Chapter 1254: Treasure Gourd Emerges

Around the two peaks, over two hundred figures had gathered. People were constantly drawn to the area by the strange phenomenon. Once they arrived and looked around, they quickly understood the situation and quietly stood to the side.

The scene appeared peaceful, but undercurrents were at play. Glances crisscrossed in all directions, and no one knew what others were truly thinking. However, a tacit understanding prevailed: no one would easily initiate conflict before the treasure gourd matured and fell.

In such a situation, starting a fight would likely lead to an outsider benefiting from their conflict. Those who came were not fools, so they naturally wouldn't do such a foolish thing.

Most were accompanied by companions, but no team exceeded three people, which was very normal. As Zhao Yunliu had just told Yu Yaorao, the more people in a group, the harder it was to divide the spoils. Therefore, a three-person team was the best configuration, as it ensured both the team's combat effectiveness and adequate gains.

Even those who came alone began to seek opportunities to connect and form temporary alliances.

It didn't matter if they hadn't met or didn't know each other before; as long as they had the intention to form a team, they could temporarily join forces, even if they weren't of the same race.

Of course, such alliances were very loose and came with no guarantees. Whether they would truly cooperate when facing an enemy together was uncertain.

Many lone cultivators found temporary companions here.

Only Lu Ye remained solitary, with no one approaching him. His cultivation of the eighth-level Divine Sea Realm was too conspicuous. Anyone with sense wouldn't approach him; those who did at this moment would surely have ill intentions.

He was content with this.

Yu Yaorao, however, couldn't bear to watch and quietly sent him a message, urging him to leave quickly. Lu Ye merely thanked her and continued as he pleased.

Seeing his persistence, Yu Yaorao couldn't say more. She didn't deny Lu Ye's strength, but being targeted in such a situation might not end well for him.

Good advice is wasted on those determined to go astray. Although they had interacted, there wasn't much genuine friendship between them.

As time passed, fewer people arrived. However, the phenomenon in the sky grew even grander. Everyone knew that the treasure gourd on the Creation Vine would mature soon, but no one could be certain exactly when.

Such an event happened only once every several millennia or even tens of thousands of years. There was no precedent to refer to, so they could only wait.

Lu Ye's expression was relaxed, showing no hint of danger. He was only thinking about one thing: with so many people present, how could he snatch the treasure gourd?

Although he was confident in his own strength, the situation would undoubtedly become incredibly chaotic when the gourd matured. At that time, everyone would be surrounded by countless enemies, and even the strongest individuals couldn't guarantee they would succeed in obtaining it.

Such a matter partly depended on strength, but more so on luck.

As for how to escape after obtaining it, Lu Ye wasn't worried. His clone was hidden a thousand miles away, and he could teleport to it with a single thought.

So, the key problem was still how to get his hands on it.

Although it was said he already possessed a treasure of that caliber, for items of this level, one was not too few, and two were not too many. If he didn't encounter one, so be it, but if he did, he would naturally try to seize it.

He thought and thought but found no good solution, unless he could set up a formation beforehand. Only by relying on the power of a formation would there be a glimmer of possibility. But under everyone's watchful eyes, where would he find an opportunity to set up a formation? If he made a move, he would immediately become the target of everyone. Even with immense power, he would instantly turn to ashes.

He ultimately decided to go all out and contend for it. It would be great if he succeeded, but it didn't matter if he failed. After all, treasures go to those who are destined for them, which was perfectly understandable. He couldn't expect to hog all the good fortune.

With this thought, his mood lightened. Even if he gained nothing in the end, he would consider it an eye-opening experience.

While hundreds of people waited for the treasure to appear here, the powerful cultivators on the White Jade Platform were utterly perplexed. According to past patterns, this period should have seen a rapid decrease in numbers and swift changes in rankings, with these shifts continuing until the event's conclusion.

However, the current situation was completely different. While names did disappear and the top hundred rankings changed, it wasn't as intense as expected. It was as if the entire Grand Beginning Realm had suddenly entered a relatively peaceful period.

This left everyone baffled as to what was happening. Observing and waiting from the outside, they couldn't know the exact situation within, so they could only continue to wait.

The only thing that displeased many powerful cultivators was that Lu Ye of the Nine Heavens Realm was still alive, and not only alive but still holding the third position!

The two ranked above him were Gu Yulou from Yellow Dragon Realm and Bin Ping from Northern Nether Ghost Frog. Both had powerful realms as their background. Since these two surpassed him, no one else below them had managed to overtake him.

This infuriated many powerful cultivators, making them feel that this generation of Divine Sea Realm cultivators was truly subpar.

In the Grand Beginning Realm, between the two peaks, the sky-spanning phenomena suddenly vanished. The numerous Divine Sea Realm cultivators who had waited for days all had their expressions change, realizing the treasure was likely about to appear. Immediately, they secretly circulated their spiritual power, poised to act the moment the treasure gourd fully matured and fell, then snatch it.

Between the two peaks, the void where the Creation Vine resided also trembled slightly, as if the ancient vine was about to break through from another dimension.

Amidst this widespread attention, the large gourd swayed slightly and suddenly fell from the vine. As ripples spread, it landed in this space.

Without the slightest hesitation, it transformed into a streak of light and shot off in one direction. By an astonishing coincidence, it flew directly into a cultivator's arms.

The cultivator hadn't even reacted, only feeling a sudden weight in his embrace. He instinctively reached out, and the treasure gourd was already in his hand.

However, he showed no trace of joy. His expression suddenly changed, and he immediately threw the treasure gourd away. Yet, he was still a step too late.

Almost simultaneously with him throwing the treasure gourd, streaks of colorful light from all directions blasted towards him.

Enveloped by the light, the cultivator's figure was instantly submerged by chaotic spiritual energy fluctuations. He only managed to utter a furious curse before turning into a rain of blood.

No matter how strong an individual was, in such a situation, they couldn't withstand the siege of everyone.

Not only was he killed, but several cultivators near him also suffered collateral damage, all looking disheveled and muttering curses. Many figures flickered, soaring towards the direction of the treasure gourd, while attacks flew in all directions. The scene immediately descended into utter chaos.

The Divine Sea Realm competition in the Grand Beginning Realm had been ongoing for nearly two months. The largest-scale melee had now begun. At this point and in this situation, everyone around was an enemy. Even recently allied companions could not be fully trusted.

As hundreds of people plunged into chaotic battle, several life auras immediately vanished, quickly followed by the demise of even more people.

Everyone knew that this was not the time to seize the treasure gourd. Because once the gourd was in hand, one would inevitably become the target of everyone else's attacks. Therefore, almost everyone's objective was to eliminate rivals around them, while closely following the direction the treasure gourd fled to ensure it didn't leave their line of sight.

This situation was bound to last for some time, perhaps several hours, perhaps several days, until the number of competitors decreased to a certain extent. Only then would the surviving cultivators truly make their move to snatch the treasure.

Between the two peaks, the area was empty in a blink of an eye. Only three figures remained standing.

Lu Ye stood in the center, his Mountain-Shattering Blade in hand. On the dark blade, a streak of crimson slowly converged towards the tip, then transformed into a drop of fresh blood and fell.

At his feet, a headless corpse tumbled into the valley. The severed head rolled a few times, its wide eyes filled with an expression of disbelief, as if it hadn't expected to be cut down so easily.

To his left and right stood two figures, both with expressions of disbelief. The one on the left was a delicate-looking female cultivator, undoubtedly human.

The one on the right, however, was of an unknown race. Although generally similar to humans in form, its face was covered in snake-like scales, making it look extremely strange.

Lu Ye recognized this individual.

Back on the White Jade Platform, Yang Qing had haggled at his elder's stall and bought a treasure for the price of one spiritual jade. Even that one spiritual jade was only a verbal IOU.

According to Yang Qing, this individual's elder had offended him earlier, so he decided to teach them a lesson.

Lu Ye still remembered the furious gaze of this individual when he left with Yang Qing.

Those elders dared not act presumptuously in front of Yang Qing, but they had certainly instructed their juniors to deal with Lu Ye in the Grand Beginning Realm.

They hadn't been able to find any trace of Lu Ye before, but unexpectedly encountered him here. Naturally, they wouldn't stand on ceremony.

He had also formed an alliance, and there were three people in their team in total. Besides him and the delicate female cultivator, the third was the deceased ghost cultivator!

While others were focused on the soon-to-be-matured treasure gourd, this team of three was staring at Lu Ye instead. They planned to take Lu Ye's head once the chaos erupted, and then it would still be ample time to pursue the treasure gourd.

There were certainly others with the same idea as them, but since these three had already made their secret arrangements, it would be difficult for others to intervene, to avoid unnecessary conflict.

Moreover, at this moment, it was indeed more appropriate to pursue the treasure gourd. Compared to a mere kill, the value of the treasure gourd was undoubtedly far greater. As long as they obtained it, even if they had to immediately withdraw from the Grand Beginning Realm, this trip would not be a loss.

This three-person team had thought it would be an easy task, but only when they actually made their move did they realize things had exceeded their expectations.

The ghost cultivator had long been hidden beside Lu Ye. Logically, Lu Ye shouldn't have had any chance to retaliate against a sudden ambush. Yet, the one who died was the ghost cultivator.

At this, the remaining two immediately understood. Lu Ye had long known about the ghost cultivator hidden nearby. He had kept quiet and not acted, just waiting for this instantaneous, thunderous strike!