Seeing that Yuan Du brought a member of the Blood Race over, Lu Ye immediately realized what kind of devious plan was brewing.
The Blood Raceâs last-minute switch caught him off guard, but he could guess the general reason. It was clear that the other party had truly activated the Blood Resonance Technique and sensed the bloodline connection between himself and Ma Shangsi.
From this Blood Race memberâs point of view, he certainly wouldnât harm his own kin, thus leading to the accusations against Yuan Cheng.
This led to the current absurd and awkward situation.
Yuan Cheng looked innocent and indignant, loudly chastising the Blood Race member, who was fearless. After all, he was doomed to die, and before his death, he could help a few clan members better conceal themselves, which he considered a gain.
Yuan Du frowned deeply, looking intently at the Blood Race member. If his original plan was to use this Blood Race member to falsely incriminate Lu Ye, suspicions now arose.
The Blood Raceâs performance was undeniably an act of concealment. What was he hiding? Why didnât he act according to instructions?
It couldnât be that Lu Ye of Three Worlds Island was truly...
At this thought, Yuan Duâs heart stirred as if he had just discovered an earth-shattering secret. But he quickly realized that if the Blood Race member did not point out Lu Ye, what purpose would his trip serve?
As the Sun Blaze governor, without evidence, he couldnât act against Three Worlds Island; otherwise, it violated the rules. Especially this time, to create momentum and demonstrate his impartiality, he had deliberately brought so many cultivators to witness.
This situation was like shooting himself in the foot, and for the first time, Yuan Du felt his governor position was a restriction.
Suddenly, a violent surge of mana erupted, shocking Yuan Du, who quickly turned and shouted, "No!"
However, the one who unleashed the mana ignored him. As a figure launched forth, a punch blasted through the void, obliterating the Blood Race member who was entangled with Yuan Cheng, leaving no remains. The residual force of the punch did not diminish, crashing directly onto the protective array of Three Worlds Island.
Visible shockwaves rippled from the point of impact, shaking the entire island violently.
"I told you long ago to take direct action, but you insisted on unnecessary tactics, wasting time!"
Within the protective array, Lu Ye stared incredulously at the figure that suddenly appeared: "Black Cloud?"
Wasnât he dead? A year ago, he had been surrounded and killed by several Sun Blaze cultivators on Mount Fangcun in Nine Provinces. How could he be standing here?
But judging by his appearance and aura, this was undoubtedly the Demon Venerable Black Cloud who should be dead. In fact, he seemed even stronger than before.
Black Cloud coldly looked at Lu Ye through the protective array, his Mental Consciousness transmitting: "Boy, if you donât want Nine Provinces to fall into chaos, youâd better surrender willingly!"
Lu Ye frowned: "What have you done?"
Black Cloud snorted, "Nothing much, just at this moment, two Great Demon Venerables and eight minor Demon Venerables of this domain have allied to lead armies against Nine Provinces. They will arrive in three months."
Since his magic body fell in Nine Provinces, Black Cloud had been seeking revenge. However, he speculated that Lu Ye might have inherited the Dao Tree legacy, so while summoning the Zixuan battalion, he decided to personally capture Lu Ye at All Phenomena Ocean.
Attacking Nine Provinces was a precaution, as the Dao Tree legacy being with Lu Ye was only his guess and he couldnât be certain. The best plan was to capture Lu Ye and Three Worlds Island here, while simultaneously capturing Nine Provinces. This way, no matter where the Dao Tree legacy was, it wouldnât escape his grasp.
He knew that Nine Provinces housed powerful guardians; otherwise, his magic body wouldnât have perished. Yet, how strong could they be? With the full force of the Zixuan battalion, they couldnât possibly fail to conquer one Nine Provinces.
By his timing, the Zixuan battalion should already be en route.
After capturing Lu Ye here, he might even have time to rendezvous with the Zixuan battalion, personally leading the campaign and discovering who destroyed his magic body.
Lu Yeâs expression changed. Although Mount Fangcun had several Sun Blaze cultivators guarding Nine Provinces, the might of the Zixuan forces was overwhelming. Alone, they couldnât resist unless the Southern and Western Regions also joined in support. Yet even then, they could only match Zixuan at the Sun Blaze level, and once war broke out, Nine Provinces would be plunged into chaos!
Seeing the anger in Lu Yeâs eyes, Black Cloud transmitted, "Of course, if youâre willing to surrender and answer a few questions, I can immediately call back the Zixuan battalion!"
Of course, this was a lie. The Zixuan battalion had already set out, and even as one of the five Great Demon Venerables, he couldnât stop their advance. He was merely trying to capture Lu Ye more easily.
He sensed that Yuan Du had his own motives, though he believed Yuan Du was targeting Three Worlds Island. His own objective was Lu Ye and the cultivators of Three Worlds Island, so their goals didnât conflict.
"Youâre courting death!" Lu Ye coldly stared at him.
Black Cloud chuckled, "Itâs been many years since anyone dared speak to me this way!"
Their Mental Consciousness exchange happened in an instant, but this sudden turn of events left all the observing cultivators astonished. No one expected a Sun Blaze to suddenly strike from behind Yuan Du.
Moreover, the aura of this Sun Blaze was remarkably unusual.
"Itâs the Demon Raceâs Demon Venerable!" Someone with sharp eyes immediately recognized the origin of Black Cloud.
"Demon Race... in this case, it should be Zixuanâs Demon Venerable."
"Demon Venerable Black Cloud, right? I remember seeing him from afar once when I was young."
"A Demon Venerable acting without cause; this breaks the rules. Arenât the governors reacting?"
As the cultivators discussed, at All Phenomena Island, in front of the Governorâs Palace, four figures gathered here, looking towards Three Worlds Island.
These four were precisely the other four governors besides Yuan Du.
Guk Xi of Celestial Flames World, Muh Qing of Kunyu World, Mo Wenli of Illusion God World, Chen Xuanba of Gaotian Continent, and counting Yuan Du from Yiyuan World, these big domains are basically the most powerful ones in the All Phenomena Galaxy.
"What is Senior Brother Yuan Du doing?" Muh Qing frowned.
As fellow Sun Blaze governors, they certainly knew what Yuan Du had been plotting recently. Moreover, before setting out, Yuan Du assured them faithfully that whatever he did would not break the rules of All Phenomena Ocean.
But now it seems, Yuan Duâs promises are worthless.
The outsider Sun Blaze has already made a move here. If this matter isnât resolved well, it would greatly damage the authority and reputation of these Sun Blazes, possibly triggering a series of disturbances.
"Should we go and take a look?" Mo Wenli asked.
"What good would it do?" Chen Xuanba slowly shook his head, "Is it to help, or to stop it?"
If they help, the reputation accumulated by All Phenomena Ocean over the years would vanish in an instant. But if they stop it, it would only become a joke for outsiders. So whichever choice they make is wrong. They can only watch and wait for Yuan Du to handle things well enough to not severely damage the interests of All Phenomena Ocean.
"Here we are again with this Three Worlds Island, really unruly!" Guk Xi snorted coldly, hinting in his words a grievance against Three Worlds Island.
The other Sun Blazes were well aware...
Guk Xi had always looked down on Three Worlds Island, not because of a deep relationship with Yuan Du, but because Unparalleled Island was taken by Celestial Flames World behind him back then. Yet Unparalleled Island fell into decline, and Three Worlds Island rose. Guk Xi always felt that it was Three Worlds Island that seized the fortune of Unparalleled Island, leading to one Spirit Islandâs downfall and the otherâs rise.
If it werenât for Three Worlds Island, perhaps Unparalleled Island could be prosperous now, bringing huge benefits and profits to Celestial Flames World.
But today, how many people on All Phenomena Ocean still remember the once-glorious Unparalleled Island?
Yuan Du targeting Three Worlds Island, he was quite pleased to see it. Maybe once Yuan Du takes down Three Worlds Island, Unparalleled Island under the banner of Celestial Flames World might have a chance to revive?
At this moment, outside Three Worlds Island, Black Cloud ruthlessly acted, Yuan Du failed to stop him, doubts flashed through his mind, and he immediately shouted angrily: "This Blood Race chooses death over slandering and shielding, Lu Yiye, you are indeed of Blood Race origin. Reveal your true form!"
The actions of that Blood Race before were too eerie. He said Yuan Cheng was of Blood Race, which Yuan Du absolutely couldnât believe because Yuan Cheng was a junior of his in Yiyuan World. Others might not know if heâs Blood Race, but how could he not know?
But the opposition clearly chose to shield despite prior agreements, undeniably culpable.
Yuan Du was eighty percent sure; this Lu Yiye was indeed Blood Race!
He had no evidence, but that didnât matter. First, putting this big hat on would occupy the moral high ground. The process might be unsatisfactory, but as long as the situationâs trajectory remains under control, it worked.
"To impose a crime without proof!" Lu Ye snorted coldly, "Back then, when Insect and Blood Races suffered significant losses in the Reincarnation Tree Taichu Realm, they jointly issued a massive bounty against this Island Master. Many have heard of Lu Yiye of Nine Heavens, the name. How could this Island Master be of Blood Race?"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Du suddenly froze. Yes, if Lu Ye was of Blood Race, then whatâs the deal with this bounty?
Others, like him, had similar doubts. Many knew about the bounty issued by the Insect and Blood Races back then, and they knew the one being bountied was Lu Yiye of Nine Heavens. But few knew that this Lu Yiye of Nine Heavens was Lu Ye of Three Worlds Island.
Now that it was said by him, it naturally became a means to prove his innocence.
Fortunately, Black Cloud was quick-witted, realizing this wasnât the time to argue with Lu Ye, but to swiftly take him down. He immediately snickered repeatedly: "Lu Yiye of Nine Heavens, Iâve heard of naturally, but are you really from Nine Heavens?"
You clearly come from the Nine Provinces!
He was confident that Lu Ye wouldnât dare answer this question, and sure enough, Lu Ye promptly fell silent.
While the two were sparring with words, Black Cloudâs subordinates didnât rest; with several punches, the entire Three Worlds Island was troubled and uneasy, the protective array accumulated over the years precarious under such an assault.
This was the might of Sun Blaze. Forget about the protective array of Three Worlds Island; even Zixuanâs protective array couldnât withstand such an offensive. By comparison, Zixuanâs protective array is far stronger than that of Three Worlds Island.