A gleam of brilliance flashed in Su Ming’s eyes.

He quickly walked to the base of the cliff and pressed his hand against the exposed gray-black rock.

Cold, lifeless.

As his divine sense probed into it, he immediately felt a sluggish sensation, as if trudging through a swamp. Even his perception of direction became slightly distorted.

“This is it!”

Su Ming turned to look at Lin Yu, a trace of excitement in his tone. “Master, the magnetic field… I mean the star-force field, emitted by this Sinking Star Iron remnant vein has a natural interference effect on all detection spells. It’s like adding a layer of ‘blur filter’ to this area.”

“I want to move several key master control nodes onto this remnant vein.”

Lin Yu was momentarily stunned, then clapped his hands and laughed heartily. “Brilliant! Hiding in plain sight! Normally, when people set up formations, they avoid such troublesome places that interfere with spiritual energy transmission. You’re doing the opposite, using its interference to mask the fluctuations of the nodes themselves. As long as your node signals are strong enough to penetrate this interference and transmit back, then to outsiders, this place will just look like a messy magnetic blind spot. Who would ever think there are ‘cameras’ hidden inside?!”

Action followed words.

Su Ming immediately got to work.

This was no easy task. Sinking Star Iron was extremely hard and repelled spiritual energy.

Su Ming had no choice but to employ the concept of the “Water Extraction Method,” using high-pressure water jets to slowly “grind” holes into the rock. Then, he embedded specially-made nodes with increased spiritual energy output power into them.

When the final node was embedded into the remnant vein and successfully integrated into the “Minor Heavenly Cycle Water Rhythm Formation”…

Su Ming clearly felt a subtle change occur in the entire valley’s spiritual energy field.

The previously hidden, yet still traceable, formation fluctuations now became completely chaotic and disorderly.

If Clear Stream Valley was a clean white cloth under divine sense scanning before, now it had become a gray cloth full of static noise.

Even if outsiders scanned with their divine sense, they would only think the local energy veins here were chaotic and the spiritual energy impure. They would never imagine that beneath this layer of chaos hid a precise surveillance network.

“A natural source of interference, perfect camouflage.”

Su Ming wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the images on the Water Mirror. Although they were somewhat shaky due to the interference, they were still recognizable. He nodded in satisfaction.

“Now, I can sleep with at least one eye closed.”

…

The formation modification was complete for now, but Su Ming didn’t idle.

Because he discovered an unexpected boon.

After moving some of the formation nodes into the Sinking Star Iron remnant vein, due to the continuous activation of the formation’s spiritual energy, this dormant vein, which had been silent for who knows how many years, actually began to emit an extremely faint, nearly invisible silver stardust.

This stardust seemed harmless to humans but had a strange effect on plants.

Su Ming squatted at the entrance of his cave dwelling.

Here, he had planted several “Heart-Clearing Orchids” he had brought back from the Repair Hall.

These orchids were originally entirely emerald green, barely qualifying as low-grade Yellow-rank spiritual herbs. Their only medicinal effect was a slight mental refreshment.

But now, the edges of these Heart-Clearing Orchid leaves had developed a ring of fine silver spots.

Moreover, the fragrance they emitted was no longer that faint grassy scent, but a subtle, chilly fragrance carrying a sharp coldness.

After just one whiff, Su Ming felt his Spiritual Platform become exceptionally clear. The fatigue in his divine sense from days of setting up the formation actually diminished noticeably.

“Mutated?”

Su Ming carefully plucked a single leaf.

“Water Refining Method, extract.”

A mist of water enveloped the leaf. Moments later, a drop of pale silver spiritual liquid hovered in Su Ming’s palm.

Without the slightest hesitation, Su Ming lightly touched the drop with his tongue and swallowed it.

Boom.

A surge of coolness shot straight to his head.

It was like drinking a mouthful of chilled sour plum soup on the hottest summer day. The refreshing sensation made Su Ming shiver involuntarily.

Immediately after, he felt the faint throbbing pain in his brow from overusing his divine sense instantly smoothed away.

The recovery speed of his soul power within his Consciousness Sea was actually thirty percent faster than during seated meditation!

“Good stuff!”

Lin Yu’s illusory figure drifted closer, sniffing (even though he couldn’t smell). “Sinking Star Iron contains star force, which governs the soul; Heart-Clearing Orchids govern the spirit. After this remnant vein was activated by the formation, star force leaked out and was absorbed by these orchids. The medicinal efficacy of these mutated Heart-Clearing Orchids is probably close to high-grade Yellow-rank now, specifically treating divine sense depletion.”

Su Ming looked at those few silver-spotted orchids swaying in the wind, his eyes full of pleasant surprise.

As a practitioner of the “Way of Survival” who aspired to become a formation master, divine sense was his ammunition, his mana bar.

Previously, his biggest headache was how slowly his divine sense recovered. Often, after inscribing a few complex runes, he’d need to rest for half a day.

Now, with these “Silver-Spotted Heart-Clearing Orchids,” his endurance would be greatly enhanced!

“Is this… an ecosystem?”

The word suddenly popped into Su Ming’s mind.

He stood up and looked at Clear Stream Valley before him.

The spiritual herbs didn’t grow in isolation; they absorbed the star force from the remnant vein and the water vapor gathered by the formation.

The formation wasn’t a dead object either; it operated relying on the spiritual vein, simultaneously activating the remnant vein and nourishing the spiritual herbs in return.

And he, Su Ming, as the manager of this ecosystem, used the spiritual herbs to recover his divine sense, then used that divine sense to optimize the formation and maintain the spiritual vein.

A closed loop.

A miniature, positive, self-reinforcing cycle.

Su Ming quickly walked into his cave dwelling, took out that thick notebook, and solemnly wrote a title on a fresh page:

“Clear Stream Valley Spiritual Land Closed-Loop Nurturing Cycle · Prototype One”

“1. Formations are no longer mere defensive structures, but ‘organs’ for regulating the environment.”

“2. Utilize abandoned remnant veins (Sinking Star Iron) as natural interference sources and special nutrient sources.”

“3. Spiritual plants (Silver-Spotted Heart-Clearing Orchids) act as divine sense supply stations, supporting high-intensity formation operation.”

“4. Conclusion: This place is no longer a dead land, but a slowly growing ‘organism’.”

After writing this, Su Ming put down his pen and walked outside the cave dwelling.

Night had fallen.

Moonlight essence cascaded like water, pouring into the valley.

Under the effect of the “Minor Heavenly Cycle Water Rhythm Formation,” the entire Clear Stream Valley was enveloped in a faint, nearly invisible blue mist of water vapor, interwoven with the moonlight, creating a dreamlike, illusory scene.

Those few silver-spotted plants gently swayed in the breeze, emitting a subtle, cold fragrance.

The stream babbled, carrying silent messages; the remnant vein underground pulsed faintly, weaving an invisible protective net.

Su Ming took a deep breath, feeling this small world that belonged completely to him.

This was no longer just a cold shelter, no longer a temporary base ready for escape at any moment.

It had roots.

“Master.”

Su Ming called out softly.

“Hmm?” Lin Yu’s voice sounded lazily, yet it carried a sense of peace.

“I think… we can stay here a bit longer.”

“Nonsense,” Lin Yu scoffed. “Such a good nest, even if you tried to kick me out, I wouldn’t leave. Alright, enough with the sentimentality. Hurry up and propagate those orchids. Three or five plants, who can that possibly satisfy? If you want to get rich, have more kids and plant more trees, understand?”

Su Ming chuckled wryly, the bit of poetic sentiment that had welled up in his heart instantly vanishing without a trace.

“Yes, planting right away.”

The young man rolled up his sleeves. The moonlight stretched his shadow long.

The sound of the hoe striking the earth seemed particularly solid and reassuring in the tranquil valley.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep