A simple miscalculation on Qing’s part had brought disaster in its wake.
What Qing had failed to consider at that moment was that although they could stop the disaster from reaching the outside world, destroying the core of the Formation would not necessarily cause the spatial domain itself to collapse.
The Demons that had been hiding inside the spatial folds while waiting for the Formation to fully activate could now enter the spatial domain themselves, especially since they could most likely sense the disturbance caused by the destruction of the Formation’s core.
Yue stared at the scene unfolding before her along with Qing, her expression becoming serious as she realized the situation she had wanted to avoid had already happened. There was no way she could kill dozens of Elite Demons along with several hundred Lesser, Common, and Rare Demons without exhausting herself. Even if she was at the Peak Stage of the Golden Core Realm, the amount of Spiritual Energy stored inside her Dantian was still limited.
Every powerful Technique she used to wipe out large groups of lower-ranked Demons consumed a considerable amount of Spiritual Energy, and using those Techniques repeatedly would eventually leave her unable to fight. With the number of Demons continuing to increase, Yue couldn’t see any possible way for them to simply kill their way out of this situation.
The numbers coming through the portals did not stop for even a moment. More Demons continued to emerge from the spatial openings, each possessing a humanoid figure with two horns on their heads and dark-red skin covering their bodies, while the enormous amount of Demonic Energy radiating from them made the entire area feel oppressive. Qing could only stare at the approaching army while rage built inside him, because he understood just how pathetic his current strength was.
He was weak.
With the body he currently possessed, he would never be able to handle this many Demons at once. He couldn’t even kill a single Rare Rank Demon in his current state, let alone survive against hundreds of Demons with dozens of Elite Rank Demons among them. Qing clenched his fists tightly as frustration filled his mind, but he forced himself to remain calm.
’Think, Neolan! Think, damnit!’ Just as he was going through every possibility he could think of, a memory suddenly surfaced in his mind, one he had almost completely forgotten if not for the presence of his Master that had already resurfaced in his memories.
A soft feminine voice echoed through the memory, "Listen, Neolan. If you ever find yourself in a difficult situation where you cannot escape, or death is what awaits you ahead, use this Formation known as the ’Myriad Paths Formation.’"
"What does it do, Master?" Neolan’s voice from his previous life asked as he stared at his Master, her face slightly blurred by the fog covering the memory.
"This Formation will lead you to a place that ties your fate to it, whether through one bond or Myriads of bonds. If you have too many bonds, this Formation will choose the one with the highest degree of Fate Bonding with you, and then it will directly take you there." Her voice filled his ears as Neolan nodded. His Master then snapped her fingers, causing a Formation to immediately draw itself in the empty air before them.
Neolan stared at the Formation for a long moment in wonder, because he had never seen anything like it before. The Formation was unlike every other Formation he had encountered, because it had no centre. There was only a circular empty space in the middle, with five separate circular carvings and intricate designs surrounding it.
After watching it for such a long time, his Master eventually asked him to try drawing it himself. She didn’t expect him to master it, because she knew how difficult it would be for the Neolan of that time, and she had even told him that it had taken her nearly a decade just to learn how to properly draw and master the Formation.
Following his Master’s advice, Neolan had tried to draw it countless times, yet he couldn’t even properly construct the Formation using his Spiritual Energy, let alone understand the deeper mechanics required to activate it. He had failed again and again until circumstances eventually changed, forcing him to leave that memory behind and completely forget about the Formation.
But now, Neolan, as Qing Lan, immediately understood how to draw it.
Not only could he understand how to draw the Formation, but he could also grasp the deeper mechanics behind its functions in an instant. The knowledge that had once taken his Master nearly a decade to acquire was now completely clear in his mind because of his Talent - Ultimate Comprehension.
Qing opened his eyes and looked toward Yue, who had already begun drawing her sword. This was now a situation of kill or be killed, and the chances of escaping the spatial domain by simply fighting their way through were almost nonexistent. Qing quickly shifted his attention back toward the hovering Core of the Formation and narrowed his eyes as he began thinking.
’I could use the Energy Circulation Formation to channel the massive amount of Spiritual Energy required for the Myriad Paths Formation. But what I need right now is time. Even if I can understand something instantly, I can’t physically execute it that fast.’
Qing turned toward Yue before sending another Spiritual Transmission, ’Senior Yue! We need to escape this spatial domain, but first, strike the Core with all your strength. The defensive layer should crumble along with it.’
Yue glanced toward him for a brief moment before unsheathing her sword. The next instant, her figure vanished from where she stood and reappeared slightly ahead of the Core, her sword already returning to its sheath. A moment later, the Core split into two, and the defensive layer protecting it shattered along with it.
Immediately after that, Qing moved his hand and began controlling the flow of the Energy Circulation Formation, which was still channeling an immense amount of Spiritual Energy toward the Core. With the Core destroyed, that energy was no longer being directed toward it, allowing Qing to manipulate the circulation and prepare it for what he intended to do next.
The moment this happened, the giant Formation outside the spatial domain suddenly began cracking from its centre, spreading outward in a spiderweb-like pattern. The cultivators from the Stoneheart Sect below noticed the sudden phenomenon and raised their eyebrows in surprise before Han, the Formation trainee from the Nine Lotus Sect, spoke with excitement.
"Looks like Senior Yue has done it! Now there is no need to fear the Invasion! All hail Senior Yue!"
His words immediately caused the surrounding survivors to cheer, because they believed the Formation had been destroyed and the Demon Invasion had been stopped. However, Han’s expression soon became slightly uncertain as he stared at the cracked Formation in the sky.
There was one thing he didn’t say aloud which would have caused chaos among the people immediately, ’Why aren’t they out of the spatial domain yet...?’
...
Back inside the Spatial Domain, Yue turned toward the approaching Demons again and prepared to move, intending to kill as many of them as possible before they could completely surround them. Before she could take another step, however, Qing’s Spiritual Transmission reached her once again.
’Senior Yue! I know a Teleportation Formation that can let us escape from here. I just need five min—no, only three minutes to draw and activate it. Can you hold those Demons back until then?’
Yue immediately raised an eyebrow. At this point, she was already shocked beyond reason, because a mere Qi Refining cultivator should never have been capable of comprehending a Teleportation Formation, especially one powerful enough to escape a spatial domain of this scale.
She wanted to question him, but there was no time for that now.
Yue looked toward the hundreds of Demons surrounding them before finally turning toward Qing. She had already witnessed enough of his abilities to know that questioning him would only waste the little time they had left, so she could only choose to trust him once again.
"Alright. I can hold them for three minutes. Do your job and don’t worry about me!" With those words, Yue took a single step forward and vanished from her position, heading directly toward the Demon army.
At the same time, Qing turned toward the Energy Circulation Formation and began preparing the Myriad Paths Formation.