"It is precisely this matter."
The Crimson-Scaled King nodded readily in admission.
"The old wounds Master sustained when she underwent her tribulation have not gradually healed over the years. Instead, they have continued to worsen. She is growing frailer by the day, and merely to cling to life, she must consume vast quantities of precious and rare heavenly treasures every year. Those heavenly treasures should originally have been used on the clan's various eighth-rank Demon Kings to raise the overall strength of the Willow Serpent Clan."
The Crimson-Scaled King paused slightly. Her vertical pupils contracted sharply, turning cold.
"Furthermore, tortured by the old injuries left by the heavenly tribulation, Master's temperament has grown increasingly violent. At the slightest provocation, she kills or beats clan members, and several hundred have already perished by her hand. She also... fears that I will hold sole authority over the Willow Snake Clan and one day turn against her, so she has supported the Silver Willow King to contend with me. Recently, the Silver Willow King has been leaping about everywhere, currying favor with the clan's strong, fighting for resources, and opposing me at every turn, stirring the clan into a foul miasma."
Song Wen's lips curved slightly upon hearing this.
The Crimson-Scaled King had listed a great many reasons, but what had truly made her resolve herself was likely that the Venerable Biwu's support of the Silver Willow King threatened the Crimson-Scaled King's position within the clan.
The Crimson-Scaled King and the Silver Willow King had the same cultivation, and their strength was not far apart either. Thus, whoever held the higher status could gain priority in mobilizing the Willow Snake Clan's resources to assault the Tribulation Transcendence stage.
"Crimson-Scaled, as long as you can lure the Venerable Biwu out of her cave abode,