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

As the last lamp was closed, twelve cracking sounds came from inside the west city wall. Mu Chongshan took advantage of the ancestral fire going out of control to detonate the pre-buried fire nails. The reddish-brown fire pillars pushed open the wall bricks, and the city's protective water mirror was also shaken open with several cracks.

Mu Chongshan, clad in the Mu family's protective armor, rushed onto the mirror platform, his long sword aimed straight at the storage bag containing the blood samples: "The Water Mirror was destroyed by the ancestral fire today; all images seen in the city can now be considered illusions!"

Chu Ling Shuang rushed back from the old military road, her crimson hammer slamming against the blade, forcing Mu Chongshan down two stone steps: "The evidence has been sent to the branch council. Even if you dismantle the mirror stand, you can't wash away the blood pact left by the Mu family."

Several Mu family assassins circled around to the back of the water mirror. Lou Xiaotian drew his Overlord Spear, stepped out from in front of the main branch of the Green Wood, and used the spearhead to strike the shoulder buckle of the outermost layer of the protective armor.

The first layer of clan formation armor cracked along the shoulder. Mu Chongshan swung his sword backhand, and the reddish-brown sword energy grazed Lou Xiaotian's chest before being drawn towards the outside of the city wall by the spear's tail.

"Lou Xiaotian, your original essence has long since withered away, yet you still dare to stand in the way for a woman who won't choose you alone?"

"Who she chooses is none of your business. I promise to protect the Water Mirror, and you will not be able to get past this spear."

Lou Xiaotian spun the spear shaft, the spear tip passing under Mu Chongshan's armpit, shattering the second layer of blood qi armor. As the scattered fire patterns fell towards the people, green vines rose from the ground, sweeping the fire fragments back into the air.

Mu Chongshan burned the blood token on his chest, and the third layer of protective qi suppressed the Overlord Spear: "You think you can break my qi armor with the remaining wood qi in the spear without burning the essence of the green wood?"

Lou Xiaotian pressed down on the spearhead along with the blade, and when Mu Chongshan pressed all his strength forward, the spear tail suddenly struck his knee, and the spear tip pierced through the crack in the armor and into his chest, tearing open the third layer of qi from the inside.

Mu Chongshan staggered back several steps, his back slamming into the ruins of the city wall. He then grabbed the twelve fire nails and activated them together, causing the outer array of fire rings to rush down the ground towards the main vein of the Green Wood.

"The protective armor may shatter, but the outer formation of Tianhuang City remains in the hands of the Mu family. You can protect the Water Mirror, but can you also protect the Twelve Ancestral Flames?"

Lou Xiaotian did not pursue, but turned around and nailed the Overlord Spear into the main vein of the Green Wood. The wood energy inside the spear split along the twelve fissures in the ground, and each segment blocked the fire ring and the heart vein of the people.

The blue leaf imprint on her palm heated up, and Jiang Yining heard his message through the city formation: "The fire ring on the east wall has been intercepted, and more than half of the wood energy in the spear remains; the source has not been touched."

"Don't swallow all the fire rings at once. Stop and check your heart meridian after every three rings are broken."

"I'll deal with the one below the water mirror first, and leave the rest to the city defense formation master."

The fire ring wrapped around the gun barrel, and the reddish-brown poisonous fire drilled along Lou Xiaotian's arm toward his heart. He did not touch the source, but only used the wood energy remaining in the gun to introduce the fire into the abandoned city bricks.

The life-protecting blood pact was torn apart by the outer formation. Lou Xiaotian's knee slammed into the ground, but he still handed the Overlord Spear to the city defense formation master who had rushed over: "Nine paths have been broken. The remaining three paths are yours."

After sending the message, he released the gun barrel and fell to the side of the corridor.

Jiang Yining tore open the vines along the leaf imprint on his palm, then reached her arm through his back and pulled him into the array corridor: "You said that when the wood energy was down to 20%, the leaf imprint couldn't even feel a complete heartbeat anymore. Is that what you call surrendering?"

Lou Xiaotian leaned against her shoulder, blood pressed against his lips: "I didn't burn my source energy; the two strands of green wood energy in the life bridge are still there."

"You preserved the essence, but also dragged yourself to the point where you can't stand up anymore. You fulfilled half of your promise, but the other half is still buried under the city bricks."

Jiang Yining used the Purple Gold Vine to seal the crack on his chest, and used the Clear Spirit Wood Qi to draw out three strands of reddish-brown poisonous fire along his heart meridian. With each strand she drew out, the fabric of his clothes on the back was soaked with sweat.

"I accept the punishment, but this time I won't risk my life to force you to turn back."

"Keeping your promise won't be exchanged for a kiss."

Jiang Yining cupped his chin, wiped the blood from his lips with her thumb, then lowered her head and pressed her forehead against his: "If you take my words seriously, I will take your feelings seriously too."

Lou Xiaotian loosened his grip on the floor tiles, his breath brushing against her nose: "Is this your answer to me?"

"I'll give you half first."

"Does the other half have to wait until the fire in the city is put out?"

"I can't give you exclusivity, and the intimacy I give you won't be used to compensate anyone. If you're still willing to stay, I will take you seriously and be responsible for every time I get close to you."

Lou Xiaotian closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, he didn't touch the lotus flower on her collar: "It's enough for me to heal my injuries first."

Just as Jiang Yining was about to get up, his fingers pressed down on her wrist, then quickly released her: "You just went to see Fan Chenxin."

"I accompanied him through the process of caring for the Buddha's relics, and I even kissed him."

Lou Xiaotian tightened the green vines on his chest, then pressed them back down himself: "It would hurt to hear that, but you didn't lie to me."

"You can say you're in pain; don't use your wounds to tell your story."

"I will tell you myself when no one is dying in the city."

Jiang Yining pushed the Overlord Spear to a position he couldn't reach: "You're not allowed to touch the spear until you're healed. You're in charge of watching the flow of the wood energy outside. If you dare to steal even a wisp from the Bridge of Fate, I'll seal off the entire Green Wood Vein."

The remaining three rings of fire outside the corridor suddenly turned, and the reddish-brown poisonous flames bypassed the city defense troops and rushed straight towards the civilians who were evacuating.

Fan Chenxin held up the Heart-Questioning Buddha Lamp and blocked the center of the passage. The white flame spread along the old post road. The poisonous fire did not go out after hitting the lamp array, but was divided away by the 108 dark golden light points.

Half of the lanterns were arranged close to the hearts of the people, while the remaining flames penetrated the earth's veins, converging along the old military road towards an unseen destination.

Jiang Yining came out of the corridor and saw that Fan Chenxin, who should have been heading to the ancient ship, was still standing in the middle of the evacuation passage, with his left arm hanging at his side and the crimson tail feathers on the lamp handle burned off by the fire.

Why are you still in the city?

"The old military road was blocked by the fire nails on the west wall. I used the lamp array to intercept this round of poisonous fire."

Fan Chenxin hid her left arm behind her back, and the Buddha Lamp of Inquiry still pointed the array diagram toward the main tomb of the Pei family: "The boundary marker of the ancient ship has been connected. You can leave once you take Siyue there."

Pei Yunji rushed back from the main tomb, affixed the nearest lamp to the inner ancestral seal, and restored the dark silver array line along the fire path. After crossing the ancient boat boundary marker, he did not stop, but instead returned to the foot of Fan Chenxin along the abandoned post road.

He pressed the lamp handle down with the scabbard and pulled out the array patterns hidden on the back of the Buddhist flame: "The ancient boat is just a false endpoint made by the old Buddhist beads; the Golden Gate did not close there."

Jiang Yining grasped the Heart-Questioning Buddha Lamp and probed the wick with her divine sense. The outer layer was still the escape array left by Fan Chenxin, but the real fire path passed through 108 nodes, all of which connected to his Buddha bone.

Pei Yunji pressed the inner ancestral seal into the last array pattern, and the dense lamps on the city wall formed a complete dark gold relic pattern: "These lamp positions did not send away the ancestral fire. They are waiting for the 100,000 heart flames to leave the people before they all return to the same carrier."

Gongye Lian's collarbone shone brightly down to Jiang Yining's heart, the Buddha lamp burned through her palm, and a cracking sound came from deep within Fanchenxin's left arm.

Jiang Yining looked up at him: "Give me the real wick."

The first flame of his heart crossed the earth's veins and entered the relic pattern beneath Fan Chen's feet. He gripped the lamp handle, not retreating: "It's too late."