When it came to the restriction, they had no choice but to first discuss Ji Caiyan’s background.
Ji Caiyan originally hailed from Divine Moon City.
Though it was also under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Serenity Sect like Mistlongevity Village—which had been taken over by people from the Heavenly Feast Sect—Divine Moon City had managed to remain independent because a powerful cultivation family resided within its walls.
Cultivators in the Cultivation World fell into three origins: sects, rogue cultivators, and families.
Most backed by sects, followed by unbound rogue cultivators, with families being the rarest.
For the Cultivation World, which did not favor endless progeny, family lineages were uncommon. Moreover, a cultivator’s descendants could not guarantee cultivation talent, so most abandoned having children. Those families that persisted in inheritance usually carried non-human bloodlines from their ancestors.
Demons and spirits differed from humans; their special bloodlines could be passed down—for instance, the Beast Taming Sect’s signature spirit beast, the Spirit Breath Rabbit.
With bloodlines inheritable, every descendant naturally possessed a spirit root.
It was merely a matter of talent strength.
Among inheriting families, the most renowned was the Bo Clan, which had suddenly been annihilated five hundred years prior. Rumor held that the Bo Clan’s progenitor was a divine beast whose divinity had been corrupted, forcing it to remain in the mortal world. Their bloodline was so potent that every child in the family was a once-in-a-million genius, born with an innate suppression over all demon beasts.
Such uniquely powerful bloodlines always drew the covetous eyes of evil cultivators.
The Bo Clan was the most coveted, but their bloodline carried inherent flaws: extreme ferocity and ruthlessness toward kin. Those who survived childhood could kill opponents above their realm and even perish together with cultivators far beyond their level.
Though disunited, each individual possessed the power to slay all who coveted them. In the end, their destruction stemmed from their bloodline being too formidable.
Compared to the Bo Clan, the Ji Clan’s bloodline inheritance was much weaker.
But that was only in comparison to the Bo Clan; among bloodline inheritances, theirs ranked at the pinnacle.
The Ji Clan’s progenitor had transformed from a Ghost Moon Vine. According to clan records, the ancestor was originally an ordinary vine that happened to grow on a battlefield from the God-Demon War hundreds of thousands of years ago. It absorbed excessive blood from deities and demons, their fusion birthing the Ghost Moon Vine. This vine fed on the essence of sun and moon to grow, yet its body was pitch-black, covered in sharp, poisonous thorns that could easily claim lives.
When encountering blood, the Ghost Moon Vine bloomed with vibrant red flowers known as Crimson Moons, which possessed miraculous effects for invigorating blood and mending bones. However, if a Crimson Moon was separated from the vine for an hour without consumption, it turned into a deadly poison—water brewed from the toxic petals alone could slay a golden core realm cultivator.
This duality led half the Cultivation World to revere the Ghost Moon Vine as a divine treasure, while the other half deemed it a demonic abomination.
Though it could not match a divine beast, that was solely against divine beasts.
Perhaps because the Ghost Moon Vine itself had sprouted from devouring deity and demon bloodlines.
The descendants like Ji Caiyan inherited rather diluted bloodlines—sufficient for self-preservation but arduous for gaining fame.
In such circumstances, the Ji Clan Head lost his mind and claimed that their inherited bloodlines were weak because there were too many inheritors. He proposed reducing the number of bloodline inheritors.
From then on, the Ji Clan enacted a new rule: only one child could be born every decade. If two or more arrived within the same decade, the children drew lots; only the one drawing the red lot could become a demon cultivator to bolster the clan. Those without the red lot had their bloodlines sealed with a restriction.
As the number of sealed-bloodline children grew, the clan head declared that all were Ji clansmen and should contribute to the clan. Thus, he arranged marriages for them.
Politely put, it was a marriage plan for the family’s prosperity. Bluntly, as the Ji Clan weakened and could no longer fend off those coveting the Ghost Moon Vine bloodline, they sought new protectors.
These discarded children were expendable anyway. Handing them to those coveting the Ghost Moon Vine bloodline served to appease their greed while securing protection. Many were willing to strike such a deal with the Ji Clan.
Most in the Cultivation World valued reputation and face; even those coveting special bloodlines acted covertly, fearing condemnation akin to demonic cultivators.
Now, with a legitimate chance to obtain Ghost Moon Vine bloodline, why not seize it?
After all, the restriction only sealed one’s own bloodline, affecting personal cultivation and spirit root without impacting use as a human cauldron.
Through this method, the Ji Clan acquired numerous special spell arts, arrays, spirit tools, pills, and high-grade talisman paper. They even drew top alchemists. With so many benefits, they grew ever more eager to fawn over those elite cultivators. Those with arranged marriages received an additional restriction, triggered by their betrothed’s blood and aided by a curse seal.
Once implanted, it bound one to love only that person, share intimacy only with them, and prevented betrayal forever.
Ji Caiyan counted among the more unfortunate.
She failed to draw the red lot, so she was implanted with the restriction and had her bloodline sealed.
Yet Ji Caiyan also counted among the more fortunate.
Her elder sister was selected as the next clan head, so other sealed-bloodline clansmen were typically betrothed early and married off at eighteen, regardless of gender. She remained safe in the sect until thirty without a betrothal.
Of course, as punishment from the elder clan leader for her elder sister’s defiance, Ji Caiyan lost not only her demon cultivator qualifications but even her right to cultivate. She was raised as an ordinary mortal in the Ji Clan.
This situation changed when she turned thirty.
She began to age.
Her elder sister could not bear her death or undue suffering, so she allowed Ji Caiyan to choose a husband from those cultivators seeking Ghost Moon Vine bloodline as dao companions.
Ji Caiyan selected Xu Hongyong, the new city lord the clan head had chosen for Divine Moon City. Yet mere half a month after their engagement, she discovered he already had a wife and daughter. When she tried to refuse the marriage, the restriction ensured she could only marry Xu Hongyong—and love only him—for life.
Originally, she planned to grow old and die rather than wed him. Unexpectedly, her elder sister refused to let her suffer so and helped her flee the Ji Clan overnight.
Ji Caiyan had intended for the Heavenly Feast Sect, but its vastness risked encounter with those who could recognize the Ghost Moon Vine mark. Instead, she went to the remote, sparsely populated Imperial Serenity Sect. When she first spotted Shen Yanting there, she feared exposure, only to later realize Shen Yanting showed no interest in such family bloodline inheritances—never studying them and avoiding the topic.
Ji Caiyan sometimes mentioned it deliberately, and Shen Yanting would swiftly change the subject.
She deeply disliked others discussing family-inherited bloodlines with her.
Restricted and bloodline-sealed, unable to cultivate demon arts suited to her body, her progress lagged, resembling only a mid-grade spirit root—unremarkable in the Imperial Serenity Sect. Ji Caiyan hid there safely for years. Had Ye Zhiyao not suddenly gone awry, attempting to seize her life and cultivation via dual cultivation—failing the final step as Ye Zhiyao’s crude methods triggered the array—she might have nearly forgotten the restriction.
Ji Caiyan seethed for many reasons, far beyond Ye Zhiyao killing He Xin.
She resented Ye Zhiyao for dredging up old memories and the restriction, resented her clan for raising her as a human cauldron, and even her cherished master for intending the same.
While hating Ye Zhiyao, she also hated the Ji Clan.
This was the origin of the restriction—and why Ji Caiyan insisted on hiding in the carriage.
The Ji Clan had roots in Divine Moon City for tens of thousands of years; every generation’s city lord was a rogue cultivator selected by them.
If Ji Caiyan did not hide in the carriage, she would surely be recognized—plenty of acquaintances and enemies awaited her here.
Though Ye Zhiyao was Ji Caiyan’s master, she heard these matters for the first time. Unlike Cui Huaizhou, who was stern to the point of harshness with disciples, she had always treated Ji Caiyan and He Xin well. Her earlier attempt to secretly kill Ji Caiyan stemmed from Ji Caiyan’s prior attempt on her.
She simply did not want to die.
Now, hearing Ji Caiyan’s past, she instinctively wanted to offer comfort.
Before Ye Zhiyao could speak, Ji Caiyan saw through her intent.
The one who had calmly recounted her history suddenly turned feral, her eyes bloodshot as she growled through clenched teeth, “You have no right to pity me.”
Ye Zhiyao gazed at her resolute expression and ultimately said nothing.
To awaken from sleep and find one’s dear disciple harboring such deep grudge—anyone would struggle to accept it.
She leaned against the carriage side, falling silent.
She lowered the raised hand that had pulled aside the curtain, blocking any chance for Ji Caiyan to glimpse her.
Bo Xuenong sat in the middle outside the carriage. She glanced at Ye Zhiyao’s troubled face and refrained from lifting the curtain again. Instead, she half-knelt on the carriage, poking her head through the bottom gap in a bizarre pose, waiting for Shen Yanting to speak.
Ji Caiyan could not guess why Shen Yanting never mentioned family bloodline inheritances, but Bo Xuenong knew well—it was because of her own.
She hailed from that ferocious beast bloodline inheritance, the Bo Clan.
Shen Yanting listened to Ji Caiyan’s tale, yet her gaze uncontrollably followed Bo Xuenong. Only her voice addressed Ji Caiyan: “Bloodline inheritances rely on fate. The more bloodline bearers, the greater the chance of producing powerhouses. Your Ji Clan’s clan head was far too arbitrary and foolish.”
Normally, family inheritances fostered greater unity than sects, but this also enabled one person’s unchecked dominance.
From birth, Ji Caiyan had never heard anyone refute that obstinate, rigid-minded clan head. She herself had only dared hate him, never curse him.
Now, hearing him called foolish, she laughed until tears fell: “If Shishu Shen could say that to our clan head’s face, it would be perfect.”
Feng Yingbo extended a hand, pointing ahead: “Then let’s go!”
Before Shen Yanting could respond, Ji Caiyan refused: “Better not. The clan head is not easily provoked, nor is the Ji Clan.”
She paused: “Once you enter the city, just leave me behind.”
Feng Yingbo almost thought she misheard. In disbelief, she asked Ji Caiyan, “Don’t you miss home?”
“I do.” Ji Caiyan’s memories regressed to the distant past: “I miss my elder sister, my parents. But what’s the use? Shishu Feng, going back would only bring them trouble.”
Feng Yingbo excelled at watching drama but faltered at coaxing in such cases.
She moved her lips haphazardly: “Think positively. Maybe your elder sister is clan head now.”
Ji Caiyan shook her head, her gaze dimming: “Our clan head is at the Divine Transformation Realm. He’s not so easy to die.”
Hearing Divine Transformation Realm, Feng Yingbo deflated: “Fine, wait then. Give me another millennium—no, two—to break through to Divine Transformation Realm, then I’ll take you back to the Ji Clan.”
Feng Yingbo’s talent was genuinely strong; the issue lay with her body.
Bo Xuenong did not want to dampen Feng Yingbo’s enthusiasm. Feng Jin followed suit, squeezing her head in too and earnestly advising, “Feng Yingbo, talk less and rest more.”
Feng Yingbo narrowed her eyes slyly: “This little one still cares about me, huh.”
Feng Jin fell silent for a moment before stiffly twitching her lips: “Feng Yingbo, be quiet.”
Somewhat annoyed, Feng Yingbo leaned over and pinched Feng Jin’s cheeks: “Stop calling my name all the time. Call me Mother.”
“Mother?”
A different expression finally crossed Ji Caiyan’s resentment-filled face.
Shock and astonishment.
Feng Yingbo pinched Feng Jin’s little face: “Did I forget to tell them?”
Along the way, they had only discussed Ye Zhiyao and Ji Caiyan; she had not gotten around to it.
Bo Xuenong hummed in affirmation beside her. Feng Yingbo pointed at Feng Jin in sudden realization: “Caiyan, Feng Jin is my daughter—my biological daughter.”
Ji Caiyan’s gaze turned utterly peculiar: “Biological?”
Ye Zhiyao originally had no intention of paying her any mind, but upon hearing Feng Yingbo mention her relationship with Feng Jin, out of her instinct as a senior sister, she still lifted the carriage curtain a little and asked Feng Yingbo, “Who is her father?”
It was this question again.
Too many people had asked Feng Yingbo about it lately, and she had grown somewhat annoyed by it.
“I don’t know.” Feng Yingbo couldn’t help but mutter, “Why does there have to be a dad anyway? Having just a mom is fine too. Whatever a dad needs to do, I can do it. And for things that don’t need a dad, I can do them even better.”
Bo Xuenong’s eyes darted around, and she suddenly thought of something important. “Other people’s dads… a dad will find a wife for his daughter to be her mom.”
Feng Yingbo’s pupils dilated instantly. She looked at Bo Xuenong in disbelief. “Little Xuenong, am I the sick one, or are you? Why are you starting to talk nonsense?”
