Chapter 1008: Blood Crystal

Just as Lu Ye finished speaking, Dao Thirteen acted, seizing the unfamiliar Blood Clan's wrist. With a slight exertion of force, he twisted the arm grotesquely.

The unfamiliar Blood Clan screamed as a thick, crimson aura erupted from their body, their spiritual energy surging wildly. They desperately tried to break free from Dao Thirteen's grip. Though Dao Thirteen's current cultivation was negligible, his Divine Sea Realm physique endured, making escape impossible for the Blood Clan. His face contorted with anger and shock as he roared, "Impudent blood meal, let go at once!" He had never experienced anything so preposterous; a mere "blood meal" was not only unafraid of him but dared to attack him.

The Blood Clan's struggles annoyed Dao Thirteen. He yanked the creature close and delivered a forceful headbutt. With a muffled impact, Dao Thirteen remained unfazed, but the unfamiliar Blood Clan felt the world spin, seeing flashes of light before their eyes.

The Blood Clan finally realized their predicament: these two "blood meals" were not subservient but rebellious. The blood-light around them intensified, and they abruptly transformed into a puddle of blood. Dao Thirteen had never encountered such a bizarre secret art. Caught by surprise, his grip loosened, and the unfamiliar Blood Clan slipped free.

The blood-light twisted, attempting to flee into the distance. However, Lu Ye was already prepared. His divine sense surged, forming an invisible shockwave that slammed into the blood-light.

A scream echoed as the blood-light twisted, revealing the unfamiliar Blood Clan's form. Seeing this, Dao Thirteen also unleashed his divine sense, delivering a follow-up blow. The unfamiliar Blood Clan immediately collapsed, convulsing on the ground. As a mere Cloud River Realm cultivator, he couldn't withstand the successive divine sense attacks from both Lu Ye and Dao Thirteen. His mind was utterly muddled; even if he were to recover, he would likely be left with a permanent disability.

Lu Ye stepped forward, placing a hand on the Blood Clan's forehead. After a moment of hesitation, he activated "A Hint of Insight" on him. To glean information about this world, interrogating this particular Blood Clan member was the most logical choice. This was Lu Ye's first time using "A Hint of Insight," and he proceeded with extreme caution, as the divine pattern directly affected the soul.

As his divine sense surged, it effortlessly shattered the unfamiliar Blood Clan's soul defense. The moment the divine pattern was successfully formed, Lu Ye frowned. Unfamiliar scenes he had never witnessed inexplicably surged into his mind, accompanied by a tidal wave of information. The sensation was profoundly unsettling. While Lu Ye endured this discomfort, the unfamiliar Blood Clan suffered even more. The creature, already on the verge of unconsciousness, suddenly opened its eyes wide, trembling violently. Its gaze was filled with profound shock and disbelief, having clearly stumbled upon some of Lu Ye's secrets.

After a significant pause, Lu Ye withdrew his finger and stepped back, his face noticeably pale and his forehead glistening with sweat. The flood of unfamiliar scenes and information in his mind was overwhelming his senses. Lu Ye quickly retrieved a drop of Soul Cleansing Water and swallowed it, feeling a measure of relief. He silently vowed never to use "A Hint of Insight" again unless absolutely unavoidable. While the divine pattern possessed miraculous properties, it was a torment for both the user and the target. Perhaps the experience would improve once his divine soul grew stronger, but for now, activating it was far from pleasant. Nevertheless, he had successfully extracted a wealth of information about this world.

"Keep an eye on him," Lu Ye instructed Dao Thirteen, then settled into a cross-legged position nearby, silently processing the vast amount of information he had just acquired. Contrary to his initial expectations, this was not the Blood Realm that had once annihilated the Dragon Ascent Realm, but a domain known as the Blood Refining Realm. This realm was as vast as the Nine Provinces, with the Blood Clan holding absolute dominion. While many humans also inhabited this world, they were nothing more than "blood meals" raised by the Blood Clan, treated like common livestock.

In the Blood Refining Realm, the Blood Clan held supreme status, exercising absolute power over humans, who were simply theirs to take or kill at will. Centuries of deeply ingrained ideology had stripped most humans of any will to resist; many didn't even know what the "Blood Clan" truly was, referring to them only as the "Holy Clan." For instance, in the nearby village, from the chief to the children, no one had ever seen a Blood Clan member. All who had were dead. Many things that had previously puzzled Lu Ye now made chilling sense.

Lu Ye had previously wondered why the villagers, despite appearing well-fed and clothed, were perpetually anxious and barricaded their homes every night. Now he understood: death could strike at any moment. How could anyone find peace in such an oppressive atmosphere? Bolting their doors at night was an instinctive defense against the Blood Clan, but it was ultimately futile. When the Blood Clan descended upon the village, they simply took whoever they desired; flimsy doors offered no impediment to their intrusion.

The village boasted a considerable population because the Blood Clan bred humans like livestock. As such, procreation was actively encouraged, leading every household to strive for as many children as possible. The Blood Clan even permitted humans to cultivate, as the blood of a cultivator with some spiritual attainment was far more valuable to them than that of an ordinary mortal. However, they did not tolerate overly powerful human cultivators. Thus, any villager whose cultivation surpassed a certain threshold would mysteriously vanish. This explained the absence of very old or highly cultivated humans in the village.

Once humans reached a certain age, they became useless to the Blood Clan, fit only to be "blood meals." In the Blood Refining Realm, humans lived lives worse than pigs or dogs; under Blood Clan rule, most did not survive past forty. Individuals like the village chief were considered exceptionally long-lived. Having processed the complex information, Lu Ye slowly rose and approached the unconscious Blood Clan member.

Having been successively assaulted by Lu Ye's and Dao Thirteen's divine senses, and then subjected to "A Hint of Insight" by Lu Ye, the Blood Clan member was now completely unconscious. Lu Ye drew his Panshan Saber, aimed it at the creature's chest, and plunged it in. The previously unconscious Blood Clan member abruptly opened its eyes, body stiffening, and stared at Lu Ye, eyes wide with horror and rage.

Lu Ye's gaze was cold and piercing. With a twist of the long saber within the chest, a blood-red, longan-sized sphere was extracted. The sphere was uniformly crimson, appearing as though cast from fresh blood, yet upon closer inspection, it resembled an extremely durable crystal. This was the Blood Clan's heart, the concentrated essence of their cultivation, akin to a monster core in beasts. The Blood Clan referred to it as a "Blood Crystal"!

This was Lu Ye's first encounter with a Blood Crystal. Previously, during his devastating campaigns against the Blood Clan in the Dragon Ascent Realm, clad in the Dragon Throne armor, he had paid no heed to such details. Had it not been for the wealth of information he gained through "A Hint of Insight" this time, he might never have even noticed it. With the Blood Crystal extracted, the Blood Clan member's head slumped, and it exhaled its last breath. Lu Ye held the Blood Crystal, examining it, a mental hurdle forming in his mind. To consume it or not to consume it—that was the question.

To dissolve the restrictive power within him and restore his original cultivation, he needed to absorb as much information about this world as possible, allowing himself to assimilate with it. The most direct way to do this was to consume substances from this realm. He had been doing this for the past few days, but progress was slow. At this rate, it would take at least two months to fully recover his cultivation. Dao Thirteen's recovery, with his higher cultivation level, would undoubtedly be even slower. The primary issue was the lack of valuable monsters to hunt; most of what he and Dao Thirteen had found were common beasts. In contrast, the Blood Crystal in his hand was undoubtedly far more valuable. Lu Ye believed that if he could refine the power within this Blood Crystal, a significant amount of his restrictive power would dissipate, potentially restoring a portion of his strength.

The Blood Clan were not humans, yet they bore a distinct resemblance, and this object had been extracted directly from a Blood Clan member's body... Then again, the Blood Clan treated humans as mere livestock. What difference did it make if he consumed a Blood Crystal? He had eaten monster cores before; he would simply consider this another one. This was not the Nine Provinces, and regaining his cultivation as soon as possible was his top priority. With this resolve, Lu Ye hesitated no longer. He retrieved some clean water, thoroughly washed the Blood Crystal, and then, under Dao Thirteen's astonished gaze, popped it into his mouth. He bit down with a distinct crunch.

It had no peculiar taste, and surprisingly, not much of a bloody tang; it wasn't unpleasant to consume. As he was eating, a whooshing sound suddenly reached his ears from nearby. Lu Ye quietly looked up and saw a streak of blood-light soaring directly towards the village. Clearly, another Blood Clan member was on their way to capture "blood meals."

Lu Ye subtly activated a trace of his spiritual energy. As expected, it immediately caught the Blood Clan's attention. The streak of blood-light changed course and flew towards them, quickly landing nearby and revealing its form. Like the previous one, this Blood Clan member was tall and slender, with reddish skin and pointed ears. Blood Clan members were generally taller than humans. As Lu Ye looked at its face, a scene instantly flashed through his mind—a memory gleaned from the deceased Blood Clan member on the ground. Moments before, these two Blood Clan members had been locked in combat.

In the world of the Nine Provinces, humans were divided into two major factions, locked in constant conflict and instigating battles year after year. Similarly, in the Blood Refining Realm, the Blood Clan was far from unified; their internal struggles were even more brutal and chaotic. This was entirely due to the existence of Blood Crystals. After one Blood Clan member killed another, they could extract the opponent's Blood Crystal to boost their own cultivation. This was akin to how monsters could improve themselves by consuming the monster cores of others of their kind. Consequently, the Blood Clan's growth rate far surpassed that of humans, as they could accelerate their development by devouring the Blood Crystals of their brethren with minimal adverse effects. This inherent advantage, which humans lacked, was the fundamental reason for the Blood Clan's dominion over this realm.

Moments before, two Blood Clan members had engaged in a fight. The weaker one, having fled in disarray, came to the village to capture "blood meals" to replenish its strength, only to be vanquished by the combined efforts of Lu Ye and Dao Thirteen. A short while later, the other Blood Clan member tracked its kin to this location, likely intending to sate its own hunger in the village, and was consequently lured over by Lu Ye. The Blood Clan member landed, immediately spotting its fallen kin on the ground. Then, glancing at Lu Ye and Dao Thirteen, and unable to fathom the situation, it demanded, "How did he die?"

"I don't know,"