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

The eight fiery rings, like venomous snakes, slowly contracted against Jiang Siyue's heart.

The fire falcon in the child's arms suddenly raised its little head and gently touched the bottom brick with its sharp beak.

Jiang Yining did not approach the stone platform rashly, but instead hid the mother and daughter's thin vines in the cracks between the bricks.

"Don't touch the fire ring in April, let the big red chicken continue to pound the ground."

She transmitted her voice through thin vines.

"Mother, listen carefully to see if there's any space down there."

"Its left wing is injured, but it can still use its mouth to help."

Jiang Siyue lifted the fat bird higher into her arms.

"The big red rooster is not allowed to peck at the fire, nor is it allowed to secretly swallow the array stones."

The little girl made a solemn promise.

"After you find an empty space, I will give you half a regular spirit fruit in April."

Upon hearing the reward, the Fire Spirit Falcon tapped its beak even more diligently.

The first few brick arrays all emitted a deep, resonant sound.

A piece near the center of the stone platform emitted a clear, hollow sound.

Outside the city gate, Mu Chongshan had already burned out the last piece of blood token in his hand.

A reddish-brown aura covered his entire body, condensing into a protective armor two zhang tall.

The qi emanating from his shoulders slammed into the city wall, causing the entire mirror stand to shake violently.

"The blood pact and the register were all forged by Jiang Yining; Shui Jing has already been taken over by Shenmu!"

Mu Chongshan shattered the steps, and his giant fist of qi rushed straight towards Pei Zheng.

Chu Ling Shuang did not stay in front of the mirror platform to defend; instead, she dragged the crimson hammer and charged directly off the platform.

The hammerhead scraped against the stone steps, sending up a long trail of blinding sparks.

"I'll smash through as many layers of armor as he wears."

Chu Ling Shuang twisted the hammer handle with both arms, revealing her muscular physique.

The crimson hammer rose fiercely from below, slamming head-on into the armored man's chest.

A tremendous crash echoed throughout the western city, and Mu Chongshan's outer armor cracked from his chest down to his shoulders.

Chu Ling Shuang used the momentum to spin around, and instead of attacking his chest with her second hammer blow, she precisely smashed it into the Mu Family Blood Token in his hand.

The hammerhead collided with the blood-stained token, and the reddish-brown fire line broke in the middle.

Without the clan formation to replenish his strength, Mu Chongshan's protective armor immediately shrank by half a zhang.

"You destroyed the Mu family's blood token, and hundreds of clansmen outside the city will lose the protection of the ancestral array!"

Mu Chongshan roared and slapped Chu Ling Shuang on the forehead.

Chu Ling Shuang twisted to avoid the palm strike, a piece of her shoulder armor was torn off, but she swung her third hammer in return.

The hammer grazed Mu Chongshan's arm and struck his chest shield.

The armor collapsed inwards, then crumbled completely, and Mu Chongshan's sternum broke as he crashed into the city wall.

A hidden assassin among the remnants suddenly raised his crossbow.

The poisoned arrow bypassed Chu Ling Shuang and shot straight at the core of the mirror stand.

Lou Xiaotian deflected the arrow with his spear, but a second arrow grazed his right shoulder, tearing open his newly healed old wound.

The skin and flesh were torn open, and black blood seeped out.

The Overlord Spear in his hand did not loosen in the slightest, and the four corner vines did not trigger the life-protecting blood pact.

He just gritted his teeth and swallowed his cries of pain.

Jiang Yining sensed the disorder in his aura through the false roots and forcibly tore open a narrow gap in the vines from the side of the Ancestral Fire Formation.

"Lou Xiaotian, hand the gun to the guard next to you."

Her voice was unquestionable.

"Go into the corridor to treat your wounds."

"The dressing table isn't completely stable yet; I can hold on for a little longer."

Lou Xiaotian's hand, gripping the gun, had bulging veins, and sweat dripped down his chin.

"You promised to obey orders, don't make me go out and grab you through the ancestral fire."

Lou Xiaotian's breath hitched. He finally handed the gun handle to the Lou family guards, bent down, and passed through the gaps in the vines into the deserted corridor.

Jiang Yining waved to block the passage, then raised her hand and ruthlessly tore open the fabric on his shoulder.

The arrowhead was deeply embedded in the edge of the old wound, and the surrounding flesh was a horrifying purplish-black.

"The poisoned arrow didn't pierce the bone, and I didn't invoke my source."

Lou Xiaotian leaned against the scorching hot brick wall, his eyes fixed on her.

"The life-protecting blood pact has never been lit up from beginning to end; you can check it yourself."

"You only dare to ask for praise after you've fulfilled your promise to be obedient?"

Jiang Yining used vine leaves to hold the arrowhead, and pressed down firmly on his shoulder with her other hand.

"It will hurt when the arrow is pulled out. If you move around, I will tie you to the wall again."

"If you're willing to pull the arrow out for me yourself, we can discuss how long you need to keep me tied up."

Lou Xiaotian chuckled softly, his voice hoarse from suppressing his emotions.

The moment the arrow was completely pulled out of the vine, Lou Xiaotian's shoulder and back muscles tensed up like rocks.

He gripped the brick wall behind him tightly with both hands, scraping out two clumps of powder, but he didn't utter a single groan of pain.

Jiang Yining washed away the bloodstains from the wound and pressed the gentle wood energy into the crack.

"The life bridge did not generate heat, and the source was not damaged."

She withdrew her hand.

"You really kept your promise this time."

Lou Xiaotian looked down at her, a dark fire surging in his narrow eyes.

"I'll remember if we can talk things out after April when you're saved."

His Adam's apple bobbed violently.

"Right now, I just want to ask one thing: do you still stand by the reward you promised me?"

Jiang Yining didn't answer, but directly raised her hand, grabbed the back of his neck, and pulled him down forcefully.

Their breaths mingled instantly, and they were only half an inch apart.

She gave him no chance to continue testing her, tilted her head slightly, and kissed his lips.

Lou Xiaotian was startled and instinctively put his hands on her waist.

At first, he dared not exert any force, for fear of shattering this illusion. His palm, through his dark outer robe, carefully remained outside the wound.

It wasn't until Jiang Yining bit his lip in a somewhat punitive way that he seemed to have his meridians opened, and he suddenly pulled her into his arms.

Heavy breathing, accompanied by a strong aura, enveloped Jiang Yining.

His kiss was a wild and restrained madness, eagerly exploring her lips and teeth.

The temperature inside the corridor was extremely high, and Lou Xiaotian's sweat mixed with a faint smell of blood.

Jiang Yining's fingers traced his tense back, soothing the ferocious beast that was about to lose control.

A moment later, Jiang Yining took a half step back and pushed his shoulder away.

She gently wiped the bloodstains on his lips with her thumb.

"The reward has already been given. If you want more, you'd better heal your injuries first."

Lou Xiaotian, panting, pressed his forehead against her hair, like a wolf whose fur had been stroked.

"I can smell the lingering scent of the lotus, and I know why it remains on you."

His voice was muffled, with a hint of grievance.

"I used to always want to use the Aoki seal to cover it up, but I don't want to do that anymore."

"What method are you planning to use instead?"

"So that you'll be willing to come to me on your own initiative next time."

He took her right hand and solemnly left a blue leaf print on her palm.

The leaf imprint contained only a wisp of gentle wood energy and had no aggressive properties.

"This leaf seal is only for positioning. If there are any changes outside the formation, I can send the Green Wood Qi to you."

Women's eyesight.

"If you don't want to keep it, you can easily erase it."

Jiang Yining clasped her hands together and straightened his torn collar.

"Keep the false root here for now, you go out and continue guarding the mirror platform."

She patted his chest.

"If the wound reopens, we'll replace the person."

Lou Xiaotian took a deep breath and gently pressed down her disheveled clothes.

"I will keep my promise and wait for you to bring April back."

The gaps in the vines closed again, and the leaf imprints in the palm continuously delivered the green wood energy into the pseudoroots.

Jiang Yining returned to the center of the formation, and three more hollow sounds came from below the stone platform.

Jiang Siyue hugged the Fire Spirit Falcon to her chest.

"Mother, the big red rooster has found a stone that can talk back."

The little girl was quite excited.

"Every time it taps, it taps back from below."

"Make it tap from three different spots, making sure the sharp beak doesn't touch the ring of fire."

The Fire Spirit Falcon moved along the child's knees, tapping the left, center, and right sides of the stone platform.

The first two places only produced dull, empty sounds.

However, a strange fire pattern shaped like a fox's tail rose up on the right side.

Jiang Siyue's nine tails were pulled, and their tips uncontrollably turned towards the bottom of the formation at the same time.

A faint turning sound came from deep within the stone platform.

A key enveloped in ancestral fire slowly emerged half an inch from the crack.

Pei Henian's projection then shrank dramatically.

The blood of the elders quickly retreated from the water mirror and the fire well, all flowing into the key.

The physical shell that was originally left at the center of the formation began to become hollow.

"The Nine-Tailed Bloodline can actually awaken the key to the array's core. I underestimated this child."

Pei Henian's voice came faintly from the bottom of the formation.

As Jiang Yining guided the mother and daughter through the crack in the brickwork, alarm bells rang in her mind.

"Don't respond to it in April, and don't touch the keys with your tail!"

The Fire Spirit Falcon continued pecking at the stone platform, but a strange call that only Jiang Siyue could hear came from inside the key.

The child painfully covered the fox's ears, but the nine tails were still being dragged downwards by the fire patterns.

"Mother, the key at the bottom of the formation is calling for April."

Jiang Siyue's face turned deathly pale with pain.

"But that wicked old man hid inside too!"