Chapter 1828: Not Necessarily a Legend

Southern Square Inch Mountain, Pengyu Peak, the spiritual peak where Jade Purity Pavilion is located, was currently hosting a gathering of eight Sun-Grade cultivators from the three divisions.

The Blood Clan's invasion had utterly failed. Of the seven Sun-Grade cultivators who had arrived, three were killed in battle, and the remaining suffered heavy losses. After the major battle, Chen Xuanhai personally ventured outside the realm to investigate the situation. He found no trace of the Blood Clan, indicating that the unexpected turn of events in the previous battle had filled them with fear and unease, causing them to flee far away after escaping Square Inch Mountain.

Currently, the Southern division continued to traverse the star-filled sky, guided by the core's pull. Although still within the Blood Fiend Star System, if nothing unexpected happened, there should be no further complications.

As a precaution, the cultivators from the Eastern and Western divisions who had come to provide support were not in a hurry to return. Instead, they chose to remain in the Southern division's territory, waiting until the Southern division had passed through the Blood Fiend Star System before returning home.

Among the eight Sun-Grade cultivators, Lu Ye, a mere Moon-Grade cultivator, stood out remarkably. Yet, no one harbored any contempt for him. In this battle, Lu Ye's contribution was the greatest; the deaths of the three Blood Clan Sun-Grade cultivators were directly or indirectly linked to him.

Moreover, if he hadn't sealed the realm, many Blood Clan members would have escaped when they realized the danger, making it impossible to inflict such a heavy price upon them.

Originally, the Sun-Grade cultivators of the Little Human Clan had grudgingly accepted the addition of a new master to Square Inch Mountain. However, they still felt somewhat uneasy in their hearts, even though Lu Ye was Su Yuqing's dao companion and a successor of the Dao Tree lineage.

This battle, however, allowed them to deeply experience the convenience of having a master for the realm.

It could be said that as long as Lu Ye remained stationed in the Southern division, any enemy, no matter how powerful, would meet an inescapable end.

During their conversation, the Sun-Grade cultivators from the Southern and Western divisions spoke kindly to Lu Ye, who responded courteously. In terms of both age and cultivation, he was the youngest and lowest. Although he had, by fortunate coincidence, refined the core of Square Inch Mountain and nominally become its master, he knew clearly that the true masters of Square Inch Mountain would always be the Little Human Clan.

In the future, Square Inch Mountain was destined to become a pillar of support for the Nine Provinces, and taking advantage of this opportunity, it was natural to foster good relations with the Sun-Grade cultivators.

During their exchange, someone asked about the previous events in the core world. Lu Ye, with nothing to hide, recounted the story in detail, and the group of Sun-Grade cultivators listened with keen interest.

Suddenly, his sound-transmitting talisman vibrated. Lu Ye stopped speaking, took it out to check, and frowned. He then stood up and said, "Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, I need to leave for a moment; there are some matters I need to handle."

"What is it?" Xia Yingyue asked casually.

Lu Ye explained, "My two Blood Attendants previously captured a Blood Clan Moon-Grade cultivator alive. Before coming here, I left a drop of my precious blood for him to refine, thinking I might be able to extract some information about the Blood Fiend Star System from him, just in case. Just now, he said he has very important information to convey to me, seemingly concerning the Blood Fiend Star System."

Jade Purity Pavilion said, "Since that's the case, let him come over and speak. What do you think, Junior Brother?"

"Alright!" Lu Ye nodded. He immediately took out his sound-transmitting talisman and sent a message back to Xiang Yin.

A moment later, the Xiang Yin sisters entered the great hall with the Blood Clan Moon-Grade cultivator. Under the gaze of the Sun-Grade cultivators, the Xiang Yin sisters remained composed, as they had previously earned merit. However, the Blood Clan Moon-Grade cultivator appeared as if pricked by thorns, his face filled with dread.

The change in his position was too sudden. Just before, during the great battle, he had been fighting fiercely against the Little Human Clan. Now, having become Lu Ye's Blood Attendant, he stood on the same side, finding it somewhat difficult to adapt. But because he had refined the precious blood, there were things he had no choice but to reveal.

He also knew how much the Little Human Clan hated the Blood Clan, which naturally made him uneasy.

"What is your name?" Lu Ye asked, looking at his newly acquired Blood Attendant.

"Reporting to Honored Master, my name is Ding Beifeng," the Blood Attendant replied respectfully.

"What do you have to say?"

Ding Beifeng composed himself and began, "Honored Master, with this battle's defeat, the Blood Fiend Realm will certainly not give up. The various Sun-Grade Saint Venerables covet Square Inch Mountain immensely; they have a rare opportunity and are determined to seize it."

If it were an ordinary treasure, it might be forgotten, and after suffering such a heavy loss, the Blood Clan might not have any further intentions. But this is Square Inch Mountain. The covetousness and yearning for this treasure are etched deep in the Blood Clan's souls, a greed inherited from the Blood Ancestor. Therefore, no Blood Clan member will give up, no matter how great the losses.

"How many Sun-Grade cultivators does the Blood Fiend side have?" Lu Ye asked.

Although the Blood Clan had previously dispatched seven Sun-Grade cultivators, Lu Ye estimated that it wasn't their full strength, as there would certainly be Sun-Grade cultivators remaining to guard their realm.

"Nine!" Ding Beifeng replied.

Wu Ji snorted coldly, "Of the seven who came, nearly half were lost. Now you only have six Sun-Grade cultivators left; what can you possibly accomplish?"

The key is that Lu Ye is here. With his identity as the master of Square Inch Mountain and his powerful Sacred nature, if another war breaks out, the Southern division won't be as passive as last time. If the Blood Clan dares to invade, they will surely be made to come but never return.

What's more, the Little Human Clan has eight Sun-Grade cultivators. In terms of the number of top-tier combatants, the Little Human Clan is not at a disadvantage.

"It's different," Ding Beifeng said. "Before, our clan underestimated the enemy. After this defeat, our realm will definitely use the Ancestral Artifact."

"Ancestral Artifact?" Lu Ye's brows rose. "What Ancestral Artifact? What power does this Ancestral Artifact possess?"

Ding Beifeng shook his head and said, "Only the Sun-Grade Saint Venerables can access the Ancestral Artifact. I have only heard about it; I haven't seen it with my own eyes, nor do I know its power. But there has always been a legend throughout our realm. It is said that many years ago, several powerful realms joined forces to attack our realm. That time, more than twenty Sun-Grade cultivators were dispatched by those major realms. Yet, even then, after our realm's Sun-Grade Saint Venerables sacrificed the Ancestral Artifact, they still fled in disarray and were utterly defeated."

Lu Ye frowned as he listened. However, the term "Ancestral Artifact," if he understood correctly, should refer to something left behind by the Blood Ancestor.

It was hard to say how powerful this thing truly was.

If the legend Ding Beifeng spoke of was true, then this Ancestral Artifact should absolutely not be underestimated. After all, several major realms had joined forces and dispatched over twenty Sun-Grade cultivators, yet they failed to achieve their goal, which demonstrated the Ancestral Artifact's power.

"Every realm has its own legends," said Weng Xiong from the Western division. "Legends are often exaggerations passed down through generations and are not necessarily true."

All the Sun-Grade cultivators nodded, naturally understanding this reasoning.

"It might not just be a legend…" an ancient voice resounded. Everyone's gazes quickly turned towards Jade Purity Pavilion. The latter said, "I have also heard about this matter!"

Everyone was momentarily stunned.

Jade Purity Pavilion slowly said, "Haven't you ever been curious? The Blood Clan has such an infamous reputation, making enemies in every corner of the star-filled sky. Hasn't any force ever wanted to completely eradicate the Blood Clan? Unlike the mobility of the Bug Clan, the Blood Clan does not have such strong mobility. The Blood Clan's foundational realms are all traceable. Take this Blood Fiend Realm, for example; it is located within the Blood Fiend Star System. If someone were to unite, could they not destroy it?"

Lu Ye couldn't help but fall into thought. He had indeed considered this matter before.

The inability to exterminate the Bug Clan was unavoidable; no one knew how many bug nests drifted throughout the entire star-filled sky, or how many Bug Clan members were hidden within various realms, waiting to rise and break out. But the Blood Clan was different; with a little investigation, one could ascertain the locations of their foundational realms. There were quite a few races and realms that harbored hatred for the Blood Clan, so why were they still able to persist?

When Lu Ye had considered this matter before, he simply thought that alliances were difficult to form and the cost of expeditions was too great, which was why no one had done it.

But now, it seemed that wasn't the case.

"Someone has done so before, and it seems to have happened more than once," Jade Purity Pavilion continued. "But without exception, all attempts failed. And within these failures, there was the shadow of the Ancestral Artifact. It's just that these events occurred too long ago; I only occasionally heard faint rumors, but I know nothing of the specific details."

Lu Ye immediately regretted letting Xia Yingyue kill that Blood Clan Sun-Grade cultivator. If he had known this, he should have first extracted some information from him before killing him.

However, that Blood Clan Sun-Grade cultivator's submission to him was not complete. Therefore, even if he had tried to extract information from him, he might not have gained much. The matter of the Ancestral Artifact was the Blood Clan's biggest secret, and he would very likely have concealed it.

"There's no need to worry excessively about this matter," Chen Xuanhai said gravely. "If those Blood Clan Sun-Grade cultivators dare to invade with the Ancestral Artifact, we can meet them head-on and strike them hard. That Ancestral Artifact might be extraordinary, but Square Inch Mountain is also a supreme treasure, so we don't fear it!"

All the Sun-Grade cultivators nodded in agreement.

"However, there is one thing we need to pay attention to," Zhang Kun said, turning to look at Jade Purity Pavilion. "Senior Brother Yu, have you meticulously calculated the Southern Square Inch Mountain's travel route to ensure it avoids the Blood Fiend Realm?"

Jade Purity Pavilion replied, "When we entered the Blood Fiend Star System, we already made the calculations. According to the markings on the star map, the path of Southern Square Inch Mountain will not have too close an intersection with the Blood Fiend Realm. It should pass by at a distance of more than ten days' journey from the Blood Fiend Realm."

Zhang Kun nodded, "Then there's nothing to worry about. We just need to stay within our realm. If an enemy invades, we kill them. We simply need to wait until our realm safely passes through the Blood Fiend Star System."

The Blood Clan was interested in Square Inch Mountain, but the Little Human Clan had no interest in the Blood Fiend Realm. The Blood Fiend Star System was merely a segment of their long journey. If not for the Blood Clan discovering Square Inch Mountain's unique nature and coming to investigate, thus exposing its existence, the previous battle would not have occurred. Square Inch Mountain would have silently passed through the Blood Fiend Star System and departed.

The previous battle had already caused the Blood Clan heavy losses. Therefore, even if the Blood Clan truly possessed an Ancestral Artifact, the Little Human Clan could largely rest easy as long as they remained hidden within their realm.

The meeting concluded, and everyone dispersed.

Lu Ye and the two Sun-Grade cultivators from the Eastern division were arranged to stay on Pengyu Peak. After the battle, it was time for them to recuperate.

Several days of peace followed.

Until a massive roar suddenly reverberated throughout the realm, and the entire world began to shake.

Lu Ye, who was consolidating his precious blood, was suddenly startled. He swiftly spread out his divine sense, perceiving the surroundings.

The next moment, powerful auras emerged. These were undoubtedly the Sun-Grade cultivators of the Little Human Clan. They shot into the sky from various locations, and like Lu Ye, spread out their divine sense to investigate.

Lu Ye's expression darkened. Unlike the Sun-Grade cultivators' investigation, as the master of the realm's origin, he could clearly feel some changes within his realm.

Originally, Southern Square Inch Mountain had been swiftly traversing the star-filled sky. But now, Lu Ye detected that the entire world seemed to be encountering a strange resistance. Under this resistance, the speed of Southern Square Inch Mountain was rapidly decreasing. It was precisely the sudden appearance of this resistance that caused the realm's tremors.