When the Second Priestess spoke these words, Xu Qingxuan was thoroughly unconvinced. Although she respected her master, she was not the blindly loyal type.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone behind her master's back to secretly meet with her father and brother, bringing her mother along. In the end, despite years of attempted brainwashing, Xu Qingxuan had never truly been brainwashed — she still maintained her own unique thoughts.
Hearing her master say such things, by any measure of cause and effect, this behavior was nothing short of ingratitude, and Xu Qingxuan naturally found it contemptible.
After all, the one who had revived the Moon Goddess Treasure Tree for the Moon Goddess Sect was none other than her own brother.
Saintess Qingxuan was a far-sighted person. Ever since learning that her parents had reunited, she had already begun considering the possibility of their family being together again.
For their family to reunite, the Moon Goddess Sect would have to psychologically accept Radiant Celestial City and acknowledge Young Master Zhen. Only with the sect's acceptance of Young Master Zhen as a prerequisite could family reunion become possible.
Otherwise, under the current circumstances, reuniting the family would be fraught with difficulties. If it were the First Priestess, things would be somewhat easier — at least she wasn't as stubborn.
But as for her own master, Saintess Qingxuan knew full well: she was someone with deep-seated prejudices. In her master's eyes, her mother Xu Meng was a traitor, a disgrace to their lineage.
The only reason she hadn't been killed was entirely out of concern for Xu Qingxuan. Otherwise, her master would never have allowed her mother Xu Meng to reside within the quarters of the Qingyue lineage's Saintess.
However, master was still her master. Even though Xu Qingxuan disagreed inwardly, she could not openly stand up to contradict her opinion.
"Third, what do you say?" The First Priestess smiled without saying a word, turning to ask the Third Priestess's opinion.
The Third Priestess smiled and said, "Peacock Sacred Mountain is indeed quite far from us. However, if we can verify that Young Master Zhen is the same Shao Yuan who saved the Moon Goddess Treasure Tree back then, I think we should remember that debt of gratitude. Perhaps we cannot provide any substantial help in person, but morally, we should still offer our support. At the very least, we should issue a declaration expressing our support for Young Master Zhen's control over Radiant Celestial City?"
The Third Priestess had a gentle temperament, but she was someone who clearly distinguished right from wrong. She did not take favors received for granted.
"Support Young Master Zhen? How can we do that?" The Second Priestess couldn't help but interject.
The First Priestess looked at the Second Priestess with a smile. "Why not? What's your take, Second Priestess?"
"My view is simple — we cannot confirm that Young Master Zhen is Shao Yuan. Since we can't confirm it, we might as well play dumb. It's not that I'm petty, but this declaration of support truly cannot be issued. Radiant Celestial City and Pill Fire City are mortal enemies, and Young Master Zhen is Pill Fire City's old adversary. If we support Young Master Zhen, it means we'd be offending the colossal power next door."
The Second Priestess's view was more practical, more pragmatic — everything was measured from the perspective of the Moon Goddess Sect's interests.
Pill Fire City sat right on the border of the Oblique Moon Upper Domain. From Pill Fire City, heading further northwest led straight to the Oblique Moon Upper Domain — the territory under the Moon Goddess Sect's control.
They and Pill Fire City could truly be called neighbors. Although they were wary of this neighbor, and sometimes could barely tolerate Pill Fire City's domineering nature —
But whether they could tolerate it or not, Pill Fire City, that colossal power, would remain right beside the Oblique Moon Upper Domain, and nothing could change that.
Since it couldn't be changed, they could only adapt to such a tyrannical neighbor.
Even if they sometimes had to swallow their pride and take a loss, they had no choice but to accept it. Compared to Pill Fire City, the Moon Goddess Sect, even as a first-rate sect, was simply not on the same level in terms of foundation and strength. Such a colossal power was absolutely not something the Moon Goddess Sect could afford to provoke.
At this moment, Saintess Xiyuan spoke up. "Master, this disciple believes the Second Priestess makes a valid point. No matter how wonderful Radiant Celestial City is, or how talented Young Master Zhen may be, they are ultimately too far from our Moon Goddess Sect — so far that they can barely cause any ripple in our hearts. Everything that happens there is like a storyteller's tale; it has no impact whatsoever on our lives here. But Pill Fire City is right beside us, and that colossal power — even a mere stomp of its foot would be enough to give the Moon Goddess Sect a hard time."
Her intention was crystal clear — they must not support Young Master Zhen, regardless of whether he had done the Moon Goddess Sect a favor.
Saintess Xiyuan spoke with the guise of selfless concern, but in truth, it was ultimately her own selfishness at work. The mere mention of Young Master Zhen made her seethe with anger.
If that guy hadn't meddled, how would that woman Xu Shan have risen to power? How would Xu Shan be threatening her position now?
Sure, you treated the Moon Goddess Treasure Tree — that was fine. But why did you have to go and dig up some Reverse Yin-Yang Bloodline? Do you have any idea how unfair that was to everyone else?
This was the true picture of Saintess Xiyuan's heart. She was unwilling to accept it, and so she had come to hate Young Master Zhen along with all his meddling.
Now that Young Master Zhen was in deep trouble, she wished the situation would escalate even further — ideally into a massive internal conflict within Radiant Celestial City that would claim a good batch of lives.
Asking her to support Young Master Zhen? That was nothing short of a pipe dream!