Chapter 2072: Jade Sword Island Incident

Over the past few years, the Myriad Manifestations Sea has undergone considerable changes. However, thanks to the deterrent power of a Heavenly Relic, no major chaos has erupted. Various factions have remained quite willing to abide by the rules Lu Ye had previously established, without any transgressions.

After chatting with He Baichuan and Tang Jun for a while, Lu Ye finally left the palace.

Upon reaching a large hall, a duty-bound cultivator immediately approached, greeting him, "Island Master!"

Lu Ye nodded and instructed, "Go to Fangcun Island."

Speaking of which, since the Xiaoren tribe established themselves in the Myriad Manifestations Sea, Lu Ye had never actually visited Fangcun Island. He planned to go there this trip and also check on Su Yuqing.

"Yes!" the duty-bound cultivator responded, quickly beginning to adjust the teleportation array set up there.

A moment later, the array hummed, enveloped in light, and Lu Ye's figure vanished.

The major top-tier spirit islands controlled by this realm were now all connected by teleportation arrays, making travel much more convenient than before.

To Lu Ye's surprise, Su Yuqing was not on Fangcun Island; Wu Qimo was stationed there. After some conversation, Lu Ye learned that Su Yuqing had returned to Fangcun Mountain over a year ago, with Wu Qimo taking her place to guard the island.

Having made a fruitless trip, Lu Ye felt quite helpless. Wu Qimo, however, was very hospitable and kept him for a round of old wine, leaving Lu Ye thoroughly intoxicated.

Upon returning to Three Realms Island from Fangcun Island, Lu Ye gave an order. Half a day later, he led a group of Star Constellation Peak cultivators to the Mermaid territory.

In recent years, whenever he had free time, he would take the Star Constellation cultivators from Three Realms Island to the Star Constellation Hall to advance to Moon Shadow. Advancing within the Star Constellation Hall ensured a better quality of their Source Law, which would grant cultivators a brighter future and faster cultivation speed after reaching the Moon Shadow realm.

From the Mermaid territory, he skillfully arrived at the Star Constellation Hall. Pushing open its dust-covered doors, he instructed the Star Constellations to find their spots for advancement and breakthrough. He himself went to a corner of the hall, bending down to pick up an item.

It was a tattered, small umbrella-shaped object, none other than the Sky Net Umbrella artifact that Divine Cloud once possessed.

This item had been damaged by Little Gourd's golden light. Lu Ye had initially thought it useless, but later learned that artifacts could be repaired, though not by human effort. If placed within a spirit jade ore vein, it could slowly recover, but this process would take a long time.

Alternatively, it could be placed alongside other supreme treasures. If their properties were compatible, the damaged artifact could also have a chance to recover by being nurtured by the supreme treasure.

Lu Ye had initially given the damaged Sky Net Umbrella to Hua Ci, hoping to see if Little Gourd's power could repair it. However, it had no effect, clearly due to the incompatibility between the Three Treasures Ruyi Coin and the Sky Net Umbrella. It made sense; the Three Treasures Ruyi Coin possessed powerful sealing abilities, while the Sky Net Umbrella was for defense, so naturally, they had no common ground.

After realizing this, Hua Ci returned the Sky Net Umbrella to Lu Ye. Later, on one of his visits here, Lu Ye left the Sky Net Umbrella behind.

That had been several years ago.

Currently, there were still no signs of the Sky Net Umbrella being repaired, indicating that the Star Constellation Hall, a Heavenly Relic, offered no assistance in its restoration.

Therefore, the only option was to place it within a spirit jade ore vein...

This was the safest method, though the waiting period could be very long.

Several days later, most of the Star Constellations who had accompanied Lu Ye here had successfully advanced to Moon Shadow, with only a few failing.

Lu Ye was not surprised. Not every Star Constellation could advance to Moon Shadow. Even with the improving cultivation environment, everyone had their limits.

Furthermore, if they failed this time, there would be other opportunities, as long as their potential was not exhausted.

Leading everyone back to the Mermaid territory, Lu Ye glanced at Hua Ci from a distance.

Hua Ci was in seclusion there, completely immersed in the seawater. Even Little Gourd was beside her, eyes closed, with a subtle resonance of profound mysteries emanating from both the person and the beast.

He didn't disturb them; attempting to break through to Sun Radiance was not a time for interference.

Returning to Three Realms Island from the Mermaid territory, Lu Ye continued to wait.

He was waiting for the talent tree to complete its transformation. However, this transformation was remarkably different from previous ones; not only did it require far more energy and cost, but there was also no sign yet of the new spark of life.

Two months passed in a flash. During these two months, Lu Ye remained on Three Realms Island. With the talent tree's transformation incomplete, it was not ideal for cultivation, but refining his Soul Suppression secret art was perfectly fine.

He rarely had such leisurely time, but this ease was destined not to last.

On the calm Myriad Manifestations Sea, a star-ship swiftly glided by. On board, a pale-faced middle-aged man stood silently. Behind him were two figures, both clad in loose robes with hoods covering their faces, making it impossible to discern their features.

Although their appearance was somewhat peculiar, in the diverse Myriad Manifestations Sea, it was truly nothing out of the ordinary.

The leading middle-aged man's sharp gaze swept around. When passing cultivators met his eyes, they instinctively felt a chill and quickly averted their gaze.

A moment later, a spirit island appeared ahead.

The middle-aged man uttered softly, "Let's choose this place!"

This spirit island was not very large, nor was it a top-tier or even a high-grade island; it was merely a medium-grade island. However, it had a good number of cultivators gathered on it, though it was unclear which faction they belonged to, which perfectly met their requirements.

The star-ship stopped.

The middle-aged man turned to the two figures behind him: "Elders, are you ready?"

The faces concealed beneath the hoods slowly lifted, revealing two aged and withered countenances. One of them said weakly, "Heh heh, there's nothing to prepare. It's an honor for us old fellows to dedicate ourselves to the future of our clan before we die."

Although the other one remained silent, he nodded solemnly.

The middle-aged man held them in solemn respect. Although these two elders did not have much life left, their willingness to come here without hesitation was still admirable.

After a brief ponder, he began, "Actually, there's something I don't understand..."

The elder who had spoken earlier said, "You want to ask why we chose this place, don't you?"

"Yes," the middle-aged man nodded. "The Myriad Manifestations Sea is indeed one of the central areas of the starfield, but it's also a gathering place for powerful cultivators. I heard that the Lord of the Myriad Manifestations Sea even possesses a Heavenly Relic. This place doesn't seem like the best location."

Operating in such a place was bound to lead to no good outcome.

The elder said, "Don't ask me; I don't know why either. But since this was ordered by the Great Priest, there must be a reason for it!"

The other elder, who had remained silent until now, spoke up: "I did hear the Great Priest mention casually that the Myriad Manifestations Sea has a weak point, which is why we could only choose this location. Today's events are merely a prelude to the arrival of a great trend in the future."

"Weak point? Prelude?" The middle-aged man was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

The second elder slowly shook his head, clearly not knowing the answer either. Within their clan, only the Great Priest, who controlled the clan artifact, could perceive such mysteries. Other clan members, no matter how powerful, did not possess this ability.

Yet, through all this time, countless events within the clan had proven the Great Priest's foresight and boundless wisdom.

"This is Jade Sword Island territory. What is your business, three esteemed guests? If you have no important matter, please leave quickly!" A voice came from afar.

It was clear that seeing them stay there for too long, the cultivators of Jade Sword Island had issued a warning.

The middle-aged man turned to glance at the speaking cultivator, and the star-ship swept forward. "Where is your island master? We wish to pay our respects."

"Visiting the island master? May I ask your names?" As soon as he finished asking, he cried out in alarm again: "Don't you stop! Your actions are not those of visitors!" For the star-ship was actually accelerating...

On Three Realms Island, Lu Ye was refining his Soul Suppression secret art when he suddenly felt something. He flashed out of his palace, hovering in the air, and looked into the distance.

From that direction, he sensed the movements of Sun Radiance cultivators, and there was more than one.

This made his expression darken. How many years had it been? Yet someone dared to break the rules he had set. It seemed that Three Realms Island had been too quiet these past years, leading some to disregard him.

As early as when he took control of the Myriad Manifestations Sea, Lu Ye had explicitly stated that Sun Radiance cultivators could be stationed on their respective top-tier spirit islands but were absolutely forbidden from interfering in any form of conflict.

That direction... was not far from Mermaid Island!

A thought flashed through Lu Ye's mind. He darted directly towards the teleportation array, entered the grand hall, ordered someone to adjust the array, and teleported directly to Mermaid Island.

Although Mermaid Island was named after the mermaid race, the number of mermaid cultivators was too small, so the island was still primarily populated by human cultivators from Kyushu.

Yan Miao and Luan Xiao'e were stationed there.

When Lu Ye appeared, the two women immediately sensed his aura and came to greet him.

After exchanging greetings, Lu Ye asked, "Do you know the specific situation?"

Luan Xiao'e shook her head. "Not yet, the incident happened too suddenly."

Yan Miao said, "Judging by the direction, it seems like the activity is coming from Jade Sword Island. But Jade Sword Island is only a medium-grade spirit island and has no Sun Radiance cultivators stationed there. Moreover, the auras of these attacking Sun Radiance cultivators feel very unfamiliar."

Although there were now quite a few Sun Radiance cultivators in the Myriad Manifestations Sea, their total number wasn't exceptionally large. Over the years, most had interacted with each other, so it was easy to tell if someone was a stranger or an acquaintance with just a brief perception.

"Let's go see," Lu Ye said, and then darted towards the source of the commotion, with Yan Miao and Luan Xiao'e following closely behind.

The sounds of conflict quickly subsided, but an extremely unsettling aura emanated from the direction of Jade Sword Island. Lu Ye's heart pounded; it felt as if something terribly ominous was about to happen.

Just as Lu Ye was thinking this, a hum suddenly echoed, and the entire Myriad Manifestations Sea violently shook, with waves instantly sweeping across.

At the same time, a faint red light emerged from Jade Sword Island, instantly becoming incredibly bright. The red light, like a blood-red curtain, enveloped the entire island, twisting and transforming as if alive. Lu Ye also noticed that this twisting, blood-curtain-like red light was subtly echoing something in the distance.

A moment later, they finally reached Jade Sword Island. Lu Ye strained his vision to look inside, and his killing intent flared instantly: "Insectoids!"