From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 167 Amnesia
"Distribute the elixirs to them."

Xue Yimiao gave instructions to her subordinates.

"Yes, my lord."

The subordinates held jade bottles filled with elixirs in both hands and took turns distributing the elixirs to the dozen or so people present.

Besides the "Nightmare," everyone received a magic pill.

"Now, sit cross-legged and take the elixir."

Xue Yimiao addressed the crowd in front of her.

Without hesitation, the dozen or so people sat down in unison and swallowed the elixir.

Meng Jiaojiao, nicknamed "Silver Bell," looked at the strangely colored elixir in her hand, hesitated for only a moment, and then swallowed it whole.

She had no choice. Here, whatever Xue Yimiao said, they had to carry it out immediately; any hesitation would result in cruel punishment.

Having been here for eleven years, they have long since developed the habit of obeying orders.

The disobedient one? It died years ago.

Meng Jiaojiao swallowed the elixir, closed her eyes, and circulated her spiritual energy to digest its medicinal power. A surge of medicinal power rose up, rushing straight to her Niwan Palace (a point on the back of her head).

She suddenly felt dizzy and fell into a deep sleep without realizing it.

Beside Meng Jiaojiao, the others were in the same state, some sleeping cross-legged, others lying unconscious.

Of the dozen or so people, only "Nightmare," who had not taken the elixir, was still standing.

Xu Zhongxi, nicknamed "Nightmare," did not receive any elixir.

Xue Yimiao stepped forward with a smile and personally handed over a elixir: "Nightmare, here is your elixir. Take it quickly."

Xu Zhongxi accepted the elixir, hesitated slightly, and finally took it under the pressure of Xue Yimiao's Foundation Establishment realm cultivation.

A moment later, she too fell into a deep sleep.

The elixir that Xue Yimiao gave them was the "Soul Loss Pill" refined by the Xue family.

Its medicinal properties can penetrate the Niwan Palace of the person who takes it, affecting their spirit and causing them to lose their past memories.

It can also be called "amnesia pill".

The "Soul-Loss Pill" that Xue Yimiao gave Xu Zhongxi separately was of a higher quality. This was because Xu Zhongxi was too important; it was essential to ensure she lost her past memories to avoid any potential losses.

If something happens to Xu Zhongxi, the Xue family will lose a Foundation Establishment Pill!

Xu Zhongxi is currently at the sixth level of Qi Refining. Once he breaks through to the seventh level of Qi Refining, he will have the ability to fly using Qi.

On the other hand, the spiritual power of the late Qi Refining stage is qualitatively improved compared to the mid-Qi Refining stage. If Xu Zhongxi were to break through to the seventh level of Qi Refining, it would be much more difficult to make her "lose her memory".

Therefore, Xue Yimiao made her take the Soul Loss Pill before she broke through.

As for the others, their "Soul-Stealing Pills" were of slightly lower quality. They were "tools" working for the Xue family, and the Xue family was unwilling to waste too many resources on them, so they would use inferior pills whenever possible, never using the best ones.

"Once they wake up, I'll give them a proper lesson."

What Xue Yimiao meant by "taking classes" was actually instilling ideas of loyalty to the Xue family, commonly known as brainwashing.

"Yes, my lord."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After an unknown amount of time, Meng Jiaojiao slowly woke up.

She opened her eyes groggily, her mind a complete blank: "Who am I? Where am I?..."

She looked around at the familiar yet unfamiliar scene, her face full of confusion.

When she tried to recall the past, she felt a sharp pain in her mind, making it impossible for her to remember.

Looking around, I saw that others were also gradually waking up.

Someone stepped forward: "Silver bells, silver bells!"

"Huh? Are you calling me?"

Meng Jiaojiao felt that the title was familiar.

"Yinling, you were born into the Xue family and were raised by them. You should serve the Xue family wholeheartedly and devote yourself to their cause until your dying breath."

The Xue family has three Foundation Establishment cultivators, who are our lords…

Meng Jiaojiao felt that her reaction was slow, and nodded subconsciously.

The "Soul-Loss Pill," while causing people to lose their memories, inevitably affects their spirit, making them slow to react, or even dull and sluggish.

The Xue family didn't care about these side effects; what they needed were subordinates who could keep their secrets and were willing to risk their lives for them without hesitation.

Because the Xue family had instilled these ideas countless times before, Meng Jiaojiao felt extremely familiar with these words when she heard them again.

One by one, the people around them woke up and accepted the Xue family's brainwashing.

This is not a short-term indoctrination over a few days or two, but an indoctrination that will continue uninterrupted for years and decades to come.

Like Meng Jiaojiao and the dozen or so others, they will eventually become the most loyal subordinates of the Xue family.

This is also why the Xue family is willing to spend a lot of resources to train them.

While Qi Refining cultivators may seem worthless, it is extremely difficult to cultivate loyal followers who are willing to die for their family's secrets.

"who is she?"

Meng Jiaojiao turned to look at her companion, nicknamed "Nightmare," and felt a sense of familiarity.

"Ouch, that hurts!"

She shook her head, in agony. Her companion beside her seemed very important to her, but why couldn't she remember her?

A few days passed like this.

Meng Jiaojiao's life returned to normal: soaking in poisonous pools and practicing martial arts.

The difference is that her former companions have all lost their memories and become like walking corpses, "machines" who only know how to be loyal to the Xue family and obey orders.

The throbbing pain in her mind gradually subsided.

As she circulated her cultivation technique, a surge of spiritual energy flowed through her mind, and she suddenly had a flash of inspiration, regaining her memories.

"Um?!"

She suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze filled with shock.

She remembered everything! She remembered her background, how she came to Yunze Mountain, everything clearly. In the blink of an eye, she suddenly composed herself, her face expressionless, her expression blank.

She guessed what the "soul-losing pill" she had taken was for.

Right now, she has to pretend that she has lost her memory, otherwise it will cause her a lot of trouble, or even death.

"How to do?"

Her mind raced.

Even if she regains her memories, there's not much she can do with her abilities.

She could only endure it, hide herself first, and then slowly make her move.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Another day.

Meng Jiaojiao was cultivating in the poisonous pool when she met Xu Zhongxi.

She stepped forward expressionlessly: "Nightmare, do you have any extra spirit stones? Lend me one. I'll return it to you in a while."

Xu Zhongxi glanced at her coldly and uttered a single word: "None."

"..."

Meng Jiaojiao did not show any emotional fluctuation.

She tried several times, even secretly calling out the name "Zhongxi", but Xu Zhongxi did not react at all.

It is clear that Xu Zhongxi has completely lost his memory and there is no sign of recovery.

Her best friend, with whom she once relied on and depended on for survival, is now a stranger. This causes Meng Jiaojiao great pain.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Yunze Peak.

In the main hall of the Xue family, three Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered together.

"Patriarch, the Baili family is here again to urge us."

"Hmph, it's only two years late, and they're already urging us again!"

Patriarch Xue Fanyu rolled his eyes, looking impatient.

The Xue family, as an alchemy family, has been able to develop steadily to this day, unlike the Tong family, which was "swallowed up" by a large family, because they are good at navigating social situations and balancing the power of various parties.

The alchemy family, having chosen to align themselves with the Lan family, now depends on the Lan family's ambitions. As long as the Lan family has no ambition to annex them, the two sides can cooperate and benefit each other.

However, once their "master" becomes greedy, their situation becomes extremely dangerous.

The Xue family, however, did not make such a mistake.

Back when they were still a Qi Refining family, they had already pledged allegiance to three Foundation Establishment families.

They have their own spiritual land, but they rely on three Foundation Establishment families to cooperate with them and provide them with elixirs in order to gain their protection.

When the Xue family had just refined the Foundation Establishment Pill and possessed a Foundation Establishment expert, it was also the time when their situation was most dangerous. They promised the three Foundation Establishment families that they would regularly provide them with Foundation Establishment Pills.

The three Foundation Establishment families were already in a delicate period of balance of power, and none of them wanted to let another family swallow up the Xue family and reap a huge benefit.

As for the three Foundation Establishment families, other families have no say in the matter.

Daring to covet the Xue family's Foundation Establishment Pill? Then they'll face the combined might of three Foundation Establishment families.

By balancing the interests of all parties, the Xue family gradually became a powerful Foundation Establishment and Alchemy family.

Of those three Foundation Establishment families, one of them declined over the long course of time.

The other two Foundation Establishment families are the Baili family, a famous weapon-refining family in Yuanli County.

The other is the "Fan" family, where Fan Kongye, the deputy director of the Demon Subduing Division of Yuanli County and a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, resides.

These two Foundation Establishment families are even more powerful than the Xue family.

According to their agreement, every fifty years, the Xue family would sell one Foundation Establishment Pill to each of the two families at a price of 3000 spirit stones per pill.

Two years ago was the agreed-upon time for the Xue family to sell the Foundation Establishment Pill to the Baili family.

However, Xue Fanyu made excuses, saying that he had not refined a new Foundation Establishment Pill, and asked the Baili family to grant him a few more years.

"Patriarch, don't we still have Foundation Establishment Pills? Why are we dragging the Baili family along?"

Xue Weiwu was puzzled.

"3000 spirit stones for one Foundation Establishment Pill from our family. If we hadn't sold it to them all these years, how many Foundation Establishment cultivators would our family have?"

Xue Fanyu was dissatisfied with the agreement between his Xue family and the two Foundation Establishment families.

In terms of price alone, if a Foundation Establishment Pill were auctioned, it could often fetch a high price of 10,000 spirit stones.

However, they sold it to the two Foundation Establishment families for 3000 spirit stones.

Putting aside the loss of spirit stones, this agreement is like a shackle weighing on the Xue family, one they cannot break free from.

Fifty years, and two Foundation Building Pills will be provided.

This is pretty much the limit of the Xue family's Foundation Establishment Pill production; they would find it difficult to even keep one for themselves.

They are often lucky enough to refine an extra Foundation Establishment Pill to enhance their own strength.

"Weiwu, you should advance to the late stage of Foundation Establishment as soon as possible, so that you will have the leverage to negotiate with them."

Xue Fanyu had other ideas because the Xue family was becoming increasingly powerful.

As one's strength grows, it's impossible to continue adhering to the rules set when one's strength was weak.

The spiritual veins of the Xue family's Yunze Mountain have been upgraded.

The benefits gained from the Lan family led to the Xue family acquiring many more late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

Furthermore, Xue Fanyu still has Foundation Establishment Pills in stock, which could allow the Xue family to produce another Foundation Establishment Grandmaster.

They already have three Foundation Establishment cultivators. Apart from Xue Yimiao, who is older, the other two are in their prime.

Such a Xue family could be considered a dominant force among the Foundation Establishment families in Yuanli County.

Xue Fanyu no longer wanted to use his family's Foundation Establishment Pills to increase the number of Foundation Establishment experts in other families.

(End of this chapter)