89: Aren't you curious why Miaoyin hasn't returned yet?
"What are they here for?!" an Elder roared, "To watch us make a fool of ourselves?!"
"Don't see them! Tell them to get lost!"
Phoenix Ancestor, however, waved his hand and spoke in a hoarse voice:
"Let them in."
He wanted to see what kind of tricks these two old things were trying to pull now.
A moment later, Golden Lion Clan Chief Jin Changge and God Race Chief Shen Wudao entered together, their Faces wearing just the right amount of concern and sympathy.
"Brother Phoenix, having heard about the Dao Discussion Assembly, we truly feel indignant on your behalf."
As soon as God Race Chief Shen Wudao spoke, he wore an expression of deep empathy,
"It is hateful that neither I nor Brother Jin's Golden Lion Clan have a Divine Maiden qualified to attend; otherwise, we would have certainly come to support you, Brother Phoenix."
Golden Lion Clan Chief Jin Changge also nodded in agreement:
"Exactly. The Human Race has the heart of a wolf and the ambition of a leopard. Now that the Jiang Family is so powerful, if we don't prepare early, I fear we won't even have a place to stand in the future.
Brother Phoenix, in my opinion, it is time for our three Royal Clans to set aside our past grievances and join forces to oppose the Jiang Family."
Upon hearing this, the Elders of the Phoenix Clan in the hall showed signs of being moved.
However, Phoenix Ancestor merely looked at them coldly, his gaze like that of someone watching two clowns.
"Join forces? Who gave you that confidence?"
He sneered, his laughter filled with mockery,
"Can you defeat the Sixth Ancestor of the Jiang Family, or Great Emperor Hengyu?"
"And also, who was it that, after the White Tiger Royal Clan obtained a massive benefit, immediately wanted to get a slice of the pie without inviting my Phoenix God Race, only to cancel the plan without a word the moment they saw seven Emperors descending, and then scurried over to send resources to the White Tiger Clan?"
The expressions of the two Clan Chiefs stiffened slightly.
"Brother Phoenix, times have changed..."
"Get out!"
Phoenix Ancestor stood up abruptly,
A terrifying Quasi-Emperor pressure erupted.
"The jokes of my Phoenix Clan are not for you two to watch!"
Phoenix Ancestor's eyes were bloodshot, and he appeared to be on the verge of madness,
"You want to use my Phoenix Clan as cannon fodder to test the Jiang Family's bottom line? You're dreaming!"
"Don't think I don't know what you're planning! You want to loot a burning house and annex my Phoenix Clan's territory and resources? I tell you, that is absolutely impossible!"
His voice was filled with determination and madness.
That chilling murderous intent, ready to perish together, made the expressions of Jin Changge and Shen Wudao change slightly.
Their so-called alliance was actually to take advantage of the Phoenix Royal Clan's show of weakness, force him to cough up some resources, and yield the position of 'Mountain Master of the Primordial Divine Mountain',
but they hadn't expected this old Phoenix to be so unyielding, preferring to be shattered as jade rather than remain intact as a tile.
"Hmph! Unappreciative!"
Shen Wudao snorted coldly and flicked his sleeves, leaving.
Jin Changge also took a deep look at Phoenix Ancestor, his eyes flickering with uncertainty, but in the end, he chose to leave.
Watching the backs of the two leaving in such a sorry state, Phoenix Ancestor seemed to have all his strength drained away, and he slumped back onto his throne.
Inside the great hall, there was a deathly silence.
Everyone understood that the Phoenix Clan had reached the edge of a cliff.
In front was the insurmountable mountain that was the Jiang Family,
and behind were allies eyeing them like tigers.
"Old Ancestor..."
Feng Ling'er spoke with a trembling voice, her tears finally overflowing,
"It's me... It's all my fault..."
Phoenix Ancestor closed his eyes and waved his hand, his voice filled with desolation.
"What is the use of saying these things now..."
He stood up and walked with a staggering gait toward the depths of the great hall.
"Pass on my order: effective immediately, seal the mountain. No clansmen are allowed to go out."
"Also... go to the Phoenix Blood Pool and urge the Ancient Ancestor again."
...Outside the Wutong Divine Hall.
Shen Wudao and Jin Changge walked side by side,
both of them wearing gloomy expressions.
"That unappreciative old thing!" Jin Changge broke the silence first, his voice suppressing anger,
"He's staring death in the Face, yet he still dares to put on airs with us! Does he really think that, on his own, he can drag our two clans to perish with him?"
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and a trace of his Quasi-Emperor pressure leaked out involuntarily, causing ripples in the surrounding space.
Shen Wudao's expression was equally unsightly,
but he was more composed than Jin Changge.
"Don't be impatient, Brother Jin. Since the old Phoenix won't give us Face, there's no need for us to hold back either."
"What do you mean?"
Shen Wudao's eyes flickered.
"A Mountain Master who cannot lead the Divine Mountain forward—do you think there is still any need for one?"
Jin Changge was stunned, but he soon reacted.
"Brother Shen, you, you are planning to!"
"That's right!"
Shen Wudao sneered:
"And don't we have a suitable candidate right beside us?"
"The White Tiger Royal Clan, especially with the current deterrence of the Jiang Family, is a very good target."
A third party with a powerful background but no strength of its own is the easiest to manipulate!
"And looking at the bright side, if the White Tiger Royal Clan can really sit in that position, think about it—the resources they possess, as a Royal Clan of the Divine Mountain, it would be quite reasonable for them to take some out and share them with other clans, right?"
"Right, the Jiang Family is powerful, but they can't possibly manage such trivial matters, can they?"
Jin Changge fell into deep thought,
A moment later, he also felt that this proposal was quite good,
The two looked at each other and smiled, everything understood without words.
The sky of this Primordial Divine Mountain indeed needed to change.
But whose world it would be in the end, remained to be seen.
...Western Desert.
Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple.
Golden Buddha light shone upon the earth, and the sound of Sanskrit chanting was endless.
This was the Holy Land of Buddhism, a pure land where all the world's troubles seemed unrelated to this place.
However, the news from the Yaochi Holy Land caused their Buddhist hearts to fluctuate slightly.
"Amitabha, the Yaochi Holy Land has such great Luck."
"A single Saint Body is the foundation of an immortal power for one hundred thousand years. The Jiang Family Imperial Son truly has the ability to turn decay into magic."
On the lotus throne, the Abbot of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple held prayer beads, his appearance solemn, a compassionate smile on his Face.
Beside him, several Arhats and Bodhisattvas clad in red cassocks were whispering to each other.
At this moment, a young novice monk ran into the hall in a hurry, his Face showing a mix of anxiety and confusion.
"Abbot! Venerable Bodhisattvas!"
The little novice monk pressed his palms together in a salute,
"Disciple does not understand. If the Yaochi Holy Land could obtain this Opportunity, why is our Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple completely silent? Didn't we also send Senior Sister Wonderful Sound to the Jiang Family back then?"
"Indeed, Senior Sister Wonderful Sound has profound Buddhist dharma, and her beauty is hailed as the number one in our Buddhist sect for all eternity. Why was she not selected?"
"Could it be that the Jiang Family Imperial Son has a prejudice against our Buddhist sect?"
The little novice monk's words voiced the inner thoughts of many young monks in the hall.
The Abbot, who presided over the situation, smiled slightly upon hearing this but did not speak.
Beside him, an old monk with eyebrows hanging down to his chest and an aura as deep as the sea slowly opened his eyes.
He looked at the little novice monk, a trace of a smile appearing in his eyes.
"Foolish child, you only see the wind before your eyes, but you have never seen where the wind originates."
The little novice monk was even more confused:
"Please enlighten me, Venerable One."
The old monk extended a withered finger and pointed far away to the East, the direction of the Jiang Family's territory.
"You only know that Jade Pool obtained a massive benefit, but have you ever thought about the simplest question?"
"What question?"
"Why, has Bodhisattva Wonderful Sound not returned yet?"