章節 29: Chapter 29 Zhao Family "Tongxin" Hall
The Cultivation World has always been a place where the strong prey on the weak!
The Zhao family is now in constant internal strife, with enemies lurking all around. Without a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to preside, it's when their strength is at its weakest.
Apart from the Wei Family, other Cultivation forces such as the Lan Family and Xiaofeng Valley around Dragon Carp Lake are likely eyeing the Zhao family as juicy prey.
Once a fatal flaw is exposed, the Zhao family will inevitably face the danger of being divided and devoured by the surrounding powers.
Thinking of this, Zhao Sheng immediately asked, "Where are they now?"
"At the Unity Hall on Yanyue Island," Zhao Tai replied without a second thought.
Zhao Sheng was stunned at the words and felt a sudden thump in his heart, realizing something was terribly wrong.
Yanyue Island was the most core and secret place of the Zhao family, where outsiders were not allowed to enter.
That's because it was the location of the Dragon Carp Lake Defensive Array and also the Zhao family's last refuge in the event of existential threat.
The fact that members of the second branch were now bringing people from the Wei Family into Yanyue Island was clearly a case of letting the wolf into the house.
...
Yanyue Island, situated on the eastern side of the Dragon Carp Lake, is surrounded by water on three sides, with only a three-mile plank road connecting it to the mainland, making it easy to defend and hard to attack.
As Zhao Sheng rushed to the plank road, he found two unfamiliar Cultivators wearing dark talismanic crowns guarding the entrance.
"Stop!
Sure enough, as he tried to enter Yanyue Island, he was immediately blocked by the two men.
Zhao Sheng sized up his opponents and knew they were from the Wei Family.
The dark talismanic crown was the most famous symbol of the Li Mountain Wei Family.
He immediately shouted, "Step aside, I need to get inside!"
One of them laughed without responding to Zhao Sheng, instead posing a counter question, "Are you really unaware or pretending not to know?"
"Know what?" Zhao Sheng asked.
The other Wei Family Cultivator retorted sharply, "You're too late. Go back to wherever you came from."
Zhao Sheng had a thought and cried out loud, "I am a member of the Zhao clan, and the elder Zhao Jingang is my Third Master. It is only right for me to enter Yanyue Island! Besides, I am on my way to lend a helping hand. Aren't you guys from the Wei Family invited by my second uncle to assist us? Are you now thinking of siding with the major branch?"
Zhao Sheng was not lying; Zhao Jingang really was his "second uncle," albeit the blood relationship was distant, spanning more than seven or eight generations.
"Oh, so you're from the second branch? Why didn't you say so earlier? Hurry in, you might be able to help with something."
As soon as they heard Zhao Sheng belonged to the "second branch," the two from the Wei Family hurriedly cleared the way.
Zhao Sheng cupped his hands in thanks and said, "You two have worked hard, make sure not to let anyone from the major branch in. Once this business is settled, I will definitely commend your efforts to the Third Master on your behalf."
"Oh no, not at all! You give us too much credit, young brother. We are just following orders," the two from the Wei Family said humbly, but their eager eyes betrayed them.
Zhao Sheng smiled, nodded at them, and quickly passed between them and into Yanyue Island.
The three-mile plank road passed in a flash, and far away, he could see the palace-like Unity Hall on Yanyue Island.
Seeing that the island's protective array was not activated, Zhao Sheng's heart sank, and he quickened his pace.
As there was no one guarding the main entrance of the Unity Hall, Zhao Sheng easily walked inside.
No sooner had he entered the Unity Hall than the sound of a heated argument between two people reached Zhao Sheng's ears.
Zhao Sheng saw that the Cultivation members of the two branches of the Zhao family were each occupying one side of the main hall, confronting each other.
On the left side were people from the major branch. They were few in number; including Zhao Sheng there were barely eleven—others were either managing the workshop or were out and had not returned.
On the other hand, the second branch had all fourteen Cultivation family members present, along with several unfamiliar Cultivators.
Needless to say, these strangers were all from the Wei Family.
At that moment in the center of the Unity Hall, two Zhao Family Elders were squabbling like fishwives, berating each other and lacking any of the usual dignity and authority.
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Among the two men, the one with a lean figure and a stern face was Zhao Jinding, an elder from the main branch of the Zhao Family. He had attained the realm of Qi Refining Great Perfection, possessing extraordinary strength. In his early years, he had single-handedly defeated two late-stage Qi-Refining independent practitioners of the same realm.
Zhao Jingang appeared to be a kindly old man with a ruddy complexion, very white skin, and a chubby physique. In reality, he was ruthless, shrewd, and deeply cunning, having solidified his second branch into a unified front early on.
Zhao Sheng's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he immediately lowered his head, quickly walking towards the side of the main branch.
At that moment, a gaunt elder wearing a blood-red talisman crown behind Zhao Jingang glanced towards Zhao Sheng's side before quickly looking away, continuing to watch with keen interest as the Zhao Family elders squabbled.
Meanwhile, Zhao Sheng felt a heavy weight in his heart, secretly fretting, "Wei Chengwo, the Foundation Establishment Ancestor from the Wei Family, has actually come himself! This is bad."
Upon approaching the main branch's side, one could see that a small portion of the family members were full of indignation, but the majority had a grave expression, their faces pale.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the second branch was well-prepared, even inviting the Wei Family Foundation Establishment Ancestor.
Clearly, they would not rest until their goals were achieved today.
The current situation was extremely unfavorable for the main branch!
Zhao Sheng, like an inconspicuous presence, blended into the crowd of the main branch's people, standing beside Zhao Chongwei at the very back.
"Chongwei, how did you manage to get in?" Zhao Chongwei, with a worried expression, asked anxiously upon seeing Zhao Sheng.
Zhao Sheng waved his hand and whispered, "Let's not talk about that now. What's the current situation? What demands has the second branch made?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Chongwei said angrily, "The second branch not only wants Foundation Establishment Pills, but they also want us to hand over the storeroom, the Scripture Storage Tower, and eight cultivation rooms."
Goodness me!
The second branch has quite the appetite, not afraid of bursting their belly.
'Dharma, Wealth, Comrades, and Place' are the four essential elements of cultivation. The second branch wants to seize three of them straight away, which is clearly an attempt to usurp power.
Such exorbitant demands will definitely not be agreed upon by the main branch.
"But now that the second branch has the upper hand, what countermeasures does the main branch have?" Zhao Sheng thought to himself.
Who holds the power between the two branches of the Zhao Family is not of much concern to Zhao Sheng—after all, they are all his kin.
However, he was extremely wary of the Wei Family!
Zhao Sheng was not afraid of the Wei Family launching a direct attack on Dragon Carp Lake; with the Hundred-Year Token in hand, the Wei Family wouldn't dare to make an open move.
But if they planned to move in secret, with internal traitors from the second branch, the Zhao Family would indeed be in danger.
Zhao Sheng stood quietly as part of the backdrop, rapidly contemplating the future course for the Zhao Family.
At this time, the bickering between the elders of the two branches also escalated, reaching a fever pitch.
The two are indeed strong figures, as indicated by 'Ding' and 'Gang' in their names.
One truly holding firm, the other truly unyielding!
The verbal fight had escalated to this stage, where they dared to expose all kinds of dirty laundry.
Adultery, embezzlement, misconduct, substituting inferior goods for good ones, corruption, framing—each and every messy affair.
This made Zhao Sheng's face turn dark with anger, his fury at the brink!
What a disappointment the descendants are!
No wonder the Zhao Family has seen harder days with each passing year, and in recent years, they've even struggled to distribute the spiritual salaries to clan members.
But alongside his anger, Zhao Sheng also found something strange.
The day's turn of events was truly very peculiar.
In his predecessor's memory, Zhao Jinding and Zhao Jingang, the two family elders, always cared about their image and should not have been this undignified, openly hurling insults in front of the younger clan members.
It was odd as if both were deliberately stalling for time.
Seeing that the argument would lead nowhere, Wei Chengwo, the Foundation Establishment Ancestor from the Wei Family, coughed and suddenly stood up.
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