Chapter 2000: Ten-Day Deadline

Lu Ye knew that the formation of the black fruit was inextricably linked to the essence of the cultivators he had absorbed. Both Su Yuqing and Ma Bin had told him that the Talent Tree could incinerate all things in the world, except for emotions and desires.

He thus surmised that this black fruit must be the crystallization of the absorbed cultivators' emotions and desires, and it was precisely for this reason that it was beginning to affect his own temperament.

How should he deal with this thing?

Lu Ye tried to pick it, but it wasn't a real fruit; he couldn't touch it at all, so naturally, he couldn't pluck it.

He then activated the power of the Talent Tree, intending to burn the fruit away. Yet, no matter how he tried, the fruit remained perfectly intact, showing no signs of being incinerated.

Over the next few days, Lu Ye made countless attempts, but he still couldn't find a way to deal with the black fruit. The failure of these attempts even made him irritable, and the black fruit began to emit black mist...

As the mist spread, Lu Ye's entire aura underwent a dramatic change, becoming darker and more somber. Deep within him, a bloodthirsty urge began to stir!

Realizing something was wrong, he quickly calmed his mind and focused his thoughts, slowly suppressing the distracting thoughts that arose within him.

It took a full hour for Lu Ye to slowly recover.

After a moment of contemplation, he raised his hand and pointed forward. A section of the Talent Tree's root extended from his fingertip. Using this as a foundation, a large amount of energy converged, and his spiritual power and soul force surged continuously.

In the blink of an eye, a clone appeared before him – the Talent Tree clone.

Lu Ye hadn't created a Talent Tree clone in a long time because, relatively speaking, Blood Clones were more convenient and numerous.

The Talent Tree clone, however, required a section of the Talent Tree's root as its foundation. If anything unexpected happened, the detached Talent Tree root might be lost, unlike Blood Clones, whose destruction wouldn't significantly affect him.

This attempt to create a Talent Tree clone was born out of desperation, a sudden flash of insight in his mind.

The moment the Talent Tree clone materialized, Lu Ye's eyebrows shot up in surprise and delight. He noticed that the black fruit hanging on the branch of his main body's Talent Tree had visibly shrunk!

It really worked?

Lu Ye was overjoyed. The reason he attempted to create a Talent Tree clone was that its formation required splitting off a part of his essence, which included not only the Talent Tree's root but also his vital energy, spiritual power, and soul force...

Given this, would the black fruit also be split off?

It was precisely this idea that prompted him to try.

The result proved that the black fruit had indeed been split off.

This meant that he only needed to destroy the Talent Tree clone to destroy a portion of the black fruit!

He could then create new Talent Tree clones, continue destroying them, and repeatedly divide the black fruit until he could completely eliminate it.

That was the theory, but Lu Ye didn't dare to actually do it.

A long time ago, he had a feeling that losing or destroying a Talent Tree clone would not be good for him.

Moreover, if he were to use this method to deal with the black fruit, one Talent Tree clone wouldn't be enough; he would need many.

He didn't even know if he could re-condense a Talent Tree clone after losing one.

The Talent Tree was crucial to him and left no room for error.

Thus, even though he had found a method, Lu Ye couldn't truly go through with it.

Then, another thought occurred to him: didn't Chao Nian discover this method back then? He probably did, but he still couldn't solve his own problem...

This indirectly showed that while the method was feasible, it was not advisable!

Lu Ye ultimately didn't destroy his Talent Tree clone because he didn't dare to gamble. However, just after recalling his Talent Tree clone, he suddenly remembered something else.

He didn't just have Talent Tree clones; he also had Blood Clones! Talent Tree clones couldn't be destroyed carelessly, but Blood Clones didn't pose that concern. If one was destroyed, he still had another; even if all were destroyed, he could re-condense his precious blood.

If a Blood Clone could split off the black fruit...

With this thought, Lu Ye's mind instantly became active. He immediately activated his precious blood to condense a clone.

However, after the Blood Clone appeared, the black fruit on the Talent Tree remained unchanged. This left him somewhat disappointed, but he didn't give up. Instead, he began to make more attempts.

He had found a direction to solve his current problem, and he had a premonition that this might be his only correct path. Moreover, it was an advantage he possessed that Chao Nian did not!

He continued his attempts, completely unaware of the passage of time, until Luan Xiao'e's gentle voice called out, "Junior Brother!"

Lu Ye opened his eyes and looked at her, a little dazed.

Luan Xiao'e said, "The cultivators from our island have all returned. There's only one day left until the ten-day deadline you set. Tomorrow, the major Spirit Islands should come to retrieve their lost resources. What do you think...?"

Lu Ye slowly regained his senses, then noticed a group of people standing behind Luan Xiao'e.

All the Moonlit Realm cultivators from their island were there, along with some familiar senior cultivators from Kyushu.

No one had expected such dramatic changes to occur in the Myriad Manifestations Sea in just a few days. They had previously followed Lu Ye's instructions and sought refuge in the undersea mermaid territory via a portal.

Just a few days later, Yan Miao suddenly returned and informed everyone that Three Realms Island now held sway over the Myriad Manifestations Sea. She said that Lu Ye had advanced to the Sunlit Realm and easily killed several Sunlit cultivators, not only curbing the invasion of a powerful force called the Formless Palace but also driving away the native Sunlit cultivators of their star system.

When they heard the intelligence brought back by Yan Miao, no one dared to believe it; it was simply too fantastical.

But everyone knew that Yan Miao wouldn't joke about such a matter.

After the Three Realms Island cultivators returned through the portal opened by the Azure Sea Snail and confirmed that the situation truly was as Yan Miao described, their emotions were extremely complex.

Just about ten days prior, they had been fleeing for refuge when a crisis arose. Yet upon their return, they had inexplicably become the masters of the Myriad Manifestations Sea...

This earth-shattering reversal caught everyone by surprise.

Regardless of whether they were psychologically prepared, ruling the Myriad Manifestations Sea was a tremendous boon for all cultivators of the Jade Snail Realm. This was a treasure trove that had led to the current might of the Myriad Manifestations Star System. If Jade Snail could control this place, it wouldn't take many years to become as powerful as Myriad Manifestations.

Luan Xiao'e didn't want to disturb Lu Ye; she could naturally see that he had been comprehending something recently. However, with the ten-day deadline approaching, she had no choice but to interrupt his meditation.

Lu Ye understood. He glanced at everyone, nodded slightly, and then took out the storage rings from the Small Flower Realm: "Please tally the resources inside and prepare for tomorrow's handover of materials with the major Spirit Islands."

Tang Jun looked at him with interest: "Are you truly willing to return so many valuable items to those Spirit Islands? As far as I know, the resources here include at least the wealth of ten top-tier Spirit Islands and eighteen high-tier Spirit Islands. That's a huge sum! If we kept these things for our Three Realms Island, they should easily last us for several centuries."

Lu Ye replied, "The word has already been given. It's too late to go back on it now. Or do you, Elder, have some good advice?"

Tang Jun smiled, "What advice? It's just that by doing this, our Three Realms Island will gain more popular support. Using these resources to exchange for better governance and management in the future is not a loss."

He had undoubtedly seen through Lu Ye's intentions.

While the resources were vast, popular support was even more valuable. If Three Realms Island truly possessed the absolute power to suppress the Myriad Manifestations Sea, there would be no need to win hearts and minds; any dissent could simply be forcefully crushed. The crucial point was that Three Realms Island currently lacked such power.

Currently, the only trump card Three Realms Island possessed was Pixiu's golden light.

Perhaps after Ma Bin recovered, he could become a pillar of Three Realms Island, but not right now.

Resources could be earned at any time in the future. Aside from anything else, Three Realms Island alone could earn a fortune daily.

Originally, Lu Ye would have had to leave the Myriad Manifestations Sea after advancing to the Sunlit Realm, and the fate of Three Realms Island would have been unpredictable. But now, that concern was gone. As long as Lu Ye could control the Myriad Manifestations Sea, Three Realms Island would always remain Three Realms Island.

There was also one more point Tang Jun didn't mention, but everyone understood implicitly.

The largest portion of the plundered resources came from the Myriad Manifestations Merchant Guild, accounting for almost half of the total.

Other forces would likely send people tomorrow to retrieve their plundered resources, but who would dare come from the Myriad Manifestations Merchant Guild? Even if someone foolishly showed up, Three Realms Island wouldn't pay them any mind.

This portion was clearly destined to be taken by Three Realms Island.

Besides that, there was also Purple Radiance Island's!

The Myriad Manifestations Merchant Guild would absolutely not send anyone to retrieve resources, and neither would Purple Radiance Island. In fact, as of today, Purple Radiance Island was deserted; all the Purple Radiance demonic cultivators had fled, clearly fearing Lu Ye's retribution, as Yuan Du and Hei Yun had led the attack on Three Realms Island.

Both of them were dead. And from now on, the demonic cultivators of Purple Radiance would have no place in the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

Therefore, even if they returned resources, it would only be a small portion. Using this to win popular support was undoubtedly a shrewd deal. This single act would directly demonstrate Three Realms Island's benevolence and generosity, significantly reducing resistance and backlash during the transfer of power in the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

Furthermore, there was the matter of the two top-tier Spirit Islands: Myriad Manifestations Island and Purple Radiance Island!

The Purple Radiance demonic cultivators had vanished, and the Myriad Manifestations Sunlit cultivators had also withdrawn from the Myriad Manifestations Sea. These two top-tier Spirit Islands were destined to fall into Three Realms Island's hands in the future. One faction controlling three top-tier Spirit Islands was unprecedented in the history of the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

It could be said that after the previous battle, Three Realms Island had gained immensely, both in reputation and tangible benefits.

Three Realms Island would feast, while the other major Spirit Islands would get some leftover broth—which, incidentally, was originally theirs. With everyone content, the Myriad Manifestations Sea could look forward to a brighter future.