Chapter 210: Chapter 22: Long-Term Plans
The grand ceremony continued late into the night before the banquet concluded and the guests departed.
A fine, drizzling rain fell under the night sky.
On Xiaocang Island, the faint lights flickered, suffused in the misty night rain and casting a dreamlike glow.
On the Star-picking Platform, ripples spread across the lake’s surface. The pitter-patter of the rain only accentuated the tranquility of Cangwu Mountain Peak.
In an elegant chamber of a side hall, Madam Ye, Ye Yan, and Fang Cheng sat on jade mats, sipping Spirit Tea and listening to the rain.
During Madam Ye’s succession ceremony, Fang Cheng had been the one welcoming guests and seeing them off, cementing his position as the Ye Family’s second-in-command, his status surpassed only by Madam Ye herself.
On the surface, the Ye Family now seemed to have lost four Life Talisman Elders. Their strength had waned, making them the weakest of the four great families.
Yet no one dared to underestimate the Ye Family.
The Mad Daoist was the best example of why!
Moreover, Madam Ye had made her intentions clear to the guests at the ceremony today: for the foreseeable future, the Ye Family would focus on consolidation and recuperation, maintaining a low profile to steer clear of the conflicts between the major families.
In the Abyssal Marsh, aside from the Wang, Dong, and Feng Families, no other family could currently contend with the Ye Family.
Among those three, Madam Ye was on close terms with the Dong Family, a bond further strengthened by Fang Cheng taking Dong Qing as a concubine, creating a marriage alliance.
The Feng Family was her own natal family, so their relationship was naturally strong.
All in all, the Ye Family’s current situation was not bad.
In the future, as the Ye Family gradually absorbed the Celestial Dew that Fang Cheng had brought back, a new batch of Life Talisman Realm Cultivators was certain to emerge.
Then, the Ye Family’s power would steadily grow.
The three of them listened to the rain outside, casually discussing the Ye Family’s future and their various plans and strategies.
Madam Ye looked at her daughter and son-in-law. "After taking charge of the Ye Family," she said, "I will use our resources to make an all-out attempt to break through to the Late-Life Talisman Stage. I will be in seclusion for most of the next decade or more."
Ye Yan had already anticipated this. A faint smile touched her lips. "My husband and I should also enter seclusion," she said. "We haven’t had a proper session of closed-door cultivation since breaking through to the Life Talisman Realm."
Madam Ye glanced at Fang Cheng and said gently, "You two have been married for some time now. It’s about time you had a child and continued the family line."
Ye Yan’s fair cheeks flushed. "It’s only been a few years, and you’re already nagging me?"
Madam Ye’s expression turned serious. "I don’t care how many children you have, but you must leave one with the Ye bloodline. As the Ye Family Patriarch, I must consider the family’s long-term prosperity."
Ye Yan turned to Fang Cheng and asked softly, "Husband, what if our second child takes the Ye surname?"
When Fang Cheng married into the Ye Family, it was with the understanding that all his and Ye Yan’s children would bear the Ye surname.
But times had changed. Fang Cheng’s status had undergone a monumental shift, and the title of "matrilocal husband" was now in name only.
Thus, the new arrangement was to choose one of their future children to carry the Ye name.
Ye Yan’s father’s line had no male heir, so it was only right and proper that they provide a successor for the Ye Family.
Having lived two lives, Fang Cheng had an open mind and wasn’t particularly attached to the idea of his children sharing his surname. Following Madam Ye’s plan, it seemed she intended to groom one of his and Ye Yan’s children to be the next Ye Family Patriarch...
He certainly had no objection.
Then he heard Madam Ye say, "I’ve heard that Miaoxiang Tower has an obscure line of business. They devise strategies and coordinate resources to ensure a family’s legacy continues. As long as you pay enough Spirit Stones, they can guarantee a family’s line for a thousand years."
Ye Yan was surprised. "Miaoxiang Tower does that?"
As she spoke, she shot a meaningful glance at Fang Cheng.
Fang Cheng remained impassive, quietly savoring his Spirit Tea.
Madam Ye continued, "Miaoxiang Tower is a major power spanning several countries. Their foundation is so profound that it surpasses even the Yinluo Sect. If a great family entrusts its foundational legacy to Miaoxiang Tower, they receive a token. In the future, even if the family is annihilated, any descendant with that token can go to any Miaoxiang Tower in the world and reclaim their heritage."
"Secondly, if you give them enough Spirit Stones or treasures, they can provide a family with a Top-grade Tripod Furnace to help continue the bloodline and ensure its prosperity. They can even arrange for the family’s children to be sent to top-tier sects in other countries. Once those children succeed in their cultivation, they will in turn enhance the family’s foundation."
At this, Madam Ye added, "If any of your future children are exceptionally talented, we can use Miaoxiang Tower to send them to the great sects of other nations. Those sects have many Life Soul Realm experts, and even mighty figures of the Dharma Realm. They are far stronger than the Yinluo Sect."
’So it’s a full-service package deal...’
As Fang Cheng listened to Madam Ye, he couldn’t help but think to himself.
’The services Miaoxiang Tower offers to the great families are truly meticulous. They’ve thought of everything.’
In Madam Ye’s eyes, even though Fang Cheng and Ye Yan had used High-Grade Myriad Manifestations Celestial Dew to reconstruct their Dao Foundations and had a good chance of breaking through to the Life Soul Realm, the Dharma Realm beyond that was still a distant dream.
After all, Yun Country was too remote and barren. It was better for their descendants to venture out into the wider world.
The most she could do as an elder was her utmost to provide such opportunities for future generations.
Her intentions were truly born of careful and painstaking consideration.
However, Miaoxiang Tower’s prices were exorbitant. Even the four great families of the Abyssal Marsh might not be able to afford them.
Now that Madam Ye was in charge of the Ye Family and had a newly excavated Spirit Stone Mine, she was laying the groundwork early.
Fang Cheng and Ye Yan could only nod in agreement, adding a few words of their own in support.
Finally.
She changed the subject, turning to Fang Cheng. "That Mad Daoist’s storage bag... was there anything valuable inside?"
