Sage of Humanity

On another note, Lu Ye felt rather helpless. How was he supposed to return to the Nine Provinces?

This experience was different from the last time he entered the Unparalleled Continent.

Before entering the Unparalleled Continent, he had four Heavenly Pillars. With the Heavenly Pillars as a connection, he could teleport back to the Nine Provinces.

This time, without the Heavenly Pillars, there was naturally no way to teleport back to the Nine Provinces.

He had no clear direction for the moment.

But finding a way back was undoubtedly the most pressing task at hand. Only by finding the route back could Lu Ye act without worry, fully engaging in the Blood Refinement World. Not daring to claim he could unify the Blood Refinement World and save the human race here, at the very least, he could strive to ensure that as many humans as possible were not persecuted by the Blood Race.

Lann Qiyue's cultivation was going smoothly. Since that day of departure, she had been continuously cultivating and by the time Lu Ye saw her again, she had already reached Spirit Stream Level 6.

This couldn't help but make Lu Ye marvel at the terror of an Innate Taoist Body. Of course, it was also related to the ample cultivation resources he provided. Lann Qiyue's Innate Taoist Body faced no bottleneck at the Spirit Stream Realm, and with abundant resources, the cultivation speed was naturally quick.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, a month had gone by.

The number of Blood Race members in the Bright Moon Cave Residence had visibly increased. Now, there were about forty to fifty of them. Originally, only over ten Blood Race members lived in the Bright Moon Cave, which was quite spacious, but now it felt cramped with more people.

Among these Blood Race members, aside from Zhang Julai, only two from the original group at the Bright Moon Cave Residence survived. The rest were all surrendered from nearby cave residences.

Not only had the Blood Race increased, but the number of pregnant human mothers had also surpassed a hundred.

Every time a cave residence was captured, Zhang Julai would bring back the pregnant mothers to the Bright Moon Cave, which was also Lu Ye's instruction.

These unfortunate human women, carrying the Blood Race's blood embryos, couldn't simply be left at their original residences, and relocating them to nearby villages was even more unrealistic, so they could only be brought back for now.

As for those women who were not pregnant or men taken to serve the Blood Race, they were all sent to safe places for dispersal.

With more Blood Race members, the Bright Moon Cave became somewhat chaotic.

However, after Dao Thirteen intervened and killed two unruly Blood Race members who attempted to violate the human women, the Blood Race members settled down.

Over the month, Lu Ye consumed many Blood Crystals, and his cultivation had fully recovered.

Dao Thirteen still needed some time. Currently, his apparent cultivation was only at the Cloud River Level 7. To restore his original Divine Sea Realm cultivation would undoubtedly take more time, but with his Divine Sea Realm foundation, as long as he didn't encounter a Divine Sea Realm Blood Race, there was basically no one who could match him.

In Lu Ye's cave, Dao Thirteen sat cross-legged on the side, appearing quite bored.

Zhang Julai glanced at Lu Ye with a nervous expression, "Sir, given the current situation, we either expand the cave residence or move to capture a larger territory. What is your decision, Sir?"

The small Bright Moon Cave Residence now housed too many people. Not to mention the Blood Race, even the pregnant human mothers were crowded, several in one kiln room.

To have a stable living environment, there was no choice but to find another solution.

Expanding the cave residence or capturing a larger territory were the only two methods Zhang Julai could think of.

The former was simple, only requiring the Blood Race to exert some effort for a while, but if it were the latter, it would mean attacking a location guarded by True Lake Realm Blood Race.

This was quite stressful for Zhang Julai.

Because even if they succeeded, his lack of cultivation would make it hard to command respect. He understood that the strength of his current subordinates was not due to his own abilities but because of Lu Ye's support.

Indeed, he also knew Lu Ye could not be content with the current situation. Since he started frequently leading people to attack nearby cave residences, he knew it was only a matter of time before confronting a higher-level residence.

These days he was constantly worried about this.

"You don't know what I want?" Lu Ye looked at him blandly, "Why ask me?"

Lu Ye was quite dissatisfied with this soul slave of his, mainly because this guy's cultivation improved too slowly.

During their small skirmishes, his Cloud River Realm cultivation could hold the scene, but if his cultivation couldn't break through to the True Lake Realm, he would be less effective in the future.

Zhang Julai broke into a sweat, knowing Lu Ye's intentions, and said, "Sir, please give me a few days."

"For what?"

"I plan to make a trip to the Blood River!" Zhang Julai gritted his teeth and said.

The Blood River is the essence of the Blood Race. It is not only the cradle for hatching blood embryos but also a miraculous place for washing the Blood Race bloodline, enhancing the Blood Race's power in a short time.

But the Blood River is an extremely peculiar place.

Placing blood embryos in it generally doesn't pose significant problems. Most blood embryos can hatch safely in the Blood River, and Blood Race infants can grow rapidly within, maturing into adults within a few years.

However, there is a substantial risk for adult Blood Race entering the Blood River.

Nobody knows why, but it has been like this since ancient times.

But if one can survive those risks, the Blood Race can gain unimaginable benefits, with major power boosts being the most basic. If lucky enough, one might even refine their bloodline to become a true Sacred Race.

The Sacred Race is what the human race in the Blood Refinement World calls the Blood Race.

They call themselves that too.

But within the Blood Race, there are truly noble ones, commonly referred to as Sacred Seeds.

Compared to ordinary Blood Race, Sacred Seeds have greater potential, can wield more formidable power, and naturally suppress ordinary Blood Race through bloodline.

However, even in the vast Blood Refinement World, the number of true Sacred Seeds is extremely rare.

Zhang Julai never thought he could become a Sacred Seed. He just knew that it was impossible for his cultivation to significantly improve in a short time, and once he became useless to Lu Ye, his fate would be grim.

Under the effect of Soul Taming Divine Runes, Zhang Julai bore no rebellion against Lu Ye, but he was unwilling to become a dispensable figure by Lu Ye's side.

In the past, he never dared to venture into the Blood River for cultivation because it was too dangerous. Out of ten thousand Blood Race entering the Blood River, perhaps not even one would survive.

He didn't think he had anything special compared to other Blood Race, and entering the Blood River was surely a near-death experience. Yet, to continue serving Lu Ye, he decided to brave the Blood River.

"Have you made up your mind?" Lu Ye naturally knew what he was thinking.

"Yes, I ask for your permission, sir." Although Zhang Julai was afraid, he remained resolute.

Lu Ye nodded, "In that case, go tomorrow!"

"Yes!" Zhang Julai withdrew, evidently to prepare for entering the Blood River — at the very least, to recuperate in anticipation of tomorrow's trial.

After Zhang Julai left, a figure suddenly appeared at the door. Lu Ye looked up to see it was Lann Qiyue, who lived in the neighboring cave.

Recently, Lann Qiyue's cultivation had advanced rapidly, now reaching Spirit Stream Level 8. At such a cultivation speed, no cultivator in the Nine Provinces could compare.

Back then, Lu Ye's cultivation speed was considered fast, but at the Spirit Stream level, he averaged two to three months to progress a level.

Especially in the late Spirit Stream Realm, each level upgrade took quite some time.

Seeing Lann Qiyue advance four small levels in just a month, Lu Ye couldn't believe it without witnessing it firsthand.

Lann Qiyue came to ask Lu Ye some questions regarding cultivation.

Clarifying Lann Qiyue's doubts took little effort.

Finally, Lann Qiyue said, "Recently, two more sisters have given birth to a Blood Embryo. Fortunately, their lives are not in danger. I've taken care of the Blood Embryos, but it's not suitable for them to stay here. I'd like to ask Brother Thirteen to help me escort them out."

Having attacked many nearby cave residences, all pregnant women were concentrated at the Bright Moon Cave Residence, increasing the birth frequency. Previously, some had delivered Blood Embryos, and Lann Qiyue handled it the same way.

The Blood Embryos were directly eliminated to prevent future troubles. For women who birthed Blood Embryos, she asked Dao Thirteen to help relocate them to nearby villages. She accompanied them because Dao Thirteen struggled with human interaction, and she, being a human of this world, found communication easier.

"I'll go with you tomorrow," Lu Ye said.

Lann Qiyue asked, "Brother, are you going out tomorrow?" It was a curious thing, as Lu Ye had stayed in his cave the whole time, only leaving that day to assist her in childbirth.

"There's something I'd like to see," Lu Ye casually explained.

Lann Qiyue naturally had no objections.

The night passed without conversation, and by the next day, Zhang Julai left the Bright Moon Cave Residence with a solemn expression. He was surprised upon seeing a figure standing at the entrance and whispered, "Sir, you are...?"

"I'll accompany you to see the Blood River," Lu Ye was naturally curious about the existence of the Blood River. Earlier, when his cultivation hadn't recovered, he couldn't wander around, but now he could take a look and see why the Blood River is so miraculous.

Zhang Julai assumed Lu Ye was concerned for his safety, feeling somewhat moved.

Lu Ye then summoned the spirit ark, loaded the two human women aboard, called Lann Qiyue, and set off in one direction, with Zhang Julai following closely.

Dao Thirteen stayed to guard, as Blood Race was never a peaceful bunch, and without anyone watching the place, who knew what they might do to those pregnant women.

Lu Ye didn't want to return to find a tragedy had occurred.

They swiftly traveled, and soon arrived near Cangnan Village. Lu Ye stopped the spirit ark and instructed Lann Qiyue, "Take them into the village."

Before, it was always Lann Qiyue who personally escorted those human women to Cangnan Village for settlement.

Lann Qiyue complied and returned shortly, evidently having handed the two women over to the village chief.

The group set off again.

They flew for less than half a day's time, arriving at a bare mountaintop. This mountain was very peculiar, with a radius of dozens of miles without any vegetation, appearing extremely desolate.

At the mountain's peak was a pond two to three acres in size.

The pond wasn't filled with clear water but a thick, blood-red liquid.

It appeared as though the entire pond was filled with fresh blood.