Chapter 1037: Light in the Darkness

The Wind Rises in Kyushu

Ultimately, Feng Wujiang, overcoming all opposition, decided to remain and defend the Azure Blood Holy Land. It wasn't about dying with the Holy Land; rather, fleeing without even putting up a fight would severely tarnish the reputation of them, the old seniors of Kyushu. Moreover, even if the Blood Race genuinely had the power to conquer the Azure Blood Holy Land, there was a good chance they could break through the encirclement.

As the Holy Land was bustling with preparations for war, Lu Ye arrived. He brought the Conjoined Spirit Array Disks, which alone boosted the Holy Land's overall strength by thirty percent. Not to mention, he also possessed the ability to command the sealed Blood Race Dao Soldiers. In recent days, Lu Ye had been preoccupied with various tasks, having little interaction with outsiders. However, the old seniors of Kyushu had been secretly observing him. Now, seeing him in person, they naturally scrutinized him closely.

"Everyone, proceed according to the previous assignments," Feng Wujiang instructed.

The seniors, without further ado, activated their spiritual power and swiftly moved in various directions. Only Feng Wujiang, Meng Jie, and Yue Ji remained.

"Senior Brother, what should I do?" Lu Ye asked.

Feng Wujiang replied, "There are eleven outlying islands forming the Holy Land's defensive line. This line must not be breached, or the Holy Land will fall. Junior Brother, I need you to stay on this island and cooperate with Seniors Meng Jie and Yue Ji to ensure its defense at all costs."

Lu Ye nodded, "No problem." After a pause, he asked, "What are our chances of winning this battle?"

Feng Wujiang smiled faintly, "It depends on our efforts; we'll only know after we fight." He patted Lu Ye's shoulder and soared into the sky, likely for a final inspection.

Lu Ye watched him leave, then turned to Meng Jie and Yue Ji. "For this battle, we will rely on you two seniors."

Yue Ji smiled, "Meng Jie and I are only two people after all. You are the main force for defense in this battle, which is why your Senior Brother assigned you here. But there's no need to be too nervous; if truly formidable Blood Race members appear, Meng Jie and I will step in to handle them."

Although the two seniors possessed extraordinary cultivation, their numbers were too few. Moreover, powerful individuals like them would inevitably be targeted and entangled by the Blood Race's powerhouses once fighting began. In such a situation, the primary defensive force would still be Lu Ye's Blood Race Dao Soldiers. Hundreds of Divine Sea realm cultivators, capable of forming arrays among themselves at any time—such a combined force was not to be underestimated by anyone.

"Our chances of winning this battle are about sixty percent," Yue Ji answered Lu Ye's earlier question on behalf of Feng Wujiang. "But in war, there are always unexpected turns and changes, so it's not a certainty. We just need to do our best."

With the Holy Land's current winning chance at only sixty percent, one can imagine how low it was before Lu Ye's arrival. It wasn't that the seniors weren't powerful enough; rather, their numbers were simply too few. Although the Azure Blood Holy Land had developed for decades and had a vast civilian population, the number of cultivators was ultimately not that high. Take, for example, the small island Lu Ye was assigned to help defend: the human cultivators there totaled only about ten to twenty thousand. The situation on the other islands was largely similar. The overall number of human cultivators was around one hundred thousand, while the Blood Race army numbered in the millions. Even if the defending side held a geographical advantage, it would be difficult to bridge such a vast numerical disparity. This was inherently a battle with a huge imbalance of forces.

Yue Ji and Meng Jie were conserving their strength in preparation for the upcoming battle. Lu Ye instructed Dao Thirteen to keep an eye on the Blood Race Dao Soldiers, while he himself inspected the island's fortifications alone. It must be said that the logistical support provided by Kyushu was highly effective. Ferocious and massive offensive weapons were visible everywhere along the city walls, each complemented by an array, with varying numbers of cultivators stationed to operate them. Furthermore, Lu Ye keenly noticed that numerous arrays had been set up within the city, including the Conjoined Spirit Grand Array. He had provided the Holy Land with a large quantity of Conjoined Spirit Array Disks, enabling even array masters with modest skill to easily set up the Conjoined Spirit Grand Array using them. It could be said that the city was now armed to the teeth.

Lu Ye felt a slight pity; if he had enough fire spirit stones, he could have provided the Holy Land with another suitable weapon of war. However, all the fire spirit stones he had accumulated were exhausted, and the Blood Refinement Realm itself produced no spirit stones. The material aid provided by Kyushu also didn't include many usable fire spirit stones. Thinking about these things was useless now. The Holy Land had already made its utmost efforts; the success or failure of the upcoming battle was a matter of fate. Lu Ye also began to conserve his strength.

At some unknown point, dark clouds began to gather on the horizon, surging towards them with incredible speed.

"They're here," Yue Ji's soft voice came from beside him.

Lu Ye opened his eyes and looked. At the edge of his vision, dark clouds blanketed the sky, filled with flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder. Beneath the clouds, countless figures, stretching as far as the eye could see, either flew through the air or rode on spiritual artifacts. The Blood Race had little need for offensive spiritual artifacts; few Blood Race members would even use them, as their blood arts had a strong corrosive effect on the artifacts' spirituality. However, this didn't mean the Blood Race lacked flying spiritual artifacts.

The small island Lu Ye was tasked with defending was located north of the Holy Land. In other words, they were facing the Blood Race forces from the northern front, led by Saint Xingyue. When hundreds of thousands of Blood Race members had gathered under Saint Xingyue previously, the feeling wasn't as intense. But now, with the army pressing in, the oppressive sensation was indescribable. The Blood Race forces from the northern front crossed the Divine Palace Sea and advanced. Simultaneously, large armies were also advancing from the southeast and west, directions Lu Ye couldn't see. There was no concealment over the vast sea, nor could such a massive movement of troops be hidden. The Blood Race had no need to hide anything. Their approach was so overt and formidable that, had the Azure Blood Holy Land not previously repelled the Blood Race on several occasions, many would likely have lost their resolve.

Compared to the oppressive feeling brought by the Blood Race army, Lu Ye was more concerned about something else. In the depths of his consciousness, he perceived a faint malice surging from all directions, as if an invisible pair of eyes were spying on him, intending to harm him. The Dragon Soaring Realm's origin power within him was stirring. This was an unprecedented phenomenon. Lu Ye immediately understood that the unseen, intangible malice originated from this world's Heaven and Earth Will!

This world's Heaven and Earth Will was nascent and incomplete, unlike the strong and clear Will of Kyushu. Lu Ye hadn't sensed it before because Kyushu's Heavenly Secret had concealed him when sending him over. Furthermore, compared to the vast Blood Refinement Realm, a mere True Lake realm cultivator like him wasn't worth much attention from this world's Heaven and Earth Will. But the situation was different now. The Blood Race army was pressing in, encompassing the entire Blood Refinement Realm's momentum, which implicitly made this world's Heaven and Earth Will much clearer. To the Blood Race, the Azure Blood Holy Land was a cancerous growth. Since the Blood Refinement Realm was the Blood Race's domain, this world's Heaven and Earth Will naturally sided with the Blood Race. But that was all. Unlike Kyushu's Heavenly Secret, which could directly interfere with cultivators' actions, the Blood Refinement Realm's Heaven and Earth Will lacked this ability. It could only instinctively build momentum for the Blood Race army and create psychological pressure for humanity, just like the dark clouds that descended with the Blood Race army. The reason the Dragon Soaring Realm's origin power was stirring was precisely because the Dragon Soaring Realm had been annihilated by the Blood Realm. The relationship between the Blood Realm and the Blood Refinement Realm was unknown, but a commonality was the presence of the Blood Race in both. Thus, regarding a Heaven and Earth Will seemingly connected to the world that destroyed itself, the Dragon Soaring Realm's origin power naturally reacted abnormally.

The Blood Race army pressed on.

On the eleven small islands, humanity stood ready. The distance between them continuously closed, and from afar, the earth-shattering war cries of the Blood Race army could be heard. The sky-obscuring dark clouds also advanced rapidly with the Blood Race army, until they covered the Azure Blood Holy Land and its surrounding islands. There was no longer any light in the sky; the entire world plunged into gloom. The oppressive atmosphere felt as if one were burdened by a dozen heavy quilts.

A roaring sound emerged, as lines of runes rapidly illuminated, piercing through the stifling gloom and transforming into the brightest light in this world. It was the human cultivators on the city walls, responsible for the arrays, who activated the grand formation. In an instant, an exceedingly complex array enveloped the entire city. Within the city, all human cultivators standing there trembled slightly, experiencing a wondrous sensation in the depths of their consciousness. They clearly felt that they could inject their own power into the grand array beneath their feet, allowing anyone within the city to borrow it, while also drawing upon the power injected by others from the same array. The Conjoined Spirit Grand Array was activated first. On the eleven small islands, eleven Conjoined Spirit Grand Arrays lit up like eleven beacons in the vast Divine Palace Sea. A continuous hum resounded. Following the Conjoined Spirit Grand Array, the arrays of the defensive fortifications along the city walls were activated.

Crunching sounds emanated. Yue Ji and Meng Jie, standing on Lu Ye's left and right, simultaneously turned their heads to look at him. At a glance, the corners of both seniors' eyes twitched.

Yue Ji couldn't believe her eyes. "What are you eating?"

Lu Ye offered her the half-eaten blood crystal. "Senior, would you like some?"

Even with Yue Ji's extensive experience, she couldn't help but be deeply shocked: "You eat this... are you alright?"

"I have a good appetite and good digestion," Lu Ye said with a faint smile, swallowing the blood crystal in his mouth. His spiritual power surged, continuously pouring into the grand array beneath his feet, making it convenient for others within the array to borrow strength.

Yue Ji stiffly averted her gaze. She had no intention of advising him. Though Lu Ye appeared young, he was still a True Lake realm cultivator. He didn't need her guidance on what was edible and what wasn't.

"Monster," even the usually taciturn Meng Jie couldn't help but comment. Having been in the Blood Refinement Realm for so many years, he had never seen a human capable of eating blood crystals. "Is this even human?!" He somewhat failed to grasp what kind of monstrous talents Kyushu was producing these days. Feng Wujiang was one thing; though absurdly strong, he was still within the realm of normal people. But this junior brother of his was clearly abnormal.

Suddenly, a violent tremor erupted, followed by a beam of light shooting out from the city walls. The light beam, straight as a sword, directly struck the approaching Blood Race army. Wherever it passed, Blood Race members were utterly pulverized.

The great battle had begun!