“How has the hall been doing lately?” Su Ming asked.

Wang Defa’s smile faded a bit as he pulled an account book from his sleeve, his expression turning somewhat serious.

“Hall Master, our ‘standardized parts’ training method is indeed effective; new recruits are getting up to speed twice as fast. However…”

He flipped to a page in the book, pointing at a line of red text. “Material prices on the market have been rising sharply recently. Especially ‘Mercury Sand’ and ‘Red Essence Copper’; their prices have gone up thirty percent compared to last month. I’ve heard it’s because the front lines are tense, and the sect has diverted large quantities of resources there. Although our Repair Hall’s income has increased, costs have risen along with it, so our profits have actually become thinner.”

Su Ming frowned slightly.

Mercury Sand was the most commonly used spiritual energy conducting material for repairing formation circuits, and Red Essence Copper was an essential for forging formation bases. A price increase in these two items directly impacted the Repair Hall.

“Can we find substitutes?” Su Ming inquired.

“Difficult,” Wang Defa shook his large head. “Among low-grade materials, these two offer the best cost-performance ratio. Others are either too expensive or have poor spiritual conductivity. Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless we can find a way to utilize that pile of accumulated waste slag in the storage yard.” Wang Defa pointed towards a small mountain of blackish rocks piled in a corner of the backyard. “That’s waste material dumped here by the Artifact Forging Hall in the past. They said the copper content was too low, and the extraction cost was higher than buying new material, so it’s just been sitting there gathering dust.”

Su Ming followed his pointing finger.

It was a pile of uneven slag, its surface mottled and patchy, indeed looking rather worthless.

But at this moment, under Su Ming’s “microscopic perspective” at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, what he saw was not merely rocks.

He saw that within the slag, dark red metal particles were scattered like stars, sparse but not insignificant in total quantity.

“Old Wang, go fetch a piece of that waste slag, and prepare a bucket of ‘Metal-Eroding Water’ for me.” A glint flashed in Su Ming’s eyes.

Although Wang Defa didn’t understand why, his execution was extremely strong; he immediately scurried off with enthusiasm.

A short while later, Su Ming stood before the pile of waste slag.

He held a black rock the size of a fist in one hand, his other hand hovering above it.

“Gather.”

Moisture in the air rapidly converged, mixing with a small amount of the “Metal-Eroding Water,” transforming into a faint green mist of water vapor in Su Ming’s palm.

Under the control of Su Ming’s divine sense, this water mist didn’t splash directly onto the rock. Instead, it seemed alive, silently seeping into the fine cracks on the slag’s surface.

The powerful divine sense of the sixth layer of Qi Refining allowed Su Ming to precisely control the path of every wisp of mist.

They avoided the hard rock structures, specifically seeking out the loose junctions where metal was present.

“Dissolve.”

Su Ming mentally commanded.

The water vapor that had penetrated inside began to take effect, enveloping and separating those tiny Red Essence Copper particles.

After roughly ten breaths.

Su Ming flipped his palm and softly uttered, “Out!”

Suddenly, countless fine red droplets seeped out from the surface of the black rock. These droplets rapidly converged, eventually forming a thumb-sized globule of extremely pure crimson-red liquid, floating in mid-air.

Meanwhile, that black rock instantly became porous and brittle. With a gentle squeeze from Su Ming, it crumbled into a pile of dust.

“This…”

Wang Defa’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Having dealt with materials for decades, he was an old hand and naturally recognized quality.

That small globule of red liquid was clearly Red Essence Copper liquid with a purity reaching ninety percent! Even inner sect artifact forgers using true fire would need considerable effort to refine to this purity.

Yet the Hall Master did it in just ten breaths? And using cold water?

“This… what kind of spell is this?” Wang Defa stammered.

Su Ming collected the copper liquid into a jade vial, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

The divine sense control at the sixth layer of Qi Refining was indeed extraordinary. This move just now—if it were in the past, he absolutely couldn’t have achieved such precise separation; at best, he could only shatter the rock.

“This is called ‘Water Extraction Method.'”

Su Ming casually made up a name and tossed the jade vial to Wang Defa. “Old Wang, what’s the market price for Red Essence Copper of this purity?”

Wang Defa fumbled to catch the vial, his face flushed with excitement. “This… this is at least three times the price of ordinary Red Essence Copper! And it’s practically unavailable at any price! If used to repair high-grade formation plates, the spiritual conductivity would be absolutely perfect!”

“That’s good.”

Su Ming brushed the stone dust from his hands, his tone calm. “Starting today, select a few apprentices with meticulous divine sense. I’ll teach them this skill. From now on, our Repair Hall won’t need to buy Red Essence Copper; we’ll feed on this pile of waste.”

Watching Su Ming’s retreating back, the awe in Wang Defa’s eyes deepened even more.

This young Hall Master seemed to have an endless stream of methods, always able to turn dead situations around and transform waste into treasure.

…

Evening, Su Ming returned to Clear Stream Valley.

He wasn’t in a hurry to cultivate. Instead, he sat on a stone stool in the courtyard, looking at the formation field under the setting sun.

Those eighteen nodes arranged using the “guiding method” were still operating stably, nourishing that patch of messy-looking low-grade spirit herbs.

“How does it feel?” Lin Yu’s voice sounded in his mind.

“Very grounded.”

Su Ming looked at his own palm. “I used to think cultivation level was just a number. Now I understand that each realm advancement brings not just power, but a new way of seeing the world.”

He could see the fine dust within formation plates, the copper particles within slag.

This ability of penetrating insight made him even more steadfast on the path of “scientific cultivation.”

“Not bad, your foundation is very solid.”

Lin Yu’s phantom drifted out, sitting opposite him, speaking with rare seriousness. “That move of ‘Water Extraction Method’ you showed today was quite inventive. Using water’s permeability instead of fire’s violence—this aligns very well with our ‘Way of Survival’ aesthetics: silently reaping benefits without a sound.”

Su Ming smiled, about to speak, but saw Lin Yu’s expression suddenly turn serious.

“But, disciple, don’t forget what I told you this morning.”

Lin Yu pointed at Su Ming’s lower abdomen. “Although the sixth layer of Qi Refining gives you stronger micro-manipulation ability, it also means your Dantian is bearing a greater load. You used the ‘microscopic perspective’ three times today. Each time, your spiritual energy vortex accelerated. I observed that at the crack in your Dao foundation, extremely weak spiritual energy has already begun to leak.”

Su Ming’s heart tightened, the smile gradually fading from his face.

“This is like a pot with a crack.” Lin Yu made an exploding gesture with his hands. “The greater the pressure, the higher the risk of leaking. Before you find a method to repair your Dao foundation, such high-precision operations must not exceed three times per day.”

Su Ming remained silent for a long time, then took a deep breath and nodded solemnly at Lin Yu.

“This disciple understands. I will control it.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep