Chapter 1

Black Cloud City, Nie Family.

Night fell, and Nie Qian, dressed in plain clothes, leaned against the windowsill, gazing at the rockery outside, lost in thought.

Inside the room, Nie Tian, who had just turned one, impatiently pushed away the wet nurse, his mouth smeared with milk, but he looked at Nie Qian with eager eyes, babbling, "Meat, eat meat..."

The wet nurse, Aunt Zhou, looked embarrassed and smiled awkwardly, "Young Miss, look..."

Nie Qian snapped back to reality, glared at the chubby Nie Tian, and muttered, "This little rascal, he's already had two bowls of minced meat today. He doesn't drink his milk properly, and now he wants more meat. I don't know if he can digest it."

"Meat, want to eat meat..." Nie Tian continued to call out with a smile.

Looking at Nie Tian's pleading smile, Nie Qian thought of her deceased sister and her heart softened. She nodded lightly at Aunt Zhou.

Aunt Zhou then brought out a bowl of minced meat and gently placed it on the table. Nie Tian's dark eyes lit up, and he picked up the silver spoon, skillfully scooping up the meat. His chubby face was full of satisfaction.

Listening to Nie Tian's smacking sounds as he ate, Nie Qian felt inexplicably irritable. "Xiao Yue, how many children are participating in tomorrow's lottery?" she suddenly asked.

At the door, the maid Han Yue hesitated for a moment and softly replied, "Young Miss, all the Nie family children who are around one year old will participate. After all, the old immortal from Lingyun Mountain only comes once every five years with the spirit artifacts, as a reward for the Nie family's hard work. No family with a one-year-old child wants to miss this opportunity."

The Nie family was a prominent clan in Black Cloud City, but in this world, cultivators were supreme. Secular family powers almost always served powerful cultivators, and the Nie family was no exception.

The cultivator sect that the Nie family relied on was the Lingyun Sect, located on Lingyun Mountain near Black Cloud City. The mountain's interior was rich in Fire Cloud Stones, a common low-grade spirit material needed for cultivation. The cultivators of the Lingyun Sect were busy with their cultivation and did not want to waste time mining these low-grade Fire Cloud Stones, so they arranged for the Nie family to do it.

Generation after generation, the Nie family's members mined Fire Cloud Stones and paid tribute to the Lingyun Sect in exchange for its protection.

In addition to protecting the Nie family from the oppression of other family powers in Black Cloud City, the cultivators of the Lingyun Sect would visit the Nie family every five years, bringing low-grade spirit artifacts to test the cultivation potential of the Nie family's children through a lottery.

Every child, after birth, had some special attributes, such as the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, or rarer attributes like lightning, wind, cloud, and ice. The cultivators of the Lingyun Sect would bring several low-grade spirit artifacts with various attributes each time they visited.

Children with matching attributes and spirit artifacts could sense and attract each other, thus determining the child's attributes. This allowed parents to tailor their children's cultivation paths, making their cultivation more efficient.

The cultivators of the Lingyun Sect used these low-grade spirit artifacts to secure the Nie family's loyalty. The spirit artifacts given out at the lottery would be gifted to the Nie family children with matching attributes.

For the cultivators of the Lingyun Sect, these low-grade spirit artifacts were of little use, but they were very helpful for the Nie family children's cultivation and would serve as their primary spirit artifacts for a long time.

Thus, the lottery held every five years always stirred excitement in the Nie family. Any elder with a one-year-old child would consider it a significant event in their child's life and eagerly participate.

This time was no exception.

"How many children are participating this time?" Nie Qian frowned.

"Seven," Han Yue whispered, lowering her head.

"Xiao Tian is also one year old, and he is a Nie. Why hasn't anyone notified me to let Xiao Tian participate in this lottery?" Nie Qian huffed.

"Young Miss..." Han Yue smiled bitterly, looking up at Nie Qian and said weakly, "Xiao Tian is the child of the Second Miss, but like you, she was just a daughter. And before she passed away, she never revealed who Xiao Tian's father was."

"The Nie family's rules are clear. Only true grandchildren have the资格 to participate in the lottery every five years. Grandchildren from outside the family... are not included."

"I don't care about those stupid rules. Father is still the head of the family. I'll go talk to him!" Nie Qian said angrily and stormed out.

"Although Father is still the head of the family, that position... is not secure!" After Nie Qian left in anger, Han Yue's face was full of bitterness as she muttered to herself.

After a while.

Nie Qian burst into Nie Donghai's pavilion and shouted angrily, "Father, Xiao Tian is also—"

Her shout was cut short.

In the dimly lit room, Nie Donghai, the current head of the Nie family, looked pale and exhausted. His once robust body was now thin and hunched, leaning against the wall. He was staring at a dark red pill in his left palm, hesitating.

Seeing Nie Donghai, Nie Qian's heart ached, and her voice softened as she gently persuaded, "Father, don't."

She immediately recognized the pill in Nie Donghai's palm as the Spirit Revival Pill. Taking the Spirit Revival Pill could temporarily boost a cultivator's spirit and energy, giving them a last burst of vigor.

However, the Spirit Revival Pill drained a cultivator's potential and lifespan, causing significant damage afterward.

Generally, cultivators would only use the Spirit Revival Pill in life-or-death situations during battles, never in normal circumstances.

After staring at the Spirit Revival Pill for a long time, Nie Donghai forced a smile when he saw Nie Qian, and said hoarsely, "Since being severely injured by the Yun and Yuan families, my qi sea has shattered, and my spirit energy dissipates faster than it can gather. I have no hope of reaching the innate realm, and even maintaining the middle heaven realm... is becoming difficult."

"Second Brother and Third Brother have long coveted my position as head of the family. If the Lingyun Sect sees my declining strength tomorrow, and they fan the flames, I might have to give up my position."

"Father, if you have to sacrifice your lifespan to keep the position of head of the family, I would rather you step down early," Nie Qian said, her eyes welling with tears.

"What do you understand?" Nie Donghai glared, his face full of sternness and anger. "Only as the head of the Nie family can I seek justice for the humiliation you suffered at the hands of the Yun family. And the person who deceived your sister, I can only use the Nie family's power to find out who he is!"

"If I step down, Second Brother and Third Brother will never care about your and your sister's grievances. For you and Jin'er, I will hold onto this position as long as I can!"

"What does it matter if I live a few years less? Once I step down, I will no longer be able to fight for you. What's the difference between that and dying?"

"Father!" Nie Qian was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Enough, enough. Don't act like a child. Tell me, what's so urgent that you came to see me?" Nie Donghai took a deep breath, his expression returning to its usual firmness.

"Father, the lottery tomorrow is very important. Since you let Xiao Tian take the Nie surname, I hope he can participate. If Xiao Tian can find a suitable spirit artifact at the lottery, it will greatly help his future cultivation. Perhaps, with such an artifact, he can reach the ninth level of cultivation by the age of fifteen and enter the Lingyun Sect," Nie Qian pleaded.

"This matter..." Nie Donghai's face showed difficulty. "I know, but I have already discussed it with Second Brother and Third Brother. They insist that Xiao Tian is not a true member of the Nie family and refuse to let him participate based on the clan rules."

"Father, your cultivation path has reached its end, and my sister is gone. As for me... my life is already set. Our branch of the family is not thriving, and Xiao Tian is our only son. I hope you can do your best to give him a chance," Nie Qian said, tears streaming down her face.

Nie Donghai was silent for a long time before he nodded lightly. "I understand. Go back, and bring Xiao Tian to the lottery on time tomorrow."

Nie Qian's eyes, filled with tears, suddenly showed a glimmer of joy. She bowed and left.

Just as she stepped out of the door and was about to leave, she heard Nie Donghai swallow the Spirit Revival Pill and let out a long sigh.

Nie Qian's heart felt like it was being cut by a knife. She knew her visit had only helped Nie Donghai make his decision. She couldn't bear to look back and hurriedly left.

...

PS: I am Niche Cangtian, a newcomer. Please take care of me.

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