Chapter 1041: Defense Line Broken

On the chaotic battlefield, Lu Ye felt surrounded by enemies. This had one advantage: he didn't have to worry about accidentally harming his own people. However, the downside was that he was constantly fighting, without a single moment of rest.

Fortunately, replenishing his own energy was simple for him, but it wasn't as convenient for other human cultivators. In the long run, the human race was bound to weaken. Of course, the Blood Race was in a similar, even more severe, situation, as they had no support from the rear.

On the human side, the formation support from the islands had never ceased. Although not as intense as in the beginning, it continued to be effective, killing many Blood Race members.

The battle had reached a point where it was a contest of endurance between the two sides.

The Blood Race, with over a million strong troops, arrived aggressively, intending to seize the Verdant Blood Holy Land in one fell swoop. They possessed the resources and the confidence to do so.

If this were the Holy Land from over two months ago, its chance of resisting this Blood Race attack would have been less than thirty percent.

However, the widespread adoption of the "Same Qi, Linked Branches" formation discs, and the larger formations set up on the islands, became the greatest asset for the human side.

This enraged many Blood Race experts. Lu Ye was unaware of the situation on other islands; the battlefield was too vast and chaotic, and his meager divine sense couldn't detect anything too far away.

Judging by the current situation, the defense of the island he was responsible for was quite good.

He didn't need to worry about the other islands. Each island was overseen by several older experts who would undoubtedly perform better than him.

As Lu Ye was thinking this, a sudden warning surged in his heart. An invisible dread enveloped him, followed by an immense pressure sweeping in from afar.

Looking up, he saw a blood-red light rapidly approaching from the distance. The light moved with extreme agility through the battlefield, nearing within three *li* in the blink of an eye.

Star-Moon Venerable!

Lu Ye realized who had targeted him.

Since the war began, the Star-Moon Venerable had been stationed at the rear, never intervening in the fighting. But by this point, he couldn't afford not to act.

What Lu Ye hadn't expected was that this individual would target him first.

It was likely the presence of the Blood Race Dao soldiers that drew the Venerable's attention to him.

Dao soldiers were appearing on the battlefield of the two races for the first time. Other Blood Race Dao soldiers had their own primary formations, but his group notably had two additional human figures, which made them conspicuous.

The Star-Moon Venerable probably wanted to understand the mysteries of the Dao soldiers, which was why he directly sought out Lu Ye.

Lu Ye, however, remained completely calm, with no intention of retreating.

He knew that there were others watching these Blood Race Venerables. If Star-Moon hadn't made a move, that would be one thing, but since he had, it wasn't Lu Ye's turn to step forward.

With his "small arms and legs," it was more sensible to focus on killing Divine Sea Realm Blood Race members.

True enough, as a resounding sword clang echoed, a sword light darted from an angle to meet the Star-Moon Venerable, intercepting him three *li* away. A fierce battle immediately erupted, and violent aftershocks swept through the air. The Divine Palace Sea seemed to boil.

The two figures entangled and intertwined, spinning upwards like tops, quickly leaving the main battlefield. Lu Ye glanced up, faintly discerning Jian Guhong's figure within the sword light.

High above, there were many such individually created small battlefields, where Holy Seeds engaged with older experts.

The aftershocks of their clashes were too terrifying; only by moving away from the main battlefield could they prevent the cultivators of both races from being swept into the chaos.

The Blood Race Venerables certainly wouldn't consider these things. To them, it didn't matter how many of their own died; if the death of a Blood Race member could take a human cultivator down with them, it was a gain. But when facing off against the older experts, the choice of battlefield was no longer theirs. The older experts from Kyushu had their own methods to shift the battle elsewhere.

"Lu Ye, retreat!"

Just then, a soft voice reached Lu Ye's ears.

Without any hesitation, he led his eight Dao soldiers backward.

Landing on the island's city wall, Yue Ji was nowhere to be seen.

Lu Ye's brows furrowed; he knew something was wrong.

Yue Ji was the island's strongest defender and needed to remain stationed there to prevent Blood Race experts from exploiting any vulnerabilities. Her current disappearance clearly indicated an unexpected emergency.

Her voice transmission before disappearing was a command for him to retreat and take her place.

Normally, Lu Ye wouldn't have the ability to do so, but by forming a formation with his Dao soldiers, he could just about manage for a brief period.

He turned his head to look around, but still saw no sign of Yue Ji. Lu Ye immediately directed his gaze toward the depths of the blood-red sea. Such a powerful living being couldn't vanish into thin air, especially not an expert like Yue Ji. If she wasn't visible, there was only one place she could be.

Yue Ji had plunged into the blood-red sea!

Almost simultaneously with Lu Ye looking into the blood-red sea, huge bubbles surged from its depths, mixed with violent spiritual power fluctuations.

The island hummed and trembled, as if struck by an earthquake. Yue Ji was fighting someone.

And only a Holy Seed could possibly engage her in combat.

A Holy Seed had secretly submerged from the blood-red sea. In the Blood Refinement Realm, the Blood Race's relationship with the Blood River was complex. Before adulthood, they drew nourishment from the blood-red sea to grow stronger, but after reaching maturity, the Blood River became a forbidden territory not to be easily touched.

No one knew why; it had been this way for countless years.

Yet, the Blood Race also had opportunities to delve into the Blood River to purify their bloodline and become even stronger, though at extremely high risk.

Back then, Zhang Julai had attempted to enter the Blood River to purify his bloodline, hoping to continue serving Lu Ye, and predictably, he failed.

For Holy Seeds, however, the Blood River was a place they could enter freely. They even cultivated within the Blood River, maintaining a rapid growth rate until their cultivation reached its peak, with no further progress possible.

The Verdant Blood Holy Land used the vast Divine Palace Sea as a barrier, which undoubtedly troubled countless ordinary Blood Race members, but it also had a drawback.

That was, the Holy Seeds could use the cover of the blood-red sea to approach silently.

The destruction of the outer island clusters in the past was mostly related to this.

Human older experts were naturally prepared for this, which was why each island had an older expert stationed to prevent such occurrences.

Now, Yue Ji was battling a Holy Seed beneath the blood-red sea. Lu Ye didn't know who was stronger; he only knew that if Yue Ji didn't quickly find a way to shift the battlefield, the island would likely be lost.

The island continued to tremble, making it difficult for Lu Ye to even stand steadily. Large cracks began to appear on the city walls, making them look precarious.

Fortunately, Yue Ji did not disappoint Lu Ye's expectations. After about ten breaths, waves surged in the blood-red sea, and two figures emerged one after another, one of them being Yue Ji.

It was unclear what mystical art she employed, but the Holy Seed had no choice but to obediently follow her as she rushed into the sky. In a blink, they became two specks of light.

Yet, the island's vibrations did not cease. Beneath the seawater, powerful energy fluctuations continued to ripple.

Another figure flashed into view, their expression solemn, and plunged directly into the blood-red sea.

Lu Ye didn't recognize this older expert, but it was clear they were also from Kyushu.

Soon, this older expert emerged from the blood-red sea, but there was no sign of any Holy Seed with them.

Lu Ye was puzzled.

He had thought there was another Holy Seed wreaking havoc beneath the sea, but it didn't seem so.

Noticing Lu Ye's gaze, the older expert looked up and sighed softly, "It can't be saved."

Lu Ye immediately understood that the previous Holy Seed had left some special means underwater. Yue Ji might not have discovered them, or more likely, she did but was powerless to stop them.

All she could do was take that Holy Seed away.

The island's shaking intensified, the city walls continuously collapsed, the ground began to crack open with fissures, and blood-red water poured in.

Amidst cries of alarm, many human cultivators on the island flew into the air.

In a short time, the island had sunk more than ten *zhang*, visibly on the verge of being submerged by the blood-red seawater.

Without the various supports from the rear island defenses, the situation for human cultivators on the battlefield instantly turned dire.

Originally, with rear support, the human side didn't gain a huge advantage, but maintaining the situation was always possible. However, with the island shattered and submerged, and all defenses destroyed, the loss of rear power drastically increased the pressure on the front lines.

An endless stream of Blood Race reinforcements continued to join the battle, seemingly without end.

Beside Lu Ye, the older expert transformed into a long rainbow and charged into the enemy ranks, simultaneously issuing a command: "Retreat!"

Human strength was limited, and they couldn't afford to waste troops in such entanglement.

At the command, many human cultivators fought and retreated, quickly gathering above the island's original location. The number of cultivators converging grew larger and larger; almost everyone bore injuries, yet their eyes were incredibly resolute. They formed their own battle formations, standing tall in mid-air.

The island was gone, but they remained.

Flesh and blood were also a line of defense!

Lu Ye's Blood Race Dao soldiers also fought their way back. Out of approximately a hundred Blood Race Dao soldiers, over twenty were lost, but more than seventy survived.

This showed the ferocity of the battle.

The human cultivators retreated, but the fierce fighting continued. The older expert's location was now completely surrounded by a massive number of Blood Race members; their figure was no longer visible from afar.

Suddenly, a point of light bloomed, then shone like daylight. Under its radiance, countless Blood Race members vanished into nothingness. The older expert's figure reappeared, spiritual power erupting around them, with no living beings within a hundred *zhang* of their side.

However, after only a moment of silence, Blood Race members from all directions continued to rush towards him.

Even more Blood Race members swarmed towards Lu Ye and his group, overwhelming and dense.

A breach had been torn in the Verdant Blood Holy Land's outer defenses—an opportunity the Blood Race would naturally not miss.

Gazing at the swarming, densely packed Blood Race, Lu Ye's divine sense surged as he gave an order to all the Blood Race Dao soldiers.

The next instant, spiritual energy surged around the seventy-plus Divine Sea Realm Blood Race Dao soldiers. They merged and condensed, transforming into a massive river of blood.