Chapter 1365: Preparing for War

In the days that followed, Lu Ye simultaneously cultivated by absorbing blood crystals with the power of his Talent Tree and refined formation plates.

He refined nearly two hundred formation plates almost every day.

Feng Wujiang visited him every two days to collect the refined formation plates.

Although he remained confined to his room, Lu Ye still felt an impending sense of urgency, as if a storm was about to break.

He knew that time was running out for the Holy Land.

The Blood Clan's million-strong army, advancing from four fronts, was surely on its way and would soon besiege the city. The Holy Land's very existence would then hang by a thread.

A month swiftly passed.

During this period, Lu Ye refined five to six thousand formation plates, and the number of blood crystals he absorbed was immense.

There was no longer a need to refine more formation plates, as he had accumulated a sufficient supply.

This allowed him to fully devote himself to cultivation.

After another ten days, his spiritual power underwent further purification, completing nine transformations. An invisible wave of energy surged forth, and Lu Ye slowly opened his eyes.

He had reached the ninth level of the True Lake Realm.

He was merely a step away from the Divine Sea Realm.

With little time remaining, he couldn't cultivate to the Divine Sea Realm, and with the imminent war against the Blood Clan, he had no desire to continue his practice.

Instead of rising immediately, he spent two days consolidating his cultivation.

Only then did he step out, locate the green-robed attendant who had remained on the Holy Mountain, and instruct him to gather some materials.

The green-robed attendant readily complied, as Feng Wujiang had specifically instructed him to fulfill all of Lu Ye's requirements.

An hour later, the green-robed attendant returned with all the necessary materials, and Lu Ye began to prepare them.

The green-robed attendant watched curiously and asked, "What are you preparing, my lord?"

Lu Ye explained, "For spiritual tattoos."

"Spiritual tattoos?" The green-robed attendant was puzzled. "What are those?"

"You'll see," Lu Ye replied without further explanation, then casually asked, "What's the enemy situation?"

The green-robed attendant's expression turned serious. "I heard the Holy Master say that the Blood Clan army has already begun crossing the Divine Gate Sea. They will likely launch their attack in six to seven days, or at most ten to fifteen days."

Lu Ye nodded, confirming there was still enough time.

A few hours later, with all materials prepared, Lu Ye beckoned to Dao Thirteen, who obediently walked over.

"Take off your upper garment and lie down," Lu Ye instructed, pointing to the wooden bed.

Dao Thirteen complied immediately.

Once everything was ready, Lu Ye took out the set of tattooing needles his master had given him and began to inscribe spiritual patterns onto Dao Thirteen's body.

The patterns he inscribed were, of course, the "Connected Spirit" spiritual tattoos.

While "Connected Spirit" formation plates already existed, allowing companions to connect their energy effortlessly and form battle arrays simply by being within the plates' effective range, there was a significant drawback.

The drawback was that these formation plates could be captured by enemies and used against them.

Furthermore, during a major battle, if a formation plate was shattered, the entire formation would collapse, as the plates themselves were not particularly robust.

However, inscribing the patterns directly onto the body was different. There was no chance of them being captured or shattered, unless the individual perished.

Lu Ye intended to tattoo both Dao Thirteen and his blood slaves with the "Connected Spirit" patterns. This would allow them to effectively replace the formation plates themselves; in a sense, each of them would become a living formation plate, capable of connecting their energy with others at will. Moreover, strategically deploying these tattooed soul slaves within the human cultivator army could also serve as a substitute for formation plates, potentially yielding miraculous effects during critical moments.

Lu Ye had not delved into the art of spiritual tattooing for a long time. His last extensive study of it was in the Spirit Valley of Regeneration, on the Cloud River battlefield, where he had tattooed a pack of wolves.

Since embarking on his path of cultivation, which was rooted in the art of spiritual patterns, he had come across numerous other disciplines: the Way of Formations, the Way of Spiritual Tattooing, the Way of Artifact Refining, and so on. He might encounter even more in the future, but a person's energy is finite, making it impossible to master every single one.

The only outcome of attempting to master everything was to be mediocre in all of them.

His top priority was cultivation. Perhaps one day, when his cultivation reached its limit, he would delve into more external disciplines, but that time was not now.

Although his mastery of spiritual tattooing was relatively weak, thanks to the Talent Tree, the process posed no significant challenge to him.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen Dao Thirteen as his first subject.

The green-robed attendant stood by, mesmerized as Lu Ye's hand moved with phantom-like speed, switching between various tattooing needles. A complex spiritual pattern gradually emerged on Dao Thirteen's chest, a sight that left the attendant awestruck.

Shortly after, Dao Thirteen rose and dressed himself. Lu Ye then summoned another Blood Clan soul slave and proceeded to do the same.

Not all Blood Clan soul slaves had their tattoos inscribed on their chests.

Some of these Blood Clan members were female, necessitating the tattoos to be placed on their backs, as an uneven chest would impede his ability to execute the spiritual tattooing properly.

It took Lu Ye two full days to tattoo all the Blood Clan soul slaves.

Only then did he begin their training.

This training primarily involved familiarizing them with the evolution of various battle formations.

Lu Ye had long acquired numerous battle formation drills from his senior brother, preparing specifically for this day. These included the defensive Black Tortoise Gazing at the Moon formation, the offensive White Tiger Shattering Heavens formation, and the unpredictable Azure Dragon Seven Constellations formation.

The names of these formations sounded incredibly formidable, suggesting they would perform exceptionally well in real combat.

Furthermore, different formations could be deployed depending on the number of participants.

With just two individuals, they could form the Two Dragons Emerging from Water formation. Beyond that were the Three Talents of Heaven and Earth formation, the Four-Level Tushita formation, and up to the Nine Palace Interlocking formation for nine people.

Over the past few centuries, the Heavenly Mystery of Kyushu had sent numerous knowledgeable and experienced individuals to the Blood Refining Realm. These battle formations were provided by those venerable elders, encompassing the essence of at least a thousand years of Kyushu's martial history.

Under normal circumstances, mastering the intricacies of these formations in such a short period would be an impossible task, even for those intimately familiar with each other.

It would be especially impossible for Dao Soldiers, whose intelligence was impaired; they could never grasp the essence of battle formations.

However, with the assistance of the "Connected Spirit" tattoos, the Dao Soldiers performed their drills with remarkable proficiency.

The primary challenge for cultivators forming battle arrays lay in connecting their qi. Each individual's qi fluctuations were unique, so achieving connection required mutual adaptation and integration, much like the Yin and Yang dualities in constructing spiritual patterns.

Each spiritual pattern itself was composed of countless Yin and Yang dualities combined in various ways to form a cohesive whole.

The "Connected Spirit" spiritual tattoos perfectly resolved this major challenge, making the remaining steps straightforward. After several days of such training, Lu Ye proudly led his group of Dao Soldiers as they flew out of the Holy Mountain.

Having inquired about his senior brother's location, Lu Ye headed directly towards him.

A short while later, on a small outer island, he found his senior brother.

The small island had a city, but it wasn't for habitation. All human inhabitants of the Holy Land were concentrated on the large central island, while the outer islands, along with their cities, served solely as defensive fortifications.

Numerous human cultivators in the city were bustling about, making their final preparations for the imminent war.

Feng Wujiang stood atop the city wall, surrounded by at least seventy to eighty figures, some sitting, some standing. His senior brother was clearly assigning defensive tasks, and all those qualified to stand beside him were top powerhouses from Kyushu.

Although decades of development had led to the emergence of many Divine Sea Realm cultivators among the local population, their cultivation levels were not high enough to qualify them for such a gathering.

As Lu Ye arrived, eyes immediately turned towards him.

Although there was no overt pressure, Lu Ye still felt as if a mountain bore down on him.

He glanced around, noting that almost everyone present had white hair and beards, with very few appearing to be middle-aged.

A few female cultivators, however, like Moon Fairy, had maintained their youth and beauty exceptionally well. Amidst such a group, they truly stood out.

Among the crowd, Lu Ye spotted Jian Guhong, Wuchang, Meng Jie, and even Granny Jiu...

As he landed, a large group of Dao Soldiers landed behind him, each exhibiting dull expressions and lifeless eyes.

In comparison, Dao Thirteen appeared significantly more normal.

"Holy Master, is this your elusive junior brother?" a white-haired elder inquired. The others, meanwhile, observed Lu Ye with keen interest.

Feng Wujiang laughed heartily and affectionately put his arm around Lu Ye's shoulder. "Indeed, this is my junior brother. What do you all think, seniors? The new waves always push the old ones forward, don't they?"

Lu Ye promptly bowed in all directions. "Lu Ye of the Azure Blood Sect in Bingzhou, greetings to all seniors."

His demeanor was exceptionally respectful.

He had no choice but to be so respectful; everyone present was a truly venerable senior, each having dominated their era and shaped the destiny of Kyushu. Regardless of whether they originated from the Vast Sky Alliance or the Myriad Devil Ridge, they were all allies now.

Lu Ye actually quite enjoyed this atmosphere, where everyone worked together towards a common goal, devoid of division or discord.

Unlike in Kyushu, where even within the same faction, there were numerous overt and covert power struggles.

As for different factions, it went without saying; even without personal animosity, the mere opposition of their affiliations was enough reason to draw swords against each other.

The white-haired elder stroked his beard and smiled slightly. "Indeed, every generation produces its own talents."

While Lu Ye's cultivation at the ninth level of the True Lake Realm might not have seemed significant to them, who among them was unaware of the extraordinary abilities he had recently demonstrated?

Originally, the Holy Land had very little confidence in the face of this Blood Clan encirclement. Limited intelligence indicated that the Blood Clan's forces this time far surpassed previous deployments, with many Blood Clan powerhouses, including a significant number of Saint Seeds, hidden within their army.

Clearly, the Blood Clan understood that if they breached the Holy Land's outer defenses this time, they would have the opportunity to eradicate this thorn in their side from the Divine Gate Sea and eliminate this major threat.

To achieve this, the Blood Clan had clearly invested immense effort.

This resulted in a very low chance of victory for the Azure Blood Holy Land. Before Lu Ye's appearance, the venerable elders of the Holy Land had even divided into two factions, with one advocating for relocating the human cultivators from the Divine Gate Sea to another place, for future strategic considerations.

However, the immense difficulty of such an undertaking prevented it from materializing.

After all, this was the Blood Refining Realm, where the Blood Clan held sway. It was already a stroke of luck that Feng Wujiang had discovered the Divine Gate Sea to establish the Azure Blood Holy Land years ago. There was simply no other location in this world that could offer the Azure Blood Holy Land such a strategically advantageous terrain.

He inhaled deep breaths of fresh air, his chest trembling.

Confusion, bewilderment, and a host of other emotions surged within him.

Where was this place?

Shi Yu instinctively surveyed his surroundings, only to feel even more disoriented.

A single dormitory room?

Even if he had been successfully rescued, he should be in a hospital ward by now.

And his body... how could it be completely unharmed?

Puzzled, Shi Yu's gaze quickly swept across the room, finally settling on a mirror by the head of the bed.

The mirror reflected his current appearance: a handsome young man, approximately seventeen or eighteen years old.

But the problem was, this wasn't *him*!

His previous self had been a distinguished and handsome young man in his twenties who had been working for some time.

Now, however, this appearance looked no older than that of a high school student...

This transformation left Shi Yu in a long state of bewilderment.

Don't tell him the surgery was a success...

With both his body and face changed, this wasn't a matter of surgery; it was something akin to immortal magic.

He had completely transformed into someone else!

Could it be... he had transmigrated?

Besides the mirror at the head of the bed, whose placement clearly violated feng shui principles, Shi Yu also discovered three books nearby.

Shi Yu picked them up, and the titles instantly rendered him speechless.

"Essential Manual for Novice Beast Keepers"

"Post-Natal Care for Companion Beasts"

"Guide to Appraising Beast-Eared Girls of Different Races"

Shi Yu: ???

The first two book titles seemed normal enough, but what was going on with the last one?

"Cough."

Shi Yu's gaze sharpened, and he reached out, but his arm quickly stiffened.

Just as he was about to open the third book to examine its contents, a sharp pain shot through his brain, and a flood of memories surged forth like a tide.

Icefield City.

Companion Beast Breeding Base.

Intern Companion Beast Breeder.

Beast Tamer?