Chapter 1856: Middle Catch

When Lionheart and Huguang left the island, heading straight for Lu Ye's location, Junior Brother Chai and Junior Brother Lang had already activated spirit talismans to conceal themselves and quietly departed Zixuan, making their way towards Myriad Manifestations Island.

Outside Zixuan Island, three figures continuously pursued and fled, rapidly moving away, leaving the onlookers who had gathered nearby with nothing to see.

They had all heard about Lu Ye's remarkable feat of slaying Yuanche with a single strike on Three Realms Island, and thus wished to witness the immense power of this foremost expert under the sunlight.

However, upon observing the scene, they were greatly disappointed, leading them to question whether Yuanche's death was truly as rumored.

If Lu Ye truly possessed such strength, he wouldn't have been entirely passive when pursued by Lionheart and Huguang; he would have at least put up a fight. Yet, the reality was different: Zixuan's two Moonfall cultivators actively sought battle, while Lu Ye of Three Realms Island fled in panic.

Lionheart was furious because, ever since relations with Three Realms Island soured, Zixuan had lost three Moonfall cultivators and several hundred Constellation cultivators. In contrast, Three Realms Island had only lost Wei Po, whom he had swallowed whole. The disparity in losses was immense, making him appear quite incompetent as the Great Island Master.

Therefore, his pursuit of Lu Ye was relentless. Moreover, he genuinely wanted to personally test Lu Ye's capabilities. However, the other party completely avoided engagement, focusing solely on escape, which only further enraged him.

Fortunately, Huguang remained calm and stopped Lionheart at a crucial moment. Had they continued the chase, Lu Ye might have found an opportunity to defeat them individually. Huguang was extremely wary of the decisive blow Lu Ye had used to slay Yuanche.

Junior Brother Chai and Junior Brother Lang had already departed the island. With their objective achieved, there was naturally no need for them to continue tangling with Lu Ye.

A short while later, the two demon cultivator Moonfalls returned to Zixuan. Lu Ye's figure reappeared on the small desolate island five hundred *li* away. After observing intently for a moment, he suddenly realized something and quickly sent a message to Tang Jun: "Zixuan likely has Moonfall cultivators heading to Myriad Manifestations Island for registration."

Lionheart and Huguang's decision to leave the island and seek battle seemed like a normal response, but there were still some suspicious elements. From Three Realms Island's perspective, if facing the current situation, the most crucial action would undoubtedly be to replenish their lost Moonfall guardians. This way, they would have more Moonfall cultivators available for any potential spiritual island disputes, preventing a situation where they are hampered in Moonfall-level confrontations due to being outnumbered.

If this were the case, Three Realms Island could find an opportunity to intercept Zixuan's Moonfall cultivators.

Tang Jun quickly replied, "Don't worry, we already have arrangements in place."

Lu Ye was astonished: "Who could have such foresight?" He had made his deduction based on Lionheart and Huguang's reactions, but he hadn't expected their main island to have already made preparations.

"Though I possess little combat ability, I've eaten more salt than you've walked roads, so how could I not foresee such a minor matter?" Tang Jun's message was brimming with pride. "If Zixuan's Moonfall cultivators don't go to Myriad Manifestations Island, then so be it. But if they dare to, I'll ensure they never return."

Lu Ye secretly began to look forward to it.

Although he wasn't sure if his conjecture was right or wrong, regardless, their side wouldn't suffer any losses. If he was indeed correct, then the Zixuan Moonfall cultivators heading to Myriad Manifestations Island were likely in for trouble.

On Myriad Manifestations Island, opposite the registration hall, stood a teahouse where Lu Ye had once enjoyed tea with Ma Shangsi.

At this very moment, a young man sat in the exact spot Lu Ye had occupied, occasionally glancing towards the hall opposite.

It was Zhou Chuang of Four Directions Island!

No one would have expected that the one responsible for monitoring here was a cultivator from Four Directions Island, seemingly unrelated to Three Realms Island. Such surveillance was undoubtedly discreet and deadly. Even if Zixuan's demon cultivators discovered Zhou Chuang's presence, they wouldn't draw many conclusions.

Suddenly, a day later, Zhou Chuang's eyebrows rose as he looked towards the hall opposite. Two new figures had appeared at the hall's entrance. Although they had applied some disguise and concealment, there was nothing particularly noticeable at first glance. However, their heightened vigilance caught Zhou Chuang's attention.

Those entering that hall opposite were typically Moonfall cultivators from various spiritual islands. Generally, everyone entered openly, as registration was hardly a clandestine affair.

Yet, these two individuals' furtive behavior truly aroused suspicion.

Zhou Chuang immediately understood that the "fish" had appeared and promptly sent out a message.

Shortly after, the two cultivators exited the hall again. Zhou Chuang left a few spirit jades and departed the teahouse as well.

It must be said, the two individuals were very cautious. After leaving the hall, they didn't immediately depart Myriad Manifestations Island but instead moved around the island. Zhou Chuang almost revealed his presence several times, but fortunately, he was sufficiently discreet.

It wasn't until another day had passed that the two finally departed from a ferry crossing on Myriad Manifestations Island. The location of this crossing was strikingly opposite to the direction one would take to Zixuan.

This made Zhou Chuang briefly question if his judgment was correct, because if the individuals truly were Zixuan demon cultivators, it made no sense for them to take the long way around and depart Myriad Manifestations Island from this direction.

However, if it was a deliberate move on their part, it would make sense.

Nevertheless, the net had been cast, and the "fish" had appeared. Whether or not they were Zixuan demon cultivators would soon be revealed.

An hour later, somewhere over the Myriad Manifestations Sea, two Moonfall cultivators who had left Myriad Manifestations Island spotted a figure standing in the air in the distance, blocking their path.

This made them extremely wary. Upon closer inspection of the figure's face, one of the Moonfall cultivators exclaimed in shock, "Oh no, it's Ma Shangsi!"

Zixuan had been deploying against Three Realms Island for a year, so they were well aware of the identities of Three Realms Island's Moonfall guardians. Even if they hadn't seen them in person, they had seen their spiritual projections.

Therefore, the two immediately recognized the person blocking their path as Ma Shangsi of Three Realms Island.

"An ambush!" the other Moonfall cultivator also cried out in alarm. Realizing the danger, the two Moonfall cultivators immediately dispersed in opposite directions, clearly intending to flee separately.

"We've caught the fish!" Ma Shangsi, seeing the reaction of the approaching cultivators, was overjoyed, knowing that the intelligence provided by Zhou Chuang was correct. These two were indeed demon cultivators from Zixuan, and now that they forcefully activated their powers, the traces of their demonic energy could no longer be concealed.

As he spoke, he singled out one of them and gave chase.

At the same time, from a desolate island below, two figures shot out one after another, pursuing the other fleeing cultivator. These two unexpected arrivals were both late-stage Moonfall cultivators: the women Luan Xiao'e and Yan Miao.

The two demon Moonfall cultivators were not weak, but they were significantly weaker than Ma Shangsi and his companions, as they were only mid-stage Moonfall cultivators. Targeted in this manner, they stood no chance.

Luan Xiao'e resented Zixuan's actions that led to Wei Po's tragic death, so her attack was merciless, instantly slaying the Zixuan Moonfall cultivator on the spot. By the time they arrived to rendezvous with Ma Shangsi, they found that the battle there had also concluded.

With a late-stage Moonfall cultivator against a mid-stage Moonfall cultivator, Ma Shangsi held an absolute advantage. Combined with the arcane Blood Sea technique, once an enemy was trapped by him, there was no hope of escape.

Over the past two days, some strange occurrences had been happening on Zixuan Island. The island's internal energy had suddenly become much denser, and this situation was intensifying.

This was highly unusual.

Zixuan Island was already a top-tier spiritual island; its internal energy density was among the highest in the entire Myriad Manifestations Sea, allowing Zixuan's demon cultivators to practice more quickly and conveniently. Although the island's energy occasionally fluctuated, the amplitude of these fluctuations was never significant, maintaining a balance for tens of thousands of years.

Yet, everything had changed two days ago.

Under normal circumstances, such a change would undoubtedly be a good thing for Zixuan, as everyone desired denser energy on their spiritual island, signifying an improved cultivation environment.

However, with Zixuan currently facing a period of turmoil, no unusual change could be taken lightly.

Under Lionheart's command, Huguang personally led a group of cultivators to investigate the situation. Zixuan Island was the very foundation for demon cultivators in the Myriad Manifestations Sea, so no carelessness could be afforded. Until the cause of this change was understood, no one could rest easy.

After two days of observation, Huguang finally made a discovery. In fact, some changes were quite evident.

"Senior Brother," he reported, "I circled the island and found a large number of bubbles rising from beneath the sea. The significant increase in the island's energy is directly caused by these bubbles bursting."

Lionheart frowned, "Where are these bubbles coming from?"

Huguang shook his head, "I don't know." After all, he couldn't delve deep into the Myriad Manifestations Sea to investigate. He then changed the subject: "Senior Brother, the waters of the Myriad Manifestations Sea are condensed from cosmic energy. Strictly speaking, this vast sea can be considered a giant spiritual jade, but it contains too many impurities and is highly corrosive, making it impossible for anyone to enter and refine for cultivation."

"I'm aware of that, continue."

"The Myriad Manifestations Sea has numerous spiritual islands and an even greater number of desolate islands. The difference between them is that spiritual islands have energy being generated beneath them, while desolate islands do not. Therefore, cultivators like us can reside on spiritual islands and set up grand formations to harness this generated energy for our use. But the key question is, how is this energy generated?"

"Do you have any theories, Junior Brother?" Lionheart asked.

Huguang replied, "Nothing concrete, just a hypothesis. If the entire Myriad Manifestations Sea is likened to a colossal spiritual jade, then its surface should have some hidden, unobservable channels, allowing the energy from within the jade to escape through them. If an island happens to be situated directly above these channels, then that island becomes a spiritual island. The varying sizes of these channels would also explain why even among spiritual islands, there are differences in quality."

Lionheart pondered for a moment and said, "Your hypothesis, Junior Brother, is quite interesting." This was precisely why he valued Huguang; his flexible mind allowed him to form a concrete association with just a few words. Moreover, it now seemed that this hypothesis might very well be true.

"Based on this hypothesis, the changes on our island can be explained," Huguang stated confidently. "The channels beneath our island, which allow the Myriad Manifestations Sea's energy to escape, have suddenly enlarged!"