When trapped in crisis, the most terrifying thing was losing all hope of survival. But after hearing Yang Kai's words, both Cai He and Du Sisi were overjoyed, because if Yang Kai was right, then the three of them together might just be able to destroy that puppet.
The gloom on their faces instantly vanished. They exchanged a glance, both brimming with renewed vigor.
There was no time to waste. The three sprang into action immediately. Thanks to Yang Kai's earlier probing, everyone now knew the puppet's alert range. Positioning themselves at two corners more than ten zhang away, Cai He and Du Sisi began pulling formation implements from their spatial rings one after another, infusing each with streams of Saint Yuan and scattering them in all directions.
The moment those implements touched the ground, they flickered and vanished without a trace. Even with Yang Kai's Divine Sense, he couldn't detect a thing.
The two worked on setting up the formations with practiced ease, while Yang Kai's gaze lingered on several vital points of the massive puppet—its head, chest, and lower abdomen. These were the locations where he suspected the spirit driving the puppet resided. Earlier, when he had faced the puppet alone, he'd had no chance to examine it carefully, nor could he determine which spot was the true center.
If he could pinpoint it, simply destroying that one location should bring the puppet to a halt.
Yang Kai pondered silently, turning the idea over in his mind, and found no flaw in it.
Before long, Cai He and Du Sisi had finished their preparations. They exchanged a look, pressed their palms together, and simultaneously shouted in a low voice: "Activate!"
In the next instant, the Saint Yuan within their bodies seemed to resonate with certain objects in the surroundings. As their Saint Yuan surged forth, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a dozen zhang of the puppet trembled faintly before quickly returning to normal.
Yang Kai looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. He wasn't surprised, though. Many formations, once activated, showed no visible signs from the outside. Only by entering their interior could one see what was truly happening.
"Brother Yang, Sisi and I are ready. You can strike at any moment!" Cai He called out.
Yang Kai gave a slight nod, his expression grave. "Then I'll be counting on both of you."
"Don't mention it, Brother Yang. You'll be doing the bulk of the fighting. Be careful—we can only manage the formations and use their power to support your movements!"
"You're not going to use this as a chance to run, are you?" Du Sisi's expression shifted a few times. She still wasn't entirely sure she trusted Yang Kai. If he decided to flee while they used the formations to restrain and slow the puppet, then she and Cai He would have done all this work for nothing.
Facing her suspicion, Yang Kai felt no anger. They weren't close, so such concerns were natural. Moreover, the three of them had to work together now—any disagreement or conflict could lead to disastrous consequences. He replied calmly, "Don't worry. Since I've agreed to team up with you, I certainly won't abandon you."
Only after hearing Yang Kai's promise did Du Sisi break into a smile, saying insincerely, "I was just making a casual remark."
Yang Kai said nothing more. He took a deep breath, looked at the massive puppet that had remained utterly motionless, and his expression turned solemn. With a flicker of movement, he charged toward it.
In the blink of an eye, he had crossed into the grand formations set up by Cai He and Du Sisi. His vision changed dramatically. Yang Kai discovered with a start that he appeared to be standing on the surface of a lake. Beneath his feet, the water was crystal clear, rippling with light. But from the lake surface came an invisible pulling force, as if trying to bind his movements.
Not only that—from every direction came another force of compression, equally restricting his freedom.
The illusory lake beneath his feet must be the effect of the Mirror Lake Mud Dragon Formation that Cai He had mentioned earlier, while the invisible compressive force around him should be Du Sisi's Draw-Ground-Into-Prison Formation.
Impressive indeed!
Neither formation was deliberately targeting him, yet the moment he set foot within, he felt suppressed. If they turned the formations against him, the suppression would be far worse.
At that thought, a faint smile played at the corner of Yang Kai's lips. For him, the more powerful Cai He and Du Sisi's formations were, the better. Greater power meant a better chance of restraining the puppet's movements.
The instant he stepped into the formations, Cai He and Du Sisi, the two formation masters, shifted their hand seals and infused a stream of Saint Yuan into the formation cores beneath their feet. In the next moment, all the binding and compressive forces Yang Kai had sensed vanished, and his freedom was restored.
With two formation masters controlling the Mirror Lake Mud Dragon Formation and the Draw-Ground-Into-Prison Formation, naturally Yang Kai wouldn't be affected.
Yang Kai took another step forward, his foot landing on the mirror lake's surface. A ripple spread outward from beneath his foot. At the same moment, the massive puppet that had shown no movement until now suddenly flashed with red light in both eyes, opened its mouth wide, and shot a crimson beam of light directly at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai's expression remained calm—neither startled nor pleased. His foot moved, and he vanished from the spot.
During his earlier probing of the puppet's abilities, he had seen it use this attack many times. There was no way he would be hit so easily.