Volume One, Chapter Eight: Find Him a Concubine
“Rest assured, my dear, our daughter is undoubtedly the best. No sect would refuse her; they might even come back to bring us gifts,” he said confidently.
“By now, those not chosen should have been returned,” she replied.
Just then, a radiant glow appeared, accompanied by a fragrant breeze.
“Father! Mother!”
Ye Bufan and his wife turned around in surprise. Seeing their child filled their hearts with joy, and they gave no further thought to anything else. Only Nie Yushan felt uneasy, wondering if their daughter had been sent back. She spoke first.
“Why are you back?”
“Mother, our master brought us back. Since we might not have time later, he agreed to let us visit today.”
“Father, look! Here are spirit stones from our master—one hundred pieces for you.”
Their daughter, raised by them, was considerate enough to think of her father when she received benefits—how wonderful.
“Haha, that's so thoughtful. But you’ll need them later; keep them for yourselves,” Ye Bufan said, glancing at the person standing nearby. This one didn’t speak; he dared not accept the gesture, wary in case she had a peculiar temper.
The patriarch was Xiao Wanying, who appeared as a young woman but whose true age was unknown. She exuded an air of decisiveness and freedom, a strong presence that rivaled any man’s. Her muscular chest suggested a broad-minded individual who disliked petty calculations.
Yet, her face bore an unmistakable expression that kept others at a distance.
She studied Ye Bufan carefully. As a Nascent Soul cultivator, she immediately perceived that Ye Bufan was merely a mortal without any cultivation.
“Take these. Since I gave them to my disciples, they belong to them. They can use them as they wish, especially since you are their father.”
“Hehe, thank you, Master. You’re so kind,” the daughters said.
Seeing them speak, Xiao Wanying’s attitude softened considerably.
“You honor your father well, so I, as your master, fully support this. Here, I’ll give each of you another hundred spirit stones.”
“Thank you, Master,” the two sisters politely bowed.
Nie Yushan said, “The girls are still young and a bit unruly. I’m sorry for the trouble we’ll cause you in the future.”
“Hmm, since the visit is over, let’s go,” Xiao Wanying said.
“Ah! So soon?” The sisters were reluctant to part.
As a Nascent Soul grand cultivator, Xiao Wanying was worlds apart from mortals. Ordinarily, these mortals wouldn’t have the privilege to speak with her. Her willingness to chat was purely out of respect for her disciples.
In her view, giving one hundred spirit stones to the Nie family was like buying the two sisters outright. Those spirit stones could be exchanged for enough gold and silver to keep the couple wealthy for life.
Not wanting to linger, the three vanished with the fading light.
Ye Bufan snorted inwardly, thinking, “So proud, huh? I’ll have you bow down whenever I want from now on. Hmph.”
Yet he dared not voice this, even though he guessed they had gone far away.
Looking at the spirit stones in his hands, he laughed again.
“Haha, this time we can have five children.”
Well, it had been five years since last time; even halving that gave two years!
“My dear, come on! My illness is cured!”
---
“Huh?”
At first, Nie Yushan didn’t react, but when she understood, her face flushed with shyness.
“Husband, when did you get better?”
“Haha, maybe it was because the immortal master came just now. It must have boosted my immunity.”
He lifted his wife in his arms and said, “Come on, let’s go inside!”
Before, he wouldn’t dare tease his wife like this, afraid she’d get too heated and he wouldn’t be able to handle it.
“Ah, husband, it’s still daytime!”
“Mm, yes, mm,” his voice grew softer and then louder.
The next day.
“Husband, you’re really impressive this time,” Nie Yushan said, blushing and teasing happily.
“You don’t see how long I’ve been saving up.”
“Again!”
“Ah!”
The following year.
[System notification: Unclaimed cultivation feedback points from offspring detected. Claim now?]
Ye Bufan, in mid-action, was startled.
“Claim! Claim! Hurry up!”
Excited and anxious, he eagerly accepted.
[Claim successful.]
“Uh, why don’t I feel anything?”
[System notification: Insufficient cultivation points; the threshold for the first level of Qi Refining has not been met.]
Ah, what a disappointment.
“Making children, making children—need more offspring for sure.”
One month later.
Their third child was born, a girl named Nie Feiyu.
The two daughters sent a letter home, along with two hundred spirit stones.
With spirit stones came extended lifespans, and Ye Bufan no longer held back.
His future longevity and cultivation depended entirely on his offspring. The more, the better.
The third year.
The benevolent father-in-law passed away peacefully.
Under his leadership, the Nie family had broken the curse of nine generations without a male heir and had even produced an immortal seedling. The Nie family’s rise to prominence was now a matter of time—thanks to his wise leadership. Meeting ancestors in the afterlife, he could smile contentedly, though he lamented not having a son yet.
In the backyard.
A pavilion.
Nie Yushan, heavily pregnant, strolled slowly.
---
Ye Bufan supported her tenderly.
“My dear, I want to discuss something with you. Is that alright?”
“What is it?”
Her belly growing larger, she felt tired even speaking.
“Well, I... I want to...”
“What is it? Why are you hesitating?”
“I want to take a concubine. What do you think?”
After speaking, Ye Bufan grew nervous, unable to meet his wife’s eyes.
“Sigh...”
“Don’t be angry. If you disagree, that’s fine.”
“Wait till I finish. My sigh means I’m glad you finally brought it up. I was actually going to talk to you about this.”
“Ah?”
Ye Bufan was stunned.
“So you support me?”
“You’re so capable now, I can’t handle you alone anymore. Besides, I’m pregnant. I’ve long wanted you to take a concubine to share the burden.”
“When my father was alive, I didn’t dare mention it.”
“Uh, I thought the same.”
“Oh, I mean, you’re so wonderful—virtuous and capable.”
...
Meanwhile, news leaked from the Nie estate that the matchmaker was searching for a woman.
The public reaction was explosive.
This live-in son-in-law dared to take a concubine? That was unprecedented! What boldness!
Then they heard he waited until his father-in-law died to do it.
The scandal spread far and wide—bad news travels fast, good news never leaves home.
Yet precisely because it spread so widely and fiercely, more people took notice of him.
---
The Zheng family of cultivation.
“Chief, we’ve learned that this Nie family’s live-in son-in-law is extraordinary.”
“Explain.”
“This son-in-law, Ye Bufan, is just a normal man, but he broke the Nie family’s nine-generation single-heir record—he has three children and is expecting a fourth. Moreover, the eldest and second daughters both possess rare Yellow-grade singular spiritual roots.”
“What?”
The Zheng family chief slammed the table in surprise.
“Could this man have some secret?”
His subordinate continued.
“Most likely. Also, I checked—the two Nie women and Ye Bufan himself have no spiritual roots.”
The chief said, “A mortal couple producing two top-grade spiritual root offspring—either fate favors them or they have some secret technique.”
“So, arrange for a woman with a spiritual root from our family to become his concubine!”