Chapter 1487: The Unfriendly Visitor

Novel

"Strange, truly strange!" Ghost scratched her head, looking puzzled. No matter how she looked at it, Li Taibai and Fa Wuzun seemed almost identical, apart from their appearance and voice. That's why she made that judgment, but it turned out they weren't the same person!

Could there really be two such similar people in this world?

"Anything else?" Lu Ye looked at her.

Ghost shook her head. She didn't have anything specific in mind; she was just curious about who had set up the restrictions here.

Lu Ye gestured with his hand, indicating she was free to go.

Ghost pouted, then turned to leave. After a few steps, she suddenly remembered something and looked back, saying, "Oh, by the way, I also called Pork. He's quite pitiable; he hasn't been able to return home for years and has been wandering around. Wushuang Island is good. If he can stay here, he'll finally have a home in this vast Myriad Manifestation Sea."

After Ghost finished speaking, she departed. Lu Ye was a little surprised that she had called Pork.

Lu Ye had previously considered inviting Pork to Wushuang Island. The island was short on people, and Pork was quite strong. If he came, he would certainly enhance Wushuang Island's foundation. However, Lu Ye's identity here was somewhat special, making it inconvenient to act openly. Most importantly, he wasn't sure if Pork would be willing to come.

Pork and Chu Shen were arguably his only two close friends in the Myriad Manifestation Star System. However, Lu Ye wasn't very clear about Pork's background and origins; he only knew from past interactions that the man came from an extraordinary background. Someone of such unusual origins would typically have a place to settle in the Myriad Manifestation Sea, usually belonging to a certain faction. Yet, Pork had always been alone, which seemed strange.

Now there was no need to dwell on it. Ghost had called Pork, and if Pork was willing to come, that would be for the best. If not, Lu Ye wouldn't need to make futile attempts.

On another deserted island, less than half a day's journey from Wushuang Island, the clone sat. Ever since he instructed Ghost to go to Wushuang Island, Lu Ye had anticipated that Ghost would suspect his identity. Therefore, he had arranged for his clone to wait discreetly there, holding Fa Wuzun's sound talisman. As expected, Ghost wanted to use the talisman to determine if Lu Ye was Fa Wuzun.

While others couldn't use such sound talismans, a clone could. This way, Ghost's suspicions could be dispelled.

Inside the cave, shortly after Ghost left, Chu Shen arrived again, delivering some rather bad news to Lu Ye.

"Senior Brother, Wushuang Island might be attacked!"

"As expected," Lu Ye nodded.

Once a Spirit Island appears, it is bound to be coveted, especially since Wushuang Palace was just starting out and appeared relatively weak, making it even more appealing.

As the saying goes, "an innocent man is guilty only when he possesses a treasure." When a faction's strength is insufficient to occupy a Spirit Island, it's only natural for others to try and seize it. Lu Ye had anticipated this. After all, Spirit Islands were extremely valuable in the Myriad Manifestation Sea. While others might not realize Wushuang Island was already a medium-grade Spirit Island, even if it were merely a low-grade one, it would still attract countless contenders.

Because in the eyes of cultivators, a Spirit Island is a place for cultivation that can save a lot of cultivation resources. Especially recently, several factions had sent people to openly and covertly investigate the situation around Wushuang Island, clearly probing its strength. He had brought Tang Jun here early, precisely to guard against this moment. A Spirit Island with a Moon-Glow realm cultivator guarding it has incomparable self-preservation capabilities compared to one without.

"What do you plan to do?" Lu Ye asked.

"Of course, we'll defend the island. Anyone who dares to try and seize it will be killed!" Chu Shen's expression was stern.

He was determined to achieve something, and Wushuang Island was arguably his biggest and best opportunity, so he naturally wouldn't let go easily.

"But it seems you can't rely on the power from the Chime Realm!"

Chu Shen replied, "That's fine. The news that Wushuang Island is becoming active cannot be hidden now. However, the more respectable major factions care about their reputation. Some factions have approached me before, trying to recruit us, but I refused them all. So, these factions won't act recklessly. Currently, those eager to attack Wushuang Island are mostly minor factions."

These factions generally lacked suitable strongholds in the Myriad Manifestation Sea. Seeing Wushuang Island becoming active, they naturally got ideas, like hungry dogs fighting over scraps—even a bone with little meat would tempt them. Therefore, even if a faction were to attack Wushuang Island, their overall strength wouldn't be too formidable.

This was also why Chu Shen decided to defend the island. If major factions truly intended to attack Wushuang Island, Wushuang Palace, with its current strength, couldn't possibly hold it. Furthermore, those major factions might not be unaware of Chu Shen's background. It would certainly not be worth offending a powerful individual like Jiuyan just for a Spirit Island.

Only those insignificant factions, completely unaware of Chu Shen's identity, would harbor such inappropriate intentions. "Tang Jun's presence on Wushuang Island is not a secret. If they dare to act, they must have the power to restrain Tang Jun. We still need to be careful."

Chu Shen said, "I know. But my mother used to tell me that, aside from certain major powers, factions in the Myriad Manifestation Sea rarely have late-stage Moon-Glow realm cultivators stationed there. That's because anyone who cultivates to the late Moon-Glow realm is entirely focused on researching how to advance to the Sun-Glow realm; they don't have time to be stationed in the Myriad Manifestation Sea. So, most Moon-Glow realm cultivators guarding factions in the Myriad Manifestation Sea are early or mid-stage. Elder Tang Jun has mid-stage Moon-Glow cultivation. If the enemy wants to restrain him, they would need to dispatch either one mid-stage cultivator or two early-stage ones. This way, the pressure we face will be much less."

Lu Ye nodded. "Since you have a plan, go ahead and execute it. But don't overexert yourselves. If the disparity in strength is truly too great, giving up Wushuang Island is not a problem."

Without Wushuang Island, he could always create another Spirit Island; it would just mean starting over.

"I know, but Senior Brother, I'd also like to ask for some support from you!"

Lu Ye remained silent, simply taking out some formation plates and handing them to Chu Shen.

Chu Shen happily accepted them, "Thank you, Big Brother!"

This guy was now too lazy to even hide it...

Two days later, Pork, invited by Ghost, arrived at Wushuang Island. Ghost's message had been vague, and it wasn't until Pork entered Wushuang Island that he discovered its extraordinary nature. He was even more astonished when he heard that this Spirit Island had been nothing but a deserted island just two months prior.

Realizing Wushuang Island's immense future potential, Pork immediately decided to stay. For him, ordinary Spirit Islands held no appeal, but Wushuang Island was different; he wanted to see for himself what this revived Spirit Island would become. Of course, there was another reason: its proximity to Fishing Island. Once the fish dormancy period passed and the White Spirits returned, it would be very convenient for him to go fishing again.

Upon learning that Li Taibai was actually here, he happily came to visit.

Inside the cave, Lu Ye warmly received him. After some casual conversation, Ghost also came over to join in, recounting how she had mistakenly thought Li Taibai was Fa Wuzun, finding it utterly hilarious.

As the three were chatting, a sudden hum resonated from outside. A loud sound echoed across Wushuang Island, making their eardrums vibrate. The three exchanged glances and swiftly darted out of the cave. Looking up, they saw a dense crowd of at least a hundred people hovering in the air outside Wushuang Island's protective formation.

Leading them were a man and a woman, both at the Moon-Glow realm of cultivation. The man, in particular, was surprisingly a mid-stage Moon-Glow cultivator. He stood with his hands behind his back, coldly looking down.

On Wushuang Island, the Wushuang Palace cultivators, startled by the commotion, had all emerged. They now gathered together, looking nervously at the newcomers.

Comparing their respective lineups, Wushuang Palace was clearly at a significant disadvantage. Not only was there a large disparity in numbers, but their overall strength was also incomparable. The opponents had two Moon-Glow realm cultivators, while Wushuang Palace had only one. The opponents had nearly a hundred Constellation realm cultivators, with almost ten in the late stage and half of the rest in the mid-stage. Wushuang Palace had just over twenty people, almost all early-stage Constellation cultivators.

Chu Shen had told Lu Ye two days prior that Wushuang Island was likely to be attacked, so seeing this scene now was no surprise. Currently, anyone coveting Wushuang Island wouldn't be too strong. If they couldn't handle even such a small-scale confrontation, how could Wushuang Island establish itself in the Myriad Manifestation Sea in the future?

Standing at the front of the crowd, Chu Shen loudly shouted with full authority, "Who are you?"

The mid-stage Moon-Glow cultivator leading the opposing group slowly spoke, "Nanhang Zhen of Koi Island!"

Chu Shen, in a casual manner, didn't hold back with his words: "What rubbish Koi Island? Never heard of it. What brings you here? And why did you trigger Wushuang Island's protective formation?"

Knowing the visitors were hostile, there was no need for politeness. Moreover, their immediate activation of the grand formation, which caused that immense sound, was quite arrogant. Nanhang Zhen paid no mind, calmly stating, "We are naturally here for important business. May I ask who is in charge of your island? Please step forward to discuss!" While he spoke, his eyes were fixed on Tang Jun, likely assuming Tang Jun was the person in charge of Wushuang Island. This was a reasonable assumption, as among a group of Constellation realm cultivators, the sole Moon-Glow realm cultivator would naturally be the leader.

Chu Shen exclaimed, "Old man, you must be blind! I am speaking to you, and you still ask who's in charge! I am the Island Master of Wushuang Island, the Palace Master of Wushuang Palace!"

Nanhang Zhen frowned, clearly surprised. He turned to a nearby Constellation cultivator and transmitted a question. After the cultivator briefly answered, Nanhang Zhen nodded slightly, seemingly confirming Chu Shen's identity. He then looked at Chu Shen and said, "Since you are the Island Master of Wushuang Island, I will be direct. My Koi Island has taken a liking to this Spirit Island and intends to take residence here. I ask you, young friend, to relinquish it!"