Chapter 1732: You see what this is?

Since this great hall housed the core of the island's protective formation, defenses were naturally not taken lightly. Numerous formations were set up both inside and outside the hall to ensure absolute security. This ensured that even if someone infiltrated the island, they would be unable to destroy the formation core in a short time once the hall's formations were activated.

Such rigorous defenses were in place, but they happened to encounter Lu Ye.

There were also five or six cultivators on duty in the hall. Though only in the Star Realm, which was nothing to Lu Ye, forcefully eliminating them would inevitably leave traces and alert others.

However, after he issued commands using Chu Zhu's identity, these few individuals immediately activated the hall's formations. As a hum resonated, the entire hall was enveloped by the formation, isolating it from the outside.

Lu Ye knew that the commotion here would surely alert other Moon Realm cultivators on the island. So, as soon as the grand formation was activated, he unhesitatingly opened the portal to the Small Flower Realm.

The several Star Realm cultivators from Baiyue were currently watching Lu Ye, awaiting his next command. To their surprise, a portal suddenly appeared out of thin air. This startled them, leaving them wondering what Uncle-Master Chu Zhu was doing.

The next moment, the portal rippled, and a figure stepped out—it was Ma Shangsi!

Lu Ye had taken him into the Small Flower Realm when approaching Baiyue Island. Now that action was beginning, it was naturally time to release him.

As the Baiyue Star Realm cultivators looked on in confusion, a crimson glow erupted in their vision, instantly filling the entire hall!

From the portal of the Small Flower Realm, cultivators continuously emerged, all from Three Realms Island.

After more than a hundred people had emerged, Lu Ye finally closed the portal and strode out.

The hall's formations remained active, but no one knew that everything inside had already been turned upside down.

Just as Lu Ye stepped out from the hall's formation barrier, a voice reached his ear: "Junior Brother, what are you doing?"

He knew that the commotion had indeed attracted the attention of the Baiyue Island Moon Realm cultivators. This was a telepathic inquiry.

As expected, it was impossible for his plan to proceed without any hitches. So, facing the inquiry, Lu Ye calmly replied, "When I returned, I noticed some anomalies in the grand formation's operation, so I'm conducting a brief inspection."

The voice didn't suspect anything, as it was indeed Chu Zhu's responsibility. It then said, "Junior Brother, please inspect it thoroughly. The grand formation is of utmost importance; we cannot afford to be careless."

"Understood!"

"Once you're done here, remember to come see me," the other party reminded him.

"Got it."

While conversing with the other party, Lu Ye swiftly made his way to the great hall housing the second formation core. The arrangements here were identical to the previous hall, with virtually no differences.

Lu Ye repeated the same method, quickly taking control of this hall from within, leaving behind Luan Xiao'e to lead over a hundred Star Realm cultivators to hide inside.

Next was the third hall, where the Three Realms cultivators led by Yan Miao were left.

When he arrived at the fourth great hall, Lu Ye's steps paused slightly, because a figure was clearly waiting ahead.

It was Liu Yu, a Moon Realm mid-stage cultivator. Although he was on Baiyue Island, he was not actually among the island's five main guardians.

His situation on Baiyue Island was the same as that of Tang Jun and Cheng Xin currently. Since he hadn't been registered, he couldn't participate in the Spirit Island contention battles.

But this didn't prevent him from staying on Baiyue Island.

Initially, Baiyue Island also had seven Moon Realm cultivators: five main guardians, plus Liu Yu and one other.

However, after Lu Ye killed one Moon Realm cultivator previously, another Moon Realm cultivator was registered under Yu Huan's guidance, replacing the deceased.

Liu Yu didn't need to be registered and could still play his role, because, like Chu Zhu, he also cultivated the path of formations. In terms of cultivation, he was inferior to Chu Zhu, but in terms of formation mastery, he was slightly more skilled than Chu Zhu. Thus, on Baiyue Island, he and Chu Zhu handled all matters concerning formations together, and it could even be said that he took the lead.

His presence here indicated that he had evidently heard something and had come specifically to investigate.

As expected, upon seeing Lu Ye, Liu Yu immediately asked, "Senior Brother, what's wrong with the grand formation's operation?"

"I'm still inspecting it, but I've already found some clues. Come, let me explain in detail!" Lu Ye stepped forward, put an arm around Liu Yu's shoulder, and walked towards the great hall.

Liu Yu immediately felt a bit uneasy, as Chu Zhu had never been so enthusiastic with him before. However, he didn't grow suspicious right away and was led into the hall by Lu Ye.

"Activate the hall's formations," Lu Ye commanded as usual.

Liu Yu looked puzzled. "If there's a problem with the island's protective grand formation, why activate the formations here?" There was absolutely no connection between the two. If one needed to inspect the island's grand formation, they only needed to check the situation at the formation core. This was common sense.

"Don't ask so many questions; you'll know in a moment. This problem is a bit tricky," Lu Ye spoke evasively.

Liu Yu, however, shook his head. "That's not right, Senior Brother. Doing so would hinder the inspection of the island's grand formation, and might even lead us to make incorrect judgments. Senior Brother, first tell me, what exactly is wrong with the island's grand formation?" In terms of formation mastery, he was superior to Chu Zhu, so he firmly believed Chu Zhu's current approach was flawed.

Lu Ye cast a sidelong glance at him and sighed softly.

"What's wrong?" Liu Yu was puzzled. He felt that Senior Brother Chu Zhu was acting strangely today, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what was off.

"Junior Brother, look at this." Lu Ye suddenly spoke, then reached out and grabbed something. A long saber suddenly appeared in his hand, held horizontally before Liu Yu.

Liu Yu stared at the Pan Mountain Saber, utterly bewildered. He couldn't follow Lu Ye's train of thought at all. Just as he was about to ask, a clang rang out, and a flash of saber light seemed to streak across his vision.

At such close range, and with Liu Yu having no defenses against Lu Ye whatsoever, how could a Moon Realm mid-stage cultivator withstand the sharpness of the Pan Mountain Saber?

A line of blood seeped from Liu Yu's neck. He vaguely realized what had happened, his eyes filled with terror and disbelief. He simply couldn't believe that Senior Brother Chu Zhu would actually attack him!

Perhaps it was a flash of insight just before death, or perhaps Lu Ye's action just now revealed a flaw. Liu Yu opened his mouth and bellowed, "You're not Chu Zhu!"

Along with his furious cry, his spiritual power surged, seemingly to send a warning. But the next moment, his head flew high, and blood gushed from his neck!

Inside the great hall, the few Star Realm cultivators on duty were dumbfounded. In that instant, Uncle-Master Chu Zhu had suddenly brutally attacked Uncle-Master Liu Yu. The latter was decapitated with a single saber strike before he could even react. Witnessing a Moon Realm cultivator tragically die before their eyes delivered an immense psychological and visual shock.

After Lu Ye decapitated Liu Yu with one strike, he took out his sound transmission talisman and sent a message. Only then did he turn expressionlessly to look at the few Star Realm cultivators.

The Star Realm cultivators trembled...

Almost the instant Liu Yu died, streams of divine sense from Baiyue Island spread towards this location, with the divine sense of four Moon Realm cultivators being the strongest.

The commotion of a Moon Realm cultivator's death was too obvious, so they immediately became aware of it. Especially since Liu Yu had shouted just before he died, which further made them understand the gravity of the situation!

In various secret chambers, the four Moon Realm guardians emerged almost simultaneously. However, before they could rush towards Lu Ye, the entire Baiyue Island suddenly hummed, and then the island's protective grand formation trembled several times, its light suddenly dimming considerably.

At this very moment, in the great hall where Lu Ye was, the few Star Realm cultivators on duty had already been slain. Even the formation core located there had been completely destroyed by Lu Ye in a short amount of time.

As he made his move, Ma Shangsi, Luan Xiao'e, and Yan Miao's three units, whom he had positioned in advance, also acted simultaneously. The formation cores within the other three great halls were destroyed.

The entire Baiyue Island's protective grand formation only had eight cores in total. Four of them were destroyed in one go. Although this hadn't completely shattered the grand formation, the impact caused was far from ordinary.

"How dare you, villain!" A furious roar erupted. Yu Huan, his hair bristling with rage, shot towards Lu Ye's location, arriving in an instant.

Not only was he approaching, but the other three Moon Realm guardians were also closing in.

Lu Ye briefly assessed the comparison between his own strength and that of his opponents. He still chose not to take risks. In a one-on-one fight, he feared no Moon Realm cultivator, but with four of them rushing him at once, he still needed to avoid their direct assault. Standing his ground, he coldly gazed in Yu Huan's direction and said indifferently, "This is merely interest. Since you chose to attack my Three Realms Island, you should have expected this day. Today, my cultivators from Three Realms Island will surely break your Baiyue Island!"

Yu Huan's eyes were bloodshot with rage. With a raise of his hand, an arrow-shaped artifact was unleashed. After a slight tremor, it shot towards Lu Ye with the speed of thunder and lightning.

However, just as this artifact's attack was about to reach him, spirit patterns suddenly appeared beneath Lu Ye's feet, and his entire body vanished into thin air.

Yu Huan stared in the direction where Lu Ye had vanished, momentarily stunned. He naturally saw that Lu Ye hadn't died, but he didn't know what method had allowed him to suddenly disappear.

Currently, on Baiyue Island, Liu Yu had been killed. Since the enemy dared to impersonate Chu Zhu, it meant Chu Zhu had likely also met with misfortune. With four formation cores destroyed, it was a crisis unprecedented in eight hundred years.

Moreover, he could sense that many enemies had appeared at the three great halls housing formation cores, and each hall was being presided over by an invading Moon Realm cultivator.

He couldn't figure out how so many people had infiltrated, but it was definitely related to the person who impersonated Chu Zhu, as that person had visited these three halls earlier.

Hearing Lu Ye declare his origin from Three Realms Island, Yu Huan's eyes blazed with intense hatred. He immediately took out a sound transmission talisman and sent a message: "You can act now. Three Realms Island has sent troops to ambush my Baiyue. They have deployed at least four Moon Realm cultivators and five hundred cultivators!"

Baiyue Island had been established here for eight hundred years, and naturally had many allies. The recipient of Yu Huan's message was one such ally, located near Three Realms Island and very interested in it. Baiyue had previously maintained extensive contact with this party.