Chapter 2779: Being Sold

Chang Yun added, "However, you must be careful of the Sky-Weaving Needle artifact in her hand. This artifact specializes in breaking through defensive spiritual power!"

"The Sky-Weaving Needle..." Chu Li's expression turned serious. He had clearly heard of the artifact's formidable reputation. He nodded again and said, "Don't worry, my lord, we will act with caution."

Chang Yun slowly exhaled, then raised a hand and called out, "Attendants!"

Immediately, twenty maids emerged, each holding a cup of wine. They approached Lu Ye and the others and respectfully offered the drinks.

He turned, picked up a cup himself, and surveyed everyone. "Gentlemen, the safety of this island now rests entirely on your abilities. With this cup, I wish you success on your mission!"

The group, led by Chu Li, responded in unison, "We will not fail the Island Master's trust!"

They drank together, then smashed their cups to the ground.

Chang Yun declared spiritedly, "With you gentlemen on this island, there's no need to worry about failing our great task. There's no time to lose, please follow me!"

Moments later, in a hidden area beneath the manor, a spatial formation appeared within everyone's view. Lu Ye observed it, noting that the formation was indeed small, incapable of teleporting too many people at once.

Standing before the formation, Chang Yun cupped his hands and bowed to everyone, saying, "I entrust this mission to all of you!"

Everyone returned the bow, then silently and solemnly stepped onto the formation.

"Activate the formation!" Chang Yun commanded. The cultivators who had been waiting by the formation immediately activated it. Light flowed from within the formation, spreading like moonlight, enveloping everyone's forms.

The hazy light gradually dissipated, and the twenty figures slowly faded into nothingness.

At that moment, Chang Yun's eyes filled with pain. He murmured to himself, "Don't blame me. Everything is for the long-term survival of this island."

He then ordered, "Deactivate the formation!"

"Yes!" the cultivators by the formation responded in unison.

A few breaths later, on a desolate small island tens of thousands of miles away from Chang Yun Island, twenty figures appeared within a spatial formation.

Everyone immediately scanned their surroundings, a normal reaction, but what they saw astonished them all.

The entire small island was enveloped in a boundless crimson hue. Within this blood-red mist, shadowy figures appeared and disappeared. Numerous divine senses locked onto them almost the instant they materialized, making them feel as if needles were pricking their backs.

"What's going on?" someone exclaimed.

"It's an ambush!"

"We've been discovered here, retreat quickly!"

"We can't retreat! The formation has been deactivated, we can't go back!"

Amidst a flurry of exclamations, the scene descended into chaos.

No one had expected that this mission would be aborted just as it began. These twenty elite cultivators, who had just been full of high spirits and ready for action, now found themselves trapped in an enemy ambush, their lives hanging in the balance.

"Brother Chu, something's wrong!" Lu Ye whispered to Chu Li, his hand hovering over his Pan Mountain Blade, a deep frown on his face.

Chu Li remained silent, his expression extremely grim.

He knew something was amiss, of course, but he dared not ponder it deeply, fearing an unbearable answer. He couldn't comprehend why this was happening.

As the sea of blood churned, several figures emerged from it, all of them Featherfolk. Leading them was a woman of breathtaking beauty, with a dignified and graceful demeanor.

Yet, at this moment, her expression was utterly malevolent, her eyes brimming with unspeakable killing intent, and her fair, snow-like face was filled with boundless coldness.

Her gaze shifted and fixed on Lu Ye. Then she slowly spoke, "Are you Lu Ye?"

Lu Ye's eyes narrowed slightly.

If appearing in an encirclement just moments after arriving had made him suspicious, then the woman's immediate utterance of his name confirmed his doubts.

Indeed, something was amiss.

But he harbored the same question as Chu Li: why?

Beside him, Chu Li sighed faintly, clearly having also discerned something.

The woman's gaze then turned to Chu Li. "And you must be Chu Li?"

Chu Li looked up at her. "Zhao Ming?"

Zhao Ming was the Dao companion of the Featherfolk Grand Elder Fei Heng, and also the original target to be captured alive in this mission.

According to the intelligence provided by Chang Yun, she should currently be on a treasure ship hundreds of thousands of miles away in another direction, on her way to the battlefield to rendezvous with Fei Heng.

The group's mission was to intercept her, find a way to capture her alive, and then use her to threaten the Featherfolk Grand Elder who was overseeing the war.

Yet, she had appeared here, and using the means of the Blood Race, she had set up an ambush in advance, trapping Lu Ye and the others the moment they materialized.

"It is I!" Zhao Ming gnashed her teeth, looking as if she wished to rush forward and devour Chu Li alive.

Chu Li's eyes darted around, then a look of understanding crossed his face. "That Featherfolk who died on Chang Yun Island a few days ago, was he your and Fei Heng's child?"

He was no fool. Zhao Ming had fixed her gaze on him and Lu Ye the moment she arrived, as if they were sworn enemies. There had to be a reason.

The only thing he could think of was the young Featherfolk cultivator he and Lu Ye had killed days ago. That individual possessed two artifacts, one for offense and one for defense, clearly indicating an extraordinary background.

Furthermore, after the young man was killed, an extremely mournful cry had echoed from within the sea of blood, followed by an intense malice that remotely locked onto him and Lu Ye.

Thinking back now, that cry must have come from Fei Heng.

Under normal circumstances, with two artifacts—one for offense and one for defense—the young Featherfolk would have had little risk to his life participating in such a battle, provided he was careful.

But his misfortune lay in encountering the combined efforts of Chu Li and Lu Ye, especially Lu Ye. That fierce strike had almost instantly killed the opponent, rendering his two artifacts largely ineffective.

The vengeance for his son's death would naturally be etched deep into Fei Heng's heart.

That was why the current situation had unfolded.

"How dare you speak of it!" Zhao Ming's beautiful face almost twisted in rage. "I'll rip your mouth off!"

Chu Li sneered, "That depends on whether you have the ability to do so!"

Though he spoke defiantly, he knew that their chances were grim today.

Although Chang Yun Island was under siege by numerous enemies and had several defensive lines hanging by a thread in the last battle, it was still protected by a grand defensive formation. This desolate small island, however, had nothing but their twenty hastily arrived human cultivators.

The enemy had made preparations here long ago. With the sea of blood encompassing them and their vast numbers, the cultivators had no chance of victory.

"I have a question for you, madam!" Lu Ye stepped out from beside Chu Li, gazing at the dignified woman before the sea of blood. Without waiting for her reply, he asked, "What agreement did you reach with Chang Yun? To make him willingly send us out to die!"

At his words, the eighteen human cultivators behind him all turned to look at him. Some were incredulous, some disbelieving, and others wore expressions of changing, unreadable emotions.

In fact, the very act of appearing here and immediately falling into an encirclement was suspicious enough, as if they had walked straight into a pre-arranged trap.

Naturally, some would grow suspicious, but no one dared to delve deeper into the thought.

Lu Ye's single statement undoubtedly solidified the suspicions in some people's minds.

This was likely a genuine agreement between Chang Yun, Zhao Ming, and Fei Heng, sending them to their deaths to appease Fei Heng's wrath. Otherwise, things couldn't be so coincidental, nor could Chang Yun's intelligence be so wildly inaccurate.

Zhao Ming glared fiercely at Lu Ye. "Do you think I would answer you?"

Lu Ye calmly replied, "The vengeance for your son, madam, you surely wish to exact it personally. But that depends on whether I give you the chance!"

Zhao Ming sneered incessantly, "Do you think you still have a chance of winning?"

Lu Ye's aura suddenly turned dangerous. "A chance of winning, no, of course not. But I can self-destruct!"

Zhao Ming's face immediately darkened.

Just as Lu Ye had said, she certainly wanted to personally avenge her son's death. Moreover, she would never allow Lu Ye and Chu Li to die so easily. She wanted them to experience every torture in this world to quench her hatred.

At present, Lu Ye and the others indeed had no chance of victory, but if they chose to self-destruct, who could stop them?

Lu Ye's aura grew increasingly perilous, as if he could explode at any moment.

Zhao Ming quickly spoke, "That old fool only cares about his Chang Yun Island. Fei Heng promised him that he would withdraw his troops after this matter!"

"So that's how it is!" Lu Ye nodded slightly, the dangerous aura around him gradually fading. "But I fear the outcome will disappoint Chang Yun, won't it?"

Zhao Ming scoffed continuously, "He's senile! With our vast army pressing down, how could we possibly withdraw so easily?"

"How could this happen?"

"How could the Island Master do such a thing?"

Behind Lu Ye, some found it hard to accept such a revelation.

As Island Master, Chang Yun had protected countless clansmen for thousands of years, becoming a beacon and a belief in many hearts. Such faith was not to be defiled, but Chang Yun's actions now undoubtedly shattered their beliefs.

Chu Li also sighed. Although he had suspected this answer, truly confirming it still pained him deeply.

None of them had harbored any doubts about Chang Yun. It was because of their trust that they were here, only to discover they had been sold out!

He glanced back at everyone. "My apologies, everyone. Brother Lu and I have implicated you all."

Zhao Ming and Fei Heng only wanted him and Lu Ye. However, sending only the two of them would have been too obvious, so Chang Yun had dispatched twenty people. It could be said that the other eighteen cultivators were merely there to make up the numbers, and were thus implicated.

What's more, to avoid arousing suspicion in Chu Li and Lu Ye, all eighteen cultivators Chang Yun had called upon were high-level cultivators who had achieved unification with the Dao.

This was tantamount to him crippling his own forces.

Zhao Ming was absolutely right to say that Chang Yun had become senile.

Lu Ye was certain that with them trapped in an encirclement here, the major battle on Chang Yun Island must have also re-erupted.

The tranquility of the past few days was very likely due to Chang Yun colluding with Fei Heng.

Lu Ye couldn't help but inwardly chuckle. This Island Master was quite interesting; his acting was incredibly convincing. Before they arrived at this small island and fell into the encirclement, not only Lu Ye but even Chu Li had no suspicions whatsoever. Everyone truly believed they were on a mission to capture Zhao Ming alive, bearing the responsibility for the island's safety.

Yet, this was the fate that awaited them.

"If you two are willing to surrender yourselves, I can let the eighteen of them go. What do you say?" Zhao Ming looked at Lu Ye and Chu Li. She was clearly somewhat intimidated by Lu Ye; his self-destruction technique was indeed impossible to guard against.