Chapter 1024: Blood Sacrifice Ceremony

But moments later, the hall was littered with corpses and flowing blood.

Lu Ye sat on the throne belonging to the Blessed Land's lord, toying with the Sacred Blood Jade that Lan Qiyue had given him before his departure. Yu Lingfeng stood respectfully to the side, trembling.

Given Lu Ye and Dao Thirteen's abilities, slaughtering the Blood Clan members here wouldn't have been particularly difficult, but it wouldn't have been this effortless. After all, these were all True Lake Realm Blood Clan members, and they would surely resist if their lives were truly threatened. With the suppression of the Sacred Blood Jade, it was a different story. When Lu Ye brought out the Sacred Blood Jade, every single Blood Clan member present felt as if struck by lightning, their bodies stiffening. Lu Ye and Dao Thirteen seized the opportunity to launch a sudden attack, instantly slaughtering most of the Blood Clan members here.

Only the lord of this Blessed Land remained alive, now captured by Dao Thirteen and kneeling before Lu Ye.

Lu Ye raised his hand and touched the lord's forehead, activating his divine sense.

A moment later, Dao Thirteen released him. Lu Ye put away the Sacred Blood Jade, and the Blood Clan lord, now imprinted with the Soul Control divine pattern, stood up respectfully.

Lu Ye gave a few simple instructions, then left with Dao Thirteen and Yu Lingfeng.

He didn't kill the lord, not out of mercy, but because he needed him to remain alive to continue ruling the Blessed Land and provide as much protection as possible to the humans within it.

Continuing south, Lu Ye repeated this process at every Blessed Land he passed, killing a group of Blood Clan members to collect Blood Crystals, while sparing the local lord's life and implanting the Soul Control divine pattern.

In truth, if possible, Lu Ye would have preferred to implant the Soul Control divine pattern in the minds of those Blood Clan members in the Divine Sea Realm.

In the Blood Refining Realm, Blood Clan gathering places are divided into three tiers. The lowest are 'Dongfu' (Cave Mansions), guarded by Blood Clan members in the Cloud River Realm. Above that are 'Dongtian' (Cave Heavens), which have Blood Clan members in the Divine Sea Realm.

The lords of Dongfu are called Cave Masters, the lords of Blessed Lands are called Blessed Lords, and the lords of Dongtian are called Heavenly Venerables.

If he could control a Heavenly Venerable, the effect would naturally be incomparable to merely controlling a Blessed Lord.

However, even with the Sacred Blood Jade, Lu Ye didn't dare to rashly venture into a Dongtian guarded by a Divine Sea Realm Blood Clan member. The variables were too great, and Divine Sea Realm Blood Clan members were not easily controlled. His success in implanting the Soul Control pattern in Dao Thirteen's soul earlier was purely due to luck.

Dao Thirteen had been unconscious, and Lu Ye had even used the Soul Annihilation Sword to break through his soul defenses, which was how he managed to succeed in one strike.

Therefore, despite knowing the benefits of controlling a Heavenly Venerable-level Blood Clan member, Lu Ye did not act rashly.

Continuing south, nearly every Blessed Land lord encountered along the way had the Soul Control divine pattern implanted by Lu Ye and received his instructions.

They then ascended a towering peak.

The biting cold wind pierced to the bone.

Looking up, clouds billowed and mists swirled, as if they were no longer in the mortal world.

Qingtian Peak, one of the two highest mountain peaks in the Blood Refining Realm, was marked on the map Lan Qiyue had given Lu Ye.

The other peak was Yuzhu Peak.

It was said that these two peaks were of equal height, and if viewed from high altitude, they would appear as two symmetrical semicircles on the Blood Refining Realm's map, truly peculiar.

Whether they were equally high or symmetrical, Lu Ye didn't know and had no intention of investigating, as he couldn't possibly travel to Yuzhu Peak just to make a comparison.

He was merely passing through this area.

Nearly two months had passed since they departed from Ganliu Blessed Land. According to the map, they had only covered thirty percent of the journey.

In other words, they still had at least four more months of travel before reaching Shenque Sea.

It was truly a long road ahead.

Without lingering there, the group soon set off again, crossing Qingtian Peak and entering the vast Yunluo Plain.

According to the map, the entire Yunluo Plain was immense, occupying nearly half of the Blood Refining Realm's territory. Shenque Sea was located in the central-lower part of the Yunluo Plain.

It was an inland sea.

A few days later, in a Blessed Land where the Blood Clan gathered, numerous Blood Clan corpses lay strewn across the main hall. Yu Lingfeng silently collected Blood Crystals from the deceased Blood Clan members. Lu Ye sat on the lord's throne, toying with the Sacred Blood Jade in his hand. The lord of this place knelt before him, nodding in agreement as Lu Ye personally gave instructions.

Having done this many times, the trio had become quite adept. A similar scene occurred almost every time they visited a Blessed Land.

After giving his instructions, Lu Ye stood up, ready to depart.

To his surprise, the lord, now imprinted with the Soul Control divine pattern, suddenly spoke: "Holy Emissary, please wait."

He hadn't figured out Lu Ye's true identity. Seeing only that Lu Ye held the round jade of the Sacred Seed Blood, he assumed Lu Ye was a subordinate of some Sacred Seed. Thus, he instinctively called him 'Holy Emissary.' As for why a Holy Venerable would choose a human as a Holy Emissary, that was not for him to ponder.

"What is it?" Lu Ye turned his head to look at him.

The Blood Clan member said: "May I ask, Holy Emissary, is the Holy Venerable willing to subdue more Blessed Lords?"

Lu Ye's eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you mean?"

The Blood Clan member replied: "It's like this: not long ago, the lord of Huangqiong Blessed Land was promoted to the Divine Sea Realm, and has thus widely invited lords from all directions to gather, preparing to hold a Blood Feast Ceremony. Many Blessed Lords will go to show their support at that time."

Lu Ye's eyebrows rose upon hearing this.

Over the past two months, he had enslaved many Blood Clan members using the Soul Control divine pattern, but the efficiency was ultimately low.

However, this was merely something he did incidentally while traveling, so he hadn't forced anything.

But now that there was an opportunity for many Blessed Lords to gather, he could certainly go and join the fun.

The reason he hadn't rashly sought trouble with Heavenly Venerable-level Blood Clan members during this time was due to too many uncertain factors. Before his cultivation truly reached the Divine Sea Realm, acting rashly against Divine Sea Realm Blood Clan members carried great risk.

However, if it was just a recently promoted Divine Sea Realm Blood Clan member, they could be completely subdued.

Not to mention, many other Blessed Lords would also be attending to show their support.

It could be said that participating in this Blood Feast Ceremony might yield greater results than his efforts over the previous two months. Spending a few days to provide protection for more humans was entirely worthwhile.

"Were you invited?" Lu Ye asked.

The Blood Clan member replied: "The one from Huangqiong Blessed Land and I have some previous acquaintance."

"Very good!" Lu Ye nodded in satisfaction. "What's your name?"

The Blood Clan member quickly replied: "Jinde."

Because of his existing acquaintance with the lord of Huangqiong Blessed Land, Jinde had originally planned to set off today. He hadn't expected Lu Ye to come knocking. As a result, almost all of his True Lake Realm subordinates were dead, leaving him as the sole survivor.

There was nothing much to prepare. A moment later, Jinde led Lu Ye and the others away.

Huangqiong Blessed Land was not too far, nor too close, from this location. It was about a day's journey.

The next day, the group arrived at Huangqiong Blessed Land.

From a distance, they saw a festive atmosphere in Huangqiong Blessed Land. Numerous Blood Clan members moved about, setting up various items required for the ceremony.

Since it wasn't yet the day of the ceremony, the guests had not yet arrived.

When Jinde led Lu Ye and the others down, a Blood Clan member who knew him immediately came forward, greeting him with a smile: "Brother Jinde, why are you here so early? The ceremony isn't for another two days."

Jinde replied: "Brother Wen's promotion to the Divine Sea Realm is a huge joyous occasion! How could I come late? I'm also here to see if there's anything I can help with."

The lord of Huangqiong Blessed Land was named Wen Yufeng, and he was slightly younger than Jinde.

The Blood Clan member chuckled: "Brother Jinde, you are thoughtful." Then he added with a reminder: "However, Brother Jinde should now address him as Heavenly Venerable."

Jinde paused, then burst out laughing: "Yes, yes, Heavenly Venerable Wen."

Although they had a previous acquaintance, the Divine Sea Realm and True Lake Realm were ultimately different in status. Calling him 'Brother Wen' now would be somewhat inappropriate.

As the two Blood Clan members spoke, Lu Ye's gaze fell on a nearby area where many frightened humans were confined. Without exception, all of them possessed cultivation, and they were almost all human girls around sixteen or seventeen years old.

There were quite a few, numbering around three to four hundred.

To collect so many young girls with cultivation, Huangqiong Blessed Land had clearly put in considerable effort. These girls were undoubtedly the 'blood food' prepared for this Blood Feast Ceremony. Once the ceremony began, they would be freely consumed by the Blood Clan members who came to offer their congratulations.

Lu Ye secretly felt fortunate. Thankfully, Jinde had mentioned it earlier. Otherwise, he would have truly missed this ceremony, and these girls would have undoubtedly faced a tragic fate.

At the same time, he felt a pang of sadness. These were the ones he could see and intervene for. In this vast Blood Refining Realm, how many more were there that he couldn't see, couldn't intervene for?

"These two humans are..." The Blood Clan member looked at Lu Ye and Dao Thirteen with some curiosity. Dao Thirteen, in particular, with his sturdy build and abundant vitality, was most likely to attract the Blood Clan's attention. Back in Bright Moon Cave, Sun Miaozhu had taken an immediate liking to him.

"These two blood slaves, as gifts, had considerable cultivation."

The Blood Clan member understood at once and immediately laughed: "Brother Jinde is truly thoughtful. The Heavenly Venerable will surely be pleased when he knows."

"Where is the Heavenly Venerable?" Jinde asked. "I will present them to him now."

"He is meditating in his chambers, preparing for the ceremony in two days." The Blood Clan member gestured with his hand: "Brother Jinde, please follow me."

Ordinarily, it would be inappropriate to disturb the Heavenly Venerable at this time, but since Jinde was presenting a gift, he naturally couldn't be stopped.

The group followed closely behind the Blood Clan member, heading towards the rear courtyard of the Blessed Land.

They soon arrived in front of a chamber. The Blood Clan member went in to announce them, and only after gaining Wen Yufeng's permission, did he emerge to invite them in: "The Heavenly Venerable requests your presence!"

"Thank you." Jinde nodded slightly, leading Lu Ye and Dao Thirteen into the chamber.

Stepping inside, they immediately saw a Blood Clan member meditating cross-legged. It was indeed the lord of Huangqiong Blessed Land, Wen Yufeng.

With his promotion to the Divine Sea Realm, Huangqiong Blessed Land would also naturally rise in status, becoming Huangqiong Cave Heaven. As for whether he could firmly establish himself, that would depend on Wen Yufeng's own capabilities.

This was also the reason he held the Blood Feast Ceremony: to win over the hearts of the nearby Blessed Land lords through this ceremony. Otherwise, why would he go to such great lengths to prepare so much high-quality 'blood food'?

"Greetings, Heavenly Venerable." Jinde stepped forward and saluted.

Wen Yufeng opened his eyes and said with a smile: "Brother Jinde, there's no need to be so formal. You and I have been acquainted for many years. Although I ascended to the Divine Sea Realm first, your day will come too. Let's stick to our old ways of addressing each other."