The sturdiness and eerie nature of Dragon Cave Mountain's protective formation drew particular attention from the powerhouses gathered outside.
The Thunder Platform Sect and the Battle Heaven Alliance went without saying — but even factions like the Twin Heart Valley, the Blazing Fire Sect, the Ethereal Hall, the Qiantian Sect, and the Wei Fire Alliance, all top-tier powers on the Dark Star, had their eyes fixed covetously on Dragon Cave Mountain's protective formation.
How could such a small hill possess such formidable defensive formations? Just who was the person behind their creation? No one cared whether Dragon Cave Mountain lived or died — what they cared about was the identity of the formation's master. If they could rescue that person at a critical moment, they might be able to recruit them into their own ranks.
Everyone harbored their own ulterior motives, yet they tacitly agreed to stand by and watch, leaving the Xie family to lead the combined assault on Dragon Cave Mountain.
Meanwhile, inside Dragon Cave Mountain, Wu Yi and Qian Yue had retreated behind the protective formation, both wearing pale expressions.
When the two had stepped out side by side to negotiate, they had maintained a composed and fearless demeanor — but anyone who saw so many experts gathered in one place would have felt uncertain. These two women had never witnessed anything on such a scale. And now, at this critical juncture, neither Yang Kai nor Yang Yan was anywhere to be found on the mountain.
Had Wu Yi not possessed an intimate understanding of Dragon Cave Mountain's formations, she would have already lost all hope.
In terms of familiarity with the numerous formations covering Dragon Cave Mountain, no one surpassed Yang Yan herself — and Wu Yi came second. Even Yang Kai couldn't match her. After all, when Yang Yan had laid the formations, Wu Yi had been right beside her, assisting. Through years of observation, she knew exactly what dangers lay concealed within a hundred-li radius of Dragon Cave Mountain.
So despite her unease, she kept her emotions in check. Once behind the formation, she began issuing a flurry of commands.
But relying solely on the formation for defense was clearly not viable. No matter how sturdy, a formation that only took hits and never struck back would eventually be broken through. The immediate priority was to contact Yang Kai and Yang Yan. With either one present at the mountain, Dragon Cave Mountain could shift from defense to offense.
The problem was that Wu Yi had no idea where they had gone, nor when they might return.
Just as anxiety was mounting, Qian Yue suddenly looked up with a change in expression. She quickly pulled out her communication compass and sent out her Divine Sense to read it. A moment later, her face lit up with joy. "Yang Kai and the others are back."
"Really?" Wu Yi was overjoyed, her voice trembling — like a drowning person grasping a lifeline.
"Yes. It's a message from Yang Kai."
"Then where are they?" Wu Yi looked around but couldn't spot Yang Kai anywhere.
"He's hiding outside. Yang Kai says there are too many people out there — sneaking in unnoticed would be difficult, so he's not entering. But..."
"But what?"
"But he says to withdraw the protective formation and have everyone take shelter in the stone residence. He wants Senior Steward Chang and Senior Steward Hao to look for opportunities to engage the enemy. He and Yang Yan will also seize openings to strike."
"So that's his plan!" Wu Yi's expression turned contemplative, and the others all looked equally calm. The only exception was Ning Xiangchen, who had arrived a mere two days ago and was practically slack-jawed.
That kid Yang must be out of his mind! Why would he issue such an absurd command? Though he hadn't been at Dragon Cave Mountain long, he knew the level and number of warriors here — a mere few dozen people with wildly uneven cultivation, ranging from the Saint King Realm and the Sacred Realm to even the Transcendent Realm. The only ones worth mentioning were Chang Qi and Hao An, both at the first level of the Void Return Realm.
The enemy, on the other hand, had over thirty Void Return experts — several at the second level among them — and more than two hundred Saint Kings. Under these circumstances, holding out behind the formation was the only way to buy time. Once the formation was dropped, wouldn't that be like throwing an egg against a rock?
Even if Yang Kai himself was a powerhouse, he was still just one man. Add Chang Qi and Hao An — what could the three of them accomplish?
Ning Xiangchen couldn't make sense of it at all. He was about to press for clarification when he noticed Wu Yi purse her lips into a smile, her expression calm and assured. "Very well, we'll do as he says. It's about time we showed these shameless people the fangs of Dragon Cave Mountain."
She spoke with iron conviction, not caring in the slightest about the forces outside — as if Yang Kai's single order had given her boundless confidence.
Ning Xiangchen nearly bit off his own tongue.
Qian Yue acknowledged the order and immediately began relaying it, telling everyone to take shelter in Yang Kai's stone residence. The residence was the most heavily fortified location on all of Dragon Cave Mountain, layered with more restrictions and formations than anywhere else. Without a token to open it, breaking through by force would be even harder than breaching the mountain's protective formation.
The moment Yang Kai's order reached Wu Yi, she understood his plan. She would never question Yang Kai's decisions — only obey.
Warriors moved urgently in every direction, converbing from all sides after receiving Qian Yue's message and filing into the stone residence. In the blink of an eye, only five remained outside: Chang Qi, Hao An, Qian Yue, Wu Yi, and Ning Xiangchen.
Only then did Wu Yi furrow her brow slightly and glance at Ning Xiangchen. Even with her sharp mind, she had no idea how to handle him now.
Having him take shelter in the stone residence was truly inadvisable — it was Yang Kai's private cultivation chamber, hiding many secrets unknown to outsiders. Though they were concealed behind restrictions, if Ning Xiangchen were to stumble upon something by accident, it would become a headache.
Telling him to leave outright was also out of the question. He had voluntarily stayed behind to help Dragon Cave Mountain, and Wu Yi was genuinely grateful. Sending him away at a time like this would be a cold betrayal of trust — besides, with enemies surrounding them on all sides, Ning Xiangchen couldn't leave even if he wanted to.