Chapter 1187: Comprehensive Victory

Lu Ye and Xiao Jiu had a long conversation this time, covering the future development of the situation, the various changes that might occur in the Blood Refinery World, how Kyushu's foundation would be strengthened, and how Kyushu's top cultivators could advance.

The Kyushu cultivators' expedition to the Blood Refinery World was both for self-preservation and for their own future. Rescuing the suffering human race in this world was merely incidental. Of course, this does not mean it was unimportant; it was equally crucial. Otherwise, during the war, the major Kyushu sects would not have specifically dispatched cultivators to garrison human villages and protect their safety.

Xiao Jiu had previously mentioned some key aspects of these matters to Lu Ye, but only in general terms. It was not until today that the full picture became clear. It must be said that having Xiao Jiu is a blessing for the human race of Kyushu. Under its planning and arrangements, Kyushu's situation will undoubtedly improve, leaving the rest to the human race's own efforts.

There are limits to what Xiao Jiu can do, but the future of the human cultivators is limitless. One day, the Kyushu human race will surely reach the heights their ancestors once attained, and perhaps even surpass them.

After several days, most of the group had recovered. Those who hadn't fully recovered still needed time to recuperate, so they dispersed.

Just as Lu Ye was about to leave, Lan Qiyue arrived.

Several days prior, she had been summoned by the Blood Spirit. At the time, her thoughts were confused, and she was not in control of herself. However, after the Blood Spirit died, she returned to normal, yet she continued in the same direction, mainly wanting to see what was attracting her there.

When she arrived and met Lu Ye, a detailed conversation finally clarified the situation. She broke out in a cold sweat, fortunate that her position was far enough from Jade Pillar Peak; otherwise, she would have been integrated into the Blood Giant's body by the Blood Spirit, which would have been certain death.

The war of the Kyushu cultivators' expedition to the Blood Refinery World entered its concluding phase. Nearly eighty percent of Kyushu cultivators above the Cloud River Realm were now spread throughout the Blood Refinery World, searching for any remaining rogue elements. Once discovered, these remnants of the Blood Race would immediately face merciless encirclement.

More than ten days later, nearly three months after the war began, a joint announcement was issued by numerous top human powerhouses, led by Feng Wujiang, the Saint Lord of the Bloodlust Holy Land. The war had achieved a complete victory! The Blood Race in the Blood Refinery World had been completely annihilated!

As the news spread, the entire world rejoiced. While the Kyushu cultivators benefited significantly from this war, the greatest beneficiaries were truly the native humans of the Blood Refinery World. From now on, they would no longer live like pigs and dogs, no longer be enslaved by another race, and no longer live in constant fear, taking life one day at a time.

Through several months of interaction, the human race of this world also learned of Kyushu's existence and felt a natural affinity for the Kyushu cultivators who had saved them from their plight, especially those Kyushu cultivators responsible for guarding the various human villages. Recently, these cultivators had garnered immense support.

With the war concluded, the natural next step was to divide the spoils. This was a standard procedure and something the Kyushu cultivators rightfully deserved.

Even though Kyushu arrived not as invaders but as saviors, the Blood Refinery World was a thoroughly enormous prize for Kyushu.

Its vast territory was only slightly inferior to Kyushu's, and the entire world's foundation was comparable to Kyushu's. Who wouldn't want a piece of such a massive prize?

The most crucial point was that the human population here was quite large. Even after suffering prolonged oppression from the Blood Race and living in constant fear, the population of the Blood Refinery World was equal to or greater than that of Kyushu. This was because, although the Blood Race regarded the humans here as blood food, they did not practice exhaustive exploitation. This was evident during the first visit to the Blood Refinery World; the humans living in the villages, apart from some mental suppression, had no issues with their daily lives.

Moreover, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the Blood Refinery World was far stronger than in Kyushu itself. Aside from having to worry about the Blood Race coming to prey on them, the humans here generally lived carefree lives.

All these factors contributed to the enormous population base of the Blood Refinery World.

What is the foundation of the cultivation world? It is the large number of ordinary people who lack cultivation talent! This is a consensus among all Kyushu cultivators. With a sufficiently large commoner base, the cultivation world will flourish and prosper, and generations of cultivators will emerge endlessly.

Such was the prevailing trend, so in Kyushu proper, each sect had its own territory. Sects generally recruited disciples only from their own territory and did not easily cross boundaries.

It was said that the Sect Master, in his eagerness to quickly expand the scale of the Bloodlust Sect's lower-level disciples, even went to other sects' recruitment ceremonies to snatch people, resulting in another Sect Master chasing him all the way to Ao Mountain for a fight. This incident clearly showed the Sect Master had overstepped, and being pursued was his just desserts.

With the Blood Refinery World conquered, the major Kyushu sects naturally began to divide the territory. This was not a particularly complicated matter, as during the campaign in the Blood Refinery World, all the large and small sects had already recognized this fact. Almost tacitly, they had all marked out their own territories within the Blood Refinery World. Their method was simple: they scattered their disciples within the designated areas, much like wild beasts use urine to mark their territory, though the Kyushu cultivators did so more civilly.

Before the war concluded, it was inappropriate to declare this. Now that the war was over, there was no longer any hesitation.

There was a tacit understanding: lower-grade sects claimed smaller territories, while higher-grade sects claimed larger ones.

The Bloodlust Sect also claimed a large territory, thanks to Lu Ye's foresight and Xiao Jiu's covert assistance. Centered around the Heavenly Secret Pillar in the Wrestling Grotto-Heaven, an area spanning 100,000 miles in all directions was considered part of the Bloodlust Sect's designated territory.

This area was originally the territory controlled by Lan Qiyue as the Blood Race Saint Venerable. Lan Qiyue joined the Bloodlust Sect, and although the formal process hadn't been completed, the news had already spread. It was only natural that her former territory would belong to the Bloodlust Sect.

Furthermore, the Blood Race within this area had been primarily cleared out by the Bloodlust Sect.

This was a vast territory, larger than any area claimed by any other sect in Kyushu, and two or three times larger than the Bloodlust Sect's territory in Kyushu proper.

The Ziwei Dao Palace, benefiting from its proximity to the Bloodlust Sect, also claimed a piece of land in the adjacent region.

The purpose of claiming land was not for the territory itself, but for the human population living on that land. A sufficiently large population base would undoubtedly provide a continuous stream of various talents to the major and minor sects of Kyushu in the future.

At one point, although the Kyushu cultivation world discussed the matter, they reached a consensus: it was not advisable to relocate all the human population from the Blood Refinery World. The number of people was simply too vast; if they were truly moved to Kyushu, it would encroach upon the original living space of the Kyushu human race. Therefore, it was best for the humans of the Blood Refinery World to remain there.

Each sect would then dispatch personnel to their respective territories in the Blood Refinery World to establish a branch sect. The purpose would be to select promising talents suitable for cultivation and, once discovered, send them to Kyushu for training. Of course, this was a subsequent plan.

The entire Blood Refinery World was almost completely divided among the various Kyushu sects in a very short time, with one exception: the Bloodlust Holy Land!

Although the Bloodlust Holy Land was not large, it contained a considerable human population. Moreover, after decades of development, in terms of both the quantity and quality of cultivators, it was almost on par with any top major sect in Kyushu. What they lacked was only the Ninth-Layer Divine Sea Realm.

Even after decades of development, while a respectable number of Divine Sea Realm cultivators had emerged from the Bloodlust Holy Land, there simply wasn't enough time for them to advance to the Ninth Layer.

If such a force were brought back to Kyushu and integrated into a specific sect, that sect, regardless of its original grade, would immediately become a formidable power.

However, the Bloodlust Holy Land was beyond the coveting of others. If it were truly to merge into a Kyushu sect, it could only be the Bloodlust Sect! After all, this was a place single-handedly built by Feng Wujiang. Before the Kyushu cultivators invaded the Blood Refinery World, the Bloodlust Holy Land was the only sanctuary for the human race in this world and the frontline against the Blood Race, having contributed immensely.

From nearly being removed from the Heavenly Secret Registry years ago to today, the Bloodlust Sect, despite undergoing several re-gradings, has still not returned to the First Grade. Currently, in Heavenly Secret's assessment, the Bloodlust Sect is merely a Third-Grade sect. This is due to having three Divine Sea Realm cultivators within the sect; without them, it might not even be rated as a Third-Grade. If it could be bolstered by the strength of the Bloodlust Holy Land, restoring its First-Grade status would be within reach.

"Your Senior Brother's intention is that if our sect is willing to accept the cultivators from the Holy Land, he will order all cultivators there to join our sect. I believe they will also follow the command, and at that time, it can help our sect restore its First-Grade glory." In the Wrestling Grotto-Heaven, the three Divine Sea Realm cultivators of the Bloodlust Sect were gathered. The Sect Master said this, then sought the opinions of Shui Yuan and Lu Ye: "What do you two think?"

Shui Yuan had no objection: "You, venerable elder, should make the decision."

Lu Ye looked at the Sect Master: "What does the Sect Master think?"

The Sect Master chuckled: "I came to ask you two; why are you asking me back?"

Lu Ye smiled: "Since the Sect Master came to ask, it means you don't entirely agree with this approach. My thoughts are the same. It's best not to integrate the strength of the Bloodlust Holy Land into our sect."

"How so?" The Sect Master raised an eyebrow.

Lu Ye explained: "Firstly, there's the issue of a sense of belonging. Kyushu sects typically recruit disciples when they are young or have low cultivation levels. This makes it easier to cultivate their sense of belonging to the sect. While the strength of the Bloodlust Holy Land is indeed not to be underestimated, many of them have already achieved significant cultivation, and quite a few are in the Divine Sea Realm. While integrating such a force might indeed boost our sect's grade in the short term, in the long run, it might not be a good thing. They revere Senior Brother, not the Bloodlust Sect. This means they are unlikely to develop a strong sense of belonging to our sect. Even if their character is excellent, their joining would cause a huge impact on our sect's existing structure and would be detrimental to the growth of the disciples below."