Chapter 1849: Again, Three Realms Island

The total number of demon cultivators on Purple Jade Island was only a little over five thousand. With this expedition, only one thousand demon cultivators were left behind, with the Grand Island Master Lionheart personally overseeing the main island.

In fact, if not for the concern that Lu Ye might still have a clone hidden on the island, Lionheart wouldn't have needed to stay. Given the strength of Purple Jade Island's defensive array, no force in the entire Myriad Manifestations Sea could shake it, so there would be no risk of it being breached even without a Moonbloom cultivator defending it.

A careful search just now revealed no further traces of Lu Ye's clones, but precautions had to be taken. To be safe, Lionheart remained because Purple Jade Island had already dispatched troops to Three Realms Island, officially commencing the Spirit Island Hegemony War. Even if there were other demon race Moonbloom cultivators on Purple Jade Island besides him, these unregistered Moonbloom cultivators would be unable to exert any power during the war.

In other words, during the Spirit Island Hegemony War, even if Lu Ye were to slay demon cultivators right before their eyes, all they could do was watch. Should there be any sign of interference, Lu Ye could petition for arbitration by the Sunflare, just as Yu Huan did in the past. If that happened, the Myriad Manifestations Sunflare would inevitably descend to uphold the rules.

Similar to most spirit islands, Purple Jade Island had five registered Moonbloom cultivators: Lionheart, Hu Guang, Bao Youyou, Yuan Che, and the deceased Junior Brother Hu.

With Junior Brother Hu dead and Lionheart needing to remain on the main island, only three Moonbloom cultivators — Hu Guang and the others — were available for deployment.

They were well aware of Three Realms Island's overall strength. Although Three Realms Island also had five Moonbloom cultivators, their military strength was far inferior. Moreover, to conquer Three Realms Island, Purple Jade had even deployed their central battleship, capable of accommodating a thousand people, making victory seem certain.

Furthermore, Lu Ye had lost two clones consecutively, which would undoubtedly result in a backlash and significant loss of power. Therefore, they only truly needed to contend with four Moonbloom cultivators.

Hailing from a top-tier force like Purple Jade, they somewhat looked down on Moonbloom cultivators from emerging forces like Three Realms Island. The strength of a cultivator wasn't solely determined by their cultivation realm; factors like their background, growth process, combat experience, and even wealth all played a role.

Purple Jade's grand military deployment quickly came to the attention of cultivators across the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

The deployment of troops by a top-tier spirit island was unprecedented in the Myriad Manifestations Sea for nearly ten thousand years. Instantly, various rumors spread rapidly, capturing the attention of countless cultivators in a very short time.

Everyone wanted to know which force Purple Jade was targeting with this expedition.

Soon, they discovered the target of Purple Jade's attack.

It was none other than the recently and rapidly rising Three Realms Island!

Purple Jade had no intention of concealing their military deployment. Furthermore, many island masters from various spirit islands had personally witnessed the bizarre incident at the previous banquet. Through their deliberate or inadvertent dissemination of information, Purple Jade's objective was quickly understood by the public.

Three Realms Island again!

It was well known that Three Realms Island's forced occupation of Baiyue back then had caused a great stir. In that battle, Three Realms Island seized a superior spirit island that had been occupied for eight hundred years at an astonishing speed, leading to the complete annihilation of Baiyue's Moonbloom cultivators and countless casualties among its Star Constellation cultivators.

Three Realms Island's reputation soared from that point on. While there had been previous instances of superior spirit islands being conquered, none had been so swift, nor had there ever been such a disproportionate casualty ratio. It was said that in that battle, Three Realms Island cultivators inflicted heavy losses on the enemy without suffering a single casualty themselves, a true miracle.

After that battle, countless spirit islands used it as a case study, eager to understand how Three Realms Island accomplished it. As a cautionary tale for the future, regardless of whether they would form an enmity with Three Realms Island, such a classic battle alone warranted extensive research. However, despite their efforts, they never fully understood how Three Realms Island cultivators managed to enter Baiyue in large numbers before its defensive array was breached.

Another widely discussed aspect of that battle was how Lu Ye, the Third Island Master of Three Realms Island, encountered resistance from Yuan Du, a Myriad Manifestations Sunflare, while pursuing Yu Huan. Through clever taunting, Lu Ye forced Yuan Du to personally kill Yu Huan, which thoroughly humiliated Yuan Du. This directly led to no other force paying respects to Yuan Du thereafter.

Everyone with discernment knew Yuan Du resented Three Realms Island, yet he was helpless. While he was indeed a Sunflare guardian, he was also the one who most needed to respect the rules of the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

Three Realms Island had developed well in recent years. As one of the few commercial spirit islands in the Myriad Manifestations Sea, it earned a significant amount of spirit jade annually just from shop rentals.

But how many years had it been? Three Realms Island had stirred up trouble again, and this time, it was against a top-tier power like Purple Jade Island.

According to circulating news, it was first rumored that a Moonbloom cultivator from Three Realms Island inexplicably massacred Purple Jade demon cultivators, followed by Lu Ye, the Third Island Master of Three Realms Island, using a clone to forcefully kill Purple Jade's Fourth Island Master with a blood explosion technique. This supposedly provoked Purple Jade's fury, leading to their military deployment.

The vast fleet, stretching endlessly, cast shadows that blackened the waters of the Myriad Manifestations Sea. An attack by a cultivator army of such scale could only be resisted by other top-tier spirit islands, also occupied by top-tier forces, throughout the entire Myriad Manifestations Sea.

How could Three Realms Island possibly withstand it?

News quickly reached the main island of Three Realms Island.

In the council hall, the Moonbloom cultivators of Three Realms Island gathered, their expressions solemn but not panicked.

Old Tang asked, "What arrangements has Lu Ye made?"

Luan Xiao'e replied, "Junior Brother told us not to panic. He will try his best to stop Purple Jade's fleet. If he truly can't, he wants us to abandon the island before their fleet arrives!"

Tang Jun's face filled with indignation, "This is truly outrageous!"

Currently, the outside world was spreading rumors that Three Realms Island had provoked the incident first, claiming that a newly advanced Moonbloom cultivator from Three Realms Island had wantonly massacred Purple Jade demon cultivators without cause, and Lu Ye had then used a clone to activate a blood explosion technique to kill their Fourth Island Master.

However, only a few knew the truth, and Purple Jade said nothing about the billion spirit jade sent by Three Realms Island.

"They had already set their sights on us," Luan Xiao'e sighed. "After a year of waiting, they would have deployed their forces regardless of what Junior Brother did." Lu Ye must have known this would be the outcome, but since Wei Po was captured, Lu Ye still went, even knowing the consequences, doing his utmost to try and rescue Wei Po.

He Baichuan frowned, "With conflict between the two islands, what will happen to the merchants here?"

Tang Jun explained, "No need to worry. Three Realms Island is a commercial spirit island. Disputes over commercial spirit islands don't affect the merchants. Even if Purple Jade attacks, they will only target the areas defended by the island's cultivators; they won't disturb the merchants' locations."

There was a precedent for this, so even though news of Purple Jade's deployment to Three Realms Island had reached them, the island's merchants were not alarmed. Their presence constituted Three Realms Island's greatest value, and no one would offend them because of war.

Suddenly, Tang Jun's spirit talisman vibrated. He quickly checked it, a pleased expression on his face. "Four Directions Island is thoughtful."

"How so?" He Baichuan asked, looking at him.

Tang Jun replied, "Kang Cheng, Zhang Tingyi, Gao Zhan, and Zhou Chuang have sent a joint message, offering to send two thousand Star Constellation cultivators as reinforcements."

The spirit island where Four Directions Island was now stationed was formerly Baiyue.

After the Battle of Baiyue, Three Realms Island secretly handed Baiyue over to Four Directions Island to manage through an auction. Subsequently, they sent people back to the Four Directions Star System to bring back more Star Constellation cultivators.

During that initial auction, Three Realms Island did not collect a single spirit jade from Four Directions Island, essentially gifting it to them. Over the years, Four Directions Island had developed very well, and upon learning of Purple Jade's imminent attack, they immediately showed their support.

Moreover, this wasn't against the rules because the reinforcements were Star Constellation cultivators. As long as these two thousand Star Constellation cultivators could enter Three Realms Island to defend before Purple Jade's fleet arrived, they would count as Three Realms Island's own strength.

The rules of the Myriad Manifestations Sea had no restrictions on this. It was not unprecedented for two opposing forces to seek reinforcements from allies before a war officially began.

Of course, once the war between the two sides officially commenced, no external forces would be permitted to interfere on the battlefield.

It was worth noting that even with more Star Constellation cultivators brought over from the Four Directions Star System later, Four Directions Island currently had only a little over three thousand people in total.

Sending two thousand people in support demonstrated Four Directions Island's sincerity. If the rules hadn't forbidden it, their Moonbloom cultivators would likely have rushed over as well.

Luan Xiao'e nodded slightly, a warmth spreading through her heart; true friendship was revealed in times of adversity. After a brief pause for thought, she said, "Send a message back. We appreciate their kind intentions, but they needn't send reinforcements. Tell them we won't be defending the main island, nor will we engage the enemy in a direct confrontation."

Three Realms Island was already prepared to evacuate the main island at any moment. Given the clear disparity in military strength, holding the island would inevitably lead to heavy casualties. A timely evacuation was the best strategy.

Since they weren't planning to defend the main island, Four Directions Island's support was naturally unnecessary.

Tang Jun nodded and immediately sent a message back.

At this very moment, Purple Jade's immense fleet was rapidly approaching Three Realms Island. At their current speed, they would reach Three Realms Island in less than a day.

Hu Guang personally commanded the central battleship.

On the large battleships flanking the central vessel, Yuan Che and Bao Youyou were in command. Numerous smaller Tiger Shark battleships fanned out on both wings. From a distance, the massive fleet resembled a terrifying flying behemoth.

Suddenly, Hu Guang, standing on the battleship's deck, looked up and gazed forward. A tiny figure came into view, standing quietly and alone.

"Lu Ye!" As soon as he recognized the man's face, Hu Guang's eyes immediately turned red. The scene of Junior Brother Hu's tragic death flashed in his mind, and he roared, "Kill him!"

At his command, numerous spell arrays on the battleship hummed, and energy surged. After a brief charge, terrifying attacks rained down on Lu Ye.

However, while these formidable weapons, designed for besieging cities, possessed unparalleled might, they lacked agility. Before the myriad attacks could reach him, Lu Ye's figure casually flickered several times, causing all the assaults to miss their mark.