Chapter 1510: Attached Soul

The spore and tree spirits had varying cultivation levels. Initially, Lu Ye mostly encountered those at the Cloud River and True Lake stages. It wasn't until he penetrated several tens of miles into the spore cloud that he began encountering Divine Sea level spore and tree spirits.

This was clearly an arrangement by both races, with higher-cultivation individuals positioned at the front and lower-cultivation ones in the rear.

Further ahead, Star Host level spore and tree spirits appeared. This was already the battlefield's frontline. Here, not only was the spore cloud present, but there was also an immense sanguine hue, like a sea of blood, enveloping the entire spore cloud.

The Blood Clan! The race invading the Blue Jade Realm was none other than the Blood Clan, infamous throughout this starfield, much like the Insect Clan.

The sea of blood surged. This was clearly not a technique wielded by a single Blood Clan member; just like the spore spirits, the Blood Clan could gather the power of their clansmen, transforming weakness into strength.

This was a direct confrontation. The boundless sea of blood surged and swirled outside the spore cloud, continuously sweeping spores into its depths.

However, the tiny spores swept into the sea of blood did not simply vanish. Although most were annihilated, a portion silently exerted various strange effects.

So, when Lu Ye arrived, he witnessed the collision between the spore cloud and the sea of blood, like two colossal beasts devouring each other.

After silently observing for a while, Lu Ye noticed that the spore cloud was clearly at a disadvantage. If the situation continued this way, the defense, tens of miles deep, would likely be completely consumed within one or two months.

While he was quietly observing, not far away, Li Shang looked at Lu Ye with a complex expression.

She had been discovered in a certain star system by a powerful individual, captured, and later passed through various hands before being sent to the Myriad Phenomena Sea for auction, eventually falling into Lu Ye's possession.

Initially, she hadn't paid much attention to this Human Clan member. As a fellow late-stage Star Host, she felt confident that she could easily escape using her own power, as most cultivators were unfamiliar with the methods of the Soul Clan.

But after a skirmish, she realized she had been too simplistic in her thinking. Lu Ye's Divine Sea actually contained bizarre existences like warships, which left her with almost no power to retaliate. She reluctantly abandoned her original plan.

Although Lu Ye hadn't ill-treated her recently and even intended to be open with her, seeking her trust, how could Li Shang easily trust him? From beginning to end, Li Shang was determined to disregard anything Lu Ye said, because a rare race like the Soul Clan held immense attraction for other races; anyone who acquired one would find a way to make them loyal.

She had long heard of the Human Clan's cunning, so she would never believe a single word Lu Ye said. This was also why she had not communicated with Lu Ye at all from start to finish. Humans were skilled at using words to sway hearts, and this was something she needed to guard against.

Not until she went to the mermaid territory and saw a group of mermaids...

Li Shang could scarcely believe that mermaids, as rare as the Soul Clan, had such good relations with Lu Ye, and that Lu Ye had never shown the slightest covetousness towards them.

This inevitably made her somewhat enlightened, realizing she might have been judging a gentleman by her own narrow-minded standards.

Recently, she had been considering whether to talk to Lu Ye and ask him about the situation with his friends who had lost their physical bodies, but she hadn't made up her mind.

Suddenly, summoned by the Cycle Tree, she saw the most renowned cosmic treasure in this starfield. The shock in Li Shang's heart was simply inexpressible.

She had long heard that the Cycle Tree would bestow marks upon certain cultivators, but such marks might not be seen even once in hundreds or thousands of years. Only cultivators most favored by the Cycle Tree were qualified to receive them.

Some powerful individuals had even compiled statistics, showing that nine out of ten cultivators who received a mark from the Cycle Tree had a chance to advance to the Sun-Illuminated stage.

Those who didn't get the chance to advance had perished prematurely, not because of insufficient aptitude.

Li Shang hadn't expected that this Human Clan member who had acquired her at the auction had actually received a mark from the Cycle Tree. Didn't this mean he had the potential for the Sun-Illuminated stage?

Recalling the various mysterious phenomena surrounding him during their recent time together, Li Shang realized she had greatly underestimated him.

Such a person was destined to become a hegemon in the future.

Moreover, to be favored by the Cycle Tree, his character must be impeccable. How could a cosmic treasure like the Cycle Tree bestow a mark upon those with poor character?

It was only at this moment that Li Shang truly changed her perception of Lu Ye. She secretly decided that once this matter was resolved, she would find an opportunity to have a proper talk with him.

As she was observing, Lu Ye suddenly turned his head and looked towards her location. "Can you infiltrate without being detected?" he asked.

Li Shang didn't know his plan, but she honestly replied, "Yes!"

The Soul Clan's methods were beyond the comprehension of other races, and infiltrating a sea of blood like this naturally posed no difficulty.

Lu Ye nodded and looked at the Star Host spore spirit beside him, who was channeling the spore cloud to resist the sea of blood. "Could I trouble fellow Daoist to create a significant disturbance?" he asked.

The Star Host spore spirit was puzzled. "What do you intend to do?" he asked.

Lu Ye calmly said, "I want to go in, but I don't want to be detected."

The Star Host spore spirit frowned. "That might be difficult," he said. "Currently, a Blood Clan Star Host opposite us is channeling the sea of blood and contending with me. Inside the sea of blood, the Blood Clan's senses are incredibly sharp; anything that intrudes would inevitably be detected."

Just as Lu Ye was about to say he had his own methods, Li Shang proactively appeared, opening her arms and embracing Lu Ye.

Lu Ye couldn't help but be momentarily stunned, but he quickly sensed something, and a look of delight appeared in his eyes.

He couldn't figure out what the Soul Clan woman was thinking that she was so cooperative this time.

Without resistance, Li Shang merged entirely into Lu Ye's body, instantly vanishing. But Lu Ye clearly felt a strange power covering his body, making him ethereal and indistinct. This ethereal quality was even more subtle than when he activated his concealment and aura-restraining spirit patterns.

Not only that, but when Li Shang completely merged with him, Lu Ye also perceived a significant increase in his own strength.

This was undoubtedly a unique technique of the Soul Clan.

Soul Attachment!

The reason the Soul Clan was coveted was precisely because of this unique racial talent: they could attach themselves to any living being, enhancing the strength of the attached being, and also employ certain unique abilities of the Soul Clan.

If not for this, Li Shang's price at the auction wouldn't have been so exorbitant; the person from Room Jia-6 had fiercely bid against him, only stopping after the price exceeded thirty million spirit jades.

It could be said that if one had a Soul Clan member of comparable cultivation by their side, anyone would see their survival ability and strength greatly enhanced.

Feeling the significant increase in his own strength, Lu Ye had a faint feeling that even if a newly promoted Moon-Illuminated stage cultivator stood before him, he might not be without a chance to contend with them!

The moment Li Shang's soul attached to Lu Ye, Lu Ye vanished from the sight of the Star Host spore spirit, who immediately understood Lu Ye's confidence. With such miraculous means, it was indeed possible to infiltrate the sea of blood without anyone knowing. He immediately said with a solemn tone, "Then, fellow Daoist, you must be extremely careful!"

As he finished speaking, the spore cloud before him suddenly became incredibly violent, shifting from defense to offense and fiercely rushing towards the sea of blood ahead. As the enormous commotion erupted, Lu Ye seized the opportunity to dart forward and quickly plunged into the sea of blood.

Under normal circumstances, even if Lu Ye constructed his own concealment and aura-restraining spirit patterns, intruding in this manner would carry some risk; he might even be detected by the Blood Clan Star Host. But at this moment, the Blood Clan Star Host's attention was diverted, as he was fully focused on countering the spore cloud's counterattack, leaving him no spare energy to focus on anything else.

Coupled with the unique nature of the Soul Clan's methods, by the time the Star Host spore spirit ceased his actions, Lu Ye had already easily infiltrated the sea of blood.

Inside the sea of blood, there were Blood Clan members everywhere, not just one Star Host.

What surprised Lu Ye was that among these Blood Clan members, there were not only Star Hosts but also Divine Sea and True Lake cultivators. However, he didn't see any Cloud River stage Blood Clan members, likely because their strength was too low to be of much use in this kind of war.

The Divine Sea and True Lake Blood Clan members didn't need to do anything else; they only needed to activate their Blood River Arts and merge their powers. The ones truly channeling the power of the sea of blood were the Blood Clan Star Hosts.

Lu Ye suddenly understood. He had thought the scale of this sea of blood was a bit absurd; it was indeed the convergence of numerous Blood Clan members' powers.

Not far from him was the Blood Clan Star Host contending with the spore spirit Star Host. His cultivation was decent, at the mid-Star Host level. However, if Lu Ye wished, he could easily ambush and kill him.

Lu Ye wasn't in a hurry to do so. He needed to first figure out how many Blood Clan Star Hosts were truly present in this sea of blood.

Lu Ye deeply detested this race. Since he had the opportunity, he would naturally exterminate them all.

He roamed around the sea of blood, investigating the distribution of the Blood Clan's forces.

It took a full half-day for Lu Ye to roughly understand the situation. The number of Blood Clan Star Hosts here was considerable, over fifty. The True Lake and Divine Sea cultivators below the Star Host stage were even more numerous, numbering at least a few thousand.

Lu Ye couldn't help but get a headache. He could ignore the True Lake and Divine Sea cultivators; without Star Host level strength, they couldn't leave this realm at all. Once the Blood Clan Star Hosts were dealt with, they would be lambs to the slaughter. But with over fifty Star Hosts dispersed in different locations, no matter how fast he acted, he couldn't exterminate them all.

Not even by summoning his clones.

Unless he could set up a trapping array that covered the entire battlefield, preventing their escape. But the Blood Clan wasn't foolish; how could they allow him to set it up? An array of this scale would take Lu Ye at least one or two months to set up on his own.

He could only try to kill as many as possible.

Just as Lu Ye was preparing to act, a voice suddenly reached his ears: "Why haven't the reinforcements arrived yet? These spore spirits are too troublesome!"

Another voice came from not far away: "We've received word that reinforcements will arrive in three days!"

The previous voice coldly said, "Then let them survive for three more days!"

With the Blood Clan's current strength, they were capable of taking the Blue Jade Realm, but it would take more time. However, with reinforcements, it would be different; this would greatly accelerate the progress of taking the Blue Jade Realm.