If Lu Ye were caught off guard, he would be in grave danger at this moment. After all, this is the combined strike of two Constellation Late Stagers.

But with a defensive mind, it won't be easy for the opponents to succeed.

The saber is unsheathed, slashing diagonally. A gigantic crescent saber light flies out, dazzling brightly, greeting Ye Chaoqun's fierce attack. The sinking saber force cuts across a semi-circle, and with the vibration of spirit force in the Boulder Mountain Saber, it slices through the sword flashes aiming for the face.

The moment the sword flashes shatter, Lu Ye's tiger mouth goes numb.

To be honest, this is his first time facing off directly with Constellation Late Stagers, and he immediately perceives the vast gap between Late Stage and Early Stage.

His own foundation is indeed deep, but cultivation is ultimately a hard flaw.

No time to catch his breath, Ye Chaoqun already lunged forward, swinging his fists at Lu Ye in a frenzied bombardment. At the same time, Duan Xiuchen also launched from the side, casting various Spirit Talismans, manifesting a fierce offensive.

Lu Ye led Huang Li and Xu Xinghe in a rapid retreat, wielding the saber like the moon in rotation, while conjuring layers of protective barriers in front of him, resisting the incoming force.

The breaking speed of the barriers is unprecedentedly fast; even with all his might, Lu Ye seems somewhat unable to withstand them.

At this critical moment, Huang Li suddenly raised her hand and tapped Lu Ye's back, a Spirit Talisman on her hand transformed into golden light, enveloping Lu Ye's entire body.

Lu Ye's pressure was greatly reduced.

However, Huang Li and Xu Xinghe weren't so fortunate. The fierce combined attack of two Constellation Late Stagers seemed as if only Lu Ye was resisting, but in reality, the three were working together.

The aftermath of the fierce attack caused the Qi and blood of the two to surge, and when Huang Li tapped Lu Ye's back with that Golden Body Talisman, her mind relaxed for a moment, accidentally struck by Ye Chaoqun's fist force, instantly exploding into a mist of blood.

The three formed an array; with one dead, the array broke without being attacked, and Xu Xinghe immediately followed her fate.

Seeing this scene, Ye Chaoqun and Duan Xiuchen's assault became even more intense, evidently aiming to send Lu Ye back to the East Camp at once.

Yet unexpectedly, Lu Ye, fighting alone, became much more agile, and with the protection of the Golden Body Talisman, the two couldn't take him down for a while.

When Lu Ye found an opportunity, he unleashed a Crescent Moon slash, forcing the two back.

The two Late Stagers did not pursue him but stood in place, each with different expressions.

Only then did Lu Ye have the leisure to observe the surroundings. Just now, during his entanglement with the two Constellation Late Stagers, sounds of cultivators dying around continued to reach him, knowing that ally forces encountered misfortune. Only by looking around now does he realize the losses were far greater than expected.

Nine came, but only three were alive, besides him, only Hai Tang and another Constellation Early Stager were struggling to hold on.

Even as he watched, the Constellation Early Stager fell dead on the spot, and Hai Tang was also in grave danger, apparently unable to survive.

Despite his prior warnings to everyone to flee immediately if the situation looked bad, it seemed they lost vigilance, mainly because the South and West troops staged too realistically.

Carrying the Boulder Mountain Saber, Lu Ye's eyelids slightly drooped: "Fellow Daoists from the Southern Region, this isn't how friends treat guests!"

Duan Xiuchen clicked his tongue, his expression solemn: "Brother Ye previously told me about you, and I didn't quite believe it, but now it seems, Brother Ye not only didn't exaggerate but even underestimated you."

An Early Stager, under the ambush and mad attack of two Late Stagers, could retreat intact; who would believe this if told?

Yet this happened right before his eyes.

"Southern Region has allied with the Western Region?" Lu Ye asked.

Ye Chaoqun chuckled: "As Fellow Daoist sees!"

Duan Xiuchen said, "Brother Lu, don't be angry, it's the situation that forces it. Think about it, the East has always been third, and our two factions fight for first and second; it's a convention. If the East suddenly rides above our two factions, we wouldn't be able to account for it when we return. But your East, always third, maintaining it again this time doesn't matter. The so-called assisting others' success is something everyone should have. Brother Lu, you're just external support, no need to be so strenuously!"

Lu Ye slowly sheathed the saber, said slowly: "We thought we could maintain our alliance relationship continuously, but it seems it's just one-sided wishful thinking."

Duan Xiuchen said: "It's about a domain matter, some choices are forced, but that doesn't affect our personal friendship. Should Brother Lu come to Southern Region's Mount Fangcun, Duan will warmly welcome and apologize personally, but for this Martial Arts Meet...I'd ask Brother Lu to bear with it."

"Understood!" Lu Ye nodded.

Duan Xiuchen laughed heartily: "I like how Brother Lu understands reason, so...farewell for now!"

No longer pursuing Lu Ye with Ye Chaoqun, it was unnecessary. Out of the nine from the East, only Lu Ye remained, and in the time they'd spent talking, Hai Tang also perished.

It wasn't that Lu Ye didn't want to save them, it's just that these two Constellation Late Stagers constantly locked him with their Mental Consciousness. If he rashly charged, he feared he would fall into a trap.

The South and West cultivators briefly reorganized, pushing Spirit Orbs toward a direction, Lu Ye glanced, finding it was toward the Western Region Camp.

It was obvious that they had pre-arranged this.

The current situation was that the East had three Spirit Orbs, the South two, and ironically, the overall strongest West only had one. Since these two factions wanted to form an alliance, naturally, they needed to first make up for the West's shortcomings.

They couldn't possibly let the South get three orbs first, as that would make the West's position look too unfavorable.

It seemed the eighth Spirit Orb was intended to be placed in the South.

Watching the cultivators of the South and West leave, Lu Ye turned around and headed toward the East Camp, receiving a message via Hai Tang's audio talisman midway, setting up a meeting point.

After a while, Hai Tang and her group of eight arrived.

Everyone seemed somewhat unhappy, especially Huang Li, who was so angry her mouth pouted: "These two factions are so shameless. They're already so strong, and they still team up. As if teaming up wasn't enough, they set us up! It really angers me!"

Han Molong chuckled, "Senior Brother Lu had already warned us to retreat quickly if the situation looked bad, but we weren't cautious enough. You see, Senior Brother Lu got away without a scratch."

Huang Li, still indignant, said, "That's because Senior Brother Lu is skilled!" She turned to Lu Ye, "Senior Brother, did you already foresee their ill intentions?"

Lu Ye said, "Regardless of the situation, you must always stay vigilant. You can't rely on others; only by being cautious can you ensure long-term safety."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Lu Ye looked around, and fortunately, although everyone was quite angry, the atmosphere wasn't too heavy. After all, the East still had three Spirit Orbs in hand, which was enough to report back. If they couldn't snatch the fourth one, there was nothing to be done.

From the current situation, trying to seize a fourth Spirit Orb for the East seemed unrealistic; the Southern cultivators were even willing to assist in transporting them to the West, showcasing a cooperation that was beyond mere alliance.

Hai Tang couldn't help but worry: "Junior Brother Lu, do you think that after they've divided the remaining Spirit Orbs, they'll come to seize ours?"

Lu Ye replied thoughtfully, "Do you know what the Constellation Late Stage cultivator from the South said to me?"

"What did they say?"

"He said that since the East has been the eternal third, there isn't much problem in maintaining that position again this time. But for their two factions, falling below us wouldn't look good, and now with the seventh Spirit Orb appearing, they're transporting it to the Western camp. If I'm not mistaken, the eighth will be sent to the South, and the ninth to the West, thus evenly dividing all the Spirit Orbs among our three factions."

Hai Tang's face changed slightly: "So... they'll come to take ours!"

At these words, everyone else immediately grew tense.

Even though they had almost been wiped out earlier, everyone was only slightly angry without much worry. But if such a thing were to happen, they could forget about securing the second position.

If they hadn't secured the third Spirit Orb, they might've resigned to fate due to their overall weakness, but how could you spit out the meat when it's already in your mouth?

Lu Ye nodded, "They definitely will. With nine Orbs divided three ways, it's tough to rank them. But if they take one from us and then decide the winner amongst themselves, they can establish the rankings. The South and West have set their strategy, just waiting for us to comply."

Huang Li weakly said, "Coming to our camp to seize a Spirit Orb... isn't that not so easy?"

"Indeed it's not easy, but it's not impossible, especially when those two factions join forces."

With two Constellation Late Stage and five mid-stage cultivators, what could the East use to resist? Even if they could keep reincarnating and joining the battle again at the camp, the spirit force they would expend could never be restored. Once the number of deaths hit a limit, they'd lose all combat capability!

At its core, it's because the East's lineup is too weak, so much so that it makes the other two factions see this plan's feasibility!

Their only concern was Lu Ye, but if one Constellation Late Stage cultivator engaged him, the others wouldn't be a threat. Once Hai Tang and the others lost their combat effectiveness, Lu Ye wouldn't be able to stop them alone.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Hai Tang said, "Should we return to reinforce the camp's defenses?"

"I've already started doing so!" Lu Ye replied.

Everyone was bewildered, not understanding how Lu Ye, standing here, could be reinforcing the camp's defense.

Only within the Bizarre Fog space, did the three Sun Blaze stages see clearly that the previously added twenty-eighth light point was now stationed at the East Camp, immobile.

"Merely strengthening the camp's defense won't suffice; any defense can be breached, so other stratagems are necessary."

Hai Tang said, "If Junior Brother Lu has a plan, just let us know. As long as we can protect the camp's Spirit Orb, it doesn't matter how many times we die."

Everyone looked to Lu Ye, who calmly stated, "The best defense is a good offense. So... let's go seize the fourth Spirit Orb!"

The group was stunned. Seizing the fourth Spirit Orb was the prior strategy, but given the circumstances now, it seemed infeasible. With the South and West's earnest cooperation, the East had no foothold either.

How could they seize it?