Chapter 1855: Possibility

"I've been to Phantom Sea Island. You wouldn't believe it—a thousand cultivators crammed onto a small spirit island, it was incredibly crowded," Tang Jun said, his face alight with pride. "It's much more comfortable and spacious here on Three Realms Island."

Three Realms Island was indeed spacious because Lu Ye had deliberately chosen this location when instructing Luan Xiao'e and others to pick a settlement point. From the outset, he intended to transform Three Realms Island into a commercial spirit island, much like Peerless Island. Even excluding the trade zone, the cultivator garrison area on Three Realms Island would not feel crowded, even if it accommodated several thousand more cultivators.

As he spoke, Tang Jun looked astonished. "What's wrong?" he asked.

For some reason, Lu Ye was suddenly staring intently at him. He then abruptly stood up. "I'm going out for a bit!"

"What for?" Tang Jun asked, bewildered. They had been speaking normally, and now he was suddenly leaving, which completely confused him.

"It's nothing; just keep eating and drinking," Lu Ye replied as he headed for the exit. At the doorway, he suddenly turned back and instructed, "If anyone is indeed invited to act as a persuader, entertain them well, but do not agree to anything."

"Alright!" Tang Jun nodded instinctively.

A moment later, beneath Three Realms Island, Lu Ye swam like a fish, quickly reaching the original location of the Small Star Palace. Looking around, he saw the Small Star Palace was still there, continuously converting the energy from the seawater and channeling it into Three Realms Island.

Since his return, he had been contemplating how to forcibly breach Zixuan's protective formation. Yet, after his extensive conversation with Tang Jun, he realized this was almost impossible unless he returned to Kyushu to obtain two offensive red talismans from Su Yuqing and her group.

However, his experience at Phantom Sea Island revealed another possibility. Perhaps... he didn't need to expend effort trying to forcibly break through their protective formation. Such an endeavor would be thankless, carry immense risk, and have a low success rate. But by considering the problem from a different perspective, a solution might emerge.

With his mind unconstrained, Lu Ye felt increasingly confident that his idea was feasible!

Phantom Sea Island's protective formation had been on the verge of collapse because its core energy storage had reached its limit. Therefore, if he could create a similar situation on Zixuan Island, Zixuan would face only two options: either voluntarily dismantle and re-establish their protective formation, or helplessly watch it burst from an overwhelming influx of energy.

Whichever choice Zixuan made, the protective formation would cease to be an impediment for Lu Ye.

While it would be utterly impossible for anyone else to achieve this, Lu Ye might have a chance of success if he utilized the Small Star Palace.

This was why he had been so eager to leave and come here.

Locating the Small Star Palace, Lu Ye grasped it and swam towards the direction of his Talent Tree avatar.

While swimming underwater was naturally slower than soaring through the air, it offered superior stealth. No one would likely imagine that, at this very moment, a cultivator with ulterior motives was swiftly approaching Zixuan Island from beneath the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

It took a full day for Lu Ye to finally reach the position directly beneath Zixuan Island.

Although he had traversed the Myriad Manifestations Sea numerous times, he had never before positioned himself beneath another spirit island in this way, especially not a top-tier one like Zixuan.

Upon careful observation, he could detect tiny, almost imperceptible bubbles continuously forming in the seawater beneath Zixuan Island. These dense, nearly undetectable bubbles undoubtedly contained extremely pure star-field energy, which was the fundamental reason for Zixuan Island's abundant energy.

The energy from these bubbles flowed into Zixuan Island, where it was contained by the well-positioned protective formation, preventing any overflow. This energy could then be utilized by the island's cultivators for their practice or absorbed and stored by the protective formation itself.

The situation on other spirit islands should be similar, differing only in strength, which accounts for the varying tiers of spirit islands.

The energy within these bubbles was undoubtedly transformed from the seawater of the Myriad Manifestations Sea. Lu Ye speculated that this transformation was likely connected to the main Star Palace itself; otherwise, the Myriad Manifestations Sea's water could not be converted without cause.

In other words, the very existence of the various spirit islands upon the Myriad Manifestations Sea was directly attributable to a Star Palace located beneath it.

With no inclination to delve into these matters, Lu Ye circled beneath Zixuan Island, found a suitable location, and positioned the Small Star Palace.

Immediately, he began to adjust the Small Star Palace's power.

Since acquiring this subordinate treasure of a supreme star-field artifact, he had never fully unleashed its power. Whether he was creating Peerless Island or later Three Realms Island, the Small Star Palace's power had been significantly suppressed under his adjustments, as constructing a spirit island was not an overnight endeavor but a gradual process.

But this time... Lu Ye no longer suppressed it.

The Small Star Palace's power was fully unleashed!

Instantly, Lu Ye clearly felt a terrifying, invisible suction emanating from the Small Star Palace's location. The surrounding seawater surged into it, transforming in a blink of an eye into pure energy, which then formed bubbles of varying sizes, rising upwards.

This was an incredibly spectacular sight. At first glance, it looked as if an invisible sea beast was breathing underwater; the largest bubbles were almost the size of a house, while the smallest could still accommodate one person.

Lu Ye was secretly astonished by the sight. Compared to when he had placed the Small Star Palace beneath Three Realms Island, its power had increased by more than a hundredfold.

He grew increasingly certain that his idea could come to fruition.

He only hoped that Zixuan would appreciate this grand gift he was sending.

After placing the Small Star Palace, Lu Ye did not venture far. Instead, he quietly ascended and waited silently at a depth of less than thirty meters from Zixuan Island's edge, simultaneously activating the power of his Talent Tree to refine seawater for cultivation.

On a side note, his primary purpose for returning to the Myriad Manifestations Sea this time was to advance to the late Moon Disciple stage, but Zixuan's meddling had kept him constantly busy.

At this very moment, a cloud of gloom and despair hung over Zixuan Island.

Following the previous devastating incident, the morale of the Star Disciple demon cultivators was low, and the Moon Disciple demon cultivators were irritable and restless.

Lionheart, Hu Guang, Bao Youyou, and several other unregistered Moon Disciple demon cultivators were gathered, and the atmosphere was one of silent solemnity.

After a long silence, Lionheart finally spoke in a booming voice, "Given this situation, do none of you have a sound strategy to deal with it?"

The Moon Disciples remained silent; had they possessed a viable strategy, they would have voiced it already.

Lionheart turned to Hu Guang. "Junior Brother Hu, speak your mind."

On Zixuan Island, while Lionheart possessed the greatest combat prowess, Hu Guang had the sharpest mind. It wasn't that the demon race lacked intelligence—many demons were quite clever. However, their inherent demonic nature was difficult to suppress, often leading them to be swayed by emotion and appear somewhat reckless.

Hu Guang pondered briefly before speaking, "Our previous defeat and Zixuan's considerable losses are my responsibility. I underestimated Lu Ye's strength, which led not only to the loss of hundreds of Star Disciples but also to Junior Brother Yuan Che's..."

Lionheart raised a hand to stop him. "There's no need for self-reproach. The cultivators across the entire Myriad Manifestations Sea are watching us. If we don't quickly secure a victory, Zixuan will suffer immense humiliation. Junior Brother, if you have any ideas, please state them."

Hu Guang nodded. "In the struggle for spirit islands on the Myriad Manifestations Sea, Moon Disciples are always crucial. Currently, on our island, Junior Brother Hu and Junior Brother Yuan have both fallen in battle, leaving two registered Moon Disciple guardian positions vacant. My suggestion is to quickly send Junior Brother Chai and Junior Brother Lang to Myriad Manifestations Island to fill these gaps. This would give our island five available Moon Disciples. Then, Senior Brother would remain to guard the island, and I would lead the other three in another expedition. No matter how strong Lu Ye is, with the combined power of the four of us, we can certainly stop him. We won't get entangled with him on the way; we'll head directly for Three Realms Island and launch a forceful assault."

Lionheart nodded slightly upon hearing this. Hu Guang's proposal was conventional and lacked novelty, but at present, it was indeed the only viable option. Zixuan cultivators could not remain holed up indefinitely. In the current situation, with Zixuan under the scrutiny of countless cultivators, they had to demonstrate their resolve.

Furthermore, this was precisely what he had been considering.

Hu Guang continued, "However, there's a problem: Lu Ye is entrenched five hundred *li* away. If Junior Brother Chai and Junior Brother Lang leave the island, he will undoubtedly become aware of it. Therefore, we must create an opportunity for them to depart unnoticed."

Lionheart nodded. "In that case, I will personally confront Lu Ye."

Hu Guang immediately declared, "I will provide cover for Senior Brother!"

Bao Youyou quickly interjected, "I'll go too."

Hu Guang shook his head. "Junior Sister, you must remain on the island to guard against any unforeseen events!"

Bao Youyou then reluctantly agreed.

Hu Guang then turned to Junior Brother Chai and Junior Brother Lang. "When you two Junior Brothers leave, remember to use the spirit talismans we acquired from our trade with the pygmy race. You absolutely must not reveal your whereabouts."

Junior Brother Chai and Junior Brother Lang nodded in unison. "Understood."

With the strategy settled, the Moon Disciples immediately sprang into action.

Five hundred *li* away from Zixuan, Lu Ye's Talent Tree avatar remained motionless, concealed by a formation, monitoring Zixuan's movements.

Suddenly, Zixuan's protective formation showed activity. Immediately after, two figures emerged, one behind the other, dashing straight towards him.

The Talent Tree avatar focused its gaze and recognized the approaching figures as Lionheart and Hu Guang. The two were aggressive, one following the other, and the moment they left the island, Lionheart roared, "Lu Ye, come and meet your demise!"

It was as if he feared others wouldn't know he had left the island to seek battle.

The countless cultivators observing nearby, who had been bored for so long, heard Lionheart's voice and saw his figure. All of them instantly felt a surge of excitement, believing that the main show had finally begun and their long, arduous wait had not been in vain.

On that extremely small deserted island, the Talent Tree avatar blinked, then immediately shot into the sky and sped off into the distance without a backward glance.

He possessed neither his Mountain-Crushing Saber nor even his Sword Gourd. As a weapon cultivator, how could he possibly contend with a powerhouse like Lionheart? Moreover, Hu Guang was accompanying Lionheart.

Therefore, Lu Ye had no intention of engaging in battle. His plan had already been initiated, and he simply needed to wait a short while for it to take effect. Naturally, he was in no mood to tangle with Lionheart.

The observing cultivators, witnessing this from afar, were utterly speechless. They had heard of Lu Ye's many legendary feats, such as his awe-inspiring accomplishment of single-handedly cutting through Zixuan's fleet multiple times. Why was what they now saw with their own eyes so different from the rumors?