When Qin Chaoyang had stood with Yang Kai on the city wall defending against the demonic creatures' incursion, he had witnessed with his own eyes the grand spatial secret art Yang Kai had displayed—in a single move, he had torn open a black hole that devoured countless demons.
He had therefore concluded that Yang Kai was a master of spatial power.
How powerful a martial artist who commanded spatial force truly was, Qin Chaoyang did not know. He only knew one thing: such warriors possessed unparalleled advantages in escape and pursuit, far beyond what ordinary cultivators could match.
He figured that with Yang Kai's attainments in spatial power, leaving Maple Forest City should pose no difficulty at all, if he truly wished to do so.
Handing over the complete Black Tortoise Seven Slashes Formation in exchange for Yang Kai's promise to protect Qin Yu—this deal was anything but a loss.
"Very well!"
Yang Kai nodded in agreement, then glanced at Qin Yu standing nearby. "As long as I'm alive, Qin Yu will be unharmed."
He had every reason to be confident, after all—he held a secret weapon like the World Pendant.
Qin Chaoyang beamed with delight. "With Brother Yang's word, I can rest easy. Stay here and devote yourself to studying the formation method. Leave the city wall defense to me."
Yang Kai nodded and immediately found a slightly quieter spot nearby. He sat cross-legged, sank his consciousness into the jade slip, and began his careful contemplation.
Time trickled by.
Yang Kai became entirely immersed in the mysteries of the Black Tortoise Seven Slashes Formation.
He found that Qin Yu had been right. Although this formation had been supplemented and perfected by Qin Ancestors of the Qin family and was not quite as powerful as the original, its advantage lay in being easy to pick up and quick to produce results. It did not take him long before he began to grasp the underlying principles.
His knowledge of formation arts was not deep, but the Black Tortoise Seven Slashes Formation was fundamentally different from ordinary defensive or offensive arrays. It was built upon the martial artists themselves, deployed in concert. A complete Black Tortoise Seven Slashes Formation could even replicate a portion of the sacred beast Black Tortoise's divine abilities.
Meanwhile, Dao Origin Realm powerhouses continued to fly in one after another, each receiving a jade slip from Qin Yu before finding their own spots to study.
What Qin Yu handed to those people was obviously not the complete formation method. Each received only one-seventh.
A day later, Yang Kai's expression stirred suddenly. He produced his message compass, infused it with a thread of divine sense, and immediately detected the message within.
It was a summons from the City Lord, Duan Yuanshan, calling people to assemble.
Yang Kai looked up and glanced at Qin Chaoyang, who gave him a slight nod.
At the same moment, a corpulent, bulky figure descended from the sky. Tied at his waist was a large green gourd—who else could it be but the Drunken Elder?
The Drunken Elder landed atop the city wall and waved at Qin Chaoyang. "Go on, then."
Qin Chaoyang chuckled. "Then I'll have to trouble the Vice City Lord to defend this stretch of wall in my stead."
The Drunken Elder looked him up and down and said, "Watch yourself out there, old man. Don't go and die somewhere."
Qin Chaoyang's mouth twitched, but he said nothing further. He merely exchanged a glance with Yang Kai, then took Qin Yu along and flew toward the gathering point.
Before long, the two of them landed in a certain area within the city.
By this point, four people had already assembled—all Dao Origin Realm powerhouses.
Among them were Maple Forest City's City Lord Duan Yuanshan and Vice City Lord Zhuang Pan, both of whom Yang Kai recognized. The other two, however, he did not know.
One was a pale, beardless old man. The other was a stunningly beautiful woman with an alluring figure.
Yang Kai swept his gaze across them, then paused in shock upon the beautiful woman. He realized with a start that she was a Third-Order Dao Origin Realm powerhouse—even stronger than Duan Yuanshan by a notable margin—and her aura was completely restrained, her inner power flickering in and out of perception, impossible to pin down.
When had Maple Forest City acquired so many Third-Order Dao Origin Realm cultivators?
Yang Kai's mind churned with suspicion. Just two days ago, he had seen a male powerhouse of this same level in front of the Spirit Pill Hall, and now here was another.
He had no idea where either of them had come from. They were certainly not local martial artists.
Seeing Yang Kai's gaze settle upon her, the beautiful woman offered a radiant smile. Charm radiated from every line of her face, and her dewy peach blossom eyes seemed to speak on their own, brimming with a soul-captivating allure.
Yang Kai's guard shot up immediately, and he quietly averted his gaze.
"Brother Yang. Brother Qin, you've arrived." Duan Yuanshan clasped his fists in greeting as the two of them touched down.
Vice City Lord Zhuang Pan, on the other hand, let out a cold snort, seemingly harboring considerable ill will toward Yang Kai and making no effort to hide his displeasure.
Yang Kai paid it no mind. His last encounter at the City Lord's Manor with Zhuang Pan had gone rather unpleasantly—they had even come to blows, damaging the spiritual nature of his Artifact. It was only natural that the man would give him a cold shoulder now.
"Lord Duan, and this lady is...?" Qin Chaoyang alighted and regarded the beautiful woman with an expression of frank puzzlement.
The Black Tortoise Seven Slashes Formation's method had been distributed to these Dao Origin Realm powerhouses entirely by Qin Yu—Qin Chaoyang had not been involved—so he had never met this woman. Knowing full well that Maple Forest City could not possibly harbor a Third-Order Dao Origin Realm cultivator, he naturally asked the question.
"This concubine is Hua Qingsi. A pleasure to meet you both." The beautiful woman did not wait for Duan Yuanshan to make introductions. She spoke up on her own, her voice like warm honey.