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

Jiang Siyue hid her injured finger behind her back, her fox ears drooping guiltily.

"April only took a tiny bite, and the Fire Spirit Falcon wanted to bite for April, but it didn't have fox blood."

"Next time, let the adults figure out a solution first. Your blood isn't something you can just use to point the way."

Jiang Yining lowered her head and kissed the small scab, her arm unconsciously tightening around it.

The child's real body temperature pressed against her chest, and a crack finally appeared in her calm eyes, revealing the lingering fear that had been suppressed for days.

"Mother didn't abandon April; she was just swept away by the broken passage."

"If you encounter something like this again, you must protect yourself first."

"Then Mother must take care of herself first, and not be in so much pain that she can't call herself April."

Jiang Siyue buried her face in the crook of her neck and gently rubbed her chin with her dusty fox ears.

Jiang Yining closed her eyes and paused for a moment before finally holding her daughter securely and standing up.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Fire Spirit Falcon slipped between the two and shook off the ash covering its body.

Just as it was about to land on Jiang Yining's shoulder, its wing was struck by the scattered lightning from the remaining array, and its entire body spun and crashed into Pei Yunji.

Pei Yunji instinctively raised his hand, intending to catch the bird's belly, but Jiang Siyue simultaneously reached out to grab the Fire Spirit Falcon's tail feathers, causing it to pounce to the other side.

He had to change his gesture, supporting the child's back with one hand and pinching the base of the Fire Spirit Falcon's wing with the other.

The aloof and upright young master of the Pei family stood in the cracked side corridor, stiffly cradling a young fox covered in medicinal ash in his arms.

He also had a charred, bristly fire falcon hanging from his hand.

Jiang Siyue looked up at him, and the tip of her nose suddenly wrinkled slightly.

Her gaze then fell on Jiang Yining's dark inner robe.

"Mother, was it this man in black who locked you down there and pulled at the tree inside your body?"

Pei Yunji tightened his grip on the child's arm slightly, not avoiding her gaze.

"I activated the Returning to Origin Spirit Stripping Array, and I also stopped the outer killing array."

"I still have unresolved issues with her, but for now, we're traveling together."

Jiang Siyue immediately turned to look at Jiang Yining, her fox ears perking up warily.

Jiang Yining reached out and took her daughter back into her arms.

"He is right. He once activated the formation to retrieve the divine tree, and Mother also destroyed the Pei family's ancestral formation."

"There are still others in the underground palace who want to capture us, so we'll leave with him for now."

Jiang Siyue hugged Jiang Yining's neck tightly and stared at Pei Yunji for a moment.

"For now, I'll call you Uncle in Black. Once you stop stealing Mother's tree, I'll decide whether to treat you as a good uncle."

Pei Yunji remained silent for a moment before nodding slightly.

"Can."

Jiang Siyue looked at him intently.

"Uncle in black isn't as skilled at carrying people as Uncle Fan. Uncle Fan lets April rest on his shoulder where there are no wounds."

"Uncle Zhonghua's hugs are the softest because green vines grow from his body to cushion his belly."

Pei Yunji looked at Jiang Yining, his expression still somewhat stiff.

"The Pei family ancestral scrolls do not teach how to care for young foxes."

Chu Ling Shuang's dissatisfied voice immediately came from behind the side corridor.

"Jiang Siyue, if you continue to make things up in front of me, I'll throw that stupid bird that stole the spirit fruit out to scout the formation first!"

Upon hearing this, the Fire Falcon immediately shrank its head behind Pei Yunji's shoulder.

Its nostrils twitched slightly, and it quickly fixed its gaze on the dark silver hair ornament that held the man's hair back.

A silver crystal from the earth vein is embedded in the crown, emitting its favorite mineral scent.

While Pei Yunji was still trying to figure out the source of the vibration in the side corridor, the Fire Spirit Falcon had already swiftly extended its sharp beak, snatched the hair crown, and flapped its wings to escape.

Her long, black hair fell loose in an instant, cascading over Pei Yunji's shoulders and back.

Even without the silver crown binding him, his sharp and cold face remained unperturbed; he merely paused briefly in his movements.

Jiang Siyue nestled in Jiang Yining's arms and clapped her little hands.

"Uncle in black looks good with his hair down, but the big red rooster might eat your comb."

The Fire Spirit Falcon landed at the corner of the corridor with the hair ornament in its beak, and didn't forget to pull out Pei Zheng's battle order from Jiang Yining's hanging sleeve.

It pressed the array token under its claws and rubbed it repeatedly with its sharp beak, clearly treating the dark silver spiritual material as a beak-grinding stone.

Jiang Yining reached out and hooked a vine.

"If you peck it again, all the beast blood crystals for today will be canceled."

The Fire Spirit Falcon was startled and raised its head, but its sharp beak had already brought down for the final blow.

The surface of the array cracked open immediately.

A crimson projection rose from the crack, and the ancestral hall route, which was originally hidden inside the token, unfolded in sequence.

The twelve guard markers moved along the main formation, while another hidden line representing Pei Henian's blood token bypassed the main gate of the ancestral hall and went straight into the north medicine corridor.

Pei Yunji raised his hand and grabbed the Fire Spirit Falcon, which was still trying to escape.

"It accidentally broke through the hidden layer of the array, and this route is not the regular patrol route that Pei Zheng knows."

Jiang Yining stared at the long, narrow medicine corridor in the projection.

"The Second Elder's men are sealing off the main formation, but they haven't completely taken over the medicine corridor."

"We can start from the abandoned medicine warehouse and then go around to the north gate of the ancestral hall."

"The medicine corridor contains a large number of blood-corroding spiritual herbs, and there are three blood-identifying arrays along the way."

"Without the guidance of the Pei family's ancestral bloodline, outsiders will have their Qi Sea sealed by the medicinal energy once they enter."

Pei Yunji took out a roll of silver wire map from his storage ring, and then took out a silver jade pendant engraved with cloud patterns.

"The map shows the location of the medicinal gas flow. This young master's jade pendant can temporarily suppress the Blood Identification Array."

"Take it with you, and the guards along the way will regard you as one of my men."

Jiang Yining only took the map, and pushed the silver jade pendant back into his palm with her fingertips.

"Since you are traveling with us, you can naturally lead the way, so this jade pendant is unnecessary."

"We'll each get what we need now. Maps can be used to navigate, but it's best if we each keep our identities to ourselves."

Pei Yunji didn't force her to give him the medicine, but instead put another bottle of meridian-repairing liquid into her hand.

"The medicine does not represent the Pei family's identity; it can only stabilize the two cracked main meridians in your body."

"If you can't even walk steadily, the map of the medicine hall is meaningless."

"This bottle of medicine can be counted as part of the cooperation requirements. After we leave the ancestral hall, I will return the same amount of resources to you."

Jiang Yining uncorked the bottle and drank half of it, then put the remaining half into her sleeve.

Jiang Siyue leaned on her shoulder, and the aura of the nine-tailed celestial fox unconsciously spread out, brushing against her lower back.

The ever-restless Wanling Divine Tree suddenly quieted down.

The silver leaf imprint emerged completely through the dark black fabric, with purple-gold roots wrapped around the dark silver leaves, and a trace of blood-red array light in the deepest part.

Jiang Siyue reached out to touch it.

"Silver leaves have grown on Mother's waist. Can April help you remove them?"

Jiang Yining immediately grabbed her daughter's wrist and pressed the little hand back onto her shoulder.

"This leaf is just a healing mark left behind; it did not harm Mother's soul."

"The bloodline of April can calm it down, which has already helped Mother a lot. There is no need to do anything else."

"But Mother was clearly in a lot of pain just now. April can give you some of her strength."

"Your mother raised you so that you could grow up safely, not so that she could take your strength away when she needed it."