Chapter 1979: Turning Coat at the Last Moment

The captured Bloodkin had clearly endured some torture; his aura was weak, and his face was very pale.

The Insectoids and Bloodkin were universally reviled throughout the Starry Sky. Ordinarily, it might have been fine if they weren't exposed, but given his current situation, he knew he was doomed to die. His face showed a complete resignation, and he had no thought or intention of resisting. The Myriad Manifestations Sea faction had spared his life, naturally with a hidden agenda; he would only need to cooperate a little to gain a swift end.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Yuan Cheng pointed at the Bloodkin and explained with a smile, "This fiend has been hidden in the Myriad Manifestations Sea for many years, plotting ill. A few days ago, the Guardian Lord discovered his tracks and apprehended him..."

In reality, this Bloodkin was captured by Black Cloud from a Bloodkin domain, but outsiders were unaware, so Yuan Cheng was free to spin the narrative.

"After some questioning by the Guardian Lord, we learned that not just one Bloodkin was lurking in our Myriad Manifestations Sea, but many more. These Bloodkin are adept at the arts of concealment and transformation, making them difficult for ordinary people to detect."

Many people secretly nodded at these words. It was something everyone knew implicitly and found unsurprising.

Yuan Cheng's expression grew stern: "In the chaos of the Starry Sky, the Insectoids and Bloodkin are the worst. The Myriad Manifestations Sea is where galaxies converge, the very center of the Starry Sky; how can we tolerate Bloodkin acting wildly here! Unfortunately, ordinary methods simply cannot find these hidden Bloodkin. But... just because ordinary methods can't find them, doesn't mean the Bloodkin themselves can't!"

Reaching this point, he turned to look at the Bloodkin, his expression icy: "Isn't that right?"

The Bloodkin, meeting his gaze, immediately understood it was his turn to cooperate. He didn't resist, and with a dull expression, he said, "Indeed. My race possesses a secret technique, the Blood Resonance Art. When activated, it can detect the presence of kin nearby!"

He now only desired a quick death and had no other thoughts, which was why he was willing to cooperate with Yuan Du's side. When the time came, he would identify the designated person as agreed. After all, the one who died would be a human, causing no harm to him or the Bloodkin. In fact, he was quite pleased to see such infighting among humans, making him feel it was not bad to drag someone down with him before dying.

The surrounding cultivators burst into an uproar.

Yuan Du's faction had arrived in force at Three Realms Island, bringing a Bloodkin with them. The key was that this Bloodkin had just said such a thing, further transforming initial speculation into suspicion.

Could it be that Three Realms Island, which had risen to fame in recent years, was...

"Island Master Lu." Yuan Cheng looked at Lu Ye with a smile. "Does Island Master Lu have anything to say?"

Lu Ye's expression was calm: "What do you want me to say?"

Yuan Cheng was slightly disappointed. He had expected to see a panicked expression on Lu Ye's face, but who would have thought this fellow's composure was so strong, remaining so calm even at this point.

Things had come to this point; Yuan Du's purpose in bringing a Bloodkin was very clear: to accuse Lu Ye of being a Bloodkin! Both Yuan Du and Yuan Cheng knew this was a blatant false accusation, but what did that matter? As long as the Bloodkin identified Lu Ye, their side would have a pretext to act. Three Realms Island would certainly not compromise, and if Three Realms Island dared to resist, it would confirm their guilt. When Yuan Du made his move, no one would dare to criticize.

This was an overt scheme, one that could not be broken in the face of an absolute disparity in strength.

The Sun-Glimmer Guardian would indeed not interfere in disputes between major spirit islands, but eliminating Bloodkin was naturally not an issue.

That's why Yuan Du had to find a way to get rid of Jiuyan. Otherwise, as long as she remained on Three Realms Island, this plan could not be implemented. If that were the case, and Jiuyan personally confronted him, how could he possibly argue?

Jiuyan had a bad temper. He wouldn't want her to directly attack him and beat him black and blue.

With Jiuyan currently absent, and assuming other Guardians wouldn't intervene, on the Myriad Manifestations Sea, Yuan Du reigned supreme!

"Since Island Master Lu has nothing to say, then I shall speak." Yuan Cheng still smiled. "I once observed Island Master Lu's combat from afar. Actually, I'm very curious about one thing: since Island Master Lu is a Weapon Master by origin, how is it that you can cultivate such exquisite Blood Dao spells?"

Without giving Lu Ye a chance to speak, he raised his voice: "Whether it was your battle against Baiyue back then, or your assault on Zixuan a few years ago, the Blood Sea Art displayed by Island Master Lu was truly astonishing. That level of Blood Sea Art doesn't resemble an ordinary Blood Dao secret technique, nor should it be something a Weapon Master can cultivate!"

If he hadn't mentioned this, it would have been fine. But once he did, many observing cultivators immediately frowned in thought.

Too many people had witnessed the battles against both Baiyue and Zixuan. Lu Ye's Blood Sea Art had indeed left a deep impression. Now, upon reflection, something did seem amiss.

Lu Yiye of Three Realms Island was known as the foremost individual below the Sun-Glimmer realm, a reputation earned by his Weapon Master techniques forged through countless battles. A person's energy was ultimately limited; even spell cultivators who specialized in Blood Dao secret techniques might not be able to display such a level of Blood Sea Art. Yet a Weapon Master had done so. This was indeed abnormal.

Lu Ye blinked: "It's true I originate from the Weapon Master path, but I also cultivate spell arts... body cultivation... sword cultivation... Is there a problem?"

Yuan Cheng was stunned by his reply: "I never expected Daoist Friend to be so shameless!"

"Stop wasting words with him!" Yuan Du urged impatiently. If it weren't to claim a righteous stance, he wouldn't have bothered with all this trouble. However, if a Sun-Glimmer Guardian were to act personally, they needed a legitimate reason. So, some procedures still had to be followed.

Yuan Cheng quickly adopted a stern expression, glaring coldly at Lu Ye: "You are a Weapon Master, yet you can unleash such Blood Dao secret techniques. There is only one true reason for this! Island Master Lu, do we have to spell it out so clearly?"

Lu Ye said, "If you can explain it clearly, then by all means, speak. I'm all ears!"

While arguing with Yuan Cheng here, his divine sense surged.

Inside Three Realms Island, at the pill chamber, Second Senior Sister had already blown the cerulean conch, and the cultivators of Three Realms Island were all retreating through the portal towards the Merfolk territory.

Ever since Lu Ye felt a sense of unease a few days ago, he had a premonition that something was about to happen. Given this, he naturally had arrangements in place beforehand.

Currently, the most valuable assets of Three Realms Island were naturally its cultivators. Therefore, as long as the island's cultivators were evacuated, it wouldn't be a major issue even if Three Realms Island was lost.

Yuan Du's visit clearly wouldn't end peacefully. Lu Ye's power was inferior to theirs, and he wasn't prepared to confront them head-on. He would simply wait for this turmoil to pass, for Jiuyan to return, and then ask her to step in and resolve the trouble. It wouldn't be too late.

Yuan Cheng was babbling on at him here, and he was happy to stall for time.

Yuan Cheng gazed deeply at him: "Then, as you wish!" With that, he turned to the Bloodkin cultivator beside him and instructed, "Find your kin!"

The Bloodkin said nothing, immediately activating the Blood Resonance Art.

When the true Blood Resonance Art was activated, it was actually silent. The user could easily sense the presence of kin nearby.

But before coming here, Yuan Du had given specific instructions. So, the Blood Resonance Art he displayed now was somewhat different.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the Bloodkin's blood energy surged throughout his body. Immediately, a blood-red thread extended from his body, twisting and wriggling like a living thing, slowly extending towards Lu Ye.

This blood thread was utterly useless in itself. Its main purpose was to facilitate observation by outsiders, directly making everyone believe Lu Ye was a Bloodkin.

Seeing the blood thread point directly at Lu Ye, the onlookers, unaware of the truth, immediately let out gasps of surprise.

A triumphant expression appeared on Yuan Cheng's face.

After today, there would be no Three Realms Island, and no Lu Yiye, in the Myriad Manifestations Sea!

According to the plan, the next scene would be the Bloodkin identifying Lu Ye.

But just as Yuan Cheng was anticipating this, the Bloodkin suddenly displayed an expression of extreme astonishment. He stared blankly at Lu Ye, and then looked at Ma Shangsi, who was standing beside Lu Ye...

He had indeed used deceitful methods to frame the young man before him, as Yuan Du had previously instructed. However, he had also secretly activated the true Blood Resonance Art at the same time.

To his astonishment, he discovered that this young man he was preparing to frame was actually one of his own kin! He had Bloodkin bloodline within him, and it seemed quite pure!

Not only him, but the other person standing behind him was also...

And within the island, there seemed to be traces of a third Bloodkin!

This Three Realms Island... was it a spirit island occupied by a powerhouse of their own race?

The captured Bloodkin's heart jolted. He never imagined such an absurd turn of events.

He met Lu Ye's gaze, finding it calm, yet seemingly holding a profound meaning.

Many thoughts spun in the captured Bloodkin's mind... His race suffered. Like the Insectoids, they were universally condemned in the Starry Sky. In this vast, prosperous Myriad Manifestations Sea, every race had a right to a share, except for the Insectoids and Bloodkin.

Even if Bloodkin came here, they had to try every means to hide themselves, concealing their true identities in the shadows.

Who could have imagined that a top-tier spirit island here had actually been occupied by a powerful figure of their own race!

If, because of him, the other party were exposed this time, wouldn't he become a sinner to his entire race? He had already resolved to die, and death was nothing to him, but he absolutely could not harm his kin.

His race now occupied a top-tier spirit island in the Myriad Manifestations Sea. In the future, this could be a spark to ignite a prairie fire!

Therefore, he made a decisive decision. The blood thread, which was supposed to extend towards Lu Ye, unexpectedly curved in front of Lu Ye and landed directly on Yuan Cheng, who was standing nearby, smug and expectant.

Yuan Cheng froze, then turned to look at the captured Bloodkin.

The Bloodkin, however, had an excited expression and cried out, "So Daoist Friend Yuan Cheng is actually one of our kin! You've hidden yourself so well!"

The surrounding cultivators erupted in an uproar, with continuous gasps of surprise.

Yuan Cheng was dumbfounded. He stared at the captured Bloodkin, his face full of disbelief: "What nonsense are you spouting?"

Things weren't supposed to unfold this way. According to the original plan, this was the stage where the Bloodkin would identify Lu Ye, and he would step forward to question him.

Once the Bloodkin made the accusation, it wouldn't matter whether Lu Ye admitted it or not.

But what was wrong with this Bloodkin now? How could he lie so brazenly, and actually frame him instead!

Didn't he know whether he was a Bloodkin or not? How could he possibly be a Bloodkin?

And they had clearly agreed upon everything beforehand...

Inside the protective array, Lu Ye watched the farce unfolding before him. A thought stirred in his mind. Was this the true meaning of the character '舛'? Indeed, there was alarm but no danger, and nothing significant happened.