The process of setting up the formation was tedious and precise.

Su Ming did not make a grand spectacle like a traditional Formation Master setting up an altar and performing rituals. Instead, he was like a meticulous tailor, threading a needle and weaving a thread through every corner of the defense zone.

The cultivators in the Bing-6 Defense Zone initially just watched curiously, but soon, their attention was drawn to another matter.

During a rest break, Su Ming sat on a large rock to recover his spiritual energy.

Beside him lay a newly treated heavy black iron shield. It was Zhang Meng's spare shield, and Su Ming had casually added the "Flexible Water Force-Dispersing Formation" to it.

"It's done already?" Zhang Meng hefted the shield, trying a few practice swings.

Whoosh— Whoosh—

The heavy shield left afterimages in the air. Zhang Meng's eyes instantly widened.

"Holy crap! This feel... how is it so smooth?"

He looked at Su Ming with an incredulous expression. "It feels like a current of water is supporting the shield's movement, not a single bit of force is wasted!"

This shout drew all the resting cultivators nearby.

"Captain, let me try!"

"Is it really that amazing?"

Several brawny body cultivators took turns trying it. After testing it, the look in their eyes when they turned to Su Ming instantly became blazing hot.

It was the look of a hungry wolf spotting a fat piece of meat.

"Master Su! Hook me up with one too!"

"Brother Su, my mountain-splitting axe vibrates my hands too much, can you adjust it too?"

"And my leg guards! They're too heavy when running!"

In an instant, Su Ming was surrounded, watertight.

In his Consciousness Sea, Lin Yu chuckled. "See? This is the brand effect. Now, start your performance."

Su Ming stood up, a trace of a troubled expression appearing on his face. "Brothers, I sincerely apologize. Today's main purpose is to set up the formation. I have limited materials on hand, and carving this kind of force-dispersing formation consumes an extreme amount of divine sense..."

"We'll provide the materials!"

"Military Merit is no problem! Just get it done!"

How could they possibly let this opportunity slip by? On the battlefield, having equipment that was just a bit more ergonomic increased one's chances of survival by a fraction. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Su Ming "hesitated" for a moment before reluctantly nodding. "Since everyone trusts me so much, I'll make an exception this once. However, time is tight. I can only process five items today. As for the price... depending on the magical implement's grade and the extent of damage, it ranges from thirty to one hundred points."

"I'll pay fifty! Do mine first!"

"I'll pay eighty! Master Su, look at mine!"

The scene nearly descended into chaos. In the end, it was Zhang Meng, with a dark expression, who stepped in to restore order and selected five "lucky ones."

Su Ming didn't waste words and got to work on the spot.

His water spiritual energy transformed into the most precise engraving knife, tracing out patterns like ripples on the rough surfaces of the magical implements. He didn't alter the original structure of the implements. Instead, he embedded miniature "fluid buffer circuits" at key stress points and spiritual energy conduction points.

Half an hour later, five magical implements, looking as good as new, were handed back to their owners.

"Incredible! Swinging this axe feels awesome!"

"These boots... it feels like wind springs forth underfoot when running!"

Those five cultivators settled their Military Merit on the spot, each beaming with joy as if they had gotten an incredible bargain.

Su Ming looked at the three hundred and twenty additional Military Merit points on his identity token, silently calculating in his heart.

"One thousand one hundred points from the main job, plus three hundred twenty points from the side hustle. This trip's potential earnings: one thousand four hundred twenty points."

This rate of earning money was much faster than hunting demon beasts, and it was safer.

The path of monetizing his skills suddenly seemed wide open.

...

As dusk fell and darkness enveloped the land, the "Spiderweb" in the Bing-6 Defense Zone was finally fully deployed.

As Su Ming executed the final spiritual hand seal, twenty-four nodes simultaneously lit up with faint, dim light before vanishing into the ground. An intangible fluctuation instantly covered the entire defense zone, like an invisible net shrouding the place tightly.

"Senior Han, please test the formation." Su Ming made an inviting gesture.

Formation Master Han took a deep breath and personally controlled a mechanical puppet rat, skimming the ground as it attempted to infiltrate the defense zone.

However, the moment the puppet rat stepped past the outer perimeter, the formation plate at the center of the defense zone emitted a crisp chime. Immediately after, the soil beneath the puppet rat's feet seemed to turn into viscous quicksand, its originally swift speed instantly halved.

"Excellent!" Formation Master Han slapped his thigh forcefully, his eyes filled with admiration. "Early warning is sensitive, the slowing effect is obvious, and the spiritual energy fluctuation is minimal, making it extremely difficult to detect. Fellow Daoist Su's 'Spiderweb' is truly brilliant!"

Although Zhang Meng didn't understand the principles of formations, seeing that puppet rat spinning around like it was drunk told him the money was well spent.

"Hahahaha! Good! Brother Su is indeed an honest man!" Zhang Meng laughed heartily and patted Su Ming's shoulder (this time much lighter). "This one thousand one, I spent it willingly and happily!"

A humble smile remained on Su Ming's face, but his heart maintained absolute calm.

"As long as Captain Zhang is satisfied."

After bidding farewell to the enthusiastic Zhang Meng and the greatly changed-in-attitude Formation Master Han, Su Ming walked alone on the road back to the Bing-7 camp.

The night wind was still bitingly cold, but Su Ming's footsteps were unusually light.

...

By the time he returned to Stone Hut Number Seven in Bing-7, the night was deep, and the wind and snow had scraped away the last trace of lingering warmth from the world.

Su Ming latched the door bolt behind him, his fingertips flicking out strands of spiritual energy to activate the hut's defensive restrictions layer by layer. Only when the dim blue light curtain of the "Minor Heavenly Cycle Water Rhythm Formation" completely isolated the howling sounds from outside did he finally let out a long breath, a puff of turbid air tinged with white frost.

Inside the hut, only a flickering oil lamp the size of a bean remained, its flame gently swaying in the quiet.

Su Ming walked to the stone table and carefully took out from his robe the jade bottle sealed with a spirit-sealing talisman. His movements were gentle, as if holding fragile glass.

Inside was the Void Stone Powder he had spent an entire night, using the meticulous "water grinding effort," to slowly "wash" out bit by bit from the raw ore he had picked up at the Ghost Market.

Four Qian in total.

In the cultivation world, this amount might only be enough to refine the lowest-grade storage pouch. But in Su Ming's eyes, this was his Master's life, and also his biggest trump card at Iron Wall Pass.

"Master, now?" Su Ming asked in his heart.

"Now." Lin Yu's voice held less of its usual laziness and more gravity. "Right now, it's the third quarter of the Zi hour, the time of transition between Yin and Yang. The spiritual energy fluctuations in the camp are at their most chaotic, perfect for masking the Void's disturbances. Plus, with these few layers of turtle shell you've set up, it should be foolproof."

Su Ming nodded, not rushing to act.

He first took out the dark golden formation plate he had already carved long ago from his storage pouch.

This formation plate was still the one Li Kai had given him. After Su Ming's repeated repairs and fine-tuning, although the patterns on it were varied and complex, they exuded a sense of time-worn smoothness.

Next, he arranged three layers of "Breath-Concealing Talismans" and two layers of "Spiritual Energy Disruption Formations" around the formation plate.

Only after completing all this did he carefully peel off the seal on the jade bottle.

"Keep your hand steady, don't shake," Lin Yu reminded. "Every single grain of this powder is money. Once spilled, it's like poured-out water, impossible to retrieve."

"This disciple understands."