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

As soon as Jiang Siyue finished speaking, a muffled sound came from the fire crystal box.

The lid of the box was lifted into the air by the flames, and a round fireball rushed out from it, with half a piece of Flame Marrow Crystal still in its mouth, and its tail feathers burned into three straight lines of fire.

The Fire Spirit Falcon crashed into the medicine rack, and the lightning and fire from its wings ignited two wooden crates.

Jiang Yining raised her hand and released the demonic vine. As soon as the tip of the vine approached the fat bird, it was burned and curled up by the Nirvana Fire: "Move the medicine box first, don't grab it head-on."

Lou Xiaotian controlled the green vines to sweep away two rows of medicine shelves: "The Nirvana Fire and Thunder Fire clash within its meridians. Let it fly for a while longer, and this secret storehouse will also be set ablaze."

Fan Chenxin used Buddhist light to shield the forbidden medicine stained with the blood curse: "The Flaming Marrow Fire is drilling into the heart meridian; we must stop it first."

The Fire Spirit Falcon, its tail ablaze, charged out of the secret vault, setting Cen Jin's tattered military flag ablaze in the process.

Cen Jin's soul fire emerged from the flag, swaying twice as he was choked by the smoke: "The military flag I have guarded for three thousand years has gained another hole today."

Chu Ling Shuang chased after him with her hammer: "General, bear with it. We'll catch it and make it pay for your tail feathers."

Fire Spirit Falcon turned around and saw Heavy Hammer. Its cry immediately changed, and it turned sharply along the top of the tomb, diving headfirst into the Green Vine that Lou Xiaotian had just put away.

The fire spread along the green vines. Lou Xiaotian flicked his wrist and threw the whole bundle of burning vines into the open space: "Every time it causes trouble, it burns my vines first. It's like it has a beginning and an end."

Jiang Siyue was so anxious that her fox ears popped out: "Big Red Chicken, stop! Hammer Sister won't hit you!"

The Fire Spirit Falcon flew even faster, its tail fire and lightning mingling together, leaving behind a trail of sparks.

Jiang Siyue chased after him to the tomb entrance, and the nine-tailed fox breath spread out from behind her: "Big Red Chicken, watch Siyue. Don't run away now."

The soft fox breath enveloped the Fire Spirit Falcon, and the fat bird's movements froze in mid-air, its round eyes filled with confusion.

Forgetting that it was still running for its life, it slowly landed in the center of the stone platform, puffed out its chest, spread its two smoking wings, and struck the pose it usually struck to seek praise.

Jiang Siyue reached out to it: "Big Red Chicken did a great job, now come slowly."

The Fire Spirit Falcon proudly raised its head, its tail also curling upwards.

The last three tail feathers burst into flames and were burned to ashes in the blink of an eye.

The fat bird felt a chill on its rear end, turned its head and saw its bare tail, then let out a miserable scream.

The fox's breath was dispersed by the shout, and the Fire Spirit Falcon flapped its wings again.

Chu Ling Shuang was already waiting in front. She didn't use the hammer to touch the bird, but instead inserted the heavy hammer into the abandoned stone trough and used her arms to lift the entire trough out.

The stone trough precisely caught the Fire Spirit Falcon, and the bird, along with the trough full of clear spiritual water, was poured into the shallow pool next to it.

The pool water suddenly burst open, white steam rushed up to the top of the tomb, and the Fire Spirit Falcon poked its head out of the water, its bald tail still smoking.

Chu Ling Shuang, leaning on her heavy hammer, arrived at the edge of the pool: "No matter how fast you fly, you still have to go into the water to calm down in the end."

Jiang Siyue leaned over the edge of the pond, intending to scoop up the bird, but Jiang Yining pressed down on her shoulder first: "It still has the Flame Marrow Fire inside it, don't touch it yet."

"Now that its tail is gone, will it still be able to fly?"

"The tail feathers will grow back; let's focus on saving our lives first."

Jiang Yining wrapped her hands in the Qingling Water and scooped the Fire Spirit Falcon out of the pool.

The fat bird huddled in her palm, its belly bulging round, the two forces still clashing within her meridians.

Jiang Yining first examined the Fire Spirit Falcon's heart meridian, then checked the thin vine on Jiang Siyue's wrist: "The bottom of the box was cracked by the force of the wall breaking, and the Flame Marrow aura triggered its bloodline. This time it wasn't entirely because you didn't keep an eye on it."

Jiang Siyue lowered her head: "Siyue was so focused on the accounts that she didn't notice it bit off a feather and slipped out."

"You were indeed negligent, but since it stole the food, you can't blame it all on you."

Jiang Yining extracted a wisp of excess Flame Marrow Fire from the Fire Spirit Falcon's body, and the fat bird's swollen belly finally began to deflate.

"Mother will save its life first; you can decide how to punish it."

Jiang Siyue thought for a while, took out a spirit fruit from the small bag, and put it back in front of the Fire Spirit Falcon: "The big red chicken stole the Flame Marrow Crystal and even bit off Mother's vine. Today, I'm deducting one spirit fruit."

Firefly froze, immediately grabbed its bald tail, and lay on its back in Jiang Yining's palm, pretending to faint.

Jiang Siyue poked its belly: "Even if you're pretending to faint, you still have to pay. Siyue saw you blink."

The fat bird closed its eyes even tighter, but its two claws still held its tail.

Fan Chenxin sent out a layer of gentle Buddhist light to cool its meridians: "The Flame Marrow Fire has already been drawn out by more than half. It's just afraid that you really won't give it the spiritual fruit."

"You have to be punished for your mistakes, otherwise you'll keep stealing food."

Jiang Siyue hugged the Fire Spirit Falcon back into her arms: "When the new tail grows out, Siyue will reward you with half a pill."

The Fire Spirit Falcon immediately opened one eye.

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, the Flaming Marrow Fire, which Jiang Yining had ignited, suddenly seeped into the cracks between the tomb bricks.

The flames spread rapidly along the old array patterns on the bottom of the wrecked boat, heading straight for the gray-white stern.

Pei Yunji's expression changed slightly: "The breach on the west side of the ancient ship has not been sealed yet. If the fire goes in again, it will burn through the outer shell."

Lou Xiaotian was closest to the wrecked boat, and immediately thrust his Overlord Spear into the abandoned array slot. Green wood roots surged out along the spear shaft, diverting the flames rushing towards the stern of the boat into the empty slot.

A spark grazed his right shoulder, instantly burning through his clothes and leaving large scorch marks on his tanned skin.

The life-protecting blood pact was activated by the wood and fire, and the green vines shone brightly from his heart all the way to Jiang Yining's waist.

Jiang Yining grasped the emerging life bridge, suppressing the restless blue light back into his body: "Did you use your source energy?"

Lou Xiaotian supported himself with the gun barrel, his forehead covered in sweat: "I only used the green wood energy that was already in the gun, and didn't burn a single drop of my original essence. You can check it yourself."

Jiang Yining glanced at his right shoulder: "Come with me to the back of the wrecked boat. The rest of you, continue suppressing the fire."

Fan Chenxin withdrew her gaze from the two of them and turned her Buddhist light towards the array slot: "Leave this to me."

Pei Yunji squatted down beside the illuminated ancient pattern and used his sword sheath to clear away the charred ash: "I'll investigate the fire path."

The tattered sail behind the wrecked boat hung down, blocking out the firelight outside.

Lou Xiaotian sat down against the ship's hull, and deliberately tore open the charred shoulder armor. His broad shoulders and back were covered with charred fire marks, but fortunately, his aura of green wood remained stable.

Jiang Yining washed the wound with the Qingling Spring, her fingertips tracing the green vine around his chest: "The life-protecting blood pact was only affected by the pull, the source wasn't broken, you really did obey this time."

Lou Xiaotian looked at her lowered eyes and said, "I promised not to risk my life to take your decision, and I have to keep my word this time."

"If no one had blocked the sparks, the hull of the damaged ship would have been burned through. You did a good job."

"Just one sentence?"

Jiang Yining looked up: "What else do you want?"

Lou Xiaotian's Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't lean forward: "If I take the initiative to ask, the vines will probably entangle me again."

"It's good to know."

"Then I'll owe you for now."

Jiang Yining wrapped the bandage around his shoulder and tightened the knot, leaving only an arm's length between them.

Lou Xiaotian looked at the red mole between her eyebrows so close to his eyes, tapped his fingers twice on his knee, and then obediently pressed them back down.

"You were very patient today."

"The two people outside have excellent hearing, and I don't want to go out and get into a fight right after my wound has been bandaged."

"At least you still have a brain."

After Jiang Yining finished checking her pulse and was about to withdraw her hand, Lou Xiaotian only held her two fingertips, without touching her waist or arousing her vital energy.

"Let me lean on it for a while, and I'll let go once the vine sinks down."

Jiang Yining didn't pull away, but only raised her hand to wipe away the charred bits of cloth from his shoulder: "Put the reward on the books first. Whether you can get it or not depends on whether you're obedient afterward."

Lou Xiaotian leaned against the ship's hull, unable to suppress his smile: "It's good that you have a debt. I was afraid you wouldn't even be willing to owe one."

"Close your eyes."

"it is good."

The Bridge of Fate slowly closed as the two breathed steadily together, and the glowing green vines returned to the skin.

The Buddha's light outside still enveloped the Fire Spirit Falcon. Fan Chenxin noticed that the Bridge of Fate had quieted down, but he did not approach the broken boat. Instead, he suppressed the last bit of restless fire in the fat bird's body towards its tail.

"We can't feed him any more fire-attribute spirit fruits tonight, or he'll lose more than just his tail feathers."

Jiang Siyue quickly covered the Fire Spirit Falcon's sharp beak: "Did you hear me? If you steal food again, your wings will be bald too."

The Fire Spirit Falcon clenched its wings in terror, forgetting even to feign unconsciousness.

Pei Yunji checked the third array groove, making sure the inner ancestral seal didn't touch the ancient ship.

He brushed away the dust with his sword sheath, revealing a spatial rune that had just been lit by the Flame Marrow Fire: "This Flame Marrow Crystal was originally the energy source for the ancient ship. The box was placed here, probably for ship repairs."

Chu Ling Shuang walked over carrying the smashed fire crystal box: "So, that fat bird stole a bite, but ended up lighting up the ancient ship for us?"

"Only part of it is lit; it's far from being fully operational."

Pei Yunji inserted the star map bone plate into the slot, and the gray-white ridge of the ship vibrated accordingly. A faint ray of light rose from the array slot, passed through the broken cabin, and entered the depths of the void.

As Jiang Yining emerged from behind the wrecked boat, the Myriad Spirits Divine Wood within her body suddenly trembled slightly.

Deep within the sacred tree, four slumbering young leaves simultaneously turned toward the faint light, their tips transmitting a faint, almost imperceptible resonance of blood ties.

Jiang Siyue ran to her side, carrying the bald-tailed fire spirit falcon: "Mother, are those my older brothers and sisters?"

Jiang Yining held her daughter's hand, carefully discerning the resonance within: "This road carries their scent, and the end is still unclear."

Pei Yunji gazed at the continuously lit spatial runes, and slowly pointed his sword sheath towards the center of the array slot: "The one that the Fire Spirit Falcon has lit up is the third Returning Realm Array slot of the Ancient Ship."