Chapter 1821: Migration

Lu Ye clicked his tongue in wonder. He had previously explored such blood pools, specifically when searching for the missing Lan Qiyue. However, that past exploration had not led to the kind of encounter he was having today. He had therefore never imagined that there would be a space beneath the blood pool not filled with blood.

To be fair, his exploration of the Blood Refinement Realm had been insufficient. After the victorious expedition to the Blood Refinement Realm years ago, he hadn't delved deeper. At the time, his limited strength made rash actions unwise. Later, as his strength gradually grew, he was always in a hurry whenever he visited, leaving no time to investigate the Blood Refinement Realm. He figured that time was better spent on cultivation to improve his power. He wouldn't have made this special trip if it weren't for some sensations triggered after refining the Blood Ancestor's Precious Blood this time.

As he activated his spiritual power, fireballs shot out in all directions. Soon, the vast space was illuminated, bathing it in light. Lu Ye glanced around, then his gaze fixed on something to the side. What came into view was an enormous, oval-shaped object, grayish-brown and resembling a solid rock. Strangely, the surface of this massive rock was covered in peculiar patterns, like dried blood vessels. Most striking was a huge fissure in the very center of the rock. Something was faintly visible inside the fissure, and this was precisely the source Lu Ye had sensed.

He barely needed to investigate; in that instant, Lu Ye finally understood what this source was. Precious Blood! The Blood Ancestor's Precious Blood! Deep beneath the blood pool on Jade Pillar Peak in the Blood Refinement Realm, another drop of the Blood Ancestor's Precious Blood actually existed. This discovery instantly made his expression solemn. His right hand slowly rested on his Mount Crag Blade, and his spiritual power began to circulate discreetly.

The drop of Precious Blood he encountered in the Core World had left an extremely deep impression on Lu Ye. Over countless years, that substance had developed a rudimentary intelligence, nearly corroding the core itself. Zhou Ran and other first-generation Blood Clan members had been utterly powerless against it, easily crushed. If it hadn't been for Elder Fang's protection, Lu Ye himself would have faced grim prospects in that battle.

Once bitten, twice shy. Lu Ye didn't know the state of this drop of Precious Blood, or if it had developed its own intelligence. If it had, the trouble would be immense. However, on second thought, this seemed unlikely. If this drop of Precious Blood had indeed developed intelligence, it wouldn't be completely unresponsive at this moment. Lu Ye gradually relaxed. After carefully sensing again and confirming that the Precious Blood was completely normal, Lu Ye moved forward, quickly reaching the enormous gray rock. Seen from a distance, the rock was immense; up close, it appeared even larger.

Lu Ye examined it closely again and suddenly realized what this rock truly was. This was undoubtedly the Blood Ancestor's heart! He had descended from the blood pool on Jade Pillar Peak, and geographically, this was indeed the chamber where the heart would be located. However, the Blood Ancestor had been dead for untold years, and this heart showed no signs of life, which was why it resembled a solid rock. Gazing at the massive gash on the heart, Lu Ye grew even more curious about what kind of powerful being could have managed to slay the Blood Ancestor. This gash was undoubtedly a wound. The Precious Blood was hidden deep within the wound.

Lu Ye stared at the drop of Precious Blood, and the more he looked, the more something felt off. The Precious Blood felt abnormal; the sacred power it contained was very faint... Yet, it was undoubtedly Precious Blood. Why was this happening? Upon closer inspection, Lu Ye gradually began to understand. He immediately activated his Insight Spirit Mark to enhance his vision. The next moment, he saw nearly imperceptible wisps of aura emanating from the Precious Blood, slowly drifting upwards and merging into the blood pool above.

So that was it... Lu Ye now understood the abnormality of this Precious Blood and how the Sacred Blood in the Blood Refinement Realm came to be. From his current observation, Sacred Blood was clearly a product of diluted Precious Blood. This drop of Precious Blood had existed here for countless years, its sacred essence continuously dissipating. After dissolving into the blood pool above, it gave birth to drops of Sacred Blood. That was why Lu Ye had felt that this drop of Precious Blood seemed off; it was merely a shell, utterly lacking the sacred essence that a normal drop of Precious Blood should possess.

Considering his own experience, this deduction was undoubtedly correct. His own process of refining Precious Blood involved continuously tempering his own blood and qi. In essence, Precious Blood was the concentrated essence of one's own blood and qi. Thinking this way, any drop of fresh blood from the Blood Ancestor could be called Sacred Blood, and the essence refined from Sacred Blood was the Blood Ancestor's Precious Blood! If Sacred Blood could be refined into Precious Blood, then naturally, when Precious Blood dissipated, it would become Sacred Blood. In comparison, Lu Ye was undoubtedly a major step below the Blood Ancestor in terms of life essence. His own Precious Blood was merely equivalent to a single drop of ordinary blood from the Blood Ancestor... Therefore, if Lu Ye had discovered this place a few hundred or even a thousand years later, it was probable that not even this symbolic drop of Precious Blood would have remained here.

Realizing this, Lu Ye reached out to grasp the drop of Precious Blood. Although it was merely a shell, its potential to enhance sacredness was still considerable compared to ordinary Sacred Blood, and Lu Ye naturally had no intention of letting it go.

However, just then, patterns on the surface of the long-dead, rock-like heart suddenly lit up, forming a barrier that enveloped the entire heart. Lu Ye's hand couldn't penetrate the barrier. Amidst this anomaly, he instinctively retreated, while defensive spirit marks rapidly formed in front of him. At the same time, he drew the Mount Crag Blade from his waist. Concurrently, Lu Ye felt the space around him become turbulent, taking a while to slowly settle down. Silence filled the chamber. The hovering fireballs illuminated Lu Ye's face, casting shifting lights and shadows. He stared at the suddenly appearing barrier for a while before slowly sheathing his blade.

The barrier slowly vanished, and everything returned to normal. Lu Ye stepped forward and cautiously tried to retrieve the drop of Precious Blood again, only to trigger the barrier once more. When the barrier appeared, the same phenomenon as before occurred: the space became turbulent, then slowly settled down. Lu Ye was greatly surprised. Because someone had actually left a seal here! He didn't know who had left it, but it was highly likely to be the powerful individual who had slain the Blood Ancestor. Their methods were simply astonishing; even after countless years, the sealing power still persisted. This suggested that while the individual was very strong, they had no good way to deal with the Blood Ancestor's Precious Blood, so they left it here to gradually dissipate and disappear on its own. A large portion of the vein-like patterns he had previously observed on the heart were, in fact, part of the seal. Such a seal held little significance for Lu Ye, as he could simply activate the power of his Talent Tree to slowly absorb and refine the sealing power, thereby breaking it.

After a brief ponder, Lu Ye didn't act immediately. Instead, he shot upwards. Moments later, he was back on Jade Pillar Peak. Looking around, he saw a scene of devastation, clearly caused by the two times he had triggered the barrier earlier. The turbulence had not only affected the chamber he was in but had also extended to Jade Pillar Peak itself. Spreading his powerful divine sense, Lu Ye quickly discovered that the disturbance had spread throughout the entire Blood Refinement Realm. Some buildings had collapsed, and in various villages, many humans had emerged with panicked expressions, seeking refuge, likely mistaking it for an earthquake. The relocation of the Blood Refinement Realm's human population... had to begin immediately!

Originally, Lu Ye hadn't considered this urgent, but now it had become his top priority. He needed to extract and refine the drop of Precious Blood from the Blood Ancestor's heart. This process would undoubtedly cause significant turbulence throughout the Blood Refinement Realm, with a very high chance of casualties, as most of the human population in the Blood Refinement Realm had not cultivated. As for leaving the drop of Precious Blood untouched, that was not an option. Even if it was currently just a shell, Lu Ye genuinely worried that it might suddenly develop intelligence. Given its connection to the Blood Ancestor, he couldn't afford any carelessness. Therefore, this drop of Precious Blood had to be refined as quickly as possible, not for the sake of enhancing his own sacredness, but purely as a preventative measure.

With this thought, Lu Ye immediately set off towards the Nine Provinces. Over an hour later, Lu Ye appeared at the Azure Province Garrison Hall. In the past few years, the garrison commander here had changed again... After a discussion and instructions exchanged with the garrison commander, messages quickly spread in all directions.

Three days later, numerous cultivators from the Nine Provinces gathered in the Garrison Hall. Some were Star Realm cultivators, but most were Divine Sea Realm. Regardless of their realm, each person represented a sect, and without exception, these sects all had training grounds in the Blood Refinement Realm. Many people had come, nearly a thousand in total. No one knew what had happened, but since Lu Ye had called the meeting, no sect in the Nine Provinces dared to ignore it. In the square outside the Garrison Hall, many cultivators whispered and discussed, trying to discover the reason for this large-scale summons, but no one could figure it out.

It wasn't until Lu Ye appeared and revealed the truth that a stir went through the gathered cultivators. Over the years, cultivators from the Nine Provinces had long grown accustomed to the presence of the Blood Refinement Realm next to them. A large human population lived there, allowing their sects to freely select suitable talents from the areas around their training grounds and bring them back for cultivation. Now, being suddenly told to relocate all humans within their respective training ground areas to the Nine Provinces was undoubtedly a surprise. After all, the first step in relocating a large human population was to plan their resettlement, which was no easy task for any sect.

Fortunately, as the guide for the Nine Provinces, Lu Ye had brought so many benefits to the region over the years that he had accumulated sufficient prestige. With just a brief explanation, numerous sects expressed their full cooperation. Furthermore, with Xiao Jiu secretly assisting and utilizing the Celestial Mechanism Pillars for teleportation, such a large-scale relocation wouldn't be difficult. The major sects in the Nine Provinces only needed to prepare for the resettlement. As for whether the human population of the Blood Refinement Realm would be willing to come to the Nine Provinces... there was no need to ask. Previously, only humans with exceptional aptitude could be admitted to the Nine Provinces. Now, anyone could. Where else could such a good opportunity be found?