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

Jiang Yining looked at Chu Ling Shuang's outstretched hand, but did not immediately become sworn brothers with her, nor did she follow her words to belittle Lou Xiaotian.

"Lou Xiaotian is not something that can be given away at will, and how I get along with him is not for others to decide for me."

"If Miss Chu only admires my skills, we can spar together in the future."

Lou Xiaotian's coldness softened, and he loosened his grip on the Overlord Spear.

"Ning'er, you don't need to refuse the City Lord's invitation just to save face for me."

"If you wish to go to the City Lord's Mansion to check the information on the Heavenly Desolate Secret Realm, I can accompany you there."

Fan Chenxin stood on the other side, holding the five treasures, her tone still calm.

"She only invited Ning'er to the city lord's mansion, and did not invite Young Master Lou to come along."

"If you want to continue planting flowers, there are still a few Ganoderma lucidum plants in the yard that were shaken askew by the force of the qi."

"At least the Ganoderma lucidum I grow can make April happy."

"Besides standing by and being jealous, what useful things have you done?"

Wu Bao hugged Fan Chenxin's neck and earnestly defended him.

"Uncle Chenxin just protected April and Big Red Chicken, and also protected Uncle Zhonghua's Little Bubble."

"You two are both very useful, you can't fight because of your mother."

Chu Ling Shuang laughed out loud and reached out to pat Jiang Yining on the shoulder.

"Your little girl has such a nice voice."

"If you don't want to become sworn brothers right away, that's fine too. Let's go to the city lord's mansion and have a few jars of strong liquor first."

The moment her palm touched Jiang Yining's shoulder, the smile on her face vanished.

The crimson aura probed into the meridians along the fingertips, first touching a stream of scorching dark gold Buddha blood, and then being blocked by the pure green wood essence.

Chu Ling Shuang withdrew her hand, a look of seriousness appearing between her brows.

Why does your body simultaneously contain both dark gold Buddha blood and the primordial green wood essence?

"Both of these forces have merged into your main meridian. If they clash with each other, it could damage your meridians."

"Jiang Yining, what kind of body-tempering method are you practicing?"

She didn't lower her voice, and all the martial artists watching outside the inn could hear her clearly.

The long street was quiet for a moment, then an uncontrollable murmur began to rise.

Some looked at the dark gold patterns left after Fan Chenxin's Buddha bone shattered, while others stared at Lou Xiaotian's lingering green wood aura.

Fan Chenxin held the five treasures firmly, his gaze slowly shifting away from Chu Ling Shuang's fingertips.

"The Buddha's blood once suppressed the meridian-locking Gu for her. As long as the qi circulation route is correct, it will not damage the main meridian."

Lou Xiaotian's azure wood qi had not yet dissipated, and upon hearing this, he gave him a cold look.

"When the fire in the herb garden went out of control, I used half of the Green Wood Origin to protect Ning'er's dantian."

"That power has already been refined by her, and it will not damage her meridians."

Chu Ling Shuang glanced at Fan Chen Xin, then turned to look at Lou Xiao Tian.

"How could your two powers, one cold and one hot, both remain within her main meridian at the same time?"

Jiang Yining's expression did not change at all; she simply raised her hand and straightened her collar.

"This is the result of the body-strengthening medicinal bath."

"Fan Chenxin used his Buddhist-like spirit and blood pressure to pass through the Vein-Locking Gu, and Lou Xiaotian guided the Green Wood Origin for me."

"Later, the two forces were refined by the ten-thousand-year blood and the earth fire medicine, and naturally remained deep in the main vein."

Chu Ling Shuang listened with skepticism, her gaze shifting back and forth between the three.

"Can a regular medicinal bath truly integrate two fundamental elements into one person's body?"

"Why have I never heard of this body-strengthening method before?"

"You only know how to fight with a heavy hammer, but you can't even tell how the chain vein gu enters the main vein."

A faint smile appeared on Jiang Yining's lips, her tone remaining calm.

"If performing breathing exercises on others is considered an unorthodox and evil practice, then all the medical clinics in Tianhuang City should have been closed down long ago."

Someone outside on the long street couldn't help but laugh out loud, and the ambiguous discussions from before immediately subsided.

Chu Ling Shuang touched the tip of her nose and didn't press the matter further.

"I don't really understand medicine, as long as this method doesn't damage my foundation, it's fine."

"You were able to withstand three of my blows with your peak Qi and Blood Realm cultivation technique, which makes you far superior to those trash."

Fan Chenxin's tense shoulders and back finally relaxed a bit, but Lou Xiaotian was still staring at him.

Jiang Yining glanced at the two of them, and her purple-gold qi and blood slowly condensed at her fingertips.

"If you continue to argue about where the origin comes from, I don't mind sealing away the Green Wood Qi and Blood along with the Buddha's Blood."

"If anyone's injury recurs as a result, don't come to me for meridian treatment."

Fan Chenxin looked away, and Lou Xiaotian also put the Overlord Spear back to his side.

"As long as Ning'er doesn't risk her health anymore, I won't ask her questions in front of outsiders."

"If Aoki Hongen makes you uncomfortable, you must tell me immediately."

Chu Ling Shuang stood to the side, holding the heavy hammer, her face full of impatience as she listened.

Why are you two men beating around the bush?

"Give her the power if she needs it, and take your hand back if she doesn't."

Suddenly, the sound of armor clanging came from outside the inn.

The second elder of the Lou family led the black-armored guards of the Enforcement Hall through the crowd of onlookers, his ebony staff striking heavily on the broken threshold.

He first glanced at the mess in the courtyard, then stared at Jiang Yining's still not fully concealed purple-gold qi and blood.

"Jiang Yining, your background is not recorded in the Tianhuang City register, and the Manshi Tribe has not paid the full amount of its independence guarantee."

"The rules of the tournament are clearly stated that martial artists from outside the city must be recommended by a prominent family in the city."

"Now that the Lou family has withdrawn its sponsorship resources, the Secret Realm Qualification Token in your possession can only be temporarily sealed."

Chu Ling Shuang hoisted the Xuan Tie Heavy Hammer onto her shoulder, her expression immediately turning serious.

"Old man Lou, are you following the rules of the conference, or are you trying to use my unintentional remark to cause trouble?"

The Second Elder toned down his imposing manner when facing her, but his tone remained firm.

"Miss Chu, you misunderstand. The Lou family is simply withdrawing their own guarantee in accordance with the rules of the conference."

"If the Barbarian Stone Tribe can replenish its resources before the final round, Jiang Yining's semi-final results will still be valid."

Hu Yanlie was leading the Man Shi guards to the inn when he heard this and his expression changed drastically.

"Miss Jiang won the semi-finals on her own merits, and the Secret Realm Token was personally issued by the referee of the City Lord's Mansion."

"Your Lou family withdrew the guarantee, so why are you even temporarily confiscating the tokens she had already won?"

The Second Elder raised his ebony staff, and two martial artists from the Enforcement Hall immediately unfurled a scroll of the Lou family's recommendation document.

"Since the Manshi tribe cannot provide independent guarantees, they can only rely on the Lou family to participate in the conference."

"Now that the Lou family is unwilling to continue providing sponsorship, she will naturally have to find another sponsor before the final competition, or make up for the lack of resources herself."

Lou Xiaotian took a step forward, and the Overlord Spear was unsheathed with fierce force.

The azure energy pressed down along the spearhead towards the Law Enforcement Hall, and hundreds of black-armored guards simultaneously gripped their weapons.

"The availability of collateral is never solely determined by you."

"The herb garden's accounts haven't even been checked yet, and you've already brought the Enforcement Hall to block the inn's entrance."

"If the Second Elder insists on using official business to settle personal scores, I will ask the clan elders of the ancestral hall to personally question you."

The second elder's face darkened, and he struck the ground with his ebony staff, leaving several cracks.

"The young master has recently violated clan rules repeatedly, and even handed over the key to the private treasury for a woman from out of town."

"If you had any sense of propriety, you should immediately take back the key and come back to the Lou residence with me to apologize."

Lou Xiaotian's spear suddenly pressed down, and a straight ravine cracked open in the ground.

"The accounts can be checked slowly, but it's best to be as clear as possible in your words."

"Ning'er saved the medicine garden and also helped the Lou family catch the mole who colluded with the Zhang family."

"If you dare to insult her by mentioning her background again, I will have the ancestral hall first try you for the crime of seizing the blood crystal of the array eye."

Jiang Yining raised her hand and pressed down on the Overlord Spear, suppressing the about-to-explode Azure Wood Qi back into the spear.

"Lou Xiaotian, put the gun away first."

"If you fight with the Enforcement Hall now, they will pin all the blame on you and the Barbarian Stone Tribe."

"They're already trying to take away your access to the secret realm. If I continue to tolerate them, they'll only become more demanding."

"They want to use a few blood crystals as collateral to block my path, then let them see if I really need those things."

Jiang Yining took out a huge storage bag from her sleeve and then turned to look at Lou Xiaotian.

"Can I now freely use the private treasury you entrusted to me?"

Lou Xiaotian did not hesitate and placed the jade key into her palm.

"That private vault is what I obtained over the years from hunting beasts, guarding mines, and fighting for mineral veins; it has nothing to do with the Lou family's public vault."

"The jade key contains the records of every battle achievement; you decide what's inside."

When the Second Elder saw the jade key, his face immediately turned ashen.

"That is your private wealth accumulated over the years, and it is also the foundation for your future cultivation and struggle for the position of family head."

"If you give them all away today, the Lou family will never give you another half a blood crystal."

Jiang Yining ignored his threat and simply turned the storage bag upside down in the yard.

When the first batch of top-grade blood crystals landed, a dazzling blood light shot out from the roof of the inn.

Nearly a million crystals piled up in the front yard like a tide, and the rich blood energy turned into red mist, forcing the onlookers to retreat.

Immediately afterwards, the skeletons of ten fifth-tier exotic beasts fell out of the storage space one by one.

A hundred-foot-long skeleton of a red-scaled earth dragon lay across the middle of the long street, while the skeleton of a three-headed sky-splitting demon ape supported the dilapidated eaves.

The remaining beast skeletons also exuded a ferocious aura that had not yet dissipated.

The Black Armor Guards' mounts were forced to their knees, and the Enforcement Hall's formation immediately fell into chaos.

The Fire Spirit Falcon emerged from behind Fan Chenxin and flew to the head of a giant beast, excitedly pecking at it.

Wu Bao also poked its head out from Fan Chen's heart, its eyes shining like two stars.

"Mother, can we give April some of that monster's teeth?"

"In April, I want to make it into a new wooden stick for the big red chicken."

"Those are the fangs of a fifth-tier Earth-Splitting Dragon."

"If you let the Fire Spirit Falcon carry it around, it won't be able to lift its neck tomorrow."

Chu Ling Shuang stared at the blood crystals piled up along the long street, then suddenly blew the city lord's mansion's communication whistle.

"Manager Zhou, if you don't come to collect the resources soon, I will grant her the right to participate in the competition on behalf of the City Lord's Mansion."

A gray-clad steward rushed over with guards from the city lord's mansion.

He took out the crystal array plate and scanned it over the Blood Crystal Mountain, then confirmed the skeletons of the ten strange beasts one by one.

"The qualification for an independent secret realm requires 300,000 top-grade blood crystals and the bones of three fifth-tier exotic beasts."

"The subsequent rounds of the Barbarian Stone Tribe event require an additional 100,000 top-grade blood crystals as collateral."

"These resources are enough to exchange for three independent qualifications and to make up for all the guarantees of the Barbarian Stone Tribe."

Jiang Yining placed her beast-patterned token on the crystal verification array plate.

"Exchange 300,000 top-grade blood crystals and three fifth-tier skeletons for an independent qualification."

"Another 100,000 top-grade blood crystals will be allocated as collateral for the Barbarian Stone Tribe, and the remaining resources will be recovered after verification."

Manager Zhou immediately took out a black gold token and imprinted Jiang Yining's name and blood imprint onto it.

"The City Lord's Mansion will accept these resources."

"Miss Jiang's semi-final results remain valid, and the Manshi tribe will no longer rely on any family for sponsorship."

The onlookers all turned to look at the Second Elder of the Lou family, and some deliberately raised their voices.

"The Lou family was recently embezzled because of a few pieces of blood crystals in the medicine garden array."

"Now they actually want to use guarantee resources to suppress a mountain of blood crystals."

"If the Second Elder had known earlier that Miss Jiang could produce the skeletons of ten fifth-tier exotic beasts, he probably wouldn't have come here to embarrass himself today."

Jiang Yining stepped onto a top-grade blood crystal and looked down at the Second Elder.

"Even the blood crystals that needed replacing at the core of the Lou family's herb garden were stolen by someone."

"And now you're here to teach me how to follow the rules of the conference."

"If the Second Elder really has the time and inclination, he should first replenish the resources he took from the formation."

The Second Elder's chest heaved violently, and the ebony staff in his hand shattered on the spot.

"You used the young master's private treasury accumulated over many years to cover the collateral, and you still dare to use this to humiliate the Lou family."

"Lou Xiaotian, if you don't take the key back, you are no longer the young master of the Lou family today!"

Lou Xiaotian took the jade young master's token from his waist and threw it to the Second Elder's feet without hesitation.

"I have guarded the Lou family's medicinal herb garden for many years and have also fought for countless mineral veins for the Lou family."

"Since you're going to use my position as the young master to force me to go against my own judgment, I might as well not have this position."

The Second Elder stared at the token at his feet, his blood and qi suddenly surged, and he spat out a mouthful of blood onto his chest.

He tried to raise his cane and point it at Lou Xiaotian, but his body had already fallen backward.

Several black-armored guards hurriedly helped him up and helped him through the crowd of onlookers in a disheveled state.

When the enforcement officers arrived, they were menacing, but when they left, no one dared to pick up the scattered recommendation documents.

Jiang Yining put away the Xuanjin Qualification Token and gently twirled the Qingyu Key between her fingers.

"Use the Lou family's things to slap the face of that old dog Lou."

"Young Master, consider this debt a loan from me, how about it?"