Chapter 1247: Blood Fierce Realm, Li Taibai

This left Zhao Yunliu feeling incredibly surprised.

Admittedly, the Bloodkind were difficult to kill when protected by the Blood River Art, but they shouldn't possess such immense resilience. For a moment, he wondered if he had made a mistake. The Blood River Art, a secret technique that embodies the Bloodkind's accumulated cultivation methods, offers both offense and defense with unpredictable variations.

However, everything has pros and cons. Because its power is spread out, the Blood River's defense isn't particularly strong. It merely makes it difficult for others to discover the Bloodkind hiding within, thus offering a disguised form of protection. Zhao Yunliu and the others' approach was correct: continuous attacks would naturally weaken the Blood River Art's volume until the hidden Bloodkind were exposed and could be slain.

Their method was sound, but this was a blood cloud controlled by Lu Ye. He could effortlessly set up formations within the blood cloud! The defensive formations, constructed around core Guarding and Foundation Spirit Runes, could largely neutralize enemy attacks. Although the formations would instantly collapse due to the lack of a solid base, repairing them was as simple as a thought. Therefore, what actually happened was that the attacks from Zhao Yunliu's three companions destroyed the formations Lu Ye constructed, yet they caused minimal depletion to the blood cloud's overall volume. This gave them the impression that the blood cloud was extremely resilient.

This was a technique no one else could imitate, not even the Bloodkind themselves. Even if they had formation masters among them, who could guarantee forming a formation with a single thought? Lu Ye could, because the core spirit runes he used to construct formations carried no risk of failure; as soon as his mind moved, the spirit runes took shape.

A continuous rumbling sound filled the air as the ten-zhang blood cloud swept across the sky. Three figures encircled it, clinging to it like ants, their attacks relentless. Suddenly, a new aura rapidly approached from not far away, its divine sense firmly locking onto Lu Ye's blood cloud, signaling its intent to engage.

Ding You was overjoyed! He knew there were other cultivators lurking nearby, waiting for someone else to be the first to act. As soon as the battle began here, someone indeed couldn't resist emerging. At this location and time, the Bloodkind were a common enemy to all cultivators. Encountering an isolated one was naturally an opportunity everyone would seize. It was foreseeable that as the battle progressed, more and more people would be drawn out and join their ranks. This was undoubtedly good news for them. The scattered cultivators from various factions lacked a focal point, and the sudden appearance of an isolated Bloodkind offered them an excellent opportunity.

Just then, a vast expanse of crimson suddenly appeared on the horizon, rapidly spreading towards them. Yao Rao's face tightened. She cried out, "No, the Bloodkind over there have noticed us!" The approaching force was precisely the Bloodkind team they had observed earlier—about five or six Bloodkind cultivators. They had established a defensive line spanning a hundred thousand li across this area, sweeping back and forth. Any cultivator caught within it found no escape. The Bloodkind had at least two more such teams, deployed in other locations.

The new cultivator who had just emerged, ready to join them, also noticed the approaching danger. This individual was quick to react, immediately turning and fleeing into the distance.

"Go!" Ding You shouted. Since they couldn't slay this lone Bloodkind, they had no choice but to retreat first. Otherwise, if the Bloodkind team caught up, none of them would be able to escape.

Despite his shout, Ding You didn't immediately retreat. As a body cultivator, he always felt a responsibility to protect his teammates, even if they were only temporary allies. This was a realization common to all body cultivators. Thus, they wouldn't expose their backs to the enemy until their teammates had left. Wang Yaorao decisively pulled back and retreated. Zhao Yunliu, however, did not. His flying sword remained fierce, relentlessly striking the blood cloud, as if determined to eliminate the Bloodkind before reinforcements arrived.

Ding You was getting anxious. In terms of speed, a body cultivator like him couldn't compare to the Bloodkind. If he got entangled, Zhao Yunliu might be able to escape by sword, but he himself would be trapped. It wasn't until Ding You shouted a second time that Zhao Yunliu, unwillingly, unleashed one last heaven-shaking sword beam before turning and retreating, transforming into a streak of sword light. Only then did Ding You pull back, his heart in his throat. He feared the blood cloud would suddenly surge and swallow him whole. If that happened, he'd be in deep trouble. Fortunately, that didn't occur. Once he had retreated to a relatively safe distance, he turned and fled frantically.

The blood cloud pursued unsteadily for a while, finding no success, and then seemingly indifferently, it paused briefly. A vast expanse of blood-red sea rapidly unfurled from the distance, connecting heaven and earth with immense power. Such a blood sea, wherever it passed, would leave no hidden cultivators exposed. This was also a method the Bloodkind used to track enemies, often yielding unexpected gains.

Within the blood cloud, Lu Ye quietly sensed. The guidance he sought came from this very blood sea approaching him. Indeed, just as he had guessed, it wasn't the emergence of some Bloodkind treasure. Instead, it was other Bloodkind cultivators utilizing a unique secret art, allowing their Blood Rivers to resonate and sense each other even from great distances. This was likely one reason the Bloodkind could congregate.

Lu Ye felt invigorated, though he showed no outward sign. He even created a Mimicry Spirit Rune to disguise his cultivation as being at the ninth level of the Divine Sea Realm. Within the blood sea, he could use the crimson hue to conceal his appearance and physique, but his cultivation fluctuations couldn't be hidden, especially from Bloodkind who also specialized in blood arts. Then, he guided his segment of the blood cloud to gently collide with the vast blood sea, instantly merging into it without obstruction. This clearly indicated that the larger Bloodkind group was accepting his arrival.

Regardless of their origins in any realm or the vast cosmos, all Bloodkind were one family. This was a shared understanding among their race. Not only was this true for the Bloodkind, but it was also largely true for most other races. Only humans were the exception!

Initially, after accepting Lu Ye, this group of Bloodkind cultivators intended to pursue the human cultivators who had just appeared. After all, opportunities were rare; many cultivators were currently in hiding, and even their sweeping searches across this hundred-thousand-li territory didn't yield much. Since they had encountered them, there was no reason to let them go. But when Lu Ye merged his blood cloud into the vast blood sea, all the Bloodkind involuntarily tensed! They froze in place, and even the immense blood sea rippled uneasily, as if it could dissipate at any moment.

The reason was simple: every Bloodkind felt an incredibly rich and concentrated Sacred Aura, and this Sacred Aura brought with it an immense suppression!

A deathly silence ensued...

No Bloodkind cultivator was unfamiliar with the Sacred Aura. However, in their respective realms, only those whose cultivation reached a certain level were granted Sacred Blood to refine. Thus, even though they were all prodigies of their realms, only one among them had refined a drop of Sacred Blood. The other four were fundamentally just ordinary Bloodkind, not Sacred Seeds. The same applied to Zhou Sifang, whom Lu Ye had previously slain, which was why Lu Ye hadn't obtained Sacred Blood from him.

The circumstances in their realms differed from the Blood Forging Realm. Due to its world-tier limitations, the Blood Forging Realm couldn't produce Star-Lord Realm cultivators, so the Divine Sea Realm was paramount. Over countless years, it had, however, given rise to many Sacred Seeds. But their realms had Star-Lords, Moon-Lords, and Sun-Lords. Without sufficient cultivation or talent, obtaining Sacred Blood was simply impossible. Even among Moon-Lord and Sun-Lord cultivators, it wasn't a given that every Bloodkind had refined Sacred Blood. This substance was extremely rare in their native realms, and every drop was incredibly precious. Nevertheless, they had all personally experienced the Sacred Aura from their elders. They had thought the Sacred Aura from their elders was strong and concentrated enough, but comparing it now, they realized what they had felt before was nothing.

If the Sacred Aura from their elders was a gentle spring rain, then what appeared now was a torrential downpour. Under its immense deterrent power, not to mention the four ordinary Bloodkind, even the sole Sacred Seed felt their minds sway, unable to control themselves. In such a situation, who would still have the mind to pursue the escaping humans? They had thought they were welcoming a lone, bullied companion, but who knew their companion would transform into the supreme ruler of the Bloodkind! How could any kin in the Divine Sea Realm possess such a concentrated Sacred Aura in this world? This Sacred Aura was unmistakable; they felt it clearly.

After a long silence, the only Bloodkind cultivator who had refined Sacred Blood spoke, his tone extremely respectful: "May I ask, fellow Daoist, from which realm do you hail?"

Lu Ye, aware of his advantage when facing Bloodkind, naturally didn't stand on ceremony. He coldly replied, "Li Taibai from the Blood-Scourge Realm!"

There was another period of silence. After a good while, another voice timidly sounded from within the blood sea: "The Blood-Scourge Realm... wasn't it Fellow Daoist Zhou Sifang who was participating in this grand event?"

This individual seemed to know Zhou Sifang, which wasn't surprising. Earlier, on the platform, powerful cultivators from various realms had exchanged greetings with those from the Blood-Scourge Realm, and as juniors accompanying their elders, they had met Zhou Sifang. This was also why Lu Ye had specifically inquired about Zhou Sifang's origins when he killed him. If he was going to make a statement among the Bloodkind, he needed a plausible background. His knowledge of the Bloodkind was limited to the Blood Forging Realm, so he could only inquire about Zhou Sifang's origin.

Lu Ye had anticipated such questions and calmly stated, "I had been in seclusion. When I emerged, it coincided with this grand event, so I took the place of that useless fellow. Is there a problem?"

"No, no."

How could there be any problem? Among the Bloodkind, Sacred Aura was paramount. The powerful Sacred Aura Lu Ye now displayed was enough to dispel any doubts.