Chapter 1340: Alliance

In the Black Abyss, the three factions had each gathered, occupying their respective areas and waiting silently.

In previous exercises, the first two waves of contention were relatively peaceful because the Eastern faction lacked competitiveness, allowing the Southern and Western factions to easily divide the appearing Spirit Orbs and control the situation.

However, this time, unexpected changes clearly emerged. After the fourth Spirit Orb appeared, the battles became incredibly fierce. Star-Lord realm cultivators from the human-like race occasionally fell in battle, making the situation much more dangerous than before.

The main reasons were the Southern and Western factions' underestimation of their opponents, coupled with the Eastern faction's sudden rise.

Among the cultivators of the three factions, only three from the Eastern faction had died once. In contrast, almost all cultivators from the Southern and Western factions, except for their late-stage Star-Lord realm experts, had died at least once, with some dying multiple times.

This naturally led to a significant drain on their spiritual energy.

During combat, cultivators placed great importance on maintaining their spiritual energy reserves, as a drop below a certain threshold would hinder their performance.

This threshold was typically around fifty percent.

In other words, with spiritual energy reserves above fifty percent, cultivators could usually exert their full strength. However, if it fell below that, their power would undoubtedly be affected, making it difficult to use burst-type techniques.

The unique properties of the Black Abyss allowed cultivators to revive after death, but the spiritual energy consumed was not replenished, and rebirth itself required a significant amount of spiritual energy.

Furthermore, transporting Spirit Orbs also demanded a continuous output of considerable spiritual energy.

Therefore, at this moment, cultivators from all three factions were frantically recovering their strength. The interval before a new Spirit Orb appeared was an extremely rare opportunity.

The Eastern cultivators were no exception. However, compared to the others, Huang Li and Xiao Xinghe, who were in Lu Ye's team, appeared much more energetic. Thanks to the "Same Breath, Linked Branches Array Disk," they could easily absorb the spiritual energy refined by Lu Ye, allowing them to recover quickly.

Haitang quietly sent a voice transmission: "Junior Brother Lu, our alliance with the Southern faction should be invalid now, right?"

Lu Ye nodded: "We already have three orbs, so there's no need to mention the alliance anymore."

The Southern faction would not want the Eastern faction to acquire four orbs, so they would certainly not assist them further. Haitang had clearly considered this point, and the fact that no one from the Southern faction had come to communicate anything until now undoubtedly indicated some issues.

After a moment's thought, Lu Ye said, "We might also need to guard against the other two factions allying."

Haitang was startled: "Would they?"

"It's hard to say, but it's still possible."

In the past, it was always the Eastern faction allied with the other two, and there had rarely been instances of the Southern and Western factions allying with each other. But this time was different. The Eastern faction, always the underdog, had gained a significant advantage, leaving the dominant two behind. It was difficult to predict what choices they would make.

Especially the Western faction, which despite having the strongest overall power, currently had the fewest achievements. If Lu Ye were the leader of the Western faction, after such a significant setback, he would definitely seek negotiations with the Southern faction.

Of course, the best scenario for the Eastern faction right now would be for each faction to operate independently, without forming any alliances. This was also possible, as the Southern and Western factions had always viewed each other as primary adversaries, competing fiercely in every exercise. With such a history, it wouldn't be simple for them to form an alliance.

Haitang pondered for a moment, then smiled: "Let's do our best; there's no need to force anything!"

The Eastern faction's current achievements were already commendable and would provide a good explanation to the Sun-Light realm cultivators of their own faction upon their return.

Lu Ye nodded. In truth, he had another concern: although the Spirit Orbs placed in their main camp were not easily stolen, according to the rules, they could still be seized before the exercise concluded. If the Southern and Western factions truly allied with sincerity, they might attempt such a feat.

He didn't mention it to Haitang, to avoid worrying her.

It was during this waiting period that the seventh Spirit Orb appeared.

Its location was extremely favorable for the Eastern faction, as it was relatively closest to their main camp.

Instantly, the quiet Black Abyss erupted as if salt had been thrown into a boiling oil pot. From three directions, figures transformed into streaks of light, rushing towards the Spirit Orb's location.

For the Eastern faction, Lu Ye had become the leader. After their previous battle, the Eastern cultivators had no objections to this change; it was only natural for the strongest individual to lead.

Since the Spirit Orb appeared closest to the Eastern faction's main camp, the Eastern cultivators were the first to arrive at its location.

From a distance, the massive Spirit Orb hung suspended in the void. Occasionally, passing meteorites would collide with it, altering its trajectory.

Everyone's gaze on the Spirit Orb grew fervent, as if they could already envision the Eastern faction bravely claiming first place.

Just then, however, Lu Ye suddenly changed direction. Instead of heading straight for the Spirit Orb, he veered off horizontally.

The others followed closely. Although they had doubts, no one spoke up to ask.

Only after a certain distance from the Spirit Orb did Lu Ye stop. He raised his hand, unleashing array flags one after another, activating them with spiritual energy to form spirit纹.

Soon, a large concealment array took shape, enveloping everyone.

From this position, they could observe the Spirit Orb's location without being easily detected. The distance was neither too far nor nor too close.

Knowing what everyone was thinking, he explained, "Even if we want to seize the fourth Spirit Orb, now is not the time."

The Eastern faction already held three orbs. Attempting to seize another now would be unacceptable to anyone and would only force the Southern and Western factions to unite against them.

Therefore, they could only wait.

The best opportunity, of course, would be for all three Spirit Orbs to appear, allowing each faction to take one. Then, everyone would need to transport their respective orbs back, preventing interference. However, the chances of this happening were very slim.

Unless, as before, they delayed and waited for the opportune moment.

A moment later, a group of nine figures appeared, led by none other than Ye Chaoqun.

These were clearly cultivators from the Western faction.

Three of them had originally been trapped in the sea of blood, unable to escape. However, after receiving a sound transmission from Ye Chaoqun, they decisively committed self-immolation to return to their own main camp. Lu Ye's clone was powerless to stop them from escaping in this manner.

The Western faction arrived at the Spirit Orb's location, quickly scanned their surroundings, and began transporting the orb.

They hadn't gone far when the Southern faction's Star-Lord realm cultivators appeared. The two sides clashed instantly, like thunder igniting an earth fire, fighting furiously.

Lu Ye formed observation spirit纹 in his eyes, watching from afar.

The battle was fierce, with clear signs that neither side was holding back. Each wished to utterly destroy the other, and in such intense clashes, cultivators quickly fell.

Haitang sounded somewhat excited: "It seems they haven't allied!"

After Lu Ye's earlier explanation, her greatest fear was encountering an alliance between the other two factions. If that were the case, the Eastern faction would have no chance of seizing more Spirit Orbs. Now, it seemed the worst-case scenario had not materialized.

Lu Ye remained silent.

Haitang's thoughts were, after all, a bit too simple. On the surface, the two factions indeed hadn't allied, but the more viciously they fought, the more suspicious it became.

The Southern faction might not know the Eastern faction's true strength, but surely the Western faction did?

Given their position, the Eastern cultivators' failure to appear was clearly suspicious. Anyone would realize that the Eastern faction was hiding. Therefore, knowing the Eastern faction's true strength, the Western faction would surely be on guard and holding back.

Yet, in reality, they were fighting the Southern faction as if they wanted to beat each other's brains out.

It was as if they were afraid they wouldn't draw out the Eastern faction.

Lu Ye secretly frowned, knowing the situation was unfolding into the scenario he least desired. However, it was their choice, and he was powerless to interfere.

Furthermore, when he decided to seize the third Spirit Orb, he had already anticipated that such a situation might arise.

If the Eastern faction had remained weak, no one would have paid them any mind.

But during the process of seizing the third Spirit Orb, their true strength was suddenly exposed, which inevitably led to some undesirable situations.

Yet, not seizing it wasn't an option either; he had to fulfill his promise to Su Yuqing. He certainly didn't want to be stranded on Fangcun Mountain for a hundred years.

Although he had understood the situation, Lu Ye did not intend to explain much. For some matters, mere explanation was useless, especially since he was, after all, a human.

Therefore, he still needed to let Haitang and the others see it for themselves!

The battle raged on, with cultivators constantly falling. By this point, four individuals from each side had died, all early-stage Star-Lord realm cultivators.

Lu Ye knew there was no need to wait any longer. No matter how much more they waited, the situation wouldn't change significantly, as no more cultivators from the Southern and Western factions would likely die.

He slowly spoke: "Get ready!"

The Eastern cultivators had been waiting for this moment and brightened at his words.

Lu Ye's tone shifted: "But everyone must be careful. If the situation turns unfavorable, be ready to escape at any moment!"

With that, he collected the scattered array flags and was the first to rush towards the battlefield.

As their presence was exposed, Duan Xiuchen of the Southern faction immediately burst into laughter: "Westerners, you're dead! My allies are here!"

Then, amidst the chaos, he shouted to Lu Ye: "Friends from the East, hurry and help us kill them! These Western fellows are quite unyielding!"

"Coming, coming!" Lu Ye enthusiastically replied.

Seeing this, all the Western cultivators' expressions changed, and Ye Chaoqun, their leader, was so enraged that he cursed aloud.

They wanted to disengage from the battle, but the Southern cultivators clung to them relentlessly, making it impossible.

Lu Ye, leading his small team, boldly charged into the fray, directly targeting Ye Chaoqun!

In that very instant, the situation suddenly changed.

Ye Chaoqun, who had seemingly been trying to escape Duan Xiuchen's entanglement, suddenly abandoned all defenses against Duan Xiuchen. He fiercely unleashed a punch towards Lu Ye, its chilling force causing the void to tremble. A small meteorite passing nearby was caught in the aftermath and shattered.

Meanwhile, Duan Xiuchen, who had been fiercely attacking Ye Chaoqun, also raised his hand, releasing a spirit talisman that transformed into a shocking sword beam, striking down directly at Lu Ye.

Not only these two, but the cultivators from both Southern and Western factions who had been fiercely battling each other made similar moves almost simultaneously, each engaging Haitang's and Han Molong's teams.

The Eastern cultivators had charged in with great momentum, only to step, in an instant, into a meticulously planned and deadly trap.