Chapter 1022: True Lake Eight Layers Realm

Wind Rises in Kyushu

A great battle had resulted in significant casualties among both allied and enemy bloodkin, but those who survived were all elites.

Lan Qiyue stepped forward and reorganized them. No bloodkin dared to object; they all followed her orders. In fact, for bloodkin, serving under a Holy Seed was a dream come true.

The territory of Qianliu Blessed Land expanded again, naturally extending its protective reach even further.

The first thing Lan Qiyue announced after taking power was that, from this day forward, bloodkin within her command were forbidden from harming human lives in any way.

Although Yu Lingfeng had announced this previously, the effect was completely different this time. When Yu Lingfeng made the announcement, the bloodkin outwardly agreed, but inwardly they were somewhat dismissive and didn't take it seriously. How could there be any bloodkin in this world who didn't consume blood? Some bloodkin even decided to secretly feed, figuring there would be no trouble as long as they weren't caught in the act. However, when this command came from a Holy Seed, no bloodkin dared to harbor any dissent.

Pregnant human women were constantly sent to Qianliu Blessed Land for settlement. Lan Qiyue had been responsible for these matters before, and now with her greatly increased cultivation, she handled them with even greater ease. She also selected a few human women from among them, trained them briefly as helpers. This ensured that the pregnant human mothers received excellent care, and once they gave birth to the blood fetuses, they would be settled in nearby villages.

Lu Ye no longer needed to worry about these mundane matters; he only needed to cultivate.

Time flew by, and another month passed.

In the back garden of Qianliu Blessed Land, inside Lu Ye's sleeping quarters, surges of spiritual energy swept around him. The spiritual power flowing within him was noticeably purer. He had reached the eighth level of the True Lake Realm!

He recalled how he had cultivated in the nameless mystic realm using its spiritual veins, advancing from True Lake Realm fifth level to seventh level in two months. However, since arriving in the Blood Refinery Realm, it had been over three months, yet his cultivation had only advanced by one level. Of course, of these three months, only two were truly spent cultivating; the first month was dedicated to restoring his original cultivation, so it didn't count.

His cultivation progress wasn't fast, at least it was slower compared to his previous pace. But compared to other human cultivators, this cultivation efficiency was still terrifying. This was mainly due to the Talent Tree; with its power, Lu Ye could quickly absorb the energy from spirit stones and elixirs for his own use, something no other human cultivator could rival.

The spirit stones and elixirs he carried with him were almost depleted. Now, his remaining cultivation resources consisted only of some blood crystals, a considerable amount, but not excessively so. The blood crystals came from Lan Qiyue's external expansion. During this month, she led the bloodkin of Qianliu Blessed Land to continuously attack nearby bloodkin territories. Currently, the territory under Qianliu Blessed Land's jurisdiction was twice as large as it was a month ago, and all humans within its range received protection.

Lan Qiyue's cultivation progressed extremely rapidly; almost every time she returned from battle, Lu Ye could sense an improvement in her cultivation.

Dao Thirteen's cultivation also improved. Of course, he was merely slowly recovering his original cultivation. Currently, Dao Thirteen possessed the strength of a True Lake Realm ninth level cultivator, just one step away from recovering to the Divine Sea Realm. Dao Thirteen's recovery was relatively slow, which was unavoidable, as he couldn't absorb the power from blood crystals as freely as Lu Ye. Most of what he did recently was constantly eating the flesh and blood of the demonic beasts and wild animals of this realm. With the foundation of a Divine Sea Realm physique, his appetite was naturally enormous; he devoured three to five demonic beasts almost daily. Fortunately, there were dedicated bloodkin responsible for hunting demonic beasts for him, so Lu Ye didn't need to worry about anything.

It would still take some time...

In the blink of an eye, two more months passed.

It had been over five months since Lu Ye arrived in the Blood Refinery Realm. Dao Thirteen's cultivation had finally fully recovered. Lu Ye knew it was time to leave this place.

For five months, he had been contemplating the purpose of Kyushu's Heavenly Mystery sending him to this realm, but he still couldn't grasp it. The only certainty was that it was related to the humans of this realm. Looking back at the various mystic realms Lu Ye had experienced, everything he did was inextricably linked to the fate and future of the humans in those realms. It was so in the Myriad Beast Domain Mystic Realm, so in the Dragon Ascent Realm Mystic Realm, and so in the Peerless Continent.

He once speculated whether Kyushu wanted him to save the humans of the Blood Refinery Realm. But if that were truly the case, it would be overestimating him too much. After all, he was only in the True Lake Realm. Even with Dao Thirteen as a helper, it would be difficult for him to achieve anything significant in a vast world like the Blood Refinery Realm. Adding Lan Qiyue wouldn't be enough either. He couldn't bear the heavy responsibility of saving the humans of the Blood Refinery Realm, unless he possessed the ability to destroy all bloodkin in this realm.

If he wasn't meant to save the humans of the Blood Refinery Realm, then what was Heavenly Mystery sending him here for? Lu Ye had to find the answer, which meant he needed to leave Qianliu Blessed Land. Staying here indefinitely wouldn't give him any clues.

The reason he waited until today was for Dao Thirteen to fully recover his cultivation. Dao Thirteen was the greatest helper Kyushu had granted him for coming here; only when Dao Thirteen fully recovered could he proceed with his next plan.

As for Lan Qiyue... leaving her here to continuously fight and expand could also protect more humans, so Lan Qiyue couldn't be taken away. Otherwise, traveling through the Blood Refinery Realm with a Holy Seed of the bloodkin would undoubtedly make their situation much safer.

With his decision made, Lu Ye quietly waited. Since he was leaving, he naturally had to say goodbye to Lan Qiyue.

A day later, Lan Qiyue, who had been campaigning outside, returned. She immediately came to Lu Ye's sleeping quarters to report on the battle, excitedly telling him how many bloodkin had died during this expedition. The deceased bloodkin naturally included her subordinates, but like Lu Ye, she felt no pain over the deaths of her forces. For her, each dead bloodkin meant an additional blood crystal. Of course, to preserve her forces, not too many bloodkin could die. So, every time she campaigned outside, she would control the number of bloodkin casualties. When the time was right, she would activate her Holy Seed bloodline and single-handedly turn the tide.

"Senior Brother, these are the blood crystals collected from this expedition, several hundred of them," Lan Qiyue said, handing a storage bag to Lu Ye. She naturally knew that Lu Ye could cultivate with blood crystals, but she didn't understand why he possessed such an unusual ability, and she had never asked.

"Keep them for yourself; why give them to me?" Lu Ye declined.

"It's too simple for me to cultivate; I don't necessarily need blood crystals, so it's more appropriate for Senior Brother to use these." Indeed, it was simple for her to cultivate; the bloodkin she killed in battle all transformed into nourishment for her growth, and she could enter the Blood River to enhance herself at any time.

"Then I'll take them," Lu Ye said, picking up the storage bag. He had few cultivation resources left, and while a few hundred blood crystals weren't a lot, they could replenish some of his stock. He paused, then said, "Junior Sister, I have something to tell you."

Lan Qiyue froze for a moment, then her expression changed, and she quickly stood up: "I won't listen, I won't listen! Senior Brother, don't say it!"

"I haven't even said what it is," Lu Ye said, a little speechless.

"Anyway, I won't listen!" Lan Qiyue exclaimed, annoyed. She stomped her foot, transformed into a streak of bloody light, shot into the sky, and vanished in an instant. She was exceptionally intelligent and clearly realized something. Lu Ye was speechless for a moment, watching the direction she had left.

Beside him, Dao Thirteen was greedily eating a large piece of beast meat, his mouth greasy and his stomach bulging, utterly carefree.

Suddenly, screams came from the front courtyard. Some unlucky bloodkin, meeting Lan Qiyue in a bad mood, had apparently been casually eliminated by her.

The next day, Lu Ye was meditating and cultivating when he heard footsteps. He opened his eyes and saw it was Lan Qiyue. Lu Ye smiled at her and gestured for her to sit. Lan Qiyue turned her head away, standing silently. After a long while, she finally spoke: "Senior Brother, are you leaving?"

Lu Ye nodded slightly: "Yes."

Lan Qiyue turned to look at him, a hint of pleading in her eyes: "Can you not go? If Senior Brother leaves, I'll be all alone here."

"There are some things I need to go out and see."

"Then go!" Lan Qiyue exclaimed, annoyed. "If Senior Brother leaves today, I'll kill all the humans in my territory tomorrow! I'll go kill those pregnant mothers right now."

Lu Ye chuckled: "Don't say such angry words."

Lan Qiyue glared at him: "I'll do it!"

"Perhaps you could do it," Lu Ye said calmly, "but you are human, after all, and once were one of those pregnant mothers. If you truly do this, you will surely suffer greatly in the future."

"So what?" Lan Qiyue stubbornly looked at him. However, after only three breaths of meeting Lu Ye's gaze, her eyes shifted away.

"Come, sit down and talk," Lu Ye beckoned.

Lan Qiyue moved and sat down in front of him. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "Then Senior Brother, take me with you. I am a Holy Seed; I can protect your safety if I stay by your side."

Lu Ye sighed: "If you leave, Qianliu Blessed Land will fall into chaos, and those humans..."

"What do their lives and deaths have to do with me?" Lan Qiyue's emotions suddenly became agitated. "I was a dying person; Senior Brother saved me, taught me cultivation, and took me to the Blood Pool. Without Senior Brother, there would be no Lan Qiyue in this world. Senior Brother, don't forget, I was originally just an ordinary human. I don't want to be a Holy Seed, nor do I want to be a Blessed Lord. I ask for nothing else, only to stay by Senior Brother's side. Just treat me like a maidservant."

Lu Ye fell silent. He suddenly realized that he had indeed taken things for granted. Before becoming a Holy Seed, Lan Qiyue was just a human girl oppressed by the bloodkin. It was just her current status as a Holy Seed that made Lu Ye forget the Lan Qiyue of the past.

"For a Holy Seed to be my maidservant, I wouldn't dare accept that," Lu Ye said slowly. "Since you put it that way, then come with me."

Lan Qiyue looked at Lu Ye in surprise: "Really?" Lu Ye nodded: "Naturally."

"But if we both leave, what will happen to the humans in the Blessed Land?"

"I'll try my best to make arrangements." Perhaps they wouldn't be able to maintain the current situation of the Blessed Land for too long, but they could only do their best.