Chapter 1734: Playing Mind Games with Skypiea

The Yueyaos who went to watch the battle all wanted to know who was challenging Baiyue Island this time, and what their chances of victory were. Or was it just a rash act sparked by someone's impulsive decision?

Meanwhile, on Myriad Manifestations Island, inside a temporary palace, Yuan Cheng, the Starry God whom Tang Jun had previously met, stood respectfully in a vast, empty hall, head bowed, reporting the information he had gathered.

After a long moment, a voice emerged from the depths of the hall: "Overestimating themselves. Let them stir up trouble!"

"Yes!" Yuan Cheng responded, bowing and retreating. Hearing the ancestor's words, he realized there was no concern about Baiyue Island. If the ancestor wasn't worried, why should he be? The ancestor hadn't even considered using divine sense to investigate the situation on Baiyue Island.

No wonder the ancestor looked down on the Three Realms cultivators. They were indeed from a remote and desolate place, short-sighted and arrogant, truly believing that a high-grade spiritual island could be easily conquered. After suffering a major loss this time, they would surely learn their lesson.

Five hundred li away in another direction from Baiyue Island, two figures stood side by side. These were the first two Yueyaos to arrive after the battle erupted.

They were none other than cultivators from Sifang Island: Zhou Chuang, who had only recently parted ways with Lu Ye, and Kang Cheng from the Wuding Star System. Two other Yueyaos from the Sifang Star System had not arrived, not because they didn't want to, but because someone needed to stay and guard their home. If everyone left, their base might be raided, and Sifang Island was only a medium-grade spiritual island with a defensive formation that wasn't particularly strong.

The rapid spread of news about the battle on Baiyue Island was partly due to Sifang Island's covert efforts, which Lu Ye had specifically asked Zhou Chuang to help with.

Because only by having more Yueyaos witness the battle and see firsthand how Baiyue Island was conquered would the world recognize the might of Three Realms Island, thus allowing Three Realms cultivators to establish themselves there in the future!

Lu Ye believed that one such battle would be enough.

Therefore, the bigger the commotion, the more advantageous it would be for their side.

Five hundred li apart, Kang Cheng and Zhou Chuang stared in stunned disbelief, both wearing incredulous expressions. Kang Cheng's eye twitched uncontrollably as he asked in astonishment, "How did they do that?"

As he observed, Baiyue Island's island-protecting formation was clearly damaged, its defenses significantly weakened, and chaos reigned within. At least three locations were experiencing intense combat.

This undoubtedly indicated that Three Realms Island had already penetrated the island without completely breaching the island-protecting formation; otherwise, such a situation wouldn't occur.

"I don't know," Zhou Chuang replied, shaking his head.

Kang Cheng looked at Zhou Chuang, speechless. "How can you not know? You were clearly working with Lu Yiye earlier."

Zhou Chuang truly didn't know; he simply couldn't comprehend the current situation, as he had only recently separated from Lu Ye.

How exactly was this accomplished?

Although he had previously assisted Lu Ye in killing Chu Zhu, what did Chu Zhu's death have to do with the current situation? Surely Lu Ye couldn't have impersonated Chu Zhu and infiltrated Baiyue Island?

How foolish would the cultivators on Baiyue Island have to be to allow a disguised Yueyao to infiltrate? Furthermore, with a grand formation covering the island, even if Lu Ye possessed disguise abilities, infiltration wouldn't be easy.

Even if, by some stretch, Lu Ye had infiltrated that way, how did he bring others in?

No one could explain these inconceivable events. The only thing Kang Cheng and Zhou Chuang knew was that Baiyue Island was in deep trouble this time.

With the enemy having breached its interior, the advantage of the island-protecting formation was completely lost. Both sides' cultivators could only contend within the island. Regardless of whether Three Realms Island suffered losses, Baiyue Island was sure to be severely weakened after this battle!

Figures swiftly streaked in from all directions, all standing hundreds of li away, observing from afar. These were individuals who had received the news and quickly arrived to watch the battle. They were secretly alarmed, wondering why, so soon after the battle began, the conflict had already escalated to internal island combat.

Soon, a large contingent of cultivators appeared in the observers' sight. Leading them was a late-stage Yueyao. Behind him, twenty Tiger Shark warships sailed in formation, followed by nearly a hundred different battle formations, charging towards Baiyue Island with an overwhelming momentum, as if devouring the world.

"It's the people from Three Realms Island!" someone exclaimed.

At such a critical moment, only cultivators belonging to the warring factions would converge and rush into the battlefield; others had no right to participate.

The reason they knew these were people from Three Realms Island was because the Sifang Star System had subtly exposed Three Realms Island while spreading the news, also revealing the feud between Three Realms Island and Baiyue Island, informing everyone of the battle's origins.

Three Realms Island had recently gained some renown because it was another desolate island that had come back to life and transformed into a high-grade spiritual island, following the reanimation of Peerless Island several years prior.

On the Myriad Manifestations Sea, spiritual islands occasionally reanimated, but it was rare for one to evolve into a top-tier or high-grade spiritual island like Peerless Island or Three Realms Island.

Peerless Island was currently in decline, while Three Realms Island was on the rise. Moreover, many Yueyaos had heard about Three Realms Island's awkward predicament.

Baiyue had sought to conquer Three Realms Island and had ambushed its Yueyaos. Now, Three Realms Island's counterattack was only fitting; cultivators, after all, revel in combat. If you strike me, I will naturally strike back.

What many Yueyaos couldn't figure out, however, was that Three Realms Island was not close to this location. Where had this group of Three Realms cultivators come from to launch their attack? And why had there been no prior warning?

Even more astonishing was that Three Realms Island had actually divided its forces!

The current chaos within Baiyue Island was only caused by a portion of the Three Realms cultivators; another contingent was still on its way to the battlefield!

If Baiyue Island's island-protecting formation had been intact, such a group of cultivators would have been utterly ineffective. Baiyue could have even used various means deployed on the island to rout them before they even approached the main island.

But now... the situation was perplexing, and even the most experienced Yueyaos could not predict the outcome of this battle.

As the five hundred Three Realms Starry Gods, led by He Baichuan, rapidly charged towards Baiyue Island, a powerful enemy also assailed Three Realms Island itself.

Star-boats slowed their pace three hundred li from Three Realms Island. On the leading star-boat, a Yueyao, who was in charge of this campaign, gazed solemnly towards Three Realms Island.

What he saw, however, was a dense mist, making it impossible to discern the situation on the island.

Since the last time the mist had spread and enveloped the spiritual island, this situation had persisted, and no one knew what was happening inside Three Realms Island.

What puzzled the Yueyao was that their fleet had already reached this position, and Three Realms Island should have reacted somehow. Yet, there was no movement from the opposite side, as if they hadn't detected their arrival.

This was clearly abnormal.

An ominous scenario instantly flashed through the Yueyao's mind: Three Realms Island filled with traps, merely waiting for them to walk right into them.

However, the intelligence they had received indicated that several Yueyaos and five hundred Starry Gods from Three Realms Island had gone to attack Baiyue Island. Therefore, the main Three Realms Island itself should at most have only one Yueyao staying behind, along with a few hundred Starry Gods.

This level of defense was hardly sufficient. The current shroud of mist was clearly a mere bluff, further confirming the fact that Three Realms Island's defensive forces were inadequate.

After a brief deliberation, the Yueyao gave the order to attack. No matter what kind of treacherous trap lay ahead, they would find out once they entered.

In battles between cultivators, strength reigned supreme. He refused to believe that with the vast number of personnel he had brought, they couldn't conquer Three Realms Island!

The attack began.

Three Realms Island showed no reaction, not even a counterattack; only its defensive formation silently bore the assault.

When the fleet advanced within a hundred li, an unexpected sight appeared: Three Realms Island's defensive formation... was breached!

Yet, even at this point, the attacking fleet saw no counter-offense.

The leading Yueyao was bewildered. What exactly was happening? If Three Realms Island had counterattacked, it would have been normal, but the current situation was highly peculiar, leaving him momentarily at a loss for what to do.

Although he had considered whether Three Realms Island might already be deserted, he subconsciously felt that it was impossible.

This was a high-grade spiritual island; what cultivators would be so audacious as to leave it undefended and allow others to attack it unopposed?

After a brief thought and deployment, Tiger Shark warships immediately fanned out in all directions, rushing into Three Realms Island from various points and vanishing into the dense mist.

Soon, news came back!

Inside Three Realms Island, there was no one, not even anything of slight value left behind.

The entire spiritual island only had that one grand formation operating, and it had now been breached.

The leading Yueyao's eye twitched, feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation. After all that, they had been playing a game of wits against an empty island?

The cultivators of Three Realms Island were quite sensible; they probably knew they couldn't defend the island, so they evacuated in advance?

This brought immense joy to the invading cultivators. Before this operation, while they believed conquering Three Realms Island wouldn't be an issue, they had expected to pay some price, perhaps with some unfortunate cultivators dying in battle.

But now, they had captured a high-grade spiritual island without paying any price, which was an incredible windfall!

"Land on the island!" the leading Yueyao immediately commanded. It would be a crime not to seize such a divine gift; this excellent high-grade spiritual island could not be let go under any circumstances!

In this way, their faction would be able to occupy a high-grade spiritual island.

Their original spiritual island was only a medium-grade one, vastly inferior to a high-grade island. Especially an island of Three Realms Island's immense size, it could not only house their own cultivators for cultivation but also foster partnerships with merchants from various factions, ensuring a steady stream of wealth in the future.

And as the Yueyao in charge of this operation, he would undoubtedly reap the greatest benefits!

For a moment, the leading Yueyao couldn't help but envision a bright future, almost laughing out loud.

With his command, the accompanying Starry Gods also landed on the island and entered it. Experiencing the vast difference between Three Realms Island and their original island, the Starry Gods were also delighted, as such a cultivation environment would significantly accelerate their progress and subtly save them a considerable amount of spiritual jade.