Demon Blood, Maiden Vail

Amid the wreckage of the battle, smoke still lingered, curling from the broken deck like whispers of the dead.

Lady An crouched beside the large pile of storage rings and beast bags. Her spiritual sense moved like a sharp blade, slicing through every array and illusion seal with precision. Her fingers stopped on a plain-looking jade ring.

"…This one."

She handed it to Lady Mingyan. "There's a **Divine Soul Stone** inside. Nearly depleted."

Lady Mingyan inspected it—her face still pale from the wounds, her left arm trembling. "It's dry… but not dead. We can recharge it."

Without delay, Lady An constructed a **Soul Condensing Array**, repurposing the battlefield's dead.

Over a hundred fresh souls—some Demonic Sect elites, some formation masters—were bound and refined. Ghostly wails echoed across the field as the **divine soul stone began to glow** faintly once more.

Lady An found another semi-filled **high-grade soul stone** and a few lesser ones, her eyes sharp but silent.

Meanwhile, Lin Yuan kneeled beside Lady Mingyan and handed her a **platinum-grade healing pill**, then helped her drink from his last vial of **spiritual moonwater**.

"You saved us all," he whispered.

Lady Mingyan smiled faintly, pressing her hand to his cheek. "You saved me too."

Just then, Lin Yuan's **master stirred**, her long lashes fluttering open.

"What happened?" she murmured.

"They ambushed us," Lin Yuan said, his voice quiet but firm. "They came to kill everyone… but—" he gestured at Lady Mingyan and the others, "—they saved us."

His master sat up slowly, eyes scanning the wounded, then locking onto the crying of a woman in the corner.

"She's in labor," she said, standing quickly.

The **pregnant refugee woman** was pale, her body wracked with pain. Her legs shook. The boat's healing talismans were drained. The medical array was shattered.

Lin Yuan's master placed her hand on the woman's belly. Her brows knit.

"...The baby is still alive," she said. "But only barely. He's premature. The mother's spirit root is fractured. There's **no spiritual energy left to shield the infant.** If we don't stabilize the baby's soul in the next hour, it will… fade."

"Can we save it?" Lin Yuan asked, voice trembling.

"There's only one hope." She turned to him. "We need an **Evergreen Holy Stone.** If we had one, I could use it to reinforce the infant's soul vein long enough to carry it through birth."

Silence fell.

Lady Mingyan's eyes widened.

Lin Yuan **froze**.

He reached into his pouch—and slowly pulled out the spiritual water bottle.He remember every thing he had to go for this holy stone.If he break that he have fix that.Its green glow pulsed gently, like the breath of spring.

"…You want me to destroy this?And sacrifice holy stone" Lin Yuan asked.

"It won't be destroyed," his master said softly. "But its spiritual essence will be used. Once used for soul mending, it cannot be used for cultivation again. This will be its only use."

Mingyan frowned. "Yuan'er. Think carefully. You only have one. You need it to purify your bloodline, to stabilize your future dantian.You have to heal yourself.If you use it now… you might never find another."

Lady An stepped forward. "We can't guarantee the baby will live, even with the stone."

Lady Baihua added, "Or that the baby will even be healthy."

"But if we do nothing…" Lin Yuan looked toward the woman, who was sobbing silently now, hands wrapped around her swollen belly.

The child within her kicked once—then went still.

Everyone turned to Lin Yuan.

A single stone. A single child.

Hope for a life—against certainty of need.

**Lady Mingyan**: "You've saved hundreds already. You can't save everyone. Not at the cost of your own future,your life"

**Lady An**: "The stone is rare, sacred. Using it on someone with no cultivation, no talent, may be a waste."

**Lin Yuan's Master**: "If we let a baby die just to protect our plans, then what makes us different from them?"

**Lady Baihua**: "You cannot let sentiment ruin your destiny. You carry a bloodline that could change the world."

**Lady Fengyuan**: "But… is it wrong to do what's right, even if it costs us?"

Lin Yuan clenched the Evergreen Stone in his hand.

His voice trembled.

> "If kindness is only useful when it's easy, then it's not kindness.

> If this stone is meant to strengthen my future…my body....

> Then maybe my future is meant to protect others."

He stepped forward.

"I've already stolen my siblings' destiny by surviving. Let me give this one child a chance at theirs."

He handed the spiritual water bottle to his master.

The women said nothing. They only watched.

---

**Moments later**, the stone glowed softly as it was pressed against the woman's belly. The formation flickered.

A pale green light bathed the mother and child.

The baby's soul vein stabilized.

The child cried.

A fragile, newborn voice pierced the sky like the promise of morning.

Lady Mingyan said nothing, but turned away and wiped her eyes.

Lin Yuan collapsed on the deck, eyes closed.

"I hope that was the right choice," he whispered.

And somewhere in the spirit world, the Evergreen Tree stirred.

Let me know, and I'll craft it acaccordinglaccor