161: Turn the tables on them

"Disciple, what are you looking for?"

"I am looking for... an 'accident'." Su Ming's voice was terrifyingly calm.

"Since the other party wants me to die in an 'accident', then I will search through all the 'accidents' in the Sect's history, find their methods, and find their flaws!"

His fingers flew rapidly across rows of Jade Slips.

"Report on the Explosion Accident of the No. 3 Spirit Gathering Array in the Danding Peak Herb Garden, 37th Year of Jingyou"... Rejected, energy overload.

"The Full Account of the Loss of Control of the Artifact Hall Furnace Formation in the 2nd Year of Chen Ping, Resulting in Three Disciples Being Seriously Injured"... Rejected, material degradation.

"Investigation Dossier on the Failure of the Defense Formation at the Heavenly Sword Peak Sword Testing Platform in the Jiazi Year of Yuanfeng"...

Su Ming's hand stopped abruptly!

His gaze was fixed tightly on this yellowed dossier from a hundred years ago!

He slowly pulled out the Jade Slip and extended his Divine Sense into it.

A line of archaic text appeared in his mind.

"...Upon investigation, the failure of the defense Formation was not due to battle. The root cause was that the 'Hyacinth Crystal' used in the core of the Formation Plate and the 'Shape-Fixing Cyan Jade' used in the auxiliary Formation produced a 'Reverse Spirit Power Resonance' under a specific high-intensity Spirit Power impact, causing the Formation to collapse instantaneously..."

Wind! Fix! Reverse Spirit Power Resonance!

These few words, like a lightning bolt, instantly illuminated Su Ming's mind!

He turned his head abruptly and looked at the blueprint of the "Flowing Wind Escape Formation" on the table!

The core "Wind Travel" circuit!

The "Shape-Fixing" rune on the flank!

Lin Yu's soul consciousness also reacted instantly!

"I understand!"

"I understand! Disciple!"

Lin Yu's soul consciousness carried a hint of ecstasy and lingering fear from seeing through the maze!

"This trap has two layers!"

"The first layer is the trap on the blueprint! That tiny, fatal conflict node!"

"And the second layer, which is also the most vicious one, is the Materials!"

"According to the Sect's standard procedures, the Formation base of the 'Flowing Wind Escape Formation' should use the gentle 'Moonlight Stone'. But what if the Materials they provided you are the 'Hyacinth Crystal', which is extremely rare but also meets the standards for a Tier 3 Formation?"

"The trap in the blueprint, plus the trap in the Materials, double insurance!"

"Even if you are exceptionally gifted and discover the problem on the blueprint and correct it, as long as you use the 'Hyacinth Crystal' they provided, the Formation Plate will still explode!"

"How poisonous! What a ruthless chain scheme!"

Su Ming's breathing almost stopped.

He slowly returned the dossier from a hundred years ago to its original place.

The color drained from his face.

Su Ming felt a chill of lingering fear, but even more so, a sense of anger at being provoked. He had been surviving in the Sect with extreme caution, yet he still could not escape being plotted against.

"Master! What should we do!"

"Calm down! Disciple, the more critical the moment, the more you must remain calm!"

Lin Yu's soul consciousness forcibly suppressed his own panic and began to operate at high speed.

Damn! There are so many old schemers in the world of cultivation! Fortunately, my Disciple is clever! This move must be steady; we need to scheme back while keeping ourselves clean!

He calculated rapidly in his mind, but said with a steady tone: "Disciple, this matter has huge implications. If we report it directly to the Sect, we might be able to protect ourselves."

Su Ming took a deep breath, his Divine Sense sweeping over the murderous Formation diagram, and he responded quickly in his mind.

"Master, we cannot."

His voice had already regained its composure.

"If we report it directly, we have no proof. Since the other party can tamper with the blueprints issued by the Formation Hub, Your Excellency, their status must not be low, and they must have a Foundation within the Sect. If we speak rashly, not only will we be unable to harm them in the slightest, but we will completely alert them, letting them know that we have already seen through the trap."

Su Ming's brain operated at high speed, the massive amount of data he had seen in the Accounting Room flowing like a river of stars.

His gaze fell once again on that dossier from a hundred years ago.

A flash of brilliance appeared in his eyes.

"Master, I remember the 'Dossier on the Accidents in the Jiazi Year of Yuanfeng' recorded the 'Reverse Spirit Power Resonance' triggered by 'Hyacinth Crystal' and specific structures."

"Since the other party has set up this double kill-trap, they must have calculated that I would use the 'special Materials' they provided."

"Why don't we... play along with the scheme?"

"Let the 'explosion' they prepared turn into a 'reasonable and verifiable' premature failure?"

Lin Yu became excited.

"Right! Let's do exactly that! We will just add some 'superfluous details' to a few irrelevant auxiliary circuits, and then mess with that broken stone, making it 'retire from fatigue' before it reaches the critical point!"

"When the time comes and the Formation misfires, we will 'accidentally' 'leave behind' that century-old dossier at the scene... Hehehe."

Lin Yu became excited.

This Disciple has truly mastered my teachings! He has flashy moves amidst his steadiness!

...

Over the next two days, the trajectory of Su Ming's life did not change at all.

He still went to the Accounting Room every morning to organize accounts, and in the afternoon, he buried himself in the archives, claiming externally that he was researching the ancient mysteries of the "Flowing Wind Escape Formation".

On his face, there was just the right amount of distress and fatigue, as if he were breathless from being pressed by this arduous task.

During this time, he went to the Materials warehouse.

The person responsible for distributing the Materials was a trusted aide of Steward Sun.

That Disciple handed him a sealed Jade Box with a fake smile.

"Junior Brother Su, Steward Sun said that this mission is of great importance, so he specially applied for this batch of high-grade Materials transferred from the inner treasury for you. You must absolutely not mess it up."

Su Ming opened the Jade Box, and inside lay a few crystal-clear crystals that emitted the aura of a gentle breeze.

It was exactly the Hyacinth Crystal.

Su Ming sneered in his heart, but on his face, he showed a look of flattered gratitude.

"Many thanks, Senior Brother, and please thank Steward Sun on my behalf."

No one knew that that night, in the room in Ding Qi Courtyard that was covered by a Formation.

Under Lin Yu's guidance, Su Ming used a wisp of Spirit Power that was weak to the extreme, like an invisible embroidery needle, to leave an imperceptible hidden injury inside the core Hyacinth Crystal.

This hidden injury had no effect under low Spirit Power operation.

But once the Spirit Power reached a certain critical value, it would instantly disintegrate, causing the energy structure of the entire crystal to completely collapse.

Three days later, at the main hall of the Maintenance Department.

Today's atmosphere was completely different from usual.

The hall was crowded with people, and almost all the Menial Workers had stopped their work and gathered around, preparing to watch a good show.

Chen Ping sat high in the seat of honor, his expression calm, showing neither joy nor anger.

Steward Sun stood to one side, a faint, imperceptible sneer on the corner of his mouth, and deep in his eyes was undisguised anticipation and malice.

He was looking forward to that loud noise.

He was looking forward to that eyesore of a Menial Worker turning into a pool of flesh and blood under everyone's gaze.

At the third quarter of the noon hour, Su Ming walked into the main hall slowly, holding the repaired Formation Plate.

His face was pale, his eye sockets were sunken, and his steps were even a bit unsteady, as if these three days had exhausted all his mental energy.

He respectfully placed the Formation Plate on the verification platform in the center of the main hall.

"Senior Brother Chen, Senior Brother Sun."

"Disciple has fortunately not failed the mission and has completed the repairs according to the blueprint."

Steward Sun glanced at the Formation Plate, then looked at Su Ming's tottering appearance, and the smile on the corner of his mouth grew richer.

"Not bad, you've worked hard."

"Let's begin. Let everyone open their eyes and witness how the 'prodigy' of our Maintenance Department repairs a Tier 3 ancient Formation."

His words were full of the implication of "killing with praise."

Su Ming did not speak, but silently walked to the verification platform, took a deep breath, and according to the procedure, placed his hand on the activation rune of the Formation Plate.

He slowly injected Spirit Power.

Hum—

On the Formation Plate, cyan light suddenly lit up, rippling out like water waves.