With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

Before the convoy had even come to a complete stop, the crowd at the entrance of the fortified village erupted in deafening cheers—

"The young master is back!"

"It's Brother Ye! Brother Ye is back with three Dao soldiers!"

As soon as Lin Ye jumped out of the car, his mother stumbled over and rushed to hug him tightly: "My son...you're finally back..."

Lin Chuan, the younger brother—now twelve years old and already showing the uprightness of a teenager—pushed through the crowd and rushed over, grabbing his arm and shaking it: "Brother! You're really back! Mother has been waiting for you at home every day. The 'family portrait' I painted in the ancestral hall last year still has a space reserved for you!"

Eight-year-old Lin Xiucai, who had been hiding behind others and clutching her mother's clothes, mustered up her courage and ran over, looking up at him and timidly calling out, "Brother."

The surrounding clansmen quickly gathered around, and the atmosphere became even more lively as they looked at the three Dao soldiers following behind Lin Ye. A torrent of greetings flooded in: "Young Master has lost weight!" "Young Master has made something of himself!"

Lin Qiang wiped his face and shouted, "Stop crowding the young master! Make way—" He put his arm around Lin Ye's shoulder and, surrounded by the clansmen, walked into the fortified village. "A feast has just been prepared. According to custom, the young master must sit in the main seat when he returns!"

In the main hall of the fortified village, the carved pear wood seat had been empty for five years. At this moment, Lin Qiang personally helped Lin Ye to sit down.

Benches were placed on either side of the main seat. The mother was invited to sit at the head of the table on the left, with her younger siblings sitting next to her. Lin Hu and his cousins ​​stood below, their backs straight with pride on their faces.

"Bring out the wine!" Lin Qiang ordered loudly, "Bring out last year's brewed sorghum liquor! To welcome the young master—"

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar faces in the room, at the white hair at her mother's temples, and at the light in her younger siblings' eyes, Lin Ye suddenly felt her eyes welling up with tears.

He raised his wine bowl, took a small sip, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Fellow clansmen, I, Lin Ye, have returned..."

The banquet lasted for quite a while, and finally, after Lin Qiang's persuasion, everyone reluctantly left, leaving Lin Ye's family some alone time.

Once only family members were left in the house, the mother took Lin Ye's hand and led her into the inner room, with her younger brother Lin Chuan and younger sister Lin Xiu obediently following beside her.

"Mother, your son is unfilial..." Lin Ye looked at his mother, "I failed the Sword Sect's true disciple trial and only got the title of outer sect steward. I failed to bring honor to you and the family."

His mother chuckled and straightened his collar, saying, "Silly boy, it's good to be an outer sect steward! You can return to the family early. All these family matters are waiting for your decisions."

She wiped her eyes, her voice full of relief, "In a few days, I'll ask someone to help you find a good match, a reliable and hardworking girl to marry. That's the important thing; you're nineteen now, it's time to settle down."

Lin Ye was stunned, his mouth agape: "I...I'm still young, I'm not in a hurry to get married! I'd rather come back and develop the family first, and make the family thrive."

"Yes, yes!" The mother nodded repeatedly, and her younger brother Lin Chuan chimed in, "Brother is right! We must take care of the family first! Mother, once I've developed the family well, I'll definitely be able to find an even better girl!"

The mother was amused: "Alright, alright, I'll listen to you. We'll take care of the family first. But I'll remember about the marriage. Once you've fortified the fortress, I'll personally pick the best girl for you!"

"How's things at home lately? Nothing's wrong, right?" Lin Ye asked.

The mother sighed, "It's still the same. Everyone can only scavenge for food near the fortified village. If we go too far, we're afraid of encountering monsters. We've also lost touch with the county."

There's a lack of manpower in the county town, and the old horse farms have all been abandoned, taken over by several families in the county. The shops can't stay open either, and now they can only live off their savings.

Two years ago, the family's only remaining third-rate Taoist soldier, the "Wave-Patterned Turtle," could fish by the lake and exchange it for some food. But in the last two years, monsters have appeared in the lake, and the Turtle dares not go into the water much. Now, it can only guard its few acres of land and grow crops.

She paused, then continued, "The family now only has a little over three hundred people left. A couple of years ago, we gritted our teeth and recruited a group of refugees, managing to gather a little over a hundred, but we didn't dare recruit more, since the family is still too small."

"There are two third-rate martial artists in the clan now. One is your second uncle, Lin Qiang. He was already third-rate before you left. All these years, we have relied on him to keep the fortified village afloat. Otherwise, the village would have fallen apart long ago."

Another one is Lin Tie from your fifth grandfather's family. A couple of years ago, he unexpectedly broke through the third-rate system and now runs the only blacksmith shop in the county, making hoes and sickles to earn money, and also gathering information for the family.

"And then there are those kids you saw today. A couple of years ago they were also considered mediocre, but their families have long since run out of resources for even third-rate kids, so they can only keep working on their bodies, hoping to break through someday."

Lin Ye listened, "It's much better than when I left. Mother, you've suffered so much these years." He took out a cloth bag from his pocket and gently placed it on the table.

"I brought seeds of third-rate spiritual plants from the sect, as well as a few secret manuals. This time, I also contracted three third-rate Dao soldiers. From now on, we'll grow our own food, refine our own weapons, and raise our own Dao soldiers. We'll definitely be able to support the family. Mother, don't worry."

His mother looked at him, smiled, and nodded: "Okay, Mother believes you."

The four chatted for a while longer. Seeing that Lin Ye was tired from his journey, his mother urged him to go back to his room and rest. Lin Chuan and Lin Xiu also sensibly took their mother's hands, saying they would help her sort through some old things and that their brother should go and catch up on his sleep first.

Lin Ye agreed and got up to go back to his room. He first summoned two "Rock Toad Guards" to stand guard at the door, then walked to the edge of the bed, sat cross-legged, and pretended to practice martial arts to avoid being seen.

Once his breathing had calmed down, he focused his mind and sank his consciousness into his brain.

There lay a fruit pit, which had been there ever since he had transmigrated and woken up, but no matter how he tried to sense it, it remained completely still.

Even after returning to his family today, the fruit pit in his mind kept twitching slightly, but he had been suppressing it for fear of being noticed by others. Now that he was alone, he could no longer hold back and immediately focused on sensing it.

The fruit pit seemed to sense something and transmitted a clear thought:

This core is called "Family Nest," and a contract was formed with him when he traveled through time.

It is different from the ordinary nests of Dao soldiers in the world—ordinary nests will automatically breed Dao soldiers over time after a contract is made;

The birth of a family nest is closely linked to the host's family bloodline.

When three martial artists of a certain realm appear in a family at the same time, two nests of the same realm will be born, one for production and one for combat, which the host can choose to contract.

However, the host must personally defeat the five Dao soldiers spawned by these two nests before the nests can materialize in the mind and, like other nests in this world, begin to stably spawn Dao soldiers to suppress the demonic beasts in all directions.

Lin Ye's heart skipped a beat; he hadn't realized that the fruit pit held such a profound secret. His family now had three third-rate martial artists, including himself, and they could now cultivate a nest for third-rate Dao soldiers.

Lin Ye couldn't wait to let the "family nest" begin to nurture the Dao soldier nest.

Lin Ye's consciousness was submerged in the core of the fruit in his mind. The contractual object called "Family Nest" was slowly releasing two halos of light, like two seeds taking root and sprouting in the void.

The first halo of light transformed into the rudimentary shape of an ant nest.

A half-person-high opening is hidden beneath a damp, muddy slope. A winding tunnel extends into the depths, with countless tiny holes distributed on both sides. This is the production-type tunnel soldier, the "Rotten Soil Ant Servant".

They can collect dead branches and leaves, livestock manure in the fields, mix them with their own digestive juices to ferment them into "ant fertilizer", and then use their forelegs to push the fertilizer evenly into the roots of crops.

This fertilizer can activate soil nutrients and increase the yield of third-class and lower-class plants.

The second halo of light solidified into a deep, dark cave.

The jagged stalagmites at the cave entrance resemble fangs, while inside, shadows loom, and the stone outlines of "guardians" stand silently, their wings folded like stone slabs.

This is a combat-type Taoist gargoyle, born specifically for battle. It can fly in the air and attack enemies with its sharp claws.