Chapter 1738: Breaking the Formation

The defensive layout of a spiritual island is generally divided into two types. One is the island-guarding formation, which is the most relied-upon and robust defense for every spiritual island.

However, if an enemy attacks, simply enduring blows without retaliation is not an option. In this world, no matter how strong a defensive formation is, it cannot withstand endless attacks.

Therefore, in addition to the island-guarding formation, every spiritual island has arrangements in place to counter attacking enemies.

The foundation of the island-guarding formation lies in its various core arrays, while the arrangements for countering enemies involve different types of formations. Both types of defenses are positioned in the outer areas of the spiritual island.

Being located on the periphery allows observers to clearly witness the conflict.

Lu Ye burst out from the formation core hall, moving like lightning, sweeping through one grand formation after another. His blade met no equal.

Formations crumbled, and Baiyue cultivators were either wounded or killed. Even those who miraculously survived at the time were torn to shreds by Ma Shangsi and the Three Realms cultivators who followed closely behind.

In just ten breaths, Lu Ye traversed fifty miles, tearing a significant gap in Baiyue Island's outer defense line!

Just as he had anticipated, these cultivators were scattered while operating formations within the defensive line. His unexpected assault yielded great results.

However, after fifty miles, Lu Ye had no choice but to stop.

As a Moon-Illuminated cultivator, killing Constellation-level cultivators was indeed effortless, but doing so in large numbers still incurred significant expenditure.

No matter how strong he was, he couldn't completely breach Baiyue's defense line alone. He managed to penetrate fifty miles because the cultivators there were completely unprepared and caught off guard.

Now that Baiyue's cultivators were prepared, achieving the same results as before would be difficult. At the very least, the enemy could form battle arrays.

Furthermore, there was a Moon-Illuminated cultivator stationed here: Junior Sister Meng, whom Yu Huan had deployed at the start of the battle. Since she was commanding the defensive line, how could she stand by and watch Lu Ye slaughter her side's Constellation cultivators? Thus, realizing the danger, she immediately led a group of people to intercept Lu Ye.

After only a brief skirmish, Ma Shangsi arrived with the Three Realms cultivators. Junior Sister Meng, though unwilling, had no choice but to withdraw and consolidate her forces.

Lu Ye, Ma Shangsi, and the others reunited. Without a moment's pause, they continued to advance together, dismantling the enemy's defensive line.

Moments later, Junior Sister Meng, having reassembled her forces, returned to confront Lu Ye and his allies.

Baiyue Island had a total of two thousand cultivators. In this battle, about a thousand cultivators were involved in besieging the three formation core halls. The remaining thousand were assigned to the four intact formation core halls and the external defensive lines.

At the four intact formation core halls, roughly a hundred cultivators were stationed at each, totaling four hundred. This left Junior Sister Meng with approximately six hundred individuals she could deploy.

However, these six hundred people were widely dispersed due to the length of the defensive line, and some had been killed by Lu Ye earlier. In her haste, Junior Sister Meng could only gather about three hundred active personnel. The other three hundred were temporarily unable to move, as they were still responsible for defending the island-guarding formation, which had not yet been breached.

On the surface, Junior Sister Meng had more personnel, but Lu Ye's side had two Moon-Illuminated cultivators, each no less powerful than her. Thus, after their clash, the situation remained evenly matched for a short period.

As the battle erupted between Lu Ye, Ma Shangsi, and Junior Sister Meng, He Baichuan had already led his five hundred subordinates to the gap in the defensive line.

With a command, an overwhelming barrage of attacks rained down from the gap onto the island-guarding formation.

The grand formation teetered on the brink of collapse!

Prior to this, they had already placed a significant strain on the island-guarding formation, but at that time, they couldn't exert their full power due to the enemy's counterattacks. Now, there were no such concerns.

Free from countering enemy attacks, all five hundred cultivators desperately focused on assaulting the grand formation.

Violent tremors reverberated continuously, and the entire spiritual island shook.

If the spiritual islands of the Myriad Manifestations Sea weren't special, such a ferocious battle would have long reduced them to dust.

Upon witnessing this scene, the observing cultivators immediately understood that Baiyue's island-guarding formation... could no longer hold!

It wasn't that Baiyue was weak, nor that their 800-year-old island-guarding formation was fragile. Rather, the attack rhythm from Three Realms Island was simply too perfect. Baiyue Island's forces were completely led by the nose.

This was precisely what was most to be avoided in such a conflict. Yu Huan's command ability in a battle of this scale was utterly incompetent, but this wasn't entirely his fault. After the conflict erupted, Lu Ye's tactics were linked one after another, leaving Yu Huan no choice but to react defensively to each move.

In just half an incense stick's time, with another fierce assault from He Baichuan's unit, the island-guarding formation, which had defended Baiyue Island for eight hundred years, shattered with a crash!

The moment the grand formation broke, every Baiyue cultivator's heart sank, and several Moon-Illuminated cultivators turned pale.

Behind He Baichuan, the shouts of five hundred Constellation cultivators pierced the sky, their killing intent almost materializing. Led by him, they charged into the island.

The path ahead was clear, with no further obstacles!

In the battlefield where Lu Ye and his allies were fighting, Junior Sister Meng gritted her teeth, struggling with all her might to contend with Ma Shangsi.

Lu Ye completely ignored her, not because he didn't want to engage, but because he couldn't. His side ultimately had far fewer Constellation cultivators. Without his central deterrence and coordination, his own Constellation cultivators would certainly suffer heavy casualties. Therefore, he had to prioritize killing the enemy's Constellation cultivators to offset the numerical disparity.

Moreover, for him, killing Constellation cultivators was undoubtedly much simpler than killing Moon-Illuminated ones.

In that half an incense stick's time, several dozen Constellation cultivators had died by his hand.

When the "Shared Qi, Connected Branches" formation plate was auctioned in the Constellation Hall, Lu Ye already knew that this item would undoubtedly reshape the landscape of the Myriad Manifestations Sea. This was because the formation plate allowed some Constellation cultivators with profound foundations to contend with Moon-Illuminated cultivators to a certain extent.

He never expected that one day, he too would be constrained by this very aspect.

With Baiyue Island's Constellation cultivators forming arrays, killing them was not easy for him. Eliminating several dozen in half an incense stick's time was already an excellent result, as he constantly faced the encirclement of at least seven or eight formations.

Under Lu Ye's threat, Baiyue's Constellation cultivators were clearly inhibited in combat, as no one knew if he would suddenly strike. In contrast, the Three Realms cultivators surged with momentum. As a result, despite their numerical superiority, Baiyue's forces on this battlefield were clearly at a disadvantage.

The moment He Baichuan's unit breached the island-guarding formation, Baiyue's cultivators noticeably lost their will to fight, and the situation deteriorated further.

Almost simultaneously with the collapse of the island-guarding formation, a powerful divine sense suddenly emanated from the direction of a certain formation core hall, spreading across the entire spiritual island.

Lu Ye sensed it briefly and immediately realized that the source of this divine sense was Yu Huan!

This person was clearly transmitting a message via divine sense, deploying something.

Indeed, as the divine sense fluctuated, many scattered cultivators on Baiyue Island immediately abandoned their current engagements and swiftly moved towards a single direction.

Junior Sister Meng, who was entangled with Ma Shangsi, also activated the power of a magical artifact. Its bright radiance disrupted Ma Shangsi's senses, allowing her to swiftly retreat. An unusual red light also glowed around her body, indicating she had undoubtedly activated a certain escape technique to quickly disengage from the battlefield.

Her actions were undoubtedly wise, as Ma Shangsi's cultivation was actually higher than hers. Under normal circumstances, being entangled by Ma Shangsi would make it very difficult for her to escape. Only by using the magical artifact's power to create a momentary disruption could she hope to break free.

This showed that Junior Sister Meng was also a veteran of many battles, rich in combat experience.

While fleeing, she specifically sensed Lu Ye's location. In this battlefield, only Lu Ye and Ma Shangsi, both Moon-Illuminated cultivators, could pose a threat to her. Having shaken off Ma Shangsi, she naturally had to guard against Lu Ye.

Lu Ye was dozens of miles away from her, contending with several Constellation cultivators who had formed an array.

Junior Sister Meng's heart lightened...

However, in the very next moment, a strong warning surged within her!

Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly glimpsed a flash of light not far from her side. Immediately, a chill ran through her body, a chilling sword hum echoed, and an unparalleled, swift attack enveloped her body and mind.

"A sword cultivator!" Junior Sister Meng's face turned ashen. She never imagined when such a powerful sword cultivator had been hiding on this battlefield.

She had only been focused on guarding against Lu Ye and Ma Shangsi, completely unaware of this sword cultivator's presence. Now, the opponent had seized the moment of her mental relaxation to launch a sudden attack, perfectly timing their move.

Moreover, sword cultivators were renowned for their unmatched lethality. How could she fare well being ambushed by one at such a moment?

As the sword light struck, Junior Sister Meng hastily activated the power of her protective magical artifact, barely managing to block the incoming force.

However, the next moment, despair washed over her because the opponent's attacks were surprisingly continuous; that fierce, unparalleled sword light was not just a single strike!

There were several of them!

Her hastily activated protective magical artifact shattered, and sword light swept across her body, drawing a streak of blood.

Junior Sister Meng's body flew away like a kite with a broken string. As she tumbled, her vision finally caught sight of the sword cultivator who had ambushed her.

The figure that met her gaze left her utterly astonished.

Because that person was, surprisingly, identical to Lu Ye.

Junior Sister Meng was confused. Lu Ye was clearly within her defenses, so how could another Lu Ye appear here?

But she soon understood that this sword cultivator was not Lu Ye, but merely looked exactly like him.

So, this Moon-Illuminated cultivator from Three Realms Island... was a twin?

Lu Ye was naturally not a twin; the sword cultivator was merely his Talent Tree clone. As early as the battle in front of the formation core hall, Lu Ye had already manifested his sword cultivator clone, using the cover of Ma Shangsi's sea of blood.

Talent Tree clones are different from Blood Treasure clones. Talent Tree clones can utilize the power of the Talent Tree, naturally allowing them to conceal their aura and hide their physical form.

In another setting, Junior Sister Meng might not have failed to notice, as she was also very strong. However, in such a chaotic battlefield amidst a large-scale war, it was incredibly easy for the Talent Tree clone to conceal itself.

The clone had held back from attacking, waiting to catch Junior Sister Meng off guard. By lying in wait, it seized this opportunity and indeed ambushed Junior Sister Meng, catching her completely by surprise.