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

Jiang Yining gently patted Bai Ze's hand and said softly, "Think about it, what if I made my home in your heartland?"

"When Ye Wuhen and the others come looking for me, they will be looking for me. If I hide in Qingqiu, that will only lead to war against your clan."

"I don't want to drag you and Qingqiu into my troubles."

Bai Ze opened his mouth, wanting to say "I'm not afraid," wanting to say "I can fight."

But the worried faces of the elders and the carefree little foxes rolling around in the flowers came to mind.

As the Demon Emperor, he can be willful, but he cannot disregard the interests of his entire race.

Bai Ze simply didn't expect Jiang Yining to say that.

Over the past few hundred years, countless human cultivators and powerful demons have gone to great lengths to get close to him.

Which one of them wasn't after his demonic power, or the treasure trove of Qingqiu?

At first, he was naive and gave money away, helping anyone who seemed pitiful. But what happened?

Those people who received benefits would turn around and complain that they hadn't been given enough, or even bite the hand that fed them.

But Jiang Yining is different.

She was the first person who, even though she could see the mountain of gold and silver behind him, would voluntarily pull her hand back.

"You saved me, I can't repay kindness with enmity."

Bai Ze sniffed, his eyes slightly red.

A bittersweet, burning sensation, unlike anything I'd ever felt before, surged from my chest.

He wanted to pull this woman into his arms, to pile the best things in the world at her feet, and beg her to accept them.

"But... the desolate abyss is too bitter."

Bai Ze's voice was muffled, with a strong nasal tone: "Not even a blade of grass grows there."

"It is precisely because it is bitter that it gives me life."

Jiang Yining continued, "If I build a city here, the situation will be different."

"There are three forces at play here. I will try to find a way to maintain balance and find a glimmer of hope in the cracks."

She looked up at the gray sky in the distance, a flame burning in her eyes.

"I, Jiang Yining, want to build a home that can shelter my people from the wind and rain."

"A place...where all those who covet it have to think twice about their own worth."

Bai Ze looked at Jiang Yining standing beside him. The fierce wind howled in the sky, blowing her already thin blue clothes tightly against her body, outlining the lines of her slender but straight back.

"Since Ningning has made up her mind..."

The nine incredibly beautiful tails behind him uncontrollably unfurled, like a blooming nine-colored canopy, blocking the wind from above their heads.

Bai Ze seemed to have made up his mind about something.

"Then I'll go crazy with you!"

"Then it's settled." Jiang Yining extended her hand.

Bai Ze was stunned for a moment, then understood what she meant, and reached out his hand to give her three high fives.

Pop, pop, pop.

Three crisp sounds, high in the sky, established an agreement powerful enough to stir up the winds and clouds of the three realms.

Back at Bai Ze's palace, Bai Ze took the token given to him by Jiang Yining and sent people to fetch the Jiang family members.

Jiang Yining returned to her assigned bedroom and pushed open the door, where a faint scent of ink wafted out.

Ji Lingxiao stood in front of the desk.

Three-year-old Jiang Lei, standing in front of him, imitated his posture, his small body standing straight.

He held a calligraphy brush thicker than his arm in his hand, carefully copying the characters on the rice paper.

That focused expression bore a striking resemblance to the man beside her.

Ji Lingxiao did not use spiritual power, but simply used the most primitive method, holding Jiang Lei's wrist hand in hand, guiding the force and direction of his brushstrokes.

His profile was as hard and cold as a mountain, and his long eyelashes cast a light shadow under his eyes.

"Keep your wrist steady, sink your breath to your dantian, and let your power originate from your body, not from your arm."

Jiang Lei pursed his lips, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, but he remained silent, simply trying his best to control the brushstrokes according to Ji Lingxiao's instructions.

The character for "sword" was written crookedly, and the ink had smudged.

Ji Lingxiao frowned almost imperceptibly, but did not reprimand him. He simply released his grip and said calmly, "Write again."

Jiang Lei glanced at him, then lowered his head, dipped his brush in ink, and began to write again in the empty space beside him.

Jiang Yining stood at the door, looking at the two people, one big and one small, and for a moment she couldn't find her way in.

The scene was eerily harmonious, as if it were meant to be this way.

She tiptoed over, sat down beside him, and poured herself a glass of water.

"You're back?"

Ji Lingxiao glanced at her casually when he saw her return.

"Yes, we've already chosen a location. Once we've brought our people here, we can go there."

After Jiang Yining finished speaking, she suddenly felt like she had gone out for a romantic getaway with her mistress, only to return to face the wife guarding the child.

She gazed at Ji Lingxiao, whose handsome features seemed otherworldly under the lamplight. His face, pale with illness due to his injuries, only amplified his otherworldly, ascetic aura.

An absurd idea popped into my head.

Should we hand over our "labor" tonight?

The thought made her laugh at herself.

"I chose the Abyss."

Jiang Yining took a sip of water to moisten her slightly dry throat.

"The place is a bit chaotic, but it's free."

Ji Lingxiao paused for a moment.

"The Abyss?"

He raised his eyes, his icy blue pupils finally landing on Jiang Yining's face: "That place is not a good place."

"I know."

Jiang Yining put down her teacup: "But it is precisely there that is most suitable for us."

"The truly great hermits hide in the city, the lesser hermits hide in the wilderness, and those of us who are neither here nor there can only hide in chaos."

Ji Lingxiao's eyes flickered when he heard the word "us".

"You've thought this through quite well."

He lowered his head again and watched as Jiang Lei finished writing the second "sword" character. Although it was still immature, it had already gained strength compared to the first one.

"You flatter me. After all, I have a large family to support. Would you like to stay, Sword Master?"

Jiang Yining blinked her big eyes and looked at Ji Lingxiao expectantly, resting her chin on her hand.

Ji Lingxiao tightened his grip on Jiang Lei's wrist for a moment.

Jiang Lei seemed to sense something, raised his small face, looked at Ji Lingxiao, and then looked at Jiang Yining.

There was a hint of confusion in those eyes that resembled Ji Lingxiao's.

Jiang Lei looked up and realized that Jiang Yining had returned.

"Mother!"

He said in a childish voice, "This word is so difficult."

"It's only when something is difficult that we should learn it."

Ji Lingxiao took over the conversation, his tone still stern.

"The path of the sword is a journey of ascent to the heavens with every step; there is no possibility of taking shortcuts."

"How can you hold a sword steadily if you can't even write a single word properly?"

Jiang Yining rolled her eyes inwardly. Don't be fooled by Jiang Lei's current three-year-old appearance.

The child is actually less than a year old. Can he understand what he's saying?

Just as Jiang Yining was about to say something, she saw Jiang Lei lower his head, his small brows furrowed tightly, and he actually picked up his pen again to start writing the third character.

That stubborn, unyielding spirit was practically a carbon copy of Ji Lingxiao's.

Jiang Yining sighed and didn't bother to care anymore.

One is willing to hit, and the other is willing to be hit. As the mother, she should save her breath.

For a moment, the only sound in the room was the scratching of pen tips across paper.

As night deepened, the chirping of insects outside the palace gradually became clearer.

Jiang Lei was still young, and after writing a dozen or so words, his eyelids started to droop, his little head bobbed up and down, and finally he fell asleep on the table.

Ji Lingxiao picked him up and placed him on the bed, covered him with the blanket and pulled it up gently, his movements so tender that they were completely different from his usual demeanor.

After doing all this, he stood up and walked to the window.

The moonlight, like water, spilled onto his white robes, making him look like a cold, lifeless jade sculpture.

Jiang Yining couldn't resist teasing the Sword Master who had just picked up his sword again.

"Do adults need a warm bed at night?"