Chapter 1843: Only Entering Zi Xuan Alone

Covered by such an exceptionally strong protective array, it would not be easy for someone to break through even from the inside.

When Lu Ye attacked Baiyue back then, he disguised himself as a Baiyue Moon-Gazer and infiltrated their ranks, destroying several of Baiyue's array foundations. Yet, even then, Baiyue's protective array could still function, though its defensive strength was somewhat diminished.

Baiyue was merely a high-grade spirit island, smaller than Zixuan, and it had eight array foundations. Zixuan certainly had more. Therefore, it would be virtually impossible to breach the protective array by destroying all its foundations in a short amount of time.

By the rules of the Myriad Manifestation Ocean, the defenses of such a spirit island could essentially be considered impregnable. No force could break through, because in a spirit island contest, at most five Moon-Gazers would be allowed to act. Five Moon-Gazers would simply not be enough to shake such a powerful protective array.

Compared to the top-tier spirit islands occupied by these leading forces, Three Realms Island still had a long way to go.

Calming his thoughts, Lu Ye flashed forward, quickly arriving outside Zixuan Island's grand array. He activated his spiritual power and announced loudly, "Lu Ye of Three Realms Island, here to pay a visit."

Moments after he spoke, a crack appeared in the protective array, and a figure flashed out from within. Lu Ye focused his gaze, seeing that the newcomer was a young man with a pale face and no beard, wrapped tightly in a snow-white fur coat. An uninformed observer might have thought this was a place of extreme cold.

The young man lacked the masculine vigor one might expect, instead exuding a peculiar femininity. His eyes gleamed strangely as he looked Lu Ye up and down, a smile playing on his lips. "So you are that Lu Ye from Three Realms Island?"

From his tone, it was clear he had heard of Lu Ye.

Lu Ye nodded. "That's right. How should I address you?"

He recalled the information Old Tang had just given him about Zixuan Island, vaguely speculating about the effeminate man's identity.

Zixuan Island was indeed a top-tier spirit island, but it also had only five registered Moon-Gazer guardians, a strict, unbreakable rule of the Myriad Manifestation Ocean.

However, this did not mean there were only five Moon-Gazers on Zixuan Island. Just like on Three Realms Island, unregistered Moon-Gazers had no official status. While they could stay and cultivate on the spirit island, they could not participate in spirit island contests.

This effeminate man possessed late-stage Moon-Gazer cultivation. Since he came out to greet Lu Ye, he must be one of the five guardian Moon-Gazers.

Sure enough, the other party spoke, "Zixuan, Hu Guang!"

Hu Guang belonged to the same lineage as Yuan Du's concubine; both were six-tailed fox spirits in their true forms.

"A visitor is a guest, please come in." Hu Guang stepped aside, gesturing with his hand, a slight smile on his lips.

However, the next moment, his brow furrowed. Faced with his invitation, Lu Ye showed no hesitation. He simply uttered, "Pardon the intrusion," then flashed towards the array's fissure and directly entered Zixuan Island.

Hu Guang stood rooted to the spot, truly baffled by Lu Ye's audacity to enter Zixuan alone. This was completely unexpected for them, a group of demon cultivators.

In their view, if Lu Ye were of sound mind, he wouldn't possibly enter Zixuan Island. He would surely communicate with them from outside the protective array. Yet, he just walked right in. They wondered if he was truly fearless or simply insane.

"Interesting!" Hu Guang blinked, then also flashed inside.

Inside Zixuan Island, Hu Guang led Lu Ye swiftly in one direction. The former remained silent, and the latter did not speak. Lu Ye's divine sense swept around, clearly detecting the auras of many cultivators on the island, and occasionally he heard strange beast roars.

Unfortunately, he did not detect Wei Po's aura, nor did he know where Wei Po was being held.

Before long, Hu Guang led Lu Ye to a suspended cliff overlooking the sea. Unidentified spirit trees lined both sides of the path, their blossoms fragrant.

There was also a large platform with long tables and meditation cushions, seemingly a place for entertaining guests.

At that moment, many beautiful demoness women were already waiting there, and the long tables were set with exquisite fruit platters and several jars of fine wine.

Lu Ye frowned slightly, unsure of the situation.

"We have a guest; attend to him," Hu Guang commanded.

Immediately, a graceful demoness came forward, her charm flowing like water, and with a soft smile, she gently took Lu Ye's arm. "Esteemed guest, please come this way," she murmured.

Lu Ye did not move. He simply turned to Hu Guang beside him. "Friend, what is the meaning of this?"

He had come for Wei Po, and in a way, he was even invited by them. He had expected at least a war of words, if not a direct confrontation, upon meeting. The current situation, however, left him somewhat bewildered.

Hu Guang smiled slightly. "Friend, your timing is excellent. Our island is about to host a banquet for guests from all directions, to thank fellow cultivators for their long-standing support. Since you are here, you are a guest. Please take your seat first."

Lu Ye blinked, then nodded. "Very well!"

Guided by the demoness, Lu Ye quickly reached the foremost table on the left and sat down cross-legged. The demoness immediately knelt beside him and poured him wine.

"Friend, please be seated. I still have guests to welcome, so please excuse me for a moment," Hu Guang said, then turned and departed.

On the vast cliff platform, only Lu Ye remained, apart from the waiting demoness attendants.

He vaguely understood Zixuan Island's intentions.

It was certain that Zixuan Island was indeed connected to Yuan Du, and Yuan Du must have secretly orchestrated Wei Po's capture a year ago.

However, at that time, Lu Ye was not in the Myriad Manifestation Ocean, so Zixuan Island remained inactive. It wasn't until his recent appearance on Three Realms Island that Zixuan Island deliberately sent Wei Po's sachet to lure him here.

As Lu Ye had told Luan Xiao'e previously, Wei Po was in their hands, and they had specifically sent the jade slip and sachet. Given this initiative, he had no choice but to come, unless he was willing to disregard Wei Po's life, which was clearly impossible.

Yet, upon his arrival, he coincidentally found Zixuan Island hosting a banquet for guests from all directions.

This was clearly no coincidence, because Zixuan Island had arranged his seat at the head of the table! Above him was a large chair, clearly meant for the host.

Therefore, he was the main character of this banquet, which was why he hadn't seen any other guests yet.

Earlier, he had publicly humiliated Yuan Du. Now, it was clear they intended to use his own methods against him, humiliating him in front of a crowd. The arriving guests were merely there as witnesses, to observe how Zixuan Island would disgrace Lu Ye!

After this event, the news would undoubtedly spread far and wide, allowing Yuan Du to vent his frustration.

Even knowing this would be the scenario, Lu Ye had no better option at the moment. He could only accept his fate and wait calmly.

The demoness attendant beside him served him very attentively. Seeing that Lu Ye wasn't drinking his wine, she raised her slender fingers, picked up a berry, carefully peeled it, and placed it on the fruit platter in front of him.

Then, a robust melody began to play, and dozens of demoness women, of varying builds, swiftly entered in two rows, performing a dance that was both seductive and wild.

Time passed, and guests continually arrived. Without exception, all of them possessed late-stage Moon-Gazer cultivation.

Lu Ye estimated that these arriving guests were mostly island masters from various spirit islands. Since Zixuan Island intended to make a spectacle of him, the cultivators invited as witnesses naturally had to be of high status. This way, the news of the banquet could be spread convincingly and rapidly by these island masters.

Many of the arriving guests knew each other, but Lu Ye recognized none of them.

In terms of strength, he was far superior to Tang Jun, but social skills were not his forte.

Seeing Lu Ye seated at the head of the table, the island masters were slightly surprised. Some initially came forward to greet him, but after learning that Lu Ye was actually the Third Island Master of Three Realms Island, their expressions became somewhat strange. They seemed to vaguely understand something and stopped conversing with him, leaving Lu Ye in peace.

Lu Ye eventually spotted an acquaintance.

Mang Dang from Five-Color Island!

Upon seeing Lu Ye, Mang Dang completely disregarded the demoness's guidance and walked directly to Lu Ye, sitting beside him with a hearty laugh. "Fellow Daoist Lu, you truly are elusive! Where have you been all these years?"

He had repeatedly visited Three Realms Island looking for Lu Ye, only to be told he hadn't returned. He never expected to encounter him here today.

"Traveling around," Lu Ye replied with a smile.

At the same time, Mang Dang's divine sense transmission echoed in his ear: "Why are you here on Zixuan Island? Leave quickly! Zixuan Island's relationship with Yuan Du is extraordinary."

Lu Ye's smile remained unchanged as he replied, "Thank you, fellow Daoist. I know what I'm doing."

"What do you mean, 'know what you're doing'? Listen to me, just go!" Mang Dang urged via divine sense transmission, while speaking cheerfully aloud, "Three Realms Island is developing so well, and our branch there receives much care. We must thank Fellow Daoist Lu for that."

"You exaggerate, fellow Daoist. If not for Five-Color Island's assistance back then, Three Realms Island wouldn't be what it is today," Lu Ye transmitted. "This banquet today is prepared for me. Someone from my island is in Zixuan Island's hands. As long as I sit here, there won't be an issue, but any unexpected move would surely not be tolerated by Zixuan Island."

Mang Dang rubbed his head, muttering, "I wondered why Zixuan Island suddenly sent an invitation for me to come. So, there's a trick to it... Alright, you come with me. I'll lead you out. If anyone from Zixuan Island dares to interfere, I'll block them for you."

Lu Ye felt a warmth in his heart and honestly replied, "Fellow Daoist, this is just a clone of mine, so there's no need to worry too much."

Mang Dang paused, looking Lu Ye up and down for a moment. "Seriously?"

He couldn't detect any flaw at all, mainly because this clone seemed too lifelike.

Lu Ye smiled. "Am I the kind of person who would actively seek death? Since I dared to come, naturally, I came prepared."

Only then did Mang Dang feel relieved.