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

The broken sword landed at Mu Ziying's feet with a soft thud.

Mu Ziying's face turned pale and then red, her hand gripping the broken sword hilt trembling uncontrollably. She wanted to speak again, but Lou Xiaotian had already thrust the Overlord Spear forward, its tip pointing three feet away from her.

"If Miss Mu still wants to stand here and embarrass herself, I can have someone bring you a bronze mirror so you can see what you look like now."

Mu Ziying stared intently at Jiang Yining, her voice almost squeezed out from between her teeth.

"Jiang Yining, don't think you can protect yourself with a few sweet words. After the Heavenly Desolate Secret Realm opens, no one can protect you for life."

Jiang Yining adjusted the collar of the cloak, her expression remaining calm and indifferent.

"If Miss Mu is truly capable, then come and face me on the arena. If all you do is spout threats, I suggest you go back and ask a weapon refiner to see if the Flowing Light Sword can be pieced back together in half."

Mu Ziying's eyes reddened from being blocked, and finally she angrily flung her sleeves and turned to leave with her Mu family entourage.

The Second Elder stood still, his gaze sweeping over the crowd and the suspended mechanism. He knew that if he forced his way into the inn today, it would only make his embezzlement of the array's resources even more public.

He put away his ebony staff and looked coldly at Lou Xiaotian.

"Young Master, the clan council hall is waiting for you. If you still consider yourself the young master of the Lou family, then immediately come back with me to explain the matter of the medicine garden."

Lou Xiaotian did not respond immediately, but instead turned to look at Jiang Yining.

Jiang Yining waved to him, her voice very soft.

"Go on, the herb garden is your foundation. The Lou family wants to make a fuss about this, so you have to go back and explain things to them in person."

Lou Xiaotian pursed his lips, as if he wanted to say something, but was afraid that his departure would cause her trouble.

"The Second Elder is clearly here for you. If I return to the manor, they might send someone else."

"Since they failed to take me away today, they won't dare to make any rash moves in the short term. If you don't go back, you'll only confirm the crimes they've accused you of."

Jiang Yining looked at the still unhealed wound on his palm, her voice becoming more serious.

"You should guard the herb garden first, and don't let the golden vine be destroyed for nothing. In April, Fan Chenxin and I will be here, nothing will happen."

Lou Xiaotian took a deep breath and suddenly took a jade key from his neck.

The key wasn't large, but its edges were engraved with dense Loujia array patterns, and a line of green spiritual light moved within its jade color. It felt heavy in my palm.

He grabbed Jiang Yining's hand and forcefully shoved the key into her palm.

"This is an underground treasure vault I secretly built. The entrance is located beneath the old well in the back street of Yunhe Inn. You can take whatever blood crystals, bone armor, earth fire materials, and herbs you want from inside."

Jiang Yining raised an eyebrow.

"Young Master Lou, are you entrusting all your family's wealth to me for safekeeping?"

Lou Xiaotian's ears turned bright red, but he still stubbornly refused to let go.

"I have nothing else that can put your mind at ease. If you need resources, go get them; if you want to choose protective bone armor for April, go get it too. As long as you're willing to use them, all these years of saving won't have been in vain."

Fan Chenxin stood by the door, her gaze fixed on the two people's clasped hands, her expression even more somber than when she faced the Second Elder.

"Before handing over the key, Young Master Lou should ask her if she's willing to accept it. If she's unwilling, no one can force her."

Jiang Yining pulled the key back and put it in her sleeve.

"I accepted it because I am currently short of resources, not because you gave me the key and can arrange anything for me."

She looked up at Lou Xiaotian and added another sentence.

"Once you've finished dealing with things at home, I'll make a list of everything that's been moved. If you feel it's inappropriate, I'll replace it at the original price."

Lou Xiaotian hurriedly shook his head.

"That's not what I meant. I never wanted you to buy anything. Those things are just gathering dust in the warehouse. I'm happy as long as you and April can use them."

Jiang Yining didn't argue with him anymore, she just pushed him.

"Go ahead, but don't let the Second Elder think you're really reluctant to leave. If he puts too much pressure on you, I'll go to the Lou residence to watch the show tomorrow night."

Lou Xiaotian finally smiled, but there was still reluctance in his eyes.

"If you really go to the Lou residence, I will personally come out to meet you."

After he finished speaking, he gripped the Overlord Spear tightly and followed the Second Elder away. Before leaving, he looked back three times, until Jiang Yining raised her hand to signal him to hurry up, and only then did he finally step onto the Lou family's carriage.

After the black-armored warriors in front of the inn dispersed, the sounds of people on the street gradually returned.

Jiang Yining returned to the inner room and had just closed the door when Fan Chenxin stared at the jade key in her sleeve.

"When you took his keys, you didn't even try to refuse once."

Jiang Yining weighed the key in her palm, her tone extremely natural.

"I'm currently lacking blood crystals, bone armor, and materials to forge the lightning-patterned sword. Why would I refuse when he's offering them to me?"

Fan Chenxin's expression darkened further.

"So as long as he offers his resources, you're willing to let him get close to you."

"Fan Chenxin, have you forgotten that you guarded the door for me all night last night?"

Jiang Yining turned to look at him, a hint of a smile in her eyes.

"I put you in charge of the gate because you're more reliable than others. I left Lou Xiaotian the key because his things are more valuable than others'. These two things don't conflict."

Fan Chenxin was speechless for a long time, feeling blocked by her.

Jiang Yining took out ten huge empty storage bags from her storage pouch and stuffed them into his arms one by one.

"If you still have the energy to be jealous, then go to the old well in the back alley for me. Bring back all the top-grade blood crystals, earth fire ore, protective bone armor, and medicinal materials from the treasure vault."

Fan Chenxin looked down at the string of storage bags in her arms and remained silent for a long time.

"You want me to move Lou Xiaotian's private treasury."

"It's not moving, it's retrieving it for me. I have the key, and Lou Xiaotian personally promised that."

Jiang Yining hung the last storage bag on his wrist.

"If you, Master Buddha, are unwilling to go, I can ask the innkeeper to find ten porters for me, but they may not be as reliable as you."

Fan Chenxin looked up at her, and the pent-up anger in her eyes dissipated most of it after she said "reliable".

"I'll go, but you're not allowed to see Lou Xiaotian's people while I'm away."

"I'll stay at the inn with April, and at most see whose birds she plucks bald."

Upon hearing this, Fan Chenxin suddenly had a bad feeling.

As soon as he entered the main hall, he saw Wu Bao sitting on the table, holding a large, bright red bird in his arms. The bird's feathers shimmered with firelight, and its wings were half a person's length long, yet it was huddled up in a ball, not daring to even make a sound.

Wu Bao held a red feather in his left hand and had already grabbed the bird's tail with his right.

"This big red chicken is so warm, and its feathers even shine."

The innkeeper stood to the side, sweating profusely with anxiety.

"Miss Wubao, this is no ordinary spirit bird. It's a third-tier mutated fire spirit falcon left by Young Master Lou to protect you. It's notoriously fierce, and even the Lou family guards don't dare to approach it."

Wu Bao took a serious look at the Fire Spirit Falcon in his arms.

"But it wasn't fierce at all; it even hid its head inside its wings."

Upon hearing her words, the Fire Spirit Falcon trembled even more violently.

Fan Chenxin quickly stepped forward and gently pressed Wu Bao's small hand.

"You can touch its feathers in April, but you can't pluck them all out. If it has no feathers, it will be too cold to sleep at night."

Wu Bao tilted his head and thought for a moment before handing the red feather he had just plucked to the Fire Spirit Falcon.

"Then help it put it back in April, but it has to promise to take April flying around first."

The Fire Spirit Falcon let out a low, aggrieved cry and actually lowered its head to let her do as she pleased.

Many guests in the lobby couldn't help but laugh when they saw this scene.

A guard from the Barbarian Stone Tribe scratched the back of his head and sighed.

"This bird almost pecked my young master yesterday, but today it's like a newly hatched chick in Miss Wubao's arms."

Jiang Yining sat by the window and pulled up Wu Bao's little cape.

"It's not afraid of April, it's afraid of the bloodline in April. Don't get too close, or it might get scared and breathe fire, burning the inn's tables and chairs and we'll have to pay for the damages."

Upon hearing the last sentence, the Fire Spirit Falcon tried its best to swallow the flames back into its throat, and even dared not let its tail feathers shine again.

Half an hour later, Fan Chenxin finally returned from the back street.

He carried ten enormous storage bags on his shoulder, their openings bulging, from which the crisp sound of blood crystals colliding could be heard from time to time. His monk's robes were stained with dust, and the wisps of hair on his forehead were ruffled by the wind, yet his face remained handsome and upright, though his expression was somewhat displeased.

When Jiang Yining saw him return, she first handed him a peeled Crimson Jade Spirit Fruit.

"Thank you for making this trip for me, Master Buddha. Is there enough stuff in Young Master Lou's treasury?"

Fan Chenxin accepted the spiritual fruit, but did not eat it immediately.

"Your blood crystals are enough to help you break through to the Condensation Realm, and there are quite a few bone armors suitable for April to wear. Lou Xiaotian even prepared dozens of sizes of soft armor for the child, which is obviously not something he accumulated in just a day or two."

Jiang Yining casually replied.

"Then let's take out the soft armor and put the rest of the items into the stone chamber. The Thunder Pattern Sword we'll be using for the semi-finals the day after tomorrow should also be reforged."

As Fan Chenxin watched the jade key spinning in her fingers, a pang of jealousy slowly rose within her again.

"You've been fiddling with this key for ages."

Jiang Yining put the key back into her storage pouch and then stuffed the spirit fruit into his mouth.

"He's not as easy to use as you. You can guard the gate, protect April, and carry back ten bags of things at once. Lou Xiaotian doesn't have those abilities."

Fan Chenxin's Adam's apple bobbed from the sweetness of the spiritual fruit, but the gloom in his eyes gradually dissipated.

He looked down and saw a red feather from a fire falcon stuck to her sleeve, and reached out to remove it for her.

"Tonight, I'm sleeping on the inner bed, and you're not allowed to touch his things again."