For the first ti in a long while, Aksai realized what it truly ant to be an anomaly of the highest order in the eyes of Heaven.
He had rely used the Fortune-Telling Arts on the Iron Mountain Sect master and then robbed him of his breakthrough opportunity after using the Third Eye on him earlier.
But who could have thought that he would end up becoming the owner of the Heavenly Poison Pyramid? Who could have imagined that it would turn out to be one of the arrangents Al Everwood had made for his descendent?
This opportunity would not have spiraled into such a state in the Iron Mountain Sect master's hands, even though it was considered groundbreaking by normal standards.
And yet, when Aksai stole that opportunity and made it his own, it turned into sothing that would change the entire landscape of the subcontinent in many ways.
He realized sothing slowly, like cold water seeping into his bones. The choices he had been making were never just about survival or growth. They were never just about him becoming stronger. They were shaking the entire Dadangar Subcontinent.
A clear example was the Purple Poison Marshland.
That place was not just a dangerous land filled with poison fog and deadly beasts. It was the source of the Purple Poison River. The river flowed far and wide, feeding lands, sects, and lives.
The marshland itself was massive. It stood between the Yidia Kingdom and the Rokur Kingdom, acting as a natural border and a buffer zone. For decades, no secular kingdom army or cultivator group dared to cross it easily. No organization wanted to lose mbers to poison beasts and deadly miasma.
It had its own balance. Poison plants. Poison insects. Demon beasts born and raised only in that land. Creatures that could not survive anywhere else in the subcontinent.
If the marshland disappeared, all of them would vanish as well. Or they would be forced to adapt with the new change.
That land was also a hiding place. Renegade groups. Wanted cultivators. Broken clans. People with nowhere else to go.
For example, the Lakir Clan had survived for as long as it did because of it. When the Purple River Sect's elders hunted them down, the marshland was their last refuge. Without it, there would be no place left to hide.
Then his thoughts moved further.
No marshland ant no Purple Poison River. No river ant the Purple River Sect would suffer.
From the lowest outer disciple to the highest inner elder, everyone in that sect relied on the river. Their techniques. Their pills. Their body refinents. Their combat arts. All of them used the river water as their base. Without it, cultivation would beco slow and unstable.
Even the sect master would not be spared.
Payum Purplespring. The Purple River Lord.
The Core Formation Lord treated the Purple Poison River like his personal elental pool. If the river weakened or vanished, even he would face serious trouble.
Aksai exhaled slowly.
The Purple River Sect had enemies. Many of them. Other great sects had long wanted to push it out of the Big Five. They were only held back by its strength and its unique resources.
Of course, the Purple River Lord also acted as a deterrence. But with the supposed level-cap of the subcontinent gone, could a Lord status really deter those other sects? For how long?
Once the river was gone and the dao of the subcontinent freed from the effects of the Purple Poison Pyramid as well as the fallen dao beast, those restraints would disappear.
Challenges. Conflicts. Wars of influence. The subcontinent would not stay calm.
There would be unrest. Decades of it. Maybe longer. Either the Purple River Sect would find a way to stand again, or another sect would take its place and crush all others that opposed it.
And all of this…
All of it traced back to the Heavenly Poison Pyramid.
'Hmm. So what if the Purple River Sect gets downgraded and so other sect rises? So what if the mainland faces another period of unrest because of ?
'I will also have saved many mortal lives by eliminating the existence of the Purple Poison River. I will also have saved many lives simply by making the elders of the Purple River Sect act more prudently. And all of those supposedly good deeds will also have nothing to do with .
'I am just a simple Spirit farr acting in his own best interests. I will neither claim rit nor derit for my actions. What happens to things and people outside my sphere of influence has nothing to do with .'
In the next mont, the Spirit farr shrugged his shoulders and decided to simply observe the changes that would take place in the future.
***
anwhile, the soul manifestation of the fallen dao beast fell silent after speaking her mind.
Her gaze then drifted toward Serya, who was floating not far away. For a mont, the strong and calm woman looked fragile. Tears gathered in her eyes.
She quickly wiped them away before they could fall.
"I have lived long enough," Seralyth said quietly. "Now, let use what is left of to help you."
She placed a hand over her chest. Even now, her heart inside the dead body was still beating.
"I will pierce my own heart," she said. "Its poison essence will nourish your Druid's Poison Heart and help it grow."
She raised her hand, sharp purple light forming at her fingertips.
Before she could move any further, Aksai suddenly stepped forward.
"Stop," he said.
Seralyth froze when Aksai suddenly stopped her. Her hand was still hovering near her chest, her fingers trembling. She turned around slowly and looked at Aksai with sharp eyes.
"Why did you stop ?" she asked. Her voice was calm, but there was a deep tiredness hidden inside it.
Aksai did not answer right away.
His woodland clone stood still. Its small body swayed a little as if even standing was taking effort. Inside, Aksai's thoughts were moving fast. He replayed what he knew, what he had gained, and what he could risk. So ideas felt dangerous. So felt foolish. So felt like they could change everything.
He weighed the gains and the losses again and again.
Finally, he let out a slow breath.
"Senior," he said, his voice low and unsure, "I am not one hundred percent certain. But I might have a way for you to live."
Seralyth's eyes widened slightly.
Aksai continued, choosing his words with care. "Not just live for a short ti. You may be able to stay with your daughter. Forever, in a way. And you won't need to keep feeding on the dao paths of the whole subcontinent anymore."
For a mont, Seralyth did not react.
Then disbelief appeared on her face. Her lips parted, but no sound ca out. Her eyes searched Aksai's face as if trying to find a lie, a trick, or a false hope.
A second passed.
Her expression slowly beca blank. Calm. Careful. Like soone forcing herself not to hope.
But then Aksai spoke again.
"Umm… If it works," he said softly, "you will not only live. You will also have a chance to grow stronger in the future…. I think."
His voice shook a little, as if even he was not fully convinced yet.
That was when Seralyth broke.
Hope surged into her eyes, bright and sharp. Then it twisted into sothing deeper. Sothing desperate. She moved in a flash.
Her soul form crossed the space between them and grabbed Aksai's woodland clone. Her grip was not painful, but it was tight, almost frantic. She lifted the small clone up to her face.
"Little druid," she said quickly, her voice trembling, "tell . Now. What can I do?"
Her eyes were wide, wet, and burning with need. For the first ti since Aksai had t her, Seralyth no longer looked like a fallen dao beast or a calm senior. She looked like a mother who had just been shown a way back to her child.
Aksai t Seralyth's gaze without looking away. His woodland clone was still in her grasp, small and light, yet carrying the weight of a dangerous choice. He could feel her trembling, not from weakness, but from fear of losing the thin hope she had just gained.
He raised one tiny hand and gently pressed it against her wrist. Seralyth loosened her grip at once, as if afraid she might hurt him. The clone dropped back onto the ground and stood straight, facing her.
"There are conditions," Aksai said.
His voice was calm, but there was no warmth in it. This was not a favor. This was a deal.
"For this trick to work, I will need your full cooperation," he continued. "There can be no lies and no half asures."
Seralyth listened in silence, her eyes fixed on him.
"First," Aksai said, "I will have to brand your soul with a Slave Mark. This mark will bind you to and ensure your absolute loyalty. Only after that can I take this risk."
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