Chapter 1830: Entry into the Realm

Yuqing Building and the others returned, all injured. Fortunately, their injuries were not severe, a credit to them for deploying two defensive red talismans when they sensed things going awry. Otherwise, even with the eight of them working together, severe injuries would have been absolutely unavoidable against that terrifying attack.

This engagement made the Little Human Race side fully realize the power of the Blood Extermination Realm. The previous battle had seen the Blood Extermination Realm suffer heavy losses, including three Sunstriders, which led some to believe it was not as formidable as previously thought. However, they now understood that a realm capable of surviving safely for so long amidst the animosity of various races was far from simple.

To take Square Inch Mountain, the Blood Extermination Realm had clearly gone all out.

The current situation was somewhat awkward for the Little Human Race. Their main Square Inch Mountain was forced to remain here. While many Sunstriders had gathered, they could not penetrate the Blood Extermination Realm, and even getting close was dangerous. How could they escape this predicament?

Furthermore, Lu Ye had a faint feeling that the Blood Extermination Realm's tactics were not limited to this. Their objective was to seize Southern Square Inch Mountain, and simply forcing it to stop was meaningless, so they surely had another move planned.

The Blood Race's follow-up move arrived swiftly.

Less than half an hour after Yuqing Building and the other Sunstriders returned to Square Inch Mountain, Lu Ye, who had been observing the situation outside, noticed a change in the Blood Extermination Realm.

From the colossal hand reaching towards the sky, a dense crimson hue erupted. Immediately after, a gigantic, ethereal hand slowly took shape. It was lifelike, resembling the six spiritual peaks of a tall mountain, and distinctly possessed six fingers. At its fingertips, the nails were sharp and elongated, like six keen blades.

This ethereal crimson hand extended from the Blood Extermination Realm, reaching out from afar to grasp Southern Square Inch Mountain, then clenching the entire mountain within its palm.

Lu Ye immediately detected an eerie power eroding from outside the realm. He promptly mobilized the realm's intrinsic foundation to resist it.

At this point, he finally understood the Blood Extermination Realm's intention: they were clearly using this method to deplete Square Inch Mountain's foundation. Once Square Inch Mountain's foundation was sufficiently diminished, the Blood Race's power could then infiltrate the realm, consequently affecting all Little Human Race members living within it.

Without its foundation, Square Inch Mountain, and by extension, his role as its realm master, would become extremely limited. At that point, with the Blood Extermination Realm wielding the power of their ancestral artifact, the southern side would be utterly defenseless.

Realizing this, Lu Ye quickly relayed the information to the Sunstriders and began pondering countermeasures.

In the current situation, Southern Square Inch Mountain could not escape because the Blood Extermination Realm could also move, persistently sticking to the southern side like a plaster and maintaining a consistent distance.

Unable to escape and unable to launch a strong offensive, the outcome of the previous sally by eight Sunstriders was already evident: the power of the Blood Race's ancestral artifact was truly terrifying.

Lu Ye could only continue mobilizing the realm's foundation to counteract the Blood Race's power eroding their realm. While this would suffice for a short time, this temporary solution was clearly unsustainable in the long run.

Several days later, the Sunstriders remained at a loss. While they had always found solutions to even the most difficult situations in the past, this time they genuinely could not conceive of a good plan.

They couldn't avoid it, nor could they fight it; it was truly vexing.

Lu Ye went to Su Yuqing's resting chamber and shared some of his ideas.

Upon hearing him, Su Yuqing immediately shook her head. "No, that's too dangerous," she said.

Lu Ye had just suggested infiltrating the Blood Refinement Realm. How could she possibly agree to such a proposal? Earlier, eight Sunstriders working together barely preserved their lives against that terrifying assault, and even then, they sustained injuries. If Lu Ye, a Moon Gazer, were to be struck by such an attack, he would undoubtedly perish.

"'Listen to me!' Lu Ye took her hand, gently stroking it as he spoke. 'Before, when I was in Kyushu, I once ventured deep into the Blood Refinement Realm. At that time, I found that I seemed to be able to mobilize the entire realm, though it was extremely strenuous, so I didn't attempt much. Later, I considered it: the Blood Refinement Realm is a remnant of the Blood Ancestor's body, and I refined the Blood Ancestor's precious blood, effectively gaining a portion of her power. This is why I can use her power to mobilize her remnant. The Blood Extermination Realm is also a remnant of the Blood Ancestor's body, so by rights, I should be able to mobilize it as well. If that's truly the case, I just need to stir things up within the Blood Extermination Realm. Whatever deployments the Blood Race has there will be disrupted, allowing our main force to seize the opportunity to act and break the deadlock.'"

For the past few days, he had been considering this matter and observing the situation in the Blood Extermination Realm. Inexplicably, he could feel a strange connection between himself and the Blood Extermination Realm, though it was very weak due to the great distance.

This was why he had developed his current plan.

The Blood Race was currently hiding within the Blood Extermination Realm, and their Sunstriders must be activating the ancestral artifact's power. Such an operation could not be easily disrupted. If Lu Ye were to go there and cause a disturbance, it would be an absolutely fatal blow to the Blood Race!

"'What if your idea is wrong?' Su Yuqing still shook her head."

Lu Ye replied, "Whether it's right or wrong, I'll know simply by continuing to approach the Blood Extermination Realm. That sensation becomes more evident the closer I get. If I'm mistaken, I will return immediately."

Su Yuqing remained silent.

Lu Ye said, "I know you're worried, but given the current situation, there's no way to break the deadlock except by dealing with the Blood Race from within. Right now, the Blood Race's power is eroding our realm. While it's not an immediate concern, it is consuming our realm's foundation. Once things reach an irreversible point, our realm will have no other option but to abandon Southern Square Inch Mountain. The Little Human Race has waited for so many years for a chance at unification; I don't think anyone would be willing to give that up."

"'But... it's too dangerous,' Su Yuqing said, deeply worried. 'When I allowed you to risk venturing into the Illusory Blood Demon Eye back then, I was already uneasy. Now you want to go to the Blood Extermination Realm. It's not right that you should bear all the risks for our race's matters...'"

Lu Ye smiled. "Although I am human, I am now the master of Square Inch Mountain. In the face of such a situation, shouldn't I take the lead?" He gently patted the back of her hand. "Don't worry, I'm adept at disguising myself as a Blood Race member, and... I'm not going alone."

Su Yuqing asked, puzzled, "Who are you taking with you?"

"'Ding Beifeng!' Lu Ye increasingly felt that the Xiangyin sisters' capture of Ding Beifeng back then was a wise move. Otherwise, he would have to go through considerable trouble to infiltrate the Blood Extermination Realm now."

"Furthermore, I will leave a clone here. Whatever movements my main body makes, this clone will be able to perceive," Lu Ye added.

"'A Blood Gem clone?' Su Yuqing asked."

Lu Ye shook his head and, in front of her, condensed a Talent Tree clone. He chose this because its connection was naturally much stronger. Furthermore, after his main body departed, the Talent Tree clone would be needed to oversee the realm and mobilize its foundation to resist the Blood Race's invasion.

"'Your cloning technique... is truly profound.' Su Yuqing looked at his main body, then at the clone. If she had seen them like this at first glance, she would genuinely have had trouble distinguishing between them."

The main body took out a set of clothes, intending to toss them to the clone to wear, but Su Yuqing took them and personally dressed the clone.

"'Behave!' Su Yuqing lowered her head, patted the clone's large hand, and instructed, 'Remember what you said. If things aren't as you described, return immediately. Eight Sunstriders of our race are here; we will always find a way.'"

"'Understood,' the main body nodded. 'After I leave, you can inform the other senior brothers. The clone here will let you know when to make your move.'"

Moments later, the main body and Ding Beifeng quietly departed Square Inch Mountain, soaring into the depths of space. To avoid detection, the master and servant did not head directly towards the Blood Extermination Realm, but rather moved away from their current realm.

It wasn't until several days later, after the master and servant had made a large detour, that they finally soared towards the Blood Extermination Realm.

Ding Beifeng manipulated a blood-red light, enveloping both himself and Lu Ye.

Initially, Lu Ye was considering whether he should use the Thousand Faces Spirit Mark to alter his appearance and disguise himself as a Blood Race member, which would also help avoid the risk of exposure.

However, after a conversation with Ding Beifeng, Lu Ye realized such elaborate measures were unnecessary.

Because there were humans within the Blood Extermination Realm!

The entire Blood Extermination Star System did not consist solely of the Blood Extermination Realm. There were also over a dozen other realms of various sizes. The races inhabiting these realms were diverse, all subservient to the Blood Race and perpetually at risk of becoming their blood meal.

Given this vast environment, the Blood Extermination Realm itself also harbored beings of various races, including a significant number of humans.

However, cultivation level presented a problem because the Blood Race strictly controlled their blood meals, generally not allowing their cultivation to grow too high. The Constellation level was the absolute limit; Moon Gazer level beings would never emerge.

Therefore, Lu Ye only slightly altered his appearance using the Thousand Faces Spirit Mark and activated the Mimicry Spirit Mark, disguising his power at the Constellation level.

If he followed Ding Beifeng in this manner, even other Blood Race members would merely assume he was a blood meal brought along by Ding Beifeng.

Because of their large detour, the master and servant approached the Blood Extermination Realm from a different direction.

Lu Ye carefully sensed his surroundings, and as the distance closed, he became increasingly certain that his idea was correct: he had a sensation with the Blood Extermination Realm similar to the one he had with the Blood Refinement Realm.

In other words, he should be able to mobilize the Blood Extermination Realm!

This mobilization was not merely that of a realm master, but rather because he had refined a portion of the Blood Ancestor's power, allowing him to mobilize her remnant body!

This had a similar ingenious effect to the Blood Extermination Realm's method of activating its realm foundation using the ancestral artifact's power.

Moreover, in Lu Ye's opinion, the Blood Extermination Realm was much smaller in scale than the Blood Refinement Realm. After all, one was merely an arm, while the other was an entire torso, so there was naturally a significant difference in their mass.

While mobilizing the Blood Refinement Realm was very strenuous for him, it didn't necessarily mean he couldn't mobilize the Blood Extermination Realm!

Things had become much simpler.

Entering the Blood Extermination Realm was without complications. Ding Beifeng's Blood Race characteristics were too obvious, so even when they were detected by Blood Race cultivators upon approaching, there was no obstruction.

Following behind Ding Beifeng, Lu Ye perceived that the Blood Extermination Realm's foundation was indeed very profound, far surpassing anything the Blood Refinement Realm could offer.

However, the barrenness of the Blood Refinement Realm was likely related to that ancient seal; otherwise, the Blood Race would certainly possess one more foundational realm today.