Chapter 1505: Unmatched Island Changes

Under the effect of the mystical mist, Lu Ye could clearly feel his spiritual power being compressed and refined. This should be the source that allows a cultivator's spiritual power to transform into arcane power within their body. Once the spiritual power is completely converted into arcane power, the cultivator gains the qualification to advance to the Moon-Illumination realm.

Lu Ye had only recently advanced to the late Constellation realm and hadn't undergone any proper cultivation since his promotion. His marrow essence was far from being fully refined, indicating a long journey still ahead before reaching the Moon-Illumination realm.

However, if the spiritual power in his body could become more condensed, it would also benefit him. At the very least, the difficulty of advancing to the Moon-Illumination realm in the future would be significantly reduced.

Therefore, despite feeling the pressure, Lu Ye did not retreat but continued to ascend.

Step by step, Lu Ye ascended slowly.

It wasn't until a day later that Lu Ye finished the last dozen steps, reaching the highest point.

Before him stood the mystical stone cauldron. It wasn't large, only about the size of a water vat, and rested on the highest step.

Looking down, he could clearly see the peculiar mist emanating from within the cauldron. Just as he had thought, the stone cauldron was the source of the divine anomaly in this place.

He wrapped his arms around the stone cauldron and tried to lift it, but it didn't budge.

He couldn't help but exert more force, yet still couldn't move it even slightly.

Lu Ye couldn't help but feel curious. Observing from all sides, there seemed to be no adhesive connecting the cauldron to the steps; it simply rested there, yet for some reason, it appeared as if it had grown into the structure.

Unwilling to give up, he summoned his Dragon Seat and tried again, but still couldn't move it.

Lu Ye felt a slight disappointment. As expected, if this item could truly be moved, it probably wouldn't have been left here for so long; Ban Ci would have already figured out a way to take it.

Since the stone cauldron couldn't be moved, and the mystical mist it generated had been completely consumed with no idea when it would recover, there was no need to stay here any longer.

Lu Ye exited the cavern along the path he came, summoned his starship, ascertained his direction, and sped deeper into the starry sky.

They had come as two, but he was returning alone, which was regrettable. However, Ban Ci's original intention in inviting him was for protection, to prevent her from being disturbed while transforming her spiritual power here. Yet, such an accident had occurred.

The agreed-upon remuneration was likely out of the question now.

Fortunately, he had specifically recorded the route on his way here; otherwise, he wouldn't have known how to return at this point.

The journey there had taken less than three months, and the return trip took roughly the same amount of time.

The journey was dull and uneventful.

When Lu Ye returned to the Myriad Manifestation Sea and arrived at Peerless Island, he almost thought he had come to the wrong place. He took out his star map and carefully cross-referenced it, only then confirming that the spiritual island before him was indeed Peerless Island.

Compared to when he left half a year ago, Peerless Island had clearly undergone drastic changes.

Streets crisscrossed the spiritual island, and shops stood in rows. Cultivators frequently moved in and out. Although the scene wasn't as grand as a top-tier spiritual island like Myriad Manifestation Island, it was quite bustling.

Particularly outside one specific shop, cultivators had formed a long queue. What was strange, however, was that the shop's door was closed, clearly not open for business.

Lu Ye looked up at the shop's plaque, which displayed five large characters.

"Brotherhood Hall!"

Lu Ye immediately understood what the shop was selling.

Clearly, Chu Shen was implementing his previous plan: selling the Brotherhood Array Discs to gather popularity for Peerless Island. From the current results, it was undoubtedly very successful.

How numerous were the Constellation cultivators in the Myriad Manifestation Sea? Yet, there were few treasures that could significantly enhance a team's strength. The Brotherhood Array Disc was the most widely known. Although several top factions had started selling this item, their quantities were limited, and the prices were considerable.

It could be said that currently, any faction that displayed the array disc's signboard could quickly gather a large following. Those cultivators forming long queues were all there for this reason.

Peerless Island was clearly riding the wave. These cultivators, attracted by the array discs, became Peerless Island's popularity. With popularity, trade naturally followed, making it easy to attract major factions to establish shops on Peerless Island.

Currently, there were many shops on Peerless Island, though most were still vacant, with only a small number open for business. However, this was not a major issue. As long as Peerless Island's popularity could be maintained, and factions saw the potential here, they would proactively seek out Chu Shen for cooperation, even if he didn't approach them.

In just half a year, Peerless Island had clearly gotten on track. As long as this popularity could be sustained, fostering cooperative relationships with more factions, it would be difficult for anyone to covet this place in the future.

Throughout countless years in the Myriad Manifestation Sea, no spiritual island had ever risen so quickly. Peerless Island was truly a first of its kind.

Lu Ye also saw ferry ports at three different locations on Peerless Island. Cultivators arriving from outside had to pass through these ports to enter.

However, unlike Myriad Manifestation Island, Peerless Island was currently focused on gathering popularity, so the ferry ports had not yet started collecting spirit jade.

Naturally, Lu Ye did not need to enter via a ferry port. He possessed a Peerless Island token, identifying him as one of its residents, allowing him to pass directly through the protective array.

The moment he entered the grand array, Chu Shen, who was discussing cooperation with a group of faction representatives, sensed his arrival. His expression brightened with delight, but unable to excuse himself immediately, he could only quicken the pace of their discussion.

Having been away for half a year, Lu Ye noticed that the stellar energy on Peerless Island was much denser than when he left. Although it was still at the level of a medium-grade spiritual island, if this momentum continued, it should soon reach the level of a high-grade spiritual island.

By then, Peerless Island's intrinsic value would undoubtedly be much greater.

At this point, Lu Ye's original plan to use the Minor Constellation Palace to build a spiritual island had completely succeeded. However, what Peerless Island would ultimately become required further long-term observation.

A high-grade spiritual island was not far off, but whether it could transform into a top-tier spiritual island like Myriad Manifestation Island was unknown. This was because top-tier spiritual islands involved spirit jade veins, and Lu Ye was unsure if the Minor Constellation Palace could achieve that level.

Not rushing back to his cave, Lu Ye, with nothing else to do, leisurely browsed the various shops.

In the past, if he needed to buy anything, he would generally go to Myriad Manifestation Island. But in the future, if Peerless Island had enough shops and goods, it would be much more convenient for him to purchase whatever he desired.

After browsing for half a day, Lu Ye found that the shops on Peerless Island offered a wide variety of goods, already showing considerable promise. Of course, there was still a huge gap compared to Myriad Manifestation Island, but this was only the beginning. At the very least, Peerless Island could now provide everything cultivators needed for their daily cultivation and life.

Many cultivators were also buying and selling in the shops.

Peerless Island's own cultivators were patrolling around, maintaining peace on the island. With someone like Tang Jun, a Moon-Illumination realm cultivator in the mid-stage, stationed there, few would dare cause trouble, lest they invite unpleasantness upon themselves.

Therefore, although Peerless Island currently enjoyed good popularity, everything was orderly.

After wandering for a while, Lu Ye finally returned to his cave.

Thanks to Chu Shen's earlier planning, the latter half of Peerless Island was not open to the public, so it had always been peaceful here.

A moment later, Chu Shen excitedly ran over: "Big Brother!"

Lu Ye nodded slightly, praising him: "Well done!"

Chu Shen chuckled: "It's also largely thanks to your strong support, Big Brother!"

If Lu Ye hadn't been willing to let him stay here with Xiao Dai and Xiao Wai, he would have had no involvement with Peerless Island, let alone the fact that the island's current popularity was almost entirely gathered by the Brotherhood Array Discs.

Without the array discs provided by Lu Ye, Peerless Island would simply be a spiritual island. With the array discs, Chu Shen had the opportunity to transform Peerless Island into its current state.

Chu Shen didn't come to take credit; he merely wanted to report to Lu Ye on Peerless Island's development over the past six months.

Lu Ye wasn't interested in these details; he simply took out a storage ring and handed it to him.

On the way back, Lu Ye had done nothing else but deduce spirit patterns and refine array discs.

Chu Shen took it and examined it, his expression brightening with joy. Without any pretense, he happily put it away, then spoke: "Big Brother, although there's some income from selling array discs and from the shops right now, I'd like to retain these earnings to first develop Peerless Island. Once there's more income in the future, then we can share it. What do you think, Big Brother?"

"Peerless Island indeed needs funds right now. You can make the decisions yourself." Although Lu Ye needed to spend some spirit jade recently, the development of Peerless Island was undoubtedly more important.

"Then I'll proceed as I see fit!"

Lu Ye seemingly casually asked, "Has Ban Ci returned?"

Chu Shen replied, "She's back! I asked her earlier why she didn't return with you, and she said you were delayed by something."

Chu Shen knew that Ban Ci had left with Lu Ye; Ban Ci had specifically informed him when she departed.

Speaking of Ban Ci, Chu Shen lowered his voice: "Big Brother, what's Ban Ci's background? You were with her the whole way; did you inquire at all? Is she someone my mother sent?"

Lu Ye shook his head: "I don't know, and I didn't ask. If you want to know, you should ask her yourself."

Chu Shen grimaced: "It's hard to ask."

Lu Ye didn't know what he was distressed about and asked, "What about Puke?"

He hadn't detected Puke's aura. As for You Ling… that fellow had been sent to the mermaid territory and couldn't possibly return without Lu Ye leading him. But Puke, Lu Ye hadn't seen a trace of him and wondered what he had been up to.

Chu Shen's expression was a little strange: "Senior Brother Puke seems to be evading disaster!"

"Evading what disaster?" Lu Ye asked, puzzled.

Chu Shen said, "Senior Brother Puke has a betrothal from birth. Not long ago, his fiancée's family came looking for him, and then Senior Brother Puke ran off!"

Lu Ye was astonished, thinking: *Is Puke's betrothed from birth perhaps very ugly? Otherwise, why would he run?*