translator: ahad
Proofreading: shaheer
Humanity’s Great Sage – Chapter 1020: Allied Attack
Within Thousand Streams Blessed Land, all the Blood Race had gone out on a campaign. Only Lu Ye remained alone to stand guard, along with those human women pregnant with child who had been sent over from the various Cave Dwellings.
These women could not be casually settled elsewhere. Until they gave birth to their blood foetuses, they could only be kept here to be looked after. Only after they delivered the blood fetuses could they be sent off to nearby villages.
It had been a month since Lu Ye arrived at Thousand Streams Blessed Land. On the second day after he got here, Dao Thirteen had led the group from Bright Moon Cave to rendezvous with him, which also served to bolster the strength of Thousand Streams Blessed Land. No matter what, the Blood Race members Dao Thirteen brought, though none were at the Real Lake Realm, were all the elites who had survived from the various Cave Dwellings, and their strength was fairly decent.
Afterward, under Yu Lingfeng’s orders, many more hands were conscripted from the subordinate Cave Dwellings. A few days later, troops were assembled and marched against Northern Min Blessed Land.
Lu Ye did not accompany them on that campaign, only dispatching Dao Thirteen to oversee the battle. The campaign proceeded fairly smoothly. After Northern Min Blessed Land lost quite a few Real Lake Realm Blood Race members, some fled and some surrendered, and the foundation of Thousand Streams Blessed Land grew considerably overnight. They even absorbed several Real Lake Realm Blood Race members whose strength surpassed that of Yu Lingfeng.
According to the rules of the Blood Race, under such circumstances, Yu Lingfeng would have been unable to continue as Blessed Land Master. But with Dao Thirteen as a deterrent at his side, those Blood Race members, though stronger than Yu Lingfeng, did not dare to act rashly.
This made them immensely envious, wondering where Yu Lingfeng had managed to acquire such a powerful Blood Slave.
After conquering Northern Min Blessed Land, they spent about ten days reorganizing. Then Thousand Streams Blessed Land once again went on campaign, attacking another Blessed Land.
Lu Ye stayed behind, partly to look after those human women, partly to cultivate, and also to ponder his path forward.
At present, he could use the Soul Control Glyph to move freely and smoothly through the Blood Refining World because the targets he chose were not very powerful, so he could easily dominate them.
But if he encountered a Divine Ocean Realm Blood Race member, his Soul Control would not necessarily work.
Moreover, the power of one man was limited; he simply could not change the overall tide of the Blood Refining World.
Perhaps within the territory governed by Thousand Streams Blessed Land, humans could barely eke out a stable existence. But how many territories like Thousand Streams Blessed Land were there across the entire Blood Refining World?
Unable to change the great tide of the Blood Refining World, there was no way to save the humans of this realm.
Lu Ye had been constantly pondering the purpose of the Nine Provinces’ Heavenly Secrets in sending him to this world. Though he had no clear thread of thought, it absolutely had something to do with this world’s humans.
Thus, the immediate priority was to raise his own cultivation, preferably to the level of the Divine Ocean Realm.
That way, he could go and dominate some Divine Ocean Realm Blood Race members, and the number of humans he could shelter would increase.
For Lu Ye, cultivation was still very simple. One could even say that, if not for the consumption of the Talent Tree’s fuel, the Blood River would be the optimal place to cultivate.
But because the Talent Tree’s fuel burned too quickly within the Blood River, Lu Ye could only give up on that method of cultivation.
Fortunately, his storage space held quite a few spirit stones and spirit pills, and in the past few days, Yu Lingfeng had brought back quite a few Blood Crystals from his campaign.
For the short term, there was no worry about cultivation resources.
Although the efficiency of cultivation could not compare to using spirit contracts back in the Nine Provinces, cultivating this way meant he did not have to worry about his cultivation advancing too quickly and leading to an unstable foundation.
Lu Ye estimated that once the spirit stones and spirit pills in his possession were used up, his cultivation would be able to advance to the eighth order of the Real Lake Realm. As for how to cultivate after that, he could only take things one step at a time. If worse came to worst, he could go kill Blood Race members and take their Blood Crystals to cultivate.
He could even enter the Blood River to cultivate, as long as he properly managed the consumption of the Talent Tree’s fuel; there would be no major problem.
A woman’s agonized scream came from not far away, from the direction where the many human women were gathered.
Lu Ye furrowed his brow, released his divine sense, and silently perceived for a moment. Confirming that the woman’s life was not in danger, he did not go to help.
A short while later, a young girl, carrying a newly delivered blood fetus, came before Lu Ye with an uneasy expression. She placed the blood fetus in front of Lu Ye, shot him a fearful glance, and then hurriedly ran off.
The young girl was a helper Lu Ye had selected from among those human women.
It had to be said, in the Blood Refining World, the humans had been oppressed and enslaved for far too long—so long that humans themselves no longer knew how to stand up and live as humans.
Even with Lu Ye backing them from the shadows, these human women lived each day in constant terror and unease.
The young girl was one of the few among the many women who were a bit braver, so Lu Ye had chosen her to be a midwife’s assistant. Yet even so, every time the young girl brought a blood fetus over, she scarcely dared to communicate with Lu Ye.
Because in the young girl’s understanding, Lu Ye was a Blood Slave of the Blood Race, a person belonging to the Blood Race.
And the Blood Race was sacred and inviolable. Even a blood fetus that had not yet been incubated, she dared not harm in the slightest. She brought every single one here for Lu Ye to handle.
This could not help but make Lu Ye miss Lan Qiyue.
Back when Lan Qiyue had been at Bright Moon Cave, these women’s affairs had required no intervention from him at all. She alone could care for those pregnant women, help them deliver, and deal with the blood fetuses.
Looking at the blood fetus before him, still stained with blood, Lu Ye expressionlessly raised his hand and channeled his own spiritual power. Flames roiled, and that blood fetus was reduced to flying ash in an instant.
He continued to cultivate.
Spirit stones were piled all around him. The root tendrils of the Talent Tree burrowed into those spirit stones, swiftly drawing out the energy within to transform into his own. He constantly stuffed spirit pills into his mouth and swallowed them.
Occasionally, he also ate a Blood Crystal, chewing it with a crisp crunch.
The next day, the Blood Race of Thousand Streams Blessed Land who had gone on campaign returned under Yu Lingfeng’s leadership. Lu Ye did not bother to ask about the results of the battle. To him, the wars between Blood Race factions were just dogs biting dogs, a mouthful of fur. It made no difference to him how many died; his only concern was to hold Thousand Streams Blessed Land. At the very least, he wanted those human women gathered here to have a stable living environment.
However, judging by the number of Blood Crystals Dao Thirteen brought back, quite a few Blood Race members must have died in this battle.
A moment later, Yu Lingfeng also arrived, saluting with utmost respect. “My Lord.”
Lu Ye did not even lift his eyes.
Yu Lingfeng paid no mind. Having interacted with Lu Ye many times, he had long grown accustomed to Lu Ye’s attitude.
He then reported on the situation of this campaign.
Their own forces had suffered considerable losses, but they had subdued even more enemy Blood Race members. Thus, after this battle, the foundation of Thousand Streams Blessed Land had not been weakened; rather, it had grown considerably stronger.
After finishing his report, Yu Lingfeng still did not leave, hesitating as though he had more to say.
“What else is there?” Lu Ye asked.
Only then did Yu Lingfeng speak: “My Lord, at present, the Blessed Land has gathered many Real Lake Realm Holy Race members whose cultivation surpasses mine. Especially among the newcomers, most have little respect for me and covet my position as Blessed Land Master. I intend to make an example out of a few to warn the others…”
Lu Ye knew exactly what he wanted to do.
Yu Lingfeng alone certainly did not have this ability, so he needed to borrow strength.
Lu Ye turned his head to Dao Thirteen, who was sitting beside him, chewing Blood Crystals, his whole body radiating blood light, and instructed: “From now on, whichever Blood Race member he tells you to kill, you kill!”
“Oh,” Dao Thirteen grunted in acknowledgment.
Yu Lingfeng was overjoyed. “Many thanks, my Lord!”
In the eyes of others, Dao Thirteen was his Blood Slave. But what the actual situation was, only he himself knew. Dao Thirteen was not under his control.
But once this understanding among the Blood Race was firmly established, no one would dare act insolently before him in the future.
“If my Lord has no other instructions, your subordinate takes his leave.”
The following days passed without incident.
Many new Blood Race members had come to Thousand Streams Blessed Land, so naturally there was a need to integrate them and prepare for the coming campaigns.
These campaigns allowed the winning side to taste sweetness, for they also received a share of the Blood Crystals from the fallen Blood Race members.
Compared to feeding on the fresh blood of humans, Blood Crystals provided a far greater and better boost to the Blood Race.
One day, while Lu Ye was in the midst of cultivation, Yu Lingfeng came running over in a fluster. “My Lord, trouble!”
Lu Ye slowly opened his eyes and looked at him. “What is it?”
“News has come that White Cloud Blessed Land, Heavenly Gate Blessed Land, and Clear Autumn Blessed Land have allied together and intend to attack our Thousand Streams Blessed Land. The three allied armies are already on the march and will arrive by tomorrow at the latest.”
Lu Ye furrowed his brow slightly. Although this was within his expectations, it now seemed these Blessed Lands had reacted even faster than he had anticipated.
Thousand Streams Blessed Land had successively conquered two neighboring Blessed Lands within the past month, making huge waves. The other nearby Blessed Lands could not have failed to hear the news.
So long as they heard, they would inevitably take countermeasures.
Proactively attacking was undoubtedly the best countermeasure. And this time, three Blessed Lands had allied in one go, showing just how decisive they were.
Although Thousand Streams Blessed Land could now be considered to have strong troops and sturdy horses, relying solely on its own strength, it absolutely could not withstand a joint assault from three Blessed Lands.
Lu Ye and Dao Thirteen could naturally lend a hand. With the two of them present, holding Thousand Streams Blessed Land would not be a problem.
The only problem was that once the battle began, the fate of those human women within the Blessed Land would be dire. After all, in the chaos of battle, who would care about the lives of humans?
Thus, Lu Ye had to ensure the safety of those human women.
“Understood. Go and make your own arrangements. Dao Thirteen will go with you. Any who dare to disrupt morale—kill without mercy.”
“Yes.” Only then did Yu Lingfeng’s heart settle somewhat. He took Dao Thirteen and left.
Lu Ye also rose to his feet and headed toward the place where the human women were settled. He would set up a protective grand array there; only then could he guarantee their safety as much as possible.
Additionally, there was something else he wanted to attempt, and this great battle would be the perfect chance to test its might.
To him, a joint assault by three Blessed Lands was nothing of consequence. Even if Yu Lingfeng and all the other Blood Race members were wiped out completely, as long as Thousand Streams Blessed Land still stood, he could simply prop up another puppet.
In the end, all that mattered was that the Blood Race’s wars did not spill over onto those human women.
In just one hour, Lu Ye finished setting up a protective grand array.
He did not rest, but walked all around the Blessed Land, placing the array discs he had refined over this period in various spots.
He toiled until late into the night before everything was arranged in place.
At this moment, the entire Thousand Streams Blessed Land was also preparing for war, sharpening weapons and readying troops. The many Blood Race members gathered together, secretly making preparations for the impending great battle.
(End of Chapter)