Chapter 1882: Top Spirit Island

When Lu Ye first chose Three Realms Island, he already planned to develop it into a top-tier Spirit Island, but at that time, he wasn't strong enough, so he could only wait for the right opportunity.

Now, the time had undoubtedly arrived.

While he was talking with He Baichuan, a Star Host from the Azure Radiance Dao Realm suddenly rushed over, cupping his fists from a distance and saying, “Great Island Master, Second Island Master.”

“What is it?” He Baichuan asked.

The Star Host replied, “Elder Tang has made a discovery over there; please come and take a look.”

Lu Ye and He Baichuan exchanged a glance, then quickly moved together in that direction.

They soon arrived at the location. Not only had the two of them come, but almost all the Moon Dews from Three Realms Island had received the news and rushed over to investigate.

This was the resident area for cultivators on Three Realms Island. There was a small, not-so-large hill here, stretching for less than thirty li.

In a concave hollow within the hill at this moment, Tang Jun was squatting on the ground, observing with great interest.

He Baichuan stepped forward and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Tang Jun pointed with his hand: “Look.”

All the Moon Dews looked in the direction he was pointing, and saw clear signs of energy gathering within that area, already forming a faint mist.

The dispersion of this mist was very regular, radiating outwards in a circular pattern from a central point. The closer to the center, the denser the mist became.

“A vein source!” He Baichuan’s eyes narrowed, and he exclaimed.

Everyone else also showed excited expressions.

Before this, on Purple Jade Island, everyone had visited their spirit jade mine, and had even plundered it once, so they were already familiar with the existence of vein sources.

At that time, everyone was incredibly envious, because having a spirit jade mine meant that even if they did nothing, they would have a continuous income of spirit jade.

They had also dreamed of when they could have a spirit jade mine of their own.

No one had expected that their dream would come true so soon!

With the emergence of a vein source, this was the clearest sign of a spirit jade mine forming. It truly meant that from this day forward, Three Realms Island had genuinely transformed into a top-tier Spirit Island!

And this was just the beginning. A spirit jade mine couldn't possibly have only one vein source. Now that this vein source had appeared, who could say there wouldn't be a second, a third, in time...?

The spirit jade mine on Purple Jade Island was quite substantial, with ten vein sources, and an annual output of about thirty million spirit jades.

What would happen on Three Realms Island? No one knew the outcome until it appeared, and could only imagine endless possibilities.

However, Three Realms Island had one advantage over Purple Jade Island: the sheer size of the entire Spirit Island. Therefore, it was highly probable that the scale of Three Realms Island's spirit jade mine would surpass that of Purple Jade Island in the future.

The birth of a vein source meant the emergence of a spirit jade mine, which was a momentous joyous occasion for Three Realms Island.

The Moon Dews immediately sealed off the surrounding area, and simultaneously blocked any leakage of information. Especially Old Tang, who had learned from past mistakes; Twin Islands had been lost under his watch, so he was more worried than anyone that the news getting out would lead to unpredictable negative consequences.

After making preparations, Old Tang looked somewhat worried again. “We can seal off the news here; as long as our own people don't reveal it, outsiders shouldn't know. But the changes in the island's energy cannot be hidden from others.”

Three Realms Island had so many visitors daily. Even though the commercial district was separated from the resident area for the island's cultivators during array deployment, the energy changes of the entire Spirit Island could not be faked.

It was just that because there were too many cultivators in the commercial district, even if someone stayed there to secretly cultivate, the benefits gained would not be as much as those received by the island's own cultivators.

There were always clever people in this world. The changes in energy were enough to spark speculation. The news of Three Realms Island's promotion to a top-tier Spirit Island probably wouldn't stay hidden for long.

He Baichuan pondered for a moment and said, “It certainly can't be hidden, but now, in this Myriad Manifestations Sea, I doubt anyone would dare to cause us trouble, right?”

The Battle of Purple Jade was the best example. Who would dare to pluck the tiger’s whiskers now?

Tang Jun said, “I'm not afraid of external forces. I'm just afraid of our local star system…”

Twin Islands had been taken by the local star system, and this had always been a thorn in his side.

Lu Ye blinked and said, “There’s no need to worry too much about this. Three Realms Island now is different from Twin Islands back then. We have Chime Bell Realm backing us. As long as that person from Chime Bell Realm doesn't nod, no one can do anything to us.”

If he hadn't thought it through, how could he have adjusted the power of the Small Star Host Hall?

Old Tang thought about it after hearing that, and nodded, saying, “That’s true.”

Although Twin Islands was built by Chu Shen, it was strictly speaking somewhat connected to Chime Bell Realm. However, Jiuyan hadn't paid much attention to Twin Islands at the time, simply treating it as Chu Shen's playful endeavor.

Later, when Twin Islands was promoted to a top-tier Spirit Island, the local star system was moved to action and approached her, asking her to prioritize the bigger picture. Jiuyan didn't say anything, because she felt that Chu Shen's abilities were indeed insufficient to hold a top-tier Spirit Island. As a Myriad Manifestations Sun Glow, she was willing to make some contributions to her star system.

The outbreak of conflict was mainly due to Chu Shen's unwillingness to cooperate.

But Three Realms Island had genuinely paid respects to Jiuyan, and given what had happened before, if the local star system truly tried to covet Three Realms Island again, it would truly mean they didn't take Jiuyan seriously.

Tang Jun couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. “It seems that at crucial moments, we still have to rely on young Chu Shen. Ah, I’ve been too busy lately and neglected to look after him. I’ll go see him later and bring him something fun.”

Lu Ye’s eyebrows twitched. “Stop being mischievous. The things you play with aren't suitable for him. If word gets back to that person from Chime Bell Realm, they won't let you off easily.”

Tang Jun smiled. “Don't worry, I definitely won't lead him astray.”

After a brief period of excitement and endless anticipation, everyone dispersed. The place where the vein source appeared completely became a forbidden area on Three Realms Island, and even the island's own cultivators were not allowed to approach it easily.

After all, this concerned the future of Three Realms Island, and no amount of caution was too much.

Lu Ye had just returned to his bamboo house when Old Tang came looking for him, with a secretive demeanor. He closed the door and sat down opposite Lu Ye.

“What’s up?” Lu Ye looked at him, puzzled.

Old Tang stroked his beard and said, “I’ve been thinking about how to tell you this, or rather, how to ask you.”

“Just say what’s on your mind.”

Tang Jun said, “Then I won't beat around the bush.” He lightly coughed and continued, “When I went to Twin Islands back then, it was at your invitation. Only later did I learn that Chu Shen wasn't the first to occupy that place; you were, and he came later.”

“And then?” Lu Ye had no idea what he was getting at.

“Twin Islands was originally just a deserted island no one cared about. According to Chu Shen, not long after he occupied it, one day, the deserted island suddenly came to life. Then, in a very short period, it gradually transformed into a high-grade Spirit Island, and later, it leaped to become a top-tier Spirit Island!”

Lu Ye suddenly understood what he was getting at. He realized that even if he did some things secretly, there would still be external traces.

“When Twin Islands was promoted to a top-tier Spirit Island, you weren't there. It was attacked and seized by others. By the time you returned, everything was settled. Then, under your guidance, the Three Realms cultivators found Three Realms Island! At that time, I was actually very puzzled. Because looking across the entire Myriad Manifestations Sea, there were many deserted islands more suitable for Three Realms cultivators to settle than Three Realms Island. Why did you specifically choose this particular place? Three Realms Island is huge, and with so few people we had at the time, there was absolutely no need to choose such a large deserted island.”

“I didn't understand, but I just accepted it, since you're always so reliable. And sure enough, damn it, Three Realms Island came to life! I was very shocked then, thinking, how could such an unbelievable stroke of luck, something others might not encounter in several lifetimes, happen to me twice?”

“Furthermore, when Three Realms Island was first being developed, you completely planned it as a commercial Spirit Island. Did you really have such foresight, young man? At that time, I thought, do you have some special ability to tell at a glance which deserted island will come to life? But on second thought, that didn't seem right, because although you made the final decision on Three Realms Island's location, you weren't involved in the search process.”

“Do you know what shocked me even more? While our Three Realms Island was flourishing, Twin Islands declined! A top-tier Spirit Island, in just over a year, became a worthless deserted island again. Although it's true that deserted islands occasionally come to life and Spirit Islands wither on Myriad Manifestations Island, this was simply too outrageous. How could all the good things happen to us, and all the bad things to others? Something isn't right about this.”

Old Tang sat there, rambling on and on. Lu Ye didn't interrupt him, just listened quietly.

He must have had some suspicions for a long time. Unlike the other Three Realms cultivators, Old Tang was someone who had witnessed both the rise of Twin Islands and the rise of Three Realms Island. Although Chu Shen had also experienced it, he was still younger and hadn't thought as deeply as Old Tang.

“A year ago, we decisively defeated Purple Jade, mighty and imposing. It's a shame I was too weak to personally join the battle and could only stay behind on the island. Can you guess what changes occurred on the island during that time?” Though Old Tang was asking, he didn't wait for Lu Ye to answer, just slapped his thigh and said, “Heh, for more than half a month, the island's energy noticeably weakened. I wanted to die at the time, worrying that our Three Realms Island might follow Twin Islands’ old path of decay. If that were true, what face would I have to meet you upon your triumphant return? I can’t fight, and I can’t even look after the home properly. Am I really useless in my old age?”

Listening to his self-reproach, Lu Ye could almost imagine the fear and unease in Old Tang's heart during that half-month. He sighed and poured him a cup of tea. “You must have been worried, old man.”

The weakening of Three Realms Island's energy during that period was undoubtedly because he had taken away the Small Star Host Hall.

Old Tang looked at him, gritting his teeth for a moment. “At least you have some conscience, young man.” His heart grew more certain of his astonishing conjecture. Now it seemed, his thoughts were indeed correct. He had truly held back for a long time and could no longer bear it, which was why he had come to tell Lu Ye all this.