71 Family treasury

One day later, in the morning, Nie Li arrived at the clan lands. He hired the fastest carriage he could find to reach the clan lands as soon as possible. It will wait for him for the return trip as well. He was only a couple of hours later than the patriarch's delegation. The patriarch and the elders already knew about him coming, through his calls, so they called his family into the clan's castle where they had waited for Nie Li to arrive.

When Nie Li entered the hall the patriarch, elder Nie En, and his parents were sitting together around the table waiting for him. Nie Li could see that his parents were a bit uncomfortable being in the presence of clan leadership.

"Nie Li?" his mother was the first to notice him.

"Mother." Nie Li smiled and then cupped his hands and slightly bowed greeting others. "Patriarch, elder, father."

"Nie Li. We heard that you were coming." his father unsurely said. "Is everything okay?"

He must be worried about why Nie Li came home earlier than usual.

"Yes completely." Nie Li said to alleviate his worries. "Have you explained to them?" He asked the patriarch.

"Not everything Nie Li. You should explain it yourself. We will leave you alone." The patriarchs and the elder Nie En left.

Nie Li's mother reached him and hugged him. Nie Li hugged back as tightly. His old self's memories still vividly recalled his parents' death.

"Now explain to us why did you return earlier." his father said.

"Xiao Li is just from the road. He must be tired." His mother let go of him. "Your questions can wait. Let's sit down first."

"It's okay mother. I am not tired. What did the patriarch and elder tell you?" Nie Li asked them.

"Only that you are coming and you bought a house and want to take us there. We have just arrived as well"

"Okay, then I can start from the start."

Nie Li started telling the abridged version of his adventures since he went to school. He told them about his friends, the expedition he went on, and even about Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ning'er. Not everything of course but his parents listened to his short history with rapt attention.

When Nie Ming heard that his son was a silver rank demon spiritualist already he became excited and then deflated slightly after learning that he couldn't brag about it. His mother on the other hand was more interested in hearing about the girls in his life. She asked some subtle questions about Ye Ziyun, Xiao Ning'er.

Nie Li tried answering their questions without revealing anything really sensitive or implicating.

In the end, they returned to the main matter. Them moving into the Main City.

"What will we do there? Here we tend to farmlands, growing food and herbs. We don't know any other trade." Nie Ming said.

"The clan is opening a branch in the city that would deal with the trade of the herbs to the Alchemy Association. You and uncle Kai would lead those operations."

It was not a very profitable business. Nie Li estimated that the income would be around 50-60 thousand a month. But it was how the clan survived until now. Nie Li had no right to tell them what to do or not to do.

And it will help his parents to feel useful. Their position in the clan would also rise. But that was not the reason he organized this deal with the Alchemy Association. He wanted his parents close to him because he wanted to make them into cultivators.

It wouldn't be an easy task, because they hadn't cultivated before, their soul realms already solidified.

To make their soul force flow again may require a sea of resources, but Nie Li was ready to pay it. Because the cultivation means more safety, better health, and a longer lifespan.

Nie Li doubted that they would be able to reach great heights unless Nie Li gets his hand on some miraculous treasures. But, even a Silver rank means an additional ten to twenty years to their lifespan. Nie Li may find another solution in the future.

His parents in the end agreed to move to the city. Being closer to their son had played a large role in that.

"Father you have to tell it to uncle Kai yourself. I have some business with the patriarch. I will see them before leaving."

"Leaving? So soon?" his mother asked.

"Yes, I have some urgent matters to attend back in the city. So I have to hurry." Nie Li said apologically.

"Okay, son. Finish your business. We will be at your uncle's house."

Nie Li thanked them and left the hall. He had to talk to the patriarch.

The patriarch received him at his office. He was alone. His visit was secret after all.

"Nie Li, what's the reason that you hurried so much."

"Eh. I decided that giving such a treasure to Shen Hong so easily would be a travesty." Nie Li could see Nie Hai's confused expression. Because Nie Li was the one who insisted on the plan before against their complaints. "Also I heard that the Hong Yue family is putting some mysterious treasure at the auction. I want to exchange them if possible."

"I don't think they will take down the lot if they have already announced it." the patriarch said doubtfully. He hadn't heard anything about it. But it was no wonder. Their family's financial situation wasn't secret. So the auctions sometimes forgot about them. He is going to change it, now that the family had money. The prestige of the family was important for most business deals.

"Unless what I am offering is more valuable than theirs."

"Is it?" the patriarch asked, curious.

"No, but they don't know that. They are calling it the 'mysterious unrivaled treasure'."

"And you know what it is."

"Let's say I have some ideas." Nie Li responded

"Okay, it's yours anyway. I have put everything in the family Treasury. You wanted to visit it as well. So we can go there now."

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In the family treasury, the items Nie Li gave them were piled on one side. But Nie Li was more interested in the original contents of the vault. They were really scarce but there were some interesting items that he came here for.

The patriarch also felt a bit uncomfortable with Nie Li looking at an almost bare treasury.

Nie Li walked up and took the pair of katars from the wall.

"You want them?" Nie Hai asked looking at the worn appearance of the weapons. "Are there some strange features of these?"

"Yes. These are called soul weapons. It will be tied to the soul of the user. When the user dies they will be gone as well. And they can be drawn into a soul realm." Nie Li explained. "But most importantly they will get stronger with the user."

Hearing it, Nie Hai was glad that he hadn't thrown it out. He really thought about it because of their old looks and apparent uselessness.

"Unfortunately my soul weapon slot is already full. You can gift it to Nie Wen for reaching the Silver Rank. He is close to it." Nie Li said and passed the katars to Nie Hai.

Nie Hai looked at Nie Li with pride. Even though he could have kept its secrets to himself, and benefited from this, he decided not to.

"Thank you Nie Li." Nie Li nodded and continued walking around and giving an explanation about the uses of one or other artifacts. The patriarch quickly started to memorize Nie Li's explanations. These artifacts could be very useful for the further advancement of the family.

Nie Li himself walked around inspecting the artifacts and not getting anything. Because he had come here for specific items.

"Hmm, soul puppet schematics. I will take it if you aren't against it" Nie Li said.

"No, you can take it. So what does the soul puppet mean?" Nie Hai's curiosity won over.

"It was created by some evil cultivators called the Dark Refiners during the Sacred Empire era. They captured the souls of the exerts they killed and enslaved them by imprisoning them inside a puppet. And controlled them with specific inscription patterns. They were wiped out in the end. Our ancestors must have taken it as a trophy."

"Then why do you want it?" Nie Hai said looking at the schematics as if it was a poisonous snake.

"I am making my own flying artifact. To learn how they made a metal contraption to fly would be useful." There was another use like keeping someone's soul from dispersing. But he is not going to talk about that.

"Oh, that makes sense." Nie Hai looked at the blueprints with more interest. The fact Nie Li could create artifacts didn't escape his attention. Nie Hai again thought about Nie Li's mysterious teacher.

Whoever it was Nie Hai was grateful for choosing a member of his family as an apprentice. He hadn't asked about him because Nie Wen warned him that Nie Li didn't want to talk about it.

Nie Li stopped when they reached the black pearl that sparkled with black luster.

"Do you know what it is?" asked Nie Hai looking hopeful.

"I have no idea." Nie Li admitted. "Can I take it?"

Nie Hai looked hesitant. "Nie Li this pearl was left by the first generation Patriarch of our family. So it has a great meaning for the family."

"What uses does it have?" Nie Li asked.

"Umm, it was lost to history." Nie Hai replied.

"Understandable. Then I have an offer. I will take it for research. If I can find its uses we can talk about whether you will sell it or not. And if I can't find its purpose then there's no reason for me to keep it."

In the novel, his counterpart didn't use it. Either he couldn't determine its functionality or it was useless for him. But still, Nie Li wanted to research it.

"Hmm, okay. But if you can't find its use in half a year, you will return it to the treasury." If Nie Li can find its uses, it would be very beneficial for the clan. There was no reason to keep it collecting dust here if there was a possibility of finding out its purpose.

"Thank you, patriarch." Unlike his novel counterpart, he couldn't throw around billions yet. So he had to ask nicely.

Then they walked up to the throne he came to take back.

"Shame, I liked it." Nie Hai said after Nie Li took it into his interspatial ring. He had tested it on the road and was impressed.

"Hmm, you can use this." Nie Li threw him a cultivation mat.

Nie Li's world produced heavenly energy crystals rarely. And their sizes and power output were different. The stone inside the throne was one of the larger ones. But he had made a couple of weaker versions of the artifact with smaller stones.

"It's a bit weaker than the throne. But it's yours."

Nie Hai was dumfounded. Wasn't the throne unique?

"Wait Nie Li," Nie Hai said when they were walking out. "Was that really Kong Ming's throne?"

"No," Nie Li said before leaving the room hearing the roaring laughter of Nie Hai behind him.

Everyone must be wondering what put the patriarch in such a good mood. He could see clansmen looking in that direction with confusion. But Nie Li turned into his shadow form and left, unnoticed by anyone.

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He arrived at his uncle's home. His parents were also there. His cousin Nie Yu jumped happily into his hands. She was nine years old spitfire.

Unlike in the novels, he is not going to give her a cultivation technique so early. There was a reason why the cultivation schools started at the age of 12 or 13.

The younger kids could interpret chants wrongly, thus leading themselves to deviations, ruining their future, or even killing themselves.

Also, their soul force wouldn't be completely developed. Of course, with her Heavenly Marks physique, she was extremely suitable for the Heavenly family's secret technique. But still, there were risks.

So he will wait a bit until her soul force develops before gifting the technique to her. Right now simple training methods for children were enough for her.

He taught her one before leaving. His uncle and aunt also agreed to move into the city. He accomplished everything he came for. His family is going to leave for the city in three or four days.