translator: ahad
Proofreading: shaheer
Humanity’s Great Sage – Chapter 1024: Heading South
Lan Qiyue smiled. “Then I won’t leave after all!”
One moment she had been clamoring and making a fuss about wanting to go with him—how come now that he had agreed, she wasn’t leaving anymore?
“I truly won’t leave,” Lan Qiyue continued to smile. “Senior Brother is right. I was once one of those surrogate mothers, having endured endless torment and suffering. Now that I have the ability to change some things, I cannot simply stand by and do nothing. I will stay here and continue to expand our territory. I will shelter as many humans as I can!”
Lu Ye suddenly understood, only then realizing something.
Lan Qiyue did not necessarily have to leave with him. She only wanted a statement from him, a statement that he was willing to take her along. Once that was satisfied, whether or not she actually went with him no longer mattered.
“But Senior Brother, wait for me three days—no, five days. Leave after five days,” Lan Qiyue pleaded.
“Alright.” Lu Ye nodded, not bothering to ask what exactly she was going to do.
Lan Qiyue quickly departed. Within Lu Ye’s perception, she left Thousand Streams Blessed Land all alone, heading off to who knows where.
Five days passed quickly, and Lan Qiyue returned as promised.
Judging by her travel-worn appearance, she had clearly made a long journey.
“Senior Brother,” Lan Qiyue drew out an object from her chest and spread it open before Lu Ye. “This is a rough map of this world.”
Lu Ye’s eyes immediately lit up.
He had also thought about obtaining a map of this world before, but such a thing was extremely hard to come by. He had no channels whatsoever to acquire one, and he had no idea where Lan Qiyue had found this. Her five-day trip out this time was probably related to this matter.
He lowered his head to look at the map, and at a glance, he saw a gourd-shaped landmass pattern.
It was somewhat similar to what he had seen when his mind had ascended high above upon entering this world.
Lan Qiyue pointed to a spot at the top of the map. “This is where we are right now. Once Senior Brother leaves this place, remember to head south.”
“Why south?” Lu Ye asked, puzzled.
Lan Qiyue pursed her red lips, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke: “Because in the south, there is a power established by humans. They possess the strength to stand against the Blood Race there as equals. Only by going there can Senior Brother be safe.”
Lu Ye’s mind jolted. “Are you sure?”
Lan Qiyue nodded solemnly. “I only heard about this matter from a Blood Race member over a month ago.” She then smiled playfully. “But the Blood Race member who spoke of it has already been killed by me.”
She clearly hadn’t wanted Lu Ye to know about this, to prevent him from getting any ideas.
She had sensed long ago that Lu Ye could not possibly remain here forever. That was why, a few days ago when Lu Ye had said he had something to tell her, her reaction had been so strong.
Her attempts to keep him here had failed, so she knew Lu Ye’s decision to leave was final.
In that case, there was no longer any need to continue hiding this information. At the very least, she could give Lu Ye a clear goal and direction, so he wouldn’t run around the Blood Refining World like a headless fly.
Lu Ye stared fixedly at the map before him, his emotions surging. This was the best news he had heard in the over five months since arriving in the Blood Refining World.
During this time, he had witnessed far too much human suffering. He had thought that all humans in the entire Blood Refining World lived in deep misery and torment, that this world was completely ruled by the Blood Race.
Only now did he learn that in this darkness, there was still a spark of humanity’s fire, shedding its light. Five months of confusion suddenly dissipated into smoke in this moment.
“Where exactly is it?” Lu Ye asked.
Lan Qiyue’s slender, graceful finger moved downward. “Senior Brother, head south. Cross the midline between Sky-Piercing Peak and Jade Pillar Peak—these two peaks are the highest mountains in the Blood Refining World—then continue even further south.”
A moment later, Lan Qiyue’s finger pointed to a spot on the map. “Divine Watch Sea. That human power is in the Divine Watch Sea!”
Lu Ye’s gaze swept past Sky-Piercing Peak and Jade Pillar Peak, then looked toward the Divine Watch Sea, and he couldn’t help but feel a strange sensation.
Why did the overall shape of this entire Blood Refining World look like something?
The thought flashed by, and he didn’t dwell on it deeply.
“The Blood Race of the south have been at war with the human power in the Divine Watch Sea for years. So, Senior Brother, you must be extremely careful when you go there.”
“I understand,” Lu Ye nodded slightly. He reached out and picked up the map, staring at the Divine Watch Sea, momentarily lost in thought. Suddenly, he looked up at Lan Qiyue. “What are you doing?”
Lan Qiyue had drawn her fingers together and sliced a gash across her own arm. At the open wound, blood surged, yet it did not flow out.
Strangely, her blood was not red, but golden.
Lan Qiyue reached a finger into the wound and dug around. Soon, she extracted a round jade piece the size of a copper coin. The jade body shimmered with golden light, as if it had fully imbibed Lan Qiyue’s holy blood.
After the round jade was removed, the flesh and blood of the wound on Lan Qiyue’s arm writhed and quickly healed.
This was one of the unique traits of the Blood Race. They were proficient in all manner of blood techniques, so ordinary flesh wounds meant nothing to them and would heal very quickly. This was even more true for Lan Qiyue, a Holy Seed, whose recovery ability was only stronger than that of ordinary Blood Race members.
After removing the round jade, Lan Qiyue’s aura visibly weakened by a large margin.
“I prepared this two months ago. I originally thought Senior Brother might stay a while longer, but now that Senior Brother is leaving, I can only take it out now. This Holy Blood Jade carries my aura and can intimidate ordinary Blood Race members. However, because it’s limited by my cultivation, its intimidation effect against Blood Race members above the Divine Ocean Realm will be greatly reduced. Senior Brother, use it with caution.”
As she spoke, she placed the Holy Blood Jade, nourished by her own holy blood, into Lu Ye’s hand.
Lu Ye felt a heavy weight in his palm.
Something prepared two months ago… Clearly, Lan Qiyue had always been mentally prepared that Lu Ye might leave at any time. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have prepared such a thing for him.
This further proved that Lan Qiyue had never intended to leave with him. She knew the concerns in Lu Ye’s heart, so she had to stay behind and use her identity as a Holy Seed to shelter the many humans within her governed territory.
“Senior Brother, you must take care of yourself,” Lan Qiyue finally urged.
Lu Ye nodded.
An hour later, above Thousand Streams Blessed Land, Lan Qiyue stood in midair, watching Lu Ye depart.
Since he had decided to leave, he naturally would not drag his feet. All banquets under heaven must come to an end. Learning from Lan Qiyue about the existence of the human power at the Divine Watch Sea, Lu Ye faintly felt that the answer to what had puzzled him for months might perhaps be found there.
Apart from Dao Thirteen on this journey, Yu Lingfeng was also accompanying him.
In an environment like the Blood Refining World, two lone humans would face many inconveniences. Bringing Yu Lingfeng along provided a cover; encountering other Blood Race members, they would instinctively assume the two were Yu Lingfeng’s Blood Slaves.
But in truth, who was the slave and who was the master—each knew in their own hearts.
Lu Ye summoned his spirit boat, letting Dao Thirteen steer it.
When they passed near Cangnan Village, Lu Ye thought for a moment and had Dao Thirteen make a slight detour, stopping outside the village for a brief while.
Under the perception of his divine sense, the villagers of Cangnan Village were undoubtedly wearing far more smiles than they had several months ago when he had first arrived here. They no longer had that perpetually fearful and anxious look.
Over these past few months, ever since Zhang Julai had announced the order to stop feeding on blood food in Bright Moon Cave, no human had fallen victim to the Blood Race.
Now, Cangnan Village only needed to contribute a set amount of fresh blood at fixed intervals.
There was no helping this. The Blood Race had a bone-deep craving for blood. Forbidding them from feeding on living blood was already the limit; if they weren’t even allowed to drink dead blood, who knew what kind of trouble would erupt.
This was something even Lan Qiyue, as a Holy Seed, did not attempt to change—mainly because it couldn’t be changed.
After briefly observing outside Cangnan Village, the group set off once more.
Dao Thirteen piloted the spirit boat at a very fast speed. In just one day, they had already left the governed territory of Thousand Streams Blessed Land.
On this journey south, Lu Ye was in no particular hurry. After all, the road was long, and haste was useless.
He was currently located in the northern region of the Blood Refining World, while the Divine Watch Sea was toward the southern part. To reach the Divine Watch Sea, he would essentially have to traverse more than half of the Blood Refining World’s map.
Even with Dao Thirteen piloting the spirit boat, this was not something that could be accomplished in just a few days. Lu Ye estimated that this journey would take at least several months.
Moreover, he wasn’t merely traveling.
Whenever they encountered Blood Race members along the way, they would casually eliminate them.
To the current Lu Ye, Blood Race Blood Crystals were the only cultivation resources he could obtain, so naturally, he wouldn’t let them pass.
When he had been at Thousand Streams Blessed Land earlier, he had thought about seeking an earth vein to cultivate. After all, if he could truly find an earth vein where spiritual power converged, his cultivation would advance rapidly.
But repeated searches had yielded nothing.
Finally, he reached a helpless conclusion.
The Blood River itself was the earth vein of the Blood Refining World. Though it could be found everywhere, it could not be refined at will—truly a pity.
Five days after leaving Thousand Streams Blessed Land’s governed territory, the group arrived at another Blessed Land.
Yu Lingfeng took the lead, with Lu Ye and Dao Thirteen following closely behind, disguised as Blood Slaves.
Before they even approached the Blessed Land, patrolling Blood Race members blocked their path and demanded loudly: “Where are you from? What business do you have here?”
Yu Lingfeng, following Lu Ye’s earlier instructions, spoke: “Drifters with no home to return to, come specifically to offer our service. I beg you to pass on the message.”
That Blood Race member sized up Yu Lingfeng with some surprise and suspicion. Seeing that his expression did not seem feigned, he said: “Wait here.”
He turned and went in to report.
Moments later, a Blood Race member of higher status and cultivation came out to greet them. After exchanging a few questions and answers with Yu Lingfeng, he readily led them inside.
Soon after, in the main discussion hall of this Blessed Land, the Real Lake Realm Blood Race members of some standing gathered together, seated separately on the left and right.
The foundation of this Blessed Land was fairly decent, far stronger than the original Thousand Streams Blessed Land.
Seated at the head seat was, naturally, the Blessed Land Master of this Blessed Land.
Wars and conflicts between the Blood Race were frequent, and there were always some defeated Blood Race members with nowhere to go, who could only choose worthy masters to seek refuge with. Thus, none of the Blood Race members present had the slightest doubt about Yu Lingfeng’s earlier claim, all believing he was truly here to seek refuge.
Moreover, the Real Lake Realm Eighth Order cultivation that Yu Lingfeng displayed brooked no underestimation from them.
Having one more such Blood Race member in the Blessed Land would also increase its foundation.
For the most part, the Blood Race here were relatively welcoming toward Yu Lingfeng’s arrival.
(End of Chapter)