This time, Lu Ye had a long conversation with Number Nine, including the development of the upcoming situation, the possible changes in the Blood Refinement World in the future, and also letting Lu Ye gradually understand how the foundation of the Nine Provinces can be enhanced, including how the top cultivators of the Nine Provinces can reach the upper realm.

The Nine Provinces cultivators' expedition to the Blood Refinement World was not only for self-preservation but also to seek their own future. Rescuing the suffering human race in this world was actually an added benefit. Of course, this does not mean the issue was unimportant. It was also very important. Otherwise, during the war, the major sects of the Nine Provinces would not have specially dispatched cultivators to guard the villages where humans gathered and protect their safety.

All these things, Number Nine had previously mentioned some key points to Lu Ye, but they were only vaguely described until today when he finally saw the full picture.

It must be said, having a Number Nine is a blessing for the Nine Provinces human race. Under its planning and arrangement, the situation in the Nine Provinces will inevitably improve. What remains is the Nine Provinces human race's own efforts.

What Number Nine can do is limited after all, while the future of human race cultivators is limitless. Someday, the Nine Provinces human race will surely reach the heights their ancestors once achieved, or even surpass them.

After a few days, everyone had almost recovered, and those who hadn't fully recovered needed time to settle, each dispersing.

Just as Lu Ye was about to leave, Lann Qiyue arrived.

A few days earlier, she had been summoned by the Blood Spirit, her mind chaotic and beyond her control. However, after the Blood Spirit died, she returned to normal. She maintained her path mainly to see what was attracting her here.

Once she arrived and saw Lu Ye, after a detailed conversation, she finally understood the reason and broke out in a cold sweat, secretly grateful that she was far enough from Jade Pillar Peak at the time. Otherwise, she might have been merged into the Blood Giant's body by the Blood Spirit and would have died without a doubt.

The war of the Nine Provinces cultivators' expedition to the Blood Refinement World was reaching its final phase. Nearly 80% of the Nine Provinces cultivators above the Cloud River Realm now spread across the Blood Refinement World, searching for stragglers. Once any remaining Blood Race was found, they were immediately subjected to ruthless encirclement and attack.

Over ten days later, nearly three months after this war began, led by Sacred Master Feng Wujiang of the Righteous Blood Sacred Land, many top human race powerhouses jointly issued a proclamation.

The war has been completely won! The Blood Race of the Blood Refinement World has been exterminated!

As the news spread, the entire realm rejoiced. In this war, the Nine Provinces cultivators reaped considerable benefits, but in truth, the Blood Refinement world's indigenous human race benefited the most. From now on, they will no longer live like animals, no longer be enslaved by another race, and no longer live in constant fear, leading an uncertain existence.

After several months of contact, the humans of this world have also learned of the Nine Provinces' existence, naturally feeling close to the Nine Provinces cultivators who saved them from suffering, especially those assigned to guard the villages. These cultivators have recently received considerable acclaim.

The war is over, and the next natural step is to divide the spoils, a rightful process and deserved by the Nine Provinces cultivators.

Even though they didn't come as invaders, but as saviors, for the Nine Provinces, the Blood Refinement World is still an enormous bounty.

Its vast territory is only slightly less extensive than the Nine Provinces, and its entire world foundation is almost on par with the Nine Provinces. Who wouldn't want a piece of such a lucrative prize?

Crucially, the human population here is quite large. Even with years of oppression by the Blood Race, living fearful day-to-day lives, the Blood Refinement world's population is at least as large as the Nine Provinces'. Although the Blood Race treated the humans here as Blood Food, they did not excessively drain the resources. Lu Ye noticed this on his first visit to the Blood Refinement World, where the humans in each village lived without material concerns despite being mentally oppressed.

Additionally, the nature's Spiritual Energy in the Blood Refinement World is far stronger than in the Nine Provinces. Aside from worrying about the Blood Race hunting them, these humans lived relatively stress-free lives.

All of these conditions have contributed to the Blood Refinement World's vast human population.

What is the foundation of the cultivation world? It is the vast number of mortals without cultivation aptitude! This is the consensus among all Nine Provinces cultivators. With a large enough base of mortals, the cultivation world can prosper, allowing generations of cultivators to emerge continuously.

This is the larger trend, so on the Nine Provinces' home ground, each sect has its own territory. Sects recruit disciples predominantly from their own lands and must not easily cross boundaries.

Back in the day, the sect master wanted to quickly expand the Righteous Blood Sect's base of disciples and even went to other sects' recruitment ceremonies to poach people, resulting in being chased to Mount Ao by another Sect Leader and having a confrontation.

This was because the sect master crossed the line, and being pursued and attacked was deserved.

With the conquest of the Blood Refinement World, the major sects of the Nine Provinces naturally began to carve up the territory. It wasn't too complicated since during the expedition, the major and minor sects had already been mindful of this, tacitly delineating their territories in the Blood Refinement World. They did so simply by scattering their disciples across their designated areas, much like how beasts use urine to mark territories, though the Nine Provinces cultivators did it more elegantly.

Previously, with the war unfinished, it was improper to declare it formally. Now that it's over, there is no longer any reason to hesitate.

Everyone was in agreement: sects of lower grades delineated smaller areas, while those of higher grades delineated larger ones.

The Righteous Blood Sect also marked out a large territory, thanks to Lu Ye's foresight and Number Nine's covert assistance. Centered around the Heaven's Augury Pillar at Lock Horns Grotto Heaven, it extended a hundred thousand miles in radius, all considered part of the Righteous Blood Sect's domain.

This area was originally under the control of Lann Qiyue as a Blood Race Saintly Venerable. With Lann Qiyue joining the Righteous Blood Sect, though the process wasn't complete, the news had already spread. Her territory naturally belonged to the Righteous Blood Sect.

Moreover, the Blood Races within this area were all the responsibility of the Righteous Blood Sect to eliminate.

This was a massive territory, greater than any delineated by a sect within the Nine Provinces, and two to three times larger than the Righteous Blood Sect's territory in the homeland.

The Ziwei Dao Palace also benefitted from the Righteous Blood Sect, marking out a piece of land in the adjacent area.

The intention behind marking the land was not for the land itself, but for the humans living on it. With a sufficiently large population base, this land would inevitably provide a continuous stream of talent to the Nine Provinces' various sects, big and small.

In a certain sense, although the Nine Provinces cultivation world hadn't discussed it, there was a consensus—that it was inadvisable to relocate the entire human population from the Blood Refinement World to the Nine Provinces.

Because the number of people was just too large, attempting to move them to the Nine Provinces would compress the existing living space of the Nine Provinces human race. Therefore, it was best for the human population of the Blood Refinement World to remain there.

At that time, each sect would send personnel to the territories they seized within the Blood Refinement World to establish branches. The aim was to select promising individuals suitable for cultivation. Once found, they would be sent to the Nine Provinces to cultivate.

Of course, this was a plan for the future.

The entire Blood Refinement World was quickly divided among the Nine Provinces' various sects, except for one place.

The Righteous Blood Sacred Land!

Though the Righteous Blood Sacred Land wasn't large, it housed a considerable number of humans. After decades of development, the quality and quantity of its cultivators were almost on par with any top big sect in the Nine Provinces. What they lacked was just the Divine Sea Level 9.

Even after decades of development, although a decent number of Divine Sea Realm cultivators had emerged from the Righteous Blood Sacred Land, there wasn't enough time for them to rise to Level 9.

If such a force were to be brought back to the Nine Provinces and integrated into a sect, no matter the original grade of that sect, it could instantly become a giant.

However, no one else could covet the Righteous Blood Sacred Land. If it were indeed to be integrated into a Nine Provinces sect, it would have to be the Righteous Blood Sect! After all, it was cultivated by Feng Wujiang alone, and before the Nine Provinces cultivators entered the Blood Refinement World, the Righteous Blood Sacred Land was the only Pure Land for humans in that world, and the frontline against the Blood Race. Its merits were unparalleled.

The Righteous Blood Sect had barely survived being erased by Heaven's Augury and, until now, despite several evaluations, had yet to return to the 1st grade. Currently, under Heaven's evaluation, the Righteous Blood Sect is merely classified as a 3rd grade sect. This status is thanks to the presence of three Divine Sea Realm cultivators within the sect. Without them, the sect might not even qualify for the upper three grades.

With the infusion of the Righteous Blood Sacred Land's power, restoring the sect to the 1st grade is just around the corner.

"Your senior brother means that if our sect is willing to accept the cultivators from the Sacred Land, he will order all the Sacred Land's cultivators to join our sect. I believe they will follow orders and, at that time, help our sect regain the glory of being a 1st grade sect." In Lock Horns Grotto Heaven, the three Divine Sea Realm cultivators of the Righteous Blood Sect had gathered, and the sect master spoke thus, seeking Shui Yuan and Lu Ye's opinions, "What do you think?"

Shui Yuan had no opinion: "It's up to your venerable self to decide."

Lu Ye looked at the sect master: "What is the sect master's opinion?"

The sect master chuckled: "I am asking you all; how come it's turned around on me?"

Lu Ye smiled: "Since the sect master is asking, it suggests he isn't very supportive of this approach. I share the same view, that the power of the Righteous Blood Sacred Land should not be integrated into our sect."

"Why do you say that?" The sect master raised an eyebrow.

Lu Ye replied: "Firstly, it's a matter of a sense of belonging. When the Nine Provinces sects recruit disciples, they generally select them at a young age or when their cultivation is not very high. This makes it easier to cultivate a sense of belonging to the sect. The power of the Righteous Blood Sacred Land is indeed formidable, but many have already achieved success in cultivation, and not a few are in the Divine Sea Realm. While such a force joining our sect could enhance its grade in the short term, in the long run, it may not be beneficial. They respect the senior brother, not the Righteous Blood Sect, which means they are unlikely to develop a strong sense of belonging to our sect. Even if they have good character, their integration could greatly disrupt the existing structure of our sect and hinder the growth of our current disciples."