Her voice was steady as she said, "The Blood Skull sect has three patriarchs and many more golden core elders fighting to replace them. The Red and Blue Fire sect has 5 patriarchs and more than 50 golden core elders fighting to replace them. What do we have?"
Before Green Viper could reply, she cut him off again.
"It was a rhetorical question. It doesn't matter what we have. What matters is that we are weaker than the Blood Skull sect and the Red and Blue Fire sect. There is nothing about our strength that can change this."
This time, Green Viper didn't say anything to refute her. But he still said, "So? Is the solution to submit to the Blood Skull sect?"
"Forget about how they've bullied us and dominated the resources of this region for so many years. If we can forget that and join them, we will still be consumed."
"You should know that the Blood Skull sect has subdued and assimilated many sects and many cultivation families in the past. But they never let the cultivation techniques of those sects be taught within the sect. Only their four main cultivation techniques are allowed to be taught to disciples."
"So if we join them, we will be the last golden core elders of the Purple Flower sect. There will be no new golden core cultivators that advance with our cultivation technique. How is that different from dying out?"
Green Viper was very distraught as he spoke. It showed on his face and in the tone of his voice. He was agitated, and it was because he was speaking about the unfavorable fate of his beloved sect.
This is a fate that he had tried to deny. But Pale Shadow forced him to face the reality and talk about it. It is clearly an unpleasant experience for him.
But Pale Shadow, who brought up the topic, didn't seem to care much that she was talking about the defeat of her sect.
She shrugged at his question and replied, "So what if we are the last golden core elders of our sect? It is not as if our cultivation techniques are better than the ones of the Blood Skull sect. So they are being smart to stop the teaching of our crippled cultivation technique."
"Besides, the alternatives to joining the Blood Skull sect are to either be wiped out by the Red and Blue Fire sect, be defeated and assimilated by the Red and Blue Fire sect, or run downstream to establish the Purple Flower sect there."
"The best outcome of these alternatives is to run downstream to establish our sect there. But if we did that, the best secret realms we would gain access to would be rank 2 ones. In that case, we might never be able to create a new golden core elder for our sect again."
Then she asked pointedly, "How is that different from what you fear about us joining the Blood Skull sect?"
Green Viper didn't reply. He appeared to be deep in thought.
This made her shake her head and say, "There's nothing complicated about it to think about. At least with my suggestion, we would have avoided going through the stress of going downstream to die there. Our sect might die in the Blood Skull sect, but we will die in a good place."
Green Viper still wasn't willing to admit helplessness. So he made another suggestion.
He said, "You missed an alternative. We could become a cultivation family here in the Five Veins region instead of going downstream. This way, we can still have a chance to create golden core elders and can lie low for an opportunity to rise back as a sect."
She nodded and said, "Indeed. It seems I missed that option. Now tell me, why would the Red and Fire sects allow the enemy that they invaded and sent packing to live right next to them without trying to wipe them out for good?"
Green Viper opened his mouth in shock. He had missed this crucial point. It seemed that he didn't have an answer to her question.
Pale Shadow didn't rush him. She kept quiet and gave him time to think. So the two of them flew through the air in silence while the rank 3 elders trailed behind them.
After a while, Green Viper finally found an answer. His face lit up as he said to Pale Shadow, "The Red and Blue Fire sect will let us live here because the Blood Skull sect will protect us."
If Pale Shadow had emotions, those emotions would burst out now, and she would shout in anger and frustration.
But she remained as calm as ever as she said, "So the Blood Skull sect will fail to help us secure victory against the Red and Blue Fire sect while we have the home ground advantage but will somehow be able to protect us after we lose the support and defense of our secret realm."
"I'm not saying that is absurd yet. That's for later."
"For now, I will assume that what you said is possible. But if it is possible, why will the Blood Skull sect choose to protect us, a defeated sect that has lost its foundation, when they didn't choose to do so earlier when we still had a foundation and the right to call ourselves a sect?"
Green Viper became stuck again.
It wasn't that he was stupid. He was at least smart enough to recognize the hopelessness of the situation. But he was too emotional and loved his sect to accept the hopelessness.
In order to find a way out, he had to try some unconventional approaches. It is just that those approaches sound foolish. But what he really is is desperate for a way out from their hopeless situation.
Unfortunately for him, Pale Shadow kept beating down his ideas again and again. She did such a good job of it that he had to give up and accept the reality that he dreaded so much.