Chapter 199: Chapter 17: Ye Family Elders’ Meeting (Part 2)
Fang Cheng was also sizing up the Ye Family’s Life Talisman Elders.
Nineteen chairs were arranged in Cangshan Hall. In other words, the Ye Family currently had nineteen Life Talisman Realm Elders.
Among the people before him, aside from Madam Ye, there was one other person who also had Mid-stage Life Talisman Cultivation.
This person had appeared before, both at his and Ye Yan’s wedding and during his Life Talisman Ceremony.
Ye Yu... one of the Ye Family’s Great Elder’s men.
Broadly speaking, the Ye Family was currently divided into three internal branches.
One branch was the Seventh Branch, led by the Grand Elder and represented by Ye Yu.
A century ago, the Grand Elder became the Patriarch of the Ye Family, wielding ultimate authority to this day. He brought the Seventh Branch back from the fringes, where it had been suppressed and ostracized, allowing it to return to the main line and gradually grow powerful.
But a century was ultimately too short a time. In that span, the Grand Elder had only managed to groom one Mid-stage Life Talisman Cultivator: Ye Yu.
Now, the Grand Elder’s lifespan was nearing its end. The Seventh Branch’s fortune was spent, and its decline in status was inevitable.
The second branch was the First Branch, led by Ye Huang.
Since the Ye Family’s founding, the First Branch had held power for most of its history, controlling all affairs of the clan.
Ye Huang was one of the First Branch’s most outstanding figures of the last two centuries. He was also the Ye Family’s only Late-stage Life Talisman Cultivator, aside from the Grand Elder.
According to Madam Ye, this man was arrogant, conceited, and looked down on everyone. His temperament was extremely domineering. The other branches of the Ye Family all deferred to the First Branch and intended to help him retake control of the clan.
The third branch was the Third Branch, led by Madam Ye.
The Third Branch was also the most powerful branch aside from the First Branch. Back then, Madam Ye, as a mere daughter-in-law of the Ye Family, had masterfully maneuvered through clan politics. With the help of her maternal family, the Flame Demon Feng Family, and her own talent for cultivation, she had forcibly conquered this branch.
Afterward, she led the Third Branch to contend with Ye Huang’s First Branch, a struggle that continued to this day.
Of course, this was also inseparable from the Ye Family’s Great Elder’s covert support.
Now that the Ye Family’s Great Elder’s life was ending, the next Grand Elder would be chosen from between Ye Huang and Madam Ye.
The Ye Family had another expert: the Inner Sect Elder cultivating on Wo Yun Peak in the Yinluo Sect, Ye Yunqing.
However, this Ye Yunqing hailed from a side branch of the Ye Family and rarely participated in the clan’s mundane affairs. She only left her bloodline descendants on Xiaocang Island, and none had yet become a Life Talisman Cultivator.
Originally, Ye Huang had victory firmly in his grasp. Even if the Third and Seventh Branches joined forces, they might not have been able to defeat him.
But in recent years, thanks to the rise of her son-in-law, Fang Cheng, Madam Ye had faintly gained the confidence to stand against the First Branch.
If Madam Ye also broke through to the Late-Life Talisman Stage, then Ye Huang’s chances of winning would be slim.
According to rumor, after drinking too much at a banquet once, Ye Huang had furiously cursed the Grand Elder as a fool, roaring about how the great Ye Family could possibly let someone with an outside surname hold power.
At this moment, inside Cangshan Hall, the various Ye Family Elders, regardless of which branch they were from, all treated Fang Cheng with reverence. There was no trace of the airs an elder might put on; they all addressed him as "Fellow Daoist," their intent to curry favor and ingratiate themselves perfectly clear.
Ye Yu pointed to a seat not far from the main one and said to Fang Cheng and Ye Yan, "Fellow Daoist Fang, you and your wife will sit there shortly."
Just as he spoke, three auras manifested outside the hall—two strong, one weak.
Everyone turned to look and saw an elderly man with silver hair, in his dotage, walking slowly forward.
It was none other than the Ye Family’s Great Elder.
Beside him was a stern-faced, unsmiling middle-aged man whose dignified and imposing aura was in no way inferior to the Grand Elder’s.
Behind the two of them was a refined-looking young man whom Fang Cheng recognized. It was Ye Junxian, the most outstanding of the Ye Family’s younger generation and a True Disciple cultivating on Holy Spring Peak.
Fang Cheng didn’t even need to guess; the man accompanying the Grand Elder had to be Ye Huang!
Everyone in Cangshan Hall greeted the Grand Elder in unison. The Grand Elder smiled, walked to the head seat and sat down, then gestured for everyone else to be seated.
Everyone, including Ye Huang, left the first seat to the Grand Elder’s left empty.
Although the Inner Sect Elder from Wo Yun Peak had never attended a Ye Family Elders’ Meeting, a seat was always reserved for her.
Ye Huang, in turn, sat in the first seat to the Grand Elder’s right.
Madam Ye sat in the second seat to the Grand Elder’s left, with Fang Cheng and Ye Yan beside her.
Ye Yu sat next to Ye Huang, with Ye Junxian beside him.
The other Life Talisman Elders filled the remaining seats in order.
Fang Cheng sat between Madam Ye and Ye Yan, flanked by two different faint, elegant fragrances. With nothing else to do, he idly tried to distinguish the subtle differences between the two scents.
After coldly sizing Fang Cheng up for a few moments, Ye Huang looked away.
The Grand Elder was heard to say, "I have summoned you all today because a major incident has occurred within our Ye Family. Elder Ye Huang, why don’t you tell everyone about it."
Ye Huang nodded, scanned the crowd, and said indifferently, "As I’m sure you’ve all noticed, Elder Ye Yushuang is absent from this Clan Elders’ Meeting."
"She was previously stationed at the Jiachen Island Spirit Stone Mine, but she came into conflict with the Mad Daoist of Fallen Thunder Island. Ultimately, she fell in a duel with the Mad Daoist’s disciple."
At this point, his gaze fell upon Madam Ye, and he said coolly, "Jiachen Island has now been seized by the Mad Daoist. I intend to go there personally to negotiate with him and reclaim the island. What does everyone think...?"
Before he could finish, Madam Ye cut him off with a cold laugh. "I disagree."
A look of anger flashed across Ye Huang’s face, but he restrained himself and said no more.
The Grand Elder asked in a mild, placating tone, "Qingyao, what is your opinion?"
Madam Ye said, "The Spirit Stone Mine on Jiachen Island was discovered by disciples of the Third Branch. Logically, the Third Branch should be the one to resolve this. There’s no need for the First Branch to trouble itself."
Ye Huang sneered, "In the entire Ye Family today, who besides me can face the Mad Daoist?"
His words showed he didn’t even have any regard for the Grand Elder.
But it made sense. The Grand Elder’s life was ending. If he were to fight with all his strength, he would risk damaging his remaining lifespan. Even if he defeated the Mad Daoist, he would probably die on the spot.
Madam Ye stared at Ye Huang and asked in a frigid voice, "How did the Mad Daoist find out about the Spirit Stone Deposits on Jiachen Island?"
Ye Huang frowned. "Feng Qingyao, are you accusing me?"
Madam Ye retorted sarcastically, "Ye Huang, do you dare swear on your Heart Demon that you had nothing to do with this?"
Ye Huang shot to his feet, pointed at Madam Ye, and roared, "This is absurd! You’re an outsider, someone with a different surname! What right do you have to accuse me of plotting against my own clan members?!"
As the two argued, the Life Talisman Elders in Cangshan Hall all stared straight ahead, feigning total ignorance.
Madam Ye sneered, "If you don’t want anyone to know, don’t do it in the first place!"
Ye Huang flung his sleeves, looked at the Grand Elder, and said, "In that case, I will have nothing more to do with the Jiachen Island matter! Grand Elder, I have other business to attend to. Farewell!"
With that, he rose and strode out of the hall without waiting for the Grand Elder to speak.
Nine other Elders in the hall also stood up, took their leave one after another, and all claimed to have urgent matters to attend to.
Ye Junxian was among them.
Madam Ye remained seated, watching the departing group with cold eyes.
Just as Ye Huang was about to walk out of Cangshan Hall, Fang Cheng suddenly spoke up. "Hold on!"
Ye Huang stopped at his words and turned to look at him, his expression unfriendly. "Son-in-law Fang, what is it you wish to teach me?"
Everyone else in the hall whipped their heads toward Fang Cheng, their faces full of surprise.
Fang Cheng said calmly, "There’s a rumor going around that Xie Xida of Mist Island, whom I killed back then, was the Elder’s illegitimate son. I wonder if there’s any truth to it?"
Ye Huang scoffed. "Son-in-law Fang, you yourself said it’s a rumor. It’s obviously just something fabricated by gossips. Why take it seriously?"
Fang Cheng replied seriously, "But what if it’s true? Then I would have unintentionally incurred your wrath for killing your son. How could I possibly take such a thing lightly?"
The corner of Ye Huang’s eye twitched. He gave a noncommittal response, "If Son-in-law Fang has so much free time, he would be better off spending it cultivating on Demon Lion Peak. I will take my leave."
Fang Cheng laughed heartily and said, "There is one more thing I forgot to tell you, Elder. My senior sister, Cai Li, once promised to act on my behalf one time. As for the matter of Jiachen Island, you can just leave it to me to handle. No need for you to worry about it."
Ye Huang’s expression darkened. He turned his head to glance at Fang Cheng, a strange, humorless smile on his face. "Son-in-law Fang, you really have some skills!"
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