translator: ahad
Proofreading: shaheer
Humanity’s Great Sage – Chapter 1018: Golden Light
His heart was filled with self-reproach.
He should not have avoided the trouble and failed to send Lan Qiyue back in time, instead bringing her along with him. Even more, he should not have left her alone here.
The main issue was that Lu Ye truly had not expected that, in that brief span of time, a Blood Race member would happen to arrive.
Lan Qiyue had suffered deeply at the hands of the Blood Race. In that situation, with no path of escape, she could only throw herself into the Blood River to search for traces of Lu Ye.
She probably did not know the terror of the Blood River. After all, her experience was limited. Seeing Lu Ye jump into the Blood River, she simply followed him in.
Had she known the Blood River’s fearsome nature, she should have waited for Lu Ye to come up and save her. That way, no matter what, preserving her life would not have been a problem.
Lan Qiyue was gone, and Lu Ye blamed himself. There was also one more matter that left his mood stifled.
Zhang Julai was also gone…
Because he had left a Soul Control Glyph within Zhang Julai’s mind, Lu Ye was able to sense Zhang Julai’s existence. However, just moments ago, while he was deep in the Blood River searching for traces of Lan Qiyue, the connection between himself and the Soul Control Glyph had suddenly vanished without a trace.
This undoubtedly indicated one thing: Zhang Julai had failed to endure the Blood River’s baptism and tempering of his bloodline and had already perished somewhere within the Blood River.
This had been within Lu Ye’s expectations. A Blood Race member venturing deep into the Blood River faced near-certain death. Zhang Julai was no more special than any other Blood Race member; the odds of him surviving were slim.
Yet because of Lan Qiyue’s accident, this expected matter added a blockage to Lu Ye’s mood.
So now, having set out as a group of three, he would be returning all alone.
The corpse of the Blood Race member he had just slain lay sprawled nearby, head separated from body, its blood already drained dry.
Lu Ye stepped forward, retrieved his Blood Crystal, then raised his blade and hacked the blood fetus that had rolled to one side into minced pieces. Only then did he shoot into the sky, streaking straight off in one direction.
…
Deep within the Blood River, undercurrents surged violently. Lan Qiyue drifted with the currents, feeling her own vitality rapidly fading away.
This was brought about by the Blood River water’s erosion of her body.
Lu Ye, by channeling his spiritual power, could still isolate himself from the Blood River water’s erosion. But how could Lan Qiyue do the same? Under the erosion of the blood water, her entire skin had become festered and ruined.
She had not found any trace of Lu Ye. And with her current mere Spirit Creek Realm cultivation, it was fundamentally impossible for her to burst out of the Blood River. Swept along by the undercurrents, she no longer knew where she was.
Life was about to reach its end, yet she felt no great fear.
She was but an ordinary human woman—blood food and a plaything in the eyes of the Blood Race. On the day she gave birth to the blood fetus, she had thought herself certain to die, but thanks to Lu Ye’s help, she had managed to cling to life.
In this recent period, she had even killed several blood fetuses.
It was enough. To die like this… there seemed nothing to regret.
Her consciousness sank ceaselessly.
Suddenly, a point of golden light bloomed in her field of vision. In this place deep within the Blood River, filled entirely with crimson blood water, this point of golden light was so dazzlingly brilliant.
Lan Qiyue did not know what this golden light truly was. At this moment, even her thoughts were on the verge of falling silent.
But still, by instinct, she reached out and grasped that point of golden light in her palm. It felt as though she had been burned by a hot iron. Lan Qiyue quickly released her grip, but the golden light in her palm had already imprinted into her body, traveling upward along her arm and settling into her chest.
In the next instant, Lan Qiyue opened her mouth as if to scream, but her mouth was filled with blood water, and not a single sound came out.
The golden light at her chest suddenly burst forth with great brilliance, illuminating Lan Qiyue’s entire figure in a dazzling golden radiance.
…
Within the Blood Refining World, the gathering places of the Blood Race, large and small, were countless. Those of the smallest scale were undoubtedly the Cave Dwellings. Bright Moon Cave and Hundred Leaps Cave both fell into this category.
In such gathering places, Cloud River Realm Blood Race members were generally in charge, governing only a hundred-li radius.
But above the Cave Dwellings, there existed even higher-level entities: the Blessed Lands. In comparison, the territory governed by a Blessed Land was far larger, at the very minimum spanning a thousand li. Some larger-scale Blessed Lands governed as much as three to five thousand li.
Within their governed territories, all humans were the property of the Blessed Land’s Blood Race, theirs to take or seize at will.
The gap between a Cave Dwelling and a Blessed Land was not merely one of scale, nor just the number of Blood Race members, but also the level of the Blood Race’s cultivation.
The reason Bright Moon Cave could only be called a Cave Dwelling was because its strongest member was merely at the Cloud River Realm.
Had Sun Miaozhu possessed Real Lake Realm cultivation back then, it would have been Bright Moon Blessed Land.
Thus, every Blessed Land where the Blood Race gathered was guarded by a Real Lake Realm Blood Race member.
Further up were gathering places of the Grotto Heaven level, guarded by Divine Ocean Realm Blood Race members, governing at the very least a territory of ten thousand li.
In comparison, whether Cave Dwelling, Blessed Land, or Grotto Heaven, they were all equivalent to the Sects of the Nine Provinces. However, on the Blood Race’s side, there was no need to transmit teachings or impart knowledge, so naturally there were no bonds of fellow disciples.
To the Blood Race, the Blood Crystals within the bodies of their own kin were the cultivation resource they craved most. This was precisely what created the uniquely chaotic order of the Blood Refining World.
Thousand Streams Blessed Land was situated within the Thousand Streams Mountain, a thousand li from Bright Moon Cave. Nominally speaking, Bright Moon Cave fell under the governance of Thousand Streams Blessed Land.
Including the many small Cave Dwellings that Bright Moon Cave had conquered over this past month, all could be considered under Thousand Streams Blessed Land’s jurisdiction.
Looking across the entire Blood Refining World, the scale of territory governed by Thousand Streams Blessed Land was not considered very large. This was because the Blessed Land’s master, Yu Lingfeng, did not possess very high cultivation—merely at the seventh order of the Real Lake Realm. Although he had a few other Real Lake Realm members under his command, their cultivations were all weaker than his.
Within Thousand Streams Mountain, where the Blessed Land was located, lay a continuous stretch of buildings. The world spiritual energy was rich and abundant. Compared to the cave-dwelling environment of a place like Bright Moon Cave, it was undoubtedly far superior.
Such a place could house several hundred people without issue. With slight expansion, even over a thousand could be accommodated.
At this very moment, within the main discussion hall of Thousand Streams Blessed Land, over a dozen Real Lake Realm Blood Race members sat divided on both sides. Yu Lingfeng sat at the seat of honor directly above, discussing matters with the other Real Lake Realm Blood Race members under his command.
The topic of discussion was, surprisingly, related to the recent actions of Bright Moon Cave.
“Blessed Land Master, Bright Moon Cave has been going too far lately. According to reports, over this past month, they have swept through and subjugated all the other Cave Dwellings in the vicinity. Most of our clansmen were slain on the spot; only a small portion survived. Currently, Bright Moon Cave has gathered about fifty-some clansmen, and every single one is above the seventh order of the Cloud River Realm.”
Although internal attacks and conflicts among the Blood Race were frequent, an incident like that of Bright Moon Cave had truly never occurred before. After all, the strength between individual Cave Dwellings was roughly equal. If they truly started a war, it was hard to say who would win.
Perhaps one could win one or two battles, but it was absolutely impossible to keep winning like this.
Yet the reports they had received indicated that Bright Moon Cave was sweeping through with irresistible force, clearing out several nearby Cave Dwellings. Not only had they destroyed those Cave Dwellings, but they were also continuously consolidating and expanding their own forces.
Under normal circumstances, the higher-ups of the Blood Race would not interfere in the wars of their subordinates. As long as the Blood River existed, the Blood Race clansmen would multiply endlessly. What did the death of a few people matter? Moreover, the Blood Crystals of the dead Blood Race members would become nourishment for the surviving Blood Race to grow.
But Bright Moon Cave was constantly consolidating and strengthening its own power, which left Thousand Streams Blessed Land with no choice but to take notice.
At present, Bright Moon Cave did not yet possess the strength to threaten Thousand Streams Blessed Land. But if they continued in this manner, who knew if they might plot rebellion and usurpation? Such incidents were not unheard of in the Blood Refining World; in fact, they occurred with some regularity.
Furthermore, with so many Cave Dwellings destroyed, it also affected the tribute from below.
Here in the Blood Refining World, every three months, each Cave Dwelling was required to capture a number of blood food from within its governed territory and offer them as tribute to the Blessed Land above, for the Blood Race within the Blessed Land to enjoy.
With fewer Cave Dwellings under them, the tribute of blood food would naturally also decrease. This undoubtedly touched upon the Blessed Land’s interests.
“How could a mere little Bright Moon Cave have such great ability? I recall that the Cave Master of Bright Moon Cave, Sun Miaozhu, was only a Cloud River Realm. Could it be that she has broken through to the Real Lake Realm?” Yu Lingfeng’s expression showed displeasure.
“Blessed Land Master, that Sun Miaozhu is already dead. Currently, a person called Zhang Julai is in charge of Bright Moon Cave. The recent anomalies at Bright Moon Cave only began after he took power.”
“Zhang Julai?” Yu Lingfeng had no impression of this name. He had many Cave Dwellings under his command and could only remember the names of the Cave Masters. How could he recall some Zhang Julai?
“This person is also not at the Real Lake Realm. It’s just that he is said to have taken in two very powerful Blood Slaves, which is why he can act this way.”
Although communication in the Blood Refining World was not as convenient or swift as in the Nine Provinces, there were still items similar to transmission stones. Thus, the transmission of intelligence was not overly difficult. One month was not a long time, but neither was it short. Bright Moon Cave had launched one external campaign after another, creating no small commotion. How could the Blood Race not have noticed?
“What kind of Blood Slaves could be so formidable?” Yu Lingfeng was somewhat puzzled.
“Blessed Land Master, now is not the time to concern ourselves with Blood Slaves. How to handle Bright Moon Cave—please, Blessed Land Master, make a decision.”
Yu Lingfeng pondered briefly, then spoke: “Wan Fang.”
A Real Lake Realm member below stepped forward, placing a hand over his chest. “Present.”
“Make a trip. Go to Bright Moon Cave. Order Zhang Julai to immediately cease his current actions. Additionally, tell him to quickly send over the most recent batch of blood food as tribute, along with the share from those several Cave Dwellings he destroyed!”
“And if he refuses to listen?” Wan Fang asked.
“Then kill him, and replace him with an obedient Cave Master!” A cold glint flashed through Yu Lingfeng’s eyes.
“Yes!” Wan Fang turned and left, soon exiting the great hall.
With this matter concluded, the group of Real Lake Realm Blood Race members discussed a few other affairs for a time before dispersing.
Yu Lingfeng walked with his hands clasped behind his back toward his personal chambers, pondering inwardly. If there was an opportunity, he rather wished he could see those two Blood Slaves of Zhang Julai for himself and take them for his own use.
Though he was the Blessed Land Master of Thousand Streams Blessed Land, his recent days had not been particularly comfortable.
On the Blood Race’s side, there was no strong concept of hierarchy or reverence for superiors and subordinates. It was essentially the rule of strength. With his Real Lake Realm seventh order cultivation, he could still sit steadily in the position of Blessed Land Master for the time being. However, among the other Real Lake Realm members under his command, there was already one whose cultivation was nearly on par with his own.
When that time truly came, he would either have to drive that Real Lake Realm member out and make him establish his own faction, or else he would have to divide and share the power in his hands.
He was unwilling to accept either option. As for killing that Blood Race member to eliminate the root of the problem, that was also inappropriate. Killing him would certainly yield a fine Blood Crystal, but it would also weaken the foundation of Thousand Streams Blessed Land. If some other Blessed Land came to attack, he would have one less capable subordinate to use.
(End of Chapter)