48: Chapter 48 Jade Slip Awakens, Choice of Interests

On the second day after Demon General Fuhai retreated, Blue Moon Island finally managed to complete its first post-battle assessment.

Casualties, demon cores, damaged armor, overloaded Formation Plates, crossbow repairs, the return of Mortals to the ground... every single item weighed on everyone like a heavy stone.

But heavy as it was, there was still an irrepressible sharpness on everyone's faces.

Because this time, they had truly repelled thirty thousand vanguard troops.

And they had even used others to wipe out the Blood Shark Pirates.

This confidence was built on the mountain of corpses outside the city and the severed tentacle of the Demon General hanging on the city wall.

So, that afternoon, Lu Changyuan gathered the core members once again.

He said nothing else, simply spreading the incomplete sea chart back onto the table and placing the markers for the suspected strongholds that Leng Feng had scouted from the outer seas yesterday.

The lines converged, pointing directly toward the deeper waters on the eastern side.

"Demon General Fuhai fled this way."

"Its remnants, supplies, and hideout are most likely along this path."

Lu Changyuan's fingertip traced the sea chart, finally stopping at a Deep Water Zone surrounded by dark whirlpools. "This place is nine times out of ten its lair, or at the very least, one of its most important treasure vault nodes."

Lu Hu's eyes immediately burned with fire. "Master, as long as you nod, I'll go. We didn't kill it last night, so this time I'll go and overturn its lair."

Leng Feng was calmer. "The Demon General lost a main tentacle and cannot fully recover in the short term. If we pursue it now, there is indeed a chance to bite off a piece of fat meat. However..."

He glanced at Su Qingli.

Su Qingli immediately took over. "It's just that Blue Moon Island hasn't fully recovered yet. The outer city defenses need to be almost entirely rebuilt, and the Forbidden Great Array was forced open last night and needs time to be nurtured. Plus, the Deep Sea Royal Clan's scouting lines are beginning to press in this direction. If we pull away too many elites now, the island will be left undefended."

The room quickly divided into two factions.

The pro-war side was led by Lu Hu.

Because everyone knew that such a window of Opportunity after heavily wounding the enemy leader didn't come often. If they could raid Demon General Fuhai's treasure vault, even capturing half of it would be enough to raise Blue Moon Island's military resources by a level.

The pro-defense side was led by Su Qingli.

Because although they won the battle last night, the island was truly drained. If they were greedy for merit and advanced rashly now, Blue Moon Island might not hold if a second wave of strong enemies pressed in.

Lu Changyuan did not express his stance immediately.

He only looked at the sea chart, his eyes sinking deep.

A treasure vault.

It wasn't just as simple as a few chests of Spirit Stones or a few Magical Artifacts.

A Demon General at the Foundation Establishment Perfection stage capable of commanding thirty thousand vanguard troops and hundreds of elites would certainly have a substantial fortune. Spirit Stones, demon cores, deep-sea minerals, and even clues related to the Dragon King Palace could all be hidden inside.

At any other time, he would hardly hesitate.

Because an Opportunity to double one's fortune should be seized at all costs.

But just as he was about to speak, the heavenly secret jade slip, which had been silent for a long time deep within his Sea of Consciousness, suddenly shook violently.

This vibration was fiercer than the first time he saw the scarlet blood-red warning characters.

Lu Changyuan was almost frozen on the spot.

The next moment, the blood-red light on the surface of the Jade Slip flared up like mad, stinging his Sea of Consciousness. Immediately after, a line of blood-red characters, more scarlet and intense than ever before, crashed directly into his Divine Sense.

[Warning!]

[A Golden Core Stage Sword Immortal from the top Star Sea power, the "Heavenly Star Sect," has fallen, heavily injured, three hundred miles from here!]

[Extremely dangerous, but also a Heaven-Defying Opportunity!]

Lu Changyuan's pupils constricted sharply.

A Golden Core Sword Immortal.

And from the Heavenly Star Sect, a power considered top-tier even across the entire Star Sea.

This was no longer on the same level as Spirit Stones, mineral veins, or demon cores.

This was a living amulet.

It was a trump card that, if saved and bound by Karma, would be enough to suppress an entire sea region for decades to come.

But precisely because of that, the danger was equally terrifying.

A figure of this level falling while heavily injured would never be as simple as "going to pick someone up." There might be pursuers behind her, enemies nearby, or she herself might not even be in a controllable state.

On one side was the short-term gain of Demon General Fuhai's treasure vault, which was right before his eyes and almost tangible.

On the other side was a colossal Opportunity that could change their fate if seized, but if handled with the slightest carelessness, could drag Blue Moon Island and himself into the abyss.

If it were just him alone, he could actually gamble on both the treasure vault and the Sword Immortal.

But now, Blue Moon Island stood behind him.

One wrong step, and what would be lost wasn't just a single outing, but the destiny the entire island had struggled so hard to accumulate.

Everyone in the hall only saw Lu Changyuan staring at the sea chart in silence for a long time, his expression shifting repeatedly, but no one knew what had just exploded within his Sea of Consciousness.

Su Qingli was the first to notice something wrong and said in a low voice, "Master?"

Lu Changyuan slowly looked up.

When he looked up, the cold sharpness in his eyes that had been aimed purely at the Demon General's treasure vault was gone, replaced by another kind of determination—one that was greater, more ruthless, and more like a high-stakes gamble.

"We are not pursuing the treasure vault."

As the words fell, everyone in the hall was stunned.

Lu Hu was the first to fail to contain himself. "Master?"

"We didn't pursue last night because we couldn't afford to. If we were to pursue today, it's because if we waited another night, this lead might not be worth as much."

Lu Changyuan raised his head; his voice was not heavy, yet it silenced the entire meeting hall.

"But just a moment ago, another lead in my hands lit up."

"It is far greater than the Demon General's treasure vault, and far more urgent."

Lu Hu's brows knitted tightly. "No matter how big, can it be bigger than the fortune of a Foundation Establishment Perfection Demon General?"

"It can."

Lu Changyuan replied without the slightest hesitation.

Leng Feng stared at him for a moment and slowly spoke. "Master, you cannot disclose this lead?"

"Not right now."

"Then we at least need to know if it's worth giving up a treasure vault."

This time, even Su Qingli did not intercede for Lu Changyuan.

She simply looked at him, waiting for a justification sufficient for her to take over the island's defense.

Lu Changyuan was silent for two breaths, then finally spoke.

"If I succeed in this gamble, Blue Moon Island will have an extra amulet for many years to come that no one will dare to touch lightly."

"If I lose this gamble, the loss will be one outing and the group of people I take with me."

"If we go to pursue the Demon General's treasure vault now, once we run into its lair, its remnants, or the scouting lines that the Deep Sea Royal Clan might press in with, what we might lose is the very breath of the entire island for the time to come."

Lu Hu still wanted to say something. "But that is, after all..."

"That is, after all, a treasure vault."

Lu Changyuan finished his sentence directly.

"That is why I am taking the minimum number of people, leaving all the Foundations capable of defending the island to Qingli."

"Lu Hu, you are coming with me because you are the best at fighting hard battles."

"Leng Feng, you are coming with me because you are the best at handling on-the-spot variables."

"Shi Jian and the remaining Foundation Establishment cultivators are coming with me because I need a short blade that can advance to save people and retreat to cover the rear."

"But the main force of the Sea Cavalry Battalion, the crossbow positions, the formation eyes, and the Workshop—none of them can leave the island with me to gamble."

The room went silent.

Su Qingli was the first to grasp the point.

"You are going to save someone?"

Lu Changyuan glanced at her, not answering directly, only saying, "I am going to catch a living lead that cannot be missed."

"A treasure vault is a dead object."

"This time, I want something alive."

When this sentence fell, Leng Feng's eyes changed first.

Lu Hu also finally heard that something was off.

For Lu Changyuan to put the Demon General's treasure vault aside and personally lead the last batch of the steadiest Foundation Establishment elites to catch a "living lead," its weight didn't need to be spelled out clearly.

Su Qingli was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Since you have spoken to this point, I will not stop you."

"But regarding the island's defense, you must leave me enough resources."

Lu Changyuan nodded. "Keep repairing the crossbow positions, keep replenishing the formation eyes, and keep the Black-Armored Giant Crab blocking the east entrance as before. The Sea Cavalry Battalion stays, the main array stays, and half of all newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivators on the island must remain on rotation. If I do not return in three days, act according to the worst-case scenario: contract the outer patrols and switch directly to a closed-island defensive posture."

Su Qingli asked again, "Where to?"

"North by east, three hundred miles."

After finishing, Lu Changyuan directly put away the sea chart.

"Assemble the people immediately. Lu Hu, Leng Feng, Shi Jian, and the Foundation Establishment elites who are in the most stable condition after last night's battle will accompany me to sea."

This time, no one in the hall tried to stop him.

Because the step of contention had already been settled.

And what Lu Changyuan gave was no longer just "obey my orders."

It was a clear and distinct trade-off.

Half an hour later, at the Blue Moon Island Pier.

A fast, medium-sized warship had already unloaded unnecessary heavy items, keeping only the most elite armored soldiers and supplies. The wave-pattern Formation Plate at the bow had long been lit, and the fastest Purple Lightning Seahorses from the Sea Cavalry Battalion were led onto the side deck, ready for a mid-journey speed swap.

Before boarding the ship, Lu Changyuan returned alone to his meditation room.

When he came back out, he had a cold jade box in his hand.

Inside the box lay a jade-white lotus seed.

That was the last complete lotus seed of the nine-leaf world-purifying lotus.

It was also the item he had saved for himself until the very end, which he had originally even considered gambling his own Foundation on at the most critical moment.

Now, he had to take it out and gamble it on a Golden Core Sword Immortal he had never met.

When Lu Hu saw the cold jade box, the corners of his eyes couldn't help but twitch violently.

He didn't know what was inside, but he knew that anything Lu Changyuan carried with him with such an attitude could never be an ordinary treasure.

And the more he realized this, the more he understood just how big a gamble this voyage was.

The warship quickly broke out of the harbor.

The sea breeze slammed into them, carrying the lingering scent of blood from the great battle. In the distance, the sky was heavily overcast, and waves of fog rolled outward, as if an invisible giant hand were slowly churning the entire sea region from deeper within.

On the Pier, those who remained said nothing, simply watching the warship leave the port in silence.

They did not know what their Master was going to gamble on this trip, but they could all see that if this gamble succeeded, the sky over Blue Moon Island would change color.

Lu Changyuan stood at the bow, his five fingers gripping the cold jade box tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

None of the dozen or so Foundation Establishment elites on the ship spoke, but that silence was heavier than usual.

They were all waiting.

Waiting to see what kind of future their Master would lead Blue Moon Island to on this trip.

And this unknown was, in itself, more nerve-wracking than a battle of blades and spears.

But no one retreated.

Not even their gazes wavered.

Because the ship had already set sail.

There was no order to turn back.

He was, of course, reluctant to give up the Demon General's treasure vault.

But for some things, whether they are worth gambling on never depends on how many Spirit Stones are visible before one's eyes.

It depends on whether, after winning the gamble, the sky will change.

The warship sailed faster and faster, finally plunging into the rolling mist ahead.

Lu Changyuan looked down at the cold jade box, his eyes cold and bright.

This time, what he was wagering was not a few chests of Spirit Stones.

It was the sky over Blue Moon Island for many years to come.