Chapter 1618: Jin Got a Fake Yueyao?

Lu Ye then inquired further about Unrivalled Island. Hua Qianying, having run her shop there continuously, was likely to know something about the Heavenly Flame Merchant Guild's attack on the island.

According to Hua Qianying, the Heavenly Flame Merchant Guild attacked Unrivalled Island just three months ago. Before that, rumors had already circulated on the island, but as an outsider, she couldn't verify their authenticity.

Then, one day three months ago, the Heavenly Flame Merchant Guild suddenly launched a full-scale assault. Although Unrivalled Island resisted fiercely, it was ultimately overwhelmed due to the vast disparity in strength. Its defensive formation was breached, and Unrivalled Island changed hands.

"Don't worry, Senior Brother Li, the Island Lord is fine. He didn't sustain even a scratch from beginning to end, and no one on the island died. At most, they were injured, though Elder Tang's injuries seem quite severe," Hua Qianying reassured Lu Ye.

Tang Jun was the sole Moon Realm cultivator on Unrivalled Island. As this island served as the base for cultivators from the Three Realms in the Myriad Manifestations Sea, Tang Jun fought desperately in that battle, even knowing defeat was inevitable. The Heavenly Flame Merchant Guild wouldn't harm Chu Shen because of Jiuyan, but Tang Jun, an outsider Moon Realm cultivator with no powerful connections, would receive no mercy. Indeed, if Chu Shen hadn't intervened at a crucial moment, Tang Jun would likely have been killed instantly!

"Do you know where they've gone now?" Lu Ye asked.

Hua Qianying shook her head: "After Unrivalled Island was captured, the Island Lord left with his close companions. I don't know where they went."

Lu Ye felt relieved. If Chu Shen had led the people away, they must have returned to the Chime Bell Realm.

Hua Qianying didn't know much. After asking a few questions, Lu Ye realized he would have to make a trip to the Chime Bell Realm to understand the full story.

He immediately stood up and bid farewell.

Hua Qianying didn't try to keep him. She proactively exchanged sound-transmission imprints with Lu Ye and gave him a box of spiritual tea.

Lu Ye took it, then headed towards the ferry and quickly left Heavenly Derivation Island.

Returning to the desolate island where the cultivators from the Three Realms were staying, he found everyone still waiting quietly.

He found Luan Xiao'e and told her about the changes on Unrivalled Island. Luan Xiao'e's expression changed, and she asked, "Is Tang Jun alright?"

Currently, she was the only Moon Realm cultivator among the cultivators from the Three Realms. Even being a late-stage Moon Realm cultivator, she felt somewhat unsupported. If Tang Jun could still contribute, she would have someone to share the burden. But if Tang Jun were gone, the weight on her shoulders would become much heavier.

There was also Yaya, but the Myriad Manifestations Sea had its own rules. It was fine if Yaya maintained her usual harmless demeanor, but if she revealed her Sun Realm cultivation here, she would certainly be expelled. Therefore, Yaya could not be considered a reserve force in such a place.

"Old Tang isn't dead. He should be injured and went with Chu Shen to the Chime Bell Realm," Lu Ye said.

Luan Xiao'e felt much relieved then.

"I need to make a trip to the Chime Bell Realm," Lu Ye stated.

"You go ahead. I'll take care of things here."

Lu Ye glanced at the idle cultivators from the Three Realms, then thought for a moment and said, "Have everyone travel in groups and get familiar with this place. They don't need to stay here constantly."

Since they had come to the Myriad Manifestations Sea, they would eventually have to integrate into it. Exploring around would help them familiarize themselves more quickly. Lu Ye had spent his time this way when he first came alone. Now, with nearly three hundred cultivators from the Three Realms, things wouldn't be worse than they were for him back then.

At the very least, Lu Ye wasn't too worried about cultivators originating from the Nine Provinces.

"That's good," Luan Xiao'e nodded.

After some thought, Lu Ye added, "Also, find a larger desolate island; its location doesn't matter."

Luan Xiao'e didn't know what he intended, but she agreed.

Lu Ye departed. The cultivators from the Three Realms, having received Luan Xiao'e's instructions, immediately formed groups and began wandering around the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

Leaving the Myriad Manifestations Sea, Lu Ye headed directly towards the Chime Bell Realm. Although they were in the same star system, the journey to the Chime Bell Realm would still take ten days to half a month.

He hadn't gone far from the Myriad Manifestations Sea when his sound-transmission talisman suddenly vibrated. Lu Ye initially thought Luan Xiao'e was contacting him for something, but when he picked it up, he was surprised to see it wasn't Luan Xiao'e, but that fellow, Ghost!

There was no other information in the talisman, just a single sentence.

"Are you dead, are you dead, are you dead yet?"

Lu Ye's eyelids drooped slightly. Ghost was asking for trouble!

He wasn't inclined to respond, but after a slight pause, he replied, "What is it?"

The next moment, the talisman responded again: "Li Taibai, you're back?"

Clearly, Ghost had sent that message many times before. Unfortunately, Lu Ye hadn't been in the Myriad Manifestations Sea previously, so Ghost couldn't reach him and naturally received no reply.

However, the fact that Ghost's message came through right after Lu Ye returned indicated that she had been continuously trying to contact him, perhaps once every few days. Otherwise, it couldn't have been such a coincidence.

"Speak your mind!"

Ghost replied, "I have something very important to tell you. Don't go to Unrivalled Island yet." She then gave Lu Ye a meeting location.

Lu Ye thought for a moment, then took out his star map to check the exact location. Finding it wasn't far from his current position, he piloted his star-vessel towards it.

Less than half a day later, Lu Ye arrived at a massive floating landmass suspended in the starry sky. This landmass, enormous in size, was presumably the remnant of a shattered star.

From a distance, he saw no one there, indicating Ghost hadn't arrived yet. Lu Ye flashed onto the landmass and waited quietly.

Few cultivators passed through this location because it wasn't a necessary route to the Myriad Manifestations Sea. Unless they had specific destinations, most cultivators wouldn't come here.

After an unknown period, Lu Ye, who had been sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes. His pupils, imbued with insightful spiritual runes, focused on a particular direction as he remained silent.

At the same time, he softly called out in his Spiritual Sea: "Li Shang!"

Li Shang, having already received his instructions, immediately cast the Soul Attachment technique without hesitation.

The next instant, Lu Ye surged forward, lunging directly towards that direction. Before he even reached the spot, the Mountainbreaker Blade was unsheathed, and a faint voice resonated: "Have you forgotten that I've observed your Concealment and Aura-Sifting Devil Runes?"

As he finished speaking, the long blade slashed down. The faint roar of a beast could be heard as immense blade intent converged, forming a wide, gaping maw with bared fangs.

In the seemingly empty space, a ghostly figure abruptly materialized. It was none other than Ghost. She calmly watched Lu Ye, her short blade lightly slashing towards him, a triumphant smile on her face. "So what if you found me? The gap in our strength is like heaven and earth now!"

With that slash came a surge of spiritual power. Ghost had evidently advanced to the Moon Realm!

Lu Ye wasn't surprised, because when he brought Ghost out from the Merfolk clan back then, she was already preparing to advance to the Moon Realm.

Given Ghost's talent and foundation, her advancement was almost a certainty after all these years.

The reason Lu Ye acted decisively the moment he detected Ghost's arrival was that he knew Ghost wouldn't be polite with him. During their Star Realm days, Ghost had suffered many defeats at his hands. Ghost had even vowed that once she advanced to the Moon Realm, Lu Ye would be the first to "teach him a lesson"!

Unfortunately, by the time she returned after advancing to the Moon Realm, Lu Ye had already set off for the Nine Provinces and only recently came back. This prevented her from avenging her past humiliation. Later, she learned from Chu Shen that Lu Ye had returned to his homeland and would only be back after several years.

However, even though Lu Ye had observed her devil runes, Ghost was still somewhat surprised that her presence as a Moon Realm cultivator was so easily detected. She had originally planned to teach Lu Ye a lesson and show him the disparity in their strengths, but that plan had instantly fallen apart.

Ghost wasn't flustered. A Moon Realm cultivator against a Star Realm cultivator was a foregone conclusion. Even if her stealth was compromised and she couldn't utilize her ghost cultivator advantages, she didn't believe Lu Ye would be her match in a direct confrontation.

As she finished speaking, her short blade clashed with the long blade. Ghost was about to enjoy seeing Lu Ye's spiritual energy crumble and him being in disarray, but her expression turned to astonishment. Although she had broken through Lu Ye's ferocious blade momentum, what followed was wave after wave of blade energy. A surging sea of blades crashed towards her like a furious tide; one wave shattered, only for another to follow, and another after that.

Contrary to her expectation, the scene of her lifelong rival being effortlessly defeated did not materialize at all.

For a moment, Ghost wondered if she had advanced to a "fake" Moon Realm!

Furthermore, the furious power transmitted from Lu Ye's long blade also shocked her; it simply shouldn't belong to a Star Realm cultivator!

Unbeknownst to her, Lu Ye's strength had significantly increased after Li Shang's soul attachment.

Originally, she hadn't intended to seriously harm Lu Ye, merely wanting to teach him a lesson and get revenge for the humiliations she suffered at his hands back then. She was using less than 40% of her full strength.

But now that their powers clashed, Ghost realized that 40% of her strength was not enough to subdue Lu Ye.

Without hesitation, her fierce spiritual power erupted, shattering the waves of blades.

This was a result of the different natures of spiritual power and spiritual energy. To compare, one was water, and the other was ice.

However, the moment the sea of blades shattered, a great sun suddenly burst forth, its dazzling light almost blinding Ghost.

The great sun bloomed like a lotus, its petals formed by incredibly sharp blade energy, engulfing Ghost within.

Although Ghost felt these blade energies wouldn't truly harm her, she instinctively retreated a step.

As she took that step, Lu Ye's figure suddenly lunged forward, his long blade, like a spinning moon, slashed down fiercely.

Ghost met it with the short blade in her hand, parrying the strike. Her arm jolted violently. Even though she had already felt the ferocity of Lu Ye's power earlier, this impact was still shocking.

She truly couldn't understand how a Star Realm cultivator could possess such profound power. She herself was formidable; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to leave her name in the Star Realm Hall, and at such a high rank. Yet, comparatively, when they were both in the Star Realm, she might not have been able to exert even half of his strength.

Ghost's expression turned serious. Just as she was about to make a concerted effort to subdue Lu Ye, she saw Lu Ye's figure suddenly rotate. The long blade she had parried slashed down once more, and this time, its momentum was even more ferocious.