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

Pei Yunji sat up, propped up by the wrecked boat. The silver light shining from the secret gate followed his wrist, refusing to fall to the side.

He didn't send in the ancestral blood; he simply placed the back of his hand three inches away from the keyhole: "It recognizes the inner ancestral seal."

Pei Zheng probed the silver light with the ancestral bone fragment, but the moment the bone touched the lock, it was blasted open: "This door is never recorded in the family genealogy. What makes you so sure?"

"The outer layer of inheritance patterns belongs to the ancestral hall, but the inner seal belongs to the bloodline itself. If this door only recognizes the inner seal, most of the people who left it will not believe in the ancestral hall."

Jiang Yining followed the silver light to the bottom of the keyhole, where the purple-gold wood energy illuminated a line of incomplete small characters: "Those who have lost their positions should bring this blood to enter. It seems that this place has indeed left a way out for those abandoned by the main lineage."

Pei Yunji lowered his eyes and looked at the line of words: "Even the ancestors of the Pei family knew that the ancestral hall they raised might not be trustworthy."

"Don't rush to mock our ancestors; it's still uncertain whether there's a killing formation behind the door."

Jiang Yining examined the array patterns around her and pointed to the outside of the door frame: "Only activate the door lock; do not force it open by burning blood."

Pei Yunji responded and sent a wisp of inner seal energy into the keyhole.

The nine silver rings rotated in sequence. The outermost ring had just completed half a rotation when eighteen more fine locks emerged from within. At this rate, it might not be possible to open them all in half an hour.

Chu Ling Shuang strode over carrying a heavy hammer: "By the time it finishes spinning, Pei He Nian should be bringing people to clear the table."

Pei Yunji pointed to the inside of the wall: "The lock is connected to a burst of fire; forcing it open will burn through half of the main tomb."

"Who said I was going to break the lock?"

Chu Ling Shuang raised her hammer and pointed to the right side of the secret vault: "If the door won't open, I'll break down the wall."

Lou Xiaotian looked at the three-zhang-thick black stone wall: "There are also fire lines inside the wall."

"Then let's get the fire line out first."

Jiang Yining released dozens of thin vines, the tips of which slid along the cracks in the wall bricks, and several dark red fire patterns quickly appeared on the stone surface.

She used vines to circle three black bricks that were not covered by array patterns: "This is the ventilation area, and also the blind spot of the array fire. Chu Ling Shuang will only smash the places I marked."

Fan Chenxin spread Buddhist light across the door frame: "I'll seal off the backflow of the array fire; it can only last for fifteen breaths at most."

Lou Xiaotian picked up the roots of the green tree with his spear and wove them into a large net along the top of the tomb: "I will hold up the stone layer above. The wall can be smashed, but the top of the tomb cannot be brought down with it."

Pei Yunji tried to get up, but Jiang Yining pressed a vine down on his shoulder: "You're in charge of keeping an eye on the lock. If the inner seal gets too hot, make a sound."

Chu Ling Shuang stretched her wrists: "Everyone back ten feet. If any of the broken stones hit someone, I won't pay for their medicine."

Jiang Yining picked up Jiang Siyue and retreated to the wrecked boat, then casually placed the Fire Spirit Falcon into the child's arms: "Keep an eye on it, don't let it get near the fire crystal and the medicine shelf."

Jiang Siyue hugged the fat bird tightly: "Siyue will definitely keep an eye on it."

The first hammer blow struck the lowest blind spot of the fire array, causing the main tomb to tremble violently. The lock on the door was still turning, but a long crack appeared in the black stone wall next to it.

As Fan Chenxin withdrew the Buddha light from his palm, the fire lines that had shot out from inside the wall were pushed back into the door frame.

"Twelve breaths left."

Chu Ling Shuang shook her numb wrist: "The first blow loosens the bones, the second blow brings you home."

The second hammer blow landed in the blind spot above, causing half of the wall to cave inward. More than a dozen blood crystal boxes slid out of the crack, their lids bursting open, and crimson blood crystals rolled all over the ground.

Jiang Siyue, lying on the edge of the wrecked boat, suddenly brightened up: "If Sister Hammer smashes it again, will more boxes fall out?"

"Thank you for your kind words."

Chu Ling Shuang smashed through the base of the wall with her third hammer blow, and Lou Xiao Tian simultaneously tightened the green wood net. The entire side wall of the secret vault was lifted into the open space without taking down half of the tomb roof.

She stepped through the gravel into the secret vault, pulling out two blood crystal chests in one hand: "This broken lock is still turning, and the wall is gone."

Pei Yunji gazed at the still-working nine-story silver ring and paused for a moment: "The person who left the door probably never imagined that someone would just tear down the wall."

Lou Xiaotian used the green vine to sweep away the stones blocking his way: "If something can be solved by hand, there's no need to rely entirely on the ancestral seal."

Fan Chenxin raised his palm and swept out a beam of Buddhist light. The light swept across the first row of medicine shelves, and black smoke immediately rose from more than a dozen jade bottles, with fine blood patterns appearing at the mouths of the bottles.

"These medicines are tainted with a blood curse. After taking them, you will be controlled by the person who cast the curse. Do not go near them in April."

Jiang Siyue pressed down on the Fire Spirit Falcon's outstretched neck: "Big Red Chicken, did you hear me? You can't eat the black bottle. If you eat it again, you'll lose your spirit fruit."

The Fire Spirit Falcon buried its head under its wing, pretending that the bird that had just stretched its neck had nothing to do with it.

Jiang Yining wrapped the vines around the fat bird's waist and tied the other end around Jiang Siyue's wrist: "You just need to keep an eye on it, you don't need to help move things."

She entered the secret vault and first checked the markings on the blood crystal box.

The twelve boxes on the east side were engraved with the emblems of different branches of the clan, and the storage time and purpose were pressed on the bottom of the boxes. The eight boxes on the west side had no clan emblems, only the private seal of Pei Henian, an elder, in the corner.

Pei Zheng's face darkened when he saw the clan emblem of the collateral branch: "These blood crystals were sent to the ancestral hall by the collateral branch to treat the ancestral blood depletion disease."

Chu Ling Shuang put the box she had just picked up back in its original place: "Don't leave things that belong to someone else. You guys better mark where the old thief is hiding them."

Jiang Yining used the purple vine to draw a boundary line on the ground: "Leave all the resources of the eastern branch, take away the privately stamped items of the western branch, investigate the source of unclaimed medicinal materials first, and leave the life-saving medicines if they belong to the branch as well."

Lou Xiaotian glanced at the warehouse full of blood crystals: "Pei Henian almost refined you into an ancestral seed, so emptying this place isn't too much to ask."

"Whoever owes me, I'll settle the score with them."

Jiang Yining opened an unclaimed wooden box containing hundreds of bottles of dark red blood samples neatly stacked inside: "Besides, if the collateral branches are drained dry, who will raid Pei Henian's ancestral hall?"

Pei Zheng squatted down to examine the bottom of the bottle, his brows furrowing lower with each look: "The names of the collateral descendants and the number of times their blood has been drawn are engraved here. Some people have had their blood essence drawn six times in one year."

Fan Chenxin shone his Buddha light on one of the bottles, and grayish-white withered patterns immediately appeared in the blood: "These blood samples are not for treating diseases; they are used to select those who can bear the ancestral fire."

Pei Yunji walked to the depths of the secret vault, pushed open a row of medicine cabinets with his sword sheath, and behind the cabinets was a heavy iron box filled with a register.

Pei Zheng opened the top book: "Three hundred and seventy-two collateral disciples, their ages, cultivation levels, and bloodline concentrations are all recorded. Red marks indicate that the marrow extraction has been completed, and black marks indicate that the extraction has failed."

One page was glued too tightly, and when he separated it with his fingertips, a small safety buckle fell out from the back of the paper.

Pei Zheng paused for a moment before carefully putting the safety buckle and the page back together.

Jiang Yining pulled out several blood-stained pages: "Pei Henian used the guise of treating illness to extract blood and marrow from collateral branches. The more the collateral branches relied on the ancestral hall for medication, the less they dared to investigate where the medicine came from."

"I will send this evidence back to the branch council so that the families on the register can verify it one by one."

"Just bringing a roster isn't enough; they can easily cover it up with a claim of forgery."

Jiang Yining put the blood sample, the fake order, and the fragments of the battle order into a separate storage bag: "With the blood sample and the image of the command in the mirror, the three pieces of evidence corroborate each other. Pei Henian will have to explain himself clearly before he can deny it."

Pei Zheng took the storage bag: "Aren't you afraid I'll destroy them when I get back?"

"If you were willing to destroy the evidence for Pei Henian, you wouldn't have shattered your own deputy seal just now."

"I will protect the evidence; whether the collateral branches resist is their own choice."

"If you don't even dare to make a choice, then continue to drain the ancestral hall of blood."

Jiang Siyue sat on an empty medicine box and continued to calculate with a charcoal pencil: "Uncle Fan's Buddha bone is cracked and he needs ten spirit fruits to replenish it. Uncle Zhonghua's essence is injured in three places and he needs twenty fruits to replenish it. Uncle Heiyi's nine runes are all broken and he needs ninety fruits to replenish it."

Chu Ling Shuang peeked out and asked, "I only hammered three times, so why did you draw on twelve walls?"

"There are nine more tomb passages ahead, making a total of twelve."

"Those walls were blocking the way in the first place."

"Repairing the wall also requires blood crystals; April can't pretend she didn't see it."

Jiang Siyue added at the bottom: "Siyue works very hard watching over the big red chicken, so she should also receive two spirit fruits."

The Fire Spirit Falcon immediately flapped its wings, clearly feeling that it should also get a share.

Lou Xiaotian used a green vine to roll up the unclaimed medicine box: "Besides swallowing pills, carrying away the general's seal, and burning the military flag, what other things has it done that deserves an award?"

Jiang Siyue solemnly counted on her fingers: "The big red chicken burned the old man's blood token, so it can offset one instance of stealing food."

She eased the tense atmosphere in Mikuli considerably.

Fan Chenxin sealed a bottle of forbidden medicine, then looked past the medicine shelf and landed on Pei Yunji, who was resting against a stone pillar.

Jiang Yining noticed his gaze: "Just ask."

How did you calm him down just now?

"I let him rest his head on my lap to heal, and I even called his name."

Fan Chenxin paused for a moment on the bottle with his fingertips: "He did need to stabilize his heart meridian after severing the nine Young Master Marks."

"That's all?"

"If I say I mind, will you take back what just happened?"

"Won't."

"I'll remember that, and we'll talk about it when we get out."

Jiang Yining handed him the Star Chart Bone Plate: "The materials for the Ancient Ship are not yet complete. You will accompany me to check the spatial bone crystals at the back. The Buddha's Light can identify blood curses, and you are the most reliable person for this matter."

Fan Chenxin took the bone plate, the dark look between her brows dissipating slightly: "Are you giving me something to do, so I won't keep overthinking?"

"You can also stand here and continue thinking."

"Then let's check for bone crystals."

The two went around to the back of the medicine shelf. Fan Chenxin examined each piece of the spatial bone crystal, while Jiang Yining was responsible for checking the cracks and array patterns. Their movements were very quick.

On the other side, Lou Xiaotian had already used green vines to pack the materials for the ancient boat formation, Pei Henian's privately hidden blood crystals, and medicinal herbs that were confirmed to be unclaimed.

Pei Yunji did not reignite the ancestral fire, but instead relied on the stone pillar to verify the source of the materials.

Chu Ling Shuang suddenly picked up a crimson fire crystal box: "The bottom of this box was blown open by the third hammer blow just now, and a piece of Flame Marrow Crystal is missing from inside."

Jiang Siyue looked down at her arms. The purple-gold vine on her wrist was still there, but the other end was only tied with a few crimson feathers.

She hurriedly jumped down from the medicine box. The fire crystal box at the deepest part had already closed, and two dark claw marks remained on the cracked bottom of the box.

"Mother, the big red chicken has crawled into the fire crystal box!"