If Lu Ye was caught off guard, he would definitely be in trouble. After all, this was a joint attack from two late Constellation Realm cultivators.
However, since he was on guard, it wouldn't be easy for his opponent to succeed.
He unsheathed his saber and slashed out diagonally. A huge crescent of light flew out, shining with dazzling brilliance. It met Ye Chaoqun's fierce attack head-on. The descending saber drew a semicircle. The Mountain Saber imbued with spiritual energy trembled, blocking the incoming sword of light.
The moment the sword of light shattered, Lu Ye felt his hand go numb.
Speaking of which, this was his first time clashing head-on with a late Constellation Realm cultivator. He immediately sensed the huge difference between early and late Constellation Realm cultivators.
His foundation was indeed deep, but his cultivation was still a shortcoming.
Before he could catch his breath, Ye Chaoqun had already lunged forward. He swung his fists and bombarded Lu Ye with attacks. At the same time, Duan Xiuchen attacked from the side. He shot out talismans one after another, manifesting a fierce attack.
Lu Ye led Huang Li and Xu Xinghe in retreat. His saber spun like a crescent moon, and he even activated layers of defensive barriers in front of him to block the incoming attacks.
The defensive barriers shattered at an unprecedented speed. Even if Lu Ye channeled all his strength, he still couldn't stop it in time.
At this crucial moment, Huang Li suddenly raised her hand and patted Lu Ye's back. A talisman in her hand turned into a golden light, enveloping Lu Ye.
The pressure on Lu Ye decreased greatly.
However, Huang Li and Xu Xinghe weren't so lucky. It seemed like Lu Ye was blocking the combined attacks of two late Constellation Realm cultivators, but it was actually three people working together.
The shockwaves from the ferocious attacks caused their blood to boil. When Huang Li slapped the Golden Body Talisman on Lu Ye, she let her guard down and was accidentally struck by Ye Chaoqun's fist. She instantly exploded into a bloody mist.
The three of them had formed a battle array. When one of them died, the battle array collapsed. Xu Xinghe immediately followed in her footsteps.
Seeing this, Ye Chaoqun and Duan Xiuchen's attacks became even fiercer. They clearly wanted to send Lu Ye back to the eastern camp in one go.
However, they didn't expect Lu Ye, who was fighting alone, to become much more agile. With the protection of the Golden Body Talisman, the two of them actually couldn't take him down.
When Lu Ye found an opportunity, he unleashed a Crescent Slash and actually forced the two of them back.
The two late-stage experts didn't chase after him. Instead, they stood still with different expressions.
Only then did Lu Ye have the time to size up his surroundings. Just now, when he was entangled with these two late-stage Constellations, the sounds of cultivators dying in battle continuously came from all around. He knew that those were the people on his side that met with misfortune. Now that he saw it clearly, he realized that the losses were much greater than expected.
Out of the nine that came, only three were still alive. Other than him, only Haitang and another Constellation in the early stages were still hanging on.
Just as he was observing, the early stage Xingxiu also died on the spot. Haitang's side also seemed to be in dire straits. It seemed like she wouldn't be able to survive.
Although he had already warned everyone to flee if the situation turned bad, it seemed that they had still lost their vigilance. The main reason was that the Southern and Western Divisions' acting was too realistic.
Lu Ye raised the Mountain Pan Saber and lowered his eyes slightly. "Fellow Daoist from the south, this isn't how a friend should treat a guest!"
Duan Xiuchen gnashed his teeth with a solemn expression. "Brother Ye told me about you before. I didn't quite believe it at first, but now it seems that not only did Brother Ye not exaggerate, he even underestimated you."
An early stage Constellation actually managed to escape unscathed from the joint ambush of two late-stage experts. Who would believe this if they heard about it?
However, it happened right under his nose.
"Is the south working with the west?" Lu Ye asked.
Ye Chaoqun chuckled. "It's as you see, Fellow Daoist!"
Duan Xiuchen said, "Brother Lu, don't be angry. We were forced by the situation. Think about it, the east has always been third place, and our two divisions have always fought for first and second place. This is the usual practice. If the east suddenly rode on top of our two divisions this time, we won't be able to explain ourselves when we return. On the other hand, since the east has always been third place, it doesn't matter if you maintain it this time. As the saying goes, the beauty of helping others is something that everyone should have. Brother Lu, you're just an external aid, you don't have to work so hard!"
Lu Ye slowly sheathed his blade and said, "The headquarters thought that we could maintain our alliance, but who would've thought that it was just wishful thinking on our part."
Duan Xiuchen said, "This concerns a realm, and some choices are forced. However, this doesn't affect our personal relationship. If Brother Lu comes to my Fangcun Mountain in the south one day, I'll definitely welcome you warmly and apologize in person. However, for this martial exercise … I'll have to ask Brother Lu to bear with it."
"Understood!" Lu Ye nodded.
Duan Xiuchen laughed loudly. "I like people as understanding as Brother Lu. Then … we'll take our leave first!"
He didn't chase after Lu Ye with Ye Chaoqun anymore. There was no need to. Lu Ye was the only one left of the nine from the east. While they were talking, Haitang had also died in battle.
It wasn't that Lu Ye didn't want to save her, but the two late-stage Constellation experts had their divine senses locked onto him. If he rushed in recklessly, he would probably fall into their trap.
The cultivators from the south and west reorganized themselves, then pushed the spirit ball in a certain direction. Lu Ye glanced over and realized that it was the direction of the west camp.
This was clearly something they'd discussed beforehand.
In the current situation, the east had three balls, the south had two, and the west, which was the strongest as a whole, only had one ball. Since these two wanted to form an alliance, they naturally had to make up for what the west lacked first.
They couldn't possibly let the south get three balls first. Otherwise, the west's situation would be too ugly.
Presumably, the eighth spirit ball was going to be placed in the south.
After watching the cultivators from the south and west leave, Lu Ye turned around and rushed towards the east camp. Along the way, he received Haitang's message through a talisman, and they agreed on a meeting place.
After a while, Haitang and the others rushed over.
All of them were rather unhappy. Huang Li was so angry that she pouted. "These two tribes are too shameless. They're clearly so strong, but they actually teamed up. It's fine if they teamed up, but they even set up a trap for us to fall into. How infuriating!"
Han Molong chuckled. "Senior Apprentice Brother Lu already warned us in advance to run away if the situation turned bad. We weren't careful enough. Look at Senior Apprentice Brother Lu, didn't he still retreat unscathed?"
Huang Li was indignant. "That's because Senior Apprentice Brother Lu is capable!" She turned to look at Lu Ye. "Senior Apprentice Brother, you already knew that those two tribes had ulterior motives?"
Lu Ye said, "No matter when, we should always be on our guard. We can't entrust our hopes to others. Being vigilant enough is the way to go in the long run."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Lu Ye turned around and looked around. Fortunately, although everyone was quite angry, the atmosphere wasn't too heavy. After all, the east side had three spirit balls in hand, which was enough to complete their task. There was nothing they could do if they couldn't get the fourth spirit ball.
Judging from the current situation, it was already unrealistic for the east to snatch the fourth spirit ball. This was because the cultivators from the south were even willing to assist the west in transporting the spirit balls. This kind of cooperation had already surpassed the level of an alliance.
Haitang couldn't help but worry. "Junior Apprentice Brother Lu, do you think they'll come and snatch our spirit balls after they've divided up the remaining spirit balls?"
Lu Ye said leisurely, "Do you know what the late Xingxiu from the south said to me?"
"What did he say?"
"He said that since the east side has been in third place for ten thousand years, it shouldn't matter if they maintain their position for a while longer. On the other hand, if those two tribes fall below us, it won't be easy for them to complete their task. Now that the seventh spirit ball has appeared, they're sending it to the west camp. If I'm not wrong, the eighth will be sent to the south, and the ninth will be sent to the west. In this way, our three tribes will split all the spirit balls equally."
Haitang's expression changed slightly. "So … they'll come and snatch our spirit balls!"
As soon as she said this, the others immediately became nervous.
Even though they were almost wiped out just now, everyone was only slightly angry and not worried. However, if such a thing really happened, then there was no hope for them to get second place.
If they couldn't snatch the third spirit ball, then so be it. Their overall strength was inferior to theirs, so they could only accept their fate. However, how could they give up the meat that was already in their mouths?
Lu Ye nodded. "They definitely will. Nine spirit balls are worth three points, so there's no way to determine the ranking. However, if they snatch one from us, then they'll determine the winner and loser. Then, they'll be able to determine the first, second, and third place. The south and west have already decided on a strategy and are just waiting for us to comply."
Huang Li said weakly, "Coming to our camp to snatch a spirit ball … it won't be that easy, right?"
"It won't be easy, but it's not impossible, especially when those two tribes are working together."
There were two late Xingxiu and five mid Xingxiu. How could the east side resist such a lineup? Even if they could continuously revive in the camp and join the battle, the spirit power they consumed couldn't be replenished. Once the number of deaths reached a limit, they would completely lose their ability to fight!
At the end of the day, the east side's lineup was too weak. It was so weak that the other two tribes saw the feasibility of this plan!
Their only concern now was Lu Ye. However, if they sent out a late Xingxiu to deal with Lu Ye, then the remaining people wouldn't be a threat at all. Once Haitang and the others lost their ability to fight, Lu Ye alone wouldn't be able to stop them.
Haitang realized the seriousness of the problem. "Then, should we go back and strengthen the defense of the camp?"
"I'm already doing it!" Lu Ye said.
Everyone was confused. They didn't know that Lu Ye was clearly standing there, so how could he strengthen the defense of the camp?
Only in the misty space, Rizhao of the three tribes could clearly see that the twenty-eighth light dot that had appeared previously was now in the eastern camp, motionless.
"Just strengthening the defense of the camp isn't enough. No matter how strong the defense is, there will be a time when it will be broken, so we need other methods."
Haitang said, "Junior Brother Lu, if you have a way, just tell us. As long as we can protect the spirit balls in the camp, it doesn't matter how many times we die."
Everyone looked over, and Lu Ye said indifferently, "The best defense is offense, so … let's go and snatch the fourth spirit ball!"
The group was dumbfounded. Snatching the fourth spirit ball was the policy they had set before, but now it seemed that there was no way to achieve it. Under the premise of the Southern and Western Tribes' sincere cooperation, the east side had no room to interfere.
How were they going to snatch it?
(End of Chapter)
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