"What?!"
Li Ye looked at his Third Uncle, who had come to find him again, and for the first time, a look of surprise crossed his face.
He reached out and carefully picked up the paper on the table, reading its contents over and over with full attention.
Finally, he cast a deep glance at the few signatures and fingerprints at the bottom, along with the lingering imprint of Foundation Establishment–level spiritual energy left behind.
Only then did he gently place the document back onto the table.
Leaning back into his chair, his expression grew complicated, lost in thought.
"Li Ye, your temperament is something your father knew well…"
Seeing Li Ye's reaction, Third Uncle shook his head with a hint of nostalgia.
"Back when he sent you to the Purple Profound Sect, he approached each head of the family's branches, swore a Heart Demon Oath, and even invited the Ancestor to witness it!"
"If he were ever to pass away, and you chose to sell the family's spiritual field to the clan, then this contract would take effect."
"From then on, the spiritual field under your name would become part of the clan's shared property, and the family would compensate you with two hundred low-grade spirit stones."
"But no matter when you return to the clan, as long as you're willing to work the land again, the spiritual field will be handed back to you to manage."
Third Uncle looked at Li Ye, his aged face showing a rare hint of sincerity.
"Your father Old Seventh truly had your best interests at heart."
Li Ye had already read all this in the contract.
His father had been willing to support his son's bold pursuit of cultivation but also worried he'd fail and be left with nothing.
Two hundred low-grade spirit stones wouldn't buy even a fraction of a spiritual field…
But for a Qi Refining disciple, that amount was enough to fund another push forward.
And if that still failed, returning to farm the land would remain a fallback.
Such an arrangement…
What had this body's original owner done to deserve a father like that?
His thoughts were in a jumble. Li Ye sat upright again and asked Third Uncle,
"In that case, did you bring the two hundred low-grade spirit stones?"
"They're all right here."
Third Uncle took out a storage pouch and a copy of the contract, sliding them over to Li Ye. But he also asked,
"Are you not going to regret this?"
"Why would I regret it?"
Li Ye countered, "Was that spiritual field ever truly under my control?"
A hint of mockery flickered in his eyes.
"If the contract hadn't been valid, you all would've shamelessly taken over what my father left behind. But now that it is valid, breaking it would trigger a Heart Demon…"
"Of course, for those of you who have no hope of progressing further in cultivation, a Heart Demon Oath might not seem like much. But with the Ancestor as a witness, you wouldn't dare go back on your word lightly."
"Otherwise, I probably wouldn't even see those two hundred spirit stones, would I?"
As he spoke, Li Ye quickly signed the contract and stored away the two hundred spirit stones without hesitation.
Third Uncle's face showed a flicker of anger but in the end, he just shook his head.
"Let's leave that matter be… As for you introducing Zongyin to Cai Shiwei, the family has already discussed it."
"The family inheritance is of great importance. It cannot be lightly shared…"
"There's no way we'll give you everything."
Li Ye wasn't in the least bit flustered by the words he simply looked at Third Uncle quietly, waiting for him to finish.
They had assumed this nephew of theirs would explode in anger upon hearing that response, just like his father had back in the day.
But Li Ye remained calm as if he had already anticipated this outcome.
Third Uncle paused, then muttered, "Just like Big Brother said… you were only testing our bottom line with that ridiculous demand."
"So," Li Ye asked plainly, "how much are you willing to offer?"
"Only a partial inheritance of alchemy techniques," Third Uncle replied. "And you'll have to swear a Heart Demon Oath right there and then, pledging never to pass it on."
At that, Li Ye simply shook his head.
"At least three disciplines!"
"I remember the family's archive has the talisman crafting inheritance. As for alchemy, artifact crafting, and formations, only some shallow content is available even if I mastered them all, I might not even touch the threshold..."
He listed them off like reciting from a book, then chuckled,
"But I believe that's only because my status is too low to access the truly valuable inheritances. I trust Uncle, you might just have a pleasant surprise for me?"
The weathered middle-aged man replied, "The first-tier talisman crafting inheritance can be given to you. But for alchemy and artifact crafting, the content is incomplete, to begin with…"
"If it weren't, would our clan still have failed to produce a single decent alchemist or artifact refiner?"
"As for formations?"
At this point, Third Uncle couldn't help but give a wry smile.
"Li Ye, you should know our clan only recently rose in status. We've never truly gotten our hands on any formation inheritance… Even if you insisted, I wouldn't be able to offer you one."
"Then I'll take the talisman crafting, alchemy, and artifact crafting inheritances."
Li Ye responded without hesitation.
"Fine!"
Third Uncle agreed instantly. He tapped on the storage pouch and placed three jade slips on the table in front of Li Ye.
They'd been prepared ahead of time.
In truth, after brief internal discussions, the family had already decided these were the three inheritances they'd be willing to offer.
All were part of the clan's official collection, not privately hoarded by any individual branch, so giving them away didn't harm their interests.
It was just that, due to Li Ye's previous status, he had never been granted access.
And in fact, the more he asked for, the more satisfied they were.
In the cultivation world, the Four Great Crafts; Talisman Crafting, Alchemy, Artifact Crafting, and Formations each required a cultivator's lifetime to truly master.
Li Ye had barely touched the surface of alchemy in his youth and had already found it obscure and difficult to grasp.
Now, for some unknown reason, he was demanding multiple disciplines at once!
He'd never shown the slightest talent for any of them.
Even if he happened to stumble upon some success by sheer luck…
With his energy spread across multiple arts, achieving mastery in any one of them would be nearly impossible he'd only end up wasting precious years!
And if he was planning to sell these for profit, the Heart Demon Oath bound him there was no way he could follow through.
So no matter what little schemes Li Ye had in mind, the Third Branch did not need to worry.
All they needed was to use his connection to secure a meeting between Li Zongyin and Cai Shiwei as soon as possible.
That was the real priority.
Li Ye picked up the three jade slips and examined each carefully.
After confirming they were authentic, he decisively swore the Heart Demon Oath.
His movements were swift and without hesitation so much so that Third Uncle, who had been wary of him trying to resell the inheritance, was momentarily stunned.
"After the sect's disciple intake ceremony, I'll personally take Li Zongyin to visit Senior Brother Cai and give him a proper introduction…"
"With that, I'll take my leave for today, Uncle. Please make yourself comfortable."
Now that the goods were in hand, Li Ye stood up without a trace of formality and turned to leave the private room without a backward glance.
Third Uncle stared at his carefree, retreating figure and stood frozen for a moment, then let out a bitter smile.
"Let's just hope that kid holds up his end…"
…
Leaving the restaurant, Li Ye walked through the marketplace with a calm expression.
Casually circling a few times, he made sure no one was tailing him before finally exiting the market.
He flew off in the direction of the Purple Profound Sect's mountain gate.
Along the way, he stopped in a forested area, hid himself for a moment, and when he took to the skies again, his clothes had changed entirely.
He used the terrain multiple times to cover his tracks, traveling in a roundabout way until he finally returned safely to the sect and arrived at his residence.
Only then did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Can't blame him.
With that much wealth on him, he couldn't afford not to be cautious!