Chapter 1684: Blood Servant

Once Ma Shangsi finished speaking, Lu Ye knew what was going on.

This guy was clearly a Blood Kin!

Even if others sensed the commotion here, unless they were particularly curious, they likely wouldn't come to investigate. But Blood Kin were different...

Lu Ye had activated the Blood Sea Art here, which Blood Kin cultivators could sense. They probably mistook Lu Ye for one of their own and wanted to see if they could offer any help.

Although the Blood Kin and the Insect Race were infamous throughout the starry sky, they were extremely unified internally. Even if they weren't from the same realm, if they met outside, they would never hesitate to lend a hand when they could.

This was vastly different from the Human Race. Human cultivators often fought among themselves when they encountered each other outside.

Furthermore, the Blood Kin primarily cultivated their physiques, so it wasn't surprising for them to come to the Yin-Yang Grand Mill to temper their bodies.

When Lu Ye activated the Blood Sea Art, he hadn't restrained his Sacredness. Ma Shangsi naturally sensed this, which was why he addressed him as Sacred Venerable.

Even among cultivators of the same Moon Glimmer realm, there was a vast difference in status between Blood Kin who had refined Sacred Blood and those who hadn't.

Since entering the starry sky, Lu Ye realized how uniquely advantaged the Blood Kin of the Blood Refinery Realm had been. Despite their cultivation only reaching the Divine Sea realm at most, many Blood Kin there had still refined Sacred Blood.

However, in the starry sky, there were many Blood Kin, even those who had reached the Moon Glimmer or even Sun Glimmer realms, who hadn't refined Sacred Blood. This was because Sacred Blood was an extremely precious and rare treasure for the entire Blood Kin.

This Ma Shangsi clearly hadn't refined Sacred Blood.

Lu Ye hadn't expected to encounter a Blood Kin here...

He naturally had no goodwill towards the Blood Kin. When he was at the Star Constellation realm, he might not have had strong feelings, but now that he was at Moon Glimmer, he couldn't let this Blood Kin go.

He hadn't expected that after just killing a late-stage Moon Glimmer star pirate, he would have the chance to eliminate another Blood Kin. After advancing to Moon Glimmer, he had instantly scored a double kill.

“Hmm... this Venerable has sustained some injuries and requires some healing elixirs,” Lu Ye mused.

Ma Shangsi quickly replied, “I have some here, if Sacred Venerable doesn't mind...”

“Then send them in,” Lu Ye interrupted him before he could finish, simultaneously activating the Sacred Restraint Art to conceal his Sacredness, preventing the other party from becoming weak-kneed.

Seeing Lu Ye's consideration, Ma Shangsi was visibly moved and plunged into the Blood Sea without hesitation.

Mainly, Lu Ye's Blood Sea was too deceptive. No one would have imagined that a Human could possess such powerful Sacredness; it was typically exclusive to Blood Kin Sacred Venerables.

Ma Shangsi, acting on his preconception, naturally took Lu Ye for one of his own race.

Feeling that Ma Shangsi had entered the Blood Sea, Lu Ye was about to unleash his Sacredness again.

This guy's own strength had already been suppressed to the mid-Moon Glimmer realm by the unique environment of the Yin-Yang Grand Mill. If he were further suppressed by Lu Ye's Sacredness, it would be like carrying two massive mountains, and his strength would definitely be no stronger than that old man from before, possibly even weaker.

Such an enemy would be easily subdued by Lu Ye.

However, just as he was about to do so, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him, and some peculiar insights emerged within his mind.

Lu Ye frowned and quietly pondered it.

He was greatly surprised!

Because those peculiar insights that had suddenly arisen came from the Blood Kin's bloodline inheritance. He hadn't noticed them before because the trigger conditions hadn't been met.

Until Ma Shangsi stepped into his Blood Sea...

Lu Ye couldn't help but suppress the urge to quickly activate his Sacredness and eliminate him. He stared in Ma Shangsi's direction, lost in thought.

This guy had only walked a short distance into the Blood Sea before stopping, clearly not daring to proceed further. Fearing that the supposedly injured Sacred Venerable might misunderstand, he respectfully took out the best healing elixir from his storage ring and said, “Sacred Venerable, the elixir is here. Please take it.”

Lu Ye, however, didn't take it. Instead, he slowly said, “You... are not bad!”

Ma Shangsi quickly replied, “Sacred Venerable overpraises me; it's merely a small effort.”

“Are you willing to become my Blood Attendant?” Lu Ye asked again.

Ma Shangsi was startled, barely believing his ears. After confirming he hadn't misheard, he was overjoyed: “Sacred Venerable is willing to take me as a Blood Attendant?”

He had never expected that simply coming to check on the situation and offering some elixirs would lead to such good fortune.

Among the Blood Kin, those who had refined Sacred Blood held high status not only because of their talent, but also because refining Sacred Blood allowed them to better comprehend the Blood Kin's bloodline inheritance. Using Sacredness to suppress their kin wasn't their primary goal, but rather a characteristic inherent to Sacred Blood itself.

However, in the current starry sky, masterless Sacred Blood was exceedingly rare. Ordinary Blood Kin had no opportunity to encounter Sacred Blood, and that included Moon Glimmer cultivators like Ma Shangsi.

For the Blood Kin to possess Sacredness, besides refining masterless Sacred Blood, there was another method: becoming a Blood Attendant to a Sacred Venerable. This way, they could receive a portion of Sacred Blood from the Sacred Venerable, giving birth to Sacredness within themselves.

Of course, such Sacredness would undoubtedly be weak, incomparable to refining true Sacred Blood. However, compared to their kin who had no Sacredness at all, their future prospects would be much better.

Thus, for any Blood Kin, becoming a Blood Attendant to a Sacred Venerable was considered a stroke of good fortune.

However, this was actually uncommon, as Blood Kin Sacred Venerables were unwilling to share their Sacred Blood. Doing so would weaken their own bloodline and diminish their comprehension of the bloodline inheritance.

Therefore, even if some Blood Kin Sacred Venerables were willing to take Blood Attendants, it would only be after reaching the Sun Glimmer realm. And they would never take too many; two or three at most would be extraordinary, and any more than that, they would be reluctant.

Lu Ye, of course, had no such concerns. The amount of Sacred Blood he had refined back then was immense, far beyond what any ordinary Blood Kin could compare to. Forget two or three; he could easily take two or three hundred Blood Attendants.

He also didn't place much importance on the Blood Kin bloodline inheritance.

He truly hadn't known before that he could do something like this. This ability must have come after condensing his own Treasured Blood. Unfortunately, he hadn't encountered any Blood Kin until now, so the information within the bloodline inheritance hadn't been activated.

Because to take a Blood Kin as a Blood Attendant, one had to use Treasured Blood.

From this perspective, Treasured Blood had infinite uses: not only could it transform into a Treasured Blood clone, it could also greatly enhance the power of Blood Kin secret arts, and even be used to take Blood Attendants...

Moreover, Lu Ye didn't need to worry about any rebellious actions from a Blood Attendant once they learned his true identity. Because once they became his Blood Attendant, their life and death would be at his whim. This was a lifelong bond that could not be broken!

Lu Ye could even use the given drop of Treasured Blood to sense the Blood Attendant's psychological activity, completely nipping any danger in the bud.

Therefore, among the Blood Kin, becoming a Blood Attendant to a Sacred Venerable was something highly coveted by some, yet also something strongly rejected by others. After all, not all Blood Kin could accept having their life and death controlled by someone else.

When Ma Shangsi was young, he was very resistant to becoming a Blood Attendant. Of course, he also hadn't encountered any Sacred Venerable who wanted to take him as one.

But as he grew older and his cultivation improved, many of his youthful ideas slowly changed.

Especially after being stuck in the Moon Glimmer realm for many years, unable to glimpse any opportunity to advance to Sun Glimmer...

Becoming a Blood Attendant and thus possessing Sacredness himself could undoubtedly allow him to break through his current limitations, perhaps even granting him a glimpse of the threshold to Sun Glimmer.

For this, he had even personally visited a Sun Glimmer Sacred Venerable, hoping to obtain a Blood Attendant position, but was mercilessly rejected.

Left with no other choice, he could only come to the Yin-Yang Grand Mill, attempting to use the pressure of this place to find a path to Sun Glimmer.

Naturally, he gained nothing...

But to his surprise, what he hadn't sought, he found; now he had encountered a Sacred Venerable who wanted to take him as a Blood Attendant!

“If you are unwilling, I will not force it,” Lu Ye said, but in his mind, he thought: *If you dare utter a single 'no,' I will beat you into submission and forcibly take you.*

Since he knew he could subdue Blood Attendants with Treasured Blood and had encountered a suitable candidate, he naturally wanted to try.

“Willing! Willing! Your humble subordinate is willing! Please have mercy, Sacred Venerable!” Ma Shangsi cried out repeatedly.

This... was far too spineless.

Lu Ye was somewhat dissatisfied with this guy's display. He would have preferred to see the other party choose death over surrender, but things had come to this, and there was no other choice.

Moreover, a late-stage Moon Glimmer Blood Kin could be somewhat useful.

With a thought, a drop of Treasured Blood appeared on his fingertip. The Treasured Blood was a vibrant red, but as Lu Ye's power surged, its color gradually turned golden.

Sacredness permeated it!

Lu Ye's Sacredness was so powerful that no Blood Kin, past or present, could rival it. As this was his first time taking a Blood Attendant, he didn't want to be too stingy, and given the other party's considerable strength, they should have good tolerance.

Therefore, the Sacredness Lu Ye had condensed within this drop of Treasured Blood was essentially equivalent to that contained within a normal drop of Sacred Blood.

In other words, there was little difference between Lu Ye's drop of Treasured Blood and true Sacred Blood.

He flicked his finger, and the golden Treasured Blood flew before Ma Shangsi. “If that's the case, then refine it.”

Ma Shangsi's eyes widened. He stared at the drop of Treasured Blood before him and felt the rich Sacredness within it, his mind greatly shaken.

Even though he had no experience being a Blood Attendant to others and didn't know what it was like for other Sacred Venerables to bestow Treasured Blood, he could be certain that this drop of Treasured Blood before him... was not normal!

Because the Sacredness was too concentrated.

The Sacredness he had once felt from a Sacred Venerable was roughly of this magnitude.

Could this be a drop of true Sacred Blood? Ma Shangsi was startled by the thought that arose in his mind.

However, he soon confirmed that this was not true Sacred Blood; it was merely a drop of Treasured Blood.

For a single drop of Treasured Blood to contain nearly the same level of Sacredness as true Sacred Blood, just how terrifyingly profound was this Sacred Venerable's foundation, to be able to bestow it so readily!

Ma Shangsi felt that if he could successfully refine this drop of Treasured Blood, then the next time he encountered that former Sacred Venerable, he wouldn't be suppressed nearly as much.