The ferocious beast’s roar became louder, and its resisting power inside the formation map became greater. It almost caused the ground to quake.
Nonetheless, Ou Yangming slowly relaxed and even smiled faintly.
A fierce beast was a fierce beast. One would be deeply troubled if it was an equal-ranked human powerhouse or spirit beast that was adept in martial arts instead. This was because vicious beasts did not know how to advance and retreat as they only had instinctive reactions. Especially if the beast had gone mad, its feeling of wanting to perish with its enemy would be enough to bring enormous pressure to normal living beings.
On the other hand, formation masters like these brainless fellows the most.
As long as the beasts’ powers could not break through the formation map, they could only be scribed once they entered the formation.
This was what was happening to this top-grade savage beast at the moment. Although it displayed a remarkable combat power, every attack that it made was a miss. Not to mention it could not harm Ou Yangming and his companions at all, even if it wanted to break through the Illusion Formation, it would be impossible.
As long as it continued to go crazy, it would die from exhaustion even if it was a top-grade spirit beast.
A normal human powerhouse or a spirit beast with wisdom would definitely curb one’s energy for the time being and reserve one’s energy for the formation map’s next change.
On the contrary, the giant leopard was not bothered at all as it launched indiscriminate attacks at its surroundings. The only thing was that its attacks could not even shake the formation map’s core as the formation could trap even a Venerable One. As such, its efforts were in vain.
For some reason, after seeing the confident smile on Ou Yangming’s face, not only Xue Xuanle relaxed, but even the anxious Xue Boren sighed a breath of relief and regained his complexion.
Needless to say, this was also because they witnessed that the giant leopard could not get out of the formation at all.
If the top-grade ferocious beast showed even a sign of being able to break free, they would not have been so calm.
The look in Ou Yangming’s face changed all of a sudden, He turned and looked in a certain direction with his hollow eyes as though he was looking past the formation map.
“Big Brother Yu, what’s wrong?” Xue Xuanle asked softly.
Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows and said, “Someone’s coming.”
Xue Boren tensed up. Given that Ou Yangming was being so prudent, it was certainly not an ordinary person.
Sure enough, a figure flashed in the distance, and a long-robed elder arrived in a flash.
The person was sharp-eyed. A strand of his white beard swayed in the wind before it slowly drifted down, which was evident how fast he traveled just now.
Even so, the elder was fast but cautious, by which he stopped tens of meters outside the formation map. He frowned at the area with dense mists as though he was deep in thought.
Due to the special formation map, the elder could not see Ou Yangming and his companions, but they were able to see him through a unique secret technique.
“Wang Lingting!” Xue Boren’s face changed, and he explained, “Why is he here?”
Ou Yangming was surprised. “Senior, you know this person?”
Xue Boren nodded hard. “Yes, he’s a top-grade Spiritualist from the Wang family and is one of the powerhouses that are only second to the 2 Venerable Ones in the city.” He paused for a while before he added, “I know, he must’ve come because he’s the adjudicator and protector of this Hunting Meet.”
As expected, Wang Lingting asked after observing for a brief moment, “Friends in the formation, may I ask if a top-grade ferocious beast is being trapped inside?”
Ou Yangming answered after some thought, “That’s right.”
At this moment, he somewhat understood that the top-grade Spiritualist had come because of the giant leopard’s roars.
Wang Lingting noted with bright eyes, “Friend, top-grade ferocious beasts are normally rarely seen at the Forest of Death’s periphery. Such a beast is extremely powerful. Unless one’s a top-grade Spiritualist, one won’t be able to go against it…”
Ou Yangming twitched his mouth and cut off the elder as he questioned coldly, “Your Excellency, why are you here?”
Wang Lingting was stunned for a brief moment, and he was slightly furious.
As guessed by Xue Boren, he was one of the adjudicators and protectors of this Hunting Meet. He would roam in the forest but under normal circumstances, he would not make a move.
Blood crystals were important but given his identity, he did not need to collect them to accumulate his prestige and wealth.
Being a top-grade Spiritualist from the Wang family, the identity alone was enough to let him gain sufficient cultivation resources.
Nevertheless, he would not stand by idly if top-grade violent beasts appeared in the Forest of Death throughout the hunt.
What was a protector? A protector was one that would act in this situation, where one would nip dangers that could threaten most people on the mountain in the bud.
Therefore, when Wang Lingting heard the giant leopard’s fearsome roars, he put everything aside and hurried over. According to his thought, the people that were being pursued by the beast would surely treat him with respect even if they would not be grateful for his help.
Who knew, he was interrupted by a young fellow before he could even finish talking.
“Hmph, I’ve come because of the top-grade beast.” Wang Lingting was not an ordinary person, after all. He was infuriated, but he still remembered his duty, so he waved his sleeve and instructed, “Release your formation now and drive the beast out here. While I deal with it later, quickly leave and not delay any time, or don’t blame me for not warning you if you get caught up in trouble.”
Ou Yangming blinked and wondered, ‘This old fella hasn’t gone mad, has he?’
He twitched his mouth and asked the elder in return, “Your Excellency, since you can recognize this formation, why are you asking me to release it?”
Wang Lingting frowned and replied to him snappily, “Would a formation that could trap an aggressive beast appear here?” He was slightly enraged. “Quickly follow my order, or you’ll be killed once the beast destroys the formation map’s core.”
Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. “Thanks for your good intention, Your Excellency, but don’t worry, this brainless beast can’t break through my formation.”
Wang Lingting was dumbfounded. After hearing the confident voice, he finally took a more serious look at the formation map.
His face took on a grave expression after a brief moment.
He heard that utterly evil roars inside the formation, but he noticed that the beast sounded panic-stricken. When the elder looked at the dense mists that seemed to abide by some natural law, even if he were to ignore his conscience, he could no longer say that the formation map was lacking.
Wang Lingting pondered in confusion.
‘When did a formation master come to Huixun City?’
This was a formation map that could trap a top-grade ferocious beast, and it was not a Big Mountain-guarding Formation that was meticulously set up. In fact, it was merely a moving formation map that was anyhow set up and adapted to local conditions.
Given that this formation map was set up at one’s fingertips, the person that was controlling it was certainly a famous formation master with a profound level of attainment in formation maps.
Despite that, even when Wang Lingting racked his brain, he could not recall any famous master coming to Huixun City.
Wang Lingting took a deep breath and changed his attitude by 180-degrees. He cupped his hands with a smile and expressed, “Ah, a famous formation master has come to Huixun City. It’s our city’s honor.”
Seeing as the elder changed from being arrogant to humble, Ou Yangming was not bothered at all because he had seen this many times. He simply responded, “You’re being too polite, Your Excellency.”
“Uhm, I’m Wang Lingting from Huixun City. How should I address you, friend?” Wang Lingting asked with a smile.
Judging from Ou Yangming’s voice, he figured that he was not old, but he was a formation master, after all. One must study for decades to master formations like that, hence the elder regarded the young fellow as a peer and dared not act like a senior.
Ou Yangming replied to him with a smile, “I’m Yu Tianrui. Please forgive me for being impolite just now, Your Excellency.”
“Oh, Brother Yu, I’ve long heard of your name.” Wang Lingting smiled brighter than before, but he was quite puzzled. ‘Who is he? Why have I not heard of him before?’
Ou Yangming found it funny but did not expose him. He conversed with the elder with the formation map between them.
With that, a formation master and a top-grade Spiritualist communicated unusually, and they talked about all sorts of things. One was well-informed while the other was well-versed in books. Neither of them was a specialist, but they could have brief exchanges of views without causing an awkward silence or giving themselves away.
When Xue Boren listened to their conversation, he became more certain that Ou Yangming was a core disciple from an influential sect.
“Roar…”
At last, the giant leopard inside the formation map let out a shrill shriek. Its massive body collapsed to the ground, and it no longer moved.
Wang Lingting’s eyes gleamed, and he asked in a deep voice, “Brother Yu, you settled the beast already?”
“Yes, it’s dead,” Ou Yangming answered decisively.
Wang Lingting looked deeply at the dense mists in front of him and laughed. “Great—great skill! Brother Yu, when the Hunting Meet ends, may I invite you to the Wang family for a few days?”
Ou Yangming chuckled. “Sure. Since you’re inviting me, I’ll surely visit and chat with you.”
Wang Lingting nodded hard, then he turned around and left while laughing heartily.
Huixun City’s top combat power was out of the ordinary but did not have a profound foundation. It would be great if they could be acquainted with a potent formation master.
After Ou Yangming watched him leave, he kept his formation map. As said by him earlier, the top-grade beast had died.
Of course, the various queer attacks inside the Illusion Formation were one of the main reasons it was killed. Without those abilities, nobody knew how long more it would take.
Ou Yangming went forward and retrieved the ferocious beast’s blood crystal. He hesitated for a while but still kept the crystal instead of recording it with his Tianyuan Stone.
Xue Boren and Xue Xuanle saw what he did. They were confused, but they did not ask him about it.
At this point, Ou Yangming had an entirely different place in their hearts. They were willing to follow his lead.
