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

As the first dark silver array stone cracked, the western array groove under Jiang Yining's palm was also gnawed through by the Myriad Spirit Divine Tree.

The essence of the earth veins lost its pull and poured into the dantian along the crack in the stone wall. The newly mended dantian could not withstand the impact and two more fine cracks appeared.

Instead of retracting her roots, she pushed the dark golden Buddha blood sent by Fan Chenxin into the array groove.

"Don't just focus on consuming the earth's essence; send out the complete location first. Once the person finds the underground palace, the entire blood pool will be yours."

The Myriad Spirits Divine Tree enveloped the remaining Buddha's blood, and the Purple-Gold Wood Seal followed the dark gold aura through three layers of barriers.

The bloodline response arrived quickly. Jiang Siyue's fox blood arrow changed direction in the outside world, and Fan Chenxin's Buddhist breath firmly anchored itself in the stone hall.

As Jiang Yining's palm left the wall, the first array stone completely shattered into fragments.

"The location has been sent out; now it's time to dismantle the core of the formation."

The stone palace did not collapse as she predicted; instead, the ancient sound of bones grinding together came from the bottom of the blood pool.

Two deeper, dark silver lines passed through the shattered array stones, winding their way towards Jiang Yining and the outside of the stone hall.

A line of ancient Pei script appeared on the wall.

The ancestral root departs from the main body, and the two lineages return to the origin.

The host is damaged, and the ancestor takes over.

As Jiang Yining finished reading the last four words, a sudden burning pain shot through the restraints on the back of her neck.

Another dark silver line crossed the underground palace and climbed up Pei Yunji's bloodline from afar.

"The Pei family ancestors left themselves a way out more thoroughly than their descendants."

The Dual Meridian Returning to Origin Lock identified her as a damaged host and selected the Pei family descendant closest to the Divine Tree as a backup carrier.

If the Myriad Spirits Divine Tree fails to be separated, the ancient formation will extract Pei Yunji's ancestral blood and refine her and the divine tree together into a backup vessel.

The floor tiles beneath the platform flipped up one after another, and the Soul-Stripping Liquid in the Blood Pool rose rapidly.

Just as Jiang Yining was about to sever the dark silver patterns, hurried footsteps came from above the underground palace.

The stone gate was pushed open by the Nirvana Qi and Blood, and Pei Yunji stepped into the hall. His right sleeve had already been torn by the ancestral pattern.

Dark silver veins crawled up his wrist to his shoulder, and the ancestral blood beneath his skin was being continuously drawn away by the formation.

"You came back early, it seems this ancestral formation doesn't recognize the young master's identity."

Pei Yunji swept his gaze over the damaged array grooves and raised his palm to press down on the earth vein outlet above the blood pool.

"Once you destroy the first array stone, the Dual Meridian Return to Origin Lock will activate automatically. This array is not recorded in the Pei Clan's ancestral precepts; even I have only seen two sentences about it in a fragment."

"Did the fragments tell you whether the backup carrier could ultimately retain its sanity?"

"Before the ancestral blood is completely drained, I will destroy the Returning to Origin Spirit Stripping Array."

Three tremors came from the outer layer of the underground palace in succession, and the dark golden Buddha light was approaching along the direction sent by Jiang Yining.

Instead of activating the killing formation, Pei Yunji slammed a Young Master's Token into the Earth Vein Hub.

The twelve outer killing formations were extinguished, and most of the power converging towards the underground palace was also cut off.

Jiang Yining stared at his palm, which was pressed against the pivot.

"If you had suppressed me first, the ley lines would have caused the outer passage to collapse. Everyone who entered the underground palace would have been buried in the fault line."

"The Divine Tree of Ten Thousand Spirits is still inside you; the collapse of the underground palace will also destroy your ancestral roots."

"You should be able to distinguish whether you sealed off the killing formation just for the sake of the divine tree or because you were worried about accidentally harming people outside."

Pei Yunji turned around, and the dark silver ancestral mark had already crossed his collarbone.

"You don't need to use a few lives to force me to give in. As long as the ancestral root has not been retrieved, I will not allow the underground palace to collapse."

"Since we share the same goal, let the outer killing formation remain in place. Once Fan Chenxin and the others have arrived here alive, I will cooperate with you to suppress the Twin Meridian Lock."

"You destroyed the formation first, and now you're asking me to protect the people coming? This deal only benefits you."

Jiang Yining straightened up, leaning against the stone wall; the blood in her dantian had already soaked through her clothes.

"You can refuse. If the people outside die in the killing array, I will sever three of your ancestral roots. Once the Twin Meridian Lock loses the divine tree's pull, it will drain your Nirvana Source. At that time, the Pei family will get two corpses and leave behind a ruined array."

"You can't bear to sever your ancestral roots, and you can't bear to let them die here."

"Therefore, the choice I'm giving you can protect all three parties at the same time. Young Master Pei has seen through my plan, and he can't find a way to minimize the losses."

Pei Yunji walked to the edge of the blood pool and placed his five fingers on her pulse point from a distance.

"The outer killing formation will remain inactive for another two hours. You and I will suppress the ancestral lock for now. After two hours, if they manage to destroy the Pei family's mountain gate, the guards will no longer stand by."

"When they reach the mountain gate, you'd better not try to hold me down for another two hours."

"Jiang Yining, you need to hold onto the wall to even stand, yet you're planning to arrange an escape route for everyone?"

Whether I can stand firm or not, it doesn't stop me from choosing a way out for Young Master Pei.

Suddenly, four thick, dark silver chains rose from the bottom of the blood pool. Two of them wrapped around Jiang Yining's wrists, while the other two crossed the edge of the pool and fastened to Pei Yunji's arms.

Pei Yunji swung his palm at the lock, and the Nirvana Qi blood in the shape of a blade was absorbed by the ancestral pattern as it touched the chain.

The entire stone hall shook, and the Dual Meridian Returning to Origin Lock forcibly dragged the two of them into the same channel.

"Do not attack the chains; they are using your strength to complete their return to their origin."

Jiang Yining planted the roots of the Wanling Divine Tree into the floor tiles, but was still dragged several steps away.

Pei Yunji stopped his second strike and stepped into the blood pool.

"Retract all the roots of the sacred tree. The Twin Meridian Lock is calculating the strength of the two bloodlines. The more you resist, the more it will conclude that your body can no longer bear the ancestral root."

"Once the divine tree returns to your dantian, the ancestral lock will pour your Nirvana essence into it. My shattered dantian cannot contain this power."

"Let the formation complete its first connection with the same vein. I will intercept the ancestral blood before it enters the Qi Sea."

"Pei Yunji, if you could stop the ancestral formation, you wouldn't have been dragged into the blood pool."

All four chains taut simultaneously, and the stone bricks beneath Jiang Yining's feet shattered.

She was dragged towards the center of the pool, where the purple-gold wood energy and Pei Yunji's dark silver ancestral blood were poured into the western array slot.

After the two forces collided, the crack in the dantian rapidly expanded along the qi sea.

Blood gushed from Jiang Yining's throat, and her legs lost their support, causing her body to fall deeper into the pool of blood.

Pei Yunji stomped along the edge of the pool and grabbed her waist before the chains could retract.

He used his shoulders and back to catch the dark silver beam of light that shot out from the bottom of the pool, while his other hand pressed against the outside of her dantian through the wet fabric.

"Move your hand away, or the divine tree will devour the ancestral blood near the Qi Sea."

"Let it devour you, it's better than letting the Twin Meridians tear your dantian apart."

"More than 20% of your essence has already been extracted. If the divine tree swallows it any further, your backup vessel will also be rendered useless."

"The formation treats us as being of the same bloodline. After I am injured, the speed at which it draws ancestral blood will only double. If you want to live until reinforcements arrive, you must first cooperate with me to stabilize your Qi Sea."

Dark Silver Ancestral Blood seeped into Pei Yunji's palm and spread along Jiang Yining's ruptured dantian.

The Divine Tree of Myriad Spirits sensed the approaching external force and its roots wrapped around the ancestral blood, intending to devour it.

Jiang Yining quickly grabbed Pei Yunji's wrist.

"The ancestral blood can only stay on the outside of the crack. If you dare to take this opportunity to explore the ancestral root of the sacred tree, I will destroy our shared lineage first."

"At this point, are you still drawing lines between us?"

"Saving lives is one thing, but ownership still needs to be determined separately."

Pei Yunji's palm remained firmly pressed against the ground, his fingertips not crossing the designated area.

"I will circulate the wood energy as you wish, and I will bear the backlash from the earth's veins."

"Tell me first, how many key points are there in the Double Pulse Lock?"

"There are two stones beneath the blood pool, one of which is hidden inside the Spirit-Peeling Pearl. After the second array stone shatters, the Twin Meridian Lock will loosen briefly for ten breaths."

"Ten breaths is enough for me to devour half of the array's core. You are responsible for protecting my heart meridian."

"Are you planning to use my ancestral blood to deceive the Pei family's ancestral formation?"

"Young Master Pei personally brought in the blood; it would be a waste if I didn't use it."

A loud bang echoed as the stone palace gates closed, and the double-pulse locks formed a dark silver seal along the door frame.

The Buddha's light outside was blocked, while the spirit-peeling liquid in the blood pool reached up to their waists.

Jiang Yining tried to turn around to check the array's core, but Pei Yunji's arm around her waist suddenly tightened, pulling her back to his chest.

"Don't move. This formation now considers us to be the same person."