as unyielding blood, spread rapidly from the horizon, turning the entire sky an ominous scarlet in just a few breaths. A blood-red moon suddenly appeared in the sky, radiating a chilling light.

"Waaaaah—waaaah—"

A long, sharp horn sound came from the direction of Zhenyao Pass in the far distance. The sound pierced through the clouds and carried an ominous meaning.

"It's a blood moon! It's a blood moon beast tide!" Below the city, a knowledgeable old rogue cultivator cried out in alarm, his face turning pale. "How is this possible? Less than ten years have passed since the last beast tide, how could it have erupted so early?!"

"Boom!"

The earth began to shake violently.

From the direction of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains, countless streams of demonic energy converged into a dark torrent, its momentum astonishing. It wasn't a few hundred, nor a few thousand, but tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of demonic beasts, gathered together to form a wave powerful enough to flatten everything.

Their eyes were blood red, as if they had lost their minds, and they roared with only one goal—to break through the Demon-Suppressing Pass and tear all humans to pieces!

Jiangcheng stood right in the way of the torrent that was about to hit Zhenyao Pass.

"Activate...activate the highest level of defense!" Wang Mazi scrambled towards the core of the city wall's array, his voice trembling.

On the city wall, the refugees and cultivators who had just been cheering for the Jiang family's divine might now looked ashen-faced. They had seen demonic beasts attack cities before, but they had never witnessed a beast tide of such scale.

This scale is more like an irresistible natural disaster than a war.

Faced with such immense power of nature, the strength of an individual seems so insignificant.

Jiang Yining's heart tightened. She had anticipated Chu Jinglan's arrival and the prying eyes of various forces, but she hadn't foreseen that this once-in-a-decade beast tide would arrive so unexpectedly ahead of schedule.

She glanced down at the baby in her arms. The baby seemed to sense the destructive aura as well, no longer pretending to be asleep, but instead opening its large, clear eyes to gaze curiously at the blood moon in the sky. Meanwhile, Jiang Lei, who had just been carried down by Wang Mazi, now carried his Xuan Tie sword and rushed back up the city wall, his small body blocking Jiang Yining's path.

"Mother, don't be afraid." He looked up and said, trying to appear calm, but his small, white hands, gripping the sword hilt tightly, betrayed his inner tension.

Jiang Yining took a deep breath, suppressing all her panic. She handed Erbao to the maid beside her, walked to the edge of the city wall, and looked up at the man who was still suspended in mid-air, his expression equally solemn.

Chu Jinglan hadn't expected this turn of events. His righteous energy could seal off space and suppress cultivators, but he also felt a bit overwhelmed by this beast tide caused by the anomaly of heaven and earth.

Although his clone possessed the strength of a Nascent Soul cultivator, it was ultimately not his main body and its power was limited. Protecting this small Jiang City in the face of such a beast tide was virtually an impossible task.

He looked down at the slender yet upright figure, at her unwavering gaze despite the oppressive aura that would frighten even a Nascent Soul cultivator. The string of concern in his heart was plucked once more.

"Now, do you still think you can hold this place?" Chu Jinglan's voice cut through the howling wind.

"Whether we can hold out or not is a matter for the Jiang family," Jiang Yining replied coldly. Her gaze swept over the panicked but still resolute crowd below the city, over her son who was standing in front of her, and finally returned to Chu Jinglan's face.

"However, Imperial Tutor," she said with a defiant smile, "didn't you want to be the father of my child?"

"Now, the opportunity has come."

Jiang Yining pointed her finger at the horde of beasts that was sweeping in like a black tsunami, her voice like a sharp sword piercing through everyone's fear.

"If you want me to acknowledge your identity, fine."

"Let's see if you have the ability to protect your offspring first!"

Chu Jinglan looked into her eyes, which were burning with fire, and remained silent for a moment.

Then he smiled.

It was an extremely pleasant laugh, even tinged with a hint of appreciation.

"it is good."

He stepped off the bronze chariot, and the righteous aura clone that had remained above Jiang City instantly solidified and merged with him.

"Today, I will show you whether the father of your child is truly capable."

Before he finished speaking, he had already appeared at the forefront of Jiangcheng, alone, facing the surging tide of demonic beasts like a thousand troops.

He raised his hand, and his wide blue robe fluttered even without wind.

"I am the author of these words, and Heaven and Earth are the law."

"This place is the boundary!"

With a muffled thud, a golden wall of light that stretched from heaven to earth rose up, like an insurmountable chasm, and slammed heavily into the very front of the beast tide.

Countless demonic beasts were struck by the golden light and instantly turned to ashes.

But even more monsters, stepping over the corpses of their companions, frantically crashed into the wall of light.

The war has begun.