Chapter 1185: The Nature of the Blood Shadow

In the blood river, Lu Ye's body shuddered as he distinctly felt something intrude upon him.

He quickly checked his Talent Tree. Normally, anything detrimental that invaded his body would be incinerated by the Talent Tree.

To his surprise, however, the Talent Tree showed no reaction at all. This was quite unusual.

But Lu Ye soon realized where the blood phantom had gone, because at that very moment, his Sea of Consciousness suddenly became turbulent. If not for the Soul Suppression Pagoda holding it down, he would likely have felt dizzy and lost control of his mind instantly.

He quickly steadied himself, his divine sense surging. The next instant, his soul spirit body materialized within his Sea of Consciousness.

He looked up and, as expected, a blood-red figure had appeared within his Sea of Consciousness. Just as he had seen earlier, it was a sinister-looking entity with a human outline.

It wasn't that the Talent Tree was incapable; rather, this specific method of invasion was beyond its ability.

The Talent Tree resided in his Origin Spirit Aperture, which is the location of his dantian. Initially, it could incinerate all energy flowing through the Origin Spirit Aperture, eliminating anything harmful to Lu Ye. However, as Lu Ye developed the Talent Tree's abilities, its scope of incineration expanded. Now, theoretically, the Talent Tree could incinerate and devour anything his physical body could come into contact with.

However, the Talent Tree's incineration range did not include the Sea of Consciousness, likely because it is where a cultivator's soul gathers. The Talent Tree could not easily incinerate it without risking damage to the soul, which would render the person either insane or imbecilic.

Lu Ye had already experienced this during his battle with Liu Yuemei some time ago.

On that day, Liu Yuemei, using an unknown exotic treasure, forcibly entered his Sea of Consciousness with her soul spirit body, engaging him in a soul-struggle.

The Talent Tree showed no reaction then either.

This blood phantom must be the core of the Blood Giant. Although the Blood Giant's form had dispersed, the phantom remained. Its reckless entry into Lu Ye's Sea of Consciousness had inadvertently allowed it to avoid the Talent Tree's power.

Its purpose was simple: to usurp his body, like a cuckoo taking over a magpie's nest.

Possession!

Lu Ye had only ever read about such things in ancient texts. At the time, he thought the cultivation world was full of wonders, but he had never heard of any cultivator in Kyushu possessing such a method.

He had never imagined that he would encounter such a thing himself one day.

He could only marvel at his own luck. Among the hundreds of Kyushu cultivators in the sea of blood, why did the blood phantom target him specifically?

What was his good fortune was naturally the blood phantom's misfortune.

At this moment, a vast expanse of blood-red light spread out behind the blood phantom, attempting to engulf Lu Ye's Sea of Consciousness. This light clearly possessed a strong corrosive power. If Lu Ye's Sea of Consciousness were to be fully invaded by this blood-red light, then this part of his consciousness would belong to the blood phantom. His soul would either be annihilated or become a subordinate of the blood phantom. Neither outcome was acceptable to Lu Ye.

Fortunately, Lu Ye's soul was strong enough, and the Soul Suppression Pagoda suppressed his Sea of Consciousness. As the blood-red light permeated the area, the Pagoda also emanated a pure white light, resisting the blood-red light's erosion.

Having the experience of battling Liu Yuemei's soul, Lu Ye was now quite adept. He reached out and grabbed something in the air, and a long saber appeared in his hand.

Its appearance was identical to the Mountain Breaker Saber, but in essence, it was a Soul Severing Saber!

He had used this very saber to cleave Liu Yuemei's soul into fragments last time.

As his figure darted, the water in his Sea of Consciousness also undulated, forming fierce waves that radiated outwards behind him.

Seeing Lu Ye ferociously charging, the blood phantom tried to evade. However, from beneath the Sea of Consciousness, a water spout erupted, binding it like a rope.

This was Lu Ye's Sea of Consciousness, his home ground. The water within it was a manifestation of his soul power. Fighting him in such a place meant any invading enemy would be at a significant disadvantage.

Liu Yuemei had suffered greatly, and now it was this blood phantom's turn.

One could only say that among so many potential targets, the blood phantom's choice of Lu Ye was truly a tragedy.

Barely freed from the water spout's binding, the blood phantom had no time to dodge before Lu Ye struck its body with a saber. A gash immediately appeared on the blood-red figure, though no blood flowed out.

Lu Ye didn't know the true nature of this blood phantom, but given its effortless invasion of his Sea of Consciousness, it likely had some connection to soul power. Yet, since it could also serve as the core of the Blood Giant, it was highly probable that it was an existence between the tangible and intangible.

Even without a mouth or nose, the moment the Soul Severing Saber struck it, Lu Ye heard a piercing shriek—a sound formed by the tumultuous fluctuations of soul power.

An existence like the blood phantom was utterly countered by the Soul Severing Saber. Being struck head-on like this, it naturally wouldn't fare well.

Lu Ye, having gained the upper hand, showed no mercy. The Mountain Breaker Saber in his hand danced ceaselessly, transforming into a whirlwind of blade light that enveloped the blood phantom.

The piercing shrieks continued without end. More and more gashes appeared on the blood phantom's body. Though these wounds slowly healed, they couldn't keep up with Lu Ye's relentless slashes. In just a short while, the blood phantom was covered in countless dense wounds, its entire form appearing tattered.

It was clearly panicking.

Originally, it had intended a desperate gamble. If successful, it could not only escape its life-or-death crisis but also instantly gain a new life. It possessed little intelligence, choosing Lu Ye largely out of instinct—both because Lu Ye had the lowest cultivation among those present, making him the easiest target, and because among everyone, only Lu Ye possessed powerful sacred energy, which was a huge draw for it.

Thus, its choice of Lu Ye was not accidental, but driven by instinct.

However, it didn't expect that instead of succeeding, it would fall into an even more perilous situation.

In the previous great battle, Lu Ye had not made many moves, primarily because as the sole entity suppressing the Blood Giant, he first had to ensure his own safety. Though his battle intent had been surging in that fierce battlefield, he hadn't expected to have the chance to personally engage now.

In just a short while, the blood phantom was routed like the wind. It instinctively wanted to escape this dangerous world, having realized that if it didn't leave soon, it would truly die here.

But while entering was easy, leaving would not be so simple.

After all, this was Lu Ye's home ground. Before making his move, Lu Ye had considered the possibility of his opponent fleeing, so he immediately activated the power of his Sea of Consciousness, using the water within it to surround the battlefield.

For the blood phantom to leave, it first had to break through the blockade of his Sea of Consciousness's water. Perhaps it could have done so without any interference, but with Lu Ye's relentless pursuit, it had no time to break through the watery barrier.

The sharp, piercing screeches had not stopped since the beginning. This battle was simpler and easier than his soul-struggle with Liu Yuemei, and far less intense than his earlier confrontation with the Blood Giant. It was a pure, overwhelming suppression.

The blood phantom fled ceaselessly but had nowhere to escape. The Soul Severing Saber in Lu Ye's hand remained by its side, constantly inflicting damage.

Its aura grew weaker and weaker, and its form became increasingly faint.

Then, at a certain moment, Lu Ye's long saber swirled, and a dazzling light suddenly erupted within his Sea of Consciousness, like a great sun rising from the surface of the sea.

The great sun exploded with a boom. Amidst the even more dazzling brilliance, a lotus flower formed from saber light slowly bloomed.

Overlord Saber, Third Form: Lotus Sun!

Lu Ye's figure stood within the core of the lotus flower. Before him, the blood phantom was gone, leaving only a glimmering point of light suspended above the Soul Severing Saber.

The light gradually faded, the furious waves subsided, and the turbulent Sea of Consciousness stabilized. Lu Ye focused his gaze on the glimmering point of light, raising an eyebrow slightly.

The blood phantom had been cleaved, but this glimmer of light remained.

He couldn't discern what this glimmer of light truly was.

He lifted the Soul Severing Saber and made a few tentative slashes, but couldn't cut it. However, upon careful examination, he could sense that it didn't seem to be harmful to him.

Lu Ye raised his hand and reached for the glimmering light.

As he grasped it, the light dissolved in his palm like a snowflake. The next instant, a multitude of messages inexplicably appeared in his mind.

Lu Ye composed himself and carefully examined the information.

He quickly understood the true nature of that glimmering light: it was a wisp of the blood phantom's spiritual essence. Though the blood phantom had been defeated, this wisp of spiritual essence lingered, but it wouldn't last long; even if Lu Ye ignored it, it would soon dissipate.

However, Lu Ye's action allowed him to gain a lot of information that had remained within the spiritual essence.

Little Nine was right. The world's will in this realm wasn't merely a simple worldly will, which explained its sliver of sentience. Upon realizing it couldn't contend with Little Nine, it withdrew from that battlefield and opened a new one elsewhere.

That blood phantom could, in fact, be considered the world's will of this realm!

Normally, this was impossible. The world's will is an aggregation of the world's complex information, vast and ethereal, intangible, and fundamentally incapable of manifesting in an observable form, let alone as such a blood phantom.

However, the unique nature of the Blood Refining Realm had brought about this phenomenon.

The information Lu Ye received was fragmented. After all, the blood phantom had been cleaved, and the remaining information within its last wisp of spiritual essence was naturally incomplete.

Yet, from these disjointed fragments, he still uncovered many unknown truths.

The most crucial point among them was that one of his bold previous conjectures was actually true!

The Blood Refining Realm was truly formed from the remnant body of a powerful female being after her death!

It was impossible to ascertain how such a powerful being died; this was destined to be a secret from an extremely ancient era. All that was known was that her remnant body drifted in the void for countless years, transforming into a realm where life subsequently emerged.

The underground blood rivers spanning the Blood Refining Realm were the blood vessels of this deceased powerhouse, and the blood flowing within them was her very own blood.

This was also the fundamental reason why the Blood Race possessed bloodline inheritance. When blood fetuses incubated in the blood river, they imperceptibly absorbed the numerous mysteries contained within the blood, thus gaining innate knowledge.