256: clumsiness can overcome skill

One month.

Su Ming calculated rapidly in his mind.

With the Spirit Stones he had earned from the Spiritual Plant Garden and the proceeds from selling the crimson essence copper, he was not lacking in resources for the time being. One month, combined with the Ruoshui Art and his Master's guidance, would be enough for him to push his cultivation to the seventh level of Qi Refining Perfection, and he might even attempt to touch the threshold of the eighth level.

Furthermore, during this time, he could also gain preliminary mastery over several high-level rune combinations from the "Ancient Explanation of Formation Patterns."

When the time came to visit the Golden Core Elder, having both cultivation and skill to back him up would ensure he didn't appear too shabby and give him more confidence to strive for some core Legacies.

Thinking of this, Su Ming bowed solemnly. "Then I shall trouble Senior Brother. For this month, I, Su Ming, will certainly close my doors to guests and diligently study the Dao of Formations, so as not to fail the Elder's expectations."

Having finished the official business, Luo Feng did not immediately stand up to take his leave.

He sat on the stone stool, his fingers unconsciously stroking the edge of the teacup, as that lingering gloom once again surfaced between his brows.

After hesitating for a moment, as if he had made a decision, he flipped his wrist and took out a translucent Formation Plate.

"Junior Brother," Luo Feng's voice was somewhat dry. "Actually, I came here this time not only to apologize but also to ask for a favor... regarding the final hurdle of this 'Nine Palaces Soul-Locking Formation'—the 'Soul-Suppressing Core'."

Su Ming's gaze fell upon the Formation Plate.

This was an unfinished Formation Plate, carved entirely from warm "Soul-Nurturing Jade." However, in the center of the plate, there was an extremely obvious vortex of spiritual energy, violent and chaotic.

"This Formation requires Soul-Nurturing Jade as its base to carve the 'Nine Palaces Soul-Suppressing Pattern'," Luo Feng pointed at the vortex, his brow furrowed. "But the problem is that Soul-Nurturing Jade is warm in nature and primarily focuses on nourishing, while the Soul-Suppressing Pattern needs to draw upon the Yin Evil Qi of the Northern Mang Ghost Domain, which primarily focuses on suppression. The properties of the two are diametrically opposed."

"I have tried seventeen types of harmonizing runes and even used the 'Material Purification Method' you taught me before to process the Soul-Nurturing Jade, but I have consistently been unable to completely resolve this conflict."

Luo Feng sighed, his eyes full of frustration. "Once the Evil Qi enters the body of the jade, the Soul-Nurturing Jade instinctively rejects it, causing the Formation Plate to continuously wear down. According to current deductions, this plate will last at most three years before collapsing on its own due to internal conflict."

A collapse in three years was undoubtedly a failure for a grand Formation intended to suppress a Yin vein for a century.

Su Ming took the Formation Plate but did not speak immediately.

He held his breath and concentrated, his eyes slightly closed, as the Ruoshui Art within his body began to circulate quietly.

"Master, activate Micro-Observation."

"Alright, that'll be a fee of ten Spirit Stones," Lin Yu's voice rang out in his Sea of Consciousness.

In the next moment, the world before Su Ming's eyes changed.

The Formation Plate was no longer a solid object but had transformed into countless flowing lines.

With the assistance of Lin Yu's Soul Power, he clearly saw that within the internal structure of the Soul-Nurturing Jade, the warm white Soul Power and the cold black Evil Qi were like water and oil, distinctly separated.

Luo Feng had forcibly bound them together using runes, but at the interface where the two met, violent rejection reactions were constantly occurring, as if countless tiny explosions were continuously tearing apart the internal structure of the Formation Plate.

This was not a problem that could be solved by runes at all. This was a conflict of physical properties.

Su Ming withdrew from the Micro-Observation, gently placed the Formation Plate back on the table, and shook his head. "Senior Brother, if I may speak frankly. This is not because your attainment in Formations is insufficient, but because your path has become too narrow."

"My path has become too narrow?" Luo Feng was stunned.

Su Ming did not answer directly but asked in his heart, "Master, how is this 'oil-water separation' situation solved where you come from?"

Lin Yu gave a lazy yawn. "Simple. Since the oil and water are immiscible, just don't let them come into direct contact. Add an intermediate layer, make a 'sandwich' structure. Or use a surfactant... oh wait, there are no surfactants here. Then use physical isolation."

"If conflict is viewed as 'momentum,' forcing harmony is like rowing against the current," Lin Yu's voice became a bit more serious in Su Ming's mind. "Why not... go with the flow?"

Su Ming's eyes flashed, and dipping his finger in tea, he drew a circle on the stone table.

"Senior Brother Luo, you have been trying to make the Soul-Nurturing Jade 'embrace' the Evil Qi, or make the Evil Qi 'adapt' to the Soul-Nurturing Jade. This is like trying to wrap fire in paper; it will naturally burn through."

Luo Feng frowned. "Then in your opinion, Junior Brother?"

"Divide and rule, with the Void Realm as the boundary."

Su Ming's finger drew an S-shaped curve in the middle of the circle, like a Taiji diagram.

"Make the Soul-Nurturing Jade into a 'layered structure'," Su Ming said while gesturing in the air. "The outer layer still carries the Soul-Suppressing Pattern to draw in Evil Qi, primarily for slaughter; the inner layer uses moisture stones or other mild Materials as a buffer to nourish Soul Power, primarily for protection."

Speaking to this point, Su Ming paused and looked at Luo Feng. "The most crucial part is that between the inner and outer layers, do not use any runes for connection. Instead, use void stone powder to outline an extremely thin 'Void Buffer Zone'."

"Void Buffer Zone?" Luo Feng's pupils contracted sharply.

"Exactly," Su Ming's voice was calm. "Let the two forces circulate within the Formation Plate without touching each other, yet transmitting the pressure of 'momentum' through the Void Zone. The Evil Qi presses against the Void, the Void squeezes the inner layer, and the inner layer rebounds under pressure, nourishing the Soul Power."

Su Ming pointed at the tea-stained Taiji diagram on the table. "Just like Taiji, there is Yang within Yin and Yin within Yang, yet the boundary between Yin and Yang is distinct. Only then can it endure for a long time without fading."

A deathly silence fell over the courtyard.

Luo Feng stared at the tea-stained diagram on the table, appearing as if he had turned to stone.

His gaze shifted from initial doubt to shock, and finally into a deep confusion and struggle.

"This... this is no longer a simple Formation..." Luo Feng murmured to himself, his voice trembling slightly. "This is nearly a Fusion of Artifact Refining and Formation deployment! And this line of thinking... it's too 'clever'! It's even somewhat... unorthodox!"

As a Genius of the Formation Peak, the education Luo Feng had received was always to "govern objects with Formations." Formations were noble, runes were omnipotent, and Materials were merely servants to carry the runes. If a material was disobedient, one would use more Advanced runes to suppress it.

Yet the solution Su Ming proposed was to acknowledge the impotence of runes and instead utilize the structural characteristics of the Materials themselves to circumvent the problem.

To a traditional Formation Master, this was practically "opportunism" and an "Evil Path."

"A Formation should govern all things with runes; how can its fundamental structure be changed due to the limitations of Materials?" Luo Feng suddenly looked up, a hint of resistance flashing in his eyes. "If that were the case, wouldn't it make us Formation Masters appear incompetent?"

This was the fundamental difference in their philosophies. Luo Feng pursued the "purity of the Dao," while Su Ming pursued "solving the problem."

Facing Luo Feng's questioning, Su Ming's expression remained unchanged as he calmly asked a question in return:

"Senior Brother, why do Formations exist?"

Luo Feng was taken aback and answered subconsciously, "Naturally, to gather the power of heaven and earth to achieve one's desires."

"Then if the powers of heaven and earth themselves conflict, and a Formation forcibly gathers them, leading to the collapse of the Formation Plate, is that 'achieving one's desires' or 'creating a disaster'?"

Su Ming pointed at the unstable Formation Plate, his tone light yet every word striking like a hammer. "The purpose of this Formation is 'Soul-Suppressing,' to protect the peace of a region. If pursuing the 'purity' of the Dao of Formations leads to the premature failure of the plate and the souls cannot be suppressed, causing the common people to suffer instead, isn't that putting the cart before the horse?"

Su Ming stood up, looking at the last rays of the setting sun on the horizon. "My method may be 'clumsy,' it may be 'clever,' and it may even be unfit for elegant halls. But it can make this Formation Plate run stably for ten or twenty years, effectively fulfilling the role of 'Soul-Suppressing'."

He turned his head and looked directly into Luo Feng's eyes. "Senior Brother, means serve the end. Is that not the fundamental purpose of a Formation?"