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

As soon as Mu Ziying swallowed the remaining Gu powder at the bottom of the cup, a sharp cough came from her throat.

She gripped her neck tightly with both hands, and before she could vomit anything out, her blood and qi surged upwards.

Thin black lines quickly climbed up her neck to her cheeks, causing her skin and flesh to twitch and her veins to feel as if they were being torn apart by countless tiny teeth.

She knelt down in front of the VIP table, her fingernails digging into the ground, leaving ten scratch marks mixed with blood.

"Elder, save me! The worm in that cup of wine really isn't dead!"

The elder of the Mu family suddenly stood up and struck Jiang Yining with his palm from a distance.

"You wicked woman, how dare you poison the eldest daughter of the Mu family in public! Today, no one can save your life!"

Jiang Yining stood still without dodging, only raising her hand to throw the white jade wine cup at the referee's feet.

"This glass of wine was sent by Miss Mu, and she forced me to drink it in public. Now I'm merely returning the rest to her, why is the Mu family elder in such a hurry?"

The moment the Mu family elder rushed down from the high platform, a dark golden light curtain suddenly descended above the arena.

After a deafening roar, he was slammed back to his seat by the formation, the table and chair beneath his feet exploding into pieces.

The city lord's referee stood in front of Jiang Yining, his token already glowing.

"During the semi-finals, no elder may cross the defensive line to attack a participant. If Elder Mu takes another step, the City Lord's Mansion will expel you and all participants from the Mu family from the tournament."

"She poisoned Ziying, didn't any of you see that?"

"What this judge saw was that the Mu family maid served the wine first, and then Miss Jiang went on stage after being poisoned. The cup has been sealed, and we will soon find out what was hidden in the wine."

Jiang Yining looked down at Mu Ziying, who was lying on the ground screaming in pain, her expression remaining unchanged.

"If Miss Mu had only given me ordinary snow lotus wine, I would have been fine after drinking it. But now that she's in so much pain, doesn't that prove to everyone that the wine did indeed contain something illicit?"

The young masters from prominent families who had been watching retreated, and several martial artists who were on good terms with the Mu family also quietly moved away.

Mu Ziying raised her face, which was covered in cold sweat, and reached out to grab Jiang Yining's clothes.

"You knew all along that the wine was poisoned, so you were acting from the very beginning!"

Jiang Yining took a half step back, causing her hand to grasp at empty air.

"You're only realizing this now, so you're not much smarter than that little snake that got tied into a knot in April."

"Jiang Yining, if I ever have the chance to leave this world alive, I will never let you go!"

"First, figure out how to survive the Gu worms devouring your meridians, then we can talk about how to take revenge later."

Two physicians from the city lord's mansion had arrived and forcibly restrained Mu Ziying's convulsing limbs.

As soon as the doctor inserted the silver needles near her heart meridian, the needles were shaken into several pieces by the reverse flow of blood and qi.

"The Blood-Devouring Gu has already infiltrated the main meridian. Immediately move her to the Meridian Sealing Chamber. If the Mu family wants to preserve her cultivation, they should send over the best Blood Marrow Pills in their clan."

The elders of the Mu family dared not break through the formation again and could only order the guards to carry Mu Ziying away.

As he was leaving the stands, he turned back to stare at Jiang Yining, his eyes filled with such intense hatred that it was almost tangible.

"The Mu family will settle this score with the family sooner or later."

Jiang Yining sheathed her thunder-patterned short sword, turned around, and stepped off the arena.

"I'll be waiting for you all at Yunhe Inn. I just hope the poison you send next time will be more valuable, and that you won't try to fool me with this insect-feeding stuff again."

The crowd around the stands erupted in discussion. Warriors who had bet on Tuba to win rushed to the exchange counter, and many asked whether Jiang Yining would still be the one to fight in the next match for the Barbarian Stone Tribe.

Jiang Yining ignored those gazes.

As she walked through the semi-finals passage, a robe with a dark gold Buddhist aura fell from her shoulder.

Fan Chenxin stood behind her, wrapping the wide robe from her shoulders to her ankles, even covering most of her long hair that had been blown about by the strong wind.

He remained silent, his taut jawline seemingly covered in frost.

Jiang Yining lifted her face from her collar.

"I have no wounds, you don't need to wrap me up so tightly."

Fan Chenxin raised her hand to fasten her clothes, blocking the gazes that were prying at her from all directions.

"You just forcibly attempted to break through to the half-step Qi Refining Realm, and the Qi and blood in your meridians have not yet calmed down. Whether you are injured or not should not be decided by your own words alone."

"The Divine Tree of Ten Thousand Spirits has already devoured the Gu worms, so that cup of wine cannot harm my heart meridian."

"If Shenmu had been even half a breath slower, you would be lying on the ground screaming in agony just like Mu Ziying."

Seeing the veins bulging on the back of his hand, Jiang Yining didn't press the issue of his excessive worry.

"There are still many people watching us here. We can talk about it when we get back to the inn."

"I have a lot to say that I want to talk to you about when we get back."

He emphasized the word "slowly," and dark gold energy silently spread along the cracks in the stone beneath his feet, forcing nearby martial artists to scatter.

On the other side, the second elder of the Lou family had already led hundreds of black-armored guards to block Lou Xiaotian's path.

Four chains engraved with the Lou family's array patterns wrapped around the Overlord Spear, forcing him to suppress his qi and blood.

"Young Master has broken through the confinement cell without permission and confronted the family elders in the arena. He must come back with us today to receive his punishment."

Lou Xiaotian glanced at Jiang Yining, then at the black-armored guards behind the Second Elder, but ultimately did not draw his spear and force his way in.

"I can go back with you, but if you dare to take this opportunity to make things difficult for Yunhe Inn, I will tear down the remaining walls of the Law Enforcement Hall when I return."

The second elder was so angry that his beard trembled.

"You still dare to covet that woman? You've completely disgraced the Lou family!"

"Ning'er just obtained the qualification for the secret realm, and you brought hundreds of people to capture me and take me back. Who is more disgracing the Lou family?"

The black-armored guards activated the chains, taking Lou Xiaotian outside the arena.

He walked a dozen steps, then suddenly turned around as if he remembered something.

"Listen carefully, innkeeper of Yunhe Inn! The flowers in the backyard need to be watered every day. The Purple-tailed Spirit Orchid should only be watered with half a ladle, and the Crimson Flame Flower must never be exposed to cold water!"

The entire arena fell into an eerie silence for a moment.

The second elder, his face ashen, tugged at the chains.

"You were taken back to your family for trial, and you're still thinking about those few broken potted flowers in the inn's courtyard!"

Lou Xiaotian was dragged and staggered a couple of steps, but he still refused to stop talking.

"Those aren't just a few broken potted plants; the colorful Ganoderma lucidum will sprout tomorrow. If you miss seeing the bubbles in April, I'll settle accounts with you when I get back!"

Wu Bao sat in Fan Chenxin's arms and waved her little hand earnestly at him.

"Uncle Flower Planting can go home without worry. In April, I'll take good care of the flowers and make sure the big red chicken doesn't steal the leaves."

Upon hearing its own name, the Fire Spirit Falcon immediately shrank its wings guiltily.

Upon returning to Yunhe Inn, Jiang Yining had just stepped into the backyard when she saw Wu Bao squatting on the stone table, training a third-tier fire spirit falcon to guard the gate.

The little girl rested her hands on her knees, looking as serious as a young scholar.

"Big Red Chicken, first fold your wings and then raise your head. When someone enters the yard, you should bark fiercely like a puppy."

Firefly looked at Jiang Yining with eyes full of humiliation, as if asking her to uphold justice.

Wu Bao reached out and pinched one of its tail feathers.

"If you don't learn it well, I'll pluck a hair from your head in April and teach you again."

The Fire Spirit Falcon shuddered, raised its neck, and let out a long, drawn-out "woof," which sounded neither like a dog's bark nor a hawk's cry.

The barbarian guards in the courtyard all burst out laughing, and Huyan Lie even squatted down against the wall, clutching his stomach.

"Miss Jiang, your April is truly a born animal tamer. The Lou family's Fire Spirit Falcon usually pecks at people it sees, but now it's actually learning to guard the house like a dog."

Jiang Yining bent down and picked up Wu Bao, then rescued the precarious tail feather from her hand.

"April has finished watching the ring today, now it's time to go back to her room and sleep. If Big Red Chicken can't learn to guard the house, let it continue to be a normal bird."

Wu Bao hugged her neck and whispered his request.

"But we haven't taught it to roll over yet, it just learned to lie down."

"Let it learn slowly tomorrow. If you keep plucking its fur, it will have to sleep naked tonight."

Firefly nodded frantically and immediately hid under the stone table.

Fan Chenxin dismissed the barbarian stone guards in the courtyard and then had the innkeeper guard the stairs.

After Jiang Yining settled the five treasures on the soft couch in the outer room, he closed the door tightly and set up three layers of soundproof barriers.

The dark golden light completely shut out the noise in the courtyard, leaving only the flickering candlelight inside the room.

Jiang Yining sat on the edge of the couch and raised her hand to untie the outer robe on her shoulder.

"You've endured this long since the arena, you should have figured out where to start training me."

Fan Chenxin took the outer robe, but did not put it down.

He took her wrist and pressed his fingertips against her pulse point, his expression gradually darkening.

"Although your main meridian is free of Gu poison, it has cracks left from forcibly stimulating your qi and blood. Knowing that you haven't truly entered the Gang Qi Realm yet, why did you still use your body to lure Mu Ziying into attacking?"

"If I don't drink that glass of wine, she won't believe the plan has succeeded. Tuba won't let his guard down, and the Mu family won't give themselves away in public."

"So you put yourself in their trap, gambling that you would be able to swallow the Gu worm?"

"That wasn't a gamble; it was a result I had confirmed beforehand."

Fan Chenxin suddenly took a step forward, forcing her knees to touch the edge of the bed.

Dark gold energy emanated from beneath his feet, blocking all her escape routes.

Jiang Yining looked up to meet his gaze without flinching.

"Fan Chenxin, I know what's important. There's no need to scare me with this act."

He trapped her between the bed and his chest, and the suppressed rage in his eyes finally burst forth.

"Do you think that as long as you don't die in the ring, it's okay?"