In the study of the Blood Soul True Monarch, Su Yuan vividly recounted the details of the sea battle.

"No sooner said than done, Lin Yonghua’s face slammed hard into Feng Xuanxiang’s fist, numbing the latter’s hand."

"Then Wei Chenghai and Qin Jin launched a pincer attack, using their bodies to hold Feng Xuanxiang’s hands, gaining the upper hand."

"In that battle, our three powerful Golden Core cultivators performed heroically, defeating Feng Xuanxiang thoroughly. The only downside was that Wei Chenghai was somewhat reluctant to retreat and heroically sacrificed himself for the Blood God Sect’s cause."

"..."

"And then there was the navy of Dragon City County, which wasn’t worth mentioning at all."

"Even without leadership, Wei Chenghai’s fleet could singlehandedly deplete a large amount of Dragon City County navy’s ammunition, trapping them in a quagmire..."

The Blood Soul True Monarch silently listened to Su Yuan’s account, and discerned only one meaning from his words.

Victory! A grand victory! A massive triumph!

No matter what, it was a win!

After Su Yuan finished speaking, the Blood Soul True Monarch said with a peculiar expression:

"Do you mean that despite having the upper hand, we lost three Golden Core cultivators and over a thousand pirates?"

Su Yuan: "That’s true, but the enemy’s losses were also significant."

Blood Soul True Monarch: "For example."

Su Yuan: "For example, the Dragon City County navy’s swords were blunted..."

The Blood Soul True Monarch took a deep breath:

"Who commanded this sea battle?"

"Seven or eight Golden Cores against a young girl, against the forces of a small county, and this is the result! I need an explanation!"

Su Yuan, without hesitation, said:

"Master, it’s all because the subordinates are too incompetent. They couldn’t carry out my orders properly and kept shifting the blame onto me. I ask for your clear judgment, Master!"

The Blood Soul True Monarch did not buy Su Yuan’s excuse and said coldly:

"Are you admitting that you commanded this sea battle?"

Feeling the invisible pressure from the opposite side, Su Yuan gritted his teeth and was about to nod.

At that moment, Motis, who had already switched to red hat mode, grabbed Su Yuan’s arm and complained:

"Master, why are you being so harsh?"

"It’s Su Yuan’s first time commanding so many people, so it’s understandable if he made a small mistake."

"How can someone like you, a dignified Nascent Soul True Monarch, be so picky?"

The Blood Soul True Monarch: "..."

Even though he never truly considered Motis as his own daughter, hearing such words of betrayal still made the Blood Soul True Monarch’s heartache.

But considering the top-tier talent contained within Su Yuan and Motis, the Blood Soul True Monarch eventually calmed himself.

He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and said:

"We’ll let it go this time, but it won’t happen again."

"Su Yuan, Motis, for now, don’t be responsible for maritime matters and go help me deal with some hostile demon cult nests."

"Here are a few nests identified by the Blood God Sect’s spies. If we don’t get rid of them early, there will be trouble when the Blood Sacrifice Ceremony is held."

Hearing this task, Su Yuan was invigorated.

Fighting demon cults? That’s awesome!

He loves fighting demon cults, as there’s no psychological burden in killing them, and it even provides excellent materials for crafting Vermilion Face White Bone Puppets.

Immediately, Su Yuan eagerly showed his willingness to perform, quickly taking the map marked with demon cult nests from the Blood Soul True Monarch.

Seeing the sea battle defeat brushed aside, Motis sighed with relief yet became even more curious.

What happened between Su Yuan and the Blood Soul True Monarch that made the latter so forgiving towards the former?

During her five years apprenticeship under the Blood Soul True Monarch, Motis had often seen him lose his temper.

Whenever any Blood God Sect member failed in their duties, skinning, boiling, dismembering were all common occurrences.

To lose three Golden Cores due to a command error would be a cause for severe punishment against other Blood God Sect leaders.

But since Su Yuan didn’t mention it, she didn’t ask.

Upon leaving the study, the two immediately commenced their mission to combat the Demon Dao.

In this mission, neither Su Yuan nor Motis slacked off, quickly destroying one demon cult nest after another, showcasing the undeniable strength of the Blood God Sect’s Holy Son and Daughter.

Of course, before taking action, Su Yuan and Motis would conduct some investigations to ensure the target was truly a demon, to avoid inadvertently harming good people.

And after dealing with a demon cult nest’s demon cultivators, the two would discuss splitting the bodies and souls between them.

Some were used to create avatars, others were absorbed into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, some became puppet parts—truly making full use of all resources.

With these operations, they were even more sinister than true demons.

Meanwhile, at sea, Feng Xuanxiang and Su Youlin’s fleet pursued the pirates, preventing Captain Jin and others from finding opportunities to plunder people.

The number of civilians that the Blood God Sect captured before Su Yuan arrived remained unchanged even as the blood sacrifice ceremony was about to begin.

Time flew by, and more than twenty days had passed.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the blood sacrifice ceremony.

On this grandest day of the Blood God Sect, Su Yuan and Motis were ordered to put down their work and return to the port city of the Three Elements Mansion, the headquarters of the Blood God Sect.

In a council hall within the headquarters, over a hundred high-ranking members of the Blood God Sect gathered.

Among them were over a dozen Golden Core Cultivators, and the rest were leaders of various branches, mostly at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage or Peak.

Upon entering the hall, Su Yuan curiously glanced at these high-ranking members of the Blood God Sect, with a hint of another meaning in his eyes.

The Blood Soul True Monarch, sitting at the head, saw his two disciples arrive and smiled slightly:

"Su Yuan, this is the first time you and Xiaomo are attending the blood sacrifice ceremony, isn’t it? You’ll both get to see the spectacle tomorrow."

"Although we only captured over 500,000 sacrifices this time, the ceremony can proceed as usual, just with a lesser effect."

Su Yuan nodded, showing an expression of anticipation at the right moment, and then curiously asked:

"Master, I’ve heard that the location of the Saint Island is not fixed and only surfaces on the last day."

"With such a tight schedule, how will we transport those 500,000 sacrifices in time?"

The Blood Soul True Monarch chuckled, patting a jade bracelet on his wrist and said:

"The 500,000 sacrifices are all contained within here. I will personally escort them, and as for the specific location where the Saint Island will appear, only I know it."

"You, Motis, and all the high-ranking members of the Blood God Sect present will accompany me, so there is no need to know the location of the Saint Island in advance."

"Moreover, the other members of the Blood God Sect don’t even need to go, so naturally, there’s no need to disclose the location."

After listening, Su Yuan glanced at the jade bracelet and sighed silently.

The Blood Soul True Monarch’s secrecy and precautions are quite thorough, leaving little opportunity for exploitation.

Once inside this council hall, until the blood sacrifice ceremony begins, it seems unlikely to escape the Blood Soul True Monarch’s watchful eyes.

Even if he wished to seek help from Captain Zhang, he couldn’t do so under the gaze of the Blood Soul True Monarch.

Fortunately, Su Yuan had already prepared not to rely on any assistance from outside.

"It’s getting late, let’s set off."

The Blood Soul Demon Monarch spoke softly, rising to leave the council hall.

All the high-ranking members of the Blood God Sect quickly rose to follow him out.

The Blood Soul True Monarch first went into his study. After waiting for a while, the group saw him come out holding a crown exuding a dense evil aura, of gold and red, the Iron Crown.

This Iron Crown is missing a third, yet its aura still causes all the Golden Core Cultivators present to tremble.

Even many of the Blood God Sect high ranking members who were not seeing the Crown of Corruption for the first time, couldn’t help but wonder what level of magical treasure this Iron Crown was at its peak.

However, this only remained a thought, and they had no desire to claim it as their own.

After all, they couldn’t even withstand the aura of the Crown of Corruption; getting close to it would be suicidal.

"Stay ten zhang away from me, and do not cross that line, or you will be corroded by the Crown of Corruption,"

The Blood Soul True Monarch ordered plainly, striding toward a teleportation array within the headquarters.

Su Yuan, Motis, and the other high-ranking members of the Blood God Sect all followed suit.

Only after watching the Blood Soul True Monarch be teleported away did they dare to step onto the teleportation array themselves.

As the power of teleportation activated, Su Yuan found himself on a sea with no land in sight.

Without a point of reference, he couldn’t determine his exact location and could only ascertain that he was still within the Sea of Law by celestial observations.

With no Saint Island in sight, it was evident that they were still quite far from their destination.

This made Su Yuan sigh inwardly. No wonder the Blood Soul True Monarch had conducted so many blood sacrifice ceremonies without being discovered; Old Deng was indeed overly cautious.

Under the guidance of the Blood Soul True Monarch, Su Yuan and the group traveled for more than half a day before a whale-shaped island finally appeared before them.

This island’s surface was covered with green moss, moist and barren, as if it had just been pulled from the water.

On the flat area at the top of the island was a vast altar, its surface adorned with intricate and eerie patterns, with traces of blood that even seawater could not wash away.

The Saint Island had been reached.

Su Yuan and his group quickly landed and, following the instructions of the Blood Soul True Monarch, began to clean the altar.

The day passed swiftly, and once the altar was spotless except for the lingering metallic scent of blood, the Blood Soul True Monarch placed the Crown of Corruption in the center of the altar.

Then, he ordered fresh blood to be poured continuously onto the Crown of Corruption.

This blood, once passing through the Crown of Corruption, seemed to gain spirituality, transforming into serpentine streams that swiftly spread across the patterns on the altar.

An eerie and malevolent sacrificial array was thus formed.

Then, the jade bracelet on the Blood Soul True Monarch flashed, and over 500,000 civilians poured out like a tide, covering half of the altar.

These villagers were all unconscious, their hands and feet bound, but their complexion barely appeared healthy.

For they were to serve as sacrifices, and if they were too emaciated, the effect would be unsatisfactory.