While Qian Hong was feeling confident in his strategy, the demon hunters had already sealed the cave entrance.
They built a wall with rubble, and Mo Hua drew a formation on it. They added another layer of rubble, Mo Hua drew another formation, and then repeated the process one more time.
Inside and out, there were three layers of walls and three sets of formations.
Mo Hua asked Elder Yu for several hundred spiritual stones, which he crushed and infused their spiritual energy into the formations, activating the Earth-Wood Combination Formation.
The formations showed interwoven earthy gray and light green patterns, and the spiritual energy seeped into the rubble, mixing the earth and stones together to form a solid barrier.
"Will this formation hold?" Elder Yu still had some doubts.
Mo Hua felt confident.
The Earth Fire Formation used paper as its medium and could only be used once, whereas the Earth-Wood Combination Formation used earth and stone as its medium, making it durable. Breaking this formation would take a considerable amount of time and effort.
Moreover, since it was a first-rank combination formation, it should be sufficient to deal with Qi Refining cultivators—unless Qian Hong or Qian Zhongxuan, both at the Foundation Establishment stage, got involved.
However, it was hard to be certain without testing it.
So Mo Hua vaguely replied, "It should work."
At this point, Elder Yu didn't hesitate and ordered all cultivators to concentrate on digging an escape tunnel. They would stop mining for spiritual stones and focus on this task.
The demon hunters' activities were noticed by the Qian family.
Qian Hong sneered, "Just as I thought, Yu Changlin has sealed the cave entrance and is digging an escape tunnel."
He then ordered the Qian family cultivators to investigate. They reported back, stating that the entrance was sealed with walls of rubble.
Qian Hong wasn't concerned, thinking that a wall made of rubble could be broken within two days.
However, after half a day of efforts, the Qian family cultivators reported back:
"Master, we can't break through."
Qian Hong frowned, "What do you mean you can't break through?"
The disciple lowered his head, "The entrance is sealed with rubble, and we can't break through it."
Qian Hong's frown deepened.
Qian Zhongxuan, hearing this, was slightly taken aback, and a trace of schadenfreude appeared on his lips.
Qian Hong said, "Let me take a look."
When he arrived at the rubble-sealed entrance, he immediately sensed the presence of a formation on it.
A formation on the rubble?
Qian Hong felt uneasy and ordered, "Try to break it."
Several Qian family cultivators stepped forward, using knives, swords, bare hands, and spells. Although they managed to chip away at some rubble, the pieces seemed to come back together as if alive.
It was as if the stones were growing together, capable of self-repair.
The Qian family cultivators were exhausted from their efforts, with little success.
Qian Hong could no longer hold back. He drew his sword and struck with the power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. His sword energy cut away a layer of rubble.
However, Qian Hong was shocked, "A first-rank formation?"
Qian Zhongxuan hadn't lied? There was indeed someone among the demon hunters who could draw a first-rank formation!
Qian Hong's astonished expression was noticed by Qian Zhongxuan, who felt delighted.
"A seven-line formation isn't much. The master will soon break it and capture all these demon hunters!" Qian Zhongxuan said, though his tone had a hint of sarcasm.
Qian Hong maintained a stoic expression but was inwardly furious, unable to refute.
Qian Zhongxuan's jibe was based on Qian Hong's own words about the demon hunters' formation master being an ordinary one who could only draw a seven-line formation. To deny it now would be self-contradictory.
Qian Zhongxuan's mockery had to be endured for now, with retribution postponed for later.
The immediate problem was breaking through the entrance, attacking the mine, killing the demon hunters, and seizing the spiritual stones and the mine.
Just as Qian Hong was about to act, Elder Yu's voice came from above:
"We agreed that Foundation Establishment cultivators wouldn't intervene. Don't push your luck."
Qian Hong looked up and saw Elder Yu mockingly watching them from the only unsealed entrance halfway up the mountain.
Qian Hong sneered, "I won't attack the cultivators, but there's no rule against attacking the stone."
Elder Yu smirked, "Go ahead, I'll be watching."
Qian Hong frowned and hesitated. If he exhausted too much spiritual energy breaking the entrance, he might not be able to fend off an attack from Yu Changlin.
Reporting the matter to the Dao Court, Yu Changlin could argue that it was the Qian family's Foundation Establishment cultivators who acted first.
Indeed, if the Qian family's Foundation Establishment cultivators broke the demon hunters' formation, it could be seen as them making the first move.
Moreover, with Qian Zhongxuan around, taking action might just give him an advantage.
After some hesitation, Qian Hong decided to hold back.
"Fine, I'll stick to the agreement and only let the Qi Refining cultivators take action."
Yu Changlin breathed a sigh of relief but felt even more contempt for Qian Hong:
"Then stop hogging the spotlight and get out of the way. Let your Qi Refining lackeys come and see if they can break through this mine entrance."
Qian Hong shot Elder Yu a venomous look and gestured for his men to proceed.
The Qian family cultivators stepped forward one by one, using knives, swords, martial arts techniques, and spells to attack the rubble sealing the cave entrance.
When one cultivator was exhausted, another took his place.
As for the entrance where Yu Changlin had appeared, it was too well-guarded for a direct assault.
Their only option was to open multiple entrances and advance simultaneously with a large group of cultivators to overwhelm the demon hunters.
The defense of the first-rank Earth-Wood Combination Formation was strong but relied on the spiritual stones' energy to sustain its effect.
With each attack, the formation's spiritual energy would deplete.
After several days of continuous, around-the-clock attacks, the Qian family cultivators finally succeeded in breaking through one layer of the Earth-Wood Combination Formation.
With a loud crash, the first wall of rubble, no longer reinforced by the formation, crumbled into pieces.
The Qian family cultivators were elated, showing signs of victory.
However, their joy was short-lived as they discovered another wall behind the first.
When they attempted to cut it, the rubble remained intact, clearly protected by another formation.
Despair spread among the Qian family cultivators, and Qian Hong's eyelids twitched in frustration.
He hadn't expected Yu Changlin to be so ruthless, creating two walls with two formations.
No, it couldn't be just two...
Qian Hong gritted his teeth and ordered his cultivators to rest before resuming their efforts.
By now, retreat was not an option.
As the Qian family continued their assault on the mine, Elder Yu listened intently inside the cave. After a while, he noticed the noise had stopped and wondered aloud:
"Why did they stop?"
"Probably because they couldn't break through."
Over the past few days, Mo Hua had confirmed the effectiveness of the first-rank Earth-Wood Formation against Qi Refining cultivators. The triple-layered formation was proving too difficult to breach.
Elder Yu was still puzzled, "Why can't they break through?"
"This is a first-rank combination formation. Breaking through all three layers would exhaust them!"
"Combination formation?" Elder Yu hadn't heard of it and was confused.
"It's a bit more powerful than a regular first-rank formation," Mo Hua explained.
Elder Yu's eyes widened. More powerful than a first-rank formation?
Then he asked, "So this formation can hold for a long time?"
Mo Hua nodded, estimating that as long as the Foundation Establishment cultivators didn't intervene, it could indeed hold for a very long time.
Assuming they didn't run out of food and water.
Elder Yu was momentarily stunned, then deeply regretful.
If he had known Mo Hua's formation was this effective, he wouldn't have rushed to dig an escape tunnel.
There were still many unmined spiritual stones in the cave...
Those were valuable spiritual stones!
Elder Yu, always frugal, looked pained.
Seeing Elder Yu's expression, Mo Hua had an idea and brightened up, saying:
"How about we take it a step further? Don't leave them even a drop!"
This resonated with Elder Yu, and after some thought, he laughed, "Haha! Well said!"
(End of the Chapter)