The landscape was a vision of desolation. Dust and smoke still rose from the scorched earth.
And the Cloud Tower Treasure Ship? It had already been destroyed in the earlier battle, scattering into tiny pieces.
A young man stood in the sky, holding an Empress aloft! contemporary romance
The distant onlookers, Ye Tianqu and Tu Yong, were overcome with astonishment.
The curtains had already fallen on this unprecedented battle.
A young Spiritual Revolution Realm cultivator had captured an Empress of the Blood Pheasant race alive!!
Who beneath the heavens wouldn’t have been astonished?
“You… Who exactly are you?” said the woman in black, her face deathly pale.
As an Empress, she’d always occupied a lofty position, and enjoyed the respect and reverence of those around her. Yet now, someone was holding her up by the throat, as if she were a chicken. She couldn’t even struggle.
Her predicament made her eyes dim. She inwardly gave into despair, but more than that, she was overcome with shame too great to put into words.
“Who I am doesn’t matter, but remember this: from this moment on, you’re a prisoner, and your life and death are out of your hands.” Su Yi put away Abstruse Celestial, then looked over at Ye Tianqu and Tu Yong. “Come with me. I have questions for you.”
Ye Tianqu and Tu Yong reacted as if awakening from a dream. They looked at each other, but neither dared refuse.
……
Three hundred miles away, a pleasant landscape.
Beneath the mountains, along the shore of a blue-green lake, reeds swayed in the wind. Off in the distance, birds circled overhead. The sound of wind, birdsong, and the rustling of winds intermingled. It was tranquil, with the charm of nature on full display.
Su Yi sat by the shore in a wicker chair, his eyes closed contentedly as he soaked in the sun. Occasionally, he took a sip of wine.
A woman in a black dress sat on the ground beside him in the fetal position, saying nothing at all. Her hair was disheveled, and she was covered in blood, a miserable sight.
Ye Tianqu and Tu Yong stood to the side. Their expressions and movements were all respectful and reverent.
Ye Boheng lay on the ground beside Ye Tianqu, still unconscious.
“What exactly is going on with the Ghost Serpents?” asked Su Yi.
Ye Tianqu hesitated, then solemnly explained the full situation.
The root of the problem was similar to the news Su Yi had overheard on board the Cloud Tower Treasure Ship.
The night of the Lantern Festival, there was a major development at the Dark Capital, one of the City of the Wrongfully Dead’s forbidden zones. The Yin-Yang Road, the only path to and from the Dark Capital, had been severely damaged.
The Falling Feather Spirit Empress, Ye Yu, had ventured into the Dark Capital hundreds of years ago. Unfortunately, this meant she was now trapped inside.
No one knew whether or not she’d be able to escape this predicament.
Historically, the Ghost Serpents had always had her to hold down the fort, and she’d been the clan’s primary authority figure.
When dragons went without a leader, turmoil was sure to follow.
Thus, the destruction of the Yin-Yang Road led to inner turmoil amongst the Ghost Serpents.
As one of the Netherworld’s Nine Royal Clans, the Ghost Serpents were divided into a main lineage and three branches. Combined, the clan had over ten thousand members.
Not long ago, an elder of one of the branches stepped forth to propose that they select a new leader.
Sometimes, one stone could create a thousand waves.
This suggestion immediately won the approval of most members of the Ghost Serpents’ older generation.
However, the main lineage of the Ye Family voiced their disapproval.
Thus, the Ghost Serpents’ inner conflict began.
In the end, Third High Elder Ye Donghe suggested that they convene a clan-wide conference and have the elders of both the main lineage and the three branch lineages discuss this proposal.
According to rules passed down for generations, each of the four lineages had an Ancestral Jade Seal. When selecting a new clan leader, the Ghost Serpents needed to assemble all four of these seals.
But several hundred years ago, when Ye Yu left for the Dark Capital, she entrusted the main lineage’s jade seal to Third High Elder Ye Donghe for safekeeping.
Ye Donghe was from a branch lineage, and he’d already made his position clear: he supported the selection of a new clan leader!
The first and third branches of the Ghost Serpents had already agreed.
Ye Tianqu was the leader of the second branch lineage and a prominent member of the Ghost Serpents. Although he’d yet to become an Emperor, he was the highest authority of the clan’s second branch.
The second branch’s Ancestral Jade Seal had always been in Ye Tianqu’s?care.
When others suggested choosing a new leader, Ye Tianqu had clearly voiced his disapproval. He believed that the Falling Feather Spirit Empress’s predicament would prove short-lived, and that it was not yet time to choose a new leader.
His attitude had displeased many of the clan’s older-generation experts.
This was because, according to the clan’s rules, without the Ancestral Jade Seal he carried, they couldn’t select a new leader.
“Thus, not long ago, a group of the clan’s old-timers wrote letters urging me to change my mind,” said Ye Tianqu, his expression shifting rapidly. “Some of them warned me that if I remained stubborn, I’d be opposing the vast majority of the clan, and that sooner or later, I’d be severely punished for it.”
“High Elder Ye Donghe even wrote me a letter personally. He said that if I refused to change my mind, I’d have to bear the consequences!”
Here, Ye Tianqu sighed, his expression melancholy. “I truly can’t imagine it. How could a sudden development in the Dark Capital cause all this upheaval? After all, Ancestor Ye Yu is only trapped, that’s all.”
Here, Su Yi interjected. “There’s surely a conspiracy behind this. There’s no way this is simply about selecting a new clan leader.”
Ye Tianqu froze, then said, “I suspected the same thing, but I can’t quite figure out what’s going on. That’s why I decided to take the Ancestral Jade Seal to Tianya City, talk with members of the main lineage’s older generation, and try to get to the bottom of this.”
He paused, then continued, “Furthermore, the clan-wide conference is scheduled for the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. There’s a little less than two weeks left. According to the clan’s rules, if I don’t participate, it’ll be interpreted as tacit?agreement to select a new leader, and I don’t want that.”
“This is likely why assassins pursued you,” said Su Yi.
Ye Tianqu grimaced. “I anticipated that this might happen, which was why I didn’t dare take a transmission array directly to Tianya City. I was afraid someone would intercept us.
“I wouldn’t have thought that, when I boarded that Cloud Tower Treasure Ship, my unfilial son would reveal our location…” As he said this, his heart filled with pain and sorrow.
Su Yi stroked his jaw. “Tell me, do you think Third High Elder Ye Donghe is the primary conspirator here?”
After a moment’s silence, Ye Tianqu said, “It’s possible.”
Su Yi gave the matter no further thought.
A clan’s internal affairs were intricate and multifaceted. Even someone like Ye Tianqu didn’t know the full story, let alone an outsider like Su Yi!
Besides, for Su Yi, resolving this type of problem was simple.
All he needed to do was show up when the Ghost Serpents convened their great conference, discover the primary culprit, and take them down.
Sometimes, the more complicated something was, the simpler the solution!
“And you? You’re an Empress of the Blood Pheasants. Why target members of the Ghost Serpent Clan? Don’t tell me one of their higher-ups put you up to this?” Su Yi looked at the curled-up woman in black.
The woman in black had obviously regained her calm. She looked down and said in a raspy voice, “The Ghost Serpents aren’t capable of ordering me about.”
Su Yi was instantly stunned. “Then whose orders were you acting on?”
The woman in black fell silent. A moment later, she said, “Fellow Daoist, I have no idea who you are or where you came from, but I’d still like to warn you: great forces are in play here. I urge you not to get involved with the Ghost Serpents any further. If you do, you’re sure to bring doom upon yourself!”
Here, she looked up, a calm expression on her pallid face. “That wasn’t a threat; it’s a fact.”
Tu Yong and Ye Tianqu shuddered. What threat could be so major that even an Empress of the Blood Pheasants would warn him like that?
But it was as if Su Yi didn’t even hear her. “Answer my questions.”
After a brief, stunned pause, the woman let out a self-deprecating laugh. “It makes sense. What good is the warning of a ‘defeated general’ like me? Since you insist on getting involved, I’ll just tell you.”
She took a deep breath, then said, “I took action on the orders of Jiang Yingliu, the fourth disciple of His Excellency Pi Mo, the leader of the Abstruse Force Alliance!”
“How could it be her?” Ye Tianqu’s expression shifted dramatically.
“Jiang Yingliu…” Su Yi remembered that name. He’d heard about her from Tao Qingqiu after capturing him outside of Ziluo City.
Three hundred and six years ago, Pi Mo sent six of his disciples to the Netherworld with experts of each of the Six Great Daoist Sects.
Of them, Pi Mo’s seventh disciple, Tao Qianqiu, led the forces of the Divine Peak Sword Court and took up residency in the Netherworld Sky Sect.
While Pi Mo’s fourth disciple, Jiang Yingliu, led the forces of the Profound Yellow Sword Pavilion and took up residency amongst the Ghost Serpents!
When Su Yi first learned of this, he felt irrepressible killing intent well within his heart.
Because a long time ago, the Netherworld’s major factions had all known that Su Xuanjun and Little Leaf of the Ghost Serpents had an extremely deep bond!
Pi Mo had unquestionably discovered that too, which was why he sent Jiang Yingliu to the Ghost Serpents.
There was no need to even ask; Pi Mo wanted to use the Ghost Serpents to learn new information about his master!
Now, there was discord in the Ghost Serpents’ ranks. Jiang Yingliu was an outsider, yet she’d gotten herself involved, and she’d even directed an Empress of the Blood Pheasants to pursue and kill Ye Tianqu.
That was unquestionable proof that Pi Mo’s fourth disciple supported the push to decide a new clan leader!
There was no way she didn't have ulterior motives for doing this.
Which is the crux of the matter? The Ghost Serpents four Ancestral Jade Seals or the position of clan leader??Su Yi’s eyes flashed as he guessed at the root of the Ghost Serpents’ Upheaval.
“It seems you know if His Excellency Pi Mo’s disciple, fellow Daoist. Then you ought to understand that if you get mixed up in this, you won’t just offend the vast majority of the Ghost Serpents; you’ll effectively be making an enemy out of His Excellency Pi Mo!” The woman in black looked increasingly calm. “I’m afraid you’d hate to bear those consequences.”
Su Yi laughed. “You’re mistaken. I have several goals for this visit to the Ghost Serpents. One of them just so happens to be finding Jiang?Yingliu.”
The woman in black stared, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Even Ye Tianqu and Tu Yong stiffened. Su Yi’s words surprised them too.
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