Sage of Humanity
Chapter 1026 - 1024: Blood Food Ceremony

However, just a moment later, the hall was filled with corpses, blood flowing everywhere.

Lu Ye sat on the throne belonging to the Blessed Land Master of this land, playing with the Sacred Blood Jade given to him by Lann Qiyue before his departure. Yu Lingfeng stood respectfully by his side, trembling with fear.

With the skills of Lu Ye and Dao Thirteen, it wasn't particularly difficult to kill all the Blood Race members here, but it wouldn't have been this easy. After all, these were True Lake Realm Blood Race members, and facing life-threatening danger, they would have resisted to some extent.

With the suppression of the Sacred Blood Jade, it was different. When Lu Ye offered up this Sacred Blood Jade, every Blood Race member present froze as if struck by lightning. Lu Ye and Dao Thirteen attacked quickly, killing the Blood Race members in an instant.

Only the Blessed Land Master remained alive, caught by Dao Thirteen and made to kneel before Lu Ye.

Lu Ye raised his hand, pointing at the Blessed Land Master's forehead, activating his Mental Consciousness.

A moment later, Dao Thirteen released him. Lu Ye retrieved the Sacred Blood Jade, and the Blessed Land Master, who had been implanted with the Soul Taming Psyche, stood up respectfully.

Lu Ye gave a few simple instructions, then left with Dao Thirteen and Yu Lingfeng.

The reason he didn't kill the Blessed Land Master wasn't out of mercy, but because he needed him to stay alive to continue ruling this Blessed Land and provide as much protection as possible to the human race within it.

As he traveled southward, each time he passed a Blessed Land, Lu Ye would use the same method—killing a group of Blood Race members, collecting Blood Crystals, and leaving the local Blessed Land Master alive implanted with the Soul Taming Divine Runes.

If possible, Lu Ye would have preferred to implant the Soul Taming Divine Runes in the minds of those in the Divine Sea Realm.

In the Blood Refinement World, the Blood Race gathering places are divided into three levels. The lowest is the cave residence, ruled by Cloud River Realm Blood Race; next is the Blessed Land, held by True Lake Realm Blood Race; and above that is the Grotto Heaven, stationed by Divine Sea Realm Blood Race.

The master of the cave residence is called the cave residence master, the master of the Blessed Land is the Blessed Land Master, and the master of the Grotto Heaven is the Heavenly Venerable.

If he could tame a Heavenly Venerable, the benefits would naturally surpass that of taming a mere Blessed Land Master.

However, even with the Sacred Blood Jade in hand, Lu Ye didn't dare to recklessly charge into a Grotto Heaven where a Divine Sea Realm Blood Race resided. The risks were too great; Divine Sea Realm Blood Race members weren't easily tamed. It was a stroke of luck that he was successful in implanting the Soul Taming Psyche in Dao Thirteen.

Dao Thirteen fell into a coma, and Lu Ye used the Mental Consciousness Destruction Sword to break through Dao Thirteen's psyche defense, achieving a successful strike.

So despite knowing the benefits of taming a Heavenly Venerable-level Blood Race, Lu Ye didn't act rashly.

Continuing southward, along the way, nearly every Blessed Land Master was implanted with the Soul Taming Divine Runes and received Lu Ye's instructions.

Until one day, the group ascended a towering peak.

The cold wind was biting, chilling to the bone.

Looking around, mist churned, and smoke wavered, as if no longer in the mortal world.

Sky Supporting Peak, one of the two highest peaks in the Blood Refinement World, was marked on the map Lann Qiyue had given to Lu Ye.

The other peak is Jade Pillar Peak.

It is said that these two peaks are generally of the same height and, when viewed from the sky, they appear to be half-circular in shape, symmetrically aligned on the map of the Blood Refinement World, truly peculiar.

Whether they are of the same height or symmetrically aligned, Lu Ye didn't know and had no interest in finding out, as he couldn't possibly make a trip to Jade Pillar Peak for a comparison.

He was just passing by this place.

It's been nearly two months since he departed from the Thousand Streams Blessed Land, and according to the map, he's only traveled about thirty percent of the journey.

In other words, it will take at least another four months to reach the Empyrean Sea.

Truly, the road ahead is long and arduous.

Not lingering here, the group soon set off again, crossing Sky Supporting Peak and entering the vast Yunluo Plain.

From the map, the entire Yunluo Plain is incredibly vast, taking up almost half of the Blood Refinement World, and the Empyrean Sea is located in the lower central part of the plain.

It's an inland sea.

A few days later, in a Blood Race-gathered Blessed Land, the discussion hall was filled with the corpses of various Blood Race members. Yu Lingfeng silently collected Blood Crystals from the fallen, while Lu Ye sat on the Blessed Land Master's throne, playing with the Sacred Blood Jade in hand. The Blessed Land Master knelt before him, constantly nodding in agreement as Lu Ye communicated instructions.

Having done this many times, the group of three was quite skilled at it, and almost every time they arrived at a Blessed Land, a similar scene unfolded.

After giving his orders, Lu Ye got up to leave.

Unexpectedly, the Blessed Land Master, who had been implanted with the Soul Taming Divine Runes, suddenly spoke: "Holy Envoy, please stay."

He didn't quite understand Lu Ye's origins, but seeing the round jade of Sacred Seed he held, he assumed Lu Ye was under some Saintly Venerable's command, hence he instinctively called him Holy Envoy. As for why a human was chosen as a Holy Envoy by a Saintly Venerable, it was not his place to question.

"What is it?" Lu Ye turned his head to look at him.

The Blood Race member spoke: "May I ask if the Saintly Venerable is willing to subdue more Blessed Land Masters?"

Lu Ye squinted slightly: "What do you mean?"

The Blood Race member said: "Recently, the Blessed Land Master of Yellow Dome Blessed Land advanced to the Divine Sea, so he has widely invited various Blessed Land Masters to gather, intending to host a grand Blood Food ceremony. Many Blessed Land Masters will be attending to show support."

Lu Ye listened, his eyebrows raised.

Over the past two months, he has enslaved quite a few Blood Race Blessed Land Masters using the Soul Taming Divine Runes, but the efficiency remains low.

However, this was just something he did in passing while on the road, so he wasn't overly concerned about the results.

Now, with such an opportunity where numerous Blessed Land Masters are gathering, he can certainly join in the excitement.

The reason he hasn't rashly sought trouble with Heavenly Venerable-level Blood Races during this time is the plethora of uncertainties; before his cultivation truly steps into the Divine Sea Realm, recklessly targeting a Divine Sea Realm Blood Race carries significant risks.

But if it's just a newly promoted Divine Sea Realm Blood Race, it can be entirely dealt with.

Not to mention, many Blessed Land Masters would be there to support as well.

Participating in this Blood Food Grand Ceremony could yield more gains than his efforts in the past two months. Spending a few days to ensure more humans receive protection is entirely worthwhile.

"Did they invite you?" Lu Ye asked.

The Blood Race replied, "The one from Yellow Dome Blessed Land and I have some old ties."

"Very well!" Lu Ye nodded with satisfaction, "What's your name?"

The Blood Race hurriedly replied, "Jin De."

Due to his old ties with the person from Yellow Dome Blessed Land, Jin De had originally planned to set off today to pay a visit. Unexpectedly, Lu Ye came looking for him, and now his subordinates in the True Lake Realm were nearly wiped out, leaving him all alone.

There wasn't much to prepare, so shortly after, Jin De led Lu Ye and the others away.

Yellow Dome Blessed Land wasn't far from here but not close either, taking about a day's journey altogether.

By the second day, the group arrived at Yellow Dome Blessed Land.

From afar, they saw that the Yellow Dome Blessed Land looked festive and cheerful, with many Blood Races bustling about, arranging the necessaries for the grand ceremony.

As it was not yet the day of the grand ceremony, the guests had not arrived.

When Jin De led Lu Ye and the others to land, a blood acquaintance greeted him with a wide smile, "Brother Jin De, how come you're so early? The grand ceremony is still two days away."

Jin De replied, "Brother Wen's promotion to the Divine Sea is a monumental event; how could I arrive late? Besides, I came to see if there's anything I can help with."

The master of Yellow Dome Blessed Land is called Wen Yufeng, younger than Jin De in age.

The Blood Race person laughed, "Brother Jin De is thoughtful." Then reminded, "But Brother Jin De should address him as Heavenly Venerable."

Jin De was taken aback, then burst into laughter, "Yes, yes, Heavenly Venerable Wen."

Even though they were acquainted, the status between Divine Sea and True Lake is different; calling him Brother Wen now would be inappropriate.

While the two Blood Races were conversing, Lu Ye's gaze drifted to the side, where numerous humans, all with panicked expressions, were imprisoned. Without exception, they all had cultivation, and most were young human girls around the ages of sixteen or seventeen.

There were quite a number of them, probably about three to four hundred.

To gather so many young girls with cultivation, Yellow Dome Blessed Land must have put in considerable effort. These girls were evidently prepared as Blood Food for the upcoming grand ceremony, to be enjoyed by the Blood Races attending to celebrate.

Lu Ye secretly rejoiced, thankful that Jin De had mentioned this earlier; otherwise, he might have missed the grand ceremony, and these girls would have faced a truly dreadful fate.

At the same time, he felt a bit of sorrow, for this was merely what he could see and intervene in; how much more lay unseen, beyond his reach, in this vast Blood Refinement World?

"These two humans are...?" The Blood Race curiously glanced at Lu Ye and Dao Thirteen, especially Dao Thirteen, whose sturdy build and abundant blood Qi particularly attracted the Blood Race's attention. As back in Bright Moon Cave Residence, Sun Miaozhu had taken a liking to him at first sight.

Jin De laughed, "These are gifts I brought for the Heavenly Venerable, these two Blood Slaves have rather high cultivation."

The Blood Race understood quickly and immediately smiled, "Brother Jin De is thoughtful. The Heavenly Venerable will undoubtedly be pleased."

"Where is the Heavenly Venerable?" Jin De asked, "I wish to present them to the Heavenly Venerable immediately."

"In the sleeping hall, meditating in preparation for the grand ceremony in two days." The Blood Race gestured, "Brother Jin De, follow me."

Typically, it wouldn't be proper to disturb the Heavenly Venerable at this time, but since Jin De was delivering a gift, there was no way to stop him.

The party followed behind the Blood Race towards the back courtyard of the Blessed Land.

Soon, they arrived at a sleeping hall, and the Blood Race went inside to announce their presence. After obtaining Wen Yufeng's permission, they came out to invite them in: "The Heavenly Venerable invites you in!"

"Much obliged," Jin De nodded slightly and led Lu Ye and Dao Thirteen inside the sleeping hall.

Upon entering, they immediately saw a Blood Race sitting cross-legged, it was the master of Yellow Dome Blessed Land, Wen Yufeng.

With his recent promotion to Divine Sea, Yellow Dome Blessed Land would certainly rise in status, likely ascending to Yellow Dome Grotto Heaven. Whether or not they could maintain their standing would depend on Wen Yufeng's abilities.

This was also why he held a Blood Food Grand Ceremony, to win over the nearby Blessed Land Masters by using the ceremony; otherwise, why would he go through so much effort to prepare so many premium Blood Foods?

"Greetings, Heavenly Venerable," Jin De stepped forward to pay respects.

Wen Yufeng opened his eyes and said with a smile, "Brother Jin De, no need for formalities. We've been friends for many years. Although I've ascended to the Divine Sea earlier, you'll have your day too. Let's keep our old titles."