"To cooperate with us Immortal Palace? Does he take us for fools? How can we ever work with these ruthless greedy guys?" White Tiger responded with a sneer, "Old Caterpillar, you're old, but you're definitely not muddleheaded yet, so you won't agree to that, will you?"
"I agree with you, I'm old, but I'm not muddleheaded yet. I certainly will not agree with that so readily!"
"Will not agree with that so readily?" White Tiger frowned, "What do you mean? Are you considering going to work with the Divine Wind Palace?"
"For some matters, you must look beyond the surface. Having lost face completely during the Taiyuan gathering, the Divine Wind Palace wants to get an ally as soon as possible. And the Immortal Palace is the first choice. If they team up with us, they will be able to stabilize the situation. And we will also benefit a lot, right?" Elder Qing looked at White Tiger with a smile.
White Tiger gave Elder Qing a look that seemed to suggest that he was dealing with an idiot. "You want to attain profit through taking a risk? It doesn't work this way for the Divine Wind Palace!"
"How would you know if you don't even try?"
"You're out of mind! You're really old and muddle-headed!" White Tiger said, slowly drawing out each syllable, all the while staring at Elder Qing's face.
Elder Qing listened intently to White Tiger's curses with a smile, and finally laughed, "Zhou Bao is the key. Now, to them, Zhou Bao is well-liked and they're longing for Zhou Bao to join them immediately. What's more, he belongs to the Central Mainland Region, which has immense strength and a highly placed position in the world. The Divine Wind Palace..."
"Okay, enough said. I know clearly how much weight that Zhou Bao carries. But we can't break the rules of the Immortal Palace which have been around for years for thousands of years just for him. Even if you agree, the other members of the Immortal Palace might not agree. I know you have the dictatorial right, but don't forget, the Immortal Palace is different from other influences. If the members are not united, it is worthless!"
"Elder Qing did not speak, but paced back and forth in the room. "You're right. Without unity, the Immortal Palace is worthless. However, have you ever thought that if we don't cooperate with the Divine Wind Palace, they will seek the cooperation of other forces. Regardless of the Dragon Thunder Palace, if they were snubbed by us, the Divine Wind Palace will seek the cooperation of the Snow Mountain Great Wheel Temple. If the Bigwheel Temple agrees, have you thought about the consequences?"
"The monks at the Bigwheel Temple won't be so foolish. They won't be as muddle-headed as you are!"
"If things are as you say, it doesn't matter!" Elder Qing shook his head, "I'm afraid they're more muddle-headed than I am now!"
"Have you received any news?"
"Hump, coming back from Taiyuan Heaven, Happy Monk did not conduct a closed-door training straight away but led Taihai Sage Wen Yida to the Snow Mountain Great Wheel Temple!" Elder Qing's eyes held a trace of sulkiness. "They did it in secret, and I discovered it by accident. If the Snow Mountain Great Wheel Temple is up to something, we're not going to take part in it!"
"Do you believe that those monks can make it?" White Tiger asked coldly, "They're just a bunch of blockheads. The only thing they do is to practice their skills daily with no original thoughts of their own!"
"They're truly blockheads, but they have formidable powers which is worrying" Elder Qing sighed, "The thing that the Divine Wind Palace needs isn't their intelligence but their power. They don't need to do outstanding things. The Divine Wind Palace will be doing that. You understand what I mean?"
White Tiger frowned slightly. He was not stupid and clearly understood the meaning of Elder Qing's words.
Rome was not built in one day. Similarly, the formidable power of the Divine Wind Palace did not come about overnight, but happened over tens of thousands of years. Its advantages were accumulated bit by bit. Now, its ingrained strength was a force to be reckoned with, so it would be exceedingly unwise for the Immortal Palace to fight against it alone.
There had been a combination of other influences who went against the Divine Wind Palace. But over the past thousands of years, the Divine Wind Palace had never gone beyond their boundaries and were very straightforward. Although they were still somewhat domineering and unreasonable, they were now much more easier to deal with than before. Otherwise, White Tiger would not have been able to initiate the situation in the Penglai Region. Besides, the Divine Wind Palace did not dictate orders to other influences unlike before, but only took care of their two regions. In this way, the pressure that had been imposed by the other influences had suddenly decreased.
Because of the decrease in pressure, the Immortal Palace, the Dragon Thunder Palace, the Snow Mountain Great Wheel Temple and the Jade Pool, gradually became less united than they were before. To make matters worse, they often clashed over their own interests. As a result of this, their relationship began to deteriorate, and they were not united at all.
At first, it was barely noticeable. Now, thousands of years later, however, when they wanted to work together again, they were horrified to find that they were all reluctant to cooperate with their former allies. The Immortal Palace had become stronger due to their effective management among their sphere of influence. With the ebb and flow of these influences, the situation today was quite different.
"Alas, I know what you're thinking. But I don't agree to kowtow to the Divine Wind Palace. They're powerful, but we Immortal Palace are not weak. We can't beat them, but neither can they wipe us out. Moreover, their forbearance of thousands of years cannot be the same at this point in time. Strong as they are, they don't have the ability. After all we're not easily controlled. To cope with ever changing events by sticking to a fundamental principle. We don't have to be afraid of them!"
His words were harsh, but the initial sighing had already revealed his true feelings.
"If we cope with changing events by sticking to a fundamental principle, we'll soon find ourselves in a submissive position when under attack. Even if we finally retain our bases, we will be at their mercy. If the Divine Wind Palace takes full control of the Golden Book of Fate by chance, the general situation will be reversed and the Immortal Palace will not be at peace!"
"Then, we can't let them get what they want!" White Tiger said, "Just let them go to the Bigwheel Temple. Let's see what will happen in the end!"
"It's not right! Not right at all!" Elder Qing replied slowly, "To be led by the nose will surely render us dead with a blow. It's not right, so we need to be proactive now!"
"To be proactive?" White Tiger paused for a moment. "Or will that bring disaster upon our heads?"
"That should be alright as long as there's a chance of turning the tables!"
"A chance of turning the tables? What do you mean?"
"Zhou Bao!" Elder Qing said confidently, twirling his beard under his chin, "He is our chance to turn the table!"
"You still intend to use him as a pawn at this point? With his strength and background, he can't be our pawn any longer!"
"Let's get him involved in this game. It's no big deal!" Elder Qing said, casually, "This chess game has gone beyond our control already, so if we have one more chess player, we get one more chance!"
"What exactly do you want to do?"
"It's one thing to take on the Divine Wind Palace in the Azure Secret Area, whether they can make it is another. They've been making preparations for 1,000 years already, and still failed in Taiyuan Heaven and they are now under so much pressure. Anyone can discern what their purpose for entering the Azure Secret Area is this time. What if they are able to enter there? We can take them in. Similarly, others can take anyone else in as well, such as Ye Qingtian. You'll never know. Then what do you think of their chances of succeeding? What's more, the Azure Secret Area doesn't like Taiyuan Heaven. It's really a changing world and the situation is getting more complicated. It doesn't mean that The Divine Wind Palace will get all the benefits!"
"There're all kinds of possibilities. What if they succeed?"
"They will never succeed!" Elder Qing stated vehemently, as his eyes flashed in anger, "White Tiger, you have the power and capacity, but you're remarkably short-sighted. You should keep your eyes on the long term consequences!"
"What? I'm shortsighted?"
"Do not always focus only on their conspiracy on the Azure Secret Area. As I said, it's not a reliable source. You've got to think about what you're going to do after you take over my job, and that's all that matters!"
"Then, Elder Qing, you mean...?"
Now White Tiger had stopped calling him Old Caterpillar, and his tone became serious.
"Zhou Bao is the key. I think you already know that his fief is where Nine Strips of Dragon Veins gather!"
Elder Qing continued after seeing him nod his head in agreement, "I have issued a gag order on this matter, so only very few people know about it. The thing about the Divine Wind Palace, after all, is the question of the Way of the Emperor. It's about supremacy over all and the Emperor's Intention. Because of this supreme control over all, the Divine Wind Palace has tried to dominate the world. And because of the Emperor's Intention, they've been very candid for thousands of years and have openly laid out their plans. They have plenty of time anyway. We are inferior to them in this matter. The most important thing in the Way of the Emperor is their potential. Now they have reached their potential, and is difficult to overthrow. We can only conform to the flow!"
"What do you mean by 'conform to the flow'?"
"They need a Human Emperor and already have a few other candidates in mind? Why don't we get involved?" Elder Qing grinned, "There're Nine Strips of Dragon Veins in Zhou Bao's fief. Thus, his fate is definitely not inferior compared to those candidates!"
"Make him the Human Emperor? You can't count on him! He's not cut out for it!"
"I'm not talking about him. It's true that he is not cut out for it, but what about his offspring?"
"His offspring? You mean..."
"He married a princess, so his offspring has the bloodline of the Jin royalty, which gives his offspring the most basic conditions required. Although he has no children now, it is only a matter of time. If his wife gives birth to a few boys, they will grow up in a decade or two. This matter has already been delayed for so many years, they won't mind waiting for another 10 or 20 years. Besides, Zhou Bao is so close to the Divine Wind Palace now. Therefore, it's not impossible to push his sons or grandsons out in the future if we proceed with care."