535: Chapter 535 Upgrade of the Spider Silk Array

The flying boat passed steadily through the Stone Forest, as if the ambush just now was merely an insignificant draft.

Qing Feng and Ming Yue stood dazed on the spot, their mouths slightly agape.

This was the first time they had seen their Master truly take action.

That composure and dominance, treating a Golden Core Peak as if they were ants, was deeply etched into the hearts of these two young people.

Qing Feng swallowed hard and turned his head to look at Ming Yue, his eyes filled with undisguised curiosity and shock.

"Soul Transformation Stage..." Lin Yu murmured softly within the xuantian ring, his soul body's luster flickering slightly, "Lifting heavy as if it were light, accompanied by Laws. This Old Schemer's cultivation is even more unfathomable than I imagined."

The flying boat continued to speed along.

Several hours later, a magnificent Bronze Pass appeared on the horizon.

As the flying boat passed through the passage guarded by the Qingming Sword Sect, its speed slowed slightly.

Su Ming turned his head, his gaze falling once again on the stone wall covered in names.

Those names, carved with Sword Qi, finger strength, and even blood, still spoke of the cruel nature of the Cultivation World in the wind.

Qing Feng also stood by the side of the boat, looking at those names without saying a word. The slight impetuousness he had felt because of his Master's strength settled back down at this moment.

After passing through the pass, the flying boat officially entered the territory of the Northlands.

Crossing that invisible boundary, the suffocating sense of dryness in the air vanished instantly.

Dense and moist Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi rushed towards them like a spring breeze turning into rain, drilling into their bodies through ten thousand pores.

Qing Feng and Ming Yue both let out a long sigh of relief, their faces showing a relaxed expression as if they had survived a disaster.

"Finally back." Qing Feng took a deep breath of Spiritual Qi and patted his chest, "After staying in the Central Plains for a few days, I feel like I'm about to be drained dry."

The Ruoshui Art inside Su Ming's body also let out a joyful hum, and the azure lake of spiritual energy within his Dantian regained its vibrant vitality.

But he did not allow himself to be immersed in this comfort; instead, he withdrew his Divine Sense, maintaining his usual vigilance.

Night gradually fell.

On the deep blue sky, stars dotted the expanse. The flying boat flew steadily above the clouds, the surroundings quiet and silent, with only the soft sound of the wind passing by his ears.

Su Ming sat cross-legged on the deck at the stern of the boat and took out the Jade Slip he had obtained from the Wanbao Tower from his Storage Pouch.

As his Divine Sense probed inside, the rubbings of the Formation Plate within the Jade Slip instantly unfolded in his mind.

He put down the Jade Slip and reached out to flatten a blank piece of silk on his lap.

Ying crawled out from his collar, shook its black feathers that glinted with a metallic luster, and skillfully perched on his right shoulder. It tilted its small head, its golden pupils staring curiously at Su Ming's movements under his fingers, occasionally letting out a faint "chiu."

Within the xuantian ring, Lin Yu's soul body slowly emerged.

He sat cross-legged in the air opposite Su Ming, his ghostly blue glow appearing exceptionally clear in the night. His gaze lingered on the Jade Slip for a moment, his soul body's luster flickering slightly before returning to calm.

"This Formation diagram is quite interesting," Lin Yu said indifferently.

Su Ming nodded, his right index finger condensing a tiny wisp of water-attribute spiritual energy as he slowly sketched on the boat's deck.

"The first ninety percent are standard defensive nestings; the difficulty lies in the variation of that final set of Attraction Talismans." Su Ming communicated with Lin Yu in his mind while drawing, "It not only has to withstand instantaneous impact but also reverse the excess spiritual energy back into the Earth Veins. I always feel like this conversion process is missing a node."

Lin Yu's soul body leaned forward slightly, his gaze falling on the loop Su Ming had just drawn.

"The core of that set of Attraction Talisman variations lies in the nesting order of the three loops." Lin Yu's speaking speed was steady, as if stating a conclusion he had long ago verified, "Your current method is to expand from the inner ring outward. This direction won't work—under high pressure, the spiritual energy will directly break through the outer ring's blockade."

Su Ming frowned slightly.

With a swipe of his finger, he erased the Array Patterns on the deck and began to sketch again.

"What if the outer ring contracts inward?" Su Ming asked.

Lin Yu shook his head almost without thinking. This head shake was so fast, it was as if he had personally tried this dead end many years ago.

"A spiritual energy deadlock. The Formation Plate will explode directly."

Su Ming stopped his finger.

A layer of fine sweat gradually broke out on his forehead. Deducing this set of Array Patterns was extremely taxing on his Divine Sense; even with his foundation of seven hundred and fifty Array Talismans, he felt it was somewhat difficult.

He looked at the half-formed Formation diagram on the deck and fell into deep thought.

Not outward, and not inward.

Lin Yu did not speak again. He just sat there quietly in the ring, like an old man who already knew the answer, patiently waiting for the Junior to find the key himself.

"Master, you said it bears some resemblance to the Array Patterns in the Ancient Path Secret Realm," Su Ming suddenly spoke.

Lin Yu silence for a moment, his soul body's luster flickering slightly. He didn't take up the topic but instead asked, "Are you thinking of solving it with the logic of Planting Formations?"

"No, with the logic of water."

Su Ming closed his eyes, and the Ruoshui Art within his body began to accelerate.

Lin Yu's soul body became exceptionally quiet at this moment. He didn't ask further or interrupt; he just watched Su Ming quietly—deep within those ghostly blue pupils, a trace of hard-to-detect anticipation flashed by.

Water has no constant shape, it follows the flow.

Su Ming simulated the state of water encountering a whirlpool in his mind. It wasn't simply inward or outward, but rather forming a dynamic balance at the intersection.

A moment later, Su Ming opened his eyes, and his finger touched the deck once more.

This time, his speed was extremely fast.

The first loop fell, followed by the second loop cutting in at an extremely strange angle. Not only did it not destroy the structure of the first loop, but it instead formed an endless closed loop connected end to end.

The third loop was then embedded, completely locking the three into a stable, circulating whole.

"Buzz!"

The spiritual energy Array Patterns on the deck emitted a faint light, then slowly faded into the wooden boards, actually forming an extremely small but perfect defensive barrier.

Lin Yu watched this scene from within the ring and did not make a sound for a long time.

It wasn't until Su Ming wiped the sweat from his forehead that Lin Yu sighed softly, his tone filled with undisguised relief.

"Dynamic Nesting." His voice was as calm as water, without a hint of surprise, as if he had known this answer before Su Ming even made the first stroke, "Brat, to be able to reach this step on your own, your Comprehension Ability is almost catching up to mine."

Su Ming was not proud, but simply smiled calmly: "It's all thanks to Master's guidance. If you hadn't pointed out the direction, I would have taken at least another half month of detours."

"Don't flatter me." Lin Yu snorted, but his soul body appeared a bit more solid, "I merely didn't tell you which paths were dead ends. Remember this feeling. Formations are not dead things; only when you deduce them as if they were living things can you be considered to have truly touched the threshold of the Great Dao."

Just then, a slight sound of footsteps interrupted the exchange between Master and disciple.

Qing Feng crept over, poking his head to look at the deck in front of Su Ming.

"Su Ming, what are you drawing?" Qing Feng asked curiously, his eyes scanning the deck, but he saw nothing.

Su Ming didn't look up, consolidating the deduction he had just made in his mind while replying casually, "A Formation."