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

Ji Lingxiao appeared at the courtyard gate at some point.

He glanced at Jiang Lei, who was covered in sweat, and then at the little foxes who were imitating him so well.

"Not bad."

Although it was unclear who they were praising, the group of little foxes behind them immediately puffed out their chests even more.

The Second Elder nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. "Not bad? Has the Sword Master gone blind? How is this not bad!"

Unfortunately, the Second Elder didn't have the guts to confront the Sword Master directly, so he could only slink away to the First Elder to cry.

That night, Ji Lingxiao began another late-night training session for Jiang Lei.

The moonlight was like water, and the wind howled in the courtyard.

"No, my wrist has gotten another half an inch heavier."

"Your breathing is out of control, start over."

"A thousand times, not a single time less."

Jiang Lei's small body swayed precariously, his hand holding the sword trembled, and his clothes were already soaked with sweat, but he still gritted his teeth and repeated that tedious action over and over again.

Bai Ze couldn't resist on the third night.

He was carrying a bunch of colorful candies and cute little toys, and he stood directly in front of Jiang Lei.

"Little Lei, come and have some candy, and these toys too, do you like them?!"

With a flick of his sleeve, Ji Lingxiao shattered all the candies and toys into powder.

"My son doesn't eat these things, so don't pass on the fox's extravagance to him."

He said to Jiang Lei, "Their demon race is born with the ability to cultivate, unlike our human race, which has to rely on its own efforts to enter the realm. We also do not have their racial instincts."

"Humans can only rely on diligence and hard work."

Bai Ze glared at Ji Lingxiao, his eyes filled with rage: "Are you practicing your sword skills, or are you torturing him?!"

"How old is he! Look how exhausted he is!"

"The path of the sword is a matter of life and death, not child's play. Your way of feeding spirit fruits and playing around will only produce useless people; it is a waste of time and energy."

Ji Lingxiao sheathed his sword and stood there, looking at him coldly.

"Besides, what does my son have to do with you?"

"How can it have nothing to do with me!"

Bai Ze pulled Jiang Lei behind him, protecting him like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

"He's Ningning's child, so he's my child! I won't allow you to treat him like this!"

"I'm just following my nature and growing up happily!"

He then took out candy and toys from his storage bag and gave them to Jiang Lei: "Lei'er, be good, stop practicing, let's go play cat's cradle and eat osmanthus cake."

Jiang Lei looked at the candy in his hand, then at Ji Lingxiao, his little face full of struggle.

Ji Lingxiao's eyes suddenly turned cold: "Today's comfort is tomorrow's death warrant. You want to harm him? Like your fox clan, do you like to wag your tails and beg for the strong?"

"Jiang Yining didn't stop it."

These words struck a nerve with Bai Ze.

"you!"

Bai Ze was so angry that his fur stood on end, and all nine of his big tails suddenly popped out.

"Where have we foxes ever wagged our tails and begged for mercy?"

Ji Lingxiao sneered, "Isn't it you who climbs into bed every night pretending to be young?"

Bai Ze's face flushed slightly, and he shamelessly pretended not to understand: "If you really cared about them, you wouldn't be forcing a child to practice swordsmanship in the middle of the night!"

"He has a natural talent for swordsmanship and should not let it go to waste."

"Are people born with sword-like bones destined to suffer?!"

Bai Ze raised his voice: "I think you're just jealous of me! Jealous that they like me!"

The two of them talked back and forth, neither willing to give in.

One advocates "elite education, hardship leads to success," while the other believes in "a happy childhood, happiness comes first."

Powerful sword intent and boundless demonic energy clashed fiercely in the courtyard, causing the surrounding bamboo forest to bend and fall in disarray.

It looked like the verbal battle was about to escalate into a physical fight.

"Are you done arguing?"

A languid female voice came from inside the hall.

Jiang Yining yawned, leaned against the door frame, and watched with amusement as the two men, whose combined age was over a thousand years, argued like children.

"With such boundless energy, why don't you go and help me lay the foundation for the Desolate Abyss?"

She walked over, pulled the bewildered Jiang Lei out from behind Bai Ze, and rubbed his sweaty hair.

"Go take a shower and go to bed."

"But we haven't finished practicing a thousand times yet..." Jiang Lei said softly.

"Little Sword Master, practice again tomorrow. If I can't teach you, I'll kick the Great Sword Master out."

Jiang Yining's words left no room for argument.

"We must combine literary and martial arts. Ji Lingxiao, you will be responsible for teaching him swordsmanship. Bai Ze, you will be responsible for teaching him various knowledge and spells of the demon race."

She glanced at the two locked in a stalemate, and a smirk played on her lips: "If you two still want to argue, please find another place and don't disturb my son's rest."

After saying that, she took Jiang Lei's hand, turned around and went back into the hall, closing the door behind her.

Ji Lingxiao and Bai Ze were left staring at each other, both feeling a lump in their throats, unable to breathe.

The following day, the Third Elder sent a communication jade slip to Bai Ze, saying that he had led the Jiang family members to the border of Qingqiu, but they were ambushed by the Black Wind Bandits.

Please provide immediate support.

Jiang Yining's peach blossom eyes were sharp as knives, and her aura instantly turned into the cold of winter.

"Black Wind Bandits?"

Bai Ze's playful and angry expression vanished, replaced by a solemn look: "They are the largest bandit group near the Desolate Abyss, committing arson, murder, looting, and all sorts of atrocities."

Without hesitation, he said, "Ningning, don't worry, I'll take you there!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Ze's figure flickered and transformed into a huge nine-tailed celestial fox in mid-air.

"Come on up!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Yining picked up Jiang Lei, leaped up, and landed steadily on Bai Ze's broad and soft back.

Ji Lingxiao's figure appeared to the side like a ghost, an ancient longsword hanging at his feet, his whole body exuding a fierce sword intent.

"Let's go." He only said one word.

"etc!"

Jiang Yining suddenly spoke, her gaze sweeping towards the fox clan guards who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion at the other end of the courtyard.

"Hu Wei, take your men and follow."

Hu Wei was taken aback for a moment, then replied loudly, "Yes!"

The group of sly, handsome fox-like men following behind him, who usually only knew how to pose and flaunt themselves, all looked troubled at this moment.

They had long heard of the Black Wind Bandits' fearsome reputation; they were ruthless characters who dared to go head-to-head with the demons.

"Walk!"

With a long roar from Bai Ze, the enormous nine-tailed celestial fox transformed into a nine-colored stream of light, soaring into the sky and disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Ji Lingxiao followed closely behind on his sword, transforming into a streak of white lightning.

The foxes on Yu Li's side frantically summoned their flying artifacts, their faces contorted in pain as they desperately followed behind.

This strange procession swept across the sky above the Ten Thousand Mountains at an astonishing speed.

At the very front was the magnificent nine-tailed celestial fox, exuding divine power.

Beside him stood the peerless white-robed sword master, his sword aura soaring to the heavens.

Behind them was a group of "followers" with a very different style.

Hu Wei and his personal guards were alright; each of them had a resolute face and a deep gaze.

The dozen or so fox-like handsome men who had been sent in by the Second Elder to "compete for favor" had long since lost any of their dashing and debonair appearance.

The hair ornament was blown askew by the strong winds high in the sky, and a few strands of hair were stuck to her face.

They were used to using illusion magic in their daily lives, and had never experienced such desperate, high-speed flight.

Hu Wei turned around and glared at them: "If you can't keep up, just wait to be skinned alive by His Majesty!"

The foxes were jolted awake and could only rush forward at top speed, disregarding their appearance.

……

On the border of Qingqiu, there is a rocky hill.

The Jiang family's convoy was completely surrounded. Dozens of Jiang family members stood back to back, forming a makeshift defensive formation, struggling to hold on.

The array's light barrier had dimmed to its lowest point, covered with spiderweb-like cracks, as if it would shatter completely at any moment.

"I can't hold on much longer..."

The sword in the hand of a young member of the Jiang family trembled.

Aunt Jiang's face was as pale as paper, but she still tried her best to replenish the barrier with spiritual power.

"We have to hold on, even if we can't! The patriarch will be here soon!"

Around them, hundreds of bandits riding ferocious wolves let out bursts of wild laughter.

The leader was a woman riding on the back of an exceptionally large alpha wolf.

She was dressed in a striking red outfit, with heavy makeup on her face, and toying with a blood-red whip in her hand.

"Wow, you're pretty tough."

The woman in red, also known as Red Maiden, the leader of the Black Wind Bandits, pointed her whip at the Jiang family members inside the formation and sneered.

"I love gnawing on tough nuts! Give it your all and smash this lousy shell to pieces! Men or women... the good-looking ones are for the brothers to have a laugh!"

"Yes, Boss!"

The bandits let out excited howls, urging their wolves to launch an even fiercer attack.

"boom!"

The defensive formation shattered completely under the claws of a demonic wolf.

The Third Elder shouted and withstood the attack from the Red Maiden.

However, his opponent had the cultivation level of the late Nascent Soul stage, while he was only at the mid-stage, making it extremely difficult for him to defend against this attack.

"Red Maiden, aren't you afraid of the Demon Emperor's wrath?"

Hong Niangzi chuckled: "Old fox, I figured it out long ago, your lover is here."

"You lured humans into Qingqiu for your lover's sake. I'm afraid that if His Majesty the Demon Emperor finds out, he will punish you first."

"I'm trying to help you solve your problem."

The Third Elder glanced back at the beautiful Yu Yuxue, his ears turning bright red: "Don't talk nonsense, are you blind?"

"I am acting on His Majesty's orders."

Aunt Jiang, Yu Yuxue, gripped her longsword tightly, a resolute glint in her eyes, preparing to detonate her dantian for a final stand.

At this critical moment.

A loud fox howl came from the sky, seemingly capable of tearing one's eardrums.

Everyone looked up at the same time.

A magnificent nine-tailed celestial fox swooped down from the clouds, its powerful demonic aura sweeping across the entire area like a tsunami.

Under the pressure of this bloodline, the ferocious demon wolves were instantly terrified, their legs went weak, and they whimpered as they lay on the ground.

Immediately afterwards, a cold sword light descended from the sky, and in its path, more than a dozen bandits were cut in half at the waist before they could even scream.

Bai Ze, carrying Jiang Yining and Jiang Lei, landed steadily.

Jiang Yining glanced at her injured clansmen, and the temperature in her eyes instantly plummeted to freezing.

"kill."

Upon hearing the order, Hu Wei and his men charged into the bandit group like tigers without hesitation.

A massacre with no suspense ensued.

The matchmaker was stunned by this sudden turn of events and stood frozen in place.

She has no sympathy for her subordinates at all.

Just as he was about to leave, his gaze swept over the white-clad figure in mid-air, and he froze.

The whip in Hong Niangzi's hand fell to the ground with a "thud," her face a mixture of endless grievances.

She trembled as she stretched out her finger, pointing towards the handsome man in white robes.

"Ji... Ji Lingxiao?!"

"You heartless bastard! How dare you show your face in front of me!"