As the cold stars adorned the icy crystal sky, Aelia cradled the sleeping Luna and set forth on the path of sacrifice.
Qin Si led the way, carrying the Snake Pattern Glass Lantern. The light illuminated the flowing azure Geomancy within the stone slab Gap, while Luna's Starlight Pacifier flickered in her swaddling, like a secretive metronome.
"Madam, the Ice Mist of the Sacrificial Ground..." Qin Si suddenly halted, the Liuli Lantern casting shadows of the surging Crimson Mist ten steps ahead.
Aelia's fingertip brushed against Luna's golden hair, revealing a faint Starry Mark. The infant, unaware, grasped at her cascading silver hair, and the Crimson mist retreated three feet as if it had encountered a formidable foe.
Brother San's Ice Magic traced an arcane barrier in the Sacrificial Ground Dome, with ice crystals refracting the positions of the Twenty-Eight Constellations.
When Aelia placed Luna in the center of the Moonlight Cradle on the altar, the Gilded Incense Burner suddenly released indigo Qing Yan mist, forming an illusion in mid-air of a pact between the First Generation Fortress Master and the Earth Vein Spirit.
"Three Hundred Years Ago, the Augustus Family sacrificed half of their Legitimate Bloodline to summon the Earth Vein Spirit to suppress the Abyssal Rift." Aelia sprinkled cedar resin into the fire basin, sparks igniting an Ice Bloom on Second Brother's garment. "Every Heir must nourish the foundation of Zhenhun Tower with Original Magic Power until..."
"Until the prophesied Breaker appears." The eldest brother turned his wheelchair closer to the altar. His disabled left leg suddenly emerged with a Golden Incantation, resonating with Luna's rhythmic sucking on her Crystal Pacifier.
Brother San swiftly inserted his Ice Blade into the Leyline Node, severing the golden light that sought to penetrate into the infant's Mei Xin.
Luna suddenly opened her eyes, her chubby palm striking against the Bronze Ritual Vessel inscribed with Sacrificial Spell language.
Qin Si's Liuli Lantern exploded in response, shards transforming into Ying Huo insects before hitting the ground, illuminating a newly revealed Dark Compartment beneath the altar—where half a scroll bound with Succubus tail feathers lay.
"Mother, these names scorched by fire... Grandfather's seal?" Second Brother picked up a Remnant Page stained with Ice Shard residue. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain from his wrist where a curse left by his close friend lingered.
Aelia used her Silver Dagger to pierce her fingertip, letting drops of Blood Pearl fall onto Luna's suddenly raised Starlight Pacifier. The Crystal Pacifier immediately projected an image of the Old Lord revising the Earth Vein Contract before his passing.
The Crimson Ice Mist outside the barrier screeched as Brother San reinforced the Ice Blade barrier.
Luna's cries stirred the Geomancy, unleashing a wave of deep blue that shredded Hong Wu as he attempted to penetrate the Sacrificial Ground.
Seizing the moment, Aelia unfurled the missing portion of Genealogy, where the yellowed pages revealed a warning penned by the Old Lord in Dragon Blood: "When Ice Mist is stained with blood, the Abyss Watcher has already infested the Lord's heart chamber."
As the ritual concluded, the Morning Star was descending upon the tip of Zhenhun Tower.
On Brother Wheelchair Armrest, an Ice Crystal Map formed, marking seven weakened Nodes of the Magic Fortress Leyline; Second Brother's Dark Bag inexplicably produced half a Moonstone capable of dispelling his dear friend's curse; Brother San's Ice Blade emerged with the Guardian Array patterns from Mother’s production years.
Suddenly, Luna grabbed Aelia's Pearl Necklace and shook it vigorously, causing the Starlight Pacifier to fall into the remnants of the altar.
When Aelia bent down to retrieve it, she found that the Crystal Pacifier had lodged perfectly in a crack stirred by Geomancy. The baby laughed and reached for a candied flower pin nestled in Mother's hair bun, blissfully unaware that she had just thwarted the third incursion of the Abyss's Magic Aura.
On their return journey, Luna's stomach let out a loud growl, startling three Ye Ya along the silent Frost Path.
Qin Si stifled a laugh as she opened her Liang Jin Food Box, but Aelia pressed down on her wrist, shaking her head: "No meat for a quarter of an hour after the ritual." Amidst the baby's pitiful sobs, no one noticed how Geomancy's Red Glow was gathering into a roast meat pattern on the Flame Pattern embroidered on her sleeve.
On the Frost Path back from the ritual, Luna's stomach protested again for the third time.
Qin Si finally couldn't hold back and burst into laughter. The aroma of honey-roasted quail wafting from the Liang Jin Food Box drew the baby to burrow into Aelia's clothing, her Pearl Button pressing against her flushed little face without any sign of stopping.
"I really can't do anything with you." Aelia placed her daughter on the Fox Fur Couch in the Warm Pavilion. Just as Qin Si brought over an Emerald Bowl filled with Pumpkin Paste, Luna clutched a Silver Spoon and began tapping it against the intricately carved wooden table, babbling in her baby voice with broken syllables: "Meat!
Golden brown roasted!"
The sound of the Silver Spoon startled the Fire Sprite sleeping between Liang Zhu, and three orange Dark Red Light Spots began to swirl around Luna's swaddled form.
Aelia looked at her daughter, Golden Hair, whose Starry Mark had not yet faded. She gently touched Luna's rounded belly with her fingertip. "A Mage should be purified before the age of three..."
"But the Earth Vein Spirit agreed!" Luna suddenly flipped over and sat up, kicking away the thin blanket that had wrapped around her little legs like an Oujie.
The Geomancy Red Glow on the inside of her wrist suddenly projected onto the wall, transforming the unfinished rose cake in Qin Si's Liang Jin Food Box into an image of sizzling roasted venison leg.
Outside the Warm Pavilion, the snow cedar swayed without wind, and the falling ice crystals formed the word "agree" in Ancient Elvish Language on the Window Lattice.
Aelia's wrist Moonstone Bracelet suddenly heated up; this was a Warning from the Earth Vein Spirit to the Contractor.
She looked at her daughter’s tear-filled Blue Eyes and suddenly remembered what the Old Lord had said in his dying image: "A Breaker has their own destined opportunities." With a sigh, she instructed Qin Si to fetch the freshly made Rock Salt Grilled Meat from the kitchen.
When the Crystal Grill was brought into the Warm Pavilion, Luna was so excited she almost rolled off the soft couch.
As Qin Si lifted the Mithril cover, Luna leaped up using Aelia's Beeswax necklace for support, her chubby palm landing precisely on the sizzling Rocky Mountain Lamb Ribs.
What should have been Ailina's Burn on her tender skin transformed into a gentle Dark Purple Flame, swirling around her fingertip as it danced in a spiral.
"Mother, look!" Luna exclaimed with a mouthful of meat filling, her oily little hand grasping a Dining Knife and waving it in the air.
The blade's trailing track solidified into reality, slicing through Second Brother's sleeve where a Hei Ban spell was wriggling.
Just as Second Brother was about to enter, he stumbled and leaned against the Door Frame, his wrist seeping wisps of Silver Gray mist tinged with moonlight.
Aelia gasped as her Silver Fork clattered to the ground, and the grilled meat in the crystal plate suddenly floated in mid-air.
Luna took the opportunity to spread her arms and embrace the largest piece, the oil stains brushing against the sleeves embroidered with the Flame Pattern, causing them to shimmer with Rainbow Light.
As the tenth bone was stacked into a small tower, the baby’s belly, adorned with a Star Moon Pattern, was already round and protruding, needing to grab onto the drooping Wedding Canopy for support even while trying to roll over.
“It’s time to digest,” Aelia said, suppressing a laugh as she picked up her daughter and carried her to the windowsill covered in Snow Ferret Fur. However, Luna twisted her body and crawled towards the Gilded Candelabra.
As her belly brushed against the base of the candelabra, the Astrological Compass, which had been asleep for a hundred years, suddenly began to turn on its own. The copper Pointer of the Twenty-Eight Constellations all pointed sharply at the baby’s swollen stomach.
The incident occurred when Luna attempted to poke at Sirius on the compass with her greasy finger.
Her unsteady round belly suddenly slipped, and she rolled off the windowsill like a ball of Silk Satin.
Qin Si’s gasp caught in her throat—just as the baby was supposed to fall onto the hard jade floor, she was instead cradled by a surge of deep Blue Light emanating from Geomancy, flipping over in mid-air. The oil stains on her belly left an imprint of the complete Zhenhun Tower totem during the fall.
“Pain pain flew away!” Luna giggled as she sat up, her butterfly knot headband slipping askew and suddenly bursting forth with Yin Mang.
Aelia crouched down to check but saw her daughter staring blankly at her Fingertip—within those uncleaned oil stains emerged half a roll of missing pages from Genealogy, revealing patterns of Succubus tail feathers.
Outside the Warm Pavilion, the Ice Crystal Wind Chime began to ring without any wind. Luna gazed at the gradually dissipating Zhenhun Tower Guang Wen on the Window Lattice and secretly hid her fingers smeared with special sauce into the swaddling cloth.
While Qin Si tidied up the mess on the floor, no one noticed that Red Glow from Geomancy was quietly seeping into a crack in some seal deep within the Magic Castle, following along the curled-up Little Feet of the baby.
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