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

After Fan Chenxin asked that question, the blue light on the mirror did not dissipate; instead, it magnified the image even further.

In the eerie green glow of the coffin fire, she slightly raised her long, slender, fair neck, and parted her crimson lips slightly.

Lou Xiaotian lowered his head, and in the instant their breaths mingled, even the subtle sound of the wood marrow flowing was amplified several times over.

Jiang Yining did not avoid Fan Chenxin's gaze, nor did she rush to cover up the broken mirror.

"It was indeed passed through the lips, and I was the one who suggested the method."

She handed Jiang Siyue, whom she was holding, to Pei Yunji, and pointed to the root locks wrapped around her in the mirror. "The wooden coffin has locked his arm, and the root fire is burning. If he tries to break the chains, he'll lose at least 20% of his Green Wood essence. The wood marrow must complete its cycle, so I'll have him hold it under his tongue while I retrieve it myself."

Fan Chenxin did not interrupt her.

On the back of his hand, which gripped the black knife, the veins bulged, and his dark golden eyes, reflected in the mirror, burned with a burning intensity, their depths surging with a greed and jealousy that seemed about to burst forth.

Lou Xiaotian stood to her right rear, the green vine on his chest pressed tightly against the purple-gold lock seal.

He didn't use the formation as an excuse, nor did he hide his romantic thoughts.

"I did want to get closer to her at the time, and I did have some delusional thoughts."

Lou Xiaotian met Fan Chenxin's gaze, his brows and eyes carrying a frank and roguish air. "But as soon as her fingertips stopped, I stepped back. Apart from the Crossing Wood Marrow, I didn't touch the inner layer of the Silver Leaf, nor did I leave any other marks through the contract."

Fan Chenxin stared at him for a long time before finally loosening her grip on the knife slightly.

"What angers me is that you were able to protect her in that coffin, not that I suspect she would lie to me."

Lou Xiaotian fiddled with the broken tassel at his waist, a bitter smile playing on his lips: "Your statement about not taking action is even more chilling than the Xuanjia soldiers in the tomb."

"My knife only cuts those who deserve it, not my comrades."

Fan Chenxin turned her gaze back to Jiang Yining, her eyes lingering on her pale yet still beautiful face, her killing intent not diminishing as she turned to Lou Xiaotian.

Jiang Yining reached out and placed her hand on the back of his knife, her slightly cool fingertips conveying a sense of comfort.

"It's just about self-preservation; it's not about who possesses whom. I'm telling you everything precisely because I don't want you to overthink things while looking at this broken mirror, lest you suffer a backlash from your own ignorance."

Fan Chenxin took her fingers in his hand, his fingertips tracing the old wound on her wrist. His Adam's apple bobbed. "If you're willing to talk, I won't force you. It's just that the image in this mirror is too detailed, and it's really an eyesore to me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the base of the glasses frame made a soft sound.

The blue light that originally only shone on the wood marrow was now silently replicating the protective root patterns between Jiang Yining and Lou Xiaotian's heart meridians.

A phantom image of a green vine crawled along the mirror surface into the depths of the tomb passage, and the pupils that had been closed at the edge of the mirror frame opened one after another.

The killing intent in Fan Chen's eyes solidified instantly.

"It's guiding the same route into the main tomb."

The black sword was suddenly drawn.

The blade grazed Jiang Yining's shoulder, piercing precisely into the junction between the illusory green vine and the mirror frame.

His aloof and cold face was reflected in the mirror. As the blade flashed, the entire mirror shattered with a crash.

Before the green vine projection could be sent out, it was shredded to pieces by the sword energy.

But the instant the mirror shattered, a wisp of dark silver mirror fire cleverly bypassed Jiang Yining and plunged into the protective root pattern on Lou Xiaotian's chest.

Lou Xiaotian groaned, and the green vine on his chest suddenly shone brightly.

The mirror fire followed the contract and burrowed into the old wound, causing the newly scabbed crack to burst open again, and warm blood instantly stained the tattered clothes.

Jiang Yining stepped forward and ruthlessly tore open the fabric that was in his way.

Her pale fingertips pressed directly onto the burning flesh, her eyes sharp and cold: "Who gave you permission to let this damn contract shield me from the fire? Release your Qi Sea."

"The Mirror Fire has already entered. If you withdraw it now, your Silver Leaf will revive."

Lou Xiaotian tried to grab her wrist, but his fingers were bound by the Soul-Devouring Vine.

He looked down at the woman so close to him; the stray hairs on her forehead brushed against his chest, causing an unbearable itch.

Even though his wound was throbbing with pain, his gaze remained fixed on her face, unwilling to look away.

"If you don't want me to get angry, just stand there quietly."

Jiang Yining's palm erupted with purple-gold wood energy, flowing upstream along the green vines and biting into the wisp of dark silver mirror fire.

The Divine Tree of Ten Thousand Spirits brutally tore the Mirror Fire out of his flesh and blood.

The green vine on Lou Xiaotian's chest suddenly contracted, and the silver leaves on Jiang Yining's waist also lit up.

She forcefully pulled all the Mirror Fire into her body, letting the Divine Tree devour it, and a burning pain immediately shot through her right main meridian.

Fan Chenxin immediately reached out and put his arm around her shoulder, his Buddhist breath stopping restrained outside her meridians: "Didn't you seal off the root protection nodes? How can the Mirror Fire still turn around?"

Jiang Yining only removed her hand from Lou Xiaotian's chest after confirming that the mirror fire had been completely swallowed.

"The vine lock can only stop him from using the contract on his own initiative; it can't stop the ancient tomb's inflexible rules. As long as someone is after the sacred tree, the contract will automatically share the damage."

Lou Xiaotian looked down at the faint finger mark left on his chest, his eyes softening like water: "They only took 20%, not all of it went to me."

Jiang Yining raised her eyelids and glanced at him, and the Demon Vine immediately tightened its grip: "If you dare to take advantage of this 20%, I'll hang you upside down from the top of the tomb right now."

"I won't take it anymore, and I will never take the initiative to test the waters."

Lou Xiaotian pleaded softly for mercy.

Pei Yunji put Jiang Siyue down, squatted down in front of the shattered pieces of glass scattered on the ground, and picked up the largest piece with his longsword.

He forced out a drop of the young master's ancestral blood and deduced along the crack.

Deep within the azure light, a pool of blood surrounded by white bones appeared, with a few drops of primordial blood essence suspended within.

Further in, there is a section of broken ancient shipwreck.

"The blood essence of the ancient beast is deep within the main tomb and can be used to awaken the divine tree."

Pei Yunji pointed to the ship's skeleton, "Although the array grooves of this interdimensional ancient ship are incomplete, it is at least a clue to leaving the Martial Spirit Realm. Let's extract the blood marrow first, and then see if the ship's wreckage can be repaired."

Jiang Yining stared at the boat bone, the red mole between her eyebrows shining even brighter under the blue light: "As long as one of the array patterns is intact, this trip will not be a loss."

Pei Yunji tilted his glasses to the right, and the phantom images of hundreds of black iron spears appeared around the main tomb.

"This is the Pei-Slaying Spear Formation. Anyone identified as having Pei blood will be hunted down by the Root Soul. My Nirvana Realm ancestral blood will only drive the spear formation even crazier."

Lou Xiaotian wiped the blood from his chest and picked up the Overlord Spear again: "Then let's block your aura and the three of us will clear a path for her."

Pei Yunji didn't reply, his gaze fixed intently on Jiang Yining's waist.

The sleeping silver leaf suddenly appeared, and Ye Xin was greedily swallowing the elder's blood that Pei Henian had left in the Fire Pivot.

Dark silver blood lines followed the leaf stalk, slowly seeping into Jiang Yining's limbs and bones.

Pei Yunji's expression changed drastically: "The silver leaf is replacing the ancient tomb's recognition of your bloodline."

Deep inside the tomb passage, the sound of armor plates rubbing together was deafening.

Dozens of Xuanjia soldiers turned around in unison, their blue and white soul flames locking onto Jiang Yining.

Pei Yunji grabbed the edge of the silver leaf on her waist, his voice as cold as ice: "Pei Henian is turning you into a member of the Pei family. He has issued a kill order, and it is for your life."