Chapter 1622: Have I Offended Your Mother?

Throughout history, it has been observed that barren islands in the Myriad Forms Sea occasionally come alive, while spiritual islands sometimes wither. However, spiritual islands that awaken for unknown reasons have, at most, only ever ascended to the rank of high-grade spiritual islands. Such instances are exceedingly rare, and there has never been a case of a barren island transforming into a top-grade spiritual island after awakening.

The transformation of Unrivaled Island into a top-grade spiritual island is unprecedented. Top-grade spiritual islands are incredibly few throughout the Myriad Forms Sea; when this news spread, what faction wouldn't be tempted?

A top-grade spiritual island is comparable to a top-grade realm; both can produce spirit jade lodes, differing only in scale. A top-grade realm might have multiple spirit jade lodes, while a top-grade spiritual island typically has only one. Despite this, many were eager to act.

Everyone knew that Unrivaled Island's overt power wasn't strong. However, due to Chu Shen's background, external forces coveting the island found it difficult to make a move.

While external forces hesitated, local powers had fewer reservations. In fact, when Unrivaled Island first ascended to a high-grade spiritual island, many local powers already wanted a share from Chu Shen. Ostensibly, Chu Shen's background was only Nine-Colors, but ultimately, as a cultivator from the Myriad Forms Star System, he was supported by all the Sun-Illuminators of the entire star system.

The Sun-Illuminators didn't care about paltry gains, but when the potential profits were substantial, they couldn't remain indifferent. Since they allowed Chu Shen to leverage their reputation, they naturally felt entitled to some benefits from him.

Therefore, some wanted to deploy personnel to Unrivaled Island, including not only Constellations but also Moon-Glows. They claimed Unrivaled Island, having grown, should possess corresponding self-defense capabilities. In reality, they aimed to gain partial control over the island through this method.

If Unrivaled Island truly belonged to Chu Shen alone, he might have agreed. He wasn't unreasonable; he knew he had implicitly used the prestige of many Sun-Illuminators from his star system, and sharing some benefits was entirely justifiable.

However, Unrivaled Island wasn't just his. Moreover, he knew that Lu Ye would return from his homeland with a group of people, who would undoubtedly need to be settled on Unrivaled Island, naturally bolstering its self-defense capabilities.

If he arranged for sufficient personnel now, what would happen to the people Lu Ye brought back later?

He wouldn't be able to explain it to his elder brother then. Thus, Chu Shen had no choice but to refuse. Although this displeased many Myriad Forms Sun-Illuminators, out of respect for Nine-Colors, they ultimately couldn't bring themselves to truly pressure a junior.

This continued until the news of Unrivaled Island becoming a top-grade spiritual island spread. The Sun-Illuminators of the star system could no longer stand by. Although the Myriad Forms Sea is within the Myriad Forms Star System, their star system had always controlled only one top-grade spiritual island: Myriad Forms Island.

It wasn't that the Myriad Forms Star System didn't want more top-grade spiritual islands; rather, other factions controlling such islands had very powerful backgrounds, making it difficult for their star system to offend them lightly.

Now that they finally had an opportunity to secure a second top-grade spiritual island, how could they miss it? Because of this, the Myriad Forms Sun-Illuminators held an in-depth discussion. They even invited Nine-Colors, explained the pros and cons to her, and asked her to intervene and have Chu Shen transfer Unrivaled Island's jurisdiction to the Myriad Forms Star System.

Nine-Colors, of course, would not agree. How could her son, who had developed a flourishing spiritual island, simply hand it over?

It is said that the Myriad Forms Star System's Sun-Illuminators were extremely displeased on that occasion. However, some matters couldn't be stopped by Nine-Colors' disagreement alone. After all, Nine-Colors was only one person and couldn't represent the entire star system. The decision to reclaim Unrivaled Island and make it common property of the Myriad Forms Star System was thus finalized.

After that, cultivators from the star system continuously approached Chu Shen, reasoning with him and appealing to his emotions. Chu Shen didn't refuse directly but played for time. He wanted to stall until Lu Ye returned, ensuring that even if Unrivaled Island was lost, it wouldn't be lost under his watch.

However, those coveting Unrivaled Island gradually lost patience. Seeing Chu Shen's complete lack of sincerity, they resorted to force!

In the Myriad Forms Sea, seizing spiritual islands is a common occurrence and not considered unusual. A battle for control of the spiritual island thus began!

Unfortunately, Unrivaled Island's overall strength was too weak. Even though Lu Ye had spent a fortune to set up a defensive array years ago, it couldn't withstand the invaders.

With Unrivaled Island's strength, many factions could have conquered it. However, no one dared to do so because it would be a slap in the face to the Myriad Forms Star System, and no one wanted to offend the local powers where they intended to make a living.

But if the Myriad Forms Star System itself carried out the conquest, there would be no issue.

"Unrivaled Island was lost just like that, along with several years of profits," Chu Shen said with a somber expression. The battle itself wasn't too intense; Chu Shen wasn't even attacked, merely captured and restrained by a Moon-Glow.

Most cultivators recruited by Unrivaled Island, knowing the truth of the battle, didn't offer much resistance. Only one person resisted fiercely: Tang Jun!

Old Tang knew that Unrivaled Island was the foothold for cultivators from the Jade Snail Star System. If it was lost, even if cultivators from the Jade Snail Star System arrived, they would have no promising future. Therefore, in that battle, he truly fought to the death, disregarding his own life. He wasn't fighting for his personal pride but for the future of cultivators from the Three Realms!

"I've never seen Elder Tang like that..." Chu Shen sighed. Old Tang had always seemed amicable to him, spending his days on Unrivaled Island drinking and enjoying himself, like a wealthy idler. Who would have thought that at Unrivaled Island's most critical moment, this seemingly idle old man would fight with the most ferocity!

Unfortunately, his strength was ultimately insufficient; several of his magical artifacts were shattered, and he himself was severely wounded. The invaders wouldn't trouble Chu Shen, but why would they care about an old Moon-Glow like Tang Jun, who had no significant backing?

So many people died in the Myriad Forms Sea each year that one more Tang Jun made little difference, and one less was hardly noticeable. Especially given Tang Jun's desperate fighting stance, it only further ignited the invaders' killing intent.

Influenced by Tang Jun, Xiao Dai and Xiao Wai, who had followed Chu Shen earlier, also fought desperately. Ultimately, it was Chu Shen's intervention that saved their lives, though not without a price.

The profits from Unrivaled Island over the past few years became their ransom!

"How much?" Lu Ye asked.Chu Shen replied bitterly, "About sixty million spirit jades." Lu Ye silently calculated: Tang Jun, Xiao Dai, Xiao Wai, Cai Xing, Cai Yue, and Lucky Star – exactly six people. This ransom was indeed expensive, averaging ten million spirit jades per person.

However... it was good that they were alive. Spirit jades could be re-earned, but if people died, everything would be lost.

"What about Ghost? She should have been a Moon-Glow by then. Did she not participate?" Lu Ye asked.Chu Shen replied, "She did participate, but Senior Sister Ghost had only recently advanced to Moon-Glow, so she couldn't exert much influence. She was continuously entangled by another Moon-Glow and couldn't break free."

"Was Puke there then?" Chu Shen shook his head. "There's been no news from Senior Brother Puke since he left that year." Lu Ye understood. Puke had said goodbye to him when he left back then and likely hadn't returned since. He wondered how Puke was doing now and if he had managed to avoid the arranged marriage with Ruan Tu.

That girl, by the way, aside from her slightly cold demeanor, had a good figure and appearance, and she was a Moon-Glow. He wondered what Puke was running from.

"How is Old Tang now?" Chu Shen said, "Elder Tang's injuries haven't fully healed, but he should be fine. He'll recover after some more rest. However, the Unrivaled Island incident seems to have hit him hard; he's been a bit down lately. Would Elder Brother like to visit him?" He definitely needed to visit. Although Old Tang didn't play a huge role in that battle and almost died, his backbone was admirable.

Now he understood the full story behind Unrivaled Island's change, which was somewhat similar to what he had guessed.

However, Lu Ye hadn't expected the Mini-Constellation Palace's power to be so immense. When he first placed it, he specifically controlled its output, keeping the rate at which it transformed the Myriad Forms Sea water at a moderate level. He was surprised it had transformed Unrivaled Island into a top-grade spiritual island so quickly.

"There are a few more things I want to ask you," Lu Ye said, after some thought.

"Please speak freely, Elder Brother," Chu Shen said, looking at him seriously. Lu Ye hesitated, but eventually couldn't resist asking, "Did I offend your mother somehow?" Chu Shen was startled. "Elder Brother, why do you say that?" He then asked, "Have you met my mother?" Lu Ye shook his head. He had indeed never met Nine-Colors.

"If you haven't met her, how could you offend her? Besides, my mother just said that Elder Brother is principled and a trustworthy person." Lu Ye asked curiously, "Your mother said that?"

"Absolutely." That was strange then. If Nine-Colors considered him trustworthy, why did she make things so difficult for him just now?

Regardless, a visitor is always a guest. Even if not treated with utmost courtesy, there was no need for such behavior. But he couldn't ask Nine-Colors directly.

"Elder Brother, did my mother send you a message or something?" Chu Shen misunderstood and quickly asked.

"No, Senior Nine-Colors didn't say anything to me." Chu Shen looked at him suspiciously, uncertain if he believed him.

This matter was perplexing. Lu Ye was certain that Nine-Colors was behind the recent experience; no one else in this Chime Realm had that ability.

"Also..." Lu Ye started again, "Is Ban Ci from your Chime Realm?"

"No," Chu Shen said, surprised, wondering why Lu Ye kept asking such strange questions today. "Our Chime Realm..."