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

The ten-thousand-year-old blood ginseng left by Lou Xiaotian was still on the table. Its golden-red roots had been gnawed to pieces by the five treasures, but the remaining main root still exuded a scalding bloody aura.

After Jiang Yining and the other five treasures fell asleep, she sliced ​​the remaining ginseng into thin slices and put them into the jade cup along with the gallbladder of the black-armored venomous python.

She didn't light a lamp, but sat cross-legged on the edge of the couch, relying only on the moonlight streaming in from the window, her fingertips gently pressing against her lower abdomen.

The long-dormant Divine Tree of Myriad Spirits extended a thin root from the depths of its meridians, drawing the medicinal power of the Blood Ginseng into its body.

The blood and qi of the Martial Spirit Realm were fierce and direct, while the residual spiritual energy of the Azure Realm was like fine needles wandering. When the two forces collided, they first made her chest feel stuffy, and then they surged outwards along her limbs and bones.

Jiang Yining's back was taut and straight, and the mattress under her hands was creased with her grip.

She didn't make a sound, but kept her breathing very low.

Sweat dripped down his forehead, soaking through his thin undergarment, and the blood-red lotus mark on his collarbone turned purple from the heat.

A hint of dark gold Buddhist energy mingled with her sweat, sliding down her snow-white neck before she wiped it away as soon as it touched her collar.

The critical juncture of the late stage of the Qi and Blood Realm is right before my eyes, yet it feels like an iron wall is blocking my meridians.

If she forces her way through, she will suffer the backlash from the laws of both realms.

If she stops, the vitality that the Divine Tree of Ten Thousand Spirits has painstakingly gathered will once again fall silent.

Jiang Yining bit her tongue, the taste of blood spreading in her mouth.

"Open it for me."

Her palm suddenly trembled with a surge of purple-gold energy, and the jade cup shattered into pieces on the spot.

The residual heat from the blood ginseng transformed into a torrent that crashed into her dantian, causing the branches of the divine tree to sway violently and pierce into every one of her meridians.

The sound of sharpening knives outside the door suddenly stopped.

Fan Chenxin, who was originally guarding the corridor, changed her expression when she heard the muffled sound from inside the house.

He still remembered Jiang Yining saying not to trespass when he pushed the door open, but as soon as his hand touched the door panel, he smelled an abnormally strong smell of blood in the air.

"Ning'er, open the door and let me in."

There was no response from inside the room, only suppressed, labored breathing.

Fan Chenxin shattered the door latch with a single palm strike and strode into the inner room.

He saw Jiang Yining half-lying by the bed, her fingertips bleeding, her thin clothes soaked with sweat and clinging to her shoulders and back.

Her face, which usually carried a certain composure, was now almost transparently white, yet she kept her lips tightly closed, refusing to utter the slightest sound of weakness.

He stood still, the remaining light of Buddha in his eyes gradually fading away.

"Who told you to charge through the pass alone?"

Jiang Yining opened her eyes, her pupils flashing with a purple-gold light.

"If you don't want to be injured by my qi and blood, go out and guard April first."

"If I go out now, I'll be watching you gamble with your life."

Fan Chenxin squatted down in front of her and reached out to check her wrist pulse, but his palm went numb from the violent surge of qi and blood. "There are two laws mixed in your meridians. Blood ginseng will only make them collide more violently."

"I know, that's why I need to suppress them."

"You always say you know, but you never calculate whether you'll feel pain."

Just as Jiang Yining was about to raise her hand, another tearing pain shot through her chest.

A muffled groan escaped her throat, and blood seeped from the corner of her lips.

Fan Chenxin's breathing suddenly became erratic, so he simply picked her up, blanket and all.

"Where are you taking me?"

"There's a heat-insulating array in the stone pond in the backyard that can suppress the rampant heat within your body."

"Put me down, I can walk by myself."

Fan Chenxin looked down at her, her eyes filled with barely suppressed fear.

"Ning'er, you can't argue with me this time."

He carried Jiang Yining through the side corridor and then raised his hand to set up a soundproof barrier.

Wu Bao slept on a small couch in the outer room, holding a small wooden puppet that Lou Xiaotian had given him, his body completely enveloped in the light of a protective talisman.

Fan Chenxin made sure she hadn't been awakened before pushing open the door to the stone chamber in the backyard.

The stone pool is embedded in the ground, and the water is drawn from the hot spring. The four walls are engraved with ancient patterns that seal the flow of qi and blood.

Fan Chenxin placed Jiang Yining by the pool, removed her outer garment which was soaked with cold sweat, and immediately pulled a clean shawl to cover her shoulders.

Jiang Yining leaned against the pool wall, panting, and glanced at him.

"These days, Buddhist disciples are becoming increasingly undisciplined, even daring to touch my clothes."

Fan Chenxin's hand stopped in mid-air, but her ears did not turn red as before.

"If the rules can save you, I am willing to uphold them until death. If they cannot save you, then I will save you first."

Jiang Yining was speechless for a moment after his words, but her blood and qi surged again.

The pool water instantly steamed up a large cloud of white mist, and the bloodstain on her collarbone was burning hot, almost piercing through her skin.

Fan Chenxin rolled up his sleeves and stepped into the pool, the warm water washing over his waist.

His palms, calloused from years of holding knives and prayer beads, were unusually careful as he supported Jiang Yining's back, as if afraid of breaking something.

"I will transfer my Vajra Qi and Blood to you. If you feel anything is wrong, pinch me immediately."

"Your Buddha relics haven't been fully set yet, don't risk getting yourself involved."

"I know my limits."

"Your statement is even less credible than Lou Xiaotian's flower fertilizer."

Fan Chenxin was so angry that he couldn't breathe, but he still lowered his head and pressed his forehead against hers.

The dark golden Buddhist energy slowly flowed into her from where the two touched, first burning hot, then transforming into a steady force, blocking the most ferocious wave of impact from her meridians.

Jiang Yining's hand unconsciously gripped his shoulder and back, her nails scratching the old wound.

Fan Chenxin didn't flinch, but instead held her even tighter and whispered to guide her to regulate her breathing.

"Follow me and count: one breath sinks into the dantian, two breaths lock in the qi and blood, and the third breath lets the divine tree catch it."

"Don't take this opportunity to give orders; I am not your disciple."

"Then consider me your bodyguard, please listen to me this once."

The pool water rippled around the two of them.

Jiang Yining closed her eyes and followed his guidance, slowly drawing her surging blood and qi back to her dantian.

The Divine Tree of Myriad Spirits absorbed the Buddha's breath and the remaining power of the Blood Ginseng, and finally a layer of warm, jade-like light condensed on its branches.

Her waist was aching from the old injury. Fan Chenxin's hand stopped there, not overstepping the bounds, but steadily pressing down the surging blood and qi with her palm.

Jiang Yining noticed that his fingertips were trembling, so she raised her hand and pressed down on his wrist.

"What are you still afraid of?"

"I'm afraid you'll hide it from me again and swallow all the pain alone."

"I won't lie to you, do you expect me to wake you up in the middle of the night and make you watch me sweat?"

"Just call me and I will come."

Suddenly, Wu Bao's incoherent sleep-talking came from outside. The little girl turned over, hugged the puppet, and mumbled to herself.

"Mother wants to eat earthworms, so April wants to eat earthworms too."

Jiang Yining's body stiffened instantly, and she even slowed her breathing.

Fan Chenxin paused for a moment, then whispered, "She's sleeping soundly, and the barrier hasn't been broken."

"You're not allowed to make any more water noises."

"If I don't hold you, you'll slip into the pool."

"Then hold on tight and don't take advantage of the situation."

Fan Chenxin stared at her reddened ear tips, his Adam's apple bobbing, before finally pulling her only half an inch closer to his shoulder.

"I promise you, tonight I will only do my best to stabilize your blood and qi."

Jiang Yining did not speak again.

She focused all her attention on her dantian, and the Myriad Spirits Divine Tree finally swallowed the last wisp of violent medicinal power.

The blockage of Qi and blood shattered at a certain moment, and warm energy flowed along the meridians, gradually restoring the color to the skin that was originally bleeding.

In the latter half of the night, the white mist in the stone pool finally dissipated.

Fan Chenxin went ashore first and retrieved clean clothes and ointment.

He didn't glance at her again, but simply wrapped Jiang Yining in a thick cloak, dried her hair, and then buttoned up the high collar of her clothes layer by layer, just enough to cover the purplish lotus mark on her collarbone.

Jiang Yining leaned against the stone couch, letting him do his work, and suddenly chuckled.

"Your technique today is much more skillful than when you were cooking animal blood soup in the Barbarian Stone Tribe."

Fan Chenxin picked up the warm medicine soup, tested the temperature first, and then brought it to her lips.

"From now on, you can leave all these things to me. You don't have to shoulder everything yourself."

"Do you want to be a bodyguard or a butler?"

"I want to be the one who can stay by your side."

After Jiang Yining finished the last sip of soup, she raised her hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Then remember this: you are not allowed to make any decisions for me."

Fan Chenxin grasped her hand, his eyes calming down, yet still revealing an unyielding stubbornness.

"Ning'er, I only love you."