Chapter 1742: Three Realms Island's Last Resort

The offense and defense between the two major high-grade Spirit Islands were in full swing. Spectating cultivators watched intently, conversing quietly among themselves.

Yue Yao, who was with Brother Wu, remarked, "Three Realms Island talked a big game; I thought they had some secret weapon. If they continue to attack like this, Three Realms Island will likely suffer a crushing defeat."

Brother Wu also nodded, saying, "Indeed. Although it appears to be an even match on the surface, Baiyue Island actually holds the advantage. They can defend using their island's formations, consuming little of their own power. In contrast, every attack from Three Realms Island expends their own energy. If this continues, Three Realms Island probably won't be able to hold out."

"Young and impetuous," the Yue Yao slowly shook her head. "I see that Lu Ye is young; suffering a setback wouldn't be a bad thing. In the future, he won't be so boastful when he speaks."

It wasn't just these two Yue Yao who judged the battle's trajectory this way; almost all other spectating cultivators shared the same opinion. They all felt that Three Realms Island was now in a difficult predicament, like riding a tiger, unable to dismount. If they had known this, Three Realms Island might as well have accepted the other party's terms when Gu Chuan was present earlier, at least gaining many benefits.

The current situation was a stalemate. The cultivators of Three Realms might not be able to capture Baiyue's central hub, and their own Three Realms Island had been occupied. The situation could be described as utterly terrible.

On the battlefield, Lu Ye stood shoulder to shoulder with several Yue Yao from Three Realms Island. They had not participated in the assault on the central hub; all the effort came from the Star Constellations of their own island. It wasn't that they didn't want to act, but rather that they needed to conserve their strength.

"It's almost time," Luan Xiao'e suddenly spoke.

Lu Ye nodded slightly, then turned to his side and called out, "Ju Jia!"

Not only the Yue Yao of Three Realms, but also Ju Jia had not participated in the offense and defense.

No one had expected that Ju Jia, currently only at the early Star Constellation stage, would be the decisive factor in this offense and defense battle. To catch the enemy by surprise, Lu Ye had specifically instructed Ju Jia not to reveal a certain ability of his when attacking Baiyue's island protection formation earlier.

It was all for this moment!

Hearing the call, Ju Jia stepped forward. At the same time, Lu Ye's spiritual power surged around him, and a fiery red force spread outwards like burning flames. It enveloped a vast area, covering not only Ju Jia but also all of their Yue Yao.

Spiritual power surged, and countless intricate Yin-Yang duality patterns rapidly formed, interlocking and outlining each other. In the blink of an eye, an incomparably vast Spiritual Link formation pattern took shape.

The Spiritual Link formation plate was only suitable for Star Constellations and could not meet the demands of Yue Yao combat. However, if Lu Ye himself constructed and maintained the Spiritual Link formation pattern, then there wouldn't be much of a problem.

Of course, doing so would consume a great deal of his own spiritual power. Moreover, it was only suitable for specific situations, like the current one; it would be inconvenient to do so in a truly chaotic battle.

With the formation pattern constructed, everyone's vital energy was connected. The five Yue Yao were only responsible for maintaining the spiritual power, not leading the formation.

Ju Jia let out a furious roar, and the flesh on his body violently rippled. A violent surge of vital energy shot into the sky, and the entire world seemed to turn blood-red at that moment, causing countless spectating cultivators to lose focus.

The next instant, everyone was stunned!

Because an incomparably massive formation suddenly appeared on the battlefield—it was clearly a Black Tortoise formation.

In fact, there were many Black Tortoise formations on the battlefield, all formed by Three Realms cultivators using the Spiritual Link formation plates. These Black Tortoise formations had also just repelled the counterattacks from Baiyue's central hub, as this formation primarily focused on defense.

However, the Black Tortoise formation formed with Ju Jia as the lead and five Yue Yao as assistants was distinctly different from the other Black Tortoise formations.

Firstly, in terms of size, the newly formed Black Tortoise formation was like a grandfather compared to its grandson when contrasted with the other Black Tortoise formations.

Secondly, in terms of its appearance.

The Black Tortoise formations formed by the Star Constellations appeared as mere models of a Black Tortoise, looking quite decent.

But the newly formed Black Tortoise formation was not just a model; it was more like a living creature. It seemed to have flesh and blood, with clear patterns on its four limbs, and even the intricate grooves on its shell were depicted with uncanny realism.

Long ago, Lu Ye had noticed that the Black Tortoise formation led by Ju Jia was significantly different from those formed by others. This might be related to Ju Jia himself; he had obtained something similar to a demon core on the Spirit Stream Battlefield years ago. Lu Ye once speculated that it was a Black Tortoise demon core, and with Ju Jia's extraordinary talent, the demon core only served to enhance his abilities even further.

Ju Jia's power was already evident when he formed formations with Star Constellations. Now, with five Yue Yao assisting him, the resulting Black Tortoise formation left even Lu Ye himself speechless.

Ju Jia's roar never ceased; it wasn't just to boost his morale. It was also because the immense pressure caused him extreme pain.

His cultivation, after all, was still too low. Even if he were at the late Star Constellation stage, he would withstand the pressure better, but he was only at the early Star Constellation stage.

If he weren't a body cultivator, if he weren't extraordinarily gifted, the pressure of forming such a formation would instantly be fatal.

Even so, this state could not be maintained for long—at most five breaths!

The moment the massive Black Tortoise formation appeared, Yu Huan and Jiang Jiao instantly realized something was wrong. They hadn't been too nervous just now, as the central hub's defenses could hold out indefinitely, and they still believed Three Realms Island would retreat in the face of difficulty. But sensing the terrifying might of the massive Black Tortoise formation now, they felt their confidence waver.

Therefore, Yu Huan hesitated for barely a moment. With a single command, all counterattacks from within the central hub roared towards the gigantic Black Tortoise.

The Black Tortoise was enormous, its movements appeared sluggish, making it impossible to evade the enemy's counterattacks.

Just then, another figure burst forth, none other than Meng Jie from Kyushu. He stood alone between the thousands of Baiyue cultivators and the massive Black Tortoise, appearing incredibly vulnerable.

Then he flipped his hand, took out a golden conch, and blew into it.

Three Realms Island had good relations with the merfolk. Using Lu Ye's Azure Conch, almost all Three Realms cultivators had visited the merfolk territory, entering the Heavenly Conch Palace in batches to seek opportunities.

Some gained nothing, while others reaped benefits from it.

The conches from the Heavenly Conch Palace had a myriad of strange and varied uses. Some conches were practically useless, but others could produce miraculous effects at crucial moments.

Like now!

As Meng Jie blew his golden conch, a spectral image of a conch suddenly appeared, enveloping him.

The sound of the conch continued incessantly, and figures swiftly darted towards Meng Jie from all sides, rushing into the spectral conch image. With each additional person, the spectral conch became a bit more solid and a bit larger.

This was the power of Meng Jie's golden conch. It could accommodate many cultivators; the more it accommodated, the larger its volume and stronger its defense. It was equivalent to Meng Jie using the power of the golden conch to integrate the strength of many cultivators into a protective barrier.

Of course, this capacity for accommodation and integration had its limits, which were related to Meng Jie's own strength.

In the blink of an eye, over a hundred people rushed into the spectral conch.

The conch, which had originally barely enveloped Meng Jie, now became incomparably massive. Moreover, the entire conch had become incredibly solid, as if real, shielding the Black Tortoise formation behind it.

All attacks launched from within the central hub were entirely blocked by this enormous conch, leaving its surface riddled with cracks.

The sudden turn of events left all spectating cultivators dumbfounded, as immense questions flashed through their minds.

What was that?

And what was this?

Ever since Ju Jia and the five Yue Yao of Three Realms Island jointly formed the Black Tortoise formation, the unfolding situation had become somewhat incomprehensible to onlookers.

The gigantic conch that appeared right after was even more unprecedented.

But whether it was the colossal Black Tortoise or the appearance of the conch, both made it clear to everyone that Three Realms Island's forceful assault on Baiyue was not without its contingencies. These two things were Three Realms Island's trump cards!

A round of counterattacks from Baiyue's central hub caused the enormous conch to shake violently and become riddled with cracks.

When the second round of attacks enveloped it, the conch completely shattered. The hundreds of Three Realms cultivators inside all vomited blood, falling in all directions like kites. Meng Jie, who had activated the conch's power, was particularly pale as paper, his aura extremely weak.

Although they looked miserable, they had completed their mission, helping the Black Tortoise behind them withstand these two waves of powerful attacks.

The already prepared medical cultivators, led by Shui Yuan and Hua Ci, rushed forward to attend to the injured and swiftly began treatment.

Meanwhile, after the conch shattered, the massive Black Tortoise figure it had concealed was revealed, having already advanced right before the central hub.

A colossal shadow loomed, almost completely obscuring the light for the thousands of Baiyue cultivators.

"Kill it! Kill it!" Yu Huan roared, unleashing an attack infused with spiritual power towards the Black Tortoise. Within the central hub, surges of power rose and fell, and dense attacks were poised for launch.

At the Black Tortoise's head, Ju Jia's body began to crack like stubborn rock. He could only maintain this for a few breaths before he began to falter. Fortunately, at this critical moment, a light, ethereal song resonated in his ears—a song Ju Jia had never heard before. The song, upon entering his ears, seemed to contain a mysterious power, and as it flowed into him, a layer of cyan light rippled around his body.

Ju Jia suddenly felt the pressure diminish significantly, and his physique was greatly enhanced in that instant.

He realized then that Yan Miao was lending him a hand; the miraculous song was precisely the merfolk's special ability.

While the enemy's offensive had not yet fully launched, Ju Jia roared and raised his right arm. At the same time, the massive Black Tortoise's right front claw also rapidly lifted.

Then it slammed down with force!

Who said the Black Tortoise formation could only... defend?

Within the central hub's defenses, whether it was Yu Huan, Jiang Jiao, or the many Star Constellations, their eyes reflected the terrifying impact. Their minds went blank, and they felt their blood run cold.

With a single strike, the Spirit Island trembled. Visible shockwaves erupted from the point of impact, spreading outwards in all directions. Even the cultivators observing from hundreds of miles away felt their robes ripple and their hair fly.