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

The wind was strong on the abandoned bridge.

Black mist coiled around her like a living thing, carrying a cold, damp, and deathly aura. Jiang Yining covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve, but her eyes remained fixed on what was ahead.

The bronze warehouse door was getting closer and closer.

"Wait." Su Chenzhou suddenly reached out and stopped her.

Jiang Yining paused and followed his gaze.

Three zhang in front of the warehouse gate, faint silver-white patterns appeared on the ground, densely packed, like a giant spider web.

Those are array patterns.

"Star Coffin Array." Su Chenzhou's voice deepened. "36 coffins, interlocked, each containing an iron corpse."

Jiang Yining narrowed her eyes and urged her divine sense to probe forward.

Sure enough, the 36 half-dead star coffins were arranged in a ring, tightly surrounding the bronze warehouse door in the center. Each coffin contained a grayish-brown corpse, its joints gleaming with a cold metallic sheen.

"The restrictions on guarding the warehouse," Jiang Yining said softly, "are specifically designed to target intruders."

Su Chenzhou glanced at her. "Once you get close to this formation, the iron corpse will awaken."

Jiang Yining's pupils contracted slightly: "Then what should we do?"

"let me."

Su Chenzhou took out two black bone coins from his pocket and flicked them lightly with his fingertips.

The broken coin traced two arcs in the air and landed precisely in the center of the array pattern.

"Buzz—"

A low, buzzing sound suddenly exploded out.

The 36 star coffin arrays simultaneously lit up with a silvery-white light, the array patterns flashing wildly, and the sleeping iron corpses slowly opened their eyes.

Three.

Only three iron corpses sat up from their coffins.

Two eerie blue flames burned in their eye sockets, their empty gazes fixed on the direction of Su Chenzhou. They wore rusty ancient armor and each held a three-zhang-long, jet-black spear.

"There's one more than I expected." Su Chenzhou frowned slightly. "It seems that this formation has absorbed a lot of life force over the years, nourishing a new iron corpse."

The three iron corpses stepped out of the coffin at the same time, and the ground trembled violently under their trampling.

Jiang Yining took a step back, but Su Chenzhou grabbed her arm.

"Don't move." He lowered his voice. "The Iron Corpses move by locking onto your aura. As long as you don't move, they won't be able to find you."

Jiang Yining stood frozen in place, watching helplessly as the three iron corpses slowly approached.

Their spears dragged deep furrows in the ground, and with each step they took, the surrounding air grew colder.

The leading iron corpse had already moved within three feet of Su Chenzhou, its dark blue eyes almost spitting fire into his face.

Su Chenzhou's breathing didn't falter at all.

He suddenly moved.

A dark shadow darted out from his sleeve, transforming into a pitch-black iron ruler, which slammed hard into the chest of the leading iron corpse.

"clang!"

The clanging of metal against metal was deafening.

The iron corpse was knocked back three steps, a deep crack appearing on its chest armor. But it only swayed for a moment before lunging forward again, its black spear whistling through the air as it aimed straight for Su Chenzhou's throat.

Su Chenzhou dodged to the side, and then struck out with the iron ruler in his palm, hitting the joints of the three iron corpses.

"Snap!"

The arm of an iron corpse was violently broken off, and the black iron rod crashed to the ground, sending sparks flying.

But the other two iron corpses had already circled behind him, their spears thrusting out simultaneously, blocking all his escape routes.

"Moye!" Jiang Yining suddenly spoke.

The tattered mechanical puppet sprang from her sleeve and silently slid to the feet of the nearest iron corpse.

Mo Xie's fingertips transformed into sharp blades, precisely severing the binding chains around the Iron Corpse's ankles.

"Crack—"

The sound of the chain breaking was crisp and piercing.

The iron corpse froze instantly, as if it had been immobilized by something; the spear hovered in mid-air, unable to strike.

"The chains are the key to controlling the Iron Corpse," Su Chenzhou's voice came from the battle. "As long as the chains binding the formation are cut, the Iron Corpse will be temporarily paralyzed."

As he spoke, he wielded the iron ruler with great force, managing to hold back the attacks of the remaining two iron corpses.

Jiang Yining saw it clearly.

A very faint layer of black mist adhered to Su Chenzhou's iron ruler, and that black mist was constantly eroding the joints of the iron corpses, making them move more and more sluggish.

But he was all alone after all.

He was already starting to struggle against the combined attack of the two iron corpses.

"Two more!" Su Chenzhou gritted his teeth and growled, "Mo Xie, cut down the one on the left!"

A red light flashed in Mo Xieji's eyes, and he shot out.

But then, an accident happened.

The iron corpse whose chains had been severed suddenly moved.

Its arms suddenly opened wide, and a huge crack appeared in its chest, from which a strange suction force surged out, rushing straight towards Jiang Yining.

"Damn it!" Su Chenzhou cursed angrily, and the iron ruler flew out of his hand, hitting the iron corpse hard in the chest.

But the iron corpse didn't dodge at all, letting the iron ruler pierce through its chest, its arms still tightly gripping Jiang Yining.

Jiang Yining's face turned deathly pale instantly.

She could feel a cold, sinister force pulling at the life force within her body, causing the spiritual embryo in her dantian to begin to stir.

The Divine Tree of All Spirits swayed wildly, its purplish-gold roots digging firmly into the earth, trying to stabilize itself.

But the suction was too strong.

Jiang Yining's feet were gradually pulled off the ground, and she was pulled into the iron corpse's embrace like a kite.

"Hurry up!"

Su Chenzhou's voice boomed in my ears.

The next instant, a large hand suddenly grabbed her waist and pulled her back sharply.

Jiang Yining stumbled into a cold embrace.

Su Chenzhou held her with one arm, while frantically wielding the iron ruler with the other, forcing the iron corpse back three steps. His face was ashen, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Don't let it touch you!" His voice was extremely low, filled with an unprecedented urgency. "If it touches you, you'll be drained dry!"

Jiang Yining bit her lower lip tightly, and her fingertips shone with a purple-gold light.

She pushed the life force of the Myriad Spirits Divine Tree to its limit, transforming it into a purple-gold barrier that barely blocked the iron corpse's suction force.

But this is only temporary.

The suction force of the iron corpse grew stronger and stronger, and cracks began to appear in the purplish-gold barrier.

"Moye!" Jiang Yining roared hoarsely, "Sever its binding chains!"

Moye lunged at the back of the iron corpse, her sharp blade slashing down fiercely.

"clang!"

The clang of metal rang out.

There was only a white mark on the chain; it couldn't be cut at all!

Su Chenzhou's expression grew increasingly grim. "Ordinary methods are completely useless!"