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

"What exactly do you like about that monk?"

After Lou Xiaotian asked that question, the room remained silent for a long time.

Jiang Yining did not answer immediately, but divided the Purple Jade Dew into three portions: one for herself, one mixed with warm water for Wu Bao, and one given to Fan Chenxin.

"Who I like is never a choice made for me by others."

She looked at Lou Xiaotian, her tone not harsh, but clear and leaving no room for negotiation, "If you're willing to take us to the herb garden, we can talk business. If this is all you want to ask, then wait until I'm ready to tell you."

Lou Xiaotian looked at her, then lowered his head after a moment.

"Alright, I won't force you. The subterranean fire is at its strongest tonight; I'll take you inside."

As night fell, a wind rose over Tianhuang City.

Lou Xiaotian didn't disturb too many people in the Lou family. He simply changed into a dark blue short robe for easy movement, carried a straw-woven firefly lantern, and waited at the back door of Yunhe Inn.

Wu Bao was perched on Jiang Yining's shoulder, still clutching the little wooden tiger car in her arms.

Fan Chenxin, carrying an old sword and a medicine bag, stood on the other side of Jiang Yining, his gaze constantly sweeping across the surrounding alleyways.

When Lou Xiaotian saw them come out, he first handed a small hooded cloak to Wu Bao.

"It's warmer inside the herb garden than outside, but there's a cold wind at the entrance. Children shouldn't be exposed to the wind, so this cloak is lined with edelweiss."

Wu Bao hugged the cloak, looked up at him and smiled.

"Uncle Flower Planting, you didn't bring any mud with you today."

Lou Xiaotian's ears turned red, and he coughed deliberately.

"We're going into the forbidden area tonight, so I can't keep wearing my flower-themed clothes."

Jiang Yining raised her hand and put the hood on Wu Bao.

"Let's go, don't let the fire cool down."

The Lou family's medicinal garden is hidden behind the main house in the north of the city. On the surface, it is just an ordinary flower garden, but at night it is lit up with countless stars.

As the firefly lanterns approached, layers of blood-red patterns appeared on the ground, and the grass and trees on both sides of the stone path moved swaying even without wind.

Lou Xiaotian walked at the front, skillfully bypassing several stone tablets inscribed with prohibitions.

He would stop subconsciously every time he passed a spiritual herb, as if to check whether it had been damaged by the night wind.

"This is a moon bone flower. Its roots can suppress the backlash of qi and blood, but you can't touch the pollen. If you get it on your bones, they will itch for three days."

"Don't step on these red clover plants. They have a temper even worse than the gardener. If they're startled, they'll curl their leaves into needles."

"That golden vine was planted by me ten years ago. It doesn't bloom in winter, but only produces a bunch of golden fruits when the ground is at its hottest."

Fan Chenxin was getting impatient, but when Lou Xiaotian mentioned the Golden Silk Vine, his voice noticeably softened.

He suddenly spoke.

"You've turned a forbidden area into a vegetable garden."

Lou Xiaotian turned around and glared at him.

"Plants and trees are not weapons; they shouldn't be used only to exchange for money and make medicine. They live, and they feel pain."

Jiang Yining glanced at the illuminated flower branches on both sides.

"He's right. People who can take good care of living things are at least unlikely to mistreat others."

Lou Xiaotian paused, and the firefly lamp emitted a small patch of warm light.

He didn't turn around, but whispered, "I will remember this for a long time."

At the deepest part of the herb garden is a stone staircase that extends downwards.

The four passed through three layers of array gates, and a wide-open space suddenly appeared before them.

The underground stone chamber was tens of feet high, and the subterranean fire burst forth from the central crack. The firelight reflected on the crystal walls, like a surging crimson galaxy.

Beside the crater of the earth, there grow several rare fire-patterned spiritual plants, their roots clinging to the scorching rocks, while their leaves are as clear as jade.

Lou Xiaotian first placed the five treasures on the outermost fire-protecting stone platform, and then placed the small wooden tiger cart next to her.

"There's a protective array here, so you're not allowed to leave the stone platform. If you feel hot, crush this ice bead, and I'll take you out immediately."

Wu Bao nodded, holding the ice pearl.

"If Mother is hot, give Mother the ice pearl in April."

Jiang Yining walked over and pinched her little face.

"Mother isn't afraid of the heat. In April, you can take good care of Little Wooden Tiger for her."

She then walked to the fire pit, sat down cross-legged, and placed the old sword horizontally on her lap.

The roots of the Myriad Spirits Divine Tree emerged from the dantian, slowly absorbing the purest wisp of fiery energy from the earth fire.

The Ancient Wild Spirit Technique was activated, and the Qi and blood were tempered and refined in the meridians.

The firelight shone through her skin, and her original pale complexion, marked by her injuries, was gradually replaced by a warm, jade-like hue.

Her sleeves fluttered gently without any wind, a few strands of long hair fell on her cheeks, and the red mole between her eyebrows was vividly reflected in the firelight.

Lou Xiaotian stood not far away, still holding the firefly lamp in his hand, but he didn't look away for a long time.

Fan Chenxin noticed his gaze and turned to block most of the firelight.

"If you keep staring at her, I'll throw you outside to guard the position."

Lou Xiaotian snapped out of his daze and retorted in a low voice.

"I'm looking at the flow of her qi and blood, not just her face. Do you think you can just stare at her face?"

"I was watching her because I was afraid she would get hurt."

"I'm scared too."

Before the two finished speaking, the crater suddenly trembled slightly.

Jiang Yining's aura had been pushed to its limit from the late stage of the Qi and Blood Realm. The roots of the Myriad Spirit Divine Tree entangled the old sword, and the rust on the surface of the sword was gradually burned and cracked by the earth fire.

She didn't open her eyes, but only gave a low, somber reminder.

Something has come in from outside. Don't let it get near April.

Lou Xiaotian turned around instantly, the firefly lamp illuminating the stone steps he had come from.

In the originally quiet darkness, a very faint twang of a bowstring was heard first.

With a whoosh, the bone arrow pierced through the crack in the stone gate and headed straight for the stone platform.

Fan Chenxin raised his hand and cleaved the arrow in two. As the arrowhead fell to the ground, a wisp of green smoke rose from it, corroding a small pit into the stone surface.

Wu Bao was so frightened that he hugged the little wooden tiger tightly, and the protective fire array around him immediately lit up.

Lou Xiaotian's face darkened completely.

"An armor-piercing bone crossbow; the Zhang family is truly willing to invest heavily."

A dozen or so figures dressed in black emerged from the stone steps, each carrying a bone crossbow and wearing an animal skin mask.

The middle-aged man in the gray robe who was in the lead slowly stepped into the firelight, turning a formation plate engraved with blood patterns in his hand.

"As expected, Young Master Lou brought outsiders into the forbidden area. I thought I would have to go through more trouble."

Lou Xiaotian recognized the face, his eyes chillingly cold.

"Manager Zhang, you led the Zhang family's elite guards into the Lou family's medicinal garden, intending to incite a full-blown war between the Zhang and Lou families."

Manager Zhang smiled and gestured for the crossbowmen to disperse.

"Zhang Kuang died under mysterious circumstances, and someone from the Zhang family must demand an explanation. Today, we've killed Jiang Yining, and while we're at it, we'll bury you, the young master of the Lou family who brought this wolf into the house, here. People in the city will naturally believe that the fire went out of control."

Jiang Yining remained seated in front of the fiery pit, her refining process at a crucial stage, and she couldn't afford to be distracted for too long.

She opened her eyes and looked at Fan Chenxin.

"Hold April and the exit, don't let anyone get close to the stone platform."

Fan Chenxin gripped the bone knife tightly.

"You can focus on forging your sword; I'll handle these people."

Lou Xiaotian took a step forward first.

"This is the Lou family's medicinal herb garden; it's not for outsiders to guard it for me."

The first wave of arrows has already been hurled down.

Fan Chenxin's blade flashed like a net, severing all the poisoned arrows aimed at Jiang Yining and Wu Bao.

Lou Xiaotian charged out into the rain of arrows, his sleeves ripped open by the strong wind. He simply tore off his outer robe, revealing his strong and muscular shoulders and back.

A bone arrow grazed his arm, and as soon as blood began to ooze out, he grabbed the shaft and threw it back into the darkness.

The crossbowman had no time to dodge and was pierced through the chest on the spot, without even being able to scream.

Manager Zhang coldly ordered, "Shoot! The ground fire will cover up all the noise for us."

Another volley of arrows came, but one arrow went astray and shot straight at Lou Xiaotian's most cherished golden vine.

The vines were snapped in half by the arrows, and the golden fruits that had grown over ten years fell to the edge of the fire and instantly turned to ashes.

Lou Xiaotian stopped in his tracks.

He looked down at the broken vine, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

The blood and qi that had been relatively restrained just now suddenly exploded at this moment, causing large spider web-like cracks to appear on the surrounding ground.

"That's something I've raised for ten years."

Manager Zhang frowned, about to give another order, when Lou Xiaotian rushed in front of him.

The first assassin had just raised his bone crossbow when Lou Xiaotian punched him into the stone wall.

The second man swung his knife from the side, but Lou Xiaotian raised his arm to parry the blade, then gripped the man's throat with his five fingers and slammed him heavily to the ground.

The third assassin tried to get behind him, but Lou Xiaotian turned around and elbowed him, breaking his sternum.

The three corpses fell almost simultaneously, their blood flowing along the cracks in the rocks towards the underground fire, making a soft, crackling sound.

Fan Chenxin glanced at him, then used the blade to deflect a poisoned arrow.

"You didn't have this much strength when you planted flowers."

Lou Xiaotian was covered in blood, but his voice was as cold as ice.

"My flowers were ruined, someone has to pay for them."

When Steward Zhang saw that nearly half of the assassins had been killed in the blink of an eye, his expression finally changed.

He crushed the array plate in his palm, and a mist of emerald green blood sprayed out from the cracks in the walls of the stone chamber, instantly sealing off all the exits.

"Since you all want to protect that woman, then die here together."

The poisonous mist emitted white smoke upon contact with the stone surface, and the protective fire array began to shake violently.

Wu Bao coughed, choked by the fumes. The energy he had just absorbed from the earth fire became unstable, and the protective array outside the stone platform dimmed slightly.

Jiang Yining suddenly opened her eyes, and the old sword on her lap emitted a clear ringing sound.

She saw the poisonous fog spreading past Fan Chenxin's sword light toward the stone platform where the Five Treasures were located. She immediately withdrew most of her earth fire power and rose to rush toward the thick fog.

"Ning'er, the earth fire is not yet finished being refined."

"Protect April first."

Lou Xiaotian had just punched away two assassins when he turned around and saw that Steward Zhang's second bone crossbow, hidden in the fog, was already aimed at Jiang Yining's back.

His pupils contracted sharply, he crushed the stone slab beneath his feet, and rushed towards her with all his might.

Jiang Yining, however, first heard the soft sound of a bowstring being drawn taut, and suddenly turned around and shouted.

"Lou Xiaotian, watch out behind you!"