Chapter 1009: Bright Moon Cave Mansion

As the words left his mouth, he saw the Blood-Forged Blade in Lu Ye's hand, dripping with blood. He was stunned. "You killed him?"

This was truly bizarre. Mere blood-meals dared to kill a Saint Race member? He had lived for so many years and never witnessed such audacity. Yet, he had just sensed Lu Ye's spiritual power fluctuations; Lu Ye was merely a human cultivator at the Spirit Stream Realm, likely a villager from a nearby settlement. How could someone with such cultivation kill a Saint Race member? After all, that Saint Race member was at least a Cloud River Realm cultivator.

As he pondered in uncertainty, his brows suddenly furrowed, and he stared intently at Lu Ye: "What are you eating?"

Lu Ye looked back, his mouth chewing with a distinct crunch. That sound felt unusually familiar to the Blood Race member. He, too, had consumed the blood crystals of his own kind. What horrified him even more was that these two blood-meals, far from showing any fear upon seeing him, actually seemed eager to engage.

The Blood Race member finally realized the gravity of the situation and spun to flee. But the next instant, a sharp pain erupted in his mind, as if an invisible sledgehammer had struck his head. He staggered a few steps before collapsing onto the ground. By the time he regained his senses, two figures stood over him, one on his left, one on his right, staring down at him expressionlessly.

"How dare you!" the Blood Race member roared in fury. He, a noble Saint Race member, had never been stared at so contemptuously by mere blood-meals; he felt immediately humiliated. Dao Shisan slapped him on the shoulder, and the Blood Race member instantly felt his entire body about to fall apart. Feeling the irresistible force on his shoulder, he finally panicked, yet still blustered, "Let me go! If you dare to disrespect me, you are dead!"

Lu Ye scrutinized the stubborn Blood Race member, weighing whether to kill him for his blood crystal or to use the Soul Control technique to enslave him. Blood crystals were indeed very beneficial to him. At this moment, he could clearly feel the restrictive power within his body rapidly dissipating. In this short time, his cultivation had already recovered to the seventh level of the Spirit Stream Realm and was still continuing to recover. If he acquired another blood crystal, recovering to the Cloud River Realm would be effortless.

But if he did that, it would only be a one-time gain. Enslaving the Blood Race member was undoubtedly a better option. He could use this Blood Race member to track down more of their kind and obtain even more blood crystals.

With that thought, Lu Ye made his decision. He raised a hand and pointed it at the Blood Race member. The Blood Race member was still struggling, but after an impatient Dao Shisan slapped him, he immediately quieted down.

With his finger touching the Blood Race member's forehead, Lu Ye activated his Soul Control spiritual power. He could feel the Blood Race member's resistance, but this Blood Race member was only at the Cloud River Realm level, and his spiritual power was naturally not as strong as Lu Ye's. Lu Ye had been unable to enslave Dao Shisan a few days ago because Dao Shisan's spiritual power was stronger than his; he had been forced to use the Soul Extinguishing Sword to break through Dao Shisan's spiritual defense. There was no need for such drastic measures with a Cloud River Realm Blood Race member.

As the Soul Control divine pattern was imprinted, the Blood Race member's resistance steadily diminished until it ceased completely. Lu Ye withdrew his hand, sensing the connection between himself and the Blood Race member before him, a sign that the divine pattern was complete. In fact, if the Blood Race's physique wasn't so noticeably different from humans, he wouldn't need to go through all this trouble; by activating the Disguise Spiritual Pattern, he could transform into their appearance. However, the physical differences were too pronounced, and the Blood Race's red skin was impossible to disguise.

The Blood Race member stood up, looking at Lu Ye with an expression of restraint and respect. The Soul Control divine pattern merely enslaved the other party's will, not their intellect. Thus, in the Blood Race member's mind, Lu Ye was sacred and inviolable. Yet, for a moment, he didn't know how to address Lu Ye, appearing somewhat flustered.

"What's your name?" Lu Ye asked.

"Zhang Julai," the Blood Race member replied honestly.

Lu Ye frowned. "Why do all you Blood Race members use human names?" The Blood Race member he had killed earlier also had a human name. Lu Ye hadn't paid much attention then, dismissing it as a coincidence, but now it seemed otherwise.

Zhang Julai replied, "Human names are pleasant to hear and easy to remember. Before ancient times, our Saint Race used a different kind of name, but those names were both awkward to pronounce and obscure, so they were gradually abandoned. The current rule for the Saint Race is that after killing the first human, they take that human's name for their own."

Lu Ye thought back for a moment and realized that among the vast and complex information he had previously obtained from the deceased Blood Race member, there indeed was such a detail. However, because the information was so extensive and intricate, he hadn't fully processed it all at once and thus hadn't noticed this specific point. This Blood Race member before him was named Zhang Julai; in other words, there was once a human with that name.

"So, what if a human's name is 'Doggy Egg' or something similar...?" Lu Ye narrowed his eyes slightly.

Zhang Julai replied, "There are indeed Saint Race members with such names... but if they don't like it, they can simply discard it and take another." After all, killing a few more humans was no trouble at all for the Blood Race. It is precisely because of this rule that Blood Race names are so varied and peculiar. Often, Blood Race members born in the same area do not even share a surname, which is quite unusual.

"Take me to your cave dwelling!" Lu Ye commanded.

Unlike the Nine Provinces Continent, where sects abound, the Blood Race has no concept of sects because their cultivation is simple. They know how to cultivate from birth; one could say their cultivation method is imprinted deep within their bloodline. They only need to follow the steps and have enough resources to continuously gain powerful strength. In this respect, the Blood Race is far more powerful than humans. For humans to cultivate, they must first possess cultivation aptitude, and even with aptitude, if it's not good enough, they can hardly progress far. For the Blood Race, however, almost all their members are cultivators. They can enhance their cultivation by refining the essence of fresh blood or by hunting their own kind and acquiring blood crystals to improve their cultivation. The latter, especially, provides a significant boost. Therefore, they don't need sects at all, nor do they need masters to teach them the Way and impart knowledge.

They primarily gather around cave dwellings as their base. The number of Blood Race members in a dwelling and their cultivation strength determine its scale. Conflicts between different cave dwellings are frequent, with constant mutual attacks, both to seize the other party's blood crystals and to capture the humans within their territory. For the Blood Race, humans are not only livestock raised for sustenance but also cultivation resources and even breeding grounds for their kind.

Zhang Julai and the Blood Race member Lu Ye had killed previously belonged to two different cave dwellings, and there had long been animosity between them. This village, being within the territory of Zhang Julai's dwelling, meant that, logically, the humans here were the property of Zhang Julai's dwelling. When that Blood Race member came over for no apparent reason, Zhang Julai naturally wouldn't tolerate him, so he fought him. In the struggle, Zhang Julai gained a slight advantage, driving the Blood Race member away. The defeated Blood Race member then came to this village to hunt for blood-meals to replenish himself, only to be eliminated by Lu Ye and Dao Shisan.

Due to internal strife, the Blood Race suffers massive casualties every year. However, the deceased Blood Race members become nourishment for others to grow. Coupled with their simple reproduction and easy cultivation, the overall number of Blood Race members in the Blood Refinement Realm has not continuously decreased; instead, they are constantly replenished.

With the Soul Control divine pattern in place, Zhang Julai naturally wouldn't resist Lu Ye's commands. He immediately led Lu Ye and Dao Shisan deeper into the mountains.

As dawn broke, the villagers of Cangnan Village began to venture out. Lu Ye and Dao Shisan were nowhere to be seen, and a young woman was missing from one of the village households. The villagers had long grown accustomed to this, feeling only a fleeting sadness before resuming their daily lives: those who should work in the fields did so, and those who should hunt in the mountains went hunting.

Meanwhile, Zhang Julai activated a blood-red light, enveloping Lu Ye and Dao Shisan as they journeyed deep into the mountains. On a rock face, a huge cave entrance gaped like the mouth of a beast, with three large characters carved above it: Bright Moon Cave.

This was Zhang Julai's cave dwelling. Along the way, Lu Ye had asked Zhang Julai many questions, learning that over a dozen Blood Race members gathered at Bright Moon Cave. Most were at the Cloud River Realm, with a few at the Spirit Stream Realm. The mistress of the dwelling was a female Blood Race member named Sun Miaozhu, who had a cultivation of the ninth level of the Cloud River Realm, making her the strongest in Bright Moon Cave. The surrounding hundred li (about 50km) radius was considered Bright Moon Cave's territory, with four or five villages like Cangnan Village under its jurisdiction.

Blood Race members guarded the cave entrance. Upon seeing Zhang Julai's escaping light from afar, they loudly warned, "Who goes there?"

Zhang Julai replied, "It's me!" As he spoke, he landed at the cave entrance.

The Blood Race member recognized Zhang Julai and grinned, "Ah, Brother Zhang has returned." Then, seeing Lu Ye and Dao Shisan accompanying him, he couldn't help but ask, "Brother Zhang, who are these two blood-meals?"

"My newly acquired blood slaves," Zhang Julai replied casually. The Blood Race is capable of activating a special blood seal, imprinting it into human cultivators' bodies. Its purpose is somewhat similar to Soul Control, though the control is not as absolute. Back in the Dragon Ascension Realm secret zone, Lu Ye had heard of the term "blood slave," and on the way here, he had already discussed with Zhang Julai how to handle this situation.

The Blood Race member glanced at Dao Shisan, a hint of envy in his voice. "Brother Zhang has good taste! This blood-meal is full of vitality, very impressive. If cultivated well, he might achieve great things someday." Then he looked at Lu Ye, shaking his head, "This one is much inferior." In all his life, this was the first time Lu Ye had been so casually dismissed. However, given his current identity as Zhang Julai's blood slave, he naturally didn't react much, merely standing seemingly obediently behind Zhang Julai.

"Anything unusual inside the dwelling recently?" Zhang Julai asked.

The Blood Race member shook his head. "Nothing special. Same as always."

Zhang Julai nodded slightly and led Lu Ye and Dao Shisan inside. The passage within the cave entrance was wide, dry, and not damp. Oil lamps illuminated both sides, so it wasn't dark. After walking a short distance, numerous grottoes appeared on both sides of the passage. The first few grottoes were empty and didn't appear inhabited, but after walking a short distance further, Lu Ye spotted a figure in one of them. He took a casual glance, not paying much attention at first, but soon stopped and frowned.