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

As soon as Lou Xiaotian finished speaking, a muffled sound suddenly came from the bottom of the Thunder Pool.

The black array patterns that had been flashing alternately tightened at the same time, and the entire patch of lightning seemed to be lifted up by an invisible giant hand.

Dozens of dark red chains burst forth from the water, their tips gleaming with a poisonous emerald light, and were aimed at Jiang Yining’s brow, throat, heart, and dantian respectively.

"Ning'er, stop condensing your essence!"

Fan Chenxin pushed the five treasures onto the back of the Fire Spirit Falcon and shattered the Buddhist patterns on his wrist with a backhand.

"Take April back to the valley entrance. The Buddha's blood barrier must not be dispelled; no one is allowed to come out."

"Uncle Chenxin, Mother is still in the water!"

Wu Bao reached out to grab the hem of his robe, but only managed to grasp a blood-stained sleeve.

"Uncle will go pick her up."

Before Fan Chenxin's voice had even faded, he had already shattered the stone platform on the shore and leaped straight into the Thunder Pool.

Jiang Yining was at the final moment of the formation of the Yuan Liquid, and hundreds of bolts of lightning had already poured into her limbs.

If she were to forcefully stop her practice at this moment, the qi and blood essence she had just gathered would inevitably flow back into her meridians.

"The Heart of Brahma!"

"You continue breaking through your current realm; leave the rest to me."

"Those chains are poisonous and can't be touched with your hands!"

"I've even shielded you from the poisonous flames of the divine realm, what's a few broken chains hidden underwater?"

Fan Chenxin stepped in front of her, blocking her path, and drew his black sword.

Dark gold energy erupted along the blade, splitting the lightning magma into two water walls several meters high.

The six poisonous chains at the forefront snapped simultaneously, and the emerald green venom that spurted from the broken ends landed on his shoulders and back, instantly corroding his robes and creating large charred holes.

The remaining chains bypassed the blade and stabbed at Jiang Yining from both above and below.

"Lower your head!"

Fan Chenxin pressed a hand against the back of her neck and pulled her into his arms.

Two chains grazed his handsome profile, leaving thin, bloody marks below his cheekbones, while a third pierced his shoulder blade from behind.

"The Heart of Brahma!"

Don't look back.

He held Jiang Yining's waist with his five fingers, protecting her firmly against his chest.

"Ning'er, you're just one step away from success. Today, no one can cut off your path."

More than ten masked figures suddenly leaped out from around the Thunder Pool.

"The Buddhist cultivator has already entered the formation; let's seal his blade first!"

"Aoki warrior guards the eastern array's core; three teams engage him!"

"Kill Jiang Yining and take her body!"

Lou Xiaotian stood on the lightning-attracting stone, and upon hearing the last sentence, the Overlord Spear in his hand emitted a piercing long screech.

"Say it again, whose body do you want?"

The three assassins simultaneously activated their bone spears, their black energy weaving into a net that blocked his escape routes.

"Lou Xiaotian, this matter has nothing to do with you. Leave this place now, and we may spare your life."

"You recognize me, but dare not show your face. It seems there are quite a few people in Tianhuang City who want me to return alive."

Lou Xiaotian raised his hand to wipe away the blood left by the lightning wound on his lips.

"But you shouldn't have used her life to test my choice."

"Let's do it!"

Nine armor-piercing bone spears fell simultaneously.

Lou Xiaotian did not retreat, and the Overlord Spear spun around in his palm.

The ancient green wood energy transformed into thousands of thorny vines, shredding the bone spears to pieces.

He stepped onto the lightning-attracting stone, his spear piercing the chest of the foremost assassin, and using the momentum, he pinned the man to the stone wall on the east side of the lightning pool.

"Where is the core of the formation hidden?"

Blood gushed from the assassin's mouth, yet he continued to sneer.

"The Primordial Trapping and Killing Formation has merged with the Thunder Pool. The more she tries to break through, the more power the formation draws away. None of you can save her today."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yining immediately looked up.

"Lou Xiaotian, ignore the people on the shore. There is a key to the formation under the third black rock in the southeast. Thrust the spear three inches diagonally from the left."

"You saw the array pivot?"

"I can't see it, but every time the chains emerge from the water, the lightning there slows down by half a breath."

"Okay, tell me where you want to stab me, and I'll stab you there."

Lou Xiaotian shook off the corpse on the gun barrel and charged southeast into the midst of the raging thunderstorm.

Two assassins suddenly sprang up from behind the rock, grabbing the Overlord Spear from either side.

"Stop him!"

"Get out of here!"

Lou Xiaotian released his gun and simultaneously slapped both men on the chest with both palms.

The green wood energy penetrated their bones, forcibly severing their heart meridians.

He grabbed the butt of the spear again, and using the force of his body rotation, he drove the Overlord Spear into the third black stone.

The stone layer shattered, revealing half of a pitch-black array core underneath.

"Ning'er, we've found her!"

"Pierce it, don't pull out the gun!"

"The array's core is connected to the Thunder Pool; forcibly piercing it will cause him to suffer the full backlash."

An assassin shouted sharply, "Lou Xiaotian, it's not too late to stop now!"

Lou Xiaotian's arms bulged with veins, and the Overlord Spear sank another half foot.

"You know her Achilles' heel so well, it would be too late if I stopped now."

"Xiaotian, the backlash from the array's core will travel along the Green Wood's origin and enter your heart meridian. Suppress it only with your internal energy; do not allow your blood to ignite!"

Jiang Yining's voice was mostly drowned out by the thunder.

Lou Xiaotian heard it clearly.

He turned to look at the center of the Thunder Pool.

Despite having three poisonous chains stuck in his back, Fan Chenxin still protected her in front of him.

Jiang Yining's lips were pale, but her purple-gold qi and blood were gathering at a point in her dantian.

"Using only internal energy is not enough to suppress this formation."

"I told you not to ignite your blood!"

"Ning'er, I just promised to accompany you into the Heavenly Desolate Secret Realm."

Lou Xiaotian gripped the gun barrel, his palms bleeding profusely from the sharp cuts.

"So I won't die, I'll just give you what I can first."

Aoki's essence erupted from his chest.

The color drained from his gentle and handsome face, while his dark hair flew wildly in the thunder and wind.

Hundreds of blue vines sprouted from the mountain wall and intertwined to form a giant shield above the Thunder Pool.

"Ancient Green Wood, suppress this evil spirit!"

The vine shield descended, protecting Jiang Yining and Fan Chenxin together in the center.

The lightning struck the surface of the vine shield, causing the thick vines to char and break one after another.

With each step Lou Xiaotian took back, a pool of blood was left behind at his feet.

"Uncle China!"

Wu Bao, clinging anxiously to the back of the Fire Spirit Falcon, had its fox ears sticking out.

"Don't bleed, or April won't have any more earthworm teeth!"

Lou Xiaotian looked up at her, still managing to force a smile.

"What Uncle promised to give April, he won't skimp on."

"You're lying! Your face has turned pale!"

"In April, retreat to the valley entrance!"

Fan Chenxin swung his sword and severed the poisonous chain that was piercing towards the Five Treasures, his voice suddenly turning cold.

"Anyone who dares to approach the child, I'll send them on their way first."

An assassin, using the thunderous liquid as cover, burst out of the water beneath his feet, his short blade aimed straight at Jiang Yining's back.

Fan Chenxin did not turn around, but simply gripped the black knife behind her back.

The blade pierced the assassin's throat, and a wave of dark gold blood swept across the lightning-covered surface, simultaneously slicing three masked warriors who tried to approach in half at the waist.

"Buddha's disciple, your Buddha bones are shattered, and your back is poisoned by the bone-rotting poison. If you use the knife again, you will die first!"

"I am no longer a Buddhist disciple."

Fan Chenxin pulled the chain off her shoulder and let the poisoned blood flow down her arm.

"If she were standing behind me, even if the Buddha himself came today, I would still kill her."

"Fan Chenxin, pull out the poison chain. Do you want the poison to rush directly into your heart?"

Jiang Yining pressed one hand against his dantian and grabbed his blood-stained clothes with the other.

"Release me, and I can break through my limits while protecting myself."

"Not loose."

"I'm not a weakling who needs you to risk your life to protect me."

"I know."

Fan Chenxin held his black blade horizontally in front of the two men, his back still unbent.

"It is precisely because I know you can protect yourself that I am even less willing to see you bear it all alone every time."

"You retreat outside the vine shield first; I've already reached the Yuan Condensation Barrier."

"I will naturally step aside once you have truly broken through."

"Fan Chenxin, when did you learn to disobey me?"

"From the moment you jumped into the spatial rift and grabbed me."

Another bolt of lightning struck.

Lou Xiaotian's vine shield was cleaved open, and more than a dozen poisonous chains took the opportunity to slip in.

Fan Chenxin spun around and swung his sword, severing nine blades, but the last four pierced through the wave of blood.

One pierced his side, while the other three were aimed directly at Jiang Yining.

"Ning'er!"

Lou Xiaotian suddenly drew his Overlord Spear and leaped towards the center of the Thunder Pool, spear and all.

The backlash from the array's core exploded along the spear shaft, tearing the skin off his right arm and splattering blood onto the green vine shield.

As if given a final burst of strength, all the vines suddenly contracted into a semi-circular barrier, blocking the three poisonous chains from Jiang Yining's heart.

"Lou Xiaotian, who gave you permission to draw your gun?"

"The array's core is already half broken; the remaining half is directly below the Thunder Pool."

Lou Xiaotian knelt on one knee in the water, using the Overlord Spear to support his swaying body.

"If you can break through to a higher realm now, then expose it along with this bunch of scum."

"You two risked your lives to buy me time. If I still can't break through this barrier, wouldn't I be too ashamed?"

Jiang Yining closed her eyes and released the last layer of suppression against Lei Ting.

"Brahma's heart, loosen my waist."

"Not loose."

"Then hold on tighter."

Fan Chenxin's arms suddenly tightened.

The next moment, all the lightning essence in the lightning pool surged back towards Jiang Yining's dantian.

The main trunk of the Myriad Spirits Divine Tree trembled, and the dark gold Buddha blood and the green wood essence were forcibly fused into the purple gold blood by lightning.

The last drop of primordial liquid fell into the dantian.

The barrier of the Condensation Realm shattered.

"Back off!"

Jiang Yining opened her eyes, her pupils filled with a purple lightning bolt.

Fan Chenxin did not retreat, but instead plunged the black knife into the Thunder Pool, using the blade to separate the last layer of poisonous water for her.

"You get up first, then I'll leave."

Lou Xiaotian also stood up straight, supporting himself with the Overlord Spear, with the charred vine shield protecting the top of her head.

"Ning'er, the rest is up to you."

"So, you finally remember who did it?"

Jiang Yining raised her right hand.

A spirit-devouring demonic vine shot into the sky from the center of the Thunder Pool.

The vine no longer only has purple and gold wood grain, but the edges of the leaves are wrapped with fine lightning.

It pierced through the dark clouds and transformed into a hundred-foot-long whip, lashing fiercely towards the bottom of the Thunder Pool.

"Get out here!"

The lightning whip struck, splitting the entire lightning pool in two.

The array's cores, hidden in the mud and sand, were all exposed. Just as the black array patterns were about to close again, the purple-gold thunder vines had already entangled all the nodes.

The vine pierced the core of the formation, unleashing the devouring power of the Myriad Spirits Divine Tree, drawing away the accumulated lightning and poisonous gas within the formation.

"The formation is out of control, retreat immediately!"

"The valley entrance is sealed off by Buddha's blood; we can't get out!"

"Capture that child and force her to retract the vine!"

The surviving assassin turned and pounced on the Fire Spirit Falcon.

Wu Bao hugged the Fire Spirit Falcon's neck feathers tightly, shouting angrily, "Mother, they're trying to bully Si Yue again!"

Jiang Yining pressed down lightly with her fingers.

"Then they don't need to live."

Dozens of purple-gold thunder vines burst forth from the ground, precisely binding the limbs of each assassin.

Lightning bolts burrowed into their bodies along the thorny vines, leaving them no room to struggle.

"Jiang Yining, spare my life, and I can tell you who set up the killing formation!"

"unnecessary."

"Don't you want to know who's behind this?"

Jiang Yining stepped across the separated thunderous slurry, and the purple-gold thunder vines stretched freely behind her.

"There are very few people who can recognize Lou Xiaotian in Tianhuang City and yet insist on not taking his life."

"You're just guessing!"

"The array's core bears the Lou family's bloodstains, and you still have a messenger whistle in your arms."

Jiang Yining looked down at him, a hint of sarcasm on her lips.

"When I get back, I'll naturally ask about all of these things."

She clenched her five fingers together, and at the same time, the rattan tightened its grip.

The thunder swallowed all the screams.

The Primordial Trapping Killing Formation, along with the remaining assassins, shattered completely amidst the purple-gold lightning.

Jiang Yining rolled back into the dark array core and took out two communication bone whistles from among the corpses.

With the vine shield losing its support, Lou Xiaotian's body tumbled forward.

Fan Chen wanted to reach out and catch him, but he staggered half a step because of the poison entering his body.

Jiang Yining walked over, stepping on the still-undisturbed water, and simultaneously supported the two men's arms with both hands.

"One of you had three poisonous chains stuck in his back, and the other burned most of his Green Wood essence. You were quite imposing just now."

Fan Chenxin looked at the lightning patterns flowing between her brows, and a smile finally appeared on her blood-stained lips.

"If you succeed in breaking through, then it's worth it."

Lou Xiaotian inserted the Overlord Spear into the bottom of the pool and used it to stand firm.

"I can still walk, there's no need to waste my energy on me. First, cleanse his bones of the poison; his Buddha bones can no longer suppress the poison."

"You burned your life essence and damaged your heart meridian, so you're not much better off than him."

"Aoki Hongen is best at recovery; once the heart meridian is sealed, he can recover."

Fan Chenxin raised her hand to wipe away the bloodstains on Jiang Yining's cheek, but her fingertips trembled due to the poison.

"Ning'er, I can hold on too. Let's check if you have any hidden injuries from forcibly condensing your energy just now."

"You're already this badly injured, and you're still arguing with me about who needs saving less?"

Jiang Yining grabbed Fan Chen's heart meridian with one hand and pulled Lou Xiaotian out of the water with the other.

"Anyone who dares to defy me will be tied to the bottom of the Thunder Pool, and the remaining heavenly lightning will help them wake up."

Wu Bao, riding his Fire Spirit Falcon, flew above the three of them and cried out in a tearful voice, "Mother, both uncles are disobedient! Tie them both up!"

Lou Xiaotian looked up at the child and weakly smiled, "Just now, Siyue was pleading for her uncle, and now you're helping your mother punish people?"

"Because you lost a lot of blood, and you lied to April saying you were fine."

Fan Chenxin said in a low voice, "Uncle was wrong this time. You can punish him however you want in April."

Jiang Yining looked at the two men covered in wounds, and simultaneously used the purple-gold wood energy at her fingertips to entangle their heart meridians.

She suppressed her surging emotions and placed the two of them on either side of her shoulders.

"If you two really die here, who will accompany me into the Heavenly Desolation Realm?"