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

Pei Yunji gripped Jiang Yining's wrist, and the inner ancestral seal, affixed with 100,000 fire points, examined them one by one. The fire lines did not converge into the central hub, but instead formed a dense network around the names of the city's residents, with each name connected to a nearby earth fire node.

"These names are only responsible for passing on the fire. What Pei Henian really wants to burn is the Myriad Spirits Divine Tree and the Nine-Tailed Fox Blood. If the curse seal is forcibly broken, the ancestral fire, having lost its destination, will enter the heart meridian closest to it."

Jiang Yining used the magic vine to lift up several lines of fire, which crossed her arm and pointed to the third ancestral root in her dantian and the nine tails behind Jiang Siyue.

"Even if we take April out of the city, we can't escape. The blood pact between mother and daughter has become a ignition point. As soon as we step out of the city's protective formation, the entire city's fire path will follow us."

Pei Yunji withdrew the ancestral seal into his palm, and the dark silver patterns remaining on the back of his hand cracked open: "If you stay, you will protect the heart meridians of 100,000 people. If you leave, you will drag the ancestral fire down with you and your mother and daughter in the middle of the crowd, forcing you to not even dare to choose a way out."

Jiang Yining didn't touch those names, only letting the vine tip stop at the outer edge of the blood curse: "First protect the people's hearts and veins, then peel out my bloodline with April. Anyone who dares to break the curse without authorization, I will seal their Qi Sea first."

Jiang Siyue was squatting beside the lotus lantern, comforting the lingering resentment. Her nine fox tails were spread on the brick surface. Whenever cries came from the fire path, she would use the tips of her tails to push the white lanterns towards them: "Follow the little lanterns, don't go into the red fire. Uncle Fan will catch you."

A wisp of ancestral fire hidden in the remnant passed through the lotus light, brushed against the fox tail and rushed towards the child's brow. Fan Chenxin stepped into the fire path from the side, his left arm blocking in front of Jiang Siyue, and his dark golden Buddha bone directly caught the flames.

The flames crumbled into wisps of ash as they touched the bone. Ashes fell from the fabric of Fan Chenxin's left arm, but six dark cracks appeared in the bone crevice.

Jiang Yining shook off Pei Yunji, grabbed Fan Chenxin's sleeve, and as her fingers probed into the torn fabric, the scalding bone burned her palms red: "You were close to her, so it was right of you to block the attack, but you didn't even leave a warning. Are you planning to make us wait until your ashes fall to the ground to find out you were injured?"

Fan Chenxin shielded Jiang Siyue behind her, not withdrawing her left hand: "The Ancestral Fire has already touched her fox tail, I don't have time to wait for you to adjust the vines."

"Not having enough time to wait doesn't mean you can leave no way out."

Jiang Yining tore off the old bandage wrapped around his arm, and charred bone ash fell into her palm. The vine leaves used to seal the cracks adhered to the bone: "There are six more cracks in the bone than before. Can you still lift your hand?"

"He was able to hold up the lamp, but his meridians were suppressed by the fire, and he could not hold the knife steadily for the time being."

"Today you are only allowed to hold the lamp. If you take the fire with your left arm, I will seal the Buddhist breath here and direct all the fire to the main center. If you want to set the consequences for everyone, you must first ask me if I agree."

Fan Chenxin lowered his arms: "I will give a warning first."

Jiang Siyue hugged his clothes, her fox ears tucked into her hair: "Uncle Fan shielded Siyue from the fire. Siyue will keep her tail tucked in from now on to prevent bad fire from sneaking in from below."

"Huo Lu was let in by Pei Henian, so you don't need to apologize on his behalf."

Fan Chenxin touched the top of the child's head with her right hand. Jiang Yining had already lifted Jiang Siyue onto her lap. The clear spiritual wood energy spread along the burns on her ankles, picking out the embers embedded in the flesh one by one.

The Fire Spirit Falcon dragged its injured left wing to the mother and daughter's feet, tilted its head to the side of the floor tiles, closed its eyes tightly, but the newly grown short tail feathers swayed back and forth in Jiang Siyue's palm.

Jiang Siyue held its head and carefully examined its left wing: "Mother, the big red chicken saved Siyue, but it's been pecking at the array's core key. Will we have to take away half a spirit fruit today?"

"Saving people is rewarded, but eating random things is also punished. Let's separate the two. It will receive an extra ordinary spirit fruit today, but we'll deduct half of it. It can eat the remaining half after its injuries heal."

Upon hearing about the spirit fruit, the Fire Spirit Falcon's eyelids twitched, its belly rolled to the other side, and its short tail feathers emerged from Jiang Siyue's hand.

Jiang Siyue pressed the tail feather back: "You only heard about the punishment after you woke up. Pretending to faint won't get you any less than half a feather. Siyue has already understood Mother's rules."

The Fire Spirit Falcon opened one eye, cried out at the Buddhist lamp in Fan Chen's heart, and then buried its head under its wing.

Lou Xiaotian thrust the Overlord Spear horizontally into the main vein of the Green Wood. The wood energy within the spear split into dozens of thin streams, supporting the collapsed street: "When the Ancestral Fire encounters the Green Wood energy, it will stick to it and devour it. The wood energy that was just sent in has already been reduced by more than half."

Pei Yunji used his inner seal to encircle another section of the fire line and pushed it near the Buddha Lamp of Inquiry. The dark red flames deflected on their own, refusing to come within three feet of the lamp.

"It inhales the energy of wood and also chases after the breath of foxes, but it deliberately avoids the Buddha lamp."

Jiang Yining picked up her daughter and checked the path of the fire line one by one: "The lamp flames can only block the fire, they can't reach the root of the blood curse, the things that the ancestral fire avoids are hidden under the lamp."

Fan Chenxin extinguished the lamp flame and did not reply. While Jiang Yining went to check the headquarters, he used his right hand to push aside the medicated cloth on his left arm and forced out a drop of dark gold bone blood from the cracked bone.

The bones and blood fell into the abandoned fire path, and the dark red flames within three zhang (approximately 10 meters) were extinguished one after another. The blood curse embedded in the bricks also withered into ashes, but the Heart-Questioning Buddha Lamp remained undamaged.

Fan Chenxin rolled the ashes into his sleeve, attached the old Buddhist beads to the lamp handle, and the image of Faji emerged from the white flame: "You used the Buddha's blood and bones to test the fire, to find out whether the blood and bones after the Merit Pool's reconstruction can suppress the ancestral fire?"

"Is there a second power in the Martial Spirit Realm that can extinguish the fire at its root?"

Faji examined the scorch marks on his left arm: "Wood energy feeds fire, fox breath is drawn by blood curses, and the Pei family's ancestral blood is mobilized by the central authority. This humble monk has not yet found a second one."

"A single drop of blood can cleanse three zhang (approximately 1.3 meters) of space; how many blood curses would be needed for ten thousand?"

Faji flicked the prayer beads in his palm: "Your question goes beyond the Scripture of Protecting Life. If you're prepared to test this with the entire Buddha's relics, answer this humble monk first: which path have you left for yourself?"

Fan Chenxin pressed the old Buddhist beads back into the lamp handle: "I haven't decided on a method yet; I just want to give her more options."

The image did not dissipate: "You can conceal the purpose of testing the fire, but the decay of the Buddha's bones cannot be hidden from the shared karma lotus."

As the burning pain shot through the lotus mark beneath her collarbone, Jiang Yining was blocking the fire path at the other end. The purple-gold vine then crawled through the broken wall, wrapped around Fan Chenxin's wrist, and shook the ashes hidden in her sleeve onto the back of her fingers.

She didn't press the matter in front of everyone; instead, she pulled the person into the old post station where half a wall had collapsed and sealed the entrance behind her back.

"Extend your left arm; why is there one less layer of the dressing?"

"I tested it with a drop of bone blood, and the ancestral fire retreated three zhang, but the people's heart meridians were not affected."

"You didn't tell me before testing the fire, and after testing it you hid the ashes in your sleeve. Today you've learned to do things first and then report back."

Jiang Yining pinned him against the crumbling wall, cradling the dark gold Buddha bone in her palm, the clear spring water seeping in along the cracks: "You told me that bone and blood could suppress fire, but you forgot that every time a section of fire is extinguished, a piece of the Buddha bone will be lost."

Fan Chenxin raised her right hand, her palm covering the wound on her wrist that had been scalded by the ancestral fire. The Lotus of Shared Karma lit up from between their collars, its warmth pressing down on the restless fire patterns along their wrist bones: "Your wound is also cracking. Take the vines back first."

The two were very close. When Jiang Yining bent down to wrap the bandage, her loose hair brushed against his chin. Fan Chenxin did not dodge, but simply placed his hand firmly under her wrist.

"I will find a way that doesn't require burning all the Buddha's relics. If you dare to set the ending for me in advance, I will dismantle your lamp array and tie you to the ancient boat."

"I will let you know before I use the Buddha's relics."

"This sentence is missing the second half."

Jiang Yining flipped his sleeve over; the dust came from his entire left arm. The Buddha Lamp was still intact. She looked up at his overly calm expression: "What the Ancestral Fire truly fears is your entire Buddha bone."