Qin Yi did not deny it.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man said, "You are a martial artist, so you must leave! This is our Wu family's house, and outsiders are not allowed to approach!"
"Wu family?" Qin Yi was confused.
"If you don't leave and dare to come closer by half a step, don't blame me for being impolite!"
The middle-aged man suddenly released a surge of aura, causing the black clothes he was wearing to rustle.
Qin Yi stood several meters away from him, clearly feeling the oppressive aura.
However, despite feeling it, Qin Yi stood his ground, completely unaffected.
Seeing Qin Yi's reaction, as the middle-aged man was somewhat surprised, a woman's voice came from the second floor of the house, "Uncle Wu, let him in!"
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man withdrew his aura and stepped aside.
"Thank you!"
Qin Yi cupped his hands towards the man and stepped into the house.
Once inside, Qin Yi did not stop, heading directly for the second floor.
As soon as he reached the second floor, Qin Yi felt that the concentration of spiritual energy here had reached its peak.
He saw a woman dressed in white, wearing a veil that obscured her face.
The woman was sitting cross-legged on a cushion, with a tea set in front of her, brewing a pot of tea.
Without looking up at Qin Yi, the woman continued to brew her tea and said, "Please sit!"
So, Qin Yi, without being polite, also sat cross-legged on a cushion opposite her.
After sitting down, Qin Yi did not look at the woman, but instead glanced around the room, as if searching for something.
Sensing Qin Yi's actions, the woman finally looked up and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Qin Yi did not hide anything and truthfully replied, "You have set up a spirit-gathering formation here to gather spiritual energy from heaven and earth. I'm curious, what did you use as the formation core?"
The woman's face was covered by a veil, her mouth and nose hidden within, leaving only her eyes exposed.
She observed Qin Yi for a moment and asked, "You understand formations too?"
"Mm," Qin Yi nodded. "I guess I do!"
In prison, Qin Yi had followed the mad old man, learning not only medicine and cultivation methods, but also formations, alchemy, and so on.
However, the art of formations was incredibly complex, and the conditions for setting up a formation were extremely demanding.
Besides knowing how to set up a formation, one also needed materials for it.
The materials required to set up formations were rare and seldom found in the world, especially the core of a formation, which was something that could only be encountered by chance.
Therefore, even though Qin Yi had learned formations from the mad old man, he had not set up any formations since his release. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but rather that he simply didn't have the necessary components!
"If you understand, you understand. If you don't, you don't. What do you mean by 'I guess I do'?"
The middle-aged man also followed them up. He was displeased with Qin Yi's words and warned, "Kid, I'm telling you, we are from the Wu family. If you have any ill intentions, your end will be miserable!"
Undoubtedly, the man was warning Qin Yi, fearing that he was of unknown origin and harbored ulterior motives!
Qin Yi had never heard of the Wu family before, so he paid no attention to the middle-aged man's warning.
He simply assured them, "Please don't worry, I came here today because I was attracted by your spirit-gathering formation, and I was just curious. I have no ill intentions!"
Middle-aged man: "That's for the best!"
The woman in white poured Qin Yi a cup of tea, stood up, and walked to the side, taking out a square wooden box from a drawer.
"Miss..."
The middle-aged man blurted out, about to say something.
But he was interrupted by the woman in white raising her hand after uttering just two words.
The woman in white took the wooden box, returned to her cushion, and sat down. In front of Qin Yi, she opened the wooden box.
As the wooden box was opened, a milky white bead, the size of a baby's fist, appeared before Qin Yi.
Qin Yi's pupils contracted sharply at the sight.
The woman in white said, "This is the formation core of the spirit-gathering formation in this house!"
Qin Yi asked, "May I have a closer look?"
The woman in white hesitated slightly and moved the wooden box a bit closer to Qin Yi.
"Miss, absolutely not!" the middle-aged man objected. "We don't know who he is. If you give him the spirit pearl, and what if..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was very clear.
The woman in white said, "Uncle Wu, with the two of us here, are you still worried he'll snatch the spirit pearl?"
Middle-aged man: "But..."
Woman in white: "That's enough, it's fine to let him have a look!"
The middle-aged man said no more, but he released his aura, his eyes fixed on Qin Yi, ready to act the moment Qin Yi made any untoward move after taking the bead.
Qin Yi ignored him and reached out to take the bead from the wooden box.
The moment his hand touched the bead, he felt a coldness. He brought the bead closer to his eyes for a detailed examination, discovering countless white threads within. It was these white threads, combined together, that made the bead milky white throughout.
Furthermore, Qin Yi noticed that these white threads were slowly moving within the bead. Though very slow, almost imperceptible without close inspection, they were indeed moving.
As these white threads moved, Qin Yi felt as if the surrounding spiritual energy was being attracted, converging towards the bead!
It was like a magnet attracting iron, with the white threads in the bead acting as the magnet and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as the iron.
The intense spiritual energy in the house was all due to this bead attracting it!
"Have you seen enough? Put it back if you have!"
Qin Yi held the bead and observed it for more than a minute. It was only when the middle-aged man urged him that he finally placed the bead back into the wooden box and returned it to the woman in white.
Immediately after, Qin Yi praised, "This is truly a remarkable item!"
The woman in white closed the wooden box, put it back in its place, and returned to her seat, saying, "I've answered your question. Can you answer mine now?"
"Of course!"
"What is your name?"
"Qin Yi."
The woman in white and the middle-aged man exchanged glances. Seeing the latter shake his head, she then asked, "You're not from our Taidiao City, are you?"
"No, I'm from Haicheng. I'm here on vacation!" Qin Yi replied truthfully.
Since they had been so forthright and direct, even showing him the formation core, there was no reason for him to hide anything.
Unexpectedly, when the woman in white and the middle-aged man heard that Qin Yi was from Haicheng, a flicker of surprise appeared on both their faces.
This look, in Qin Yi's eyes, seemed to carry a hint of disdain!
He couldn't help but ask, "What's with your expressions? What's wrong with me being from Haicheng? You seem very disappointed?"
The middle-aged man replied, "Indeed, we are quite disappointed!"