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

The feeling of weightlessness exploded in an instant, and all I could hear was the roar of spatial turbulence shattering.

Jiang Yining's shoulder was pierced by the Star Nail, and blood quickly seeped through her skirt. Although the purple-gold vitality was frantically repairing her, the insidious Star Spirit power clung to her meridians like a bone-deep infection.

"Moye!" she called out with her last breath before her consciousness faded into darkness.

The broken mechanical puppet's eyes flashed red light wildly, and sparks crackled from the broken end of its self-destructed right arm. Its only remaining left hand desperately gripped Jiang Yining's belt, trying to maintain its balance in the turbulent currents that could shatter even a Void Realm cultivator.

Darkness, deathly silence.

In this ancient road of burial stars, exiled by the Canglan Realm, a faint black light suddenly flickered at the edge of the field of vision.

It was an old, black-bone lamp.

The turbulent currents, upon touching the light, seemed to encounter a natural enemy, silently parting to either side. An ancient boat, covered in dark red seaweed and with a dilapidated hull, was silently breaking through the darkness, slowly approaching them.

Jiang Yining's pupils suddenly contracted.

Three ancient corpses, sealed in coffins, stood at the bow of the ancient boat. Their dark red burial clothes fluttered in the eerie wind, exuding a chilling aura of death.

"Go!" Jiang Yining suppressed the metallic taste in her throat and was about to use the momentum to rush away into the distance when she heard a "whoosh".

In the void, a pitch-black iron chain suddenly swung out without warning.

The chain was covered in barbs, which precisely hooked onto her ankle.

An overwhelming force, too powerful to resist, swept over Jiang Yining, dragging her towards the ancient ship. Mo Xie attempted to retaliate but was blasted away by a burst of black energy, crashing heavily into the depths of the ship's hull.

"Thump!"

Jiang Yining's back slammed against the damp, rotten deck, nearly displacing her internal organs.

Inside the cabin, there were no eerie ghosts as expected; instead, a faint scent of sandalwood filled the air.

Behind the three sealed coffins of ancient corpses, a young man sat.

He wore a large black cloak, half of his face was in shadow, and he was toying with two black bone coins in his slender fingers.

"Ding—Ding—"

The black bone coins clashed, producing a sound as crisp and clear as ice.

"Tough as a mule, cold-blooded, and carrying a restless baby inside." The man's voice was deep, carrying an air of detached indifference. "Those Protoss birdmen chased you for three thousand miles, just for this defective offspring?"

Jiang Yining's fingertips twitched slightly, secretly gripping a burst talisman, her face deathly pale: "Who are you?"

The man looked up.

Those were extremely dark eyes, as if they could see right through one's soul.

"Su Chenzhou." He uttered three words indifferently, the black bone copper coin paused between his fingers, and his gaze swept over her bloodied and mangled shoulder. "The piercing star nail is three-tenths of an inch deep in the bone, and the star spirit energy has sealed the acupoint. If it is not removed soon, your shoulder will rot into pus."

Jiang Yining didn't speak, but just stared at him coldly.

In a hellish place like the Ancient Burial Road, any living being that appears is more dangerous than the Protoss.

"Don't look at me like that." Su Chenzhou stood up, his black cloak drawing a sharp arc in the air. He walked up to Jiang Yining, leaned down, and gently pressed the black bone copper coin against her lower abdomen. "You pretended to be a pregnant rogue cultivator being chased by enemies; you acted quite well. It's a pity, the aura in your belly is too mixed."

Jiang Yining tensed up, and the spiritual embryo in her dantian seemed to sense a threat, causing the purplish-gold bud to suddenly shrink back.

"A passing rogue cultivator was ambushed by my enemies." Jiang Yining gritted her teeth, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of her lips. "If you are after wealth, you may take all the pills I have on me, I only ask for your life."

"Seeking wealth?"

Su Chenzhou chuckled softly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

He suddenly raised his hand, his two fingers flashing like lightning, and pressed directly onto the remaining part of the star nail on Jiang Yining's shoulder.

"hiss--"

Jiang Yining trembled violently from the pain, and cold sweat instantly soaked her back.

"I can save this nail." Su Chenzhou exerted force with his fingers, and with a tooth-grinding cracking sound, the star nail exposed outside the flesh was actually shattered into dust by him. "I can also throw you back to feed the star spirits."

He looked directly into Jiang Yining's eyes, his tone icy: "To be honest, I don't like women who lie."

Jiang Yining clenched her fists tightly, staring at the broken star nail, her heart churning with turmoil.

This person's spiritual power is extremely special, and it can easily crush the restrictions of the Star Spirit Clan.

Just then.

The entire ancient ship suddenly emitted a violent roar without warning.

The ship tilted abruptly, and in the dark abyss outside, an extremely terrifying storm of stardust erupted without warning. Countless sharp stardust particles struck the hull, producing a teeth-grinding screeching sound.

"Hold on tight." Su Chenzhou frowned slightly.

A turbulent current like a giant wave crashed in, and Jiang Yining, who was already seriously injured, was instantly thrown towards the ship's side.

The next second, a large hand reached out from nowhere, grabbed her waist, and pulled her back sharply.

Jiang Yining stumbled into a cold, hard embrace.

Su Chenzhou stood sideways, his wide black cloak like a giant wing, embracing Jiang Yining and her lower abdomen. One of his hands was placed above her waist and abdomen, wisps of black energy emanating from his fingertips, blocking the starlight that penetrated the cabin for her.

Their breaths were almost touching.

Jiang Yining could smell a very faint sandalwood fragrance on him, as well as a chilling aura from someone who had been living on the edge of life and death for many years.

Her cheek was pressed against his chest, and she could clearly hear his steady, almost deathly heartbeat.

"If you want to live, shut up your little tricks." Su Chenzhou lowered his head, his breath brushing against her ear, his voice icy. "My ship doesn't carry the dead."

Jiang Yining looked up and met those deep, unfathomable eyes.

At this moment, she clearly judged that this person's star array techniques and the aura of the ancient ship's discontinuation naturally restrained the Protoss's pursuit.

This is her only chance of survival.

"Let's make a deal," Jiang Yining changed her tune, her voice hoarse but unusually clear. "I can travel with you for a short period, but the prerequisite is that you must bring me out of this ancient road's windy pass alive."

Su Chenzhou stared at her for a while, then suddenly withdrew his hand and gently placed her on the ground.

He turned and walked toward the stern, where a bell made of black bone and copper coins hung.

"The deal is done."

Su Chenzhou flicked his fingers.

"bite--"

The clear sound of bells echoed through the abyss, and the ancient boat, which had been swaying, mysteriously sank, plunging directly into the dark river at the deepest part of the ancient road.

The underground river was pitch black, preventing any detection.

Su Chenzhou's gaze swept over the remaining star spirit runes in Jiang Yining's shoulder injury, and his eyes turned truly cold for the first time.

That coldness wasn't directed at Jiang Yining, but at the clan behind that rune.

"The Protoss..." he murmured, a flash of murderous intent in his eyes, "Since they've been released to bite again, then we should be prepared to have our teeth broken."

Jiang Yining watched his retreating figure, her heart skipped a beat.

This person clearly has a deep-seated grudge against the Protoss.