Chapter 1880: Falling Curtain

In the Yuan Du Palace on Myriad Islands, Yuan Du and Hei Yun sat facing each other in an octagonal pavilion, sipping tea.

Suddenly, a communication talisman glowed. Yuan Du picked it up, examined it, then looked at Hei Yun. "Lionheart is dead. Lu Ye cut him down with a single strike!"

The news came from Yuan Cheng, detailing various specifics. Yuan Du was quite surprised that Lionheart, even after employing the Fusion Pill Technique, couldn't withstand a single blow from Lu Ye.

He found it perplexing because if Lu Ye of Three Realms Island truly possessed such terrifying strength, he shouldn't have let Lionheart escape that day. Yet, it appeared Lu Ye and Lionheart had endured a bitter battle.

Yuan Du couldn't quite understand why Lu Ye's strength seemed to fluctuate so erratically.

Across from him, Hei Yun tilted his head slightly, staring intently in one direction. He seemed to be deep in thought, or perhaps in a daze, and offered no response upon hearing the news.

After a long silence, Hei Yun finally withdrew his gaze. "Lionheart is free."

Lionheart's death was orchestrated by him, but he felt little guilt. It was the price Lionheart had to pay, and for Lionheart, death was indeed a release.

He had no hope of reaching the Sunlit realm and could only continue to hone his skills in the Moonlit realm. Now, with his demonic core damaged, even the prospect of refining himself in the Moonlit realm had become a luxury. Moreover, losing Purple Profound Island was an immense transgression. Even if he returned to Purple Profound Demonic Star, he would never have a peaceful life.

For an ambitious and competitive demonic cultivator of his strength, this was nothing short of torture.

Thus, he was certain that even if Lionheart saw through his plan, he would obediently cooperate without any resistance. By sending Lionheart to Lu Ye, wasn't he also giving Lionheart an opportunity to personally exact his revenge?

Unfortunately, Lionheart ultimately proved to be ineffective.

As he spoke, Hei Yun rose, preparing to leave.

"Where are you going, fellow Daoist?" Yuan Du asked.

Hei Yun didn't turn his head, only his voice came back: "Purple Profound Island! That place is currently swarming with too many insignificant figures. Lionheart is dead, it's time for Purple Profound to reclaim this top-tier spirit island."

Yuan Du said, "What about that matter I discussed with you a few days ago…"

"I have my own plans; no need for you to trouble yourself!" Hei Yun's impatient voice returned, but he had already vanished.

Staring in the direction where Hei Yun disappeared, Yuan Du pondered silently for a moment before letting out a soft snort.

He naturally perceived Hei Yun's displeasure and anger. Fundamentally, Purple Profound Island's targeting of Three Realms Island was due to Yuan Du's covert instigation. Without Yuan Du, why would Lionheart and the others have done these things?

That Hu Xue must have played a crucial role in it.

Now, Purple Profound had suffered immense losses, while Yuan Du remained completely unharmed. All he lost was a bit of face, which was insignificant. His concubine, Hu Xue, had indeed died, but in the final analysis, Hu Xue was also a demonic cultivator from Purple Profound.

For all these reasons, how could Hei Yun show any pleasantness towards Yuan Du? His willingness to sit there earlier was already giving Yuan Du significant face.

Yuan Du was well aware of these sentiments but didn't take them to heart.

As for "that matter" he mentioned earlier, now that the enmity had been forged, it wouldn't be easy to undo. Especially since Purple Profound had suffered such a massive loss at the hands of Three Realms Island – losing a top-tier spirit island, countless demonic cultivators killed or injured. Now, to reclaim the spirit island, a dignified Sunlit realm master even had to swallow his pride and personally visit Three Realms Island, and currently, they still had to compensate Three Realms Island with ten billion spirit jades.

Who could possibly stomach such an affront?

However, Myriad Sea had its own rules. So, no matter how furious Hei Yun was, he could not, and would not, cause trouble in Myriad Sea.

Here, Sunlit realm masters' actions were restricted. But once they left, there would be no such concerns. Some problems needed to be resolved at their source.

Therefore, no matter what Hei Yun said, Yuan Du was confident that he would not miss this opportunity.

The bustling Purple Profound Island finally became quiet.

There was no other reason than the sudden arrival of a Sunlit realm demonic cultivator. Although he didn't actively drive anyone away, he only briefly exerted his immense presence. But who would dare to linger there any longer?

So, about fifteen minutes after Hei Yun's arrival at Purple Profound, the entire island was deserted.

From then on, a Sunlit realm master remained stationed on Purple Profound Island, and word of mouth spread that it was a Sunlit realm master from Purple Profound itself.

The Sunlit realm masters of Myriad Sea's local star system indeed wouldn't allow foreign Sunlit realm masters to stay too long. Just like Luo Xie, who escorted cultivators from the Three Realms and Four Directions star systems, he only remained in Myriad Sea for about half a month before hastily departing.

He had to leave; not doing so would be a provocation to the local Sunlit realm masters.

However, this wasn't an explicit rule, and combined with Yuan Du's connection, the Sunlit realm guardians stationed in Myriad Sea simply pretended not to notice Hei Yun's presence on Purple Profound Island.

They knew that Hei Yun wouldn't stay there indefinitely; he was merely guarding it temporarily. Once Purple Profound had made arrangements to retake control of the spirit island, he would naturally depart.

Cultivators unaware of the inside story were quite anticipating Three Realms Island's reaction. Logically speaking, Purple Profound was Three Realms Island's spoils of war, and how to handle Purple Profound was Three Realms Island's concern. This was also why, although cultivators gathered around Purple Profound, no force dared to truly occupy it.

To everyone's disappointment, Three Realms Island showed no reaction at all.

Thinking about it, it made sense. Three Realms Island was indeed strong enough, but with a Sunlit realm master stationed there, who would dare to provoke him?

Several months later, a large number of demonic cultivators moved into Purple Profound. Among them were those who had escaped that day, as well as those newly transferred from Purple Profound. The five Moonlit realm cultivators leading them were all in the late Moonlit stage.

As the Purple Profound demonic cultivators retook control of the top-tier spirit island, Hei Yun quietly departed.

Just one hour later, Hei Yun suddenly appeared in front of the wormhole connecting the Myriad Star System and the Long Cloud Star System. The Long Cloud Moonlit realm master stationed there detected him and immediately went out to greet him personally.

A moment later, Hei Yun entered the wormhole and passed into the Long Cloud Star System. The Long Cloud Sunlit realm master, who had already received the news, was waiting and greeted him warmly.

Although Long Cloud was a respectable star system with its own Sunlit realm master, it was still far inferior to Purple Profound. After all, Purple Profound was a top-tier realm. How could Long Cloud not take it seriously when a Purple Profound Sunlit realm master entered their star system?

Meanwhile, on Myriad Islands, in Yuan Du's palace, he looked at Yuan Cheng, who had rushed to report. "Which direction did Hei Yun go?"

Yuan Cheng replied obsequiously, "Just as Old Ancestor predicted, he went towards Long Cloud. My informant placed there earlier has reported."

Yuan Du nodded in satisfaction. He knew that what he had said to Hei Yun that day was not in vain. Now, everything was indeed unfolding as he had expected.

In truth, if not for the constraints of his guardian identity, he would have wanted to make this trip himself. After all, some grievances were more satisfying to settle personally. But he was, after all, a Sunlit realm guardian of Myriad Sea and needed to remain stationed there. It was not appropriate for him to leave for too long, so he could only let Hei Yun make the trip.

Purple Profound had a great enmity with Three Realms Island, and so did Yuan Du.

As a dignified Sunlit realm master, he had repeatedly lost face in front of a group of Moonlit and Star Constellation realm cultivators, and even his own concubine had been killed. How could he tolerate this?

While Yuan Du was secretly plotting, Three Realms Island was counting its assets.

Resources worth ten billion spirit jades—an immense amount. Hundreds of storage rings were used for them. These items were brought by the Purple Profound demonic cultivators from their own realm and were secretly sent to Three Realms Island as the demonic cultivators retook Purple Profound Island.

The vast hall was now filled to the brim with a dazzling array of treasures. Hundreds of selected cultivators were meticulously counting and organizing them. He Baichuan stood by, smiling so widely he couldn't close his mouth.

Myriad Sea was indeed a good place. He recalled that back on Jade Snail, he sometimes had to venture deep into space to find spirit jades.

But since arriving here, the Three Realms cultivators had first occupied Three Realms Island, developing it into a bustling trade hub, and then profited immensely from two wars.

Especially this time… assets worth ten billion spirit jades. How long would this be enough for Three Realms cultivators to use? Moreover, Three Realms Island now had a considerable annual income.

Looking at Myriad Sea now, in terms of wealth, perhaps only Myriad Islands could surpass Three Realms Island. Other spirit islands, whether top-tier or high-grade, were simply no match.

"Junior Brother Lu!" He Baichuan called out quickly as he noticed Lu Ye strolling leisurely towards them.

"How is it?" Lu Ye asked.

He Baichuan replied, "Although not fully counted, it's generally fine. The amount won't be far off. Purple Profound proved to be quite trustworthy."

Lu Ye nodded. "Since it was already agreed upon, and Lionheart is dead, they naturally wouldn't dare to play any tricks." He then asked, "Extract all the fire-attributed resources from these assets; I have a use for them."

He Baichuan smiled. "Don't worry, Junior Brother. I've already instructed them in advance. All fire-attributed resources are being sorted separately and will be handed over to you all at once."

Lu Ye had a large demand for fire-attributed resources, a fact known to almost everyone on Three Realms Island. He Baichuan naturally paid close attention to this.

"Are there any treasures that can enhance the quality of Dharma Sources?" Lu Ye asked.

He Baichuan shook his head. "None found yet. Although we haven't finished counting, hope isn't high. While such treasures aren't considered rare, unfortunately, too many cultivators need them, so they are always in short supply."

Lu Ye had simply asked casually and wasn't disappointed that there weren't any.

However, as He Baichuan said, such treasures were indeed not rare—not the kind that appeared only once every few hundred or thousand years. But precisely because the demand was too great, once a cultivator found one, they usually kept it for themselves. If one was occasionally put up for sale, it would be fiercely vied for.

After all, for Moonlit realm cultivators, the quality of their Dharma Source directly affected their cultivation efficiency. Who wouldn't want their cultivation to be more efficient? Especially since growth in the Moonlit realm required a long period of accumulation; even a slight increase in efficiency could save a significant amount of time.

With the payment of ten billion spirit jades in assets and the Purple Profound demonic cultivators retaking Purple Profound Island, the conflict between Three Realms Island and them finally came to a complete end.

To those unaware of the inside story, it appeared that Three Realms Island, after conquering Purple Profound, simply left it unmanaged. When Purple Profound retook control after more than half a year, this was undoubtedly seen as Three Realms Island being wary of Purple Profound Demonic Star.

However, in reality, this was not the case. The ten billion spirit jades and Lionheart's death were both secrets. This way, Purple Profound didn't suffer further loss of face, and Three Realms Island gained practical benefits. It could be said that both sides found the outcome acceptable.