The essence of the Black Abyss Martial Arts Meet is actually the competition for Spirit Orbs. Whichever side grabs more of them will be able to gain more potential power after the meet.

Due to the unique nature of the Black Abyss, all the cultivators here are participating in the meet for the first time. Even though they have the experience of their predecessors, some things cannot be grasped without firsthand involvement.

Currently, the Eastern group of nine has taken the initiative, seizing a Spirit Orb while the other two groups are entangled, allowing them to gain the upper hand, each person brimming with energy.

As per the predetermined plan, Lu Ye and the other eight dashed to the edge of the Spirit Orb, channeling their spirit force into it, pushing it towards the direction of their camp.

Han Molong, however, was leading the way, flying ahead of the Spirit Orb.

He wasn't guiding the way, but clearing obstacles.

Inside the Black Abyss, there are many meteors of various sizes flying by, and the Spirit Orb has a characteristic; once it's hit, it moves in the opposite direction of the force applied. Therefore, during the process of pushing the Spirit Orb toward the camp, one must ensure that no meteors are in front to avoid delays.

Especially in the early stage of just seizing the Spirit Orb, time is precious. The closer to the camp, the greater the advantage the side can occupy.

Han Molong's method of using an unknown secret technique or a spirit talisman made his already fat body even rounder, looking inflated. Whenever he spotted a meteor that could potentially collide with the Spirit Orb, he ignored it and rammed into it head-on.

His body seemed highly elastic, with each collision altering the meteor's trajectory, clearing the path.

With him breaking the path upfront, the remaining eight had an easier time. During the early phase when no enemies were pursuing, they only needed to channel their spirit force into the Spirit Orb to control its flight speed.

Lu Ye was also exerting himself, simultaneously getting a grasp of the subtleties involved.

The Spirit Orb not only has the specific characteristic of moving in the opposite direction when force is applied, but also accelerates as it absorbs more spirit force. The more force absorbed, the faster it goes, and vice versa, while if no spirit force is infused or no force is applied, it won't move.

This means that Lu Ye and the others must continuously maintain the input of their spirit force to send the Spirit Orb back to the camp, and to achieve a controllable speed, they must give their all, which greatly consumes the cultivator's spirit force.

Therefore, during previous skirmishes, members of all three groups saved their strength and were constantly mindful of recovering themselves, fully aware that in the Black Abyss, the process of transporting Spirit Orbs was the biggest test of spirit force.

Initially, the Eastern group was quite tense, unable to ensure if others would pursue them. Being the weakest side, there was inevitably apprehension.

But as time passed and they got closer to their camp, everyone's anxiety slowly eased, feeling both joyous and bittersweet.

Joyful because the Eastern group had a promising start, grabbing the first Spirit Orb, so even if coming last overall this time, they wouldn't lose too badly.

It was bittersweet because the other two factions truly didn't consider the Eastern group a threat. Obviously, they felt letting the Eastern group have one Spirit Orb wasn't an issue, seeing each other as the true adversaries; otherwise, there's no reason no one pursued.

From a high vantage point, Lu Ye and the others seemed like eight ants carrying a giant fruit, with one ant scouting ahead…

The Constellation members were busy here. On the Sun Blaze Realm level, members from the South and West troops successively congratulated Chen Xuanhai and others. Chen Xuanhai snorted coldly, understanding that both sides must have instructed their juniors to focus on each other before leaving, easing their effort against the East.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for the Eastern group to successfully seize the first Spirit Orb so smoothly.

Though understanding the circumstances, they felt powerless to influence the Black Abyss Martial Arts Meet, and all three Eastern Sun Blaze figures knew this would inevitably place the East at the bottom again.

It's not that they weren't trying hard enough, but the opposition's lineup was too strong.

In the Black Abyss, the Eastern group had barely covered half the distance transporting the Spirit Orb when they felt a mystical force ripple from a certain direction.

The third Spirit Orb appeared.

Even without knowing the situation over there, the appearance of the third Spirit Orb marked the likely end of the Southern and Western troops' entanglement, as both factions could claim a Spirit Orb each, mitigating further conflict.

The Eastern group continued their arduous transport of the Spirit Orb, and finally, after a long while, returned to the smooth platform where they first appeared, and with that, the transportation was complete.

Though Spirit Orbs could still be contested, historically, there hasn't been an instance where an already delivered Spirit Orb was snatched back.

Because fighting enemies at one's own camp is advantageous, with the possibility of almost immediately resurrecting and returning to the battlefield. Even the weakest East would not likely have its Spirit Orb taken back.

No time for celebration, once the Spirit Orb was secured, Hai Tang and the others immediately began setting up an array.

The Dwarf Race is an exceptionally unique race known for extraordinary talent in talisman-making, with nearly every member gifted in this area, unmatched by any other race.

With the help of myriad Spirit Talismans, they can accomplish a wide range of tactical setups.

For instance, setting up an array barrier here!

Though it's nearly impossible for the Spirit Orb stationed at the main camp to be snatched away again, necessary precautions must still be taken. Our overall strength is not as good as others, and we don't have many hands. We can't afford to spare some people just to guard the Spirit Orb.

We can only rely on Spirit Talismans to set up an array.

Here, aside from Lu Ye, everyone else is from the local Dwarf Race, all familiar with each other, and have prepared well for this moment.

Thus, in no time, a barrier array was set up, isolating the inside from outside.

This kind of array isn't very sturdy; after all, no matter how prepared we are, the setup was rushed. If someone gathers enough manpower for a strong attack, it can still be breached.

But it's already sufficient; if someone truly makes a strong attack here, our forces can quickly provide support.

While they were busy here, Lu Ye did not involve himself, mainly because he couldn't help. He watched while sensing the movement trajectories of the other two Spirit Orbs.

It can be confirmed that the two Spirit Orbs have now been taken by the South and West troops, each moving rapidly towards their own camps, and should be settled in no time.

The first wave of contention ends here for now.

Next, it's time to wait for the second wave.

If at this moment a fourth Spirit Orb suddenly appears, it would greatly benefit the East.

Because the East can immediately rush to contest it, whereas the other two troops are still on the way transporting Spirit Orbs and can't react immediately.

However, according to the pattern of previous Martial Arts Meets, after the first wave, the second wave doesn't start so quickly, which gives everyone some time to recover.

In fact, the real battles often start only after the second wave. The contention of the first two waves is generally more peaceful, which is a customary understanding.

Lu Ye took out an item and said, "Fellow Daoists, we haven't had time to get to know each other before. My background, I suppose everyone knows more or less. But no matter what, since participating in the Martial Arts Meet and having promised others something, we must give it our all. I have an array disc here, which might have some miraculous effects. Take advantage of this opportunity to quickly get acquainted with it."

What he took out was naturally the As-Close-As-Siblings Array Disc.

This item played a huge role during the Nine Provinces' fight against the Insect Plague and the expedition to the Blood Refinement World, especially greatly enhancing True Lake and Cloud River Realm cultivators.

But Lu Ye had long discovered some drawbacks of this item, as the area the array disc affects is limited, its effect on Divine Sea Realm is far less compared to True Lake and Cloud River.

The reason is because the higher a cultivator's cultivation, the larger their range of movement in combat, and if the array disc's effective range isn't sufficient, it naturally can't be fully effective.

Upon reaching the Constellation stage, the movement range in combat becomes even larger, often casually sidestepping beyond the range the array disc can affect.

It's impossible for Constellations to be tied together in joint efforts as that would only increase the dangers. Therefore, even in a joint effort situation, it doesn't mean staying inseparable.

This aspect was vividly demonstrated on the Ghost Ship.

In that final battle, even with the As-Close-As-Siblings Array Discs distributed by Lu Ye, Qin Zong and others struggled to form a decent array, mostly remaining in a loosely collaborative state.

It is foreseeable that as cultivation levels rise, the effectiveness of the As-Close-As-Siblings Array Disc will become increasingly limited, unless Lu Ye finds a way to improve the spirit runes and the array disc.

For now, this item can still have some effect, although it can only work with a few people; it can't make nine people act as one.

If Lu Ye hadn't promised Su Yuqing to achieve second place, he could simply coast through this journey. If he can exert effort, he will; if not, that's unavoidable too.

But since he has already promised, he has to put some thought into it, otherwise, if Su Yuqing really tries to keep him and Nian Yuexian around for a hundred years, he wouldn't be able to resist.

In such a situation, any form of assistance is indispensable.

Everyone, upon hearing, looked toward Hai Tang.

Hai Tang displayed the demeanor of a leader, "Junior Brother Lu's words are my words!"

No one had any objections; as Lu Ye activated the power of the As-Close-As-Siblings Array Disc, everyone immediately sensed the wondrousness of the item, and their spirits were greatly uplifted!

However, after Lu Ye clearly explained the virtues and drawbacks of the item, the eight from the East understood that although it is indeed useful, it's not as useful as they initially thought.

Han Molong commented, "This array disc is somewhat similar to our Dwarf Race's array talismans, but comparatively, the array disc is more flexible."

Hai Tang also nodded, "The array disc is supplementary; in practice, humans are central, but array talismans are different—they center around talismans, requiring cultivators to cooperate with the subtleties of array talismans."