Chapter 1986: Why Force Me!

Before Chen Xuanba could fully grasp the situation, a golden light, identical to the one he had just witnessed, suddenly flashed within his vision.

Greatly alarmed, he immediately tried to dodge, but it was too late. The golden light was unimaginably fast; even a powerful Sun-Gazer like him had no room or time to evade it.

He even had a feeling that once the golden light appeared, being struck by it was an inevitable outcome; no matter how he tried to dodge, it would be futile.

Chen Xuanba was hit squarely. The next moment, his body slumped, his magical power sealed. Just like Gu Xi moments before, he plummeted straight down.

All the observing cultivators were stunned.

The conflict on Three Realms Island today saw one unexpected turn after another, proving truly dazzling and overwhelming to witness.

The formidable hidden power of Three Realms Island also left people shocked.

Before today, everyone believed that even if Three Realms Island was a top-tier spiritual island, it would be utterly defenseless against a Sun-Gazer's attack. Yet, as the battle unfolded, all five of Vanishing Sea's Sun-Gazers had attacked in unison, only managing to breach Three Realms Island's protective formation without truly harming the island itself.

Such profound reserves were simply unheard of.

Even more incredibly, how had Three Realms Island managed to conceal so much power right under the noses of the Sun-Gazer guardians?

The sudden developments here undoubtedly startled another battle group fighting near Three Realms Island.

This was the battle group where Mu Qing was single-handedly fighting Luan Xiao'e and Yan Miao. Originally, Mu Qing alone had forced the two newly ascended Sun-Gazers, Luan Xiao'e and Yan Miao, into a purely defensive stance. However, after realizing what had happened to Gu Xi and Chen Xuanba, she had to hold back some strength, preparing for any unforeseen circumstances.

She even quietly began to shift the battle circle further away, to avoid falling victim to Hua Ci's deadly tactics!

This significantly improved the situation for Luan Xiao'e and Yan Miao.

As for the battle group of Ma Bin, Hei Yun, and Mo Wenli, they had already moved tens of thousands of miles away. All three were fighting with all their might and were consequently completely unaware of the changes occurring at Three Realms Island.

On Three Realms Island, Lu Ye stepped forward, walking step by step to Gu Xi, who lay prostrate on the ground, yet eerily maintained a flying posture. He looked down at him, his expression indifferent: "Why? Why force me?"

He had never had great ambitions. He occupied Three Realms Island only to establish a foothold in Vanishing Sea and earn sufficient cultivation resources for the cultivators of the Three Realms.

He just needed to wait a few more years, acquire enough resources, and once his Law Source was perfectly refined and he ascended to Sun-Gazer, he would leave Vanishing Sea.

From the conquest of Baiyue years ago to the subsequent defeat of Zixuan, everything he had done was in accordance with the rules of Vanishing Sea. He never had any intention of breaking those rules. Even after Luan Xiao'e and Yan Miao ascended to Sun-Gazer, they had faithfully remained in the Mermaid Territory.

The reason Vanishing Sea had maintained its prosperity for so many years was precisely due to these various rules and constraints. Recklessly breaking them would benefit no one.

But he abided by the rules, while those who established them refused to follow them! This was truly comical.

If those who set the rules are unwilling to abide by them, then it's time for someone else to set the rules…

"How unpredictable things are!" Lu Ye sighed. His body radiated a brilliant blood-red light. Looking at the Sun-Gazer, once unapproachable, now prostrate and immobile before him, he suddenly realized that all injustice and targeting in this world must indeed be fiercely resisted!

A surging sea of blood spread out, concealing his and Gu Xi's figures. Outsiders could no longer see what was happening inside.

Lu Ye reached out and grabbed Gu Xi's head.

Gu Xi seemed to sense trouble. Moreover, since being restrained, he had been waiting for this very moment. His spiritual power surged violently, unleashing a secret spiritual technique.

Lu Ye vaguely saw an incomparably sharp sword light slash towards him. Strangely, the sword light was not corporeal; after it entered his body, he felt no physical pain.

His expression flickered slightly…

At the same time, within his Sea of Consciousness, the sword light rampaged. But under the washing glow of the Seven-Colored Divine Lotus, the rampaging sword light quickly lost its power and vanished.

Only then did Lu Ye regain his senses, feeling a pain shoot through his mind.

"A spiritual secret technique…" Lu Ye understood. It seemed Hua Ci's inherited ancient coin technique could seal a cultivator's magical power and physical body, but not their spirit.

That was why Gu Xi was able to unleash his spiritual secret technique.

If an ordinary Moon-Gazer were targeted in this manner, their spirit would undoubtedly be damaged, possibly even leading to immediate death.

Fortunately, Lu Ye had the Seven-Colored Divine Lotus guarding his Sea of Consciousness. His spirit sustained only minor damage—after all, it was a full-power strike from a Sun-Gazer—but it was nothing serious; with some rest, he would recover.

Gu Xi's eyes were filled with shock. He couldn't understand why his secret technique hadn't worked.

The next moment, Lu Ye's palm landed on his head. The roots of the Talent Tree rapidly spread and extended, its power activating, as Lu Ye's voice rang out beside his ear: "Die!"

Gu Xi's eyes suddenly widened, his pupils almost bursting, filled with bloodshot veins in an instant. As Lu Ye acted, an indescribable pain swept through his entire body. He clearly felt his vitality, magical power, and even his spirit being frantically devoured by an unknown force.

In contrast to him, Lu Ye's face showed an expression of exhilaration, his eyes tightly shut, his body trembling uncontrollably.

In a previous trial in the Asura Field, Lu Ye had devoured many shadows and had also experienced what it felt like to use the Talent Tree to devour living beings.

But only now did he discover that devouring shadows was completely different from devouring true living beings. The latter offered a deadly pleasure several times more intense than the former.

Especially since Gu Xi was a Sun-Gazer!

He almost instantly succumbed, unable to extricate himself.

Fortunately, he had prepared for this. He bit his tongue, and intense pain surged through him. The metallic taste of blood in his mouth brought Lu Ye's consciousness back somewhat.

His powerful physique allowed his injured tongue to recover quickly, only to be bitten off again…

This cycle repeated.

Lu Ye's expression was savage and terrifying. Blood flowed from his mouth, making him look like a vengeful ghost.

Gu Xi's aura rapidly weakened, declining from Sun-Gazer to Moon-Gazer, then to Star-Gazer…

His vitality dimmed, and his aura became feeble. In just a few moments, his entire body withered, his eyes bulging in anger, completely devoid of life.

The sea of blood surged and roared. Gu Xi's corpse, washed by the blood sea, directly turned into dust, leaving behind only a few storage rings!

"Not enough!" Lu Ye felt his own body. His vitality surged intensely, his magical power was exceptionally vigorous, and his damaged spirit had recovered, but his Law Source had not yet reached perfection!

Within the sea of blood, his gaze shifted to another direction—to where Yuan Du and Chen Xuanba were located.

"Since I've chosen this path, even if it's wrong, I must continue down it!"

With his mind made up, his body moved, and the sea of blood churned, quickly enveloping the positions of Yuan Du and Chen Xuanba.

The two Sun-Gazers—one barely clinging to life due to a potent elixir and gasping for breath, the other immobilized by the golden light of the treasure coin just like Gu Xi earlier—were both startled as they suddenly found themselves in the sea of blood.

They had not yet realized Gu Xi's demise.

"It's Lu Yiye! He really is a Blood Clan member!" Yuan Du coughed lightly, his face pale, instantly understanding whose technique this was.

He had initially decided to use the Blood Clan as a pretext to frame Lu Ye, thereby giving him a reason to attack Three Realms Island. However, the Blood Clan member who was supposed to cooperate suddenly turned against him during the battle. This made him realize that his false accusation might actually be true, as he couldn't otherwise explain why that Blood Clan member acted that way; the defection was undoubtedly an act of protecting their own kind.

"How unsightly." A voice spoke. Yuan Du's expression changed, and he turned to look; Lu Ye was somehow already standing beside him.

"You…" Yuan Du was furious. He immediately tried to strike, but as soon as he tried to activate his magical power, intense pain surged through his body, leaving him utterly powerless.

"Why target my Three Realms Island?" Lu Ye looked at Yuan Du. "We are merely a group of outsiders, pitiful people struggling to survive in Vanishing Sea. The entire Vanishing Sea is full of people like us. Are you Sun-Gazers, high above, truly unable to see this?"

Yuan Du sneered: "Those without virtue do not deserve high positions. Lad, with what happened at Three Realms Island today, you have no future. And to dare harbor Ma Bin—if this news gets out, even Jiuyan will not tolerate you. If you know what's good for you, obediently offer your neck and hand over the treasure that opened the Mermaid Territory. Perhaps then your disciples on Three Realms Island can be spared."

"Without virtue…" Lu Ye's eyes flickered, then he suddenly slapped out.

Yuan Du was sent flying by the slap, half of his face swelling up. As expected of a Sun-Gazer's body; if it were a Moon-Gazer, their entire head would likely have exploded from that palm strike, but he only sustained minor injuries.

He landed heavily. Yuan Du stared in disbelief at Lu Ye, who was walking towards him step by step, having never imagined he would one day suffer such humiliation before a mere Moon-Gazer.

Blood rushed to his heart. He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his injuries worsening.

"Do you, of all people, dare speak of virtue?" Lu Ye stepped forward, grabbed Yuan Du by the neck, and lifted him. Bringing his face close to Yuan Du's, he stared coldly: "What are you?"

Yuan Du struggled desperately, but then a look of terror appeared on his face, and he screamed in agony.

He felt something extra inside his body, then his essence, qi, and spirit were being frantically devoured, and his Sun-Gazer foundation rapidly drained away. Meanwhile, Lu Ye's voice echoed in his ear.

"Tell me, why aren't you speaking? Why target my Three Realms Island? Initially, we didn't provoke you in any way. We even wanted to visit you then to pay our respects. That's right, Old Tang went to your palace and was turned away at the door! Old Tang was very angry when he returned."

"Are you happy targeting my Three Realms Island? Now that it's come to this point, it's hard to end. What do you call this? Reaping what you sow?"

"Speak! Why! Aren't! You! Speaking!"

Lu Ye flicked the withered, noodle-like body from his hand. He blinked, then suddenly realized that Yuan Du was dead!

"Still not enough!"

Lu Ye flung away the corpse from his hand. He then looked at Chen Xuanba, who was beside him, staring at him with terrified eyes. Lu Ye grinned, his voice soft: "Don't be afraid!"