translator: ahad
Proofreading: shaheer
Humanity’s Great Sage – Chapter 1016: Zhang Julai’s Decision
Updated Glossary Context:
- Blood River: A mysterious pool of blood-red liquid that can incubate blood foetuses and grant power to Blood Race members who survive its trial.
- Real Lake Realm: The third major cultivation realm.
- Holy Seed: A superior Blood Race bloodline with innate suppression over ordinary Blood Races.
There was also another matter that left Lu Ye rather helpless: how exactly was he supposed to return to the Nine Provinces?
This experience was different from the last time he had entered the Peerless Continent.
Before entering the Peerless Continent, he had obtained four Heavenly Secrets Pillars. With those pillars serving as a link, he had been able to transmit himself back to the Nine Provinces.
This time, however, he had no Heavenly Secrets Pillars, so naturally there was no way to transmit back.
For a while, he could find no clear thread of thought.
But finding a way back was undoubtedly the most pressing priority at hand. Only by locating a path home could Lu Ye cast aside all worries and set loose his hands and feet to go all out in this Blood Refining World. He dared not claim he could unify the Blood Refining World or save all the humans in it, but at the very least, he could exert his utmost effort to ensure that as many humans as possible were spared the persecution of the Blood Race.
Lan Qiyue’s cultivation progressed very smoothly. Since departing that day, she had been immersed in her practice. By the time Lu Ye saw her again, she had already reached the sixth order of the Spirit Creek Realm.
This could not help but make Lu Ye marvel at the terror of an Innate Dao Body. Of course, it also had to do with the fact that he had provided her with ample cultivation resources. With her Innate Dao Body, she faced no bottlenecks at the Spirit Creek Realm level, and with abundant resources, the speed of her cultivation was naturally swift.
Time flowed on, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
The number of Blood Race members within Bright Moon Cave had noticeably increased. There were now forty or fifty of them. Originally, Bright Moon Cave had housed just over a dozen Blood Race members, which had been quite spacious, but now that the numbers had grown, it felt cramped.
Among these Blood Race members, aside from Zhang Julai, only two of Bright Moon Cave’s original roster were still alive. The other Blood Race members had all surrendered from nearby cave dwellings.
Not only had the Blood Race multiplied, but the number of human surrogate mothers had also surpassed a hundred.
Every time they captured a cave dwelling, Zhang Julai would bring the surrogate mothers there back to Bright Moon Cave—this too was at Lu Ye’s instruction.
These unfortunate human women were pregnant with Blood Race blood fetuses and could not simply be left behind in their original cave dwellings. As for settling them in nearby villages, that was even less realistic. So for now, they could only be brought back.
As for those women who were not pregnant, or the men who had been abducted to serve the Blood Race, they had all been sent to safe areas and dispersed.
With so many Blood Race members in one place, Bright Moon Cave had fallen into a degree of chaos.
However, after Dao Thirteen killed two Blood Race members who had broken the rules and attempted to violate human women, the rest of the Blood Race obediently fell in line.
Over the course of this month, Lu Ye had consumed many Blood Crystals, and his cultivation had completely recovered.
Dao Thirteen still had a long way to go. At present, his apparent cultivation was only at the seventh order of the Cloud River Realm. Restoring his original Divine Ocean Realm cultivation would certainly take some more time. But with the foundation of a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator, as long as he did not run into a Divine Ocean Realm Blood Race member, there was essentially no one who could be his match.
Inside Lu Ye’s cave, Dao Thirteen sat cross-legged to one side, looking thoroughly bored.
Zhang Julai gazed at Lu Ye with a nervous expression. “My Lord, given the present circumstances, we must either expand the cave dwelling or go seize a larger territory. I wonder what my Lord would choose?”
The small Bright Moon Cave now housed far too many people. Setting aside the Blood Race, even the human surrogate mothers were crammed several to a single cave dwelling.
If they wanted a stable living environment, they would have to think of another solution.
Expanding the cave dwelling, or seizing a larger territory—these were the only two options Zhang Julai could think of.
The former was simple enough; it would only require the Blood Race to put in some effort for a period of time. But if it were the latter, that would mean attacking a place guarded by a Real Lake Realm Blood Race cultivator.
This still put considerable pressure on Zhang Julai.
Because even if they seized it, with his insufficient cultivation, he would find it difficult to command respect. He also knew that the current strength and vigor of the forces under his command were not due to his own ability, but rather a blessing bestowed by Lu Ye.
In fact, he understood perfectly well that Lu Ye could not possibly be satisfied with the current state of affairs. Ever since Lu Ye had begun frequently leading them to attack the nearby cave dwellings, Zhang Julai had known that sooner or later they would clash with a higher-level cave.
He had been agonizing over this for days.
“What I think, do you not already know?” Lu Ye looked at him flatly. “Why must you come ask me?”
Lu Ye was far from satisfied with this soul slave of his, primarily because the fellow’s cultivation was advancing far too slowly.
During this period of small-scale skirmishes, his Cloud River Realm cultivation had been enough to hold the situation in check. But if his cultivation remained stuck and he was unable to break through to the Real Lake Realm, the role he could play in the future would be very limited.
Sweat beaded on Zhang Julai’s forehead. Understanding Lu Ye’s intentions, he spoke up: “My Lord, please grant me a few days.”
“What for?”
“I wish to make a trip into the Blood River!” Zhang Julai said through gritted teeth.
The Blood River was the foundation of the Blood Race. Not only was it a hotbed for incubating blood fetuses, but it also possessed the miraculous ability to cleanse the bloodline of the Blood Race and allow a Blood Race member’s strength to soar in a short period of time.
However, the Blood River was an exceedingly strange place.
Blood fetuses placed within it generally encountered few major problems. Most blood fetuses could safely incubate in the Blood River, and Blood Race infants could rapidly mature there, reaching adulthood in just a few years.
But when an adult Blood Race member stepped into the Blood River, the risk was immense.
No one knew why, but it had been that way since ancient times.
Yet if one could overcome those risks, a Blood Race member could obtain unimaginable benefits. A great leap in strength was just the most basic; if one’s luck was sufficiently good, they might even be able to refine their bloodline and become a true Holy Race.
Holy Race was the term that the humans of the Blood Refining World used to address the Blood Race.
The Blood Race also referred to themselves in this way.
But among the Blood Race, there existed a true Holy Race, generally called the Holy Seed.
Compared to ordinary Blood Race members, the Holy Seed possessed greater potential, could exert stronger power, and moreover, held a natural bloodline suppression over ordinary Blood Race members.
However, even within the vast expanse of the Blood Refining World, the number of true Holy Seeds was extremely few.
Zhang Julai had never dreamed that he could become a Holy Seed. He was simply aware that in a short period, his cultivation was unlikely to see any substantial improvement. If a day came when he was of no great use to Lu Ye, his fate would inevitably be bleak.
Under the influence of the Soul Control Glyph, Zhang Julai harbored no thoughts of rebellion against Lu Ye, but neither was he willing to become a dispensable figure at Lu Ye’s side.
In the past, he would never have had the courage to venture deep into the Blood River to cultivate, because it was far too dangerous. Out of ten thousand Blood Race members who entered the Blood River, perhaps not even one would survive.
He did not consider himself particularly special compared to other Blood Race members. Entering the Blood River would mean almost certain death. Yet, in order to continue serving Lu Ye, he still resolved to go deep into the Blood River.
“Have you thought this through?” Lu Ye naturally knew what was on his mind.
“Yes, I ask my Lord to permit it.” Though filled with fear, Zhang Julai’s expression remained resolute.
Lu Ye nodded. “In that case, go tomorrow.”
“Yes!” Zhang Julai withdrew, clearly intending to make some preparations for entering the Blood River. At the very least, he needed to conserve his energy to face the trial that awaited him the next day.
After Zhang Julai left, a figure suddenly appeared at the entrance. Lu Ye looked up; it was Lan Qiyue, who lived in the cave dwelling next door.
Over the past month, Lan Qiyue’s cultivation had advanced with astonishing speed. She now possessed the cultivation of the eighth order of the Spirit Creek Realm. Such a pace of cultivation was something no cultivator in the Nine Provinces could hope to compare with.
Lu Ye’s own cultivation speed had also been considered fast back then, but at the Spirit Creek Realm level, he had only advanced one order every two or three months on average.
Especially in the later stages of the Spirit Creek Realm, each increase in order had taken a considerable amount of time.
For someone like Lan Qiyue to raise her cultivation by four minor orders in just one short month—had he not seen it with his own eyes, Lu Ye would never have believed it.
Lan Qiyue had come to ask Lu Ye about some cultivation problems.
It didn’t take much effort to answer her questions and clear up her doubts.
Before she left, Lan Qiyue said, “Recently, two more sisters have given birth to blood fetuses. Fortunately, neither of their lives was in danger. I have already dealt with the blood fetuses, but the two of them cannot remain here forever. I would like to ask Senior Brother Thirteen to help me escort them out.”
Having attacked many cave dwellings in the vicinity, all the surrogate mothers had been gathered here at Bright Moon Cave, so the frequency of births was very high. Surrogate mothers had given birth to blood fetuses before, and Lan Qiyue had dealt with them in the same manner each time.
The blood fetuses were exterminated on the spot to eliminate future troubles. For the women who had given birth, she would ask Dao Thirteen for help, and together they would send them to a nearby village for settlement. The reason she went along was, of course, because Dao Thirteen was not adept at communicating with others. Furthermore, no matter what, she was a human of this world, making it easier for her to converse with others.
“Tomorrow, I’ll go with you,” Lu Ye said.
Lan Qiyue was surprised. “Senior Brother is going out tomorrow?” This was rare news. For this entire period, Lu Ye had remained inside his own cave dwelling. Aside from the day he had helped her deliver a baby, Lan Qiyue had not seen Lu Ye leave.
“There are some things I want to take a look at,” Lu Ye casually explained.
Lan Qiyue naturally had no objections.
…
The night passed without incident. The next day, Zhang Julai walked out of Bright Moon Cave with a heavy expression and immediately spotted a figure standing at the entrance. Greatly astonished, he glanced left and right to confirm no one else was nearby before speaking in a low voice: “My Lord, you are…”
“I’ll go with you to take a look at that Blood River.” Lu Ye was naturally very curious about the existence of the Blood River. Before, when his cultivation hadn’t recovered, it had been inconvenient to wander around. Now was a perfect opportunity to go have a look and see why exactly the Blood River was so miraculous.
Zhang Julai mistakenly thought Lu Ye was concerned for his safety, and felt somewhat moved.
And so, Lu Ye summoned his spirit boat. He helped the two human women onto it, called out for Lan Qiyue, and then flew off in one direction, with Zhang Julai following closely at his side.
Dao Thirteen was left behind to guard the base. The Blood Race were not a particularly well-behaved lot. Without someone to keep watch over the place, who knew what they might do to those surrogate mothers.
Lu Ye had no desire to return and find some tragedy had occurred.
They sped along the entire way and quickly arrived near Cangnan Village. Lu Ye halted the spirit boat and instructed Lan Qiyue: “You take them into the village.”
Previously, it had always been Lan Qiyue who personally delivered the human women to Cangnan Village for settlement.
Lan Qiyue did as she was told.
After a short moment, she returned, having clearly handed the two women over to the village chief.
The group set off once more.
They flew for less than half a day before reaching the summit of a barren mountain. This mountain was exceedingly strange; for several dozen li in every direction, not a single blade of grass grew, making it look utterly desolate.
And at the mountain’s peak, there was a pool about the size of two or three mu of land.
The pool contained not clear water, but a viscous, blood-red liquid.
It seemed as though the entire pool had been filled with fresh blood.
(End of Chapter)