Chapter 564: Its All About Choosing the Right Horse to Bet On

Nael supposedly gave Aksai good news, but it still made him frown.

The Core Formation Lord wasn’t saying this to comfort him—he was preparing him.

Nael’s tone shifted then, growing serious, his cold eyes narrowing slightly as if he were warning a disciple before a dangerous trial. “But there’s one thing you need to be careful about,” he said slowly. “The Yaksha Lord.”

Aksai’s brow furrowed. “The Mroot Yaksha Sect?”

Nael nodded.

“Yes. Even if the Mroot Yaksha Sect ends up being the only one of the three major demonic sects standing firmly behind Kalingoot, that old rascal and his lackeys are capable of going to any lengths to achieve their goals.” His voice grew quieter, edged with a cold undertone.

“The Yaksha Lord doesn’t play by the rules others do. He thrives in chaos and uses it to build power. If he sees an opportunity in this turmoil, he won’t hesitate to strike—even at the Core Formation Lords should any of them decide to join the fray. He won’t even care about seniority when it comes to dealing with juniors like you.”

Aksai leaned back in his chair, staring at the floor for a moment. “I thought his story was halted, if not completely over, when he practically committed suicide in front of master Hayaat Blackblood,” he murmured. “But I guess he would have his ways to deal with the One Thousand Deaths Poison he consumed.”

Nael’s gaze turned to the window again, watching the faint mist that rolled in from the ocean. “Most likely…. yes,” he said quietly before adding further.

“Spirit cultivators tend to find their own Individuality from the Core Formation realm. And with certain Individualities come peculiar powers. What low-level Spirit cultivators refer to as death wouldn’t necessarily weaken people like the Yaksha Lord—it can make them even more dangerous.

In all likelihood, he is doing well despite the poison’s effects on him. I… I believe he’ll bide his time and strike when everyone least expects it.”

Aksai sighed, his gaze lowering to the surface of the wooden table in front of him. Nael’s warning about the Yaksha Lord stirred a recent memory in him—one that carried the cold voice of Hayaat Blackblood, his former master, echoing in his mind.

“Be wary of the Yaksha Lord,” Hayaat had once told him.

At that time, Aksai had thought his master was just being overly cautious. After all, the Blackblood Lord himself had died because of the Yaksha Lord’s schemes inside the Holy Land Torel.

The only reason Hayaat hadn’t started a full-blown sect war was because it would have destroyed both sides. The Mroot Yaksha Sect was ruthless, but the Blackblood Sect wasn’t far behind.

A clash between them would’ve left both in ruins. Hayaat Blackblood didn’t want to leave behind a shattered legacy for his children. So instead, he chose to make peace—on paper at least.

He had accepted Yaksha Lord’s truce when the man willingly consumed the One Thousand Deaths Poison. That 3rd Order poison was infamous for eating away a Core Formation cultivator’s life within months. It was supposed to be a slow, humiliating death.

But even then, Hayaat had suspected something was off. “A man like Yaksha Lord wouldn’t drink poison unless he had a cure or a wayout,” he had once said, his eyes filled with quiet contempt.

So, before his death, the Blackblood Lord had already instructed his son, Haitin Blackblood, on how to protect the sect from the inevitable storm that would come once Yaksha Lord returned.

Now, thinking about all of this, Aksai couldn’t help but understand why Nael said what he did. It made sense that the Blackblood Sect would step away from the Kalingoot conflict—keeping just enough presence there to gain benefits without getting fully dragged into the chaos.

Still, Aksai knew that the situation wasn’t simple. Even though Haitin Blackblood was his friend and ally, the Blackblood Sect was unstable since Hayaat’s death.

The grand elders had started acting on their own, each one hungry for influence. Some of them had even started to approach Hayaat’s other, lesser-known children to weaken Haitin and Humeyin.

And Aksai had given refuge to Jina—Hayaat’s concubine in name—on Emerald Cove.

Right now, her presence was still a secret. None of the sect’s grand elders knew where she was. But secrets like that never stayed hidden for long.

Haitin was trying his best to take control of his father’s legacy, but despite his cleverness and calm, he lacked one thing—overwhelming personal strength. Without that, it was hard to silence those who questioned his authority.

Aksai knew that if and when Haitin failed to bring all of the grand elders under his banner, Jina would become a target. The ambitious grand elders would use her as a pawn, or worse, as bait. If that happened, Aksai and the Emerald Cove would be dragged into another storm—this time against the very sect that was supposed to be his ally.

He let out another long breath and leaned his head on the table, resting his forehead on his crossed arms. His fingers ran through his hair, the weight of his thoughts sinking deeper.

“There’s going to be a huge mess soon, right?” he muttered to himself with a helpless laugh.

Voicing his frustration out loud, Aksai slowly straightened his back, pushing away from the edge of the table where his arms had been resting. He looked directly at the Frostbound Lord before speaking further.

“Frostbound Lord,” Aksai began, his voice calm but curious, “you say there’s a possibility that restless factions within the Big Five sects from the would join hands with Kalingoot to deal with the Alliance. But aren’t they the righteous faction as a whole?

I just don’t understand why. Why would these factions, who are supposed to stand for order and balance, side with Kalingoot—a group mostly filled with demonic and rogue Spirit cultivators? It doesn’t make sense. Why would they attack the Alliance, their own natural ally since the beginning?”

He leaned back slightly, one hand raised to his chin as he fell into thought. His thumb brushed along the line of his jaw as he muttered softly, “Something doesn’t add up here.”

The Frostbound Lord, Nael Netherfrost, gave a small smile. His long hair glimmered faintly in the sunlight that slipped through the half-drawn curtains before responding.

“It’s all about benefits,” Nael said after a pause, his voice steady and cold as winter wind. “And about choosing the right horse to bet on.”

He clasped his hands together and leaned slightly forward.

“First of all, those in the righteous side who are currently benefitting from the Alliance’s stability will never join Kalingoot. Why would they? They may not be able to stop the downfall of the Alliance, but they won’t set fire to their own roofs either. Such people will simply wait—hoping the storm passes over them.”

He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. “That leaves us with the others. The factions that are not gaining anything from the current balance. Those who think they’ve been overlooked or suppressed by the stronger parts of their own sects. For them, this coming war is a chance to change that.”

Aksai’s brows furrowed slightly, the meaning sinking in.

Nael continued, his tone turning more direct.

“So, the war between the Alliance and Kalingoot is not only about land or power—it’s an excuse for the Big Five sects to deal with their internal struggles. Whoever wins control of the islands in the Dadangar Archipelago will gain influence that goes beyond territory.

Inside each sect, one faction will rise while another will fall. And that’s why the Core Formation Lords won’t interfere. Even if they know, they’ll turn a blind eye.”

Nael leaned back, a faint smirk on his face. “To them, this is a way for the younger generations to sort themselves out. Picking sides for righteousness or justice was never their real concern. It was always about optics and influence.”

Aksai’s expression darkened slightly. His mind was turning quickly, connecting the pieces. “So…” he said slowly, “no faction inside the Big Five would dare to offend their equally powerful peers unless they had some kind of assurance. You mean… Kalingoot already has a way to secure victory?”

The Frostbound Lord didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached for the cup of spirit tea that had long gone cold, took a small sip, and shrugged.

“I’m saying that Kalingoot has convinced these factions of its victory,” he replied calmly. “Maybe it truly does have something powerful hidden up its sleeve. Maybe it’s bluffing. But either way—it’s winning the mind game.”

He set the cup down gently, his icy blue eyes reflecting the lamplight.

“Kalingoot is being clever. It’s weaving its bait—slowly, carefully. And the Alliance… the Alliance is too busy playing defense, reacting instead of acting.

Relatively speaking, Kalingoot is still playing a safe game, not attacking the Alliance openly. After all, both the Blackblood Sect and the Frostbound Sect have withdrawn most of their support and investment from Kalingoot.

This congregation of chaos-loving Spirit cultivators lacks the manpower for the kind of ambition it carries at this point. As such, it’s waiting for the factions on the righteous side to fill the vacuum left by the exit of the two major demonic sects.

However, once enough rebellious righteous factions take the bait and join the chaos, Kalingoot won’t hesitate. That’s when the real war will begin.”