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

When Yun Zhongce's gift arrived at the inn, Jiang Yining had just finished compiling a list of the spiritual materials needed for repairing the array.

Two servants carried in a three-foot-long white jade box, with a gold-embossed invitation on the lid, signed by the young master himself.

Jiang Yining opened the post and glanced at it.

Xie Wuwang strolled over from the next room carrying an empty wine jug. The moment his gaze fell on the white jade box, his face scrunched up as if he had eaten raw garlic.

"Was it sent by that fox again?"

"His name is Yun Zhongce."

"No matter what you call it, it's a fox."

Jiang Yining ignored him and opened the box.

The box was lined with three layers of soft silk. On the first layer lay six high-quality Heavenly Rank spirit stones, shimmering with spiritual light. These were the most scarce consumables for repairing formations and replenishing meridians.

The second layer is a small glass bottle sealed with gold wax, with a medicine label attached to the bottle that reads "Qingyuan Nourishing Pill".

Jiang Yining picked up the medicine bottle and shook it. The pills inside made a soft clinking sound, and a gentle spiritual energy seeped out through the bottle. The branches and leaves of the Myriad Spirit Divine Tree in her dantian gently stretched out.

This elixir has a remarkable effect on warming and nourishing the meridians during pregnancy.

She discreetly tucked it into her sleeve.

The third layer is a new folding fan with a painting of an old, purple-gold tree on the surface. The inscription reads, "A sacred tree reaching the sky, its owner unknown."

The post contained only one line: "I've heard that Miss Jiang is proficient in wood-based spiritual arts. This fan is just a token of my appreciation. I'll send you more materials for the formation another day. I hope you'll accept it with a smile."

Xie Wuwang leaned over and saw the crookedly drawn tree on the fan. He snorted coldly.

"The painting looks like a ghost, and he himself looks like a ghost too."

Have you ever seen a ghost that looks like this?

"I've never seen him, but if he were dead, that's probably what he looked like."

Jiang Yining put the folding fan back at the bottom of the box, took out all six Heavenly Rank Spirit Stones, and stuffed them into her storage ring one by one.

Xie Wuwang stared at her movements, his brows furrowed.

"You took them all?"

"Why not accept something that's offered to you?"

"He's not a kind person, why would he give away these life-threatening benefits?"

"I asked him to help me repair the formation."

"Why would you need to send Qingyuan Nourishing Pills for repairing an array? Those are for female cultivators to regulate their qi and blood." Xie Wuwang narrowed his eyes. "He even knows your constitution?"

Jiang Yining kept working, carefully putting away the last spirit stone, her tone as casual as if she were talking about the weather.

"He's the young master of the Tianyan Chamber of Commerce, holding intelligence on half of the Xuantian Realm. What's so special about investigating someone's spiritual root?"

Xie Wuwang slammed the wine pot down on the table.

"You certainly know how to speak for him smoothly."

"I speak for Ling Shi."

Jiang Yining stood up and went into the inner room.

He left a message before closing the door.

"Don't follow me in, I need to regulate my breathing."

The door was tightly shut in front of Xie Wuwang.

He stood at the door with the wine jug in his hand, stared at the door for five breaths, tapped the jug twice with his knuckles, and then strode out of the inn.

Inside the room, Jiang Yining sat cross-legged on the couch and took out the bottle of Qingyuan Nourishing Pill.

Once the gold wax on the bottle's mouth is removed, a delicate fragrance emerges, neither overpowering nor drying.

She picked one up and examined it in her palm. The cinnabar pattern was even, and the medicinal power was pure; it was a genuine top-grade product.

The essence of the Myriad Spirits Divine Tree surged from the dantian, enveloping and dissolving the elixir before guiding it into the meridians.

The warm medicinal power sank down the blood vessels and reached the lower abdomen. The dormant, dormant fetal energy, like a kitten tickled, nuzzled slightly and quietly retreated back into the branches and leaves of the sacred tree.

Jiang Yining lowered her eyes and placed her palm on her waist sash.

Yun Zhongce is incredibly precise in the types of things he sends.

It was so accurate, it was as if they had already guessed what it was.

By the third day, the gifts were becoming increasingly outrageous.

A cartload of spirit ore, two boxes of star-shaped silver fragments, and even the most famous spirit cuisine restaurant in Tianyan City was booked, supposedly to invite Miss Jiang to taste the new dishes.

Xie Wuwang followed behind her, his complexion growing worse each day.

"Did he move the chamber of commerce to your doorstep like a dowry?"

"You're overthinking it; he's investing."

"Vote for you?"

"Invest in my skills."

That evening, Yunzhongce's post arrived again.

This wasn't a gift; it was an invitation to a banquet.

The post read: "A Small Feast for Appreciating Treasures".

Jiang Yining flipped the book over and saw a line of tiny characters indicating the location was the treasure vault in the underground chamber of the Chamber of Commerce, which claimed to have collected three hundred unique items from ancient times to the present.

She traced the edge of the post with her fingertip, and the essence of the Myriad Spirits Divine Tree reached out, capturing a faint, almost imperceptible array fluctuation hidden on the silk surface of the post.

The Enchanting Incense Array.

Upon entering the banquet hall, the pervasive fragrance of spiritual energy subtly weakens one's spiritual defenses, causing one to reveal their true nature during conversations.

Yun Zhongce, that cunning fox, smiled as he handed out the invitation, secretly setting a trap.

Jiang Yining folded the invitation and put it into her sleeve.

"go."

Xie Wuwang, who was chewing on a piece of dried meat, nearly choked to death when he heard this word.

"What did you say?"

I said I was going to a banquet.

"Can't you see the array patterns on his post?"

"I can tell."

"You figured it out, why did you still go?"

"I'll only go if I figure it out." Jiang Yining took out a blank array plate from her storage ring and quickly drew on it with her fingertips. "He wants to use a bewitching array to probe my strength, so I'll follow his array back to see what good things he has in his treasure pavilion."

Xie Wuwang chewed the dry meat in his mouth a couple of times but couldn't swallow it, and mumbled out a sentence.

"You're going to steal from his warehouse?"

"Stealing is illegal," Jiang Yining said without looking up. "I borrowed it using an array."

The treasure appreciation banquet was held on the third underground floor, where the spiritual light was very dim.

Yun Zhongce stood in front of a row of brocade boxes, his folding fan pressed against his lips. When he saw Jiang Yining enter, he closed the fan and greeted her with a smile.

"Miss Jiang is truly honored to have the honor."

"Young Master's invitation is very polite, how could I not come?"

Yun Zhongce led her across rows of jade platforms, each displaying various treasures, some radiating light, others shrouded in restrictions, with only a corner visible.

The fragrance rose gently from the bronze crane incense burner on the four walls, colorless and odorless, yet it wove a fine net in the air.

Jiang Yining's breathing was steady, and her divine sense enveloped the essence of the divine tree, keeping the spiritual fragrance three inches away.

She stopped in front of a glass cabinet, inside which was a fist-sized turquoise spirit core, containing a cluster of active wood-elemental laws.

"Celestial Wood Spirit Core? Can I buy that?"

"This one isn't for sale." Yun Zhongce walked to her side, tapping the glass surface with the fan handle. "But if Miss Jiang is interested, I can find a similar quality alternative."

"No need for a substitute." Jiang Yining turned to look at him. "I want this."

Yun Zhongce clicked his tongue, his smile undiminished.

"Just ask for it directly, aren't you afraid I'll raise the price?"

"Didn't the young master invite me here to admire the treasures so I could choose?"

"Choosing is letting you choose, but choosing and taking are not the same thing."

"It's the same here."

She tapped the glass cabinet lightly with her fingertips, and the essence of the Myriad Spirits Divine Wood silently seeped in along the point of contact, interlocking with the law patterns of the Soul-Searching Incense Array.

In just two breaths, she figured out the array circuit of this treasure pavilion.

The end of the Spirit Fragrance Array is connected to the main vault door lock on the fourth underground floor.

The enchanting array formations that Yun Zhongce used were precisely the keys to his treasure trove.

A single hair can affect the whole body.

Half an hour later.

Yun Zhongce sat in the empty No. 3 warehouse, opening and closing the ink bamboo folding fan in his hand.

Qian Yong trembled like a leaf in the wind.

"Young Master, a full 30% of the spiritual materials and magical treasures in Warehouse No. 3 have been taken away."

Yun Zhongce slowly raised his head, the light shining on his profile, his peach blossom eyes showing no anger whatsoever.

He suddenly burst into laughter.

Laughter echoed through the empty warehouse, sending chills down Qian Yong's spine.

"Young Master, are you alright?"

"It's nothing." Yun Zhongce closed his fan, patted his knees, and stood up. "Qian Yong, you're saying someone used the formation I set up to open my warehouse instead? What kind of nonsense is that?"

"Does it count as stealing?"

"No, that's called skill." Yun Zhongce stroked his chin, his eyes gleaming brighter than the remaining spiritual materials in the storeroom. "Keep it in the books, all under her name, with interest. I want her to pay it back tenfold."

The next morning.

As soon as Jiang Yining stepped out, she saw Yun Zhongce leaning against a pillar in the inn's porch, his face half-covered by a folding fan, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

He changed his gold-embroidered white robe into a light blue casual outfit, which made him less flamboyant and more relaxed.

He closed the folding fan and stood in front of her.

The fan handle lifted a strand of long hair that had fallen beside her ear from below, and Yun Zhongce leaned forward slightly, his nose almost brushing against that strand of hair.

"Miss Jiang, how do you plan to return my things?"

His voice was low, carrying the cool morning air and a hint of malicious laughter.

Jiang Yining took half a step back, her back not touching the wall.

She turned her head, a strand of long hair slipping off the fan handle, her gaze reflecting Yun Zhongce's approaching face.

"Why should I return what I earned through my own abilities?"

The corners of her mouth curved slightly.

"If the young master can't handle it, I'll just give it back right now?"

Yun Zhongce stared into her openly smiling eyes, slowly closing the folding fan in his hand.

He moved an inch closer, and the laughter in his voice suddenly vanished, replaced by a seriousness that sent chills down your spine.

"No, I suddenly feel that only by taking you in as well can I truly break even."

The moment the words left his mouth, a window on the second floor of the inn was smashed open from the inside.

Splinters of wood rained down on him, and Xie Wuwang flipped himself out of the second-floor window. When he landed, three black cracks appeared in the floor tiles, and he found himself standing between the two men.

He didn't look at Yun Zhongce, but grabbed Jiang Yining's sleeve and pulled her behind him. He turned his head and stared straight at Yun Zhongce's face with his bloodshot dark purple pupils.

"What did you just say? Say it again, slowly, so I can hear clearly which word corresponds to which method of death."

Yun Zhongce stepped back two paces, unfolded his folding fan again, and held it in front of his chest, but the smile on his lips never faded.

He glanced at Jiang Yining, who was being shielded by Xie Wuwang, through the fan, and then looked at Xie Wuwang's face, which was practically dripping with sweat.

"Qian Yong".

Qian Yong, who was huddled behind a pillar in the distance, peeked out, trembling.

"Put last night's bill on hold, and start calculating interest from today."