Chapter 18: A Bottomless Pi (1/2)
Chapter Eighteen: A Bottomless Pit
Nie Donghai was true to his word.
In the following days, he continued to give flamecloud gems to Nie Tian so that his animal bone could absorb their flame power.
Nie Qian did exactly the same.
However, the animal bone was like a bottomless pit; after absorbing the power of flame from numerous flamecloud gems, it still hadn’t completely formed that drop of blood.
Later on, Nie Tian discovered that the number of flamecloud gems his grandfather and aunt brought was growing fewer and fewer.
Sometimes, Nie Qian would come to his room, leave two or three flamecloud gems, and immediately rush out, seemingly disturbed, apparently afraid that Nie Tian would find out something was wrong.
Nie Tian was no fool. He had noticed much earlier that the jewelry Nie Qian wore had begun to disappear one after another.
As time went by, Nie Donghai stopped showing up. Only Nie Qian would occasionally come over and drop off one or two flamecloud gems, then look at the animal bone with her eyes full of expectation, before leaving with a grim look on her face.
Two young girls of the Nie clan were talking to each other as they passed by Nie Tian’s room. Given the volumes of their voices, it was hard to say whether or not they intended for Nie Tian to hear them.
“I heard that eldest aunt had a big fight with uncle Nie Ping, who’s in charge of the storehouse. Eldest aunt claimed that Nie Ping intentionally ripped her off, and the jewelry she traded in were well worth three flamecloud gems, while uncle Nie Ping only gave her one in exchange.”
“Second grandfather is our current clanmaster. Uncle Nie Ping became supervisor of the storehouse after second grandfather assumed his position. Uncle Nie Ping only reports to second grandfather, so he surely won’t bother to consider eldest aunt’s feelings.”
“I don’t know what’s going on. It seems eldest grandfather and eldest aunt have taken all their valuables to the storehouse and traded them for flamecloud gems.”
“Exactly, eldest grandfather even traded in the medicinal pills for his injuries. God knows what is wrong with him.”
“It’s the same with eldest aunt. She doesn’t have a single presentable piece of jewelery on her now.”
“… ”
Inside the room, Nie Tian clearly overheard their conversations. He had originally been concentrated on his cultivation, but the girls’ words distracted and upset him, and his little face filled with a sullenness somewhat inappropriate for a child his age.
Disturbed by this thought, he subconsciously reached for the animal bone and took it out of the pocket on his waist. He stared at it and suddenly found it incomparably troublesome. “Are grandfather and aunt trading in all their assets to get me more flamecloud gems?”
In that exact same moment, Nie Qian’s voice sounded from outside the room. “Little Tian!”
She shoved the door open, her eyes filled with exhaustion. It appeared as if she was completely drained mentally because of the events of the past days.
“Here you go.” Arriving by Nie Tian’s side, she casually tossed a flamecloud gem over, which landed at Nie Tian’s side. Staring in anticipation at the animal bone, she said, “Quickly, let the animal bone absorb its flame power.”
“There’s no need.” Nie Tian shook his head. “In my opinion, this animal bone is a bottomless pit. No amount of flamecloud gems will be enough to fill it.”
Nie Qian put on a straight face and said angrily, “Are you telling me that you plan on giving up like this? Do you have any idea what your grandfather has gone through to get you these flamecloud gems?”
“I know.” Nie Tian’s eyes were filled with agony. “I also know that you have sold your valuable jewelery at low prices to get me more flamecloud gems.”
Nie Qian was startled. She immediately realized that her nephew had grown up, and he had already perceived what was going on from the trivial clues he had found.
She pondered the matter for a moment and then reassuringly said, “Money and valuables are merely possessions. As long as you can reach the ninth level of Qi Refining by the age of fifteen, and become a disciple of the Cloudsoaring sect, all of our investment will be well paid off.”
With these words, her expression grew grim again and said, “I’m afraid your grandfather’s injuries won’t get better. His road of cultivation is reaching its end.”
“As for me, my cultivation talent has been poor since I was child. I’ve merely reached the early-stage of Lesser Heaven, which is nothing compared to your mother’s achievement. Back then, if I had managed to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining by the age of fifteen and became a disciple of the Cloudsoaring sect, the Yun clan definitely wouldn’t have dared to treat me like they did, despite the fact that our clan was weak!
“I don’t want you to end up like me! You are already eleven years old, which means you only have four years left. You have to enter the ninth level of Qi Refining in four years!
“Your current cultivation level is too low. That animal bone might be your only chance at a breakthrough!
“So no matter what, you must persist and see if the animal bone can bring you a miracle! You are the last hope for your grandfather and I. Don’t act like a child and waste your grandfather’s and my efforts!” Nie Qian’s lecture was delivered with great authority.
Nie Tian remained silent as he listened closely. He waited for Nie Qian to finish, then said, “I understand. I won’t fail you.”
With these words, he placed the flamecloud gem onto the animal bone.