Chapter 1752: Straining Too Hard

Lu Ye wasn't sure if his guess was correct, but based on the information he had, it was the only reasonable explanation.

His mind settled slightly. If that were the case, Hua Ci should be safe. She was likely just inadvertently affected by the Pixiu's power, which led to her being sealed in amber. Once the Pixiu completely refined the Treasure Coin's power, this amber would most likely disappear on its own.

"Yaya, when will Aunt Hua wake up?" Lu Ye asked.

Yaya shook her head. "I don't know." Then she tilted her head again. "But it needs a lot of energy!"

"Energy?" Lu Ye was puzzled for a moment, but quickly realized. He had just tried to probe the amber with his spiritual power, only for it to be completely absorbed. This undoubtedly confirmed Yaya's words. Thinking about the Treasure Coin's inherent properties and the legendary abilities of the Pixiu, Lu Ye immediately understood something.

He needed to provide enough energy to the amber, which might accelerate the Pixiu's growth, allowing Hua Ci to escape more quickly. This wasn't difficult to do; he just needed to continuously channel spiritual power into the amber.

Instead, Lu Ye took out a spirit jade from his storage ring and placed it on the amber. A strange scene unfolded: what was clearly a very hard spirit jade melted rapidly, like a snowflake under a scorching sun, then permeated into the amber, disappearing without a trace in an instant.

As expected, this amber still retained the Treasure Coin's characteristics. The Treasure Coin had behaved the same way when it absorbed spirit jade before.

After a brief deliberation, Lu Ye said, "I'll take Hua Ci to Imperial Snail Palace."

Having someone constantly channel spiritual power here, or bringing in large amounts of spirit jade for the amber to consume, was impractical and too costly. If the amber simply needed sufficient energy, then the Myriad Manifestation Sea was undoubtedly the best option. Sending the amber, which sealed Hua Ci and the Pixiu, to Imperial Snail Palace and having the Merfolk tribe oversee its care would be both convenient and labor-saving.

Shui Yuan understood his plan. She nodded slightly and took out the Azure Conch. At this moment, she was only glad for one thing: that the Azure Conch was in her possession. Otherwise, contacting the Merfolk tribe would be very troublesome now.

Next, Shui Yuan blew the Azure Conch, opening a portal to Imperial Snail Palace. Lu Ye put the amber in front of him into the Small Flower Realm before stepping through the portal.

Lu Ye hadn't visited Imperial Snail Palace in a long time. Since Yan Miao was now staying on Three Realms Island permanently, Second Elder Yu Xi was in charge of the Imperial Snail Palace. The ties between Three Realms Island and the Merfolk tribe were growing closer, so there was no need for formalities between them.

Upon meeting Yu Xi, Lu Ye explained the situation and took out the amber sealing Hua Ci and the Pixiu from the Small Flower Realm. Yu Xi immediately knew what to do.

Not long after, a large, tank-sized piece of amber was placed at the edge of Imperial Snail Palace, enveloped by seawater. Lu Ye could clearly feel it rapidly absorbing the Myriad Manifestation Sea's water.

It seemed his thoughts were correct. Just as the Treasure Coin could absorb the Myriad Manifestation Sea's water, so could this amber. Therefore, as long as the amber remained here, it would have ample energy to consume, which would surely accelerate the Pixiu's growth and Hua Ci's liberation.

After instructing Yu Xi to ensure Hua Ci was well looked after and to immediately contact Three Realms Island if anything unusual occurred, Lu Ye reluctantly departed. The portal's duration was limited. If he stayed too long, he would have to wait until Shui Yuan opened the portal again.

Back on Three Realms Island, Lu Ye's divine sense spread out, and he frowned. The development of Three Realms Island... was somewhat different from what he had expected.

Just then, Old Tang returned from outside in his star-boat, entering directly. They met each other, and Old Tang glanced at him. "You've finished your seclusion, lad?"

He genuinely envied Lu Ye, who could focus solely on improving his strength without worrying about anything else. Thinking back to when the lad was on Peerless Island, he was just like this—born to be a hands-off manager. In contrast, Old Tang, who was "buried halfway up his neck," had to constantly rush about and toil. While he truly envied him, Old Tang had no complaints, as he himself had no more potential, but Lu Ye's potential was boundless. Lu Ye's increase in strength would also benefit the future of Three Realms Island. Everyone was simply contributing their strength in different ways, with no distinction of superiority or inferiority.

"What's the situation now?" Lu Ye leaned forward and asked. "Why is Three Realms Island still so desolate?"

The initial decision to attack Hundred Yue was twofold: first, for revenge, and second, to opportunistically display Three Realms Island's power to the countless merchants secretly observing, letting them know that Three Realms cultivators were capable of establishing a firm foothold on Three Realms Island. Only then would merchants from various forces be willing to settle on Three Realms Island and open shops. The battle against Hundred Yue was a great success. The opposing Moon Revolver cultivators were completely wiped out, and most of their Constellations were killed in battle. Three Realms Island's prestige resounded throughout the Myriad Manifestation Sea.

In Lu Ye's opinion, even if the current situation on Three Realms Island couldn't compare to Peerless Island in its heyday, it should still be very lively. But in reality, it wasn't. Apart from its own cultivators, there were no outsiders on the entire Three Realms Island. The prepared commercial district remained deserted, with no businesses open.

Tang Jun couldn't help but sigh. "It seems we overdid it."

"What do you mean?" Lu Ye asked, puzzled.

Old Tang leisurely glanced at him. "During the Battle of Hundred Yue, didn't you and Fellow Daoist Ma end up chasing Yu Huan? I heard you had a rather unpleasant encounter with Yuan Du and even forced him to kill Yu Huan?"

Tang Jun hadn't known about this initially. The news only gradually spread later, causing him to break out in a cold sweat. Even without experiencing it himself, just thinking about it revealed the immense danger Lu Ye had faced at the time. He found it hard to imagine how Lu Ye had survived under a Sun Glimmer who harbored killing intent.

"Yes, that's true," Lu Ye nodded. Yu Huan, at Yuan Cheng's suggestion, requested a Sun Glimmer arbitration. Yuan Du suddenly appeared, suppressing him without questioning right or wrong, and even intended to kill him. The situation at the time was indeed unpleasant.

"Yuan Du is, after all, one of the five Guardian Sun Glimmers of the Myriad Manifestation Sea, and Yu Huan was clearly someone he protected. You forced him to kill Yu Huan with just a few words... he also has his pride," Old Tang said, patting his old face. "On the surface, we've completely offended Yuan Du. Three Realms Island is indeed good, and those merchants aren't blind to that, but they also have reservations. They worry if setting up shops on our Three Realms Island will offend Yuan Du."

Lu Ye realized with a start; so this was where the problem lay. No wonder Old Tang said they had overdone it...

If the Battle of Hundred Yue hadn't encountered any setbacks and had proceeded exactly as initially planned, then Three Realms Island would now be a scene of prosperity and liveliness. Since the Three Realms cultivators had proven their capabilities, merchants from various forces wouldn't have to worry too much and would naturally flock in. However, with Three Realms Island having offended a Sun Glimmer like Yuan Du, the situation was different.

While the Guardian Sun Glimmers usually didn't show themselves, remaining in their palaces on Myriad Manifestation Island, no cultivator wishing to survive in the Myriad Manifestation Sea could ignore their existence. Especially merchants, who sought wealth; they would never risk offending a Guardian Sun Glimmer.

"Has Yuan Du spoken out?" Lu Ye's gaze turned cold.

Old Tang chuckled. "Does he even need to say anything? Sun Glimmers also have their prestige to uphold. However, Yuan Cheng did spread some words around, though I don't know if it was under Yuan Du's direct instruction."

Lu Ye didn't need to ask; he could roughly guess what Yuan Cheng had spread—nothing more than threats.

Lu Ye's brows furrowed tightly. In the battle against Hundred Yue, Three Realms Island had gained many spoils of war, and later acquired 20 million spirit jades in resources from Giant Blade Island. For a short period, Three Realms cultivators wouldn't have to worry about their cultivation resources, but this was ultimately not a long-term solution.

He had originally thought that once Three Realms Island developed, Three Realms cultivators would never again have to worry about spirit jades for their cultivation. Yet, two months had passed since the Battle of Hundred Yue, and the situation remained unchanged. Old Tang had spent the past two months working on this, trying to attract some well-known merchants to settle on Three Realms Island, even offering many enticing conditions, such as waiving rent... But he had gained nothing.

Then he considered approaching the Sun Glimmer side. Three Realms Island had offended one Sun Glimmer, but if another Sun Glimmer could offer patronage, it might break the current deadlock. Of the five Sun Glimmers in the Myriad Manifestation Sea, three were new arrivals and potential choices. Yuan Du was out, and there was also a Sun Glimmer from the Heavenly Flame Realm whom Old Tang didn't want to approach. So Old Tang had only one option left. In fact, he had already planned for this before the Battle of Hundred Yue.

Regardless of the outcome of the battle against Hundred Yue, paying respects to a Sun Glimmer was ultimately necessary. And since they were new arrivals, they would likely be willing to accept a visit from a high-grade spirit island. However, as Lu Ye had said before, Yuan Du had already expressed his intentions regarding Three Realms Island. As native Sun Glimmers of the Myriad Manifestation Sea, the others naturally wouldn't contradict Yuan Du. Therefore, the matter of paying respects had made no progress.

Old Tang then tried a less ideal approach, even seeking an audience with the Sun Glimmer from the Heavenly Flame Realm, but that person also ignored him. With no way to pay respects and unable to attract any merchants, Three Realms Island had remained in its original state until today.

Although Lu Ye had left his Talent Tree clone on the island, the clone never ventured out normally, so he was unaware of these developments. He had naively thought that this time he would see a prosperous and lively Three Realms Island...

It could be said that the current predicament of Three Realms Island was somewhat awkward. If Three Realms Island were like Hundred Yue, it wouldn't be much of a problem; its own cultivators could practice diligently behind closed doors without disturbance. But Hundred Yue had an entire star system supporting it, providing most of the resources its cultivators needed. Three Realms Island lacked such support; everything had to be self-sufficient. Furthermore, when Lu Ye first chose Three Realms Island, he had already decided to transform it into a spirit island like Peerless Island. Now, everything was prepared, and Three Realms Island had established a foothold, yet its path to development was forcefully stifled due to the hostility of a Sun Glimmer.