Nie Li's gaze fell upon one of the treasures.
This treasure was a pair of fist daggers, looking somewhat worn and dull, covered in dust, with spots of rust marking the tips.
"Fist daggers? I can't believe I found a soul weapon here, how lucky! Thank you to the ancestors of the Heavenly Mark Family!" Nie Li thought to himself, taking the pair of fist daggers down from the hook.
"You want that thing?" Nie Hai looked at Nie Li’s ragged fist daggers in surprise, momentarily lost in thought before he asked.
"Yes!" Nie Li nodded.
He had wanted to dispose of these fist daggers long ago, but because they looked too battered, no one could tell what power they possessed, and thus no one wanted them.
He decided it was better to keep them for now.
The family treasury was already quite empty, at least they could fill it up a little.
In Nie Hai's view, there were still a couple of valuable treasures remaining in the family treasury; why, then, did Nie Li only choose these fist daggers?
Nie Li stuffed the pair of fist daggers into his spatial ring and continued searching the family treasury.
Although there were a few decent items, he lacked the desire to take them, for they wouldn't help enhance his strength.
Getting this pair of fist daggers was enough to make this trip worthwhile.
His gaze eventually landed on the last two items.
One of the items was a blueprint, which depicted various runes and the design of some kind of object.
Seeing Nie Li stare at the blueprint, Nie Hai explained, "This unknown blueprint has never been replicated by anyone in our Heavenly Mark Family! The design looks like a bird."
After studying the blueprint for a while, Nie Li recalled something.
This was the work of dark enchanters, known as a spirit automaton.
It was a bird-like spirit automaton, once a creation from the early days of the Divine Empire.
On the continent, there were some dark demon spirit masters who were peculiar and mysterious, often engaging in evil deeds, like creating spirit automatons.
After creating them, they would forcibly seal the souls of recently deceased individuals within, controlling the automatons with runes.
However, once the Divine Empire was established, a massive purge of dark demon spirit masters commenced, leading to the destruction of most items like this blueprint.
Though it was once popular, after the rise of the Divine Empire, such items became very rare.
Coupled with the chaos of the Dark Era, the blueprints for spirit automatons faded into obscurity, nearly forgotten in the annals of history.
To unexpectedly find a spirit automaton blueprint here; if it had been discovered in the days of the Divine Empire, it would have led to a raid!
"I’ll take this too!" Nie Li declared, placing the blueprint in his spatial ring.
While he didn’t plan to forcibly seal anyone’s soul into a spirit automaton due to its vile nature, he was certainly interested in studying this technique.
As Nie Li took the blueprint, Nie Hai showed no objection.
After all, Nie Li had already provided the Heavenly Mark Family with many elixirs and demon spirit coins, so they had gained substantial benefits, and he was glad for Nie Li to take a few more items.
Setting the blueprint aside for later study, Nie Li shifted his attention to the next item.
It was a round black bead, which was completely smooth and glossy, twinkling with a dark luster that drew one in with a single glance.
This bead was definitely not ordinary, but even Nie Li couldn't discern its origins.
"I'll take this one too!" Nie Li said.
"Anything else is fine, but that bead..."
Nie Hai hesitated.
"What's wrong? Is there an issue?" Nie Li asked, furrowing his brows at Nie Hai.
"It's not that the bead is particularly valuable, but it was left behind by the first family head. It holds significant commemorative meaning for future generations, so it must be preserved properly," Nie Hai explained.
"I am also a descendant of the Heavenly Mark Family, so there's no problem with me taking it! I will take good care of this bead. This is two hundred million demon spirit coins. Take it, Lord Nie Hai, to add something to the family treasury so it doesn’t appear too shabby!" Nie Li made a gesture with his right hand, producing a spatial ring and handing it to Nie Hai.
Nie Li's move left Nie Hai with little resistance.
After weighing the ring in Nie Li’s hand against the unknown bead, he nodded with a wry smile and said, "Alright."
Nie Li’s persuasive tactics were indeed formidable!
"Okay!" Nie Li smiled lightly, leaving with a bounty, not even knowing what that black bead could be, but it certainly didn’t seem ordinary.
Also, the blueprint for the spirit automaton was quite satisfactory.
Furthermore, that soul weapon alone was not something that could be easily bought.
Soul weapons, particularly useful in conjunction with demon spirits, did not require fist daggers for shadow spirits, given their claw-like attributes.
However, the tiger-tooth panda could effectively wield fist daggers.
"Lord Nie Hai, I will take my leave now!" Nie Li said as he looked at Nie Hai.
"Sure!" Nie Hai escorted Nie Li out.
Currently, Nie Li was indeed the most valuable asset of the family.
Even a small amount of money he brought could significantly boost the family's strength.
With Nie Li, the entire Heavenly Mark Family had changed; how could Nie Hai not treat him like a revered elder?
Any family would probably dream of having a descendant like Nie Li.
Returning to his own courtyard, Nie Li took out the pair of fist daggers—these soul weapons looked like mere scrap metal.
He gave a low shout and activated his Soul Realm, sending wave after wave of soul force surging out towards the fist daggers.
Nie Li continuously refined the pair of soul weapons with his soul force.
The rust gradually faded away, revealing a dazzling luster that began to resonate with Nie Li's soul.
The fist daggers vibrated and slowly floated into the air before bursting apart with a loud bang.
The pair of fist daggers transformed into a ray of light, dashing right into Nie Li’s Soul Realm.
The power of a soul weapon was tightly connected to a person’s soul force, typically one level higher than the soul force itself.
This meant that while Nie Li’s soul force was silver-ranked, the soul weapon bore golden-level strength, capable of injuring even a careless golden-ranked expert.
As Nie Li’s strength advanced, the soul weapon would also ascend.
"Soul weapons were crafted by lightning demon spirit masters during the later stages of the Snowstorm Era. Only they could create soul weapons, but only a few of them mastered the crafting method. Only a handful of lightning demon spirit master families possess this knowledge.
Each person can own only one soul weapon in their lifetime. If one dies, so too does their soul weapon. Thus, very few soul weapons from that era still exist.
These ignorant folks actually treated soul weapons as ordinary arms; what a waste! Luckily I discovered this one; otherwise, it would have gathered dust for who knows how long!"
Nie Li mused with a smile.
(End of Chapter)