After everyone was reborn, I was strictly disciplined.

He Anyao gazed at the small figure in her arms. The child buried his face in his knees, his rounded shoulders trembling, and his soft sobs were like tiny knives, scraping against her heart.

Her heart clenched, her eyes instantly welled up with tears, and her voice trembled almost imperceptibly, "Ranran..."

She never imagined that anyone would dare to say such hurtful and despicable things in front of her precious grandson!

A wave of intense self-reproach instantly overwhelmed her.

It's all her fault. She's always been so busy managing the trivial matters of the Holy Land and coordinating the allocation of supplies at the front lines that she's wasted too much energy on these complicated affairs and hasn't even paid much attention to her grandson's growth.

If she could spend more time with the child, how could others have the opportunity to instill such malicious thoughts into the child's pure heart?

He Anyao had no doubt about Xie Xingran's words.

In her eyes, her grandson Xie Xingran was just a three-year-old child, his mind as pure as a blank sheet of paper.

How could he possibly know anything about fabricating lies? What he says must be exactly what he has heard and heard.

Moreover, the Fire Marrow Pill Holy Land is currently going through a turbulent period.

The number of disciples, elders, and attendants totaled several thousand. With so many people and so much talk, it was easy for disputes to arise.

Her daughter, son-in-law, and husband had long since gone to the front lines to defend against the demon invasion. The Holy Land was entirely under her control, so it was inevitable that some scheming and malicious people would try to take advantage of this opportunity to stir up trouble.

Thinking even deeper, other forces already know that Xie Xingran is a born spiritual body and a born alchemy body. Could someone take this opportunity to sow discord between Xie Xingran and the Fire Marrow Pill Holy Land?

These are all possible!

Ranran is still so young. Although Jiang Huaijin takes good care of her and Bai Zhi assists in looking after her, both of them have multiple responsibilities: one has to balance cultivation and external affairs, and the other has to manage the trivial matters of the inner courtyard. It is inevitable that there will be times when they are negligent.

Those with ulterior motives probably seized this opportunity to deliberately say these nonsense things in front of the children, stirring up trouble.

Thinking of this, He Anyao felt even more heartbroken.

She could no longer restrain herself, pulling Xie Xingran tightly into her arms, her warm hands gently patting his back, her voice full of tenderness as she coaxed him again and again:

"Ranran, don't cry, don't cry... Those people are all lying to you, they're all talking nonsense!"

"Your parents love you the most, how could they abandon you, how could they drive you out of this sacred place?"

But her words of comfort only made Xie Xingran cry even louder.

The child snuggled against her, then lowered his hand. His face was flushed, and he sobbed intermittently, his voice thick with nasal congestion, as if he were struggling to breathe from utter distress.

"But...but...they really...they're all gone..."

Xie Xingran tilted her head back, her long eyelashes wet with tears and stuck together. Her large, dark eyes were filled with glistening tears, like two fragile pearls, as she stared unblinkingly at He Anyao, her voice full of childlike bewilderment and fear.

"Why did they leave? Is it... is it because they don't like Ranran, that they're keeping their distance?"

As he finished speaking, his voice grew softer and softer, tinged with a desperate sob, his small hands clutching He Anyao's clothes tightly.

"What if they... what if they have new children outside? Then they really... really won't want me anymore..."

"No, Ranran, that's absolutely not true!"

He Anyao quickly cupped Xie Xingran's small face in her hands, gently wiping away the tears on his cheeks with her fingertips. Her tone was urgent and solemn, as if afraid that if she hesitated even for a second, that terrible thought would take root in the child's heart.

"There are fierce demons causing chaos outside, burning, killing, and looting everywhere. Your father and mother volunteered to go to the front line to guard it because they were afraid that those bad people would break in and hurt you! They went to protect you and the holy land, not because they didn't like you."

She paused, her thumb gently stroking the child's soft cheek, her eyes filled with unwavering determination and tenderness:

"And they will never have any other children. In this lifetime, you, Ranran, are their only precious child."

This is no exaggeration. Those who cultivate immortality focus on the Dao, conserving their spiritual power and refining their souls. Their physiology is inherently different from that of mortals. To conceive offspring, they need to consume a massive amount of cultivation and fortune, and also need to be in sync with the opportunities of the Heavenly Dao in order to stabilize the spiritual embryo.

His daughter and son-in-law were already blessed by the heavens with this one child, a fortune that is hard to find in the three realms. How could they dare to ask for a second one?

"R-really?"

Xie Xingran sniffed her red nose, tears still clinging to her long eyelashes, her voice barely audible, carrying a hint of feigned uncertainty.

He secretly raised his eyes, peering at He Anyao through his wet eyelashes. A hint of calculation flashed across his eyes, but it was quickly concealed by a deep sense of grievance.

"Of course it's true!"

He Anyao's tone became incredibly serious. She leaned down slightly to meet Xie Xingran's gaze, her eyes sharp yet full of warmth, and said, word by word, "Ranran, you must remember this!"

"You are the young master of the Fire Marrow Pill Holy Land, the only direct descendant of the Thousand Machine Pavilion. There is no child more precious than you in this world. They cherish you too much to abandon you."

She abruptly changed the subject, her brows furrowing slightly, her tone taking on a cold edge:

"Those who say such nonsense to you are all wicked people with ill intentions! They just can't stand to see you doing well, they want to hurt you, and they want to disrupt the peace of the Holy Land. Don't believe their lies!"

Xie Xingran nodded as if she understood, her little hand clutching He Anyao's sleeve, looking quite dependent.

Seeing him like this, He Anyao's heart softened again, but then her eyes hardened, as if she had made up her mind.

She paused, her lips moved slightly as if choosing her words carefully. After a moment, her gaze became unusually firm, and her voice rose a few decibels:

"Ranran, if anyone dares to say such nonsense to you again, don't think twice, just go up and slap them twice! That'll teach them a lesson they won't dare to gossip about!"