Chapter 1025: Holy Land Assembly

Jinde immediately adopted a deeply moved expression. "Your Heavenly Venerate's profound kindness moves Jinde to tears. What's done is done; from this day forward, Jinde will obey your every command without question."

This was his declaration of allegiance.

Wen Yufeng was very pleased with his attitude. He glanced at Lu Ye and Dao Thirteen standing behind him and asked, "I hear these are the gifts you've prepared for me?"

"Yes," Jinde replied, nodding and stepping aside. "These two blood slaves both possess considerable cultivation; I handpicked them myself."

"Oh?" Wen Yufeng offered a faint smile, though he wasn't particularly bothered. In his estimation, no matter how carefully Jinde chose, he wouldn't find any truly valuable blood food. However, Dao Thirteen's abundant vitality did spark a slight interest. "Since you put it that way, their cultivation levels must not be too low. What are they?"

Jinde then spoke, "The Heavenly Venerate wishes to see your cultivation levels. Why don't you display them?"

The instant Jinde's words faded, Lu Ye and Dao Thirteen moved. As the oppressive aura of the Divine Sea Realm surged forth, the smile on Wen Yufeng's face abruptly froze.

He had assumed these two blood slaves at most possessed Cloud River Realm cultivation, which, if true, would already be considered a grand gift. But he had never imagined that Dao Thirteen was actually a Divine Sea Realm cultivator. The sheer intensity of the aura even gave him a sense of trepidation, instantly constricting his breath.

Before he could even react, Dao Thirteen's spiritual sense erupted. Wen Yufeng was hit as if by an invisible sledgehammer; his head snapped back, and a look of agony contorted his features. Simultaneously, Lu Ye manifested the Sacred Blood Jade.

Wen Yufeng, who instinctively attempted to resist, was even more terrified. He felt his entire bloodline being suppressed, and the power he frantically tried to unleash instantly dissipated.

However, when Lan Qiyue originally gave Lu Ye the Sacred Blood Jade, she had mentioned that, due to her own cultivation limitations, its power might not pose a significant threat to Divine Sea Realm Blood Race members. This now proved true; the instant the Sacred Blood Jade appeared, it did suppress Wen Yufeng for a moment, but he quickly broke free from its influence.

Seizing this fleeting moment, Dao Thirteen strode forward, clamped Wen Yufeng's mouth shut to prevent him from shouting, then extended his other hand, seized Wen Yufeng's shoulder, lifted him high, and slammed him violently onto the ground.

With a resounding crash, the bedchamber trembled. Even though Wen Yufeng had already ascended to the Divine Sea Realm, the impact left him dazed and disoriented. This was not the end. From start to finish, Dao Thirteen's spiritual sense continuously surged, transforming into invisible impacts that battered Wen Yufeng's spiritual essence, leaving him dizzy and his soul reverberating.

Wen Yufeng's body bounced off the floor before Dao Thirteen half-knelt on him, pinning him down and immobilizing him. Lu Ye swiftly stepped forward, raised his hand, and placed it on Wen Yufeng's forehead, his spiritual sense surging within.

A moment later, looking somewhat weary, Lu Ye signaled Dao Thirteen. Only then did Dao Thirteen release the restrained Wen Yufeng.

Wen Yufeng rose clumsily, staggering and shaking his head, evidently still reeling from the recent events. Lu Ye, too, was gently shaking his head.

It was still somewhat strenuous. For him, killing Wen Yufeng would have been simple. Dao Thirteen's cultivation far surpassed Wen Yufeng's; even ten Wen Yufengs would be no match for him. However, enslaving Wen Yufeng using the Soul Control technique was a different matter entirely. The main challenge stemmed from Wen Yufeng's conscious resistance, meaning that even with Dao Thirteen's continuous spiritual sense assaults, they only narrowly succeeded this time.

Lu Ye felt increasingly fortunate that Dao Thirteen had been in a state of unconsciousness when they entered the Blood Refinery Realm together, and that he happened to possess the Soul Extinguishing Sword, which targets the spiritual essence. Otherwise, it would have been utterly impossible to implant the Soul Control Mark onto Dao Thirteen's soul.

Slowly regaining his senses, Wen Yufeng looked at Lu Ye, momentarily unsure how to address him. With the Soul Control Divine Mark imprinted upon his spiritual essence, Wen Yufeng naturally felt Lu Ye's absolute command over him.

Jinde, standing nearby, introduced, "This is Lord Saint Emissary."

Wen Yufeng promptly bowed, "Greetings, Saint Emissary."

Lu Ye gave a slight nod.

Just then, the blood race member who had earlier escorted Jinde rushed back, asking with surprise and concern, "Heavenly Venerate, what has happened?" Although the recent incident had been brief, the fluctuations from the exchange of blows had still emanated outwards. This blood race member had sensed the anomaly and came to investigate the situation.

Wen Yufeng waved his hand, "It's nothing. You may leave."

The blood race member acknowledged, then withdrew with a lingering sense of doubt.

"I will reside here for the next two days. Should any guests arrive, lead them to this location," Lu Ye instructed.

"Understood!"

"Furthermore, no harm is to come to the humans here. And those human women outside, return them to wherever you captured them from once this matter concludes."

"Understood," Wen Yufeng replied once more.

The Blood Feast Ceremony was bustling with activity. Wen Yufeng had issued invitations long ago, and as the ceremony drew near, guests continuously arrived. The Fortune Lords who arrived to offer congratulations were escorted into Wen Yufeng's bedchamber, only to depart a short while later. After two such days, roughly thirty Fortune Lords had arrived.

On the day of the main ceremony, new arrivals gradually dwindled, as all those expected had already arrived. Wen Yufeng made an appearance and celebrated with his many guests.

However, what puzzled the many Blood Race members of Huangqiong Blessed Land was that their Heavenly Venerate had never ordered any blood food to be prepared. In fact, when consulted, he had even severely reprimanded them, stating that no one was to harm the blood food without his direct command. While these numerous abnormalities left the Blood Race members of Huangqiong Blessed Land bewildered, they dared not disobey the Heavenly Venerate's command.

Even after the ceremony concluded, the captured blood food remained completely unharmed. Furthermore, during the event, Wen Yufeng declared a new order: from that day forward, no blood race member within his jurisdiction was allowed to arbitrarily harm humans. This announcement garnered unanimous approval from the numerous Fortune Lords present. The Blood Race members of Huangqiong Blessed Land were utterly bewildered, unable to comprehend what was happening in their world.

At this very moment, Lu Ye, Dao Thirteen, and Yu Lingfeng were already a thousand miles away. A single Blood Feast Ceremony had allowed him to enslave a Divine Sea Realm Heavenly Venerate and nearly thirty True Lake Realm Fortune Lords, a greater haul than he had achieved in the previous two months combined. And with his command, humans within the territories governed by these blood race members could at least enjoy a relatively safe living environment from then on.

However, this was ultimately a temporary solution, not a fundamental one. While those under the blood race's rule would be safe from harm in the short term, no one could guarantee their indefinite survival. Once they perished, Lu Ye's orders would no longer be enforced. Moreover, the blood race members under their command might not necessarily be willing to adhere to this directive, and if they acted secretly, the Fortune Lords might not even be aware.

They continued southward. Lately, Lu Ye's cultivation progress had been slow, primarily due to a scarcity of cultivation resources. Although he had intermittently acquired some blood crystals, they were still insufficient for him to advance to the ninth layer of the True Lake Realm. The journey had been relatively uneventful so far.

In the blink of an eye, two more months passed. Approximately seventy percent of their southward journey was complete, leaving only the final thirty percent before they would reach the Divine Palace Sea.

At a Blood Race Fortune Land, Lu Ye, Dao Thirteen, and Yu Lingfeng paused to rest. Along the way, the group occasionally rested in various locations, as constant travel was quite tiring.

As they rested, a resonant voice suddenly boomed, "Where is the Fortune Lord of this place?"

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow slightly, his spiritual sense sweeping forth, detecting a new, unfamiliar blood race figure within the Fortune Land. That blood race member possessed True Lake Realm ninth-layer cultivation, equivalent to the local Fortune Lord. The local Fortune Lord quickly appeared to greet him, calling out, "I am the Fortune Lord. May I ask who you are...?"

The unfamiliar blood race member loudly announced, "By order of the Star Moon Saint Venerate, you are commanded to muster your local forces within three days and proceed to the Star Moon Holy Land for assembly within ten days."

The blood race Fortune Lord immediately responded with trepidation, "Understood!"

Having delivered the order, the unfamiliar blood race member swiftly flew away.

Lu Ye frowned slightly and signaled Yu Lingfeng, who was nearby. "Call him over," he instructed.

A moment later, Yu Lingfeng led the blood race Fortune Lord inside.

"My Lord," the Fortune Lord greeted, bowing.

Lu Ye asked, "Why is the Star Moon Holy Land mobilizing its forces?"

The blood race Fortune Lord explained, "Naturally, it's to launch an expedition to the Divine Palace Sea. My Lord, you might not be aware, but almost every few years, our Holy Race undertakes a large-scale operation targeting the Azure Blood Holy Land within the Divine Palace Sea. By our reckoning, the time is nearly upon us, which is why the Star Moon Holy Land has initiated this mobilization."

Lu Ye frowned slightly. "The Azure Blood Holy Land," he mused, "is that a human faction located in the Divine Palace Sea?"

"Yes."

Lu Ye was slightly taken aback; the name was quite a coincidence. He hailed from the Azure Blood Sect, and it was unexpected to find a faction beginning with "Azure Blood" here in the Blood Refinery Realm, and moreover, the sole human faction. He felt a strange sense of familiarity.

"Then the Star Moon Holy Land," Lu Ye inquired, "does it have a Holy Seed presiding over it?"

Blood Race gathering places in the Blood Refinery Realm are typically categorized into three ranks: Cave Dwellings, Fortune Lands, and Grotto-Heavens. However, above Grotto-Heavens, there exists a transcendent category: Holy Lands, presided over by Holy Seeds. If Qianliu Fortune Land could continue to develop and expand, it could become Qianliu Holy Land once Lan Qiyue advanced to the Divine Sea Realm. However, throughout the Blood Refinery Realm, Holy Seeds are few in number, and consequently, so are the Holy Lands.

This location was still a two-month journey from the Divine Palace Sea. The Star Moon Holy Land's mobilization of troops extended even to this area, indicating the immense scale of the Blood Race's operation. Lu Ye had initially planned to simply proceed directly to the Divine Palace Sea. However, if the Blood Race intended to launch an offensive against the Azure Blood Holy Land, then rashly pushing through would be ill-advised, as they would inevitably encounter numerous perils along the way.

Although Dao Thirteen was a Divine Sea Realm cultivator, there were indeed Blood Race members in the Blood Refinery Realm with higher cultivation and greater strength than his. The reason they hadn't encountered any thus far was that Lu Ye had intentionally avoided areas where powerful Blood Race members were stationed. Presently, with the Blood Race conducting a large-scale troop mobilization, the path ahead was bound to be unstable. Acting rashly would highly likely lead them to encounter an unmatchable powerful individual.

With this thought, Lu Ye formulated a plan. He stated, "If the Star Moon Holy Land commands you to mobilize, then do so. Include us among your forces."

"Understood," the blood race Fortune Lord replied.

Given the current situation, rather than rushing forward rashly with Dao Thirteen, it would be better to move with the Blood Race army. This would also provide some concealment, and they could then act according to circumstances once they reached the Divine Palace Sea.