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

After the Returning Boundary Array slot lit up, the gray-white stern of the ship emitted a low hum, and the faint light of space passed through the top of the tomb, causing the purple-gold vine on Jiang Yining's wrist to straighten.

Jiang Siyue stood on tiptoe, her palm still pressed against the hull of the boat: "Mother, my brothers and sisters' breaths are still ahead, can Siyue call out again?"

"No." Jiang Yining carried her daughter away from the array slot, and the wood energy probed into her dantian from between her eyebrows. "The old flight path is still unclear, separated by several layers of void. If you send the fox breath in, the bloodline will be dragged away by the array slot."

Jiang Siyue wrapped her arms around her neck, her fox ears dangling from her hair: "Siyue just wants to tell them that Mother has come looking for someone."

"Mother will find them." Jiang Yining put away her fox ears. "You stay in Mother's arms. Don't make me look for another one."

The child didn't beg anymore, but she hugged the mother and daughter tighter. The bald-tailed fire falcon was sandwiched between the mother and daughter, its two claws firmly gripping their clothes.

Pei Yunji pushed the star map bone plate half an inch into the slot, and the crack in the ship's hull immediately widened: "The old formation can only illuminate the path we've taken. Spatial turbulence has obscured the destination, and the aura that returns may not still be in the same place."

Lou Xiaotian used his Overlord Spear to support the broken ship's hull: "At least it proves that the children passed through here and were heading in the right direction."

"First, seal the flight path into the bone plate." Jiang Yining covered the array slot with her palm. "No one is allowed to burn their source energy to pursue it."

Fan Chenxin took out the only remaining old Buddhist beads. The beads were close to the stern of the ship, and a faint cracking sound came from inside: "The boundary marker of the Great Thunderclap Temple is left in the track. The cross-border Dharma boat of the temple once passed through the adjacent void layer."

Jiang Yining grabbed his wrist: "Can you find the return entrance?"

"The prayer beads are too badly damaged; we can only identify the source aura." Fan Chenxin clasped his hands together. "If we forcefully activate the natal runes, the Discipline Hall can also find the Martial Spirit Realm by following the prayer beads."

"Don't rush me." Jiang Yining touched the bandage on the side of his palm. "The ancient ship has not been repaired yet. Even if the Buddhist sect comes, they can only take you away."

Fan Chenxin looked down at her hand: "If the Reception Sect only recognizes Buddha relics, will you let me go back?"

"If you want to come back, I'll see you inside." Jiang Yining released him. "If you don't want to, my injuries can't make that decision for you."

Fan Chenxin put the old Buddhist beads back into her sleeve, and the tension in her shoulders and back eased a little: "I heard you clearly."

Lou Xiaotian leaned against the ship's hull to wipe the tip of his gun, his movements slowing down.

Jiang Yining noticed red marks on the bandage on his shoulder: "Ask whatever you want, but don't wipe the gun raw."

"If the Buddhist sect only accepts him, will you ask for a second spot?" Lou Xiaotian had barely finished speaking when he lowered his head and put away his gun. "Never mind, you won't abandon Siyue."

"You already know the answer, why ask? Does the wound not hurt anymore?"

"It hurts, and when my mind is idle, it starts to wander."

Jiang Yining touched the medicine cloth with the tip of a vine: "Go move the array materials. Keeping your hands busy will calm your mind."

Chu Ling Shuang carried two boxes of spatial bone crystals and nudged Lou Xiaotian's gun holster with the handle of her hammer as she passed by: "If you heard me, then get to work. Don't stand by the boat and block the way."

Lou Xiaotian caught the slipping wooden box: "Be gentle, if you reopen the wound, I'll be the one who gets scolded."

"Who told you to be so unsteady?" Chu Ling Shuang crossed the stern of the ship, moved the fire crystal box towards the complete array slot, and stopped arguing with him.

Cen Jin inserted the military flag, which had been burned through, into the tomb bricks. The soul fire inside the armored chest shrank into a ball the size of a bean: "The Returning Realm Array is emitting spatial fluctuations. The Ancestral Hall will soon be able to find the main tomb."

"Now that Pei Henian has lost the ancestral blood pool, what he wants to destroy most right now is the ancient ship." Pei Yunji used his sword sheath to pick out the rubble from the array groove. "He won't give us the time to slowly repair the ship."

Pei Zheng bent down and picked up the ancestral bone. Three offshoot marks lit up on the bone surface in succession: "The offshoot has received the first blood sample, but they only believe in the physical evidence and do not recognize the afterimage from the mirror."

Jiang Yining divided the evidence from the secret vault into three storage bags: "You deliver the blood sample, give the false order to the Xiling branch, and leave the fragments of the Mirror of Revelation on the ancient boat."

Pei Zheng caught the storage bag: "Aren't you going to the side branch council hall?"

"If I show myself, they'll fight over who gets the Divine Tree of Ten Thousand Spirits." Jiang Yining sealed the bag. "You're the Commander of the Imperial Guards, so you'll be the one to submit the evidence. They can only start with the ancestral rules."

"The ancestral hall has already listed me as an associate."

"So you must get to the council hall alive." Jiang Yining pointed to the burns under his shoulder armor. "The old military road on the east side can bypass the ancestral hall checkpoint. General Cen Jin will open the door for you."

Cen Jin turned the tattered flag, and a fragmented military map emerged from the tomb wall: "The eastern route leads to Baishi Gorge. The military map is not recorded in the Pei family register, but it can still be used at the exit."

Pei Zheng glanced at the military map and tapped the butt of his gun on a tomb brick: "After the evidence is delivered, I will summon the collateral branches who are still willing to verify the private orders. As for whether they are willing to rebel against the ancestral hall, I cannot guarantee that."

"Just let them block the ancestral hall." Jiang Yining stuffed the last bottle of blood sample into his armor. "If Pei Henian can't spare the time, we'll have three days to repair the ship."

A row of rubble fell from the top of the tomb, the sound of withered roots snapping came from the bottom of the pool, and the right side of the wrecked boat sank half a foot.

Cen Jin pulled up the military flag: "The ancestral hall is burning the main blood order, and the main tomb won't last much longer."

Jiang Siyue looked up at the armored figure and asked, "General, aren't you coming with me?"

"The military flag remains in the main tomb, so I can mobilize the garrison." Cen Jin tore off a charred piece of the flag and handed it to the child. "When you return to repair the ship, use this to knock on the door."

Jiang Siyue carefully held the flag corner with both hands: "Siyue will keep it safe and will also bring a new flag for Grandpa General."

"Don't use new cloth, it'll attract too much attention." Cen Jin brushed the pebbles off his shoulder armor. "Find a piece of old cloth that's been burned, something sturdy will do."

The Fire Spirit Falcon stretched its neck to peck at the flag's corner, but Jiang Siyue quickly covered its sharp beak: "You can't eat this, you don't have a tail left to compensate."

Chu Ling Shuang chuckled. Cen Jin turned his armor around and urged the Xuanjia guards to lift the broken end of the ancient boat, revealing the narrow military passage below.

As everyone prepared to go down, Jiang Yining turned back to look at the Returning Realm Array slot: "Don't seal off all the array light, leave some for Pei Henian."

Pei Yunji steadied himself by holding onto the hull: "Do you want him to mistakenly believe we're still repairing the ship?"

"The light is on; let him guess whether anyone is inside." Jiang Yining flicked out a fragment of Flame Marrow Crystal and sent it into the third array slot.

The faint light of the returning boundary rested steadily on the stern of the ship, and the bloodline resonance transmitted from afar was then absorbed into the star map bone plate.

Cen Jin pulled down the stone gate: "Return within three days, and I will open the main tomb for you. If you are over three days, I will sink the ancient boat into the blood pool."

"That's enough." Jiang Yining picked up Jiang Siyue and took the lead into the northern marching road.

Pei Zheng led the way, protecting the evidence. At the first fork in the road, he turned onto the east path: "After the branch council sees the blood sample, I will use the guards' bone whistle to send a message."

Pei Yunji handed him a bone fragment with an inner seal: "If someone says the blood sample came from a foreign race, put the bone fragment into the blood testing table. It can prove that the Spirit Stripping Array was opened with the Young Master's seal."

Pei Zheng took the bone fragment, his gaze lingering for a moment on the charred back of Pei Zheng's hand: "The position of young master has been removed, but I will still investigate who altered the succession register."

"Go check your ancestral rules," Pei Yunji said, leaning against the stone wall. "Don't die on the way."

Pei Zheng turned and entered the east corridor. The sound of his iron boots echoed through the damp, dark stone corridor, but was quickly stopped by the falling partition door.

The northern marching route had been untouched for many years, and the stone steps were covered with wet mud. Chu Ling Shuang dragged her hammer and walked ahead, striking the wall with the handle of the hammer at each fork in the road.

Lou Xiaotian stood three steps behind Jiang Yining, and Qing Teng reached out from the butt of the spear towards the loose stone brick: "There's a cavity on the right, don't step on the edge."

Jiang Yining stepped aside, and turning back, she noticed another splash of red on the bandage on his shoulder: "How much Green Wood Qi did you use?"

"I only explored the path, I didn't burn the source energy." Lou Xiaotian raised his wrist. "If you don't believe me, you can check."

Jiang Yining had the Demon Vine take over the Green Vine from the front: "Investigate after we leave the tomb. You walk to the middle and don't let the Life-Protecting Blood Pact report your injuries."

Fan Chenxin used her scabbard to support the tilting stone beam, making way for Lou Xiaotian: "Come here, the stone beam won't hold for much longer."

Lou Xiaotian passed under the blade: "It's strange that you'd give way to me today."

"If you wish to stay under the beam and chat, I may sheathe my sword."

Lou Xiaotian shut his mouth, reached out to protect Jiang Siyue as she crossed the broken steps, and Fan Chenxin waited until everyone had passed before drawing his sword and catching up.

Pei Yunji was at the end, and when the inner ancestral seal was near the third fork, it jumped three times in a row: "The exit has been dug up, the array ashes are still fresh, and the one who did it was the city defense array master."

Chu Ling Shuang stopped wielding her hammer: "Why would the Tianhuang City Defense Army have unearthed the Pei family's ancestral tomb?"

"The collapse of the main tomb triggered the underground water veins, and the North Post Station Canal will be the first to overflow with muddy water." Pei Yunji squatted down and picked up some yellow mud from the crack in the wall. "It's not surprising that the city defense troops dug here while checking for leaks by following the water."

Jiang Yining inserted the vine tip into the brick seam, and the sound of chains scraping echoed from the outside: "After they discovered the exit, they didn't report it to the city lord's mansion, but instead sealed the well opening."

Chu Ling Shuang removed the red copper token: "Han Que is in charge of the northern city defense line. If he sees the token, he should let us pass."

"Don't show the order yet." Jiang Yining rolled back a bloodstained official document from the crack in the bricks. "The outer seal is made of arrest warrant paper."

The official document was only half-finished, and it read: "Host of the Divine Tree, Abandoned Disciple of the Pei Clan, Traitor to the Buddhist Order, and Accomplice with a Child." It was stamped with the seal of the Northern City Defense and Pei Henian's private seal at the end.

Lou Xiaotian flipped the paper over: "The names are written so neatly, did the city defense troops know we'd come out from here?"

"The order comes from the Pei family's Blood Pursuit Order." Pei Yunji pointed to the hidden pattern on the back of the paper. "Pei Henian sent the pursuit list to Han Que, and the city defense array masters were only responsible for guarding the exits."

Chu Ling Shuang ran her fingertip across the North City defense seal: "Han Que has been guarding the city with his father for over ten years. He wouldn't block the road for the Pei family without a reason."

A series of crashes came from behind the military road, and mud and water flooded the last stone step, blocking the way back.

Jiang Yining folded the tattered document: "Go out and ask him. If he can't answer, then dismantle the city's defensive formation."

Chu Ling Shuang lifted the hammer and pushed aside the stone slab leading to the abandoned well at the North Post Station, causing the chain above the well to tighten.

Fan Chenxin inserted the scabbard into the chain link, his dark golden Buddhist aura covering only the iron face: "The chain is connected to the warning array; cutting it will attract crossbowmen."

"No need to cut it." Jiang Yining released the demonic vine, which emerged from the old drainage hole in the well wall. "The array's core is buried in the wooden stake on the west side. Pull out the stake, and the chains will loosen for three breaths."

Lou Xiaotian used the tip of his spear to poke the bottom of the wooden stake, while Chu Ling Shuang turned the hammer handle. The two exerted force at the same time, and the iron chain sprang up half a foot.

Jiang Yining carried her daughter through the well, with Fan Chenxin following closely behind. Pei Yunji used a wooden cane to climb up the edge of the well.

As soon as the group stepped into the backyard of the inn, the city wall array sealed off the north city, and the megaphone array broadcast Han Que's orders throughout the streets and alleys.

"The tomb of the Pei family patriarch has been robbed. The suspects have infiltrated the North Post Station. The North Gate has been closed for 25 minutes. Carriages and horses are not allowed to leave the city until the inspection is completed."

Jiang Siyue nestled on her mother's shoulder, her fox ears peeking out from her hair: "Mother, did he say that Siyue is also an accomplice?"

Jiang Yining pushed open the wooden door of the inn: "He won't even check who you are, let's hear what else he can say."

The bronze bell tolled three times, and the second official document was unfurled from the array of lights on the city wall, with a reward of one million blood crystals pressing down on half of the northern city.