If he had known earlier that Cang Mo harbored ulterior motives, why would Li Wuyi have shared his experience with him, only to harm Yang Kai?
Having said that, he had no idea there would be any enmity between Yang Kai and Cang Mo. The gap in their status and strength was far too great — one was a Quasi-Emperor, a member of the Star Palace, and the other a rising star at the second-order Emperor Realm. Under normal circumstances, the two of them wouldn't have crossed paths for centuries.
So when Cang Mo had come to seek his counsel, Li Wuyi hadn't held anything back. Now that Yang Kai was asking about it, Li Wuyi felt rather embarrassed. Though it had been unintentional, he had still caused Yang Kai some trouble.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had a deep foundation. Any other second-order Emperor Realm cultivator would likely have already fallen into Cang Mo's hands, their life or death left to a whim.
"So that's how it was!" Yang Kai nodded lightly, smiling. "Senior, there's no need to blame yourself. Some people harbor ill intentions — this matter has nothing to do with you."
Li Wuyi said with some embarrassment, "I bear at least some responsibility. Fortunately, nothing bad came of it..."
Yang Kai changed the subject. "Then what exactly was the technique you taught him? With his level of mastery in the Space Force, he was actually able to seal off this entire area without anyone noticing. I'm truly curious about that!"
Li Wuyi said, "Space is self-contained and complete. Even when it's damaged by external force, it repairs and restores itself under the laws of heaven and earth. You should understand this."
Yang Kai nodded. "Of course. I've torn through space countless times myself."
Li Wuyi smiled faintly. "When you tore through space, did you ever notice that the spatial barrier varies in strength?"
Yang Kai nodded repeatedly. "Exactly! Some places have incredibly firm space, while others are relatively weaker. Tearing through space in firm areas takes far more effort, while at weak points it can be done with ease."
Li Wuyi said, "Correct. Space has both weak and firm areas, and those weak spots are called spatial nodes."
"Spatial nodes?" Yang Kai raised his eyebrows.
Li Wuyi waved his hand, and the laws of space rippled outward, enveloping an area of a hundred zhang. "In your perception, how many spatial nodes are there in this patch of space?"
Yang Kai closed his eyes to investigate, then opened them shortly after. "Three. One thirty zhang to your left, one fifteen zhang behind you, and one seventy zhang to your right."
"Three, precisely. If you wanted to teleport away, you'd have to pass through these three spatial nodes to traverse the void. But what if..." As Li Wuyi spoke, the laws of space shifted once more, surging with majestic force toward those three spatial nodes as if flooding them with something tangible.
Yang Kai's expression changed. "The space has been sealed!"
Li Wuyi watched him with a smile, then withdrew his technique. "Do you understand now?"
Yang Kai pondered for a moment, then looked up. "You mean that as long as one uses methods to seal these spatial nodes, it's possible to cut off the surrounding space invisibly, preventing me from teleporting away?"
"Correct." Li Wuyi nodded. "If you think of the world as a bottle, then these spatial nodes are the holes in the bottle. When we teleport, we need to pass through these holes to escape the bottle. But once these holes are sealed, we can only remain trapped inside."
The metaphor of the world as a bottle wasn't the first time Yang Kai had heard it, but Li Wuyi's explanation was simple and easy to grasp.
In truth, Yang Kai had long been aware of this principle and had even been making use of it himself. But after Li Wuyi pointed it out so clearly, he suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment, as if a door had swung wide open.
Still, a trace of doubt lingered. "Senior, with your level of mastery in the Space Laws, sealing spatial nodes is naturally no problem. But how was Cang Mo able to accomplish it?"
With his level of mastery in the Space Force, even if Cang Mo could detect those spatial nodes, he shouldn't have been able to seal them without anyone noticing.
Li Wuyi said, "He must have relied on some kind of artifact. I gave him that suggestion at the time. Looking back now, he must have had someone forge some items for him. As for what those items were, there's no way to find out now — your battle with him destroyed all his seals. This technique can indeed seal off the surrounding space, but if the fighting is intense enough, the seal can also be broken."
Yang Kai drew a light breath. "But if he had the power to overwhelm me, he could have captured me at his leisure."
Cang Mo had calculated everything perfectly. The only thing he hadn't predicted was Yang Kai's true strength. Any other second-order Emperor Realm cultivator, even one proficient in the Space Laws, would never have escaped under those circumstances.
But Cang Mo had happened to run into Yang Kai — a thirty-zhang dragon transformation body, combined with his Dharma Body, fighting him earth-shatteringly.
Now that he understood this situation, he wouldn't be caught off guard by such tactics again. At the very least, he could prepare in advance. Even if the spatial nodes were sealed again, he could find a way to break through before escaping.
In the pavilion, the sun set and the moon rose. Yang Kai and Li Wuyi sat across from each other, deep in animated discussion, while Jiu Feng sat beside them, looking somewhat bored.
The two of them spent a full three days exploring and exchanging knowledge.
During these three days, Tang Sheng and Qian Xiuying of Celestial Wolf Valley came by several times. After all, with Li Wuyi and Jiu Feng visiting as guests, they as hosts needed to show proper hospitality. Yet they couldn't even get a glimpse of them.
Before they could even approach the pavilion, they felt the space shuddering wave after wave, as if it might collapse at any moment. Looking over from a distance, Yang Kai and Li Wuyi were sometimes smiling, sometimes gesturing with their hands as if demonstrating something.
They sighed inwardly. That Yang Kai was truly destined for greatness — to be able to sit and discuss the Dao with someone of Li Wuyi's caliber while only at the second-order Emperor Realm. Once he grew further in the future, how could anyone afford to look down on him?
Celestial Wolf Valley had truly missed a heaven-sent opportunity. Tang Sheng sighed again in his heart. After all his years of living, his judgment was still worse than his disciple's.
After three days, Yang Kai was in high spirits, and Li Wuyi's eyes glinted with brilliance. Though they had been sitting here discussing the Space Laws the entire time, neither looked fatigued. On the contrary, both were in excellent spirits, each having gained enormously from the exchange.