With Yang Kai's current abilities, provided he had sufficient materials, setting up a spatial formation of normal scale would take him less than half a day.
But the Qiankun Great Formation had taken a full three months.
Although the Qiankun Great Formation and the spatial formation basically originated from the same source and shared many commonalities, the Qiankun Great Formation was undeniably far more complex and refined by comparison.
On top of that, this was Yang Kai's first time setting up a Qiankun Great Formation. His technique was still rough, and he occasionally made small mistakes that cost him several days of wasted effort.
Fortunately, after three months of hard work, the first Qiankun Great Formation was finally complete.
This particular Qiankun Great Formation was situated directly within the Little Stone World, near the bamboo tower where Yue He, Zhou Ya, and the others cultivated.
Yang Kai inscribed his own Soul Brand into the formation with a wave of his hand, then shot straight up into the sky.
Now that the Qiankun Great Formation was set up, the next step was naturally to test its efficacy. This was not something that could be delegated to others, because if something went wrong, the consequences would be severe.
Yang Kai himself was well-versed in the Laws of Space. Even if he encountered problems while activating the Qiankun Art, he would have the chance to make corrections.
He hurtled through the void at top speed, his figure flickering and teleporting as he drove the Laws of Space, leaving a Void Spirit Pearl behind at each waypoint along the way.
After more than half a day of travel, a great hall suddenly materialized within the void.
The hall was massive in scale, built entirely upon an abandoned Spirit Continent. It was clearly newly constructed, but there was no one in sight.
Yang Kai stood before the hall and took a moment to observe it before raising his hand. His seals shifted as he activated the Qiankun Art.
In the depths of his awareness, Yang Kai felt a faint connection form between himself and a place extremely far away—and that direction corresponded precisely to where the Qiankun Great Formation in the Little Stone World was located.
The moment that connection sparked, he knew the Qiankun Great Formation he had set up should be functioning without issue. After all, he had spent a full twenty years restoring those Qiankun Halls that had fallen into disuse due to years of neglect. Being able to restore them meant he had already grasped their underlying mysteries, which naturally meant he could build one from scratch.
Without any resistance, after three breaths, Yang Kai's figure vanished abruptly from where he stood.
When he came back to his senses, he was already inside the Qiankun Great Formation in the Little Stone World.
Yue He, who had been waiting nearby, lit up and looked over. "Young Master, does this mean it worked?"
Yang Kai nodded. "It worked, but activating the Qiankun Art still takes so much time."
Even for someone like him who was well-versed in the Laws of Space, teleporting from a distant location back here via the Qiankun Art still required a full three breaths. For anyone else, it would take even longer.
In ordinary circumstances, that brief span of time was negligible.
But in a dangerous situation—say, while being hunted down by a powerful enemy—not just three breaths, but even the blink of an eye could mean the difference between life and death.
That was why, across the various great domains, even when pursued by formidable foes, few people relied on the Qiankun Halls to escape, because there simply wasn't an opportunity to do so.
Unless you first managed to shake off your pursuer and buy yourself the space and time needed to activate the Qiankun Art.
"That's just the way it is. When using a Qiankun Hall as a waypoint, the distances between formations are too great, so naturally it takes some time," Yue He said.
Yang Kai mused thoughtfully. "The Qiankun Art is an ancient technique passed down specifically for interfacing with Qiankun Great Formations. If I could find a way to improve it, I wonder whether I could shorten the activation time."
Yue He smiled. "Then that will be up to you, Young Master. When it comes to the Laws of Space, there aren't many people across the Three Thousand Worlds who could lend a hand."
Yang Kai nodded. "Have someone build a Qiankun Hall outside this formation. Also, tell anyone still in this domain to find an opportunity to come here and inscribe their Soul Brand. It'll make travel much more convenient going forward."
"Rest easy, Young Master. I'll take care of it," Yue He said with a nod.
Now that the central Qiankun Great Formation was fully operational, constructing a surrounding Qiankun Hall to protect it didn't require any particular expertise—virtually anyone could handle the task.
Yang Kai transferred back using the Void Spirit Pearls he had previously placed along the route and quickly returned to the hall he had arrived at earlier.
Over these three months, while he had been busy setting up the Qiankun Great Formation, he had already had people construct two Qiankun Halls in advance within the new great domain.
This was one of them. The other was situated near the Domain Gate. The arrangement was designed primarily to facilitate travel for their own warriors back and forth to the new great domain.
Once all three Qiankun Halls were completed, the speed at which their warriors could develop the new great domain would absolutely increase several times over.
He entered that Qiankun Hall, rested for a few days, and then got to work setting up the next Qiankun Great Formation.
The first one had taken three months, but as with anything, practice made perfect.
The second Qiankun Great Formation was completed in just two months.
Yang Kai personally tested it as well, and only after confirming there were no issues did he head to the Little Stone World to find Yue He and have her send a few people to stand guard at the Qiankun Hall.
After that, Yang Kai rushed without pause to the Qiankun Hall near the Domain Gate.
Two more months later, the Qiankun Great Formation at the Domain Gate was also successfully completed.