Chapter 1978: 舛

Jiuyan hadn't informed Lu Ye of her departure, nor was there any reason for her to tell him. So, he came to Chushen to inquire, hoping Chushen might know something.

Chushen, as expected, knew the situation: "Mother said an old friend summoned her to another star system for help, and she'll be back soon."

"I see," Lu Ye understood.

Jiuyan had gone to visit a friend. As a Sun-Splendor cultivator, it was normal for her to have friends from other star systems. Even he, let alone a Sun-Splendor, knew many people from other star systems.

So Lu Ye didn't think too much of it.

After chatting with Chushen for a few more moments, he soon departed.

But for some reason, with Jiuyan's departure, Lu Ye suddenly felt a sense of unease and trepidation, as if something bad was about to happen.

This feeling made him secretly vigilant. At his level of cultivation and strength, certain premonitions might indeed be omens.

In the bamboo building, Lu Ye pondered but found nothing amiss or worth noting. This was the Myriad Manifestations Ocean; as long as its rules weren't broken, with the Three Realms Island's foundation and the reputation he had forged through battle, they could rest completely assured.

After thinking for a long time, he reached into his embrace and took out the Dice of Fate.

Since acquiring this item, he had only actively rolled it once. All other times, the Dice of Fate appeared on its own when he entered various training scenarios.

But according to his past experiences, the Dice of Fate lived up to its name; the hexagrams it produced were largely relevant to his upcoming circumstances.

So Lu Ye thought that, in reality, it wasn't the Dice of Fate controlling destiny, but rather the fortunes of future destiny reflected on the dice.

If not for this sudden trepidation, he wouldn't casually use this item, but at this moment, he couldn't afford to care too much.

After a brief ponder, he tossed the dice in front of him.

With a soft rumble, the small dice settled. A faint glow flashed, transforming into the character "舛"!

Before Lu Ye could examine it closely, the character "舛" once again transformed into a faint glow and entered his forehead.

Lu Ye frowned. This "舛" was clearly not a good omen, undoubtedly showing that his trepidation was not without cause, but that something might genuinely happen.

However, since it was "舛" and not "凶" (ominous/fierce), did that mean the matter wasn't serious? Or that there wasn't much danger, just that the process might be a bit rough?

But in any case, this made Lu Ye more cautious. After thinking it over, he got up and walked towards the alchemy room, found his Second Senior Sister, and explained the situation. His Second Senior Sister asked nothing, only nodded continuously.

After leaving his Second Senior Sister, Lu Ye checked his Talent Tree. Under the glow of fire, gray mist rose, clearly indicating that the mysterious power of the Dice of Fate was being incinerated by the Talent Tree. At this rate, it would be completely incinerated in two or three days.

He slightly calmed his mind.

Just like that, two more days passed.

On this day, Lu Ye was answering questions for some cultivators when he suddenly felt a majestic aura rapidly approaching from one direction. He quickly looked up in that direction, his brow furrowed.

His premonition had truly come true. What he didn't expect was that the one who came would be the old scoundrel Yuan Du!

And it happened to be just two days after Jiuyan left. Was this a coincidence?

Lu Ye didn't think so.

He wasn't the only one who felt this Sun-Splendor might. Many Moon-Glow cultivators on the island also sensed it. Immediately, streams of divine sense spread from all directions.

After a brief exchange, Lu Ye soared into the air, heading towards Yuan Du's direction. At the same time, with his command, the protective array of the entire Three Realms Island was activated to its maximum.

Yuan Du's personal arrival clearly indicated hostile intentions. There were things he had to guard against.

A moment later, within the protective array, Lu Ye stood at the forefront, with several island masters gathered behind him, standing in mid-air and watching the direction from which Yuan Du was approaching.

This old scoundrel made no attempt to conceal his Sun-Splendor might. Yet his speed was not fast, in fact, it was quite slow. As he traveled, he attracted countless cultivators' attention, all wondering what Yuan Du was doing.

But when they realized that Yuan Du's destination was the renowned Three Realms Island, many cultivators showed intrigued expressions and followed from a distance.

Many cultivators knew about the grievances between Three Realms Island and Yuan Du. However, as the custodian of the Myriad Manifestations Ocean, Yuan Du was required to strictly abide by its rules. This meant that even as a Sun-Splendor, he couldn't do anything to Three Realms Island as long as they didn't violate any rules.

Now that Yuan Du was suddenly pointing his sword at Three Realms Island, it clearly signaled a major move, naturally sparking curiosity.

"Junior Brother Lu, this old fellow has ill intentions," He Baichuan said, his face filled with worry. He naturally understood Yuan Du's intentions. As a Sun-Splendor, Yuan Du could have arrived quickly, yet he walked so slowly, deliberately drawing attention and encouraging others to follow. This was to create momentum, on one hand, putting pressure on Three Realms Island, and on the other, demonstrating his fairness and impartiality to others.

He must have absolute confidence in himself, so whatever he intended to do would be within the rules of the Myriad Manifestations Ocean, ensuring no one could criticize him.

News traveled incredibly fast in the Myriad Manifestations Ocean, especially concerning a Sun-Splendor custodian and Three Realms Island. So, in just a short while, the entire Myriad Manifestations Ocean knew what was happening here. Those nearby rushed to observe, while those further away were already en route.

Everyone realized that something big might happen today!

A distance that would normally take only a dozen breaths to traverse was deliberately stretched by Yuan Du to the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. By the time Yuan Du arrived outside Three Realms Island, people had gathered from all directions, forming a vast crowd.

Yuan Du hadn't come alone. He brought nearly a hundred Moon-Glow cultivators with him. Some of these Moon-Glows belonged to a certain realm within the local star system, directly obeying Yuan Du, but most were custodians of various Spirit Islands.

For example, Lu Ye saw Zhao Yunqi from Giant Blade Island...

This island master of Giant Blade Island, who had been extorted by Three Realms Island twice, couldn't help but shrink his neck when his eyes met Lu Ye's. He had psychological trauma and didn't want to get involved in anything against Three Realms Island this time, but he had no choice but to come, as Yuan Du had issued a summons.

Although it seemed on the surface that with Yuan Du's personal action, Three Realms Island would have no power to resist, Zhao Yunqi still felt uneasy, always feeling that things wouldn't go so smoothly. If Yuan Du were to fail, Giant Blade Island would no longer have the right to exist in the Myriad Manifestations Ocean.

Although he knew this was unlikely to happen, he was still worried.

Zhao Yunqi wasn't the only Moon-Glow custodian summoned by Yuan Du. There were also several demon cultivators, clearly from Zixuan's side, but they were all new demon cultivators whom Lu Ye didn't recognize.

As for the many other Moon-Glows, Lu Ye didn't recognize many of the others either.

As a Sun-Splendor custodian, one had the right to summon Moon-Glows from various Spirit Islands for assistance when encountering certain matters. Yuan Du's move this time was to escalate the matter, to let the world know he wasn't seeking personal revenge, but acting from a position of righteousness!

On one side, a Sun-Splendor personally arrived, followed by a hundred powerful Moon-Glow cultivators. On the other side, there were only Lu Ye and a few others. The two sides were separated by the protective array, standing mere hundreds of feet apart.

Lu Ye looked at Yuan Du and calmly spoke, "Such immense might! I wondered who possessed such power. It turns out to be Custodian Yuan Du himself. Please forgive my lack of a proper welcome. May I ask the reason for your visit, Custodian?"

Yuan Du merely gazed at him indifferently, and due to the angle, it had a somewhat condescending air.

In response to Lu Ye's inquiry, he made no reply at all, clearly not considering Lu Ye worthy of speaking with him.

Beside him, Yuan Cheng stepped forward, smiling at Lu Ye, "Island Master Lu, we meet again." Back then, he had personally witnessed how Lu Ye killed Lionheart and had been greatly unnerved for a long time afterward. Lu Ye gave him the impression of being lawless, daring to offend even Yuan Du. His own interactions with Lu Ye had not been pleasant. If one day Lu Ye decided to kill him, how could he possibly resist?

However... after today, he would no longer have anything to worry about.

Lawless individuals would eventually suffer the consequences of their actions. Living in the Myriad Manifestations Ocean, yet daring to offend a local Sun-Splendor—Yuan Cheng truly didn't know what Lu Ye was thinking, wondering if he had a hole in his head.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan Cheng!" Lu Ye turned to look at him.

Yuan Cheng nodded, his expression turning serious. "Island Master Lu, the Custodian has come here for an important matter. Therefore, I ask Island Master Lu to open the protective array and allow us to enter first to discuss it."

"The protective array, you say..." Lu Ye tilted his head. "How unfortunate. A few days ago, the island's grand array suddenly developed a problem and cannot be opened for now. If the Custodian has anything to say, you might as well say it here."

Against a Sun-Splendor, the protective array might serve as a layer of security. How could Lu Ye casually open the array and let them in? If he did, and they harbored ill intentions, his side would be completely defenseless.

Moreover, judging by their stance, they clearly weren't just here to talk.

"The protective array cannot be opened," Yuan Cheng's eye twitched. He truly couldn't understand how Lu Ye could be so brazen as to lie through his teeth.

But before he could say anything, Lu Ye spoke up, "Or perhaps the Custodian has something that is inconvenient to show outsiders?"

This was clearly implying that Yuan Du intended to carry out some secret scheme.

Yuan Cheng, however, smiled. "Of course not. It's good, actually. It's rare for so many fellow Daoists to gather here today. So, some matters indeed need to be revealed in public, to let all our fellow Daoists know the true face hidden by certain individuals!"

Three Realms Island closing its array was expected, so Yuan Cheng didn't care at all.

As long as that matter was confirmed, Three Realms Island and Lu Ye would never be able to rise again!

"Bring him forward!" Yuan Cheng suddenly gestured.

The next moment, two Moon-Glow cultivators escorted a figure forward. As countless eyes converged, gasps of astonishment soon erupted.

"A Blood Clan member!"

"It's a Blood Clan member."

"Why did they bring a Blood Clan member here? Could it be that..."

It was common knowledge that Blood Clan members were hidden in the Myriad Manifestations Ocean, but their concealment was very subtle. Even a Sun-Splendor cultivator could barely detect them unless they investigated at close range.

Moreover, the number of Blood Clan members hidden in the Myriad Manifestations Ocean was not large, and they had never caused any major disturbances. They mostly just cultivated in secret and gathered some intelligence, which was harmless enough, so naturally, no one paid much attention to them.

But at this very moment, with Yuan Du personally making an appearance, a Blood Clan member was brought forward, directly facing Three Realms Island. This couldn't help but lead to speculation.