The Inheritances Secured!

"What?!"

Li Ye looked at his third uncle, who had come to see him again, and surprise appeared on his face for the first time.

He reached out, carefully picked up the paper on the table, and read its contents over and over, several times.

Finally, he took a long look at the signatures and fingerprints at the bottom, as well as the imprint of Foundation Establishment Law Power.

Only then did he gently set it back on the table.

He slowly leaned back in his chair, a complicated look in his eyes, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

"Li Ye, your father knew your nature long ago..."

Seeing Li Ye's reaction, Third Uncle shook his head and spoke with a hint of reminiscence.

"Back when he sent you to the Purple Profound Sect, he sought out the heads of each branch himself, swore an oath on his heart demon, and even asked the ancestor to witness it!"

"If one day he passed away and you chose to sell the spirit fields at home to the other branches of the clan, this contract would take effect!"

"From then on, the spirit fields in your name would become communal fields of the clan, and the Lineage would compensate you with two hundred low-grade Spirit Stones..."

"But whenever you returned to the clan, as long as you were willing to work the fields again, these spirit fields would be entrusted to your care!"

Third Uncle looked at Li Ye, a rare hint of sincerity appearing on his aged face.

"Your father, Seventh Brother... truly put his heart and soul into this!"

Li Ye had already read everything Third Uncle said in the contract.

He had been willing to support his son in staking everything on the road ahead, yet worried that if his cultivation came to nothing, he would have no way out.

Two hundred low-grade Spirit Stones could not buy even a fraction of a spirit field.

But they were enough to give a Qi Refining disciple the confidence to forge ahead once more.

And if that confidence ran out and he still failed, returning home to farm would be his way out.

Such an arrangement...

What had his predecessor ever done to deserve a father like this?

His thoughts in a bit of a jumble, Li Ye sat up straight again and said to Third Uncle,

"In that case, did you bring the two hundred low-grade Spirit Stones?"

"They're all here..."

Third Uncle took out a Storage Bag and a contract and pushed them toward Li Ye, but then asked,

"Are you sure you won't regret it?"

"Why would I regret it?"

Li Ye asked in return, "Are those spirit fields under my control now?"

A hint of mockery appeared on his face.

"If the contract didn't take effect, you could naturally occupy what my father left behind with a clear conscience after his death. But once it takes effect, violating it would trigger your heart demons..."

"Of course, those of you whose cultivation can no longer advance can treat an oath on your heart demon as nothing, but you wouldn't dare defy the ancestor's witness so lightly!"

"Otherwise, I'm afraid I might not even get these two hundred Spirit Stones, would I?"

As he spoke, Li Ye signed the contract and swiftly put away the two hundred Spirit Stones.

A trace of anger appeared on Third Uncle's face, but in the end he merely shook his head.

"Let's not speak of this... We've already discussed having you introduce Zongyin to Cai Shiwei."

"The Lineage's inheritances are a matter of great importance and cannot be passed outside lightly..."

"There's no chance of you getting all the inheritances!"

Hearing this, Li Ye was in no hurry. He simply watched Third Uncle in silence, waiting for him to continue.

Third Uncle had assumed that, upon hearing his answer, his nephew would surely fly into a rage on the spot, just as his younger brother had that day.

Yet his expression was calm, as though he had expected it.

Third Uncle paused. "Just as Eldest Brother said, you were only asking for a lion's share to test our bottom line..."

"So how many inheritances can you give me?"

"Only the incomplete Dao of Alchemy inheritance, and you must swear an oath on your heart demon on the spot, promising never to pass it on!"

This time, Li Ye flatly shook his head.

"At least three!"

"If I recall correctly, there's a talisman inheritance in the Lineage treasury. The content on pills, artifact refining, and formations is only superficial; even mastering all of it might not be enough to get a foot in the door..."

He listed them off as though counting his own treasures, then smiled.

"But I believe that's only because my status is too low for me to access the Lineage's truly valuable inheritances. Surely you can give me a pleasant surprise, Third Uncle?"

The weathered middle-aged man said, "I can give you the first-tier talisman inheritance, but the pill and artifact refining inheritances really are incomplete..."

"Otherwise, why would our clan still have failed to cultivate any decent Alchemists or artifact refiners?"

"As for formations?"

At this, even Third Uncle could not help giving a bitter smile.

"Li Ye, you should know that our little clan only rose to prominence recently, and we've never truly obtained a formation inheritance... Even if you refuse to relent, I can't produce one."

"Then I'll take the talisman, pill, and artifact refining inheritances."

Li Ye spoke decisively.

"Fine!"

Third Uncle immediately agreed. He slapped his Storage Bag, took out three Jade Slips, and placed them before Li Ye.

They had clearly been prepared in advance!

In fact, after a brief discussion, those three inheritances were precisely what they had decided to offer.

All of them belonged to the Lineage's collection, rather than being things their branch had gathered in secret, so giving them up did not harm their interests.

Li Ye simply had no access to them because of his status.

And the more he demanded, the more pleased they were.

Talismans, pills, artifacts, and formations were the four arts of cultivation. Any one of them was a craft a cultivator could spend an entire lifetime practicing and exploring.

When Li Ye was young, he had encountered only a smattering of superficial knowledge about pill refining, yet had found it obscure and difficult to understand, let alone master.

Now, for some inexplicable reason, he had gone mad enough to demand several arts at once!

Never mind that he had never shown any talent for them.

Even if a blind cat stumbled upon a dead mouse and he truly managed to figure something out,

with several inherited arts competing for his time and attention, achieving anything in one of them would only become harder still, and he would end up squandering his time!

And if he wanted to sell them for profit, the oath on his heart demon would bind him, making that impossible.

Thus, no matter what Li Ye was plotting, the third branch had no need to concern itself with his little schemes.

They only needed to make good use of the introduction he offered and have Li Zongyin befriend Cai Shiwei as soon as possible.

That was the matter of vital importance!

Li Ye picked up the three Jade Slips and checked their contents one by one.

After confirming that nothing was wrong, he promptly swore the oath.

He moved swiftly, without the slightest hesitation, leaving even Third Uncle, who had all along suspected him of wanting to sell the inheritances, momentarily stunned.

"After the sect's disciple recruitment ceremony, I'll take Li Zongyin to visit Senior Brother Cai and put in a good word for him..."

"I'll take my leave for today, Third Uncle. Please make yourself at home!"

Having finally secured what he wanted, Li Ye rose at once, showing no intention of exchanging pleasantries. He turned and left the private room.

Third Uncle watched his carefree departing figure, his expression blank for a moment before he gave a bitter smile.

"I hope this brat can be counted on..."

After leaving the restaurant, Li Ye walked through the market with a perfectly normal expression.

He wandered around for several laps, seemingly at random, and only left the market after making sure no one was following him.

He flew toward the distant mountain gates of the Purple Profound Sect.

Along the way, he landed in a mountain forest and concealed himself. When he took flight again, he had changed into a different set of clothes.

He used the terrain several more times to conceal his tracks along the way. After taking such a roundabout route, he finally returned safely through the mountain gates and reached his residence.

Only then did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He had no choice.

With a fortune on him, he had to be careful!